Tuesday, January 26, 2010

We're not in Kansas anymore...



Tucson has been experiencing some wild weather these days. Last week, tornadoes even touched down! Over the course of the storms, two chicken coops lost their roofs and one metal shed went flying!
We are rebuilding stronger at Patriot's Dream, although we thought some of our friends might enjoy getting to see the photos from this adventure. On a bright note- we proved Mama can pack! Some of the heirloom breakable Christmas items flew upside down over 25 feet, and survived!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Science Fair at Patriot's Dream

It is science fair time at Patriot's Dream. The projects of the year include dueling volcanoes and the proper age of goats milk in cheesemaking for the highest yield. The latter has led to a great deal of adventure in cheese recipes. From chocolate cream cheese to garlic and basil and many others, we are trying yummy new recipes and a couple not so worthy of repeating.

A fellow student in last semester's OChem class shared a recipe with me that spawned a new experiment during some trials last week. I thought it was worthy of sharing the original recipe as well as what we had done. We made Jalapeno Garlic Goat Cheese, adding 3 jalapenos to a gallon's yield, and crushed garlic and salt along with the whey to taste. That was a big hit with Daddy as we as the experiment crew!

This is the recipe that was shared with me. One of the interesting things for me was that he had adapted it to use canned goat milk from the market. Check this out...

2 cans condensed goat milk
2 cans water
prepare as usual with acidifying agent to create curds, reserving whey

4 jalapenos
1 Tbsp crushed red pepper
Buttermilk

Add the salt to the whey, pour back through the curds. Process the curds with the jalapenos, red pepper and buttermilk. Use whey and bttermilk alternately, adding until desired creaminess/ consistency is reached.


Hope you enjoy the fun new recipe! How much cheese shoul you eat in a day? Well, remember that cheese, while a wonderful dairy choice, is also a higher fat content dairy choice. One ounce is considered a serving. Fun fact to know, though, goat milk cheese is lower in fat than some of the other cheeses, but you might choose to go lighter on the buttermilk or choose a lower or nonfat buttermilk for your recipe. Everything in moderation. Got a great recipe to try? Send it to me! We can share it here. Looking for a lighter version of a recipe? Email with the question!

Enjoy!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Welcome to the Patriot's Dream Blog

Welcome to the Patriot's Dream Blog. We are starting 2010 off right, with our website coming up and lots of fun things to share. I will post the coming craft shows where you can find us as soon as I schedule them, and will share wellness information here, too! Please share your healthy comments and tips as well. It can be a great way to discuss myth versus fact, and come up with great product ideas to help us all take better care of ourselves. We are also working on scheduling a free fitness night here at the farm. Anyone interested in starting a farmer's market in southwest Tucson? Hmmm... share your thoughts!

If you are accessing and reading this post from a link other than the Patriot's Dream website, feel free to check out our site at:
www.ourpatriotsdream.com

Looking forward to talking with you soon!