Biscuits

Biscuit Maker
(My Mom)

I have watched my Mom make biscuits many, many times. It was so frustrating to try to get her recipe. Mom would say add enough flour to make enough biscuits for your family. Add enough milk to make a soft dough. My sisters and I did get her recipe written down with measurements. No matter how hard I try they never tasted as good as hers.

Mom would go to her huge flour bag and get her bread making bowl. She never measured anything, but would scoop out flour with a big spoon into her flour sifter. Then she would sprinkle a little baking soda into the flour and sift it into the bowl.

Then she would go get home churned buttermilk or sour milk. She would sit
these things on her kitchen counter. Next she would get out her bucket of
lard and scoop out a huge spoon full. My Mom would put this lump of lard in the middle of the flour, having first scooped a hole out in the center of the flour. She poured the buttermilk into this depression in the flour and worked it and the lard into the flour.

When the dough was mixed, she would start pinching off big pieces of dough
and rolling them in the palm of her hand. Then she would place the newly formed biscuit in a cast iron pan that was blackened from many years of use. She would place the pan in her wood cook stove oven and remove it at just the right time so that the biscuits were golden brown, never burned. Those biscuits were always light, fluffy and soo good.


Mom changed her recipe when she realized lard was not a healty choice.

2 cups self rising flour
1 teaspoon active yeast
pinch of baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup Crisco (This has to be at room temperature to blend smoothly into the dough.)

In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, yeast and baking soda. Push the flour to the sides of the bowl to form a depression in the center. Place the shortening and a little of the milk in the center and start stirring with a big spoon. When the shortening is blended, add the rest of the milk, mixing just until blended and the dough forms a ball. The dough will be a little on the moist sticky side.

Place wax paper on a flat surface, sprinkle flour on it. Roll the dough out on the wax paper. Do not handle the dough any more than necessary.
The less you handle it and the more moist the dough, the better your
biscuits will be. Just pat the dough gently until it's about an inch thick.

Then cut out the biscuits. I use a tin can that I cut both the bottom and
top out of and removed the label. I have several old soup cans that make
perfect biscuit cutters. Cut out your biscuits and place in a greased cast
iron pan, biscuits bake with their sides touching, you can pull them apart
easily, but those sides will be very soft and tender, not hard and brown.
This is a very important part of making good biscuits. Also Mom would melt a little butter and pour over the biscuits before she bakes them.

Bake in a hot oven 400 degrees just until the biscuits are light brown.

Here is a picture of my Mom with a pan of her wonderful biscuits.

This is a recipe for some easy drop biscuits that I make often. It actually is my sister's, Fern, recipe that I tweeked a little.

Drop Biscuits
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup oil
1 cup goats milk

Sift the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add oil and milk, stir just until all ingredients are mixed. Spoon batter into a lightly oiled cast iron skillet. (I put my skillet in the oven while it is preheating)

Bake 14 to 16 minutes until tops are lightly brown.

Goats Milk Soap

Making goats milk soap is another of my favorite things to do.  I helped my Mom make lye soap when I was a little girl.  Well, actually I would watch her and sometimes she would let me stir.

I will be posting pictures and more recipes on making soap soon.
Some of the molds that I use:

This is a recipe from the Martha Stewart show for goats milk soap:

Tools and Materials

Protective mask and gloves

Stirring spoons or sticks

Candy thermometer

Electric hand blender

Spatula

Large bowl

Pitcher
Soap molds
Cookie racks
12 ounces partially frozen goats' milk
3 ounces lye
4 1/4 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
5 ounces coconut oil
12 ounces soy or vegetable shortening

Making Soap How-To
1. Wearing a protective mask and gloves, place milk into large bowl and slowly add lye. Stir until the mixture is smooth and without lumps. The lye will interact with the fat molecules in the milk and should bring the mixture to between 95 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Melt the olive oil, coconut oil, and shortening together in one pot and bring to 115 degrees.

3. Add the oil mixture to the milk and lye and use a hand blender to combine until the mixture demonstrates "tracing" (drips from the blender leave a noticeable path in the mixture). This will take 2 to 5 minutes.

4. Using a spatula, fold the mixture to remove bubbles. Transfer to a pitcher and pour the mixture into soap molds.

5. After 24 hours, turn the soaps out of the molds onto cookie racks. Allow to cure for 2 weeks.

Resources

Lye can be purchased at camdengrey.com. All other soap ingredients may found at Whole Foods.

Spring Kids 2011

Kidding season is in full swing. So far we have had 4 does and 3 bucks.

Twin does born March 12, dam Summer & sire Walker

 Bea's spotted buck, born March 7.

This is the little doeling born on Monday, February 28, to Lahaina/Walker. Walker throws a lot of black kids so it so nice to see one that was brown and a doe. Both are doing great!!

The triplets have grown so much in the past two weeks. All three are very friendly even after they were disbudded. They have been kicking up their heels in the sunshine this morning.

First kids of the 2011 kidding season are here. Edie/Walker triplets were born on Tuesday, February 15. The little doe was born first, which I was so happy to see. Then came both of the little bucks almost at the same time.

Edie did great but I did have a hard time getting her to stand after the births. I don't like to bother the does when they are in labor or afterwards. Just let nature take its course. But do like to see the does to stand, drink, eat and other natural body functions before I feel that everything is fine. I waited and waited for Edie to stand, but she just was not going to move. So I gently nudged her and told her to get up. Yeah right, like that will work with a goat. Anyway I had to take hold of her rear, watching out for things, and help her up. She was a little weak and complained to me but was fine.

Here are some pictures of our first spring kids 2011.

Laugh

Life is too short for drama & petty things!
So laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly!
From one unstable person to another...
I hope everyone is happy in your head - we're all doin' pretty good in mine!

Springtime, almost!!!

Went to feed the goats this morning and it wasn't that cold. The water buckets were not frozen for the first time in a long time.  So glad we are going to have some warm weather next week. Edie is due to kid on Wednesday. Will be posting lots of pictures when the new kids get here. Springtime is just around the corner. Just a reminder of what daylillies look like.

Freezing Eggs

In the spring you will get so many eggs and in the winter you never have enough.  So you need to freeze those eggs in the spring.  It is very easy to do.  Just take two eggs and lightly beat them in a measuring cup.  I use a measuring cup because it has a spout to pour. Then pour your eggs into a pint freezer bag. Always label and date.

                                     

Taking pictures.

I tried to get a good picture of the goats in the snow.  None of the goats would come out of their warm barn except Topaz.  Topaz is a doe kid I purchased from Wingwood Farms last spring.  She was a bottle baby that I fed until she was 5 months old.  I can't get away from her when I am in the barn.  She thinks my only job is to feed her. Here she is the only one that would venture out in the snow.

But Topaz just wouldn't stand still for a picture. Here she comes.

Simple Knitting Project

Knitted Dishclothes

If you are interested in doing a simple knitting project, here is the one for you. I like making this dishcloth for two reasons.  One, I can usually go from start to finish at one sitting.  Two, I love having my homemade dishcloths to use in the kitchen. It is very easy pattern for the beginner or for first project for a child.

I use the Lily's Sugar and Cream yarn (New Super Size) sold at most fabric stores. This yarn is 100% cotton and is a little tougher than regular yarn.  It now comes in the multi-color yarn like the one below.  One skien makes two dishclothes.  Watch for a sale at your local fabric store to stock up on this yarn for the winter.

PATTERN:

Materials:  One skein yarn color of your choice.  Size 10 knitting needles.

Abbreviations:
K = Knit, st(s) = stitch(es), tog = together, YO = yarn over, rep = repeat

Cast on 4 sts
Row 1: K, across.
Row 2: K 2, yo, K to end of row.
Repeat Row 2 until there are 43 stitches on needles.
Next Dec. Rows:
K 1, K 2 tog, yo. K 2 tog, K to end. 
Continue working dec row until 4 sts remain.  Cast off remaining sts.

This pattern was on the back of the label on Bernat Handicrafter Cotton yarn.

Molasses Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups shortening (I use butter)
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
4 cups organic all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Melt the shortening in a large pan on the stove, and cool.
2. Add sugar, eggs, and molasses, beat well.
3. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together and add to the
pan. Mix well and chill 3 hours or overnight.
4. Form into walnut-size balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place on
greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes.
6. Store in an airtight container to keep from getting overly crisp.

If they do lose their softness, an easy way to restore it is to place one slice
of fresh bread in the container with the cookies for a couple of hours or overnight and they will be soft again!

Jeff's favorite cookie!!!