Random pics of kiddos

I realized I haven't posted pictures of the kids in quite a while.  I have a bunch of random pictures that don't really fit a theme, so I'll just post them here willy-nilly...


Hypnotized by sweet potatoes.  Ha, ha.... this cracks me up!...

Where'd Evie's hair go?...

It's in a ponytail!  I'm not sure there are too many 7-month old baby's that can sport a ponytail...

Happy girl playing in her walker...

Happy girl playing in her bouncer.  Right before I took this picture, she was chatting away to the cats...

This is the first time I've caught Samuel sleeping "normally" in his crib...

What a cutie pie!

Evie's practicing sitting up like a big girl!

When the cows come home

One thing I miss the most from my childhood youth is having a milk cow.  I love fresh milk and store bought milk in comparison is just, well, for lack of a better word, gross. Milking was one of my chores growing up and I enjoyed milking each day.  Although, I've not done it in 20 years, so my memory may be more nostalgic than reality.

We recently found a farm about 10 miles from us that sells fresh, raw milk from Jersey cows.  I've probably drank more milk in the past month than I have in the past 20 years combined.  That might be slightly exaggerated, but you get my point.  Yesterday I was picking up milk and talking to the owner, Carl, about missing having milk cows.  He told me that he often buys cows from a farm in Cape Girardeau, about 2 hours from us, that has prized dairy cattle and the owner has a few extras he wants to get rid of on the cheap. This is where city dwellers often differ from country folk.  I'm sure Carl knows that if we buy a dairy cow, we'll obviously stop buying milk from him.  But he told me anyway because he saw a need and felt he could help.

Upon returning home I excitedly told Dan about the cows for sale.  Dan called Carl to get the dairy farmers number (his name is also Carl) and called to chat - they talked about breeds, age, production, genetics, etc.  After the call, Dan explained to me that Carl has several cows he wants to sell and he also sells bull calves. 

This is where male versus female differences come in.

I envision 1 cow.  A cow produces roughly 4 gallons of milk per day.  More than enough for our family with leftovers for neighbors and/or farm animals.

Dan on the other hand is thinking 2 milk cows and 2 bull calves.  To start with.  Oh dear.  Then he mentioned that he's looking online for milking machines since he's afraid I won't help milk everyday.  Oh Lord, what have I gotten us into?

Well, nothing has been decided as of yet.


TO BE CONTINUED...

Home Grown Farm Tour

We, or I should say Mesabi Farm, is participating in our county's 3rd Annual Home Grown Farm Tour, Field Dinner and Silent Auction.  It's a self-guided tour featuring 11 sites in our county.  We found about about the tour last year and although it was too late to participate, we did have the honor of donating meat for the Field Dinner. 

The idea of the tour and dinner is to showcase some of the best local farms and feature local, in-season foods.  Last year's dinner was unbelievable!  Besides all of the appetizers, fresh side dishes and wine from Edg-Clif Farms and Vineyard, the meats provided were bison, lamb and our pork.  After the dinner, we had quite a few people tell us our pork was their favorite dish of the whole dinner!  Quite a compliment for our first official year as a farm!  This year we are providing pork and chicken.

The event is held August 25th & 26th.  Check for details as some venues, such as ourselves, are only open on Saturday the 25th.  The tour itself is free to attend and very casual... simply drive from location to location and stay at each as long as you like.  The dinner will be served lakeside at SayersBrook Bison Ranch on Saturday the 25th at 5:30 and the cost is $55 per person.  Reservations are required.  A new feature at this year’s dinner is a silent auction offering a variety of products both local and regional. It sounds a little expensive, but if it's anything like last year's dinner... it is completely worth it!  It would make a fun date night for a couple.  It's also a for good cause - proceeds from the dinner and auction benefit the Home Grown Farm Tour Scholarship fund, providing an annual award to a county student majoring in agriculture.

Here's a link to find out more info about the tour and dinner reservations:  Home Grown Farm Tour

Hope to see you during the tour!

Tangy Tomato Dressing

One of my all-time favorite salad dressings is one from Outback Steakhouse.  It's the perfect combination of sweet, spice and tang.  I found a recipe online and made a few modifications to suit my tastes. Try it and change it however you'd like!

Ingredients:

2/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon thyme
2 pinches salt

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, whisking often, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator.  

In a pinch, I've also made this just by whisking everything together (skip the cooking) and chilling.  It's still good, but has a little different flavor.

Where's the Wheaties?!?

After doing internet research and reading several books, Dan decided to change his diet so he is wheat-free.  He did this of his own accord and actually didn't tell me he was doing it.  And even with all the whole-wheat laden meals I made, which he didn't eat, I didn't notice.  For two months.  I'm observant that way.  What can I say... it's a gift.

He decided to finally share his new-found knowledge with me after learning there is a high probability that Samuel's diabetes was triggered from eating wheat.  After learning how the body reacts to modern-wheat (i.e. how wheat has been grown since the 50's), I felt nauseated for a week knowing I gave our son something that possibly triggered his auto-immune system to shut his insulin-producing panaceas down.  I know, I know... I was simply feeding him the whole grains that the USDA recommend our diet to contain.  What still sickens me though was to learn that the USDA recommends whole-grains be such a large part of our diet, not because our bodies need it.  The USDA food pyramid recommends the number of grains it does because that's how many grains they need people to eat in order to keep American agri-business thriving. 

Excuse me?

Say what?

Yup, you heard me.  There is more and more support from renowned doctors that our diet does not need grains.  And furthermore, the diet we do need is very similar to how our great-grandparents ate.  Meat, fish, veggies and fats with limited amounts of grains, sugars and starches.

I won't go on a tirade about this in order to 'convert' you, but let me tell you this.  Since Dan started this new eating habit, he no longer feels bloated and tired.  Another result that he hadn't even thought about is weight loss - 24 pounds to be exact.  Now, I'm not sure he had 24 pounds to lose, so he's increase his protein and fats to compensate.  I've been follow this new eating style for a month.  I also feel better - I feel much more mentally focused and less bloated, especially towards the end of the day and don't have a craving for carbs each day.  I learned modern-grain triggers the opiate receptors in our brain... the same receptors that respond to opium, heroine, etc.  You know that craving you have for carbs, sugar or big bowl of pasta?  It's because your addicted to it the same way someone is addicted to heroine.  Sucks huh?  I will tell you that if you remove wheat from your diet you will go through a withdrawal period from about day 2-5.  After that it gets much easier.  We've noticed a difference in Samuel too.  He used to have a very round, bloated looking belly.  Now that he's been wheat-free for a month, his belly is much leaner and he seems to have much more energy. (Side thought... maybe I should put him back on wheat to reduce his energy until after the terrible 2's, 3's and 4's are over?)   :)

So, after learning all this, we decided we should go through the kitchen and get rid of all the wheat products.  We've always though we weren't huge carb eaters, but after looking at labels and yanking everything out of the pantry, fridge and freezer... it's obvious we were.

 You have the obvious culprits... cereal, crackers, cookies, etc.

Then you have your breads, tortillas, pasta and snack bars.

Of course, it didn't help to learn that wheat is lurking in all kinds of products we didn't realize... like soup, licorice and hard candy (Worther's originals!).

I estimated there was about $200 worth of wheat foods on the kitchen island.  We were really torn with the thought of throwing food out, but also didn't want to pass on food we find harmful to others.  We compromised by feeding everything that was open to the pigs and everything unopened was donated to a local food pantry.

Again, I'm not going to preach wheat-free to you.  But, I would strongly encourage you to research it and decide for yourself and your family.  Google the following to get more information:

Wheat Belly
Paleo Diet
Primal Diet

There's a funny movie called Fat Head written by a comedian where he interviews quite a few leading doctors and researchers.  This is a great intro to learn more.  I've been told it's available on Netflix, too.