Got Cider?

 Arkansas Black Apple.

Just walk around on the limbs and pick.

There were more than we could pick.

 

All the apples picked by girls made their way into receptacles.  A portion of those picked by boys were analyzed and trialed as substitutes for snow balls.  Since apples do not normally break apart on impact it was determined that their use as snow balls was painful and therefore limited.  For reasons unknown, this conclusion had to be validated a number of times.

Never throw away empty feedbags, they have multiple uses.

 

Washing the apples.

 

Loading the machine.  The ground apples are transferred to the front (next picture).

 

Where they are pressed (with the Yoders, extraordinary friends who have been a tremendous blessing to us).

 

And the cider then flows out of the bottom,

and is then filtered before being put into jars.

 

 Some little kids don't care if it's filtered, as soon as no one is looking...

busted.

 

Ahhhh!

Just as with the feedbags, make the most of byproducts (what remained of the apples was fed to livestock).

One can also turn the cider in to hard cider.  Add yeast specifically for cider and an airlock (device at the top that does not let air in but lets gasses escape).  Let sit for a couple of weeks while the yeast eats the sugar and produces the "hard stuff."  A chemical is used to stop the fermentation once a desirable level of sweetness is achieved but... some people are sensitive to the chemical.  Tonya chose to let the cider completely ferment (so it's dry) but adds fruit juice when serving it.

Got Milk?

Sam: What's the big deal about milk? 

Keena: Isn't pasteurization necessary?  Trins: Yeah, plus who needs all that pesky milk fat?  (Standing outside of our favorite dairy's milking parlor).

Actually many things are not as they appear, and this certainly is one.  The need to pasteurize milk is perpetuated by Big Dairy and gubmit agencies that ostensibly keep us safe but in reality protect Big Dairy's interests (note: I don't think that big companies are bad, companies that collude with the gubmit are bad, this is also known as "crony capitalism').  In many areas of the country there used to be hundreds of small dairies but now only a few exist thanks to health departments that restrict and punish small dairies in ways that benefit large corporations (Morningland Dairy is one of many examples: http://uncheeseparty.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/morningland-dairy-the-final-solution/).  How did this happen?  Pasteurization and regulation has become a tool to marginalize and destroy small producers. Those who do not heat their milk and can't build expensive concrete and stainless steel shrines as a tribute to bureaucrats are subjected to severe health department scrutiny.  This protects the market for big producers and distributors. 

Pasteurization was introduced when refrigeration did not exist. The heating of milk mitigated the effects of dirty large dairies in a nascent industry. Cleanliness was usually a misnomer and when dealing with unrefrigerated milk that had to be transported long distances it created significant problems. Today even large dairies are considerably cleaner and refrigeration is utilized so pasteurization is not necessary with the exception of CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations), where cows are crowded and don't have easy means to put enough space between them and their excrement.

What about nutritional value?  Is overheated milk denuded of its fat good for you?  Which is better, skim or whole natural milk?  The problem with pasteurization is that it destroys or damages some of the enzymes, proteins and vitamins in milk and ironically also eliminates milk's natural ability to kill bacteria (by destroying some of the protein peptide segments and enzymes with anti-bacterial properties).  In addition, the destruction of a particular enzyme (lactase) inhibits our ability to digest the lactose in milk.  In relation to fat, almost 2/3rds of the fat content in milk from grass fed cows is saturated (the most soluble fat, as compared to monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) which helps construct cell membranes, hormones and enables us to assimilate fat soluble vitamins among other things.  Milk fat from grass fed cows also contains significantly more Omega-6 fatty acid.

Guernsey milk: look closely, half way up this jar you can see a line where the fat starts - this jar is at least 1/2 milk fat.  Veritable sticks of butter are squeezed out of the utter of this cow - that's amazing.

Guernsey compared to Holstein on the right, Holsteins are known for volume, the trade off is less butter fat and some would argue less nutritional value but certainly more than what you would buy in the store.  Note the fat is settling out only a few inches from the top in the jar on the right.  Both are natural / raw.  Our family goes thru a few gallons per day.

It is necessary to dry cows off a few months before they "poop out" (in Sammy parlance) little cows.  In the time being Blaise is filling up at a friend's farm (from the utter into the chiller and into our bottles).

 

I even take it to work (I recently accepted a short term WAN migration gig).

 

Now on to other unrelated activities:

 Caleb grew potatoes this year.

 Three types: Blue, Yukon Gold and Pontiac Red.

The girls cut and fried them in coconut oil, delicious (the chicken & milk by TJ, the bread by Tonya and the flowers from our friend Amy).

Calvin's geese, they warn of predators by making a lot of noise when unfamiliar animals (or humans) show up, we've lost fewer chickens since they've been around.

Caleb taking honey straight from a Langstoth frame.  Only beekeepers are allowed to do this.

Arts and crafts project, before: carefully cut on each side of the post and...

carefully line up the new front post with the rear block and press on.

Liberty's Update

So you're wondering what we've been up to lately?

Sewing of course, nothing like those older machines, we can repair almost anything with a rip.

Dad's been doing a little homesteading work, it's exhausting, he says it's amazing what people 100s of years ago could endure, I think he's yelling at one of my brodders, I'm sure they're goofing off.

Trins did a little excavating, you go girl!  Us girls never cause any problems for dad.

We do things like collect used vegetable oil for...

his 1985 Mercedes 300D, it burns diesel or vegetable oil.  It has a separate tank that is pre-heated to reduce the viscosity of the vegetable oil.  He starts up and shuts down on diesel, but all the time in the middle he runs on vegetable oil.  He says the best part about it is stickin' it to the man.  The smell of the exhaust reminds me of French fries.

Blaise trying to work out some deal with my sistas.  They took my advice and said no.

Taming a skittish calf (after chasing her over 6 acres), they have to tether her and either bring food to her or lead her to her mom for milk so she associates us humans with something good / food.

More homesteading type work, my brodders Calvin & Blaise laying the foundation for a gully crossing (Calvin knows girls are better than boys, he didn't want this post getting out).

When we're involved we leave the easy work (like pushing the dump button) to them.  We don't stop for anything...

except puppies... like this one that crawled out of the last pile we dumped (I was wondering why that rock had hair all over it).

Ok Trins, thanks for the puppy break.  Now you can push the button Blaise.

We also stop for chocolate ice cream (which order should I lick these in?).

They were .10 cents each!  Yeah finally ice cream little girls can afford!  Dad said this time we found a worm hole to 1950.