Snapshots

A new addition

Yesterday marked another chapter's beginning in our life on the mountain.  For the last 20 years or so, I've had sled dogs.  I still do.  Two to be exact.  They have aged out and are retired in our dogyard, safe from the temptations of free range livestock.

Twenty four hours ago, I picked up a used herding dog.  He's two and a half, a purebred Border Collie from unmatched champion working lines.  I'm the third owner, and hopefully we'll be the long-lasting family that he needs to thrive.

This guy is sweet, attentive and overfull with energy.  He likes kids, knows how to leave chickens alone, and he comes back when called every time.  It's going to take some time and attention to help him learn that it's okay for the goats and sheep to be out and about and everywhere... but we'll give it a whirl.

In the end, he'll either be alot of heartache or alot of help- and the outcome will rely on my diligence.  I'm up for the challenge and he's definitely eager to work.  In fact, that's probably the core of my mission with him, to give him a job so that he can stay out of trouble.  Wish me luck!

Waste not, want not

When I got up this morning, I was planning to butcher our oldest buckling.  He'd already bred all the does I had slated for him, so his time had come.  In preparation, I spent the morning cutting and packing the front half of a Dall sheep that one of our hunters brought home, and then harvesting several meatbirds.

Then, much to my surprise, a gentleman called from Anchorage this afternoon and proceeded to drive straight out to look at our goats.  So I held off on the rest of my day's plans, and when he arrived I took the four remaining bucklings down the mountain to meet him.

Hari is here from Bhutan, via Nepal.  He brought 4 other Nepali with him and they spent the afternoon with us.  I'm happy to say that every piece of Ivory Jack was not only well taken care of, but also put to good use.  They even eat the skin!

I really enjoyed my afternoon, learning different ways to do things from a culture that remembers how to live close to the land.  Next time they come out, we plan to make a party out of it...  isn't life is full of adventure? 

They left happy, and I'm satisfied that our goat had a good life as well as a respectful death.  You can't ask for more than that!  In fact, I wish that all of our customers would take part in harvesting the animals that they purchase from us.  

Yep, that's what I want to work toward... now to dream it and make it so.  Good night!

Grain-free pizza crust

Mmmm, tonight's pizza crust was really a hit.  As I use other people's recipes less and less, and trust my own mix-it-up judgment more... things are really starting to come together in our grain-free kitchen.

Really, grain-free is a bit of a misnomer- because our family still indulges in Tinkyada rice noodles from time to time, and we eat other rice-based foods when we're out and about.

Otherwise, we really are grain-free though.  Baking is far less a challenge than it was when we were just gluten-free and still using all the alternative grains.

These days nuts and seeds make the base for all of our baked goods.  We love walnut pancakes, macadamia nut banana bread, pecan carrot cake, and tonight's almond pizza crust.

Here's what I threw together for this go around:

2+ cups of fresh ground almonds

1 large grated zucchini

3 farm fresh eggs

a couple tablespoons of tapioca starch

a couple teaspoons of sea salt

a bunch of sprinkles of oregano

and a 1/4 cup or so of olive oil

It makes a wet mix that you pat out onto a pregreased cast iron pizza pan.  Then pre-bake it until firm, add your toppings and rebake.  I dare you not to eat it all...

Tonight's rendition included frozen leftover garden tomato sauce, onions and garlic sauteed in olive oil, pepperoni and three kinds of Lunachick Mountain Farmstead cheese:  parmesan, gouda and cheddar.

Delicious!

On cheese

I'm a cheesemaker.  Somewhere, somehow it's become part of my identity.  I didn't intend for this to happen... I just allowed the Universe to unfold it for me.  I didn't plan to be a farmer either.  I only wanted to grow and make real food for my family, and it kind of took off from there.

Life is funny that way.  If you would have told me a year ago that I'd have 26 goats, 3 sheep and 400 or so chickens in the yard I would have rolled on the ground with laughter.  But now it's no joke.  And I love it.  I mean, I go to bed tired every night.  I work hard every day, dream nonstop, and experience a life-changing amount of gratitude each time I slow down enough to feel it.

But I'm getting off track here.  I was wanting to blather on about my cheesemaking experience.  It seems like I've reverse engineered becoming a cheesemaker.  See, I wasn't addicted to cheese nor the idea of making it.  Not at all.  In fact, I've never shopped for a real cheese- you know, the kind that comes from a cheese shoppe with wheels and wheels of all kinds of artisan cheese on display- until two days ago.

My cheese knowledge and experience has all been from books and from the driver's seat... not from years of cheese-tastings.  Don't get me wrong, I love cheese as much as I love my job.  It just seems odd that I would find myself a seasoned cheesemaker before really falling in love with the idea of cheese and cheesemaking.

I'm not sure if I'm getting my point across here, but I guess I needed to get it off my chest.  I can't remember if I've told you how delicious our new Havarti is, or that I'm releasing my first Parmesan this week.  The reason I went cheese shopping was to try some Buttermilk Bleu... it's next on my list of cheeses to attempt .  Exciting stuff!