We use a local dairy that sells Raw cow's milk and goats milk from grassfed, no hormone/antibiotics animals. They also sell beef, and lamb and will soon be selling chicken. They also sell Raw butter, kefir, yogurt and free range eggs. I love this dairy, they are so clean, so friendly, and very happy to show you around whenever you wish - which if you are looking for a raw dairy - is a MUST! They are also the only Certified Raw Dairy in our big city! 

Yesterday we got to meet a 1mth old (born 2 months premature) calf while picking up a half gallon of cow and half gallon of goats milk. My girly thought this was facinating and thought this cute calf had the prettiest eyelashes! The baby even used her as a human pacifier! 

So many people ask me 2 things every time they hear about our milk choices (and no, I wont go into the Raw Milk benefits - if you want those check out www.realmilk.com

1. Why do you get Cow AND Goat milk? Why not one or the other? - Really the reasons are fairly simple. Goat milk for some reason settles in my stomach better but its slightly more expensive. My family however handles cow milk just fine so it's cheaper to feed them on cows. 

2. What is the difference between the two milks, do they taste different? - The main difference in appearance at least is that if you leave them in the fridge over night, goat's milk will only develop a very slight layer of cream, while Cow will get a THICK layer. Goats milk is naturally homogenized (the fat is naturally distributed through out the milk) where as cow's milk is not. 
They don't really taste different at all (if you shake the cow's milk before pouring that cream will mix back in - or you can skim the cream and use it for butter which will change only the texture of the milk slightly from the goats). The ONLY time I would even be able to tell the difference between the milks in a blind study would be if one or the other was known to get into an onion patch. Then you might get a slight flavor difference. 

Yesterday, I made Farmer's Cheese with a gallon of NON RAW (it would kind of ruin the purpose if you heat raw milk) Whole Milk. I thought I would share with you on how to do this yourself! :)

Step 1: Bring a gallon of Whole Milk that is NOT Ultra Pasturized, to room temperature on the counter. Then pour the entire thing into a sterilized heavy bottom (heavy bottom prevents scorching) pot and bring it to about 185 F. Then remove it from the heat and see step 2. (You dont need to stir constantly - but I usually do every couple of minutes)

Step 2 - After you move this off the heat, stir in 1/3 cup of white vinegar and 1 tsp salt for about 30 seconds only. Then cover  and let sit for 2 hours. Try hard not to go stir and bother it. Stirring too much can cause Ricotta to have a grainy texture much like the store bought. The purpose of making this yourself is to have a MUCH better texture and flavor than store bought!:)

Step 3 - Use a sterile butter knife to gently section the curd by going straight up and down in one inch strips and then across. Doing this will help you to drain the weigh more fully. Then ladle the curd into a collander lined with Butter Muslin. Its important that you don't use cheese cloth as the holes are too big in that, butter muslin is just slightly see through and easily washed in the washing machine.  Let the curd drain as long as you like. I gave it about an hour and then mixed in some smoked salt for flavor. My herb garden is newly planted in the Aerogarden but the plants are still young and I didn't want to pick at them yet, but normally I would mix an herb or two in for good measure.

Just realized my cable service with On Demand offers Karaoke and Im seriously considering subscribing so that when we have "Girls Night" we can play a good ol game called, " Karaoke Roulette" where the other folks pick the song for you, and you don't get to watch the words but have to try and sing the song! We can sing for real too of course, as I've done at actual Country Western Dance Halls! 
All that's stopping me is the dread of calling the cable folks cause it's always a pain in the ass, ya know? Well, and possibly price - we will see if it's cheap enough! 

BTW - New FOOD post coming up later tonight! I took some pictures at the Raw Dairy we go to regularly. There was a premature calf born recently and my daughter got to pet her and become a human pacifier!:) And I made farmers cheese (well, not with my Raw milk as that would negate the purpose!). YUM!

Miss Priss on her first day of Third Grade! She looks so grown up and sassy in this shot! **sniffle** Today is her Adoption Day anniversary! We took some cookies up (baby and I) to celebrate with her at school! SH

Snuggle time!:)  This is before our rug was brought back - oh yeah I didn't tell yall about THAT nightmare did I? Well on day 2 of flooring, the guys moved our rugs (the large one in the livingroom and 5x7 in the kitchen) outside so they could floor. They also moved our washer and dryer out there. Then out of no where - POURING RAIN all over all of it. Yep. So thankfully the washer and dryer weren't ruined, and neither were the rugs, but we did have to have them shampoo'd. 

I feel like I should get a prize for painting the tiniest toenails ever...just sayin.

Moby time - about a minute before she fell asleep, this thing knocked her right out!:) Oh and there is a tiny peek of our floors, the wood and the procelain. 

BTW - Now that I have my Moby made, I will start cooking again and posting food stuff, it was just hard to do it with her always wanting to be held! Now I can get the best of both worlds :)

This is the most interesting thing I've made lately! :)

Making the above, because of the below :)

Oh and in case you are wondering - I made that Moby Wrap Im wearing the sweet little Ladybug in!:) Life is great!