Purl (L) and Darla (R)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Shoot.
Well, I got the BioPRYN pregnancy test results back today for Darla. Bad news, she's open. Hopefully I'll be able to get a ram out here next weekend and hopefully she'll go back into heat at least one more time!
Purl (L) and Darla (R)
Purl (L) and Darla (R)
Monday, January 11, 2010
Candied Citrus Peels
One day last week I stayed home from work because Kylee had strep and couldn't go to school. I decided to have a kitchen day. I made homemade stock (from chicken feet!), sourdough rolls, chicken noodle soup (with homemade noodles), and candied citrus peels. It was really nice to have a day to putz around in the kitchen! Most nights I get home from work and don't really feel like cooking anything, so it's nice to recharge my cooking batteries.
I first heard of candied citrus peels several years ago on Martha Stewart's show (or online, can't remember). I wanted to try them, but never really got around to it until last year. I attempted last year, but forgot about them when they were on the stove and they burned. So then I put it on the back burner (ha!) until this year. We had an issue of Martha's Food magazine, and this recipe was in it.
I decided to use a few grapefruit I had, because they were starting to get dehydrated and I thought it'd be good to use them up. Turns out, fresh fruit is way better because dehydrated peels are too tough and chewy.
You just use a knife to cut down the side of the fruit, trying to keep most of the pith on the fruit itself. I ended up doing 2 grapefruit and 2 oranges. The oranges were fresh and peeled way easier. If I had a chunk with too much pith, I'd just trim it off.
The peels go into a pot with water and should boil for 10 minutes or until they're tender.
Then they go on a wire rack to dry for about 10 minutes.
After that, mix 1 c sugar with 1 c water (to make a simple syrup) and boil peels in this for 8-10 minutes or until translucent.
Then they go back on a rack to dry for about an hour.
Then roll the peels in sugar to coat, and they're done.
I just looked up the recipe on Martha's website, and it's completely different than the one in her magazine. What's up with that, Martha? The webite says to cut the entire fruit into 1/4 inch slices (cut the fruit while it's on its side), which would be easier than what I did, and you'd get more uniform slices of peel. I'll do it that way next time. It also says to boil in the simple syrup for one hour, and then to wipe off the excess sugar syrup before rolling in sugar. This would also be good, because mine turned out a little gooey, so I had to roll them in sugar again the next day.
They still tasted great! Well, the orange ones at least. The grapefruit are a little too tough. I might try the grapefruit again if I had fresh ones. The orange peels taste just like those orange slice candies though. Love those!
I first heard of candied citrus peels several years ago on Martha Stewart's show (or online, can't remember). I wanted to try them, but never really got around to it until last year. I attempted last year, but forgot about them when they were on the stove and they burned. So then I put it on the back burner (ha!) until this year. We had an issue of Martha's Food magazine, and this recipe was in it.
I decided to use a few grapefruit I had, because they were starting to get dehydrated and I thought it'd be good to use them up. Turns out, fresh fruit is way better because dehydrated peels are too tough and chewy.
You just use a knife to cut down the side of the fruit, trying to keep most of the pith on the fruit itself. I ended up doing 2 grapefruit and 2 oranges. The oranges were fresh and peeled way easier. If I had a chunk with too much pith, I'd just trim it off.
The peels go into a pot with water and should boil for 10 minutes or until they're tender.
Then they go on a wire rack to dry for about 10 minutes.
After that, mix 1 c sugar with 1 c water (to make a simple syrup) and boil peels in this for 8-10 minutes or until translucent.
Then they go back on a rack to dry for about an hour.
Then roll the peels in sugar to coat, and they're done.
I just looked up the recipe on Martha's website, and it's completely different than the one in her magazine. What's up with that, Martha? The webite says to cut the entire fruit into 1/4 inch slices (cut the fruit while it's on its side), which would be easier than what I did, and you'd get more uniform slices of peel. I'll do it that way next time. It also says to boil in the simple syrup for one hour, and then to wipe off the excess sugar syrup before rolling in sugar. This would also be good, because mine turned out a little gooey, so I had to roll them in sugar again the next day.
They still tasted great! Well, the orange ones at least. The grapefruit are a little too tough. I might try the grapefruit again if I had fresh ones. The orange peels taste just like those orange slice candies though. Love those!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Vaccines and Drawing Blood
Today was vaccine day for June, Purl, and Darla. The only vaccine I usually give my animals is the CD/T shot. This protects against Colostridium Perfringens and types C and D Tetanus toxoid. I give it about a month prior to lambing/kidding, but this year I'm doing it slightly earlier since these animals are new to me and I'm not sure of their previous vaccine schedule. They all get 2 mL now and another dose in 21 days. This will cover their lambs/kids until weaning, when the lambs will get their own vaccines. The mommas will get this every year.
Devin took pictures for me, since David was helping me out. I sat Purl down on her rump for her injection. It's mostly easy to do unless you get a very strong or stubborn sheep, then it can take a few times to get them down.
First, turn the sheep's head against the body. This kinda disorients them and makes it easier to maneuver them.
With your other hand, push down and back on the hip of the animal. Most of the time they'll fall right over. Keep the head turned into the side until you can position the animal so it's leaning back against your legs, this will prevent the sheep from trying to get up.
This is a subcutaneous injection (SQ) so I like to give it almost in the arm pit of the animal. Sometimes vaccines can leave small lumps or abcesses, so I give it on the body side of the arm pit, not on the leg.
Find a clean section of skin, pinch it so you have a little tented area, and inject the needle. Push the plunger and voila!
And check out Purl's udder. She's starting to bag up a little!
Remember when I couldn't get a pregnant signal on Darla? Well, I don't think she's bred. On December 23rd I thought I saw she was in heat. I took her to my coworker's place and put her in with their ram, but neither Darla nor the ram were interested in each other. I felt like I was being paranoid. Well, yesterday I thought Darla might be in heat again (saw some mucous on her vulva) and it was 16 days since the 23rd. A sheep heat cycle is about 17 days, so she very well could be in heat again.
Since I can't stand not knowing, I decided to send a sample of blood to Bio Tracking to have them do the BioPRYN pregnancy test on her. It's only $7.50 per sample, which is pretty cheap to me. Once they do the test, I'll have definite results and will be able to find a ram to breed her to. I really hope it's not too late! Sheep tend to be seasonal breeders (breeding in the fall), so I hope she will still have another heat or two if she's not bred.
Taking blood from sheep is pretty easy. It helps that I sheared her recently, so she's not too wooly. If she did have long wool, I'd just take clippers and shear a 4" X 6" patch on her neck so I could see the vein.
Finding the jugular vein is pretty easy. It's almost in the middle of the neck (left to right). I'm right handed, so I like to work on the animal's left side so I can use my "good" hand to take the blood. Just use your thumb (my left thumb, in this case) and push where you suspect the vein is. If you found the vein, you'll see the vein stand out as the blood pools.
Once I found the vein with my thumb, I used my right hand to clear some wool out of the way. I also tapped the vein a few times to make sure I knew right where it was.
Leaving my left thumb in place, I inserted the needle into the vein with my right hand and drew 3 cc's of blood. Once I had all the blood I needed, I let go of the vein with my left thumb (so it would stop pooling) and then used my left finger to place over the insertion hole when I withdrew the needle.
I only needed to send 2 cc of blood for the test, but I sent 3 just in case.
They require the blood to be shipped in a red top vacutainer tube, so I bought these from my vet (only $1.50 for 5).
Just insert the needle into the tube and the blood will be sucked right in thanks to the vacumn seal on the tube.
I labelled the tube according to Bio Tracking's instructions. The number one because there's only 1 sample, and Darla's eartag number.
They do testing on Wednesdays, so hopefully I'll have results by next weekend! I spoke with a breeder in my area who has nice Suffolk rams, and he's offered to bring a ram to our place in case she's not bred. I was really hoping for purebred Southdown lambs, but I might have to settle for crossbred lambs. Hey, crossbred is better than no lambs!
I'll let you know what the results are!
Devin took pictures for me, since David was helping me out. I sat Purl down on her rump for her injection. It's mostly easy to do unless you get a very strong or stubborn sheep, then it can take a few times to get them down.
First, turn the sheep's head against the body. This kinda disorients them and makes it easier to maneuver them.
With your other hand, push down and back on the hip of the animal. Most of the time they'll fall right over. Keep the head turned into the side until you can position the animal so it's leaning back against your legs, this will prevent the sheep from trying to get up.
This is a subcutaneous injection (SQ) so I like to give it almost in the arm pit of the animal. Sometimes vaccines can leave small lumps or abcesses, so I give it on the body side of the arm pit, not on the leg.
Find a clean section of skin, pinch it so you have a little tented area, and inject the needle. Push the plunger and voila!
And check out Purl's udder. She's starting to bag up a little!
Remember when I couldn't get a pregnant signal on Darla? Well, I don't think she's bred. On December 23rd I thought I saw she was in heat. I took her to my coworker's place and put her in with their ram, but neither Darla nor the ram were interested in each other. I felt like I was being paranoid. Well, yesterday I thought Darla might be in heat again (saw some mucous on her vulva) and it was 16 days since the 23rd. A sheep heat cycle is about 17 days, so she very well could be in heat again.
Since I can't stand not knowing, I decided to send a sample of blood to Bio Tracking to have them do the BioPRYN pregnancy test on her. It's only $7.50 per sample, which is pretty cheap to me. Once they do the test, I'll have definite results and will be able to find a ram to breed her to. I really hope it's not too late! Sheep tend to be seasonal breeders (breeding in the fall), so I hope she will still have another heat or two if she's not bred.
Taking blood from sheep is pretty easy. It helps that I sheared her recently, so she's not too wooly. If she did have long wool, I'd just take clippers and shear a 4" X 6" patch on her neck so I could see the vein.
Finding the jugular vein is pretty easy. It's almost in the middle of the neck (left to right). I'm right handed, so I like to work on the animal's left side so I can use my "good" hand to take the blood. Just use your thumb (my left thumb, in this case) and push where you suspect the vein is. If you found the vein, you'll see the vein stand out as the blood pools.
Once I found the vein with my thumb, I used my right hand to clear some wool out of the way. I also tapped the vein a few times to make sure I knew right where it was.
Leaving my left thumb in place, I inserted the needle into the vein with my right hand and drew 3 cc's of blood. Once I had all the blood I needed, I let go of the vein with my left thumb (so it would stop pooling) and then used my left finger to place over the insertion hole when I withdrew the needle.
I only needed to send 2 cc of blood for the test, but I sent 3 just in case.
They require the blood to be shipped in a red top vacutainer tube, so I bought these from my vet (only $1.50 for 5).
Just insert the needle into the tube and the blood will be sucked right in thanks to the vacumn seal on the tube.
I labelled the tube according to Bio Tracking's instructions. The number one because there's only 1 sample, and Darla's eartag number.
They do testing on Wednesdays, so hopefully I'll have results by next weekend! I spoke with a breeder in my area who has nice Suffolk rams, and he's offered to bring a ram to our place in case she's not bred. I was really hoping for purebred Southdown lambs, but I might have to settle for crossbred lambs. Hey, crossbred is better than no lambs!
I'll let you know what the results are!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Price Check on Aisle 5!
Kylee was home sick yesterday with strep. She wasn't letting the strep keep her down though. Nana (my mom) gave her a shopping cart for Christmas and she was dying to use it!! We loved playing grocery store when we were younger, and she does too! We used to raid the pantry and take the food to the livingroom to set it up, but I figured it'd be much easier to just open our pantry cabinet and let her shop that way, especially since I was in the kitchen making stock.
She even got a little baby for the front of the cart, and I gave her a handful of change to put in her puppy purse.
After she filled her cart, she'd come to me and I'd ring her up. I had a little play cash register, and I'd "beep" as I scanned the groceries. I pretended to be the clerk, and would ask her questions like "Did you find everything you needed? What's your baby's name?" (It was something off the wall and I can't remember it.)
Then I'd tell her a total and she'd hand me some change.
And she'd take her bagged groceries out to the dining room and put them all on the table. We did this about 10 times before she decided to go lay on the couch and watch TV. I think that little cart is going to get lots of miles around here... Thanks Nana!
She even got a little baby for the front of the cart, and I gave her a handful of change to put in her puppy purse.
After she filled her cart, she'd come to me and I'd ring her up. I had a little play cash register, and I'd "beep" as I scanned the groceries. I pretended to be the clerk, and would ask her questions like "Did you find everything you needed? What's your baby's name?" (It was something off the wall and I can't remember it.)
Then I'd tell her a total and she'd hand me some change.
And she'd take her bagged groceries out to the dining room and put them all on the table. We did this about 10 times before she decided to go lay on the couch and watch TV. I think that little cart is going to get lots of miles around here... Thanks Nana!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Chicken Stock
This fall when we processed our broilers, I decided to keep the feet. I'd heard that chicken feet make wonderful stock due to the gelatin in the bones. At first I was a little weirded out, but I bagged them up and put them in the freezer so I could give it a try.
Today I stayed home with Kylee (she has strep) so I decided it'd be a good day to make stock. I took the feet out of the freezer and let them thaw (I did that last night).
The first step in the process is to put the feet in a big stock pot and cover with water. Bring this to a boil and set the timer for 5 minutes. Skim off any scum that comes to the top of the water.
After 5 minutes, drain the feet and run cold water over them until they're cool enough to handle. Now it's time to cut off the claw end of the toe. It's easiest if you cut on the soft part just below the claw.
If there are any callouses, cut them off as well.
Put the chicken feet back in a pot and cover with an inch or two of water. Along with the chicken feet, add in onion, carrots, celery, and pepper. I had 5 lbs of feet, so I added two onions, 4 carrots, and 5 celery stalks.
I also added in some chicken necks and a chicken back that I'd saved (frozen) from previous meals.
Add this all to the pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer (covered) for 4 hours.
After 4 hours, remove the lid and turn up the heat to keep the pot simmering. Simmer for another 1-2 hours. This concentrates the stock.
After the simmering is done, remove the large pieces with a large slotted spoon.
Then strain with cheesecloth, muslin, or a strainer.
You're left with nice, clear stock.
I didn't measure it out in quarts, but I got a good amount for dinner tonight, plus five containers (one not pictured) for the freezer. I've seen pictures of the chicken feet stock gelling up when it's cooled, but mine hasn't done that. Either it's not cool enough or maybe I added too much water or didn't simmer it enough. Oh well, it still makes great soup!
Today I stayed home with Kylee (she has strep) so I decided it'd be a good day to make stock. I took the feet out of the freezer and let them thaw (I did that last night).
The first step in the process is to put the feet in a big stock pot and cover with water. Bring this to a boil and set the timer for 5 minutes. Skim off any scum that comes to the top of the water.
After 5 minutes, drain the feet and run cold water over them until they're cool enough to handle. Now it's time to cut off the claw end of the toe. It's easiest if you cut on the soft part just below the claw.
If there are any callouses, cut them off as well.
Put the chicken feet back in a pot and cover with an inch or two of water. Along with the chicken feet, add in onion, carrots, celery, and pepper. I had 5 lbs of feet, so I added two onions, 4 carrots, and 5 celery stalks.
I also added in some chicken necks and a chicken back that I'd saved (frozen) from previous meals.
Add this all to the pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer (covered) for 4 hours.
After 4 hours, remove the lid and turn up the heat to keep the pot simmering. Simmer for another 1-2 hours. This concentrates the stock.
After the simmering is done, remove the large pieces with a large slotted spoon.
Then strain with cheesecloth, muslin, or a strainer.
You're left with nice, clear stock.
I didn't measure it out in quarts, but I got a good amount for dinner tonight, plus five containers (one not pictured) for the freezer. I've seen pictures of the chicken feet stock gelling up when it's cooled, but mine hasn't done that. Either it's not cool enough or maybe I added too much water or didn't simmer it enough. Oh well, it still makes great soup!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Hot Off the Needles
I made this cute little knitted lamb while I was in NC. Well, I knitted it there, but assembled it last night when I got home. I used the Fuzzy Lamb Knitting Pattern by Barbara Prime. It was a little tricky at first, because I didn't know how to do many of the stitches, but Becky came to my rescue. It's good to have big sisters.
The lamb is going to be a gift for a cute little girl who's about to turn one in a few weeks. Her parents are friends of mine, and they own a sheep farm in the gorgeous North East Kingdom in Vermont. I hope she likes this!
The pattern said the lamb will be 8" tall, but mine is several inches taller. There are a few mistakes in mine of course, but nothing you can see. And the ears aren't really crooked, they just look like that in the picture.
I think the black yarn I used is Vanna's Choice (Becky let me use her black yarn), and the gray is yarn I've had for a while. It might be Lion Brand Homespun, but I don't really remember.
The lamb is going to be a gift for a cute little girl who's about to turn one in a few weeks. Her parents are friends of mine, and they own a sheep farm in the gorgeous North East Kingdom in Vermont. I hope she likes this!
The pattern said the lamb will be 8" tall, but mine is several inches taller. There are a few mistakes in mine of course, but nothing you can see. And the ears aren't really crooked, they just look like that in the picture.
I think the black yarn I used is Vanna's Choice (Becky let me use her black yarn), and the gray is yarn I've had for a while. It might be Lion Brand Homespun, but I don't really remember.
Our NC Visit
David and I packed up the car last Wednesday and headed to North Carolina. We went to visit my sister and her family, and my mom and her honey. We weren't able to bring the kids, due to scheduling issues, so we brought the dogs instead. :-)
Thursday, my dad and my grandmother (his mom) came to Becky's house. They'd been in Southern NC for my grandmother's sister's funeral, unfortunately. It was nice having them visit though.
Here Grandma watches as Jon, Charlotte, and Evan play with the Marble Run game from Dad.
The dogs had a great time while we were there. Scooter had fun resting when he wasn't keeping everyone in line.
Poor Elmer. He's so tolerant. Almost too tolerant. :-) Becky and I had a little fun with him and his big ole lips.
Say cheese!!
Then David consoled him.
But then Oscar, my sister's little chihuahua got ahold of him. Once Oscar figured out that Elmer was very gentle, he decided to lick Elmer's nose. Non stop. Poor Elmer wasn't quite sure what to make of the little pip-squeak.
Then Elmer helped out with laundry. This is the pre-treat setting for bibs.
My neice Charlotte (R) and my nephew Evan (L) had fun playing dress up! Evan wants to play just like his big sister!
Saturday evening, Jon stayed home with the kids so Becky, Mom, Mark, David, and I could go to Lexington, NC for BBQ. Lexington is VERY well known for their awesome BBQ. We went to Cook's, a favorite of ours. David and I found it one day when we decided to take a little trip to Lexington. David had seen Cook's on a show on the Food Network, so we decided to try it. It's a little place, and very out of the way. That's when you know the food is going to be good!!
We had a good time. And the food was delicious, as usual!
They'd decorated for Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas, we exchanged presents while we were down there. We usually draw names to help with budget constraints. Becky had my name, and she got me this awesome book. It has so much information in it- everything from gardening to raising livestock to processing animals and making soap, cheese, and wine. I've looked through it once and can't wait to go back and read it! She also made me some great wool mittens to wear while I'm outside. I'll get pictures of those soon!
We drove home yesterday (Sunday) and came home to find a homemade pot pie from David's Mom waiting for us in the refrigerator. Yum! His Dad took care of our animals while we were gone. I'm so lucky to have great in-laws!! It's nice to know your home and animals are so well taken care of while we're gone!
I'll post soon about what I knitted on the trip!
Thursday, my dad and my grandmother (his mom) came to Becky's house. They'd been in Southern NC for my grandmother's sister's funeral, unfortunately. It was nice having them visit though.
Here Grandma watches as Jon, Charlotte, and Evan play with the Marble Run game from Dad.
The dogs had a great time while we were there. Scooter had fun resting when he wasn't keeping everyone in line.
Poor Elmer. He's so tolerant. Almost too tolerant. :-) Becky and I had a little fun with him and his big ole lips.
Say cheese!!
Then David consoled him.
But then Oscar, my sister's little chihuahua got ahold of him. Once Oscar figured out that Elmer was very gentle, he decided to lick Elmer's nose. Non stop. Poor Elmer wasn't quite sure what to make of the little pip-squeak.
Then Elmer helped out with laundry. This is the pre-treat setting for bibs.
My neice Charlotte (R) and my nephew Evan (L) had fun playing dress up! Evan wants to play just like his big sister!
Saturday evening, Jon stayed home with the kids so Becky, Mom, Mark, David, and I could go to Lexington, NC for BBQ. Lexington is VERY well known for their awesome BBQ. We went to Cook's, a favorite of ours. David and I found it one day when we decided to take a little trip to Lexington. David had seen Cook's on a show on the Food Network, so we decided to try it. It's a little place, and very out of the way. That's when you know the food is going to be good!!
We had a good time. And the food was delicious, as usual!
They'd decorated for Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas, we exchanged presents while we were down there. We usually draw names to help with budget constraints. Becky had my name, and she got me this awesome book. It has so much information in it- everything from gardening to raising livestock to processing animals and making soap, cheese, and wine. I've looked through it once and can't wait to go back and read it! She also made me some great wool mittens to wear while I'm outside. I'll get pictures of those soon!
We drove home yesterday (Sunday) and came home to find a homemade pot pie from David's Mom waiting for us in the refrigerator. Yum! His Dad took care of our animals while we were gone. I'm so lucky to have great in-laws!! It's nice to know your home and animals are so well taken care of while we're gone!
I'll post soon about what I knitted on the trip!
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