Welcoming our Jersey Cow "Jewel"

So much to my husbands head shaking, I got a Jersey cow in April. She's four years old, registered, and 3 quartered cow but is still putting out 4 gallons a day on a grass diet. Her milk is amazing and we watched as the butterfat went from a pale color to a rich yellow color when she started eating knee deep beautiful green grass. Grass fed cow's milk contains more beta carotene and gives it the traditional yellow color you imagine with butter. I've tried lots of recipes and make butter, yogurt, sour cream, Devonshire cream, cheese curds, and flavored butters as a weekly chore. The extra milk goes to feed the chickens, ducks, and pigs. The pigs go crazy over the milk!

Rendering Deer Fat to make Tallow for Soap

So now that I've got the art of soapmaking down pat I wanted to see if I could take it the most logical next homesteading step...generating the fats needed to make the soap on the farm. My husband is a deer hunter and every year we have been lucky enough to have several deer to harvest. This year I asked him to save all the fat so I could render it. He got 4 deer this year which yielded enough fat to make 3 batches so far and enough left in the freezer to make 2 more. Deer tallow combined with olive oil makes the most moisturizing bar.

 Step 1. Trim any large chunks of meat from the fat. Don't worry about little bits. I run the fat through the meat grinder. It doesn't require a meat grinder, but the smaller the pieces the quicker the fat melts.

 Step 2. Add several inches of water to a large pot. I used my water bath canner on a turkey fryer outside in the summer kitchen because it has an unpleasant order as it cooks.
 Add the ground fat to the pot.

Step 3. Bring the pot to a boil and then turn down to a low boil.

Step 4. Once the meat is brown and the fat all melted, strain the hot liquid into a large mixing bowl. Repeat this step until all but the tiniest pieces of meat and gristle are removed.

 Step 5. Set the bowl aside to cool and once room temperature you can refrigerate at it over night.

Step 6. The next day the fat will have risen to the top to create a fat block. I dump it all out into the sink or outside in the grass away from the house. The underside of the fat that was contacting the water usually is a bit dirty with leftover meat bits, so take a large knife and scrape down to clean, white fat.

Step 7.  I store the rendered fat in the freezer until needed.

Finished Deer Soap!!

Soap Making!!!!

The past summer we spent time in Kansas City for a veterinarian continuing education conference. At the bottom of our hotel was a little soap shop that had all sorts of handmade soap bars, herbal teas, and other scented bath items and it got me thinking about how hard it was to make soap? After all they were selling individual bars upwards of 6-7$ a bar. I knew the basics from the numerous chemistry classes I took in college, the gist of it being that if you mix sodium hydroxided (lye) with fats and oils you get soap via the process of saponifcation. I've since learned that there is a bit more to the process then you would think, but the the reward is a beautiful block of soap.

First thing I came to appreciate is that Lye is DANGEROUS, simply because it is sooooo alkaline (high pH). A healthy fear of the stuff is the best way to keep you safe. In fact, I put on safety gear from head to toe....chemical gloves, goggles, old lab coat, chemical face mask, and closed toed shoes. For some reason I was petrified to touch the stuff, but in the midst of handling it I realized that I've played with far worse chemicals in college chemistry classes and that lightened my anxiety about it.

The second thing I learned is that soap can be made from a ridiculous variety of fats and oils, ingredients I would never consider as a constituent of bar soap. Finally, I learned that those various fats and oils have different properties they add to the soap and can be combined in what seems an infinite number of ways to create a unique product each time.

Here's is what you need.

1.) Safety Gear. I bought a chemical safety setup from Lowes. It contained the eye protection, face mask, and gloves. I also used one of my old "doctor" coats.
2.) Soap mold - I went to a craft store and bought a pine rectangular unfinished wooded box. I unscrewed the lid to make it suitable. You can buy soap molds, but I decided I didn't want to invest much if it turned out I didn't like making soap. I could also turn the wooden box back into a keepsake holder. The inside measurement of my box was 2.5 inches deep, 13 inches long, and 3 inches wide. It's important to take these measurements so you can base your lye calculations for it.
2.) Fats and Oils -I decided to use some basic oils until I felt comfortable with the process. I choose to combine lard, olive oil, and coconut oil. These are all available at the grocery store. This gives a really nice balanced bar that lathers well and is mosturizing.
3.) Lye (sodium Hydroxide). In ancient times, lye was obtained my filtering water through wood ash. Today you can just go to Lowes to the drain cleaner aisle. I purchased Roebeks Crystals, which are 100% lye.
4. ) Cold Water
5.) Hand Immersion blender
6.) Large Heavy Bottom Steel Pot
7.) Large Heavy Duty Glass Mixing Bowl with a handle.
8.) Good Quality Kitchen scale that measures in fractions of ounce. Mine is by Oxo and was about $50.


Step 1.) Learn the Process. Here are a few sites I read to learn the process. Pay attention to details and follow instructions.

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/FAQ/CP-Soap-Making.aspx


Step 2.) Choose the oils you want to use. Here is a website that shows the properties of different oils.

https://summerbeemeadow.com/content/properties-soapmaking-oils

Step 3. ) Find or Make a recipe. For your first attempt keep it simple and use an established recipe. I used a lye calculator from Summer Bee Meadow .
http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/lye-calculator-and-recipe-resizer


Here was my first Recipe!!

Lard                 22.75 oz (48.8%)
Olive Oil          16.36 oz (35.5%)
Coconut Oil      7.43 oz    (15.97%)
Lye                    6.8 oz
Water                15.89
Essential Oils of Choice     0.5cc

All measures are weights NOT volumes.

Here are some pics of my first attempts.

Linning the mold with waxed paper.

 

 

 Melting the fats and oils.

Oils melted and Lye/Water made. Just waiting for the temps to come to stablize.

 Blending and watching the magic of saponification. Not quite to trace yet.

Mix in the mold and on the heating pad. Starting to solidify.

Hello Carbonator - Goodbye Commercial Soda

I have an addiction. It is now under my control, but is still a battle at times. I LOVE SODA. What could be better then that first hit of cold soda in the morning? How it tingles, almost stings, the back of your throat and bubbles on its way down. I am almost salivating describing it. I think we all know it is bad for you. I justified my addiction by drinking "Diet" saying at least it was calorie free. I was failing to ignore the 10,000 other completely unnatural substances that make soda. I also tried to ignore the fact that when i wouldn't have a soda by at least 3pm  would have a mind numbing headache. Finally, watching Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead and several other documentaries about how the farther we go from natural foods the more we see immune mediated diseases I had to face the music and let the soda go.  Honestly, it's really a "duh" moment when it happens to you. After a bit of research though I learned that I didn't have to let go of the bubbly factor....Say Hello to the Homemade Carbonator.!!

I read a great "how to" here: http://www.truetex.com/carbonation.htm

My set-Up:
My tank, regulator, hose, ball keg valve, and carbonator cap came from The Beverage Factory.

I have a 20lb tank. It costs me around $15 to have it filled an a local firehouse supply store that fills fire extinguishers. This 20 pound will likely last me well over a year and that's if I charged a liter every day. You need a carbonator cap for every bottle you want to carbonate. I use recycled 1 and 2 liter plastic soda bottles.

What do I carbonate???

Water with or without Fresh Squeezed Lemon Or Lime
Homemade rootbeer using rootbeer extract and stevia
Homemade Ginger ale -boiled ginger root and sweetened with stevia herbs
Fruit Juices - especially our homemade, no added sugar Grape Juices
Wine - our homemade fruit wines- makes a new twist on Champagne
Ummm you can also carbonate hard alcohols like vodka

Black Bean Chocolate Sauce

Black Bean Chocolate Sauce

The other day we were making fajitas. The meat was venison Todd had harvested, the onions and green peppers were frozen from the garden, the taco sauce was home canned, and since we didn't have any refried beans I grabbed a jar of home canned black beans. I was rinsing the beans in the sink and wondered if I could just blend up the black beans as a sort of mock refried beans. I figured the worse that could happen is I would turn them into black bean brownies if nobody liked it. As it turns out, pureed black beans make an excellent substitute for refried beans on fajitas or fajitas salads. There was about 3/4 of a jar of beans left after the meal. After staring at them for a bit, I thought it looked a bit like pudding. Then, a light bulb moment. Why couldn't it be pudding??
So I whipped out some chocolate powder and the stevia and began experimenting.  Well it turned out delicious. I gave it to the kids with some sliced apples that night. They ate it all. The next day I think it tasted even better. The chocolate mellowed into the beans more and was a deeper chocolate color.
The next day the kids ate it on toast and loved it.  What a great way and natural way to help my 6 year old with her constipation issues!

15 oz Can of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup of Milk or Almond Milk (can substitute some of this with Heavy Cream for richer flavor, but adds calories, but less carbs depending on your eating style)
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
Stevia - powder or drops will work. The measurement is really to personal taste. This particular batch did have 1/3 cup of powder.  I normally prefer the drops as they to have better flavor, but didn't have enough.

Blend until smooth in a standard blender or with an immersion blender. I used the ole regular mason jar with the blender bottom attached to it trick so I didn't have to dirty another dish. Tastes best if you refrigerate it for several hours before serving.

Eat it straight up as a pudding, dip fruit in it, or slather on whole wheat toast.

 

 

 

Low Carb, Low Calorie Jambalaya

I love jambalaya and it is another food I miss making on a regular basis. Imagine that..another food I love and since I learned about cauliflower rice it has opened up a whole realm of possible alterations to my favorite recipes... This one was a wonderful success. I have always liked adding lots of extras to even my regular jambalaya so it is a complete meal and so do the same with the low carb version.


Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower - "riced" in a food processor
1 head broccoli fresh florets
1-2 large carrots thinly sliced ( or handful of baby carrots)
1/2 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small package of turkey lil smokies diced or other Sausage such as polish or polska kielbasa
1 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts or Thighs cut into small cubes or slices
1/2 pound Shrimp cut - shelled and deveined
1 can of Rotele

Seasoning
3 tablespoons Paprika
1 tablespoons Chili Powder
1-2 tablespoons Garlic Salt to taste
1-2 tablespoon Creole Seasoning (we love Tony Chachere's) depending on how spicy you like it.

Add an inch of water to a stock pot and bring to a boil. Add broccoli and carrots to pot and simmer for 2 minutes. Then add the chicken, shrimp, sausage, and black beans and simmer for another 2 minutes. Finally add the riced cauliflower and simmer for another 4 minutes. If excess water remains in the pot put the mix into a strainer. Then return the contents to the pot and add the can of rotele with the juice with the heat on low. Add the seasonings and combine thoroughly.

Low Carb Garlic Beef and Broccoli

I love Asian style cooking. I really love the local Chinese restaurant but their perfect sauces are chalked full of sugar and starches, so I make it at home.You can also replace the "beef" in this recipe with chicken, venison, or pork. My kids love this in spite of the heavy garlic flavor and it has become our Saturday night staple. Here's my rendition for my family of 5 and there is leftovers:

2lbs Beef - I often buy round steak or we use venison, because both are cheap and lean. Slice thinly against the grain (or direction of the muscle fibers) so it is more tender. It's easier to cut if you put it in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes to firm up the meat. I set the cut meat on paper towels to absorb the extra moisture. If you want really tender meat, sprinkle a bit of meat tenderizer on it. I occasionally use Adolfs.

2lbs Frozen Broccoli Florets- I have used both fresh and frozen florets, depending on whether or not I have any from the garden or not.

1 quart Broth - want a darker sauce use beef broth or want a lighter sauce use chicken broth. My family seems to prefer the lighter sauce so I use chicken soup base.

1/4 cup Garlic - I often used minced to save time, or freshly minced if I'm in the garden
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1-2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil-  A little sesame oil goes a long way as the flavor is powerful.
1 tablespoon Dry Powdered Ginger

A thickener ---in my non-low carb days I would reach for the cornstarch. Lately, I have been using xanthan gum. It doesn't take much and has to be used a certain way or it gets gross, see below.

Basically, steps A-B are happening at the same time.

A)Put cooking oil into a very large teflon frying pan or wok. Heat oil until hot and carefully add a piece of meat to the oil. If it immediately starts frying great if not let the oil get hotter. If you add the meat before the oil is hot, the juices won't seal into the meat and it will basically boil or steam cook instead. Don't add it all at one time. Slowly saute the beef until medium rare ( it will cook more in the sauce), then remove from pan and set aside.

B)In a small stock pot. Add the broth, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, and sesame oil. Bring mixture to just about boiling then turn down immediately and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Then gently sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum over the entire surface of the sauce, wait about 15 seconds, and then vigorously mix it in with an immersion blender or by hand if you have the speed and stamina. You can't just plop xanthan gum on the top and stir it in it will be super lumpy. Xanthan gum is also different then using cornstarch or flour as it doesn't thicken immediately, give it several minutes before you decide if it needs more thickening. Basically, repeat adding the xanthan gum 1/4 teaspoon at a time and blending until it is as thick as gravy.

C) Frozen broccoli has been blanched (or pre-cooked for a short time before it is frozen to stop enzyme action) which basically means a chunk of the cooking time is already done versus using fresh. I like to take the frozen broccoli and pour it into a microwave steamer. Microwave on high until it is unfrozen and good and hot, which in my microwave is about 7 minutes. I do recommend stirring it half way through since most microwaves have a bit of a "hot spot".

When everything is ready, mix the meat and broccoli into the thickened sauce.
This particular batch I had zucchini from the garden. Zucchini can be steamed along with the frozen broccoli or stir fried with the meat.