OK, I am posting another "You can make that??" title. It will most likely become a regular title as I share things that we make and no longer buy in stores. This title may even get it's own web site tab someday! Now that is exciting... :)

Today it's breadcrumbs. Yes, I said breadcrumbs. The crunchy little powdered stuff we buy in a canister at a grocery store for $3 or so.  Hmmm...something funny about that. NOW let me ask you how many "heels" or dry bread you throw away every week?  Hmmm....see where I'm going with this?

So this is how it works...

We make our own bread of course so, with no preservatives the ends sometimes get dry after 4-5 days and no one eats them; understandable. But even if you do not make your own bread I know you have those heels that most people throw away. DON'T!  Here are two ways to do this. First you can put that piece in the freezer and wait until they add up and make a bulk batch of breadcrumbs only when you know you will need them. OR you can do what we do and make the crumbs as you go along and store them in the fridge or, for long term storage, in the freezer.

Camille shows us how. She is the bread maker in the family. No she does not work but she does actually make the bread so it only made sense to have her be the breadcrumb maker as well. This is what she does:

She cuts the dried up ends into cubes and places them in the blender. She chops them up real small and then spreads them out onto a baking sheet to dry for the rest of the day. We then put them in a jar and keep them in the fridge. Viola! Breadcrumbs! So, that wasn't so hard. Now you don't have to buy them anymore!
Aren't you glad you stopped by today?

OK, we have A LOT of milk. We have weaned two of our three milking mama’s and are down to just Lily, who is a master at her craft. We can normally get about a gallon of milk each day from just her. (Thanks Lily, we love ya!!!)

Now we have found that two refrigerators full is a bit much to keep so, along with giving it away, we decided to get cracking and make stuff! You already know about the ice cream, BUT did you know we have also made yogurt, cream and butter. The butter needs some work – we will practice and I am sure we will get it down in no time! Using our Russian manual cream separator (yes, it was actually shipped from the Ukrain is quick and easy and a family job – Camille and/or I warming up the milk and pouring it into the separator and Dan cranks away (about 70 rotations per minute I think?) and out pours cream on one side and skim milk on the other. Skim may not even be appropriately stating it because goat’s milk is a little different and it is probably more like 1 or 2 %…

We do plan on making cheese again this year really soon, another batch or two of ice cream with real whipped cream and lots more soap!

We have had our normal gas grill for years but, as we all know, flame is best when it comes to cooking. Now we have a Kamado Akorn grill so of course we need to get charcoal. Well, if you know and love Dan as we all do, he does not just buy charcoal – he makes it – Hardwood Lump Charcoal to be exact!

 And here is how he does it…

He cuts up some seasoned oak wood into roughly 4"x4" chunks and fills a 15 Gallon drum.  That drum is placed on an old grill grate setting on bricks inside a 55 Gallon drum. He builds a fire under the smaller drum which has 5 small holes in the bottom.  At first, lots of white smoke pours out of the smaller barrel as the moisture burns out.  When that slows, he covers the barrels (leaving the large one cracked) and continues burning until outgassing stops.  Apparently outgassing is the burning of volatile elements in the lump, leaving only pure carbon charcoal. I know, you were thinking it was something else…so was I.

You will eventually see small jets of flame coming from the holes drilled in the small drum. He then removes the small drum and sets it in sand to cut off the air.  That's it!  It works very well in the Kamado Grill! Big thanks to our friend Sue who helped us get the barrels. Thanks, Sue!

OK, like I promised before, June was a very busy month and things grew like crazy in the garden and I placed more products in the Apothecary shop. Dan has added more herbs and veggies to the growing haven we have out in the side yard; I now have Calendula and Chamomile started. Thanks Dan! I now have about 25 bags hanging and drying that will be ready soon for jarring up and another harvest to follow... (yes, for those of you wondering, Dan did supply me with many more nails for hanging...)

Now for the cute stuff. Now we know that we have 1 rooster for sure. Dan had the privilege of renaming him to Gaston. He is very cute in his attempts to crow like a big boy; I have to say he is trying his hardest at his mere 6 months of age and I am full of certainty that he will make it (with practice, of course!). Onto the girls... we have been getting quite a few of these precious, little gems we have decided to call "eggs". The do not quite resemble the eggs that we get from our master layers BUT they look like and egg and act like an egg - so be it. They are quite small and have got to be my favorite ones ever. Please see picture below and try not to contain the smiles that will undoubtedly break out when you view it. I also placed a picture of the homemade goats milk ice cream we made and the herbal honey we jarred up and are enjoying!

We have also been watching our apples, pears, berries and other things grow and will be excited to gather food from them. I have been starting to wildcraft from our own yard and am working on identifying the various herbs that grow here as well.  It's nice to be able to go out into the yard and gather nourishment from nature, bring it inside and enjoy it. For example, Dan brought in a huge mushroom from outside, a Chicken of the Woods (that's Laetiporus for all you smart people), and we sauteed it up with garlic and onion and it was a huge hit at a get-together we had last week! Free food!!

That's it for now - check back soon, stuff is still going on and changes are happenin'!

With Dan's help, all eat at the same time! Yay!

OK, so I know you think this post will be about our new bees...
Yes, we have new bees, but they are not what I was talking about. All of us living here on the farm are busy little bees this spring! We have our 6 new kids that are busy growing and eating! Dan calculated that within the first 14 days of life those little buggers managed to suck down 35 gallons of milk! Not to mention the 35 gallons of milk that our mama's managed to produce for them! That's love! Camille has been busy mastering the art of milking the mama's all by herself as well and taking on the task of finishing up the 6th grade (not long now, Camille!) Dan has been busy doing numerous things outside making sure the potatoes are planted and are snug in their condos and also providing me with lots more herbs! Things are really starting to look great and the garden is really taking shape!  I am busy with end-of-the-year-dance stuff, making new herbal products to add to the Apothecary Shop, and also making great strides on my herbal course. So far I have turned in six assignments and have received 100% grade on all of them! I will be attending the Women's Herbal Conference in NH at the end of August and will be submersed in herbal education for three days and 2 nights! Can't wait! try to keep up and stay tuned - things start moving really fast come June...!