The House Around the Corner - Tiramisu Rustica

 Tiramisu Rustica

My friend Katherine has been successfully using fresh goat's milk for quite a long time now.  She has been so encouraging to all of us to have nutritious and beautiful meals.  Thank you for sharing some of these wonderful dessert recipes with all of us!

Cindy

Tiramisu Rustica

(Pronounced tee-dah-mee-sύ)

This is inspired by a traditional Italian dessert,

 I’ve reworked it so you’re using great ingredients and methods.

2 cups flour whole wheat, spelt, Kamut, gluten free (I used Kamut)

-1 cup yogurt

 -1 cup water

Combine these and soak overnight.

½ cup butter

½ cup agave or honey

Cream butter and sweetener together with a beater.

4 beaten eggs

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

Combine all ingredients. Pour into two round cake pans, which are greased and floured.

Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Cool completely. The cakes will be thin.

Filling

2 cups homemade cream cheese (yogurt you’ve strained overnight through a cheese cloth)

½  whipping cream-whipped in a cold bowlJ

1/3 – ½ cup agave or honey

Add sweetener to room temperature cream cheese. Fold in ½ of whipped cream then fold in the rest.

So your filling is ready, your cakes are cooled, 2 more simple steps and you’re done!

You’ll need ½ cup of strong coffee or 2 shots of espresso - slightly sweetened

½ cup of cocoa powder

Place first cake on plate, saturate with one espresso shot, or ¼ cup coffee.

Spread ½ of the filling over your cake. Sift ¼ cup cocoa powder over the filling.

Add next layer and repeat. Enjoy!

I doubled my flour and liquid when I soaked them and used ½ for pancakes.

When I get more than one dish out of my efforts I feel so much more accomplished.

Also pictured is

Chocolate Mousse

½-1 cup raw whipped cream, whipped in a cold bowl

4 stiffly beaten egg whites (add a dash of salt or cream of tartar while beating)

6 oz semisweet chocolate

1 tbsp cream

Melt chocolate with tbsp of cream on low heat, cool. Slowly fold in to whipped cream.

Slowly fold in beaten egg whites. You can add a little coffee or espresso to bring out the chocolate flavor. Cool in refrigerator at least an hour.

Now that was easy! And yummy!

Katherine

Low Temperature Yogurts

The Raw Milk Adventure Continues....

Low Temperature Yogurt

After spending time researching raw milk I have become convinced that our family wants to switch completely away from pasteurized milk.   This includes yogurt, which we have been eating a lot of.   There are some great web sites and youtube clips showing how to make raw milk yogurt.  The basic process seems to depend on what type of culture you have.

You can purchase cultures on line.  I intend to do this, but did not get around to it yet.  Instead, when we went to buy milk yesterday my sister and I decided to get three types of yogurt and we shared them.  These were then mixed to make our culture.   What we found was a sheep milk yogurt, a coconut milk yogurt and a greek yogurt.

The milk with the yogurt culture (all three combined) was put into a glass canning jar and lidded up tightly.  My sister has a yogurt maker that she used.  She also is going to try a dehydrator (as soon as she can find it.... probably it is somewhere in the shop).  I tried several different spots around my fireplace... using my candy thermometer to test it out.... too hot.  The milk cannot go above 118 or the enzymes are destroyed.

Finally.... I put hot water into my crock pot, left it off til it got to 110, then put the jars of yogurt into the hot water, put the lid on and put a thick bath towel over the whole thing.  I did need to turn it on low every couple of hours for about 10 minutes at a time.   The candy thermometer helped me keep track of the temperature.  It has now been in there for 8 hours.  It is at 110 degrees right now, and it is just going to stay in there overnight.  In the morning the water should be cold and it should be finished.  

So, this is a work in progress.  Hopefully it turns out!  Here is a paragraph from the web site where you can get the cultures and the web site.  As soon as I pull it together I plan to switch to countertop yogurt!

Two Types of Yogurt Cultures

There are two types of yogurt cultures: Mesophilic and Thermophilic.  Mesophilic cultures are also known as room temperature or counter top yogurt varieties as they culture best at room temperature (70-78 degrees).  You do not need a yogurt maker to use a mesophilic culture.  Thermophilic cultures require heat to culture properly so using a thermophilic culture requires a way to keep the yogurt at 110 degrees for 4-8 hours (depending on the variety).  Yogurt making appliances are a popular choice when working with a thermophilic culture but other methods can work quite well including a crock pot, oven with a low temperature setting, etc.

Cultures for Health

The House Around the Corner - Jamie's Kefir Bread

Here is another great recipe from Jamie.  It reminded me of a quote which was in a previous article on raw milk found here.  The quote was:

Left to its own devices, fresh milk sours naturally. This is not due to the enzymes in the mix, but to naturally-occurring lacto-fermenting bacteria found in raw milk. Those bacteria produce lactic acid that sours the milk by reducing its pH., i.e., making it more acid. While the uninitiated might think this is milk to be thrown out, the wise know this acid condition actually preserves the milk against spoilage. In days gone by, the Irish housewife typically soured fresh milk overnight by the dying fireplace in preparation for making soda bread the next morning..

It looks like a great recipe.  I will probably use soaked grains to make it, but plan to give it a try.  Thanks Jamie!

While we are in that part of the world.... here is a link to The Good Scots Diet which also talks about Soda Bread.  It is a great article, very extensive and covers a lot of ground.  I really enjoyed reading it.

Quick Kefir Soda Bread

3 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup kefir
1 egg
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Heat the oven to 375 and lightly grease a cookie sheet

Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the kefir and egg. Mix very well.

Turn out on a floured surface and knead for a minute or two, you're really just trying to shape the bread.

Form dough into a round and put it on the cookie sheet.

Cut a shallow "x" into the top of the loaf and brush with the melted butter.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Start peeking at the bread about 30 minutes into the baking time, every oven is different.

If you'd like you can continue to baste the top of the bread with the melted butter during baking.

GMO - Activist Information

Personal note from me before you read any of this.  If you have had a lot of GMO's in your diet, or are struggling with some of the terrible side effects, I really believe that you can correct much of the problems by changing your diet.  We are "fearfully and wonderfully made" and have mechanism's in our system, placed there by God.  They just need the right nutrients, some time and some energy to work.

Don't roll around in self pity or hopelessness, instead, change your diet and your families way of eating.  This is dead serious stuff though, please spend some time studying it.  It is important.

No GMO Activist Information

Some of you know that I have been following the GMO story for years.  It is a long, troubling, terrible story of power, money, corruption and borderline insanity.  If you have been following this story, and are persuaded that GMO's are endangering our food supply, our healthy children, our mental abilities and our reproductive capacity, you don't need to read further in this note.  I would, however, encourage you to become activists.  Wherever you land on the political scale..... fight WITH one another to stop this evil, awful perverse ruination of our food.

The best way you can fight is to NOT purchase ANYTHING that contains GMO's.... and contact companies that you used to do business with or purchase products with and tell them why.  If the top 10 American companies shifted away from GMO's, it would change the future.

To help with this, I would like to pass on some very helpful stuff.  The first is an I-Phone app.  It gives you a list of companies that refuse to use GMO's in their processing.    Type in ShopNoGMO and the free app will come up.  You can also go to this website and print up a list of foods that are and are not made with GMO's.  I have printed a bunch of them and will hand them out and take them with me to the store.

The website for this is:  Non GMO Shopping Guide

For those people willing to be genuine activists, there is an excellent website.  I MUST warn everyone.  This group has people from all corners of the political spectrum.  There are folks from the far, far left to the far, far right and everywhere in between.  We all share a common goal of a safe food supply.  Please make allowances for philosophical differences and focus on what is important.  This is a good plan.  Their website can be found at the first link and their information page at the second link.

Institute for Responsible Technology - Action Page

Responsible Technology - Information Page

If you are on Facebook, they have a No GMO's Fan Page which you can join.

Now, if you are unsure about GMO's and the damage that they can do, I would like to list a bunch of articles.  All I am going to say personally is that, in my opinion, GMO's are terrible.  Anyone with young children or in their child bearing years, or anyone who wishes to have optimal health should spend some time studying the effects of GMO's.

If you think that ANY regulatory agency is responsible for keeping your food, your medicine or your health safe, you are naive.  The regulatory agencies tend to have an absolutely incestuous relationship with the corporations and industries that they should be regulating.  Most of them are run by career bureaucrats, not elected officials.   Please, do NOT take my word for any of this.  It is your responsibility to keep your family as safe, as happy and as healthy as possible and you need to know the damage these insidious food products cause.

Sadly, the information we are now acquiring is not based on animal testing.  World populations are the test group.  Spending time on this subject again brought me to probably one of the most appalling quotes I have ever heard.

“Maybe the GM soy will solve

the overpopulation problem.”

 Dr. Mercola, as well as many other groups, have published quite a few articles over the past several months. The reason much of this is coming out is apparently a court case which was won and required the publication of some clinical trials.  I tried to research it myself, but it was overwhelming.  I am going to just post some of Dr. Mercola's articles for sake of consistency.  He might have some pop up ads, if so, I apologize.  I  went ahead and joined the site because of the wonderful articles.  I have found NOTHING in his articles to disagree with... on the GMO issue (unusual for me) and he is a good, clear concise writer.   I have stuff posted on the GMO issue by other authors as well.  You can find it under the GMO label.

One last personal note from me.  The FDA had all this information, and probably more.  Don't allow government officials to tell you what is healthy and what is not.  You need to make wise decisions for your family and loved ones based on knowledge.  You should never just swallow a decree by a bureaucrat.  Be persuaded by facts based on genuine research, not the rigged, bought and paid for stuff they call research.  Deuteronomy 31:6 gives us direction. 

"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

So, here is some further reading for anyone that wants to be educated on this subject.  Probably the most evil of all is what GMO's do to reproductive development.  There are two articles on this subject, one an overview, one focusing on reproductive and organ failure.  Please go to the first article and scroll down.  Observe the close up of the rat testicles fed gmo and non gmo, and the cell pattern below it.  It is pretty amazing.

I don't know if the high incidence of retardation, development problems or infant mortality are in any of these articles, but should be looked at as well.

10 Reasons why no one needs GM foods

Organ and Reproductive Failure

One of the more perverse aspects appears to be what happens to young children exposed to GMO's.  Is it pure evil that one of the first uses of a genetically modified food was infant formula made with GM soy?  Without testing (that we know of).   Certainly without oversight from anyone that cared.  This article has some excerpts from "Genetic Roulette" and some good info on what can happen to kids fed GM foods.

GM Foods more dangerous for children than adults

This one covers some of the intimidation used on the researchers who tried to sound the alarm early on.  These are just a few... there were more.

If You Find Problems with Genetically Modified Foods Watch Out 

This next one covers the fine art of rigging studies.  A true art form if you ask me.  Not for the novice thug, it takes genuine professionalism.  Luckily, there appears to be plenty of that to go around.

Rigged Studies 

This next article shows some of the enormous influence of Monsanto over Washington D.C.  One man was with the FDA under George Bush, Sr..... and appointed back by Obama.  He worked at Monsanto between times.  Conflict of interest?  It is all over Washington.

We have shipped our evil wares all over the globe.  Our regulators labeled them safe without due diligence.  The headlines in this article cover;  Covering up Health Dangers, Fake Safety Assessments, Promoting and Regulating don't Mix, Evaluations miss most health problems, Hidden information, lack of standards, breaking law and Humans as Guinea Pigs.

An FDA Created Health Crisis Circles the Globe 

Last, but certainly not least, is a warning on the danger of GMO's from the medical profession.

Doctors warn to avoid GMO's 

I think that is all that I can take of this for now.  I can only go back to this every so often.  It is depressing.  For our family, we grow as much of our food as we can using heirloom seeds.  We buy local and organic from people who live in our community and are like minded.  We make an effort to purchase from organic and Non GMO companies (even if I disagree with their politics) and we avoid genetically modified foods like the poison that they are.  Eating out is difficult. 

For the most part, be aware that highly processed food in any form should be suspect.  If it doesn't rot, don't eat it.  Study, learn, be alert and aware, be proactive, be responsible for your families health.

Best of Health to You

Cindy

The House around the Corner - Raw Milk Ice Cream

Lynette's House

Ice Cream from Raw Milk (yum)

Lynette's House has been a raw milk house for a long, long time.  She has a lot of recipes, and is sharing some of them with us.  Her ice cream is really good and I am looking forward to this special treat this summer!

Ice Cream: Beat Until frothy: 3 eggs, 1 1/2 c. Sugar (honey is good too, or a combination), 1/4 tsp. salt. Add: 5 1/2 cups raw milk, 2 cups cream, 3 Tbsp Vanilla. Pour into ice cream maker and follow freezing directions. When its done freezing you can add anything else you'd like. We love adding a package of frozen raspberries. Our ice cream maker holds 1 gallon.

The House around the Corner - Eggs Benedict

 Eggs Benedict

from Lynette

Eggs Benedict (easy): Have ready in blender or food processor: 3 egg yolks, 1 Tbls. lemon juice, pinch of cayenne, 1/4 tsp. salt.  Heat 1/2 cup butter to bubbling stage.  With the food processor running slowly pour in the hot butter (much like making mayonaise).  That's IT.  I like to then pour it into a glass measuring cup and keep in warm in a bowl of hot water.

Lynette's family had an awesome breakfast this morning: Eggs benedict with homemade hollandaise sauce, sprouted english muffins, poached eggs and bacon from Papas homegrown organic piggy.

Thanks Lynette for sharing the idea and the recipe.

Cindy

Raw Milk vs. Homogenized and Pasteurized Milk

The learning curve for Raw Milk has been steep for me.  I came here kicking and screaming and is has never really been on my agenda until I started researching it for the fats portion of this blog.  Amazingly, we are becoming absolute raw milk advocates.  I am still finding this a little hard to believe, but here we are, actually looking into getting a milk cow (or two... or three!)

Here is a page with numerous links for raw milk.  Not to overwhelming, but good information.  It has links to both sides of the raw milk argument.  I have been reading a lot on both sides of the issue and what has bubbled to the surface is not pretty.  I am going to have to quit reading all of these great articles, although it is fascinating.  I know this is getting to be a lot  :)

Mi Milk Maidens

 
As far as the raw milk vs. pasteurized and homogenized argument goes, it appears that a healthy cow, eating grass, taken care of, and careful milking, cooling and handling of the milk provides a healthy, nutritious product.  Raw milk also appears to be the second most contraband item in the United States, right behind illegal drugs.  Go figure.

If you feed your herds garbage (or an unnaturally large amount of grains), have manure everywhere, disgusting things going into the milk (blood, pus..... you get the idea) you might need to pasteurize your milk products so as not to poison everyone drinking the milk.  

If you want to ship your milk product over long distances, have them keep "fresh" for an unnaturally long time, and are completely OK with destroying anything live in your milk product, then the entire pasteurization and homogenization process is right up your alley.

If the idea of complete fats is a puzzle to your dairy, and cream rising to the top of the milk is bothersome to your marketing department, then you definitely want to homogenize that milk!   It completely destroys the fat molecules, so they can never, never be reunited the way God intended.  But you don't have that cream issue to deal with and can sell more product.  A quote from the soda pop article below is intriguing... I am trying to find the studies, but here is the quote.

[You might find it interesting that, as demonstrated in numerous studies, calves fed pasteurized milk die within 60 days.]

We are blessed here in California to have Organic Pastures Dairy.  As I have been studying in depth on this issue, their name came up again and again and again as a model for the state, the country and the world.  They are amazing advocates for clean, wholesome, raw milk.  Their processing is outstanding and  they are passionate about providing this wonderful food to the public.  

Organic Pastures 

It is a continual fight to keep raw milk safe, legal and available in California.  It is always under assault.  I still can't figure out why that is.  When other foods are found to be unsafe, they deal with the individual supplier, not make the entire food illegal.  With milk, however, it is different.  I still don't know why.  I assume it comes down to the same thing as always.  Money and power.

I do know that, in general, when one side just has a bunch of names like "stupid"  "crazy"  "mindless" and goes on and on with the whole "don't you know what's good for you" thing..... it's bad.  The case against raw milk involves a lot of that.  They also have had very few actual, proven instances of death, disease or problems.  There are some, just like in any food based industry.  You should compare that to people with problems with non-raw milk.... oh, we don't want to give out THOSE numbers.

Finally, for those study hounds who want to know the COMPLETE history of the milk pasteurization movement, here is an in depth article containing a history of how we got here.  A quote from the article:

The story of what’s happened to quality milk is the same as the story of what’s happened to America’s farmers. Both have been mostly eliminated, marginalized by a culture that has allowed corporations to promote the big lie that the processing of natural foods has nothing to do with the epidemic of disease that cripples our society. Corporate spokespersons for the food, drug and medical industries have used billions of dollars (a drop in the bucket compared to their profits) to convince most of us that this scam has been carried out for our own good. The corporations and their media and government lackeys proclaim "food safety," while in truth allowing our food supply to be nutritionally depleted, further contaminated, and fostering unsustainability of food sourcing.

Is Soda Pop or Milk Healthier?

I don't ever want to make any decisions for anyone.  Just take a little time while we are in fats and study the raw vs. other on milk.  Check into what the laws are in your state or country.  Can you be proactive in bringing free choice?

One final quote from the Soda Pop article (it is really, really in depth and so good).

Whether one drinks milk at all is a personal choice. The point herein is not to convince anyone to drink clean, healthy raw milk, but rather, as with my related articles, that true health can only be facilitated by getting beyond the industrial agenda based manipulation that permeates our society. Only with sufficient unbiased information, and free choice, can we begin to dig ourselves out of the destructive chronic illness plaguing our quality of life.

Finally, this has been here before (on gut health), but it is still so good I wanted to put it include it again.

A Word About Diet In General

Use common sense and stick with whole, unprocessed foods, free from genetic tweaking (there's still just too much conflicting information out there on that topic), and you'll likely be ahead of the game.

Cook your foods minimally, and you'll be even better off. Learn about sprouting and fermentation. Question everything before letting it past your lips. 

Explore what worked for countless generations before ours, and put it to work for yourself today. You can achieve great health by diet alone. I've done it, and so can you!

 Raw Milk Facts . Com

Best of health to you,

Cindy

The House around the Corner - Raw Milk Stories

 The Lucky Cousins

From Sherri Ann's Keeping Room

     When I was a child we drank fresh (raw) cows milk. I remember my mother scooping the cream from the top of the milk and making delicious butter and whipping cream. My mother and father always said we were not allergic to poison oak because the cows ate the plant as they grazed in the fields and woods near our home; we would then drink their milk so our system developed an immunity. My cousins, who did not drink raw milk, were often covered with the red rash caused by coming in contact with the plant that grows abundantly in our county. When I was young, if you had enough of the poison oak rash, you were not allowed to attend school because it was considered very contagious. I remember once, my cousin was out of school for a week, I was in about 3rd grade and wanted to stay home from school and spend the day with my mother. I went to the edge of the woods behind our home and found myself some poison oak.

     You can imagine what happened next, I stripped the plant of several handfuls of leaves and rubbed it ALL OVER MYSELF...I crushed the leaves and rubbed it on my skin, I broke the branches and used the sap, I found a cut and put some in it...okay, I wasn‘t a very bright child, but I was determined. I was very proud of myself and went back to the house and waited for the itching to begin…I waited...and went to school, the next day, I waited and went to school, the next day, I went to school and decided that my cousins were lucky to have parents who didn't give them fresh cows milk.

     I don't know if there is in fact scientific proof about developing this immunity, but Dad and Mom said so...and that's good enough for me. If you enjoy drinking fresh cows milk, I don't suggest you research in the same manner I did so long ago.

Take Care,

Sherri Ann

The House Around the Corner - Becky's House

Becky's Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

with cultured cream cheese frosting

2 cups of warm water
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 cup of sourdough starter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 coconut oil
6 to 7 cups of flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let sit for a minute or two. Add the sugar and salt. Mix. Add the oil, 2 eggs, sourdough starter, 2 cups of flour and beat until smooth.

Stir in 3 more cups of flour. Begin kneading the dough, adding the final cup of flour. If the dough seems too sticky, knead in more flour, a quarter to a half cup at a time.
(I do all of this in my Kitchen Aid in about 5 min.)

Let the dough "rest" for 15 to 20 minutes.

Roll the dough into a rectangle that's 24 to 30 inches long by about 16 inches wide. Spread with a mixture of soft butter, cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla. Starting at the wide end, roll into a log.

Cut the cinnamon rolls into equal sized slices (approximately one inch wide each or slightly more) and place into two greased 9x13 pans. Put in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes (or until the cinnamon rolls are golden brown).

Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then smooth the cream cheese frosting over them.

This recipes makes two dozen cinnamon rolls. If you want REALLY BIG cinnamon rolls, cut into 12 equal pieces 2 inches wide.

Total amount of time needed from start to finish (including time to bake) is about 2 hours.

Cream Cheese frosting:
About 1 cup of homemade cream cheese.
1 cup powdered sugar
1 TBL vanilla

Whip together until smooth and spread over warm cinnamon rolls.

Yummy!

Ramble in the Woods - Grammie Time and Aprons

Our Grandson, almost two, was up today.  He helped his Dad and Papa prune the orchard, chased and screamed at chickens, played with the dog, did some school with his uncle who is eight and generally ran hard til lunch time.  After lunch, he had such a good nap.

When he woke up, he snuggled in the chair with me and then fell asleep again.  What a precious time.  Every minute of every day seems to have at least fifteen things demanding your attention.  The laundry is sitting there ready to be folded (it is still there glowering at me), dinner was calling, floors and office work... always there.

Instead, we snuggled in Grammy's big chair for over an hour while he slept.  His uncle is reading "The Secret Garden" and it happened to be sitting there.  I picked it up and spent the time happily back in Mary's Secret Place..... humming to baby and myself.

I am reminded why our household is making so many changes.  Giving your precious family the best possible opportunity for health, happiness, contentment with simplicity, the joy of the Lord and love is of great value.   Raising an abundantly healthy family in a toxic world is worth striving for.

The opportunity to sit and snuggle and reflect is good.  I have been thinking about investing in some Grammy aprons and found this cool poem..... for no particular reason except that I want my family to have wonderful memories of spending time here and I remember both of my Grandma's apron's vividly.

Be blessed with your family tonight.  Give the kids an extra hug.  Look them in the eye and remind them how much you love 'em.  God is good all the time.

"Grandma's Apron"

When I used to visit Grandma. I was very much impressed,
by her all-purpose apron, and the power it possessed.
For Grandma, it was everyday to choose one when she dressed.
The strings were tied and freshly washed, and maybe even pressed.
The simple apron that it was, you would never think about;
the things she used it for, that made it look worn out.
She used it for a basket, when she gathered up the eggs,
and flapped it as a weapon, when hens pecked her feet and legs.
She used it to carry kindling when she stoked the kitchen fire.
And to hold a load of laundry, or to wipe the clothesline wire.
She used it for a hot pad, to remove a steaming pan,
and when her brow was heated, she used it for a fan.
It dried our childish tears, when we'd scrape a knee and cry,
and made a hiding place when the little ones were shy.
Farm produce took in season, in the summer, spring and fall,
found its way into the kitchen from Grandma's carry all.
When Grandma went to heaven, God said she now could rest.
I'm sure the apron she chose that day, was her Sunday best.
(author unknown)

A Ramble in the Woods - Ginger Ale

Today I was able to make up some of our all time favorite ginger ale/juice mixtures.  Blood oranges, juiced and ran through a sieve, mixed 1 to 1 with ginger ale.  It is not watered down because our family enjoys the bold, bright taste.

 

Our favorite!

The Extra Step - Phase 2 - Continuing Education Raw Milk

The raw milk journey continues:

The Weston A. Price Foundation has a lot of good information on raw milk and its products.  There is a great page showing different recipes and different information on unheated vs. heated yogurt.  I have not yet tried any of these, but plan to begin as soon as I can get the bread, kvass, ginger ale, sauerkraut, kefir, butter stuff completely under control....

OK, that is never going to happen.  :)  So... probably next week will bring several yogurt recipes to the kitchen (focus, focus).  If anyone would like to try some of these and send me pictures and how it turned out, how you used it and ways to work it into your busy lives...... We would all appreciate it. 

Here it the article.

To Heat or Not to Heat... That is the Yogurt Question

Also from the site is a good breakdown of raw milk in general and is a great overview.

Milk.... It does a body good 

I think my favorite site is the Modern Country Dairy site.  They have a lot of great stuff.  I found a good explaination for why lactose intolerant people can often drink raw milk.  This is on their page titled Top Ten Reasons for drinking raw milk.  Even if you have been there before, it is well worth going again.

A couple of quotes:

According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, "Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer."

Often people who consider themselves to be "lactose intolerant" are able to enjoy raw milk because it contains "lactase." Lactase is one of the enzymes that get destroyed during pasteurization. It normally would pre-digest the milk while in the stomach, thereby enabling the body to assimilate its nutrients. Pasteurization forces the milk to enter the lower intestines undigested, resulting in cramps and gas.

The difference is night and day. Supermarket milk is highly manipulated and engineered. It's pasteurized, or heated to about 161 degrees for about 15 seconds, which destroys the bacteria that cause food borne illness, along with the flavor of milk. Pasteurization by this method gives it a fairly long shelf life. [Milk is also] homogenized which smashes all the fat globules and makes it uniform and smooth, while wiping out all the thick lovely cream that floats to the top. Then that milk travels a long way, often thousands of miles, to get to us.

Raw milk is rich with enzymes and contains all 22 of the essential amino acids which are the building blocks of life, including phosphate. Phosphate is essential for the absorption of calcium and is plentifully present in raw milk but is completely destroyed by pasteurization

 Again, I would highly recommend this site. 

Top Ten Reasons for Raw Milk 

Figure out what is best for your family.  Make your decisions one at a time, and try to find a workable way to get the process in place.  If you live somewhere that does not allow raw milk, you might try to find a "co-op" or neighbor that has cows or goats and work something out.

The nutritional value of raw milk vs. homoginized and pasturized milk just cannot be overstated.  This is such an important item in the Nourishing Traditions... the Weston A. Price Foundation.... Nutrition and Degenerative Disease.... all of these wonderful resources consider raw milk from grass fed cows to be the backbone of health.

Please pass on what you have learned.  Remember that we are a community of friends, learning from each other, sharing joys and failures, helping to destroy our dependence on Agribusiness, Big Pharma, the Medical Industry........  In a community we support each other where we can, but are primarily responsible for our own family.  Step up to this responsibility, don't overwhelm yourself, make the best choice you can and keep moving.

The picture has nothing to do with milk.... The Junior Rancher and Baby Rancher are learning their States and Capitals this morning.  I just liked the picture.  We did have to interrupt this fine lesson so Grammie could kiss every "boo boo" Baby Rancher had. 


Best of Health to You
Cindy

The Extra Step - Phase 2 - More Raw Milk Information

In our continuing education on raw milk, this very interesting study came my way.  It is a very in-depth study, but I think it is worth the time to read it (or at least skim portions of it).  Remember that grass fed cows put out a completely different milk than grain fed cows.  Be sure you know what your raw milk cows are eating.  It appears that hay in the winter is OK as well.  If you are short on time, you might want to skim through the first part to the meat of the article, in the middle and the end.

A couple of my favorite things from this study:

"3. What are the additional benefits of milk fresh from the cow?

Milk fresh from the cow is a complete, living, functional food.  Although we have looked at the numerous nutritional components of milk in the previous two questions, the full benefits of milk are only realized when all of these components function as a complex interdependent and balanced process. 

and... 

Proteins are incrementally denatured by heat. With lower heat treatment levels, complex proteins with three-dimensional configuration are altered. With higher heat treatment levels, the primary shape and bonds are altered. At very high heat levels, there are destructive chemical changes.

and...

Fats
This is complex because changes to the fat globules, specifically the membranes, are caused by both heat and homogenization. Of all the milk constituents, the milk fat globule is the most drastically altered by the combination of pasteurization and homogenization.

The emphasis above is mine.  I strongly recommend you spend a little time reading this wonderful information.

The Michigan Fresh Unprocessed Whole Milk Workgroup 

Best of Health to you

Cindy

New (old) Bread Pans

Repurposing

My sister, who loves to shop at thrift stores, found me three glass bread pans.  It was pretty exciting.  Shopping is one of my least favorite things, but I sure wanted to try some of these cool bread recipes in glass pans.  Thanks much.

Using a tip from Mountain Home Quilts worked well.  The tip was to let the bread rise in a cooler place.

The idea of always shifting your bread process in small, managable chores has also been working in our overbusy household.  This tip comes from an old, old recipe and is probably how pioneer women functioned.

So..... step one - the sponge goes into the Kitchenaid along with the rest of the ingredients... step two -  form up the loaves... step three - rub the insides of the pans with olive oil and coat the top with more olive oil....  step four - cover with a damp cloth (this one is from Evelyn Fields).   These four steps took about ten minutes for all three loaves.  (no dishes yet)


Right after that it was time for remaking the sponge for the next batch of bread and making up some tortilla dough.  (Tortilla dough recipe here)  Again, this step took only about 10 minutes for each process, then nothing more to be done until time to bake.  (after making new sponge and tortilla dough... now wash the dishes and counter and put everything away - ONCE)

I did this on Saturday and today (Wednesday) I plan to take the sponge which is quite sour now and redo this entire process.  I did put the sponge in a cool place.  If it is too sour, I will just add a little more flour and water.  This is how I am coping with too many cultures going on in one house. 

Current Bread Recipe at our house

subject to change as soon as I read the bread book I swiped from my sister :)

 

Community Sourdough Bread

(Community means none of these ideas are mine... just a gathering)

The Sponge

1 cup sourdough starter

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups barley flour

2 cups white flour

1/2 cup flax meal

2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

1 cup kefir

Water to make it a slurry

Just bring this together, it is not necessary to knead it.  Put it into a bowl, cover with a wet towel and let rise until double in volumne (probably about 10-12 hours - longer is OK)

The Dough

The sponge from before

any tortilla dough left over

2 tsp. sea salt

3 Tbsp. Olive oil

2 Tbsp. sweetner (Palm Sugar)

Flour to make a slightly sticky dough

Form into your loaf and let rise again.  I put my loaf glass pans with olive oil in them and rubbed oil on the top.  This makes the crust nicer.  The dough should double in volume.  It often takes several hours.

Baking

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  

I like to either spritz water in or put a small pan of water in.
It gives your crust a nice feel.  

A stone is nice, but it is not necessary.

Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes, then turn down the over to 325 degrees for approximately 15-25 minutes.  The times will vary depending on your loaf size and density.

There are two ways to check and see if it done....
a thermometer inserted - 210 degrees

.... or turn the loaf over and tap the bottom...
if it sounds hollow, it is done.

When I take it out I either immediately run the loaf under water or put butter on the top.  

This makes it a lot easier to cut.

Enjoy,

If I missed any tips, someone let me know.  Right now it is all about making this process work in our lives.

Cindy

Raw Milk Legal Victory - Canada

Legal Victory in Canada!
subject: Raw Milk

There is a great news article on a raw milk victory in Canada.  We have some Canadian friends on this blog, and it is good to rejoice whenever a little guy providing healthy, nutrient dense food wins.

I don't know the law for excerpting from other sites... so here are a couple of paragraphs.  Please go read the article.  Right now we should begin an in - depth focus of raw milk and its benefits, so it is certainly timely.

Schmidt was found not guilty on 19 charges related to providing raw milk: While Canadian law allows the consumption of raw milk, its sale and distribution has been illegal in the country since 1938, authorities fearing that it could contain bacteria that may pose a risk to public health.

Schmidt operates a 150-cow dairy co-operative venture, in which members own part of a cow in order to acquire raw milk. The scheme was ruled not to be a violation of public health rules as there is no selling or marketing of the product, and because Schmidt distributes only to the cow shareholders and not the general public.

For any Canadian friends, I would encourage you to contact your representatives (I don't know your legal system, but assume you have a representative type of government) and encourage the legality of raw milk to those who wish to have it.  There are links at the bottom for petitions and resources.

The stats on the end of the article were certainly intriguing....... how many people were sickened by raw milk (0) vs. how many people died from  listeriosis contamination (dozens)... of the government approved, dead, lifeless, worthless, wretched.... sorry, got carried away... milk.

Anyway, the article was enjoyable and well written.  Personally, we are actively looking into finding a milk cow.  Our entire family is excited by this prospect (except perhaps Papa who has had a milk cow before and remembers the work).

I would like to throw out a suggestion.  If you are interested in raw milk you should find out if someone you know has a cow.  If so, they would probably appreciate regularly scheduled time off in exchange for milk.  Perhaps your family could milk one to two times per week on a regular basis in exchange for milk.... and maybe take over for vacation time.  Just a suggestion.  A milk cow is day in-day out work and regular time off seems like a good trade.

Here is the article.  Enjoy

Cindy

Terra Madre