Kitchen garden update

Here is the Kitchen Garden that I said would be finished this spring. I still haven't transplanted all my herbs but am in the process.My THH(turkey hunting husband) did a wonderful job on the fence. One of the best features  NO DOGS!

Goat's milk ricotta

With all the fresh goat milk I'm getting, I've been making alot of soft goat cheeses. An easy one to make is ricotta. Ricotta is made from the fresh whey of cheese that you have just finished, in this case goat milk cheddar. The whey is heated to 195 degrees when another quart of fresh milk is added and then heated back to 195 degrees. The tiny Ricotta particles come to the top and it is ready to drain. I let it drain for about an hour, add a little salt and voila'. I think some homemade lasagna with some fresh spinach will be on the menu this week.

Silk Scarves and sisters

Last week my twin sister and one of her daughters and my oldest sister and her daughter(who live in Illinois), were at my house along with  Paige to dye some silk scarves. I mixed up some dyes and my neice cut up the bannana bread she baked and we dyed and ate ourselves into creative bliss. This is an inexpensive and fun way to make handmade gifts.

corn shucking time

It's been a long time since I've posted, what can I say,computer problems. The cold is finally giving me some rest from the outside responsibilities and time to spin and knit. Today my husband and I shucked our field corn that we have grown for cornmeal and brought it into the barn. What we don't want to keep we will feed to the chickens and turkeys. We planted the garlic last week and I sowed lettuce and spinach in the cold frame. The late cauliflower and brussel sprouts are almost ready and none to soon.

Goodness gracious garlic

Last week I harvested my late garlic, which is a stiff neck variety call Chesnok Red. My early garlic game out about a week and half earlier and it is a soft necked silver skinned(don't know the variety). Soft necked garlics keep better than the hard neck so I want to test this theory this winter and see. As you can see by the photo the hard neck did very well, some are as big as baseballs. I will be preparing the garlic bed for planting this fall by adding compost and rock phosphate. I will be planting  early, mid-season and late season garlics. I'm not sure of the variety yet but I really like the Chesnok Red.

Kitchen Gardens

"I content myself then with an Humble Cottage, and a simple Potagere,"(a kitchen garden)-John Evelyn (1620-1706). "The kitchen garden is the best of gardens" is an old adage. My kitchen garden consists of three raised beds with culinary herbs, aromatic herbs and a sallet garden or salad garden. It should be small enough to tend with hand tools and close to the kitchen. Which is the very reason I will be moving my kitchen garden this fall to a plot next to my kitchen. Kitchen gardens from the earliest of times were kept by the women of the household to provide fresh greens for her table. Martha Washington took care of her own kitchen garden. This is what my kitchen gardens look like now but I will keep you posted of my new garden.

Ram and mule

On Sat. morning my husband and I set off to York, PA to pick up a BFL ram and shetland mule ewe lamb. Our destination was Kathy Davidson's farm and a side trip to Gettysburg. We were not expecting the pleasant welcome of Kathy and her family not to mention the awe inspiring time we had at Gettysburg. The temperature soared to 94 on Sun. but this did not daunt our determination to enjoy our PA trip. Our lambs are safely home and enjoying the new pasture. They will be added to the rest of the flock in a week.