Cajeta

I told people at the beginning of 2013 that it was my goal to save enough goat milk to last us through until the next milking season.  But, frankly, I got tired of the milking routine and put an end to it earlier than I had planned.  So, I thought I wasn't going to achieve my goal.  But, with just Tom and I using the milk, it turns out that I did reach that goal.

Well, it's not milking season yet, but it will be pretty soon and I still have quite a bit of milk left in the freezer.  I need to empty the freezer out to make room for the milk that my three milkers will produce this season, so I decided to make some cajeta.

Tom and I first read about this in an article about some Texans with a Nubian goat dairy farm.  It is a Mexican sweet sauce, like caramel or dolce de leche (or so I'd read) and can be used to top all kinds of desserts, or just to eat with a spoon.  It can be made with cow's milk, but I'm not sure why anyone would bother since cajeta is a goat milk thing.

It has to cook several hours and has to be watched and stirred diligently, so I waited until I was going to have a full afternoon to devote to it.  In one article I read, the dairy that made it, presumably in large quantities, let theirs cook for about eight hours.

But, I wanted to start small, so I started with one quart of milk and it took me three hours from start to finish.  I read several recipes and combined their collective knowledge in hopes of keeping it as simple as possible and hoping for a good outcome.  It was surprisingly easy.  The hardest thing about it was not being tempted to run off and do other things, risking burning the sauce.

The ingredients were:

1 quart goat milk

1 cup brown sugar (you can use white for a lighter sauce)

2 tsp. vanilla extract (not imitation)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in one Tbs. water (or, one recipe suggested cow's milk instead of water.  I'm not sure why)

Some recipes called for one cinnamon stick and some for rum, which is probably delicious and I'll likely try one of those the next time.

Bring all ingredients except for dissolved baking soda to a boil.  Some recipes said to put all ingredients together in the beginning.

Use a wooden spoon to stir...something about reactions to metal, blah, blah, blah.  Just do it even if you don't understand why.

  I chose to add the baking soda after the sauce came to a boil.

Take the sauce off the heat and add the baking soda/water and stir like crazy because it really foams up and may bubble over.

After that, just put it back on the stove and simmer over low heat until it's done.  The description of doneness was that it will thickly coat the back of a spoon and that while stirring, the spoon will leave a delayed trail and you'll be able to see the bottom of the pan for a second or two.  If you like to use a candy thermometer, it's supposed to reach 220.

One quart of milk made exactly one pint jar of cajeta (with a little left in the pan for licking).  And, they were right...it is delicious!  I'm trying to think of things to put it on without getting too fat.

If you want to make this, see to it that you have plenty of things to do in the kitchen so that you won't be tempted to leave for a few minutes.  Although, I was able to dash back and forth putting clothes in the washer/dryer, for the most part, I stayed in the kitchen and stirred.  I was able to shred a block of peccorino with my new processor, clean the kitchen, surf the web, and cook dinner.  I'd probably have a cleaner kitchen if I made this stuff regularly.

Boutique Pumpkins

My heirloom sugar pumpkins did so well this past season that I was able to give many away to friends and family.  I also gave about a dozen to our favorite local cafe.  So, I've decided the new thing for the garden this year is going to be boutique pumpkins.  These are pumpkins that are different shapes and colors than the regular round orange ones.  They can be used for fall decoration as well as cooking and eating.

I ordered several different kinds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and they arrived in the mail today.  I love ordering things on-line.  Ordering gardening and farming stuff reminds me of a song we learned in high school chorus, The Wells Fargo Wagon

I tried to choose pumpkins that would look good together if they are used for decoration.

"Galeux d'Eysines"

pronounced "Gal-OH deh-ZINE"

Salmon peach colored skin, covered with warts.

"Flat White Boer"

This is a pure white pumpkin, but shows yellow in my lighting.

"Winter Squash Iran"

Foam green, mottled in soft peachy-orange.

Is it a bad sign that they don't actually have a picture of the pumpkin and someone had to draw it for the package?

"Marina di Chioggia"

Pronounced "ma-REE-na dee kee-OH-ja"

Deep blue green and warty.

"Jarrahdale"

Slate blue-grey.

And the seed company threw this in as a freebie.  The package says it's a summer squash to be harvested all summer long.  So, I guess I'll give it a try, too.

I'm hoping to have enough to sell at our local farmer's market that is open on Saturdays.

Beanie Baby

Just because he is so cute and The Nephew is missing him.

Bye-Bye Oskar

For my birthday, Tom bought me a super-duper top of the line food processor to replace the 25+ year old Sunbeam Oskar mini processor that I had complained about this past summer.

We researched and read all sorts of reviews and finally decided upon the Breville Sous Chef food processor.  It really was more money than I wanted Tom to spend, but after reading reviews, he insisted that this is the one I need, and I agreed.

I went from the little two cup capacity, two blade attachments to this 16 cup behemoth.  (note to self: remove toilet paper from background in the future)

There's also a mini cup for smaller jobs that fits inside the big cup and at least eight different disks and blades for various chopping, slicing, and dicing.  This should make the zucchini shredding and cucumber slicing a breeze this summer.  There's even an emulsifying disk for making butter, which I can't wait to try.  The directions claim that cookies, cakes, and milkshakes can be made in this thing.

So excited!

(Who says that women don't like to get kitchen appliances as gifts from their husbands?)

Vardo, Part Three

Still waiting on wallpaper, so I reupholstered the dinette.  This would have been a very quick project, but every time I hit a snag and things didn't line up just right, I got discouraged and stopped working on them.  I didn't figure out a good system until I was working on the last cushion, which went together easily and quickly.

This is the before picture.

And the after.

These little white tab things are screws that hold the two trim pieces in place.  I have to make covered buttons for them when I can find the proper parts.  They don't sew on like conventional buttons, but snap on with a little plastic ring. 

LIam Sez

 I love children's pronunciations.

"Chocolate Sustash"

"Han Sizatizer"

"Kooky"

"Hillbiller"

Vardo, Part Two

While I'm waiting for Lowes to ship the wallpaper that I ordered (weeks ago, grrr) for the walls of the slide out, I decided to go ahead and do the ceiling with a paintable vinyl wallpaper embossed with a tin ceiling tile pattern.  It was on the shelf at Lowes and I just had to buy one roll.

This is what the ceiling looked like before I started.  In the past, I've been very anti-wallpaper.  I never wanted it in my house and never, ever wanted to install it.  Bleh.  But, it seems the cheapest, easiest way to go in the trailer, and cheaper than buying actual ceiling tiles.  So, for my first wallpaper job ever, I'm doing a ceiling.

The area is thirteen by three feet, so I decided to install the paper in the direction of the short side, cutting several strips of three foot long wallpaper.  I used my rotary cutter using the cutting mat as a straight edge.  It worked great.

Zip, zip.

Even though this paper was pre pasted, I bought a tub of vinyl to vinyl paste and brushed it on with a paintbrush.  It really was very easy and I have a ton of it left, so I'll be able to do the whole Vardo project without having to buy more.

My first strip!

And the finished install.

A few days later, when I was sure the paper wasn't going to fall off the ceiling, I painted it a dark grey.  

I really liked how it looked with just the one coat of paint, but I thought I might be able to get a more aged look and more depth if I added a lighter grey on top.  I used a sponge and just lightly swiped over the paper.

So, it's finished except that I might add a light coating of metallic paint.  

Losing a Big Oak, Gaining Firewood

We had this wonderful old oak tree die last summer.  It had been ailing, I'm not sure why, but had a big spot on it that we had the Arbor Barber treat a couple of years ago.  I think the drought finally did it in despite my faithful watering.

The tree is right by the much used path that leads from the house to the barn.  We were afraid that it might start dropping branches on us as we walked back and forth.  In addition to that, we need more firewood.  We are shocked at how much wood we're using this year.  Tom had the wood shed completely stuffed with wood and we were all ready for the winter.  But, winter came early to Texas this year.  We're getting many days of freezing temperatures and we've already used half (maybe more, I haven't looked in a few days) of the wood Tom had stored up.

Thankfully, we're having a nice mild week and are able to get some farm work done.  Cutting this tree down is one of Tom's goals.

An acquaintance of ours has this cherry picker that was broken.  Tom fixed it for him, so he's letting Tom use it for free.

Driving the cherry picker, Tom is maneuvering the bucket into place.

He's using a chainsaw on a stick.  As a side note, this is why it is nearly impossible for me to buy Tom a Christmas present.  This morning he said to me, "You know, if you want to get me an early Christmas present, I sure would like to have one of those chainsaws on a stick (I'm pretty sure that's not the technical term for it, but I can't really remember what he called it) like your brother has.  I think it would be safer to use."  I got all excited and planned to go get him one this very afternoon because I have yet to think of anything he would want for Christmas.  But, within the space of about ten minutes, he had gotten on the internet, found the best one for the best price and in five more minutes, was on his way to Tractor Supply to buy it for himself.  

Well, so much for that idea.

Up in the sky, ever so high.

He got all the major branches off and just has the main trunk to deal with tomorrow.  That there is a big load of firewood already.  He probably won't be able to fit the whole thing in the woodshed.

I hated to lose that tree, but there are two or three smaller ones surrounding it that will benefit from the sunlight that they will now receive.

Vardo, Part One

I've embarked upon a new project, mostly just for fun and to satisfy my decorating appetite.  This one will probably be a long drawn out process (I still haven't finished recovering my dining room chairs from last year at this time...well, I did predict that it would probably take me a year or more) for three reasons:  (1) I'm a procrastinator; (2) I seem to be able to work on these kind of projects only when the mood strikes...and the mood doesn't always strike often enough; (3) It's big, so I'm only setting small area goals.

Well, enough of that.  I'm turning our  travel trailer  into my version of a Gypsy Vardo.  If you'll remember, the trailer had leaks which Nephew repaired by completely tearing out and rebuilding.

Instead of replacing the cabinetry that was on this wall, I had him fill the wall with shelving.  I thought it would be better use of the space.

You can't see the whole wall (in the back) because the slide-out is in, but where there were once upper and lower cabinets with dead space in between, there is now an entire wall of open shelving.

Painting the shelving was the first thing I did.  It was the most easily implemented part of the plan; something I could accomplish quickly and cheaply without getting discouraged by the enormity of the project.  To save money, I went to the local paint stores and bought their "mis-tints".  Those are the paints that were custom made for customers who decided that they didn't like the color so they returned them to the store.  I got a gallon of Sherwin Williams premium flat paint in a neutral color for one buck.  I used it as a primer instead of buying their regular primer, which is probably 20-30 bucks.  The only paint I had to buy for regular price was the red because I couldn't find a mistinted red and I really wanted to get finished with this part.  

I also painted the kitchen cabinets with a mis-tint.  You can see the teal color in the bottom left hand corner of the picture above.  Even though I'm finished painting them, I'm not ready to show the kitchen yet because I still have some work to do on it.

To finish this wall, I had to make the curtain for the window.

I ordered enough red velvet from Hobby Lobby to do all of the windows in the trailer.  There wasn't enough room to mount the curtain rod the way it's supposed to be (on the wall at the corners of the window) and I had to hang it from the shelf above.  It's not ideal, but it works.

And I got these at the flea market, which are looking pretty tiny all alone on the shelves.

Y'all might be wondering why in the world I'm doing this.  Well, besides the "fun" aspect of it, I really can't see this travel trailer ever doing any more traveling.  Because of the leaks, I couldn't, in all good conscience, sell it to anyone who wanted to use it as it was intended.  I decided we should keep it as overflow guest quarters and for living space for family in the event of an economic crash (and I feel compelled to say "which we are hoping won't happen, but Tom still thinks it will").

So...I want it to be comfortable and cozy for guests, but I can't fill it up with a bunch of unnecessary, (but cool) stuff, because if someone actually has to live in it, they'll need the space for their own stuff.  But, I need to put the necessities in there for guests.  I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for colorful old china dishes, rugs, etc. at the flea markets, junk shops, and on-line.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

Since I have all of these homegrown pumpkins, it seemed a crime not to have pumpkin pie at our Thanksgiving dinner, so I added it to the menu.  My mom usually brings pecan and pumpkin pie, so I haven't had much practice making gluten free crust.  Even when I used to eat gluten, when I made pies I would use the Pillsbury pre made crust that I just had to roll out and put in the pan.  Then when I started eating gluten free, on the rate occasion that I made a pie, I'd use a mix.  Since I decided sort of late in the game that we should have pumpkin pie, I didn't have a mix on hand.

I thought it wouldn't be a problem because I knew that there was a pie crust recipe on my favorite go-to website for baking gluten free, gluten free pie crust .  I was happy to have all of the ingredients on hand and the recipe looked easy enough.  I made it a couple of days in advance and let it sit in the refrigerator until I was ready to roll it out.

The pie crust recipe consist of three kinds of gluten free flours, xanthan gum, salt, and water.  Part of the instructions say, "For a tender crust, pinch and rub the shortening into the flour with your fingers until the flour is the consistency of cornmeal.  If you want a flaky crust, then measure out your shortening and divide it into small pieces.  Freeze those pieces and then cut them into your dough.   You can use a pastry cutter or just press the thin pieces with your fingers.  You want the shortening to be visible and in thin, flaky pieces."  I rubbed the shortening and flour with my fingers, but it never became the consistency of cornmeal.  Instead, it became a sticky mess which coated my hands and fingers and I had to scrape it off with a butter knife.

I don't blame the recipe.  I blame my inexperience, but it did turn out OK.  I tasted it after I had it all mixed up and ended up adding three teaspoons of sugar to it because I just had to have a tiny bit of sweetness in my crust.

After a couple of days in the fridge, the pie crust rolled out just fine and I was able to use it for my pumpkin pie.

Then I got to looking at my pumpkin pie recipes and all of them had cans of evaporated milk in them.  I didn't have any of that in my pantry.  It's not something that I usually stock.  So, I googled "pumpkin pie without evaporated milk" and came up with this:

1 pastry for single-crust pie

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups fresh pumpkin puree

1/4 cup half-and-half OR light cream OR regular milk

(I used 1/8 cup heavy cream and 1/8 cup goat milk)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbs. all-purpose gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground allspice

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Prepare and roll pastry for single-curst pie.

Line 9" pie plate with pastry.

Trim; crimp edges as desired (Martha Stewart's website has good ideas for this)

Stir together eggs, pumpkin, and milk/cream

Stir in sugar, flour, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice.

Pour pumpkin mixture into pastry.

To prevent over browning, cover edge of pie with foil for the first 10 minutes of cooking time.

Bake in 375 F oven for 25-30 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Cook on wire rack.

Cover and refrigerate within two hours.

This pie was delicious.  Definitely a recipe to keep.  In fact, I'm going to throw out all of my other pumpkin pie recipes (well, except my Martha Stewart chocolate pumpkin pie, which I haven't tried yet).  Who needs evaporated milk?

The crust was delicious, too, and held together well, which is important for gluten free baking.

Thanksgiving Tradition Perfected

I made our traditional Thanksgiving cheesecake today ( recipe here ) and just took it out of the springform pan.

Usually, when I take the pan away, a nice fat layer of the cake remains stuck to the pan and I get to enjoy scraping it off and eating it.  It's enough for a nice little snack.

Well, not this time.  I went to unspring the pan, looking forward to my snacking...

lo, and behold, not a single bite stuck to the pan.

What price, perfection?

(imagine wailing)

Another Tractor

The farm acquired a new used tractor this week.  The tractor that we bought the first year we were here turned out to just be too small for our needs.  Tom said the hay equipment is putting too much of a strain on it and it frequently overheats and breaks down.

When Tom was choosing a tractor, the conventional advice was to get one with one horsepower per acre.  For example, if you have 25 acres, get a 25 horsepower tractor.  He followed that advice, but I suppose it wasn't entirely accurate.  What you are going to do with that horsepower seems to make a big difference.

Anyway, Tom finally decided that we had to add another tractor to our equipment shed.  We kept the smaller Branson and got a bigger one, a used model from the dealer.  This one is 65 horsepower and should be more than adequate.

It's pretty fancy and even has a cab with A/C and heater.  If you ask me, tractors with A/C and heaters are for Pansy Farmers.

Here's Mark posing with the Pansy Farmer tractor.

Green Tomato Salsa

I made green tomato salsa using the green tomatoes and jalapeños that I picked a couple of days ago.

This is good with chips or as a condiment on hot dogs, burgers, and Tom even likes it on steak.

I didn't really measure anything, but I included approximate amounts as a guideline.  It can be adjusted to suit your taste.

 8 cups quartered green tomatoes

1 small onion, quartered

1-2 cloves of garlic, quartered

2-3 jalapeños, quartered

handful fresh cilantro

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 Tbs. olive oil

Toss everything into a food processor and process until minced or finely diced (or more if you don't like chunky salsa).

Taste with a chip and add more salt and pepper if needed.

End of Season Gardening

Bleh.  I've neglected my garden this past month or so even as it has continued to produce.  The impending freeze prompted me to go out there and gather what I could before last night.

Loads of green tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapeños.  If I can find some will-power, I'll make green salsa out of those.

Butternut and cucumbers were still hanging on the vine.  I don't know if the dukes will be any good after hanging there for over a month.

Several enormous zucchini.  I thought I'd see how big they'd get.  This one might be about twenty inches.

Loads of stringy green beans were revealed when the freeze killed the vine last night.  I'll probably have a bunch of unwanted volunteers next spring.

This is the only loss hard to take.  The pumpkin vines recovered somewhat from the squash bug damage, and started putting on late season pumpkins like crazy.  There are about 20 pumpkins in varying stages of ripening.  They are bigger than any others produced this year, but I guess they don't have a chance now because the freeze killed the vines off.  It's probably futile, but I'll leave them out there for a while to see if there is any life left in them.  

The asparagus got huge this year.  Looks like over six feet tall.  I scrounged around in there and picked a bunch a couple of weeks ago, but I think it's done putting up shoots for the year.

I've got a lot of clean-up and winterizing to do out there.