Bringing the Goats Home

It has been a busy week on the homestead.  Spring has sprung, finally!  I think we were all beginning to feel a bit desperate, but despair no more, spring has arrived!!!!  I brought my goats home from their winter vacation over at my sister’s homestead, this week.  I have a very non-traditional way of transporting my goats, as we are a small homestead, we make do with what we have.  This means I haul my goats in a 1991 mazda protege.  The one with peeling paint, and no muffler, that much to my boys’s delight sounds like the best straight-piped harley you have ever heard.  In the back seat, covered with a tarp, goats swaddled in lovely old sheets, it is quite a sight, I am sure when I stop for the red light in our little one-stop-light town.  It is actually quite entertaining, and yes, you know your a red-neck when……

….I wish I had been able to get better pics, but once the car stops moving Betsy gets impatient.  I was the only one home today to enjoy my goat adventures, so I had to work quickly, with my hands full. 

Have you ever seen anything cuter than a baby goat in a homemade cloth diaper??!!!

Hank and Betsy.

Betsy is our nanny goat, she is a lamancha, and her baby is Hank, he is 1/2 nubian, and 1/2 lamancha.

Isn’t she purdy?

I love my mama goat!

I think you either love lamanchas or hate them, because of their no-ears!  I think they look like regal ladies, with their hair done up high, no ears looks like their hair is pulled back!!! Lol

Little Hanky Panky

I have had people ask me why I would choose lamanchas with their strange looks, but once they taste the milk they understand exactly why I would choose them.

Their milk is one of the highest butterfat contents of all goat breeds.

It is super rich, creamy, and wonderful.

Gotta love fresh milk!

Early Morning Blessings & Heart-Full Chocolate Chip Scones

Why is it that some mornings one wakes with a sense of blessedness, heart full and eyes open, and other mornings lids are leaden with a heart to match?  Is it the simple fact that the sun is shining?  Or is it more likely that your heart is open, and you are shining?

Wake up to this moment, and this moment alone.

Give thanks for another beautiful day, God-given, for the gift of living and breathing, blessed whether or not the sun is shining.

Wake up to the moment.  Wake up in the moment.

Wake up to the blessing before us.

Be present, be open, be blessed.

Each moment presents an oportunity to look at it as a present, gift that it is, or to close our eyes, hearts, selves off from the blessing, from the receiving.

Unbind the ribbon with anticipation, joyfully tear off the paper, open this moments blessing, and say,

“Thank you for Grace.”

Heart-Full Chocolate Chip Scones

The perfect complement to start your day blessed.  Bless yourself, or those you love with these beautiful scones.  They are dense and light at the same time, crispy and gooey, perfectly sweet, best served warm.  A wonderful awakening to your day, especially with coffee!  These scones can be made, baked immediately to be inhaled enjoyed, or made and frozen to be baked later, for a quick and simple breakfast or brunch.  Sure to be a crowed pleaser.

Please be assured that you may substitute other ingredients for the chocolate chips if you would like to healthify your scones a bit.  I enjoyed a similar treat over coffee with a dear friend at her house, so these are not necessarily what we would eat everyday for breakfast, but a simple, buttery treat on a weekend, or for company.  I love that they can be made ahead and frozen.  A nifty hospitality idea, ready at the drop of a hat, all that needs to be done is bake, while you make up some coffee!!!

You may use dried or fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, etc. for healthier stir-ins if you would like to make these for regular breakfasts.  The basic recipe is a guideline, feel free to get creative, and add your families favorite stir-ins! Scones can also be made savory and served for supper!

Recipe:

2 1/2 c. flour  I used freshly ground hard white wheat

1/2 t. salt

3 t. baking powder

1/2 c. butter, cold, cubed

2 farm fresh eggs

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

2 T. evaporated cane juice

2 T. brown sugar   if I am adding fruit to these, I would only use 2 T. evaporated cane juice

2 t. vanilla extract

1 c. chocolate chips   I like to use half semi-sweet, and half milk chocolate chips

For the scones pictured, I reduced my choc chips to 1/2 c. and added 1/2 c. of frozen sweet dark cherries, chopped.  I will confess, I ran low on choc chips after my quest for the perfect scone recipe this week, but the cherries & choc are divine!

Pre-Heat oven to 450 degrees

• Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter until butter is approx. pea-sized, or slightly larger.

• Add chocolate chips, or other stir-ins to your dry ingredients.

• In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until frothy, add cream, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat well.

• Gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients.  The less stirring in this step, the better.  Do Not OverMix!  Your dough will be rough and shaggy, but that is exactly how you want it!

• Use your hands to bring dough together into a ball.

• Sprinkle your countertop or large cutting board with flour.  Place dough ball onto flour, and pat into a large disk.  It should be about 3/4 inch thick.  Cut into wedges with a sharp knife, or use a cookie cutter to create shapes.

• Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake @ 450 degrees for 10 min. or until lightly golden.

• Let stand for 5-10 min. on the sheet before removing to eat.

• Serve Warm.

To freeze:  Prepare scones up to the baking point. Place in freezer bag/container labeled with contents and baking directions.  To bake from frozen, preheat oven to 425 degrees place frozen scones on cookie sheet, and bake 12-16 min. or till lightly golden.  Serve Warm.

Original recipe from Aimee on Simple bites, find it here .

Preparedness

Preparedness has been on my heart and in the forefront of my thoughts as of late.  It is something that I am very familiar with, having been brought up with it.  My Dad always had a “little extra on hand,” just in case.  We stored an extra 25 lb. bag of flour, sugar, and dried beans at all times.  Both of my parents also kept the pantry stocked with extra canned goods.  There were times growing up when I didn’t understand the need for this, but apparently the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.  I have begun to see the need to prepare more as of late.

We have always felt it important to have our canning room shelves full.  Maybe it’s just because that is how it was growing up for both my hubby and I.  We didn’t really know that people did anything different.  I have always stocked up on extra sale items when appropriate, and we have worked diligently to preserve the harvest of our garden in the fall to prepare for the winter months.  Our freezers are always full.  Let me be clear here, we are not hoarding food, but putting it up to be used in a timely manner, and replenishing the supply.  It is a cycle.  Our needs as a family have changed over the years and continue to change as our children continue to grow, eventually it will go back the other way, as they begin to leave the nest, and so the cycle continues.

I have not written about preparedness before for a couple of reasons.  One, is that it is such a natural cycle of our lives that it did not really occur to me to do so for a long time.  Two, is that I do not want to promote and choose not to live in fear.  I am not in a perpetual state of worry that we will have enough food, water, shelter, etc. in the future, or the event of emergency or natural disaster.  My experience is one that God does and will provide.  Does this mean that we should leave it all to happenstance then?  No.  I choose not to.  A wonderful article on preparedness summed it up for me by saying that God does provide, sometimes before an emergency, during, and sometimes after.  This struck a chord with me.

Last week I decided to buy a case of bottled water to put on the shelf of the canning room.  I have never been particularly concerned about storing water, but thought it would be a good addition to the canned goods.  Just in case.

Last night our well quit working.  Upon inspection Hardworkin’ Hubby discovered that it had flooded.   We have finally gotten spring in Northern Mn.  In two days.  Roads are washing out, basements are flooding, ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams have left their banks swelling beyond the likes we have seen in recent memory, or any memory for that matter.  Needless to say a homestead without water is not a good thing.  Everyone gets thirsty.  We also collect rainwater for our garden and animals, so luckily I did have some buckets placed strategically under the eaves of the outbuildings, so no one went thirsty for long.  I was able to water the animals, and with our bottled water on the canning room shelf, the children were able to get a drink and brush their teeth for bedtime, while we continued to work on the well.  We were able to get it going again late last night, but there was a point that we weren’t sure if we could, or if we would have to wait until the next day/evening.  Having something as simple as a case of bottled water on the shelf was worth the peace of mind.  We feel confident that the well was not compromised, we caught it just in time, but all the electrical was underwater, so it would not pump. 

We have had similar situations with preparedness before; being glad that we had held onto something that was then able to repair another thing on the homestead, or having enough of the harvest filling the canning room shelves when the grocery budget got tight to non-existent.  In these moments I am always thankful that we are preparers by nature, yet we do not fear.  We walk boldly with confidence that all is well, even when the well stops working!

Just as the birds prepare their nests for their babies, the hibernating animals put up their winter stores, we too, should follow nature’s lead, and prepare to feather our nests, preserve our harvests, have an emergency plan for heat, water, food, and shelter should the need arise. In doing so, we will be able to face adversity, should it arise, with calmness and confidence, and do what needs to be done.  When our own basic needs are met, we can then help others meet their needs.

All this in a bottle of water.

Grace

It seems the world could use a little more grace today.  As we open our hearts collectively as a country, as a community, as families, as individuals, we work together to raise the energetic vibration.  Rise above adversity.  Rise above violence.  Raise your voices in prayer.  Count your blessings.  Share your gifts.  Forgive what needs forgiving.  Let go of what does not honor truth.  Love deeply.  Tell those you love, that you love them.

Breathe in peace, exhale.  Then do it all again.

We can and we will rise above if only we join hands and hearts in love.  Pray for those who have been wounded, attacked, maimed, and open the door, not only justice, but compassionate forgiveness.  Allow healing to happen.  Actively join in the healing, by becoming a part of the process, by healing your own heart.

Just because it may be miles away, it may be a stranger, we are all still mamas, daddies, grandparents, daughters, sons, wives, husbands, neighbors, we are all one in the same. This applies everyday, not only in the wake of tragedy.  Tragedy brings awareness to our inter-connectedness as spiritual beings, on a soul level.

How can you bring joy to another in this moment?  Is there a way that we as individuals, as one soul, can connect, uplift, touch, create community, influence another soul, with great love?  Open arms to embrace the good grace that surrounds, be the stone in the center that causes the ripple effect to radiate circular.

How do you want to live your life?

Fully alive, fully awake, fully aware, and fully in love,

is how I choose to live mine.

“Blessings keep our awareness of life’s holy potential ever present.  They awaken us to our lives…..with each blessing uttered we extend the boundaries of the sacred and ritualize our love of life.  One hundred times a day, everywhere we turn, everything we touch, everyone we see.  The blessings can be whispered.  No one even need hear.  No one but the Holy One.  ‘Holy One of blessing, Your presence fills the Universe, Your presence fills me.’ “

~excerpt from One Thousand Gifts Devotional, by Ann Voskamp

The Homemade Homestead Apothecary~ Tea Love

Making tea is a wonderful start on your path to herbal healing and wellness. Tea can be a wonderful soother for a busy, stressful days.  Making ’tea time’ a family tradition is a wonderful way to include the kiddos, as is learning, gathering, growing, blending and preparing herbs and herb for tea.

The boys love to blend their favorites.  Their intuition often amazes me in their selection of herb.  It is always fun to see what they choose, and gives me a little insight into where they are emotionally, and physically.  A wise Mama knows she can use all the help she can get….especially when things get tough, boys often choose not to communicate, but their herbal language speaks volumes.

Often we have tea in the evening after supper, before bedtime.  It has become an accidental tradition, that my boys will ask for, especially after very hectic days.  It is a wonderful gift to connect as a family over steaming mugs of herbal tea prepared and brewed with love.

To continue with our Homemade Homestead Apothecary series I would like to list a few of our favorite homestead herbal tea blends.

Davey’s Bear Tea

This is my youngest son, David’s, absolute favorite tea.  It is based on the Celestial Seasonings blend, SleepyTime Tea, hence the name ’Bear Tea.’  If you have ever seen the box for Sleepytime Tea you will know that it has a cute bear in a nightcap sleeping peacefully in his chair in front of the fireplace.  Sounds lovely to me.

This tea is wonderfully soothing to the nervous system, it is gentle and relaxing to body and spirit.  If I were going to name it, I would probably call it Peace Tea because of its peaceful and rejuvenating effect.  It soothes tension and anxiety, and is exceptional at repairing frazzled nerves after an overstimulating day.

It is simple to blend and prepare as it only has three herbs.

To make the tea you will need:

chamomile flowers

spearmint

lemongrass

Prepare tea with the steeping method, as described here.

• You can blend a big batch ahead if you like, or you can custom blend your tea right into a reusable tea bag or ball for each pot or cup of tea.
• Blend these three herbs in equal parts for the basic ‘Bear Tea’ blend.  For example if I am making just one cup of tea, I will use 1/3 t. of each herb in my tea bag.
• Serve gently sweetened with raw honey, if desired.

• To mix a pint, or quart, simply divide the jar into thirds, by pouring in one herb at a time, into 1/3 of the jar, trying to keep the amounts equal.  Pour the jar into a bowl to stir.  Once the herb is well blended in the bowl, simply scoop it back into the jar, place a lid on the jar to store in a cool, dark place.
•  Makes wonderful gifts for friends and family.

Original Yogi Tea

This is the original tea blend as given by Yogi Bhajan.  It is a very healing and balancing blend of herbs and spices that is rejuvenating to the entire system.  It is my favorite tea.  It is a warming chai tea that is wonderful in the winter months, and around a campfire in the summer!  It makes a big batch, so is great for a family, or company.

Prepare tea with the simmer method as described here. 

In a large kettle with a lid, add 2 quarts of water.  Bring to a boil and add:

20 whole cloves

20 whole green cardamom pods

20 whole black peppercorns

5 sticks cinnamon, or about 1 heaping teaspoon of cinnamon bark chips

1 heaping teaspoon dried ginger, or one fresh root, sliced

• Simmer for 20-30 minutes, then add:
• Add 1 tablespoon of any black tea, or roobios tea, let steep for 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat, strain, and  add 1 quart of milk, heat back up to the boiling point.
• Enjoy with a little raw honey.
• It is also exceptional with coconut milk, almond milk, or oat milk, if you do not use dairy.  You may also omit the milk and drink it plain.

I also found a recipe for a single serving if you are the only tea drinker in your home.  I usually make a big kettle to sip all day, but sometimes a smaller batch is nice.  Here it is.

3 whole cloves

4 green cardamom pods

1/2 stick cinnamon

1 ginger root sliced, or 1/2 t. dried ginger

1/4 t. ground black pepper

10 oz. water

1/4 t. black tea, or 1 t. roobios tea

1/2 c. milk

raw honey to taste

• Use the simmer method to prepare this tea.
• Simmer spices in water for 10-15 min.
• Add tea and steep for 2 min.
• Add milk and heat back up to the boiling point, do not boil.
• Remove from heat, strain, and add honey to taste.

 

Mama’s Bedtime Tea Blend

I have recently started using valerian in my bedtime cup of chamomile tea.  To help make it more palatable, I have also added some spearmint echoing the recipe for Davey’s Bear Tea.   Though I am finding I like the taste of valerian just fine, which tells me that the herb resonates with my body.  I feel this tea is appropriate for adults and teens who need help relaxing for sleep, and also battle with insomnia, but not necessary for younger children.  It would be an extreme case that chamomile would not be strong enough for a child’s restlessness.
Valerian is a very strong sedative so please take care when using it.  This herbal blend is extremely  relaxing.  I would not drink it any other time except when I am ready for sleep.  I have been known to fall asleep in my large cup of tea before it is gone!  It is also good for those nights when sleep just won’t come, or is fitful.
Valerian is has the ability to soothe nerves, and release anxiety.  It is very calming especially when paired with chamomile.  Spearmint is just plain ol’ yummy, and good for digestion.  It helps to tie the others together and makes a very smooth cup of tea.

To Make the Tea you will need:

chamomile flowers

spearmint

valerian root, cut

Prepare this tea using the steeping method.

• I usually just make it cup by cup.
• Using the rule of thirds again, I make it the same as Davey’s Bear Tea above.
•  Use equal parts of all three herbs.
•  1 teaspoon of herb to 1 cup, or 8 ounces of water.

 

Afternoon Aaahhh…Tea

This is a perfectly blended tea best enjoyed with friendly conversation.  It is relaxing and soothing, calms anxiety, and releases stress, tension, and nervous energy, restoring balance to mind, body, and soul.  Kind of like a good friend.  So call a girlfriend, brew up a cup and chat away.

To make the tea you will need:

jasmine green tea

lavender Flowers, whole

Prepare this tea using the steeping method.

• To 1 c. of water add 1 teaspoon of Jasmine Green Tea, 1/2 teaspoon lavender flowers.
• Gently sweeten with raw honey if desired.

 

Mama’s Healing Tea

This herbal blend is our homesteads go-to for colds, and flus.  It is has antiviral and antibiotic properties, it is calming and soothing, and high in vitamin C.

To make the tea you will need: 

1 t. comfrey root, cut and dried

1 t. ginger root, fresh or dried

1/4 t. whole cloves

1/4-1/2 cinnamon stick, or 1/4-1/2 t. cinnamon bark

1 t. rose hips

1-2 T. lemon or orange juice, freshly squeezed

raw honey, to taste

Prepare this tea using the simmer method.

• To 2 cups of water add herbs and bring to a simmer.
• Simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Strain and add freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice.
• Sweeten with raw honey.
• Sip all day, for ease of cold and flu symptoms and enhance general well-being.
• You may replace the comfrey with echinecea if desired.

Enjoy blending your own homemade homestead teas with your family, and who knows, maybe you will start an accidental tradition of your own on the path to wellness!

 

Zesty Tomato Bread

ok, so I know that this recipe isn’t exactly seasonal, but the tomatoes were on sale @ the store last week, and I couldn’t resist.  Today we prepare for another winter storm advisory, and I need a little sunshine.  A little taste of summer.  That’s all I’m asking.  So, instead of sitting in the corner and crying, I turned on the Beach Boys, and made lunch.  Zesty Tomato Bread to be exact.  It is one of my favorite summer time garden lunches.  It’s a simplified rustic homestead take on bruschetta, without the chopping, extra veggies, etc.  I like to keep it simple.  So let’s get started.

2 slices of rustic artisanal bread , french or sourdough bread.

2 medium tomatoes

fresh or purchased mozzarella, goat cheese, swiss, or other favorite cheese

dried basil

dried oregano

1 clove freshly pressed garlic

extra virgin olive oil

balsamic vinegar

salt & pepper

• Slice bread, tomatoes, and cheese.  Place bread slices onto baking sheet, top with tomatoes and cheese.  Sprinkle generously with dried basil.  Add a pinch of oregano.  Press fresh garlic over top of bread to catch any of the juicy goodness that may squeeze through the press before the garlic.  Try to distribute garlic evenly over both slices of bread, but don’t stress over it!  Mine kinda goops up into clumps, but it ends up being a zingy bite; I rather enjoy the burst of flavor!  You may also use garlic powder if you are making for kiddos or others whom the fresh garlic would be too strong.
• Raise oven rack to top position and set oven to broil.  Place tomato bread under the broiler, and broil until cheese is melty, browned and delicious looking.  Your bread will be toasty too.
• Remove from oven.  With a spatula scoop zesty tomato bread onto plates, resist drooling on them, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired.
• Sit down and enjoy a taste of summer.  It’s like a party in your mouth!
• Zesty Tomato Bread makes an excellent lunch on its own, or with a handful of kale chips!  It is also a wonderful appetizer to a larger meal paired with red wine.
• Please use discretion when licking your plate clean….make sure no one is looking!!!!!

MMMmmmmmm…….Can’t wait for next summer’s homestead garden!