Tuesday At Last - Milk Project

Much colder today at around 37° and very cloudy; slight chance of rain or snow.  We need rain.

Tuesday, at last because Monday was MIL's doctor appointment and the first time I went  with her and went into the exam room.  I doubt I will be  doing that  again.  Enough said.  I don't want you to think I am a mean person (but I am often!).

She got a good report with no more changes made in her medicines.

We (Max) has been milking Jewel every other day so we were getting a considerable accumulation of milk.  This morning I worked up 2 gallons.  First thing I did was skim most of the cream from all.  This gave me slightly over 1 quart of heavy cream.

This left me with a full gallon for making mozzarella and a quart plus for buttermilk.  It is a messy process as you can see.

I made another 12 oz. of beautiful dark yellow butter which I will freeze.  I used the mixer this time and it is not nearly as quick as using the food processor.  I was afraid I would overload the processor but it would have been faster to just split the amount and made two batches.

From 2016-02-23

The mozzarella is at the curds ripening stage and I will finish it off in the morning.

I combined the left over milk from the butter with the quart of whole milk and it is setting in the kitchen to curdle and ripen like grandma made clabber milk.  No additives of any kind.

Most of the mess is cleaned up and I am resting at the computer!

This is for Kris.

The texture of the Oatmeal bread.  Please note it is not the true recipe because of my using too much liquid and the 'sort of' correcting it.  It didn't hurt the flavor at all.  The whitish pieces are the bits of  steel cut oats I added plus the rolled  oats.

Note it is a little to holey in the center.  I think that is due to adding a little too much yeast on the correction.  I know that last rise was almost instantaneous and I had to be careful putting it into the oven so as not to deflate it.
Also I had to cut the loaf in half and then slice the halfs so it would fit a toaster and be easier for sandwiches.  This is actually half a slice.  See what I mean.....

Daily Doings and Update on the Barn Babies

February 26, 2014

This was a long put off shopping day.  I am proud of us; I think we have gone almost a month without visiting Walmart!  That is my goal.  We also stopped  by our local market, Murfins, because I will not buy some  fresh things from Walmart (such as eggs).

February 27, 2014
 
Today is 'milk' day.  I am not out but since we will have company soon, I want to get some ahead.  .  All the grands, but especially our son's kids, absolutely love our whole, raw milk,  If they come when Willow is dry they  let me know  how disappointed  they are.  I have taught them a little farm animal biology about her having to be dry 60 days and then having to wait 3-5 days to use her milk.  They may start timing their visits accordingly!

I plan to be like the Administrator of the Family Cow Forum who is in her late 80's and still milks daily.  I don't even have to do that, only when we want and need milk.

Do you read food labels?  If not, please start doing it now!  I thought I was being very conscientious about that since becoming a nut about real  food (not processed, home cooked and grown if possible) but now and then something slips past me.  For instance since DH started eating a yogurt daily and I was too lazy to milk more often  to make  yogurt, I have just been buying him a week's worth with blueberries.  He likes Dannon's Orikos Greek brand. I finally read the label.....they use cornstarch to thicken it.  Now that is not horrible since cornstarch is a food product and not a chemical, but it annoys me  and seems  like cheating to thicken it that way.  It could possibly be even more nutritious since they aren't draining the whey to keep it thick.  I need to be open minded.  However, there are more things added.  Mine has only whole milk, and a  starter that is just a little natural yogurt.

Another product that jumped to my attention  was vanilla.  I have made my own for a couple of years now and even got my son and ex-DIL making it.  Gave my Sis l0 beans too.  She told me she thought it didn't have a vanilla taste!  Well she ordered two bottles of Mexican Vanilla and brought one to me the last time she was down.  It was a full quart so I thought I would just use mine up and then use hers.

Here are the ingredients:  Vanilla bean, Extract in Purified Water, Vanillin (Artificial Flavor), Alcohol, Corn Syrup, Natural Dark Color.

Mine would be:  Vanilla beans, alcohol.

You can't take pure, natural, or any of those other terms for granted.  You have to read the label!

BTW, the older my vanilla got, the sweeter it got.....and the smell was wonderful. 

UPDATE ON CALVES
These two are of  Willow's calf, a bull.  He will become a future herd sire in 2015 as a 2 year old.



This is the calf we  bought to put on Willow  so I wouldn't  have to milk daily,

That is Jewel's rear you can see.  This isn't a prime animal; he has too much Jersey in him and probably some Holstein. He comes from what is called a rainbow dairy herd. (I won't share my opinion of those dairies which are mostly grass based!)



and this is Jewel's first calf, a heifer.  I love her beautiful brown color



RANDOM  CAT PICTURE

There would have been several more cats enjoying the morning sun but my 'assistant' decided to drive
 Willow past the door into the field and the cats scattered.