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| Toasted homegrown tomato and homegrown, homemade goat cheese sandwich on homemade bread. |
Lunch doesn't get any better than this.
August 22, 2015
Tomatoes at Last
I planted late, but it was worth the wait.
Lunch doesn't get any better than this.
Lunch doesn't get any better than this.
August 19, 2015
A Simple Ricotta Cheese
I'm guessing that anyone who does home cheese making eventually tries their hand at ricotta. It's a soft cheese traditionally made from the whey leftover from making other cheeses. Modern recipes tell how to make it with the addition of milk or from whole milk, but I always liked the idea of using a waste product (well, not really, because there are so many uses for whey), to make something that stands on it's own.
What is ricotta cheese? Unlike other cheeses, which consist primarily of the milk protein casein, ricotta is made from the albuminous protein in milk. Casein forms curds in the presence of rennet, whereas albuminous protein is not affected by rennet. Rather, it precipitates from the milk (or in this case whey) by heat. Hence the name from the Italian meaning to recook.
I think I've got it down to about as simple as it gets.
Serve with your favorite sauce. They can also be made in soup broth as soup dumplings. My grandmother used to bake gnocchi in a cheese sauce like baked macaroni and cheese.
What is ricotta cheese? Unlike other cheeses, which consist primarily of the milk protein casein, ricotta is made from the albuminous protein in milk. Casein forms curds in the presence of rennet, whereas albuminous protein is not affected by rennet. Rather, it precipitates from the milk (or in this case whey) by heat. Hence the name from the Italian meaning to recook.
How to Make Ricotta
I think I've got it down to about as simple as it gets.
- Simply put the drained whey into a clean pot and heat to 200° F (94° C). As it approaches this temperature, the albumin will separate from the water in the whey. Don't let it boil.
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| Ricotta curds forming |
- Allow the pot to cool to room temperature. The whey will be a clear greenish-yellow color (from riboflavin, according to Dr. Fankhauser) with a cloud of ricotta grains floating near the bottom.
- Scoop out as much of the whey as possible, then gently pour the rest through a butter or unbleached muslin lined colander sitting on a pot or bowl to catch the remaining whey. You can skip the whey scooping part, but the ricotta particulates are so fine that they take longer to drain if some of the whey isn't removed first.
- Allow to drain. The cloth can be hung to facilitate draining.
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| I like my ricotta soft rather than dry. |
- Turn into a bowl or storage container. Salt if desired and keep in the fridge until ready to use. It's said to keep for about a week.
- Yield: Starting with a gallon of skimmed goats milk for the mozzarella, I average about 5 ounces of ricotta from the whey. I'm guessing the yield from cows milk would be about the same.
That's it. No additional acid (vinegar or lemon juice) required. One of these is necessary for a fresh milk ricotta (or if additional milk has been added), but there is enough acidity in cheese whey to make ricotta without it. Dr. Fankhauser does recommend letting the whey sit overnight to increase it's acidity, but I've tried that and also tried making the ricotta immediately after I drain the whey from the cheese curds. I don't notice a significant difference in either taste or yield. It's easier for me to do it while I'm still in the kitchen messing with the mozzarella, so I do it then.
Now what? Cheesecake and lasagna, of course, but I've been experimenting and here's one of the recipes that we think is a 5-star keeper. |
| Greenish ricotta whey, so colored by riboflavin. There isn't much protein left, but I still feed it to the pigs and chickens or use it for cooking. |
Gnocchi (Italian Dumplings)
- 1 cup ricotta
- 1 to 1.5 cup flour
- 1 egg
- pinch salt
Serve with your favorite sauce. They can also be made in soup broth as soup dumplings. My grandmother used to bake gnocchi in a cheese sauce like baked macaroni and cheese.
August 17, 2015
Finishing The Living Room
I've finished painting the window and door trim in the living room and can show you some photos at last. The before pictures were taken right after we bought the place.
I really happy with the improvements. Even though we have the same floor space, the bay window gives the impression of making our small living room larger. It definitely gives more light, as does the new door. We still have to finish the rest of the front porch, but it's nice to have another room checked off the improvements list.
For details and photos of the entire living room project, check out my Our Old House remodeling website.
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| Living room windows before. These were original to our 1920s-built house and were very drafty. |
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| Living room windows after. Between the energy efficient bay window & the new door, the room is both lighter & cooler (or warmer) than before. |
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| Our original living room. We replaced the fireplace with our woodburning stove right after we moved in; the door was later. |
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| Trimwork & painting done! Now I need something for the wall between the door & alcove. Dan doesn't like the blank wall behind the stove pipe & wants to hang something there. I'd rather have a chimney oven. |
I really happy with the improvements. Even though we have the same floor space, the bay window gives the impression of making our small living room larger. It definitely gives more light, as does the new door. We still have to finish the rest of the front porch, but it's nice to have another room checked off the improvements list.
For details and photos of the entire living room project, check out my Our Old House remodeling website.
August 14, 2015
DIY Goat Feed: Experiment #1
One of our self-sufficiency goals is to grow all of our own animal feeds. I've written a lot on this in the past, sharing my research, growing experiments, and changes in the way I think about it and why:
For the goats, one of the things I have learned is the importance of good quality hay. They are ruminants and this should be the primary staple of their diet. Also important are meeting nutritional requirements, especially protein and vitamins and minerals. Most of my concern and research has focused on that. For us, that means things I can grow and harvest pretty much year around, such as greens and root crops; also stored vegetables such as sweet potatoes and winter squashes. Greens and herbs can be dried and top dressed. Grains can be fed whole plant as hay. I can grow additional protein as cow peas, flax seeds, or sunflower seeds and feed with pods, shells, and all.
Something else that's important but not discussed much is energy. This is usually fed in the form of grain, but if you have read (or do read) those posts you'll understand why I feed only limited grain. Folks are usually concerned about protein and minerals (I am too) so most questions and discussions on the internet focus on these things. But I've been concerned about bulk (tummy filler) for the milking stand or times of year when forage is slim. These could be classified as energy foods and because goats are ruminants, should be largely cellulose based such as stalks (corn, sorghum, and/or amaranth) and corn cobs. No, that's not as terrible as it sounds because they use things like this in pelleted animal feeds, although on feed bags you'll see them listed as plant products and roughage products.
What we've needed is a way to process these items into a size the goats can manage. We've discussed this a lot and can finally show you our first experiment in DIY goat feed!
We bought the Yard Machine about six years ago. As a chipper / shredder it was pretty disappointing, because it scattered pulverized mulch all over the place, like way across the yard. As a piece of junk to clutter up the carport it did great, and we often pondered what to do with it. We would crank it up every now and then, but it could only handle small sticks and leaves so it was only semi-useful. We usually end up renting one of these once a year to take care of our huge stick and branch piles and make wood chip mulch.
With PVC pipe, rain gutter parts, duct tape, and a 30 gallon lidded drum, we've got the beginnings of a feed chopper.
Results?
Not as consistent as we hoped but not bad for a start.
I took a couple handfuls of the finer stuff and mixed it in with the evening feed ration for the girls at milking time. Daphne ate it all and Helen left only the largest chunks of corn cob. I'd call that the beginnings of success. My plan is to eventually mix this with dried and fresh herbs, greens, cowpeas, amaranth grain, and produce to make up the ration. To check nutritional content, I will have the mix tested by our cooperative extension office.
The stalks were still somewhat green and we think the chopper may do a better job once they are completely dry. That means more experimenting later on. In the meantime, Dan is thinking of ways to tweak it, while I'm just happy for a big step forward in our quest for self-sufficiency.
- Food Self-Sufficiency & Animals
- More Thoughts on Growing Animal Feeds
- Calculating Protein with the Pearson Square
- DIY Vitamins & Minerals For Goats
- Tweaking The Goat Minerals
- Feeding My Goats: Thoughts, Research, & Changes
For the goats, one of the things I have learned is the importance of good quality hay. They are ruminants and this should be the primary staple of their diet. Also important are meeting nutritional requirements, especially protein and vitamins and minerals. Most of my concern and research has focused on that. For us, that means things I can grow and harvest pretty much year around, such as greens and root crops; also stored vegetables such as sweet potatoes and winter squashes. Greens and herbs can be dried and top dressed. Grains can be fed whole plant as hay. I can grow additional protein as cow peas, flax seeds, or sunflower seeds and feed with pods, shells, and all.
Something else that's important but not discussed much is energy. This is usually fed in the form of grain, but if you have read (or do read) those posts you'll understand why I feed only limited grain. Folks are usually concerned about protein and minerals (I am too) so most questions and discussions on the internet focus on these things. But I've been concerned about bulk (tummy filler) for the milking stand or times of year when forage is slim. These could be classified as energy foods and because goats are ruminants, should be largely cellulose based such as stalks (corn, sorghum, and/or amaranth) and corn cobs. No, that's not as terrible as it sounds because they use things like this in pelleted animal feeds, although on feed bags you'll see them listed as plant products and roughage products.
What we've needed is a way to process these items into a size the goats can manage. We've discussed this a lot and can finally show you our first experiment in DIY goat feed!
 |
| Prototype goat chow maker |
We bought the Yard Machine about six years ago. As a chipper / shredder it was pretty disappointing, because it scattered pulverized mulch all over the place, like way across the yard. As a piece of junk to clutter up the carport it did great, and we often pondered what to do with it. We would crank it up every now and then, but it could only handle small sticks and leaves so it was only semi-useful. We usually end up renting one of these once a year to take care of our huge stick and branch piles and make wood chip mulch.
With PVC pipe, rain gutter parts, duct tape, and a 30 gallon lidded drum, we've got the beginnings of a feed chopper.
 |
| Popcorn cobs |
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| Amaranth stalk |
Results?
Not as consistent as we hoped but not bad for a start.
 |
| Chopped and shredded corn cobs and amaranth stalks. What did the goats think? Read on. |
I took a couple handfuls of the finer stuff and mixed it in with the evening feed ration for the girls at milking time. Daphne ate it all and Helen left only the largest chunks of corn cob. I'd call that the beginnings of success. My plan is to eventually mix this with dried and fresh herbs, greens, cowpeas, amaranth grain, and produce to make up the ration. To check nutritional content, I will have the mix tested by our cooperative extension office.
The stalks were still somewhat green and we think the chopper may do a better job once they are completely dry. That means more experimenting later on. In the meantime, Dan is thinking of ways to tweak it, while I'm just happy for a big step forward in our quest for self-sufficiency.
August 11, 2015
Piggies Everywhere
The Bacon Bits are now five weeks old and striking out on their own. We have piggies here,
piggies there,
piggies running everywhere.
Yesterday I heard the neighbor's dog going nuts so I went out to check. I saw two of the piglets in the neighbor's yard! How in the world they find places to squeeze under the fence is beyond me, but we absolutely could not have Polly's piglets roaming the neighborhood. At five weeks old they are ready to wean so we rounded them up, and I posted an ad on Craigslist.
We'll keep two for the freezer and sell four. Hopefully they'll find homes soon.
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| They help themselves to their parents' feed pans |
piggies there,
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| In the chicken yard |
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| In the chicken feeder |
piggies running everywhere.
Yesterday I heard the neighbor's dog going nuts so I went out to check. I saw two of the piglets in the neighbor's yard! How in the world they find places to squeeze under the fence is beyond me, but we absolutely could not have Polly's piglets roaming the neighborhood. At five weeks old they are ready to wean so we rounded them up, and I posted an ad on Craigslist.
We'll keep two for the freezer and sell four. Hopefully they'll find homes soon.
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