Heal My Life

Tadpole Season

Well we lost another one - this time to a coyote; Big Red is no more.  I felt terrible when it happened, as Big Red was the brave one, now it's Blackie.  I know this is "the way it is" with farm animals, and it will probably happen again, but I can't help feeling so sad about them both.

And on that note, I also fell terribly sad that George Carlin is gone, much too soon.  We sorely need his constant questioning and his acerbic wit was refreshing.  I remember clearly when I heard him blurt out the "Seven Words You Can't Say on TV or the Radio".  It was 1972, the year after I was married and I can remember thinking that this certainly was a new world if you could say those things in public!     http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/23/9815/ I bought his albums (remember those) and watched his HBO specials and I'll miss him.

So we've been busy as usual, we've been cleaning and painting the new studio/manufacturing space for Heal My Hands and 8 Arms Creative and I'll post photos as soon as we get our office moved into it!  The colors are amazing too - wait till you see!  We've been doing just a bit of hiking too, and last week up on the Windsor Trail (10,800 ft) there was snow! 

Suleiman has been doing a bit of swimming in the pond, and I'll post a photo of it as soon as I get the wrought iron furniture painted up.  We bought and released three bullfrog tadpoles too.  Unfortunately I didn't realize that bullfrog tadpoles take two years to mature!  I was thinking I'd fall asleep to the music of bullfrogs... of well, maybe next year.

I've also made a couple of necklaces, one in braided Irish Linen with drop, pressed glass and silver beads, and another in silver beads with an aquamarine, a pressed glass leaf and a Hill Tribe silver charm.  And a very pretty freeform peyote stitch bracelet, which oddly, I can't find the photo of) I call Riverwalk.  It really is nice to actually make something beaded that turns out the way it's supposed to.  Thanks Marty! 

First Eggs!

There have been a lot of firsts around here recently, but none can compare to Anthony finding our girls' FIRST EGGS this morning!!!

Yes, they really are this absolutely gorgeous bluish green.  I'm so excited!!!

More egg photos here.

Peachicks, or would they be Chickocks

So... I really need to know the answer to this question.  Is it possible for a male peacock and a female chicken to mate?

So What's New?

I know I've been a bad blogger, it's been weeks since my last post.  Here's what I've been doing: 

Yesterday, in preparation for a Thanksgiving feast for, which I'll be making desserts, at my friend Scout's house, I baked pate a choux or cream puff shells.  And lo and behold, not only did they RISE, but they rose HIGHER than they ever did for me at sea level.  YAY!!!  I didn't even have to alter the recipe.  How awesome is that.  I'd have taken pictures but Anthony and I ate them, which is sort of too bad because they really were pretty.  They ended up getting filled first with tuna for lunch, and then some leftover chocolate custard and almond creme anglaise for dessert.  YUM!  The shells really are very easy to make; don't be intimidated by the French.  There is a fab recipe and step by step instructions complete with photos here.

This past weekend, A and I drove to Farmington, NM, which is in the four corners, for a Fiber Fest to vend Heal My Hands.  No one came.  I'm not kidding - really - no one came.  They missed a year and didn't advertise in the right places, and so no one came.  We made did okay with Heal My Hands, all of the fifty or so people who showed up and most of the vendors bought from us, but I felt terrible for the other vendors - and there were some great people with wonderful yarn and roving (which I did NOT buy because my spinning wheel is STILL not here)!   

I did buy some of the most gorgeous yarn I've ever touched from Elsa Wool Company.  It's cormo from her own flock and it's as soft as a cloud.  I bought both worsted and woolen spun,natural colors in sport and worsted weights.  I wound one skein into a ball last night for socks.  I can't wait to get it on the needles!

Saturday night, after a yummy seafood salad at Red Lobster and a movie in bed at the hotel, my tooth started to hurt.  It got worse through the night and by Sunday morning I was pretty much in agony.  We went to the show but only ended up staying for a couple of hours.  The four hour ride home via Rt 505 took us through some beautiful scenery.  If I hadn't been rocking in pain - I'd have taken more photos, but here's one so you get the idea.  Anthony found a dentist in Santa Fe, Dr. Cho, who met us in his office and started a root canal for me at 7 pm on a Sunday night.  Who say's there are no such things as Angels? 

So my tooth is better now.  The chickens have been doing okay, and we only had a couple of mild scares.  One Feather and one of our red girls have what seems like a head cold.  We're giving them medication and hopefully they'll be better soon.  One of the male peacocks seems to think that perhaps our girls would make fine mates, so he has been preening and shaking his big tail at them whenever he thinks of it.  They seem less than impressed and just appear worried that maybe he'll take their food.

On the knitting front, I have not had much time to knit lately, but I'm almost finished with the veldt shawl. I ran out of Louisa Harding Sari Silk in #20 halfway though a row last night so I have to order more before I can move on.  I also did two baby socks from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One, link is in my sidebar, and believe me that book is AWESOME!  If you knit socks you NEED to have this book.  It'll change the way you think about knitting socks forever. 

The little sock on the left, is a Coreolis, which is an amazing way of increasing around the sock starting at the outer instep and curving up and around the foot and ankle.  There are NO gussetts!  It is truly amazing and you just have to se it and the other sock architectures for yourself to understand just how brilliant Cat is.   

And last, but by far not least, my daughter just sent me pictures of the cake she made for her company's Holiday Cake contest!  The winner gets a day off WITH PAY!!!!  he's won two years in a row - I'm keeping ALL my fingers crossed for her this year.  The cake inside the sled is a Martha Stewart Coconut cake recipe which she said is delicious.  The sides are gingerbread, and the gifts are dark chocolate fudge, dipped in tinted white chocolate with a fondant bag and bows.  And she did this with three kids, three cats a dog and no help!  She's so good!

So I'm off to the post office (which is another hideously painful and frankly unbelievable story that I'll save for another time) to ship orders.  And I promise to be a better poster.  Really.

      

Totally Cheesy

It occurred to me this morning after falling asleep during Flyboys, which is a good movie but clearly not good enough to keep me awake after a full day of Chicken Hysteria, that my dream of a bucolic country life is fading fast.  After spending the past year reading and rereading and sighing over pictures of gently grazing farm animals over at Farmgirl Fare, I thought "Yes - I'm SO ready for this".

And yes really, I was - am.  Ready I mean.  What I hadn't figured on were all the things that go on OUTSIDE the pretty photos and while the smiling and industrious Farmgirl was off spreading anti-peck tar on her chicken's tails.  No-one in their right mind takes pictures of that stuff.  If fo no other reason than your hands, clothes and hair are covered with the stuff you're trying to get onto the chickens and who has the presence of mind to wipe hands on jeans and snap a few shots; certainly not me.   

Last night after the day in Chicken Hell, while I was over there at Farmgirl, looking at the pretty pictures and mumbling "there's no-place like home" to myself, it occured to me that if my pre-rural life was not like the pretty pictures, why would my rural life be any different?  I mean, when we lived at the tip of Manhattan, in one of the prettiest neighborhoods in the city, it got destroyed by terrorist planes while we watched.  So seriously, what was I thinking? 

I guess I was thinking that if I removed myself from hustle and bustle, serenity would finally prevail and I would instantly become calm and rosy cheeked.  So okay, I have the rosy cheeks but that's menopause and it has nothing to do with the fresh air.  And the calm, well, it's gotta be around here somewhere.  But this morning as I chipped ice from the chicken's water thingies and made a mental note to go to town and get two water thingy heaters today, I realized with a start - that I would never have the Farmgirl's life.  I would have mine. 

And mine looks more like a Tim Robbin's Nightmare on the Farm movie than even the charming travails of the The Egg and I.  And the sooner I accept this fact of my life - that there will probably ALWAYS be running around and bleeding, and frozen water bowls and overheating cars - the happier, or at least less hysterical, I will be.  So... okay, today I buy chicken water heaters and seriously think about insulation for that coop... 

Because I was too tired to do it last night but I really want you to have it, here is the recipe for the Ricotta.  Try halving it if two cups of the stuff is too much for you.  It's amazingly simple and you won't believe you haven't been making it all along - it tastes THAT much better than store bought.  Oh, and I used un-homoginized local organic milk - but any good quality whole milk will do just as well.   

Homemade Fresh Ricotta

I have worked on many variations of this recipe - trying it over and over again trying to get the right combination of taste, consistency, and ease of preparation. I have used readily available enzymes from the grocery store, vegetable enzymes from cheese distributors, fresh lemon juice, citric acid from the drug store, yogurt, and run-of-the mill, inexpensive white distilled vinegar.

This recipe is definitely a winner-a perfect ten. The vinegar in this preparation is what makes the milk form curds. If there is too little vinegar, the curds will not fully form and you will get a smaller yield. If there is too much vinegar, you will get an acidic tasting ricotta. Accordingly, the vinegar should not exceed 5 percent of the volume of moisture.

Ricotta is so easy to make and the taste so special that you will want to make it weekly to have on hand for eating and cooking. You will need to have a cooking thermometer for your first couple of attempts. The Taylor instant read pocket thermometer is my preference. It is reliable, inexpensive, and compact.

Yield: 4 cups
Preparation Time: 45 minutes (it took me less)

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon whole pasteurized milk
• 1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (more if you want a saltier taste and if you are not going to use it for desserts)

Procedure:

1. Rinse the inside of the pot you intend to use with cold water (this helps prevent the milk from scorching). Place 1 gallon milk in large, heavy non-reactive pot on medium heat. Add salt and stir briefly. Allow milk to heat up slowly, stirring occasionally. Soon you will notice steam start to form above the surface and tiny bubbles appearing on the milk. You want it to reach 180-185 degrees, near scalding temperature, just before it comes to a boil. Check the temperature with your thermometer.

2. When it reaches the correct temperature, take the pot off the burner, add the vinegar and stir gently for only one minute. Add salt. You will notice curds forming immediately. Cover with a dry clean dish towel and allow the mixture to sit undisturbed for a couple of hours. You can also begin preparing your ricotta in the morning before going to work and let it sit until you come home.

3. When the ricotta has rested for 2 hours or more, take a piece of cheesecloth, dampen it and place it inside a colander. With a slotted spoon, ladle out the ricotta into the prepared colander. Place the colander with ricotta inside of a larger pan so it can drain freely. Let it drain for two hours or so depending on how creamy or dry you want your cheese to be.

4. Lift the cheesecloth up by the four corners and twist gently. If the liquid runs clear, squeeze a little more. If the liquid runs milky, there is no more need to squeeze. Place in a tight sealed container. Refrigerate. It will keep for up to 7 days. Ricotta does not freeze well.

Notes:

I would advise against the use of low fat or part skim milk in making the ricotta. The flavor comes from the cream in the whole milk. For desserts, add 1 pint heavy whipping cream along with the milk. I use this variation when I am making ricotta for a dessert filling such as cannoli, cassata, or cream puffs. It is richer, creamier, and a bit more decadent.                   

Tarred and Feathered

I realized, a couple of days ago, that I hadn't blogged in almost twenty days.  I got here, posted once and dropped off the face of the New Mexican earth.  I had good reason.  My pal Ellen Mary, over at Coneflower Ranch, recently posted with "What I Have Been Doing Instead of Blogging".  I have been doing that too, other things instead of blogging, I mean.  You want to know what they are?  Okay, here goes:

1. I've been cleaning, the house, the yard, you name it. I'm not done, and I still have to paint.

2. I've been baking, or rather I should say I've been experimenting with baked goods.  This experimentation includes and apple almond pie with an oat crumb crust that while delicious, was a bit dry on the inside (that altitude water evaporation thing), and a bit burned toasty on the outside.  I was trying to bake it long enough to cook the apples and when Anthony suggested, in the midst of my wailing about dry pie, that I make a sauce for it.  So I whipped up a creme Anglaise which I couldn't stop stirring long enough to take the overly well toasted pie out of the oven in time.  Sigh, it was delicious anyway.

3. I've been driving in and out of town.  With the exception of the post office, which isn't the one our mail comes from anyway, we have to drive 12 miles (20 minutes) to get to an Albertson's or our Coop, and further to get to almost anything else.  This means that as a someone who has newly moved into a house and needs all sorts of little things like cup hooks and wood screws and cheesecloth and blood stop powder to complete projects, we do a LOT of driving around.  This takes time.

4. Our car broke down twice and had to spend days at the dealership.  Actually, it overheated, and when you live twenty minutes from anywhere and up a mountain - that's the same as breaking down completely compounded by the fact that this particular dealership seems to keep no parts with the exception of the occasional oil filter in stock.  Everything had to come from Albuquerque, which though only an hour away - takes three days to get parts from.  The darn car might as well be a bicycle.  So we've actually been doing a bit of our driving around in rental cars.

5. We've been working non-stop and making product to fill all the back orders from when we were in NY at Rhinebeck and came back with practically nothing left to ship.

6. We picked up our chickens!

7. We made Maple Walnut Ice Cream and Ricotta, which is idiotically easy to make and is completely delicious - I'll share the recipe later. 

8. Our chickens got sick and this isn't even the end of the first week.  Yesterday morning, one of them picked her tail bloody, and then when the other girls saw the blood, it was a pecking frenzy.  We rounded up Miss Bloody, scrounged a dog crate, lined it with straw and plopped her in.  She was NOT a happy chicken.  She spent the rest of the day and last night in her crate moaning and wailing the whole time.  I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening searching for feather plucking remedies and deterrents (remember, we've never had chickens before).  Then this morning, while A and I were planning our trip to town to get the Blue Lotion that was recommended for feather plucking chickens) the white and red girl whom we named Lucy in honor of Lucille Ball because she's so brave and bold and she's a hoot to watch, puffed up her feathers, had diarrhea and promptly fell over.  YIKES! 

So we rounded HER up, which wasn't hard because she didn't even try to get far.  Scrounged up ANOTHER dog crate (fortunately for us there are several of them laying around) and plopped her in it.  We gulped coffee, and ran into town for the Blue stuff.  While we were at the feed store, we also bought some brown tarry stuff to "deter pecking and cannibalism" some blood stop powder (which REALLY works well by the way on people as well as birds), and some mite and louse powder and I have no idea if that works on humans too, though I don't see why it wouldn't.  Nice.

We go home and look at Lucy in her crate.  She's brightened considerably in our absence and is busy trying to scratch her way to China through the floor of the crate.  We pick up Bloody Girl and spray her with the Blue Lotion, which is colored with Gentian Violet and really does stain clothing too, just like the label warns.  We turn her loose only to see another girl pecking HER tail bloody. 

She's got so much blood on her beak the chicken yard looks like the set of a Grindhouse movie.  Oh of course, right, it IS Halloween today - I almost forgot.  So I nabbed her while she was busy pecking herself to death and we sprinkled on the blood stop powder, tarred her up with the anti-pick goop which smells rather pleasantly of spearmint/tea tree and gave her a good spritz of the purple colored blue lotion just for good measure.  I held her for a minute until her saturated backside dried a bit and let her loose.  She immediately reached around to her coated rump and took a healthy bite of tar and feathers.  BLECCCHHH!  There was a whole dance and a lot of beak rubbing in the grass and a lot of what looked like chicken spitting, if they can do that.  But she didn't venture another taste. 

So Anthony thinks we have to tar them all.  I'm thinking maybe tomorrow.  Oh yeah, and the guy who sold them to us hasn't returned a SINGLE phone call.  And there isn't a single poultry vet anywhere freakin near here.  And I thought my knitting night was tonight, but it's really on November 7th which is good because I'm tired now.

But then, we do get all this: