Geese, compost, and dinner

My geese are so funny.  Every other day I empty and clean out their pool.  If I don't get it filled, they go into the empty pool and stomp - like they are saying, "it's missing something!!!". 

I went out to fill it up yesterday. 

Someone got excited.

Came running over. 

They have been playing in the mud and are pretty dirty. 

First they test it. 

They dunk their faces in a few times.

Then they go hog-wild. They are doing flips, trying to dive and going in circles in the pool. 

Then they run around with their wings open. 

And dive back into the pool. 

and settle 

While I was with the geese, Dude was turning the compost.

And tilling it under.

Later I was in the kitchen making jalapeno cheese. 

Dinner was spaghetti squash. 

I steam ours. 

Take out the seeds and scrape it out with a fork to look like spaghetti. 

Add our homemade sauce of ground beef, tomato sauce, mushrooms, and from the onions, garlic, oregano, basil adding a large pinch of brown sugar plus salt and pepper. Later I thought I could have added some our garden peppers. 

Dude gave it two thumbs up. 

I did get a new pair of pants made this weekend too. 

peace

Sunday Funday - Canning -Thai dipping sauce, baking bread, garden and more.

My friend Mundie came over to learn and help on the homestead. He was going to help Dude butcher roosters but Dude was under the weather so we got to work on other stuff. 

Bread was put in the machine  - Parmesan, olives and sun-dried tomatoes.  

One of our hens was in the oven. 

The bread turned out perfect. 

Mundie wanted to learn how to make a year's worth of laundry soap. He learn to make that quickly. 

Then we were on to canning one of my favorites... Thai Dipping sauce. I have made it for the last four years and it goes quickly.  It is great over rice, chicken, for dipping spring rolls, over sauted cabbage and so much more.

Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup chopped garlic

1 TBSP pickling salt

6 cups of apple cider vinegar

6 cups sugar

1/2 cup hot pepper flakes

9- 8oz   1/2 pint jars

Prep your jars. lids and rings.  Combine salt and garlic.  

Heat vinegar to a boil.  Add sugar to dissolve. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.  Add garlic, salt, and pepper flakes.  Ladle into jars with a 1/2 inch head-space.  Process in a water-bath 15 minutes, 25 for high altitude. 

Then we made jalapeno goat cheese - queso blanco with a twist. 

Mundie helped in the kitchen while Dude was bundled in the big chair.  The chicken turned out perfect. 

Our Thai dipping sauce sealed well. The lids popped all afternoon. I love that sound. 

We cleaned out the collards from the garden.  Looking to plant mustard greens or herbs. 

Squashing doing great. 

We picked our first baby pumpkins. 

Thanks Mundie for coming over. It was great fun and glad to share what I know. 

Later I went out to see where I wanted to plant more of the fall garden when I found this little girl somehow trapped in our chicken coop area... well, really the other animals told on her. 

I looked out to see the horses, goats and lamb out in the pasture, scared, with Angelo in front telling me to look at the coop.  Gotta love Angelo.

Dude heard me yelling and came out to help. 

The owner showed up right when I was going to go looking for her home. 

Thanks Mundie for coming over. 

There is still time for nap and the skies have clouded over. 

peace.

Catching up Friday with cheese and card making

Most of the week was sprinkled with fun birthday festivities so today it was time to put my nose to the grindstone . I did get my first pattern traced and ready to look for fabric to go with it now. 

Today we woke up to thick fog. Eerie but nice. 

The animals all liked the cool weather today. 

I was busy making queso blanco today.  Dude brought in the raw milk. I strained it and jarred it. Then took out the older jars and got the fabric over a colander ready for the cheese. I use a loose weave muslin.

A gallon of raw goat milk in stock pot.  Slowly get it up to 175* and hold there for 10-15min. 

Dude likes jalapeno in his cheese. I prepared those while the milk heated. 

Slowly add five tablespoons of  cider vinegar

Once the vinegar is added the curds pull from the whey. 

Move the curds to the fabric lined colander. 

Add the pickled peppers. 

Tie up the four corners and find some place to let the whey drain from it for about 3 hours. I let it drain all day while I am work. 

Dude picked carrots for our juice and found a love connection among the vegetables. 

I had a bunch of Thank You notes to write. I had none so quickly made some. I got out my mini embosser. 

Of course, I had help. (The mess is me organizing my recipes and patterns.)

Ran white cardstock cards through the embosser. 

They came out pretty well. 

Then simply stamped Thank You in the center . 

Within 20 minutes I had 8 cards ready to go. 

I got home from work and unwrapped the cheese... perfect. 

I am so glad tomorrow is Saturday.  Can't wait to see what we get done. 

peace