Where are all the posts?

It's really hard to find time for blogging during this season. :) The days are busy with picking or processing some food. Washing, chopping, blanching, freezing, canning, drying......it seems to be all we do these days. There is a good side and a bad side to everything in life. Fall is the time when farmers find out what they are really made of! It all looks glamorous when it is growing beautifully in the garden all summer long, but then the day of reality hits!
This is the time of year when I ask myself, "Why are we doing this? This is too much work!!!!" It happens every year! :) Then I have to remind myself about how gratifying it is to open a jar of homemade tomato soup for lunch on a cold winter afternoon. And even more encouraging than that is the thought that I am feeding my children foods, and teaching them about foods, that are going to give them a foundation of good health all throughout their life.

Not only is the farm busy, but we have also started school which completely fills up the schedule. So all that to say, sorry there haven't been many posts lately. .....looking forward to our first frost! :)

Mr. Butter Knife

Jonny's butter knife won first place in the "Twelve and under Wood Crafts" division at the Meeker County Fair!

Hi, my name is Jonny and I make butter knives to make money, so if you want one we're 4.5 miles north of Dassel. They are made out of red ceder. This is how I make them, first I get a cedar limb and then I have my dad cut it into small lats. Then I trace out my butter knives on the lats. Then I get my jigsaw and cut them out. After they are cut out, I get a belt sander and sand them into their shape. Then I sand them by hand until they are smooth. The last thing I do is oil them with coconut oil. After that I sell them to you! :)

KITTENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! by, Emily

(Lady and her kittens)

(Kitten nursing)

Here on the farm one of my jobs is to milk the goats..... 7:00 in the morning and 7:00 at night. Last Tuesday, on the 10th, when I finished up milking, I paused to pet Lady before I left. She was getting BIG and pregnant. I like to feel her stomach, 'cause sometimes I can feel the kittens in there! Well tonight I noticed that her milk bags seemed really full...... hmmm! So when I left, I half-jokingly said, "See you in the morning, Lady, and I expect to find at least 5 kittens with you... good luck!" I didn't really expect anything. :)

Now every morning since Lady has been pregnant, I always hold my breath when I open the door, just hoping she isn't there..... which would mean she's off having her kittens somewhere. And every morning I open the door, and there she is, sitting there waiting for me, with what looks like a big grin on her face. :) So this morning I again was hoping she wasn't there. Slowly I opened the door.... just waiting for her daily "meow!" as if she'd been waiting for me all night! :) (Or maybe it's the milk she's waiting for..... not me.) :) She wasn't there. I stepped out of the milk room into the barn and looked around. No Lady. So I walked excitedly towards the pen where her cat house is, but first glanced into the goat pens.......... there, in the corner, through the fence I saw a little, tiny gray head......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I rushed into the pen ....... there was Lady all cuddled up, with five, yes, FIVE, ADORABLE, KITTENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was SOOOOOOOO thrilled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After admiring them for a couple minutes, I raced neck-break speed to the house and screamed to everyone that Lady had her kittens!!! Well, me and Jonny then went back out to the barn and while we were sitting there petting the little fur-balls, suddenly I glanced over, and here Lady had ANOTHER KITTEN while we were sitting there.... right in front of our eyes.... and we didn't even see it! I've always thought it was interesting how when goats and sheep kid/lamb they always act like they're dying - pushing and groaning and maaing at the top of their lungs, while you can't even tell that cats are in labor.... no noise.... you can't even tell they're pushing! I couldn't believe it! We watched breathlessly! It wasn't moving and certainly didn't look very....... alive..... :/ Lady reached back and started licking it. I was scared, excited, and worried all at once.... then it moved......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "IT'S ALIVE!" I was ...... well, beyond happy!!! They are now a week and a day old and doing absolutely WONDERFUL! They are the healthiest, fattest, happiest little kittens I ever saw! And speaking of healthy, as a side note, these kittens are 100% organic. :) I never feed Lady any cat food. She gets goat milk, eggs, oatmeal, raw meat, as well as gophers, mice, and sparrows. And she is very healthy! Lady has never gotten sick or had any diseases! So anyways, there is two dark orange boys, one all-gray boy, one all-gray girl, one gray and brown striped girl, and one light orange girl!!!! :) SO CUTE!!!
If anyone wants to reserve one, better do it quick, 'cause they go really fast!!! My last batch of kittens.... actually all my batches of kittens, sell really fast! In fact, my friend Shiphrah already reserved the gray and brown striped girl .... and her brother might get one too. :)
Cute, cute, cute!!! :)

Offering Another Cooking Class

Our cooking with herbs class was really fun. Unfortunately the weather prevented us from talking about all the herbs we were planning to talk about in the herb garden, but we did get a few in before it started to rain hard. Our AC unit struggled to keep up with the twenty-one bodies (plus my husband, the camera guy, my sister, Em, and myself) and my hot oven, but we managed. The weather was very sketchy outside, with tornado watches/warnings in the area, but we were happily cooking away without a thought about the storms. :) We did have one person who cancelled, leaving a message on my phone saying they were in their basement seeking cover and would not be attending the class. :)
When we started planning our class, we decided we would put a second date on the calendar for the class just in case we had more people that wanted to sign up than we had room for in my kitchen. Well, that has been the case! So we are now planning to offer the class again.
This class in scheduled for Tuesday, August 17th from 6:30-9pm. As of today, I have six people signed up. I only have room for about twenty, so if you really want to come don't wait to sign up.
I don't think we will offer this class again this year because we are planning to do a class on "Preparing Herbal Remedies for the Cold and Flu Season" this fall. Although if there is still lots of interest we may try to squeeze one in.
As I mentioned, we did video tape the class and will make that available at our Farmer's Market and through mail order. I am skeptical though, as to how the video will turn out. It's hard to make a video when you are teaching a class. It would have been better to do the video alone because there were lots of side conversations during the class, but we may be able to edit it enough to make it somewhat professional....we'll see!
We have been thinking about offering other classes too. Mike and I had talked (last winter) about offering a class on making maple syrup, but we were not prepared enough, so we may offer the class next spring. But if there are other classes that would be helpful to you please let us know and we will see what we can do. It is our goal and passion to teach others how to better take care of themselves and how to become more self-sufficient. ;)

Kool-Aid!

We grow strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries here on our farm. The strawberries and blueberries get eaten fresh and the rest get frozen for kefir smoothies. We also enjoy eating the raspberries fresh, but raspberry jam has become a family favorite too.
When I make jam, I usually end up with a few berries leftover that I didn't need for my batch. They get put into the refrigerator, nibbled on some more, and then the day comes when they look less than desirable and nobody wants to eat them anymore. Well, before those berries start to grow mold, you can make them into a yummy treat for your family - KOOL-AID!
Let me explain..... One day I took those old raspberries, put them into a pot with water and let them simmer for a long time. Then I poured them through a strainer and put the juice back into the pot. After that, I added sugar and let it simmer until it got a bit more like syrup. Voila - raspberry flavoring!
Add some to a glass of water and you have raspberry water, or what Mike calls "Kool-Aid"! :) It's very yummy and a great way to keep kids hydrated on hot days without the use of fake sugars, preservatives, and dyes! It's the best!
I have also made it with the apricots we find on the ground under our apricot tree. I am sure any fruit would work. Experiment and enjoy! :)

P.S. You really do not need a recipe for this.......you can't go wrong. ;)

More About the Herb Class

I thought I would share with you some of the goals I have in mind for the herb class. First of all I hope to help those who are stuck with salt and pepper, go out on a limb, and try something new. :) Also I want to show those who purchase seasonings a better way, one without chemical additives, like MSG. But herbs are far more than great seasonings! Herbs combine good nutrition, good health, and good flavor!
There are many health benefits to cooking with herbs. Did you know that just 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano has the same amount of antioxidants as a medium sized apple?! And parsley, with its lame reputation as a decorative garnish, is actually one of the world's seven most potent disease-fighting herbs, a super food, loaded with high levels of many vitamins and has almost every nutrient known to man in it! WOW!! What an under-appreciated herb!!
So....I ask myself, how is it that such awesome foods have gone by the wayside in America? Is it because we have simply lost some of the culinary traditions of our ancestors through generations of apathy? Yes, I believe that is part of it, but I also think we have become lazy with our health. We want someone else to take care of us while we eat whatever tastes good, and is fast, whether it is a health risk or not. And we have also been brainwashed by drug companies, who profit from our dependence on the medical field.
This class in not just about making food taste good, it is far more than that! I hope to help the beginner feel more confidant using herbs, but also I want to encourage people to become more self-sufficient, to know about the healing plants that grow in their own yards, to learn about the medicinal plants that they can grow in their own gardens, to break the bond of dependence on expensive, and many times risky, drugs and medical treatments.
We actually hope to do many more classes on the subject. I do not know what the future holds for this country, but I do know that I don't want me or my family to be dependant on our health care system. I have a burden to learn and share what I learn, so that others can know the joys and the freedoms that come with self-sufficiency!

Cooking With Herbs Class

Are you interested in herbs and learning how to cook with them? Come join us at Housman Farms for an educational cooking class. We will be discussing ten different culinary herbs, their healing properties, and their nutritional values. Bring your appetite along for some taste testing, and we will send you home with the information and recipes you need to start cooking with herbs in your own home.

I have been wanting to do a class like this for about a year. Last summer, during our Farmer's Market, I had so many customers express an interest in learning more about herbs. People would look at the herbs I was selling and say, "I would love to buy that and use it, but I don't know what I would do with it." Or I had other people asking me what they could do with the herbs that they had growing in their own yard. So for all of you who are wanting more information, I am finally doing a class! :)

One reason I have been procrastinating doing this is simply a lack of confidence in my ability, but my husband keeps telling me that I am fully capable. Most instructors have lots of letters behind their names, giving them the qualifications to teach. I do have some letters I can put behind my name - MOM,HOMEMAKER,COOK. :) I am just someone who loves herbs, natural healing, and making healthy meals. I simply desire to teach you what I have learned from cooking three meals a day for my family for the past 16 years, and what I've learned from taking care of them by natural means.

The class will be held in my home, with limited seating available. Emily, my sister, Nadine, and I will be conducting the class. Weather permitting, we will be taking a tour through the herb garden. Then indoors we will be going over an information packet, so you can learn some specifics about each herb. Following our "class" time, we'll have some fun making a bunch of recipes, and then even more fun tasting them all! :) The menu includes main dishes, a salad and dressings, side dishes, desserts, and drinks.

Here is a sneak preview of a few of the foods we will be making...... and eating.

(We will send you home with at least 10 new recipes!)

(Cheddar Basil Biscuits)

(Rosemary and Garlic Lamb Chops)

(Peppermint Haystacks)

Class Details:

Tuesday, July 27th

6:30-9pm

$16.00

Housman Farms

320-275-0121

Call the farm to reserve your spot in the class. Hope to see you there! :)