More from Joel Salatin

Joel Salatin is definitely a character, but I always make it a point to read what he has to say. He's a real-deal sustainable farmer with lots of experience using animals' and plants' natural tendencies to produce the best results.

And Joel makes a point that I very much agree with --- the key to the long-term viability of the local food movement is cooking. We have to rediscover our kitchens and the pleasure of cooking from scratch with whole ingredients. I'm sure our bodies will thank you.

Click here to read the article about Joel.

Recipe: Patty's Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting

I would have included a photo of the cookies with this recipe, but they disappeared from the kitchen before I could find the camera!

Pumpkin Cookies

1/2 cup softened butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 cup roasted pumpkin (or canned pumpkin)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

*I've been taught that, when baking at altitude, it's good to include a little extra flour so the cookies don't flatten when baked. When I tried this recipe the cookies tasted great, but were kind of flat. So, next time I'll add a little more flour.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets

2. In large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the pumpkin and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture (do not overmix). Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until light brown, about 25 minutes.

In the meantime...

Caramel Frosting

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp maple flavoring*

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 - 2 cups confectioners' sugar

*If you don't have maple flavoring, just add a little extra vanilla extract.

Combine the butter, brown sugar and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in maple flavoring and vanilla extract. Cool slightly, then beat in enough confectioners' sugar to achieve spreading consistency.

Remove cookies to wire racks; frost while warm. You may need to return the frosting to the stovetop to reheat from time to time so the consistency is right for the cookies.

Enjoy!

Reunion!

Dasha and I recently went on a visit to her birthplace in Conifer. Dasha was born at Bohica Acres, a little animal farm and goat breeding operation run by Diana and her family. The purpose of our visit was to breed Dasha to one of Diana's bucks. That was a fun adventure in itself, but the best part was when we let Dasha visit the other does.

Dasha's mother (Lena) and twin sister (Violet) still live at Bohica Acres. The doe pen had 12 does in it, but Dasha, Lena and Violet only had eyes for each other. Dasha hadn't seen her mother and sister since she came to live with me 8 months ago.

[You can click on each picture to view a larger size.]

Right before we left for Conifer. Doesn't Dasha look relaxed?

Lena (mom) immediately to the left of Dasha; Violet (sister) behind Lena.

Getting to know each other. Violet looks a little like she's winding up for a headbutt!

Dasha (with the collar) inherited her stubborn streak from her mother. Lena is the boss of all the girl goats, with Violet as her sidekick. Before Dasha left she was also one of the alpha girls.

Family snuggle.

And an update on the breeding...

Pirate is a very handsome boy with blue eyes, and actually looks quite sweet in person. He REALLY liked Dasha. During our first visit to the breeder's Dasha wasn't interested in him, but after we gave her a day to fully come into season she was willing to "hang out" with Pirate. If the breeding was successful, Dasha's baby(ies) should be due on April 8th!

6... Out of 14,314

There is an article in the Fort Collins Coloradoan about their recently passed chicken ordinance, which allows residents to keep up to six hens. When the ordinance passed there was a lot of contentious discussion about the potential problems of having these animals in the city.

Well, it's been a year, and the numbers are in. Over the last year the Fort Collins Animal Control has received a total of 14,314 calls. Want to guess how many of those calls were about chickens?

Six. Yup, six. Four of the six calls were for "accidental" roosters. It's very common to order baby hen chicks from a hatchery, only to have one of the little girls turn out to be a boy. The roosters were moved out of the city - problem solved. The other two calls were for noise or odor complaints that were investigated by Animal Control and turned out to be unfounded.

6 out of 14,314. Sounds like the hens are a HUGE problem for the city, doesn't it?

Click here to read the full article.

For the Milk

As anyone who spends time around me knows, I love talking about my animals. It's great to share my experiences with other urban-dwellers. Even if they're not at all interested in keeping animals themselves, it helps to redefine what's possible in a city backyard.

It's also fun because it helps to shed a little light on food and biology, and how they're intertwined. People ask about my plans for my goats and whether I'm milking them. I always explain that they're just now getting old enough to breed, so once they've had their babies then I can milk them for a time. And then - for almost everyone I talk to - there's a moment of realization. "Oh, I didn't realize you had to breed them in order to get milk!" Most of us city folk (myself included) grew up thinking that cows and goats were just automatically milk-able. Nope, they're mammals, and they have to follow the same biological rules that humans do.

So, today's a big day for our little farm, because I'm taking Dasha up to the breeder's to - hopefully! - get knocked up. We're breeding her to a (again, hopefully) nice, registered goat named Pirate.

Isn't he a handsome devil? We're happy that we're able to breed her to a blue-eyed buck. I really couldn't care less about the eye color of my goats. However, it's really important to me that I'm able to sell the babies, and a reality of the goat world is that the blue-eyed trait is less common, and therefore sought after.

NY Times: The Carnivore's Dilemma

Editorial by Nicolette Niman asserting that labeling all animal products as environmentally harmful is an oversimplification. Sustainable animal agricultural methods - raising the animals on grass in open pasture - is actually beneficial to the environment. Those who want their food choices to be environmentally conscious would do better to avoid factory-farmed meat, rather than skipping meat all together.

"Is eating a hamburger the global warming equivalent of driving a Hummer? This week an article in The Times of London carried a headline that blared: 'Give Up Meat to Save the Planet'..."

Click here to read full article.

Snow Angels

Our recent snowstorm completely blanketed the barnyard, relegating the animals to their shed for the better part of 3 days (the chickens slept in their little coop with a lightbulb at night). The animals weren't unhappy, but the snow was definitely something new for them!


The first day of the storm.


Peeking out.



Before breaking the first path for morning chores.



From inside the cozy shed.



Dasha and the hens.





"Hmm... should we go out?"


Dasha re-breaking the path after new snow.



Wondering if Peaberry is going to come...



Yep, she did it!





"Um, Mom, can you pick me up?"





"That's much better!"




After the snow stopped, Cinnamon and Peaberry went on a little adventure.





They kept getting stalled on the single path, so I made them a loop through the barnyard.



Cardamom checking out what Cinnamon is up to.




Looking regal, even in the snow.