Charlie Milks A Goat

Charlie has earned his "I Milked A Goat" certificate. Way to go Charlie!

Three Star Milkers

Yesterday Mady and Shawn and their wonderful mom, Kelly, paid the farm a visit. After the farm guests had their shoes sprayed (bio security measures) the first thing on the kids minds was (of course) to milk a goat.

So off we went . . . to the goat yard to let the kids meet the girls: Lavender, Cinnamon, Storm-y and Miss Marie.  While the kiddos brushed the girls down, I talked about the wonderful-ness of dairy goats.

Then . . off to the milk room for a quick "How To Milk A Goat" Lesson 101 by one of the farm's little helpers.  Hands were sanitized, gloves passed out (oops, the trainer forgot his) and all eyes focused on those teats in hope they'd accomplish the goal: milk a goat.

Cleaning Lavender's udder/teats with our teat wash. Very important.  Strip cup test next and then . . .

Great job to the O'Rourke Family! You all have earned your "I'm A Star Milker" certificate from The Simple Farm.

Maria Milks A Goat

A beautiful, long time friend paid the farm a visit today. And, of course, Maria milked a goat or two and she did such a great job - she earns her 'I Milked A Goat' Certificate.

Market Produce for Shea

 I've JUST picked a good amount of okra, a few beets, a few of the first sparker radishes with more to come, asparagus beans, some new purple beans, more cucumbers and eggplant.

In the morning I'll harvest more eggplant, our gourmet basil, mint and other fresh snipped herbs. Flowers too. I'll also snip our baby greens and chard to bring to the market.

See you then at Saturday's market on Shea. 

Queens of The Farm

Not your mom's banana pudding pie was . . .

. . . made and served at our farm last night . . . and I'm still thinking about it.

My daughter's been enjoying some of Food Network's shows lately and Ann Thorton from the Dessert First Show and this pie ~ Salted Caramel Banana Pudding Pie caught her taste buds of a 'have to make for the family.'  I'm so glad she did. It's one of those amazing desserts that create a sweet memory.  I've copied the recipe below from here. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 box vanilla wafers (65 cookies)
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 large ripe bananas
• 1 cup salted caramel, plus more for garnish (1 cup caramel, plus 1 teaspoon fleur de sel)
• Vanilla Pudding, recipe follows
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Put 45 vanilla wafers in a food processor and pulse until the cookies are finely crushed. Reserve 1/2 cup to top the pie. Stir together crushed vanilla wafers and butter in a small bowl until blended. Firmly press it into the bottom, up the sides, and onto the lip of a greased 9-inch pie plate. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove to a wire rack, and let cool until completely cool, about 30 minutes.

Coat the banana slices with salted caramel. Arrange some banana slices evenly over the bottom of the crust. Spread half of the hot, prepared Vanilla Pudding over the bananas, top with vanilla wafers, and more caramel-coated bananas. Spread the remaining filling over the vanilla wafers, and caramel-coated bananas.

In a large bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Add the almond extract, and sugar and beat until peaks form. Make sure not to overbeat, or the cream will become lumpy, and butter-like. Spread the cream over the pies. At service, garnish with a caramel swirl, and the reserved vanilla wafer crumbs.

Vanilla Pudding:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a bowl whisk together the sugar and flour until all of the lumps are gone. Once it is a fine powder, whisk in the eggs, and egg yolks, and continue whisking until a smooth paste is formed. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of milk, and once this is incorporated add the remaining cup of milk. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan, and cook over medium heat whisking constantly, until it reaches the thickness of chilled pudding, about 10 to 15 minutes. (Mixture will just begin to bubble and will be thick enough to hold soft peaks when the whisk is lifted.) Remove from the heat, and stir in vanilla.

Girl Scouts Learn To Milk a Goat

The end of September we had our first simple farm tour and 'how to milk a goat' tutorial for a local girl scout troupe.  Six eager girls learned the importance of knowing the farmer who grows their food and what 'eating in season means.'  They were able to take a little tour around our farm and through our gardens and to our hen house.

Our 'on-site' farm helper sprays the bottom of every one's feet as part of our bio-security measures to help limit the spread of disease into and out of our farm.  It's important to us to do everything we can to protect our livestock (dairy goats and our chickens) from the possibility of disease.

If you asked the girls what they enjoyed the most - they would all tell you it was learning how to milk a goat.  Each girl earned a Certificate as a Star milker (I still need to pass them on to the troupe leader).

Our farm is in the process of developing our simple-farm tours for children with a minimal fee - starting in January 2012.

How To Milk A Goat