Calendula Balm

I've been making this balm for about 6 years and its become our go-to for cuts, scrapes, rashes, etc.

As the weather is getting colder and the heater kicking on more frequently, I've noticed that my knuckles are starting to get chapped, so I pulled out my last container of this balm (my next-to-last container is up in the barn, we'd used it on our jersey cows teats). I thought I'd share the recipe with you and hope you'll find many uses for it like we have!

I use dry herbs/flowers and have a small crock-pot that is specifically for infusing.

1/8 oz (3.55 grams) St. Johns Wort flower (dried & ground)
1/8 oz (3.55 grams) Comfrey leaf (dried & ground)
1 cup Calendula petals (dried)
1/2 cup Lavender buds (dried)

1 cup Castor Oil
2 cups Aloe Butter
1/3 cup Hemp Seed Oil
2 cups (1.5 bars) organic beeswax

Lavender essential oil (optional)

Place the herbs and oils (excluding the essential oil) in the crock-pot and turn to the lowest heat. Place the lid on and let the mixture steep, usually 3-4 hours. (For larger batches I let it steep up to 6 hours). Check frequently, stirring, to prevent overheating. Turn off heat and let steep for up to 1 week, creating a beautiful dark green oil.

Strain herbs from oil. (I use double layered cheese cloth & strain into a large glass measuring cup).

(If you're not going to finish the balm immediately, store the oil in a glass jar with a tight lid, in a cool dark place. Also, you'll need to warm the oil back up prior to mixing with the beeswax)

Melt the beeswax slowly (I chop the bars up and melt in 20-30 second intervals in the microwave).

Mix the warm oils & beeswax together. (You want the oils to be warm so that the beeswax doesn't start to cool off and harden before you mix and pour).

Add 4-6 drops Lavender essential oil. Mix thoroughly.

Pour into small containers. Let cool. Put lids on.

These make great gifts and excellent additions to the diaper bag or first aid kit.

Homemade goat treats - ginger crisps

Occasionally we give our goats little treats like raisins, bananas and ginger snap cookies. They go absolutely NUTS over the cookies! I came across this recipe in The Old Farmers Almanac 2012 and started making our own version. Everybody likes them!

For the horse, we crumble up a couple cookies with chopped apples. For the cows, we crumble a dozen into their grain trough.

For the chickens, turkeys, guineas & peacocks, we crumble up half a dozen and mix it into their scratch.

The dogs get a couple too.

Here's the recipe (I made a couple of ingredient swaps):

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 3/4 cup acorn flour, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour)
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (I used 1/8 tsp sea salt)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark-brown sugar
1 large egg (I used a duck egg)
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses (I used black strap molasses)

Here are a few links about using acorns in recipes:
Acorn Pasta and the Mechanics of Eating Acorns, Acorns and the Forager’s Dilemma, and Rich, Sweet & Wild: Acorn and Pine Nut Infused Butter, Wild Things Roundup: Acorn Sweets by Kiva and Loba.

Everything but the oink - butchers cuts

When we took our hogs to the butcher he asked what we wanted, what type of cuts. We looked at him with the blankest of looks. I finally told him that we were new to having our animals butchered and could he please explain to us the different types. The butcher was very patient as he went over the different areas of the pig and what cuts come from each area. We also asked him for suggestions as it was kinda overwhelming in the moment.

As we were leaving, Mr. Wild and I laughed at each other, in that "I thought you knew about all this" kinda way. When we got home I got online and started looking for meat cutting information. I came across Ask The Meatman meat cutting chart posters. We ordered the notebook size charts for pork and beef. The came a couple of days later and just in time because our cow went to the butcher last week!

One of the questions the butcher asked was did we want everything? The organs, the ears, the feet, etc. I told him that I didn't know what to do with all of that and to please donate it or use it for his family. It was a bit embarrassing! In my defense though, Las Vegas doesn't have butchers like Kentucky does. We'd happened to find one in Arizona but his wait time was over a year and his prices were astronomical! One thing we learned is that when deer season is in, the butchers fill up fast, that's good to know for next year!

In researching how to use all of the pig, not just so I can answer the butcher next time, but also because we've talked about eventually doing our own, I found Using everything but the oink. Very, very informative!

Dealing with the not so pretty side of raising animals

Almost everything we raise is for food, the goats, peacocks & horse being the exceptions.

We are raising rabbits, turkeys, guineas, chickens, cattle, hogs and ducks to feed our family throughout the year. We've bought most of our animals as babies, so we have control over how they are raised and fed. Our one mistake being the first set of hogs.

We're raising California & New Zealand rabbits. We picked those because they have a great feed to meat conversion rate and they're big, up to 14 lbs! We currently have 8 bucks and 15 does at breeding ages. We also have 8 kits (baby rabbits) under 2 months old, from 3 different litters. For me, one of the hardest things to separate is the excitement and sweetness of new babies. I keep detailed records of breedings and births, so I know when its time and I watch to make sure the does are ok during and after.

This morning during feeding I noticed that one of our does was pulling lots of hair really fast. It was time! This will be her 2nd litter, her 1st litter didn't survive. I gave her some straw and moved a heat lamp over her cage, ready to be plugged in after she'd given birth. We don't like to interfer, other than offering extra nesting materials. This evening when I checked on her, she'd had the babies and I could see lots of movement under all the fur! I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

On November 6th, one of our New Zealand does had her first litter. She made an awesome thick nest and everything was looking great, lots of movement under the fur and straw everyday. Until this morning. I shine a light into each of the nesting boxes to watch for movement. I saw a little bit of black fur, looked like a tiny ear, poking out of the nest. I didn't disturb anything and watched for movement. There was a little, but not like it'd been the days before. I checked mama, she was good. This evening when I checked again, she'd uncovered the babies and they were dead. There weren't any marks on them, everything was were it should be. Its so hard when you don't know what causes them to die.

I took them out and put them in a small box. It brought tears to my eyes. One of them had its mouth open and I could see the tiny teeth. I wanted to hold it, to somehow breathe life back into it. Writing about it is making me tear up again. I know that they are raised for food, they don't have names and aren't pets, but it doesn't make dealing with the deaths any easier. I write everything down in the rabbit binder and brush my tears away, hoping that her next litter will be stronger.

Making your own salt

I came across this blog post on Facebook by Handjobs For The Home. How awesome is that name!! You've got to check this out!

Have you tried Kombucha yet?

I've been reading about Kombucha tea for a couple of weeks, so I was really excited to see that Food Renegade was hosting a giveaway for The Ultimate Kombucha Starter Kit! How awesome is that!! Click this link to check it out!

Squirrel hunting & an awesome recipe!

This image is from Scary Squirrel World. It made me laugh =o)

Its been squirrel hunting season for a few weeks now. I've been determined to get a few of them, especially the big grey one that sits in the tree out front, taunting me every time I come outside. He even followed us up the hill when we were running fence, sitting high up in the big oak tree dropping acorns around us. He sits and watches. Until I get the gun out. Then he starts jumping around, up & down from branch to branch, even from tree to tree! He is still taunting me, every morning.

Mr. Wild and I went hunting on the back of the farm and actually got 3 squirrels! I'd not cleaned one before, but was happy to see how its just like cleaning a rabbit! My next plan is to learn how to cure the skins and use them.

Here's the recipe we used (courtesy of The Wild Butcher From Field to Table book:

Southern Fried Squirrel (or Rabbit) with Gravy

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (We used 1/4 t. sea salt)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper (we used cracked pepper)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional (we used it)
2 squirrels or 1 wild rabbit, cut up
Vegetable oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Salt & Pepper

(We had buttermilk that was getting ready to expire, so we added it to the recipe. After coating the squirrel pieces in the flour mixture, we dipped it into the buttermilk and then put it into the oil. Delicious!!!)

Makes 2-3 servings

1. In large plastic food-storage bag, combine 1/3 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper & 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Shake to mix.

2. Add squirrel pieces; shake to coat

3. In large skillet, heat 1/8 inch oil for squirrel, or 1/4 inch oil for rabbit, over medium-high heat until hot.

4. Add coated meat; brown on all sides.

5. Reduce heat; cover tightly. Cook over very low heat until tender, 35 to 45 minutes for squirrel, 20 to 25 minutes for rabbits, turning pieces once.

6. Remove cover, cook 5 minutes longer to crisp. Transfer meat to plate lined with paper towels. Set aside and keep warm.

7. Discard all but 3 Tablespoons oil. Over medium heat, stir flour into reserved oil. Blend in milk.

8. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly.

9. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with meat.