Beth's Story

Beth is a small (mostly) Pygmy goat. She came to live with us a little over 2 years ago. The second of my original goats had died of old age and I hated the thought of Misty being alone. So.. I took a trip up to Nevins Farm in Methuen MA - part of the http://mspca.org. They were thrilled to know that I wanted to adopt another goat because they had a very special little goat who was living in the horse barn. She was there because no matter what they did to the outside enclosure - she would find a way out. The economy had turned sour and the Farm was having to rescue more horses than they knew what to do with so having a little goat taking up a horse stall was not a good arrangement. So, I patched all the holes in our fence and brought Beth home in the back of my car. Now, Beth was very fat but of course that is not unusual for goats and I didn't think much of it. She seemed happy to be here and settled right in. She didn't figure out how to jump over the fence at first. January 22 started off like any other winter day. The kids went off to school and I was working from home. Early afternoon I went out to run a couple of errands. Now as I got in the car, I realized that it was kind of odd that the animals weren't bleeting at me for more hay. 'See human, bleet, get fed' (that was how they thought). So, I arrived home in time to meet the school bus and still no bleeting. So, I went in to the paddock to check on everyone. My first thought was that Beth had finally found her way out. Then from the back of one of the stalls came a noise I had never heard. Beth was huddled in the corner of the stall with 2 baby goaties! Pregnant not fat she was! Happy Mama.
With the help of a couple of friends and the kids, we set up a makeshift stall in the garage where we could keep an eye on them and make sure they were ok. They stayed there until the weather improved and they could gradually be let out in the goatie pen. 2 years later they are thriving. Both little boys - neutered but not de horned. They still cuddle with their mom Beth at night. How Beth got pregnant is something we will never know and what adventures she had before she came to us will always be a mystery. But we are happy to have her and her boys as part of our family.

Cherry Thumbprint Cookies - Not a Drive By

These cookies are colourful and easy to make. Of course you can use whatever jam you like. I have tried it with apricot and raspberry and it is all good.

Recipe: Cream one cup of butter w/ 1/2 cup of sugar. Add a teaspoon of vanilla and two egg yolks. Then add 2 cups of flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Roll the dough in to walnut sized balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for a few minutes. Take out the cookie sheet and make an indentation with a tiny spoon - or your thumb - and put a dollop of jam in the center. Then continue to bake until done. They are absolutely delicious!

French Country Crepes

This morning for breakfast I made some crepes. They were better than usual because I made them with rich fresh organic raw milk courtesy of Misty Brook Farm out in Barre. I had to add a little extra water because the batter was so thick. We had them with lemon and sugar and for the second round (I doubled the recipe)we melted some chocolate and spread it on. If you have some fresh fruit around you can cut it up, sprinkle on the sugar and dab with butter. Roll or fold them up and enjoy! They are wholesome and filling. I used to buy them from kiosks in the south of France and where I grew up in Ouchy we had a Creperie down by the Lake where you could get crepes of every variety you could imagine.Yummmmmmmmmmm....

Basic Crepe Recipe

1 cup of flour
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup of water
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter

Mix together by hand or in blender. You can make them in a regular frying pan but if you are going to make them regularly you will find a crepe pan a good investment. Always melt some butter and swirl it around to coat the pan before adding the batter.

Barnyard casualty

The chickens were all huddled in their hutch this morning. The snow is still falling and the wind has picked up. I threw morning hay over the gate for the horses and goaties and Bob of course ( our only rescue sheep ) and suddenly saw our beloved resident rooster - Hawkeye - flat on his back with feet splayed. I heard him crowing all night so I think that he was either kicked or headbutted when the hay came out this morning. As I ran to pick him up he suprised me by righting himself and shaking out a few feathers. He looked pretty confused though and I lifted him over the gate and put him under the hutch with the others. Now we will just have to see...

No eggs, no worries, nothing wrong with shortbread!

Had to have something sweet. But my chickens are not cooperating. I made crepes for breakfast and now I only have one egg left. Then I remembered that shortbread doesn't require eggs! The most important ingredient in a good shortbread is butter. If you use good fresh butter, you will have the best shortbread money can buy.

Cream 1 1/2 sticks of butter with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 cup cornstarch. Bake until golden. Cut while still hot. About 10 minutes prep and 20 min in a convection oven and there you have it.

The sky is heavy with snow today and it brings back memories of Gstaad in the '60's when there were so many feet of snow that we couldn't open the french doors of our Chalet. My mother and father had rented a half a chalet called Les Trois Ours above the Palace Hotel. The half chalet was so large that we had invited friends from Toronto to join us for the holidays. It comfortably slept 2 families of 4. My mother would trapse down to the village twice a day to pick up warm croissants and pastries. We hiked to the the Wispile and back every day with our skis over our shoulders. Life could not have been more magical. For my birthday we would eat at the Cave at the Olden. Fondue, Raclette w/Grapillon. Does anyone remember Grapillon (the Swiss non-alcoholic grape juice) or know if it is still available?

A world away here in Carlisle my children and I will be having raclette for dinner tonight. It won't taste exactly the same however because Whole Foods carries a variety of the French raclette. It is made with raw milk and although I like the idea of that it doesn't taste quite as robust as the Swiss pasteurized version to me. We have one of the modern raclette machines which are available all over the place now but there is no need to have a machine. You can easily make it in the oven (or believe it or not in the microwave). The old machines are still available and for large parties are alot of fun. I am all for progress but there is nothing like doing things the old fashioned way and I think it important to note after all that the verb racler = to scrape, in french, is what is responsible for the name of the meal!

Cheese Fondue

This evening I am feeding leftover cheese fondue to the dogs. Did you know that if you let the pot dry out it is much easier to scrape off the leftover cheese and clean the pot? Well, I don’t have any meat on hand this evening to mix in with my dog’s kibble and as it is New Years Eve, I thought I would share… even though the cost of a box of cheese fondue now is 12.99.

Years ago, I used to buy them all the time - they were only a few dollars. But with the weak dollar and cost of oil …things have changed. It is still less expensive and more convenient to buy the packages than to make it from scratch. I don’t have time to track down a Fendant or a good dry Kirsch these days. Now, if money, time and availability were no object this is what you would do:

• Cut a clove of garlic in half and rub it all around the fondue pot.
• Grate Gruyere, Emmenthal and Appenzel cheese into pot. You can vary the portions to your taste.
• Pour up to one bottle of Swiss white wine into pot.
• Add a couple of tablespoons of Kirsch.
• Fresh white and black pepper

Heat and stir until all melted and enjoy!