My "China"

...okay, so it's not China...but it is more valuable to me than any set of dishes could be. My cast iron collection not only looks nice, but it is useful and well-used. One of these days Bob is going to build me a "china cabinet" for my treasures. That is if we ever get done with the other dozen projects already started!

We use these in the oven, on the stove, on the grill, and in the pit. There's not much you can't do with a good piece of iron, and these have proven their worth time after time.

I have 8 skillets including a tiny 2" ashtray. I don't use the largest one (18") often, but it does make a nice replacement for a wok. The 4" makes a fine scrambled egg sandwich the perfect size for a slice of bread. Properly seasoned, these skillets are more stick-resistant than teflon without the health hazards. They can be used over an open fire or on your kitchen stove. They can be used as a deep fryer or to bake bread. You just can't beat a good iron collection!

Buck barn stalled....

Since we got sidelined with the wedding expenses, and had a tree poke 4 holes in our roof....the buck barn project stalled (pardon the pun). Well, with all these bucks here, and the 2 baby bucks needing to be seperate from the big bucks....we have a problem for rainy or wintery days. The baby boys (nearly yearlings, but they are still babies to me!) are in the doe barn and pen. The big boys are in the buck barn (such as it is) and pen.

That leaves the big beautiful some-day-will-be buck barn. Which is where the does hang out. That's fine for summer nights and warm days...but not great for cold, rainy days and colder nights. It is, after all, just a roof.

Until today. We have no money....less than no money in fact....but by golley we have some great pallets (skids). The pallets were free for the hauling, and they are huge!

And now the does have more shelter. Once we add some hay, they will be quite cozy!! I feel much better now.

Rice A Phonie

I've been busy putting up more dry mixes, I'm shooting for a goal of 6 months worth since I think that's about the shelf life of these. Many of the recipes that I have are for soups, but I also have a few for side dishes as well. Today I mixed up Chicken Rice a Roni type side dish. This one is really tasty and much more economical than the boxed stuff.

I put these into zip bags and then place the zip bags into a food saver bag before vac sealing. This keeps the pasta from poking holes in the food saver bag.

Chicken Rice a Phonie Mix

1 1/2 cups long grain rice

1/2 cup broken vermicelli (La Moderna makes a 1" vermicelli that is perfect for this)

2 T dried onion

1/2 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp thyme

2 T dried parsley

2 T chicken bouillon powder

Combine all the ingredients in a baggie or other container.

To Prepare:

1 package of Mix

2 T Butter

4 1/2 cups Water

In a 2 quart saucepan combine the butter, rice mix, and water. Bring the mixture to a boil and cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for about 20 minutes or until done.

More food storage

I have recently been experimenting with putting back dry mixes. My thinking is that in an emergency situation (such as our frequent power outages), these mixes would be simple to prepare and would be a good meal. I also love the convenience of having them and knowing that they are not packed with questionable ingredients or preservatives. So far most of the recipes we've tried have been very good, and worth putting up several batches. I use my Food Saver and bag them for the most part, but today I decided to put some in jars (I can vac seal the jars with the food saver).

Today I did the Jambalaya Mix, this is one of our favorites...

In each jar place:

1 cup raw long-grain rice

1 T dried minced onion

1 T dried green pepper flakes

1 T parsley flakes

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Place an instruction tag inside the jar and then seal.

Tag instructions:

1 jar Jambalya mix

3 cups water

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1/2 cup cooked ham or smoked sausage

1/2 cup cooked shrimp

Combine first 3 ingredients and bring to a boil in a 6-qt pot. Reduce heat to simmer and add ham or sausage and cook 20 mins. Add shrimp and cook 5 minutes more. Remove and discard bay leaf.

Makes about 8 cups

Be sure each jar has sealed well by using either a vac sealer or oxygen absorbers. Label and date each jar.We can easily whip up this meal using our home canned sausages and tomato sauce. These could also be prepared as gifts for Christmas baskets.

Tidy toes and other goat happenings....

Now is the time for all good goaties to get their quarterly feet inspection, trim, and subsequent mouthful of animal cookies and other fine snack items. I will admit, only the girls got done today; but plans are in the works for the boys to get theirs done before the weekend. Look at how nicely they line up and take turns.

And then of course Roadie the wether pushed his way to the front to see what kind of snacks were on the menu today!

Our Happy girl is our oldest lady, she's 8 years old but keeps up with everyone just fine. We call her our "equalizer" because she will buffer the herds' interactions with the babies. She's a great girl and lives up to her name....she makes you smile.

Daydream, Legacy, and Tina.....The sweethearts.
DoeNut is not the brainiac of the family, but she knows exactly what the cookie barrel means!

Next is her sister DoSiDoe....she is here visiting during breeding season...and is so quiet and well behaved.

Next is Tina....now known as Fat Tina. She came here as a wounded 95 pound weakling and now she is 'da mamma'. She's the mamma that keeps the kids happy and eats. She finds the best foods and shows the kids where to find it....once she's done. And my dear Faith. Faith is my favorite. She is quiet, an easy keeper, carries a pack, kids easily, and is a heavy milker. She is the epitome of a homestead goat and I love her very much.Angel and I get down to the business of hoof trimming......Something happened to my arms while these pictures were taken....they got HUGE!

Silly sleeps through the event....while standing up...Look at those tidy toes!Now to show Aegis that if the goaties can do it, so can he....What a long day, but especially with all the rain we've had...and all the does are bred.....hoof care is VERY important.

Back to the business of Fall...

Our chixperiment total is about 48 now, but all the laying has come to a screetching halt.

Our layers are laying at a shameful rate. They are in molt and look like they've been attacked by a flock of moths. It's been 2 weeks since we've had a decent rate of lay, so I have changed their feed. We are using a higher % protein feed and adding alfalfa and grain. Thanks to my neighbors maurading dogs, we can not let them free range to find their own protein boost.

Since these are first time layers (raised as chicks this spring), I'm giving them a couple more weeks on the better feed. If nothing happens after that, we'll have chicken soup for the winter and start again with new birds. We MUST get more than 1 season out of our layers, and I won't do it with artificial lighting.

Now that we have taken a break from wedding plans, I have finally been able to get my house organized again! We found this great shelf over the weekend and it's turned out great for organizing my meat grinders, small appliances, ongoing projects (we're making dry mixes that can be stored and then later used for emergencies....more about that another day). It did wonders for tidying up a corner in my kitchen!

I was also able to get my fall decorations out. We don't celebrate halloween, but we love the fall and harvest season. Most of our fall and winter time is spent in these two rooms. Deer season is coming up and we'll be canning soups and stews, making jerky, and sausages.

We give gift baskets to friends and family at Christmas that include some of our home made goat milk soap. We started making some molded bars this week that will be nice for gifts. Soap we make for every day is just cut into rectangles...but for gifts we like to make them pretty. These are a sample of the soaps we made yesterday, fresh out of the mold today. This batch is lightly scented goats milk soap with callendula petals.

We make a tea tree oil soap for my dog's skin problems, this mold is perfect for it.

And my personal favorite...