Author Archives: Janelle

Milk Kefir

All about Dairy Kefir

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Milk kefir is a fermented milk drink that is usually made with goat’s milk or cow’s milk that is incredibly good for you.  The best way to describe milk kefir is that it’s kind of like a drinkable yogurt, it tastes tangy and a little sour. It is much easier to make than yogurt. Homemade yogurt and kefir are staples in our kitchen, I make them on a weekly basis.

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Guinea Fowl

Guineas on the homestead

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Guinea fowl have a reputation for being loud and going where ever they feel like.   Rightly so, they are constantly making noise and refuse to go into the coop at night.  Despite that, guineas are an essential animal to have on your farm or homestead.  If Guineas are kept right by your house, their noise may be a problem.  We have a large property, so our barn is within walking distance from the house, but not right by the house.  We hear their noise in the distance, but it is just another barn yard noise.  Roosters crowing, cows bellowing and guineas calling.  

why guinea fowl should be a part of your homestead:

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Getting Started Making Hard Cheese

What you need to know before making hard cheese at homeHomestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

One of the biggest benefits of having your own dairy animal, be it goat or cow, is plenty of fresh, raw milk.  An abundance of fresh milk means making dairy products yourself.  Yogurt, kefir, butter and cheese.  Several friends have told me that making hard cheeses sounds difficult and are intimidated by the process.  Not so!

Cheesemaking is really not difficult and quite fun! Once you get started, you will soon want to make all the cheese and may be talking your husband into making your very own cheese cave.  Ahem.

 

Here is what you need to get started making hard cheese.

 

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Cinnamon Apple Dutch Baby

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It’s the time of year for apples!  We have planted quite a few apple trees in our orchard, but it will be a couple years yet before we will get a harvest.  Good things come to those who wait.  That’s what I keep telling myself anyway!  Imagine my delight when one of our neighbors stopped by with several boxes of apples!  She had canned apple jelly and applesauce and had apples to spare.  She graciously shared the bounty.

We’ve been enjoying all things apple ever since.  There’s something magical when you combine apples with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Yum!!  One of our favorite apple recipes is a Cinnamon Apple Dutch Baby pancake.  Not only is it big on flavor, it’s a quick breakfast or breakfast for dinner meal.  I make it in my cast iron skillet, which is my favorite way to cook!

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Reality of Homesteading

 

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As I was milking our Jersey, Spark, the other evening, I was thinking about how this was what I dreamed about for years.  Living off the land, growing our food and getting milk from our own cow.  Life is good!  And then Spark swatted me in the face with her tail.

Everyone glosses over the realities of homesteading/farming.  They show the good, happy parts of farm life and skip over the not so great stuff that nobody really wants to hear about.  We’re shown the end result, the glass of milk or a clean basket of eggs, and all the stuff that happens beforehand isn’t mentioned.  But isn’t the end result, the glass of milk and fresh eggs, the point?   Yes, it is and it’s certainly the reward for a job well done. However, there is a romanticized view of homesteading these days. The white picket fence, well behaved animals, a perfectly weeded garden, cooking from scratch and still have time to sit on the porch with a glass of lemonade is what’s often portrayed on the internet.  Getting swatted in the face by a cow’s tail or cleaning out the chicken coop that will really start to stink to high heaven if you don’t clean it, isn’t what you read about.  While I love this life, there are some realities that are part of it; sweat, dirt, bugs and poop.  Lots of poop.

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Putting Farm Animals to Work

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Farm animals have an important place on the homestead.  From the backyard homesteader to the full time farmer, producing your own eggs, milk and meat is a fulfilling accomplishment.  We give our farm animals fresh food and water and the best care possible.  But could our farm animals being doing more for us in return?  We need to look at “the pigness of the pig and the chickeness of the chicken” as Joel Salatin puts it.

 

Instead of working against each farm animal’s natural instincts, why not have those instincts work for you instead?

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Goat’s milk yogurt

thick and creamy goat's milk yogurt

Homestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

My family loves yogurt.  When our goat’s are in milk, I make 1 gallon of yogurt a week and I still can’t keep up with my kid’s appetites!  Who can resist a bowl of thick, creamy goat’s milk yogurt with a bit of fruit mixed in? 

 

Wait, thick and creamy goat’s milk yogurt? 

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Chores with a Toddler

Farm chores with toddlerHomestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
When our third child was born, I was determined to get back to my normal routine of caring for animals and gardening as soon as I could.  Being outside is my happy place.  I was able to get my chores and gardening done with my baby by babywearing.  I wore my baby every day for the first 2 years of her life.  When she was about 2 1/2 years old, I stopped wearing her on my back daily. My little adventurer wanted to explore and didn’t want to always be stuck on mama’s back. When I did put her on my back, she felt very heavy and would throw her weight around which would sometimes throw me off balance.  Sadly, I had to admit that my baby wearing days were over. 
This new phase of life definitely put a wrinkle in being active outside on the farm, but I was determined to continue to be outside, caring for the animals and tending the garden.  Plus, I really, REALLY want my little girl to love the farm.  She is so interested in everything that is going on around her, the animals, the vegetables and flowers, I don’t want to squash that. 

How can you get farm chores and gardening done with an active toddler?

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Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Bake

Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal BakeHomestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Whatever you have for breakfast should stick with you until lunch, especially when you’re out working on the farm.  Our go-to breakfast is soaked oatmeal.  Make it up the night before, turn the burner on low under the pan of oatmeal in the morning, head out to do morning chores and viola!  Breakfast is ready when we come back in.  We add in seasonally available fruit, nuts and raisins to mix it up a little.   We do vary a little with our breakfast options, homemade granola, eggs & bacon and on occasion, boxed cereal.  Most of the time when it comes to breakfast, oatmeal is on the menu.
One morning last winter, when it was chilly in the house and I was thinking of ways to help warm things up, I started thinking about baked oatmeal.  After looking around for some recipes and not finding what I was looking for, Travis decided to make up his own recipe.  He’s good like that.

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Eating Well in Rural America

Eating real food in rural AmericaHomestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

Eating real food with real ingredients is a priority for our family.  Before we moved to the Ozarks, we lived outside a large city where organic produce and meat was not hard to find. The prices were reasonable since there was a demand for organic food.

We moved to an area of the country where the organic food movement is just now trickling in.  It was definitely an eye opener to see how spoiled we were, with pretty much anything we wanted just a 10 minute drive away.   There are grocery stores that sell organic meat and produce about an hour away, which we do go to if we happen to need to go to the city for other reasons. However we prefer to stay on the farm and avoid unnecessary running around as much as possible.

how do we eat well in rural America when organic food isn’t readily available?    

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