Start of my cheese cave

Cheese making nut!!!

This weeks cheese progress is going really well.With 4 gallons of milk coming in everyday I'm mastering an art.

Garden update

This is the garden before it's planted.

Newest camembert recipe

2 gallons fresh raw goats milk
1/4 tsp. flora danica
1/8 tsp. penicillum candidum(neige)
1/32 tsp. geotrichum candidum
1/4 tsp. calcium chloride (diluted in 1/4 c. water).

Heat milk to 90 degrees. Add cultures, molds and calcium chloride.Let set for 90 minutes.
After 90 minutes add 1/4 tsp. rennet dissolved in 1/4 cup water.
Let this set for 60 minutes or until clean break is achieved. Cut the curd into 1/2 inch cubes.Gently stir for 15 minutes.
Let the curds set for another 15 minutes.
Pour off as much whey as you can.Ladle into molds.Wait and hour or two and flip the mold over.You will need to flip your cheese 4 or 5 times in the next 8 hours.
Leave the cheese in the molds overnight.
Take it out of the molds. Sprinkle with salt(non-iodized) on all surfaces.
I use 9 x 13 inch covered cake pans to age my cheese.I also use two sizes of grating to keep the cheese elevated and out of the whey.Tilt the cake pan about an inch.Use a folded piece of paper toweling at the end to absorb the excess whey.
Use the top shelf of your refrigerator to age your cheese(this is normally warmer).
I use a dorm sized refrigerator set to about 55 to age my cheese. When you see the mold growing you need to flip the cheese daily.When the cheese is totally covered in mold wrap it with celophane cheese wrap and continue to age it.It should be ready in about a month.This I'll let you know...

News from the kitchen today

I've managed to figure out how to make camembert and cheddar using my goats milk.
I've not gotten the aging perfect as of yet but I'm determined and I'm brave.
It helps that I've got a ton of goats milk.
I weaned the three remaining babies. They definitely aren't thrilled with me. But they'll get over it. A little less work in the barn without bottle feeding the babies.
Jade (one of my senior does) is due June 11. I'll be back to bottle feeding fairly quickly. She's getting huge. She still seems quite comfortable. The cooler weather is helping with that I'm sure.

Looks like this is all I've got time to post at the moment.

Have a great day.

Daily milking chores.

When I bought the goaties I'd imagined being able to feed myself and my friends. Little did I know I'd be running over with milk.My girls(all 5 of them) are at full production.This gives me 3 gallons of milk per day.Luckily for me I love milk and all of the products made with milk.
I was lucky enough to have been given a nice little refrigerator(4.4 cu.feet).I am aging my first attempts at camembert cheese.I must say they look beautiful.I'll let you all know how they taste in a week or so.
I've attempted mozzarella cheese. I haven't been thrilled with the end results but the dogs are willing to take my mistake and make them dinner.
I gave in and purchased a milk machine. Giles dairy supply put this together for me. Should be here next week. I'll let you know how well it's working.
Looks like I'm off to start the day.

Happy Monday!

Had a beautiful, restful weekend. Watched a couple amazing movies. I recommend August Rush. It was easily one of the most uplifting movies I've seen in a very long time. I also recommend Dan in Real Life and In her shoes. Both of them were worth my time. I've not spent this much time watching movies in years. This weekend was perfect for doing nothing more than regular chores. The weather is really starting to get to me. Today is supposed to begin the warm up. I'm so ready. Today I'm going to spend the day getting the orchard in better shape. I'll be posting pics.
Have a great day!

Kidding season is over!!!

Don't get me wrong...I love the new babies. But I getting up in the wee hours for weeks on end is the toughest part of raising dairy goats. I know...you all are saying they can do it without you. Sure they can. But as a new goat owner I was entirely too excited to let my first kidding season go on without me being involved "up to my elbows" in it. We ended the season on a wonderful note. 4 doelings and 1 buckling. Murphy(my herdsire) will be thrilled to know he got a buddy out of this crop. We still have two doelings available. If anyone is interested please contact me at vicki@afterthoughtfarm.com
I'm off to get the day started.

Ultra sounding goaties!

I have one girl that was long over due. I was getting worried so I called my local veterinarian. They came out and did an Ultrasound. We could see a little heartbeat so I was reassured and able to calm down. This evening I went out for evening milking and I was surprised with my last baby of the season. I was blessed with another doeling! Of my 6 kids born all but one were girls! How's that for beginners luck!
The sixth flower in my bouquet! I'll take the time to post some pictures as soon as things get settled down. In the mean time I'll tell you all of their names. Persnickety(my first), Chickweed(the little buckling), Pansy(Chickweeds little sister), Violet and now Easter Lily(Lily for short).

Good Morning All

Not much time this morning.It's SPRING!!!Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can get planting into the full swing of things
I don't mind a little dirt under my fingers but this mud has been rough going.
Baby goat update.Of the six five babies we've had we are retaining two.The rest are going to their new homes.Hope everyone is as happy with them as I am.It's been a great season.I'll be posting new pictures soon.
Have a great day!

Kidding update FINALLY!!!!

Things started getting hectic around here.This is my first kidding season as a new goat owner.It's been a little nutty.Maxine started things rolling here with the first baby of the season.She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl(Persnickety or Percy for short) on Jan 31.She turned out not to be too keen on the bottle.I was getting frustrated but we managed to get past that.


Okay...here's where I change the subject. Andrea James of James Family Farm has such a wonderful way of "hitting the nail on the head". I am trying to feed my family healthy locally produced food. To do that I've decided I can grow it all or at least find small family farms that can supply what I cannot grow. I raised 300 chickens last year. I could not find a "cheap source" for organic feed so I made the decision to find a local source for the best organic feed I could find. I discovered Marve Manges of Fizzle Flat Farm. I trust him to put the best grain available in his feed. He's not the cheapest but he is the best in my opinion. But in having made that decision I had to raise my prices and cut my production. I no longer am confident that there are that many people as concerned as I am about food safety. So I am only producing a limited number of birds. I'm rambling at this point but it's just time to get off here and do my chores.

Take a minute and read Andrea's blog...and also if you are interested in food safety and healthy food please do not hesitate to order from her. She is the real deal folks! She is looking out for all of us even if we aren't doing it ourselves.

Day at the auction

Took the time to go to a local farm auction today.I was thrilled to find a surge milker and a pasteurizer. I'm trying to build my own milking machine.It's kind of a quest at this point.If anyone knows anything about doing this I'm always willing to listen.
Found some chicken nest boxes also. There were 3 of them, only one of them was decent. Everything at the auction went high so I decided it was time to stop freezing my feet off and call it a day.
Decided today was the day to clean out the barn. Put all of the girls out in the barn lot, got out the tractor and got busy. Hadn't realized I'd let it go too long. It definitely was a job for the handy dandy tractor.
I let Murphy run around like a nut. He loves being the only boy on the place. He rules the roost. I hadn't really planned on keeping a buck. I'm so glad Andrea talked me into it. He's been a joy. Hopefully I'll have one of his babies on the ground this year.
Tonight was "girls night out". We've got a very nice Wine Shop in the area. Tim and Art Bohlen are always willing to let the locals use the hall for events. We had a Mary Kay party. I brought some home made crackers and goat cheese. It's always a hit and I'm proud to share what I'm learning in my new life. It's always fun to meet your neighbors. I was wiped from a long day so I didn't last too long.

Whole wheat english muffin experiment

This week I've been a baking nut...serious case of cabin fever!
I found this recipe for Stone Ground Whole Wheat English Muffins.It was printed on the back of the Arrowhead Mills bag.I'd hoped I'd be able to link to the recipe.But no such luck.Here goes.
1 tsp.Active dry yeast
1/4 C. canola oil
1 C.warm water
1/2 C. raisins( I used dried apricots)
1 tsp.sea salt
2 C. Whole wheat flour
2 Tbs.molasses
1 C. Flour( I use King Arthur All purpose)

I made this in my Zojirushi Bread Maker. Just toss all the ingredients in the pan and run it through the dough cycle.I took it out before it had finished rising. Roll the ingredients to about 1 inch thick( a little less would be fine) and let it raise for about 45 mins. Heat a griddle to about 300 degrees. Cook the muffins for about 7 mins(until the bottoms are brown) each side.I'm keeping them in the oven overnight.I'll let you know how they are in the morning.

Whole wheat english muffin experiment

This week I've been a baking nut...serious case of cabin fever!
I found this recipe for Stone Ground Whole Wheat English Muffins.It was printed on the back of the Arrowhead Mills bag.I'd hoped I'd be able to link to the recipe.But no such luck.Here goes.
1 tsp.Active dry yeast 1/4 C. canola oil
1 C.warm water 1/2 C. raisins( I used dried apricots)
1 tsp.sea salt 2 C. Whole wheat flour
2 Tbs.molasses 1 C. Flour( I use King Arthur All purpose)

I made this in my Zojirushi Bread Maker. Just toss all the ingredients in the pan and run it through the dough cycle.I took it out before it had finished rising. Roll the ingredients to about 1 inch thick( a little less would be fine) and let it raise for about 45 mins. Heat a griddle to about 300 degrees. Cook the muffins for about 7 mins(until the bottoms are brown) each side.I'm keeping them in the oven overnight.I'll let you know how they are in the morning.

Crackers...

I can't begin to tell you how hard I've searched for some cracker recipes.I've got 2 and 1/2 pounds of goat cheese sitting in the refrigerator waiting patiently for me to find on.
Today I found a new one.It was from a very nice blog.The only thing I could add to a really good recipe is to roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch and use your pizza cutter.As you take your little 1 inch squares just roll them flat with your rolling pin.Put them on the parchment paper.Cook them for 10 mins.They are perfect.Just like Wheat thins. Only MUCH tastier!

Long overdue update.

I've managed to get back into the swing of exactly why I fell in love with dairy goats.January 31st Maxine gave in and made me a "Goatie Grandma" for the first time. I hope with time you can see exactly why I keep these sweet creatures. I'd first fallen in love with them when fate dropped Andrea James and her wonderful family(James Family Farm) into my life. I'd always loved animals, but having made a major lifestyle change I had to think very carefully about what kind of livestock I can keep. I am practical therefore I have to give consideration to what I will get in return for the input of my time and money. Goats and chickens fit in my plan very well.
Maxine has done an admirable job of providing me with just enough milk to get back into cheese making and milking without being terribly overwhelmed.
I stayed up very late last night making the second of my long overdue batches of cheese. My refrigerator is looking a little stuffed. I've made Feta, Chevre' and ricotta cheese. If any of my friends would like to try this wonderful creation please feel free to ask. I'm sure at some point I will have it coming out of my ears.

King Corn and the Illinois Stewardship Alliance

I'm just going to post a quick note.I went to see King Corn and the Capitol City Bar and Grill.It was a spur of the moment trip.I'm so glad I went.Met some very nice people and it's always good to "network" with others that would like to make some major changes in our lives..I'll try to put something better together tomorrow.

Night to all of my new friends.