Beef Tallow Body Lotion

 

Research shows that beef tallow contains antioxidants, has anti-inflamatory properties, doesn't clog poors, and can help produce collagen! Click on my Instagram link for the full recipe! Harts Creek Cattle Company Instagram

Sourdough Beer Bread

Making Sourdough Bread! (Instagram Reel)

This bread is a version of my basic Sourdough Beer Bread. I added bacon and cheddar cheese to this loaf. 

The basic recipe is:

1 cup recently fed starter

3 T. sugar

1 tsp sea salt

12 oz room temperature beer

5 cups all purpose flour

Mix sourdough starter and room temp beer in your mixer. Add sugar and salt and flour (using the dough hook attachment) until a soft dough is achieved. Continue to let the mixer kneed the dough on low for 3 to 4  minutes. Cover and let rise for two to two and half hours. When you push the dough with your finger, the indention should remain.

Dump the dough on a lightly floured parchment paper lined baking sheet and shape. Cover and allow to rise an additional two hours. During the last half hour preheat your oven to 450 and place your dutch oven inside to heat it. 

Score the top of your bread and pick up the parchment paper and transfer the bread to the dutch oven. 

Bake covered at 450 for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 to 12 minutes. Remove when bread is dark brown and sounds hollow when tapped. 

I keep my sourdough starter in the fridge in a Weck jar. 

Weck jars on Amazon

Be sure and click on our Harts Creek Cattle Company Instagram link for the video! 

Back to Eden Gardening....Greenwood Style

We have been avid gardeners / canners for several years now. And during that time, we're always seeking new methods that will make our lives easier, increase production, etc... Last year we incorporated raised-row gardening after visiting the Old World Garden Farms website and reading their book. This year we are using the Back to Eden method, but with our own spin on it. Last year when we began using the raised-row method, we built up our growing rows with rich soil and let grass grow on our walking rows in order to incorporate the "no-till method" of gardening. After lots of research, we've found that tilling only disturbs the natural balance of the soil and gives weeds a better chance to grow. However, mowing the walking rows was time consuming and grass runners invaded our growing rows. At the end of our summer season, we covered our raised rows and our one raised bed with heavy black plastic.

This method, hopefully, killed all the weed seeds and grass (along with any remaining squash bugs...which is a whole other story). We decided to use the Back to Eden method on our walking rows this year. In short, using bark mulch to hold in moisture and keep out weeds. I'll still be using straw mulch on the growing rows. We wanted to put down an extra barrier between last years grass and the bark mulch. So, we've been saving up paper feed sacks (from the feed we use for our cattle) for months. Also, we were able to get our bark mulch for FREE by contacting the city barn where they had piles of bark from trimming trees. We completed one walking row today (with several more to go).

I'll be keeping you updated on the garden this summer. Especially, if this makes the work load easier. Plus, I'll be sharing lots of canning recipes.....both hot water bath and pressure canning.

Here are some helpful websites for more information. Happy gardening!!
 

https://oldworldgardenfarms.com/raised-row-gardening/

https://www.backtoedenfilm.com/#/

Repurposing and Composting

Quite some time ago, I blogged about composting using two black plastic trash barrels with holes drilled in the sides. That worked okay but not great. I also decided that I wanted to compost on a larger scale to benefit our vegetable garden as much as possible. My sweet husband built a compost bin by repurposing some old wood pallets that were gathering dust in the barn. These pallets came with some loads of sacked cattle feed that we had purchased. We had all intentions of just throwing them away.....glad we didn't!
We used three pallets and a piece of plywood, along with some wood screws..

I wanted two separate sections so that, eventually, one side will hold the completed compost that's ready to be used on the vegetable garden and the other side will hold the compost that you're adding to and turning and letting it "cook".

Composting consists of adding carbon-based materials that are referred to as BROWN items and nitrogen-based materials that are referred to as GREEN items. The trick is getting the ratio correct, turning your compost pile, and keeping it at the right moisture level. 

I gathered the following items to get my compost started-

BROWN items: pine needles, grass clippings, shredded bark, and a combination of shredded paper and straw.

GREEN items: a combination of kitchen items such as egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, vegetable peels along with manure from our barn animals. 

The correct ratio for adding items to your compost pile is one part GREEN with four to five parts BROWN. 

Some examples of BROWN materials are: shredded dried leaves, straw, shrub prunings, pine needles, wood ash, newspaper, shredded paper, cardboard, and dryer lint

Some examples of GREEN materials are: vegetable scraps, fruit scraps, coffee grounds (with filter is fine), cow, horse, chicken, and rabbit manure, teabags, and eggshells

This is just the beginning. There are a lot of different items that are great for compost. Google searches will give exhaustive lists. 

Ideally, you will turn or stir your compost pile daily. If that's not possible, it should be turned at least two to three times a week. Moisture is also important. You don't want your compost pile to dry out but you also don't want it to be soggy. It should be placed in full sun to help it "cook".

Don't worry too much if your ratios of BROWN and GREEN materials aren't perfect. It will all work out and is easily corrected. This may sound like a lot of trouble. But think about all the BROWN and GREEN items you may have around your farm and think of all the kitchen scraps you may be throwing away (not all of our scraps make it to the compost bucket....some get fed to the chickens and the pot bellied pig). Then, if you are serious about vegetable gardening, think about how much you spend on chemical fertilizers and soil amendments. With your very own compost, you'll waste a lot less and save a lot more!

google.com, pub-5212399057292700, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

Egg Shells and Tomatoes

After our below freezing weather last weekend, I was finally able to get my tomato plants in the ground! They spent the weekend in the garden shed under a heat lamp but now they're basking in the sunshine in my garden.

A tip for more productive tomato plants is putting a little something extra in the bottom of the hole before you put your tomato plant in.....the something extra being epsom salt and egg shells!

Simply pour about a tablespoon of epsom salt in your hand and sprinkle in the bottom of the hole. 

Next, crush an egg shell and add to the bottom of the hole.

Then plant your tomato plant on top of the epsom salt and crushed egg shells! Built in fertilizer!!

Personally,  I prefer using heirloom tomato plants over hybrid tomato plants.  Hybrids are created by crossing two selected varieties. Sometimes this can result in a vigorous plant that will yield more than heirlooms. However, heirlooms are old-time varieties, open-pollinated, and the seeds are saved and handed down. Heirloom vegetables have diverse colors, more flavor, and rich nutrition. A lot of the breeding programs for modern hybrids have sacrificed taste and nutrition. If you're going to all the trouble of growing your own garden, who wants to sacrifice taste and nutrition?

google.com, pub-5212399057292700, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

Healthy Zucchini Muffins

As planting time in the garden rolls around, I am realizing that I still have a TON of zucchini squash in the freezer. Some we sliced and froze, but most we grated and froze with the intention of using it for breads and muffins.
This is a super easy, plus super healthy recipe!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/3 cut extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (I use maple syrup)
2 eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini (if your grated zucchini is very wet, drain it to remove the moisture)
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Grease and flour (I use spray Pam with flour) a 12 cup muffin pan.
Once the oven has finished preheating, toast your walnuts for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring halfway.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the olive oil and maple syrup (or honey) and whisk until well combined.

Add the eggs and beat well.

Next, add the buttermilk, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and vanilla extract and whisk to blend.

Switch from a whisk to a spoon and stir in the grated (and drained) zucchini

and stir in the wheat flour.

Last, fold in your toasted walnuts.

Divide the batter evenly between 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. 

Remove muffins from the muffin tin and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. 

Muffins may be stored, covered,  at room temperature for two days or in the refrigerator for four days. These muffins also freeze very well.

Saving Matilda

Recently, while my husband was working out of state for two weeks, we had 18 first-calf heifers that were starting to calve....quite stressful, to say the least! However, we have 9 healthy babies on the ground so far!
I did have one particular momma who decided she wanted nothing to do with her new heifer calf, no matter what.
I watched, for several days, as this baby went to the other mommas in order to nurse. She was getting enough milk (along with the first colostrum) to survive, but certainly not thrive.
She's shown here, at the back of another momma, trying to nurse, while her own momma, #33 ignores her.

After several days of watching her own momma kick her and walk away from her, and watching other mommas knock her away, along with seeing her shiver in the cold, I knew I had to intervene. 

This little baby certainly had a lot of determination and a strong will to live. I was able to catch her and give her a supplemental bottle, which she took to instantly. She was hungry!

I then moved her to the big barn, gave her fresh water, a bed of straw and a heat lamp. For the first time in her life, she was full and warm and content.

Lots of people gave me lots of advice. Some was wonderful and helpful, some was very well meaning, but just not feasible for me to do by myself (like putting the momma in the chute and tying one of her legs up so that the baby could nurse.)

So this sweet little baby calf, now named Matilda, is a bottle-fed baby. She's adorable and full of spunk and personality! I'm thankful that I intervened and saved Matilda!