Buttermilk Rye Bread

I've been enjoying my bread machine again this winter. It really started when I was hosting dinner for my family and needed to supply bread.  I didn't have anything on hand and didn't want to drive to town just to get bread - so I made a loaf of egg bread  in my bread machine from a recipe in the bread machine's cookbook. It was quite a hit - still warm - and pretty tasty.  My Dad particularly liked the bread, so I've got in the habit of making him a loaf every now and then. 

Buttermilk Rye Bread

Of course after a while I became board with the white egg bread and decided to look at other recipes. I had a small bag of Hodgson Mill, Old Fashioned, All Natural-100% Stone Ground Rye Flour in the freezer from some time last summer when I though I might bake bread from scratch. Yeah right, like that's going to happen. Well anyway, the recipe book has a recipe for Buttermilk Rye bread that looked pretty good.  It is in fact very good!  The stone ground rye flour gives it a brown nutty flavor - nothing like store bought rye at all, but very tasty.  It's also high in fiber, a bonus in my opinion.
The key to making bread machine bread - or any bread for that matter - is to have the ingredients at room temperature, so make sure you take the buttermilk and the egg out of the frig and either warm them up on the stove or let them come to room temperature.

Buttermilk Rye Bread

1.5 lb loaf

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons molasses

1 egg

2 cups white bread flour

1 cup rye flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Put all ingredients in bread pan in the order your manufacturer suggests. Choose the French setting which takes 3 hours 40 minutes.  Do not use this recipe with the bread machine timer. Begin immediately. 



Spiced Bacon and More

I'm having a quiet Monday morning day off.  The mud is frozen outside so I got my animal feeding chores completed in record time. The sun is shining and I feel energized - and hungry for my favorite breakfast.   One of the great advantages of raising my own pastured chicken eggs is that I can poach eggs in my sleep!  Fresh  eggs haven't had a chance to breathe and dry out.  The whites are still totally intact and hold together perfectly.  I heat water to a simmer in a deep sided skillet with a lid. Then I crack an egg into a little cup and gently pour it into the simmering water. The egg immediately pulls itself together. I cover the pan and let it go for about three minutes. Then I uncover the egg, flip it over in the water with a slotted spoon and let it go one more minute.  I drain the egg on a paper towel and flip it onto buttered toast - buttered homemade buttermilk rye toast!

Brown sugar and chili spiced bacon

That's all good just on its own, but then I add brown sugar chili spiced bacon and now its perfect.   My local Kroger store sent me a coupon for free bacon.  I love Kroger. How could I not love a store that gives me free bacon!  Anyway,  I always cook my bacon in the oven on a rack so it drains away the fat. Most of the time I just put a couple of strips of bacon on a small broiler pan fitted with a slotted insert so the fat will drain, roast it in an oven preheated to 450 to 475 degrees and 12 to 15 minutes later (depending on the bacon) I have delicious fully cooked bacon.  But, if I really want to treat myself, I add brown sugar and chili spice.  First I roast the bacon on the grill pan for eight or nine minutes. Then I take it out of the oven, flip the bacon over and then sprinkle it lightly with brown sugar and chili powder.  I just put a little bit - like a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and a light sprinkle of chili powder per bacon slice.  Then put it back in the oven for another five minutes. Watch carefully that you don't burn the sugar, it may take less than five minutes depending on how hot your oven runs.  It's absolutely wonderful!

Bacon flipped and ready to add brown sugar and chili powder

About half a teaspoon of brown sugar per slice.

Sprinkle a little chili powder and pop in the oven for just about 5 minutes.

Tater Bug Gets A New Home

"Tater Bug" and his mother, born May 2011

BTAP Yancey, born July 2011

I sold "Tater Bug", officially BTAP Yukon Gold and his half brother, BTAP Yancey, today.  Their new owner came and got them this afternoon.  They loaded on the truck nice and easy, like they'd gone traveling a million times before.  A long time buyer of my cattle bought them to raise as herd bulls. 

"Tater Bug" is a traditional red Limousin bull calf with cream colored under belly, cream nose and creamy rings around his eyes.  This is the way the Limousin breed looked when it first came to this country from France more than 30 years ago.

But America has been seduced by the sales pitch of "Certified Angus Beef", a program much like labor unions, that has had its place in history but really isn't too necessary any more.  Because of the Certified Angus Beef sales pitch, Americans value a black hided beef animal over any other color, so in order to compete, American Limousin beef producers bred a black version of the Limousin breed of cattle.  Sent to market today, Yancey would bring more per pound simply because he has a black hide. 

I have both red and black Limousin cattle in my herd, and I'll admit mine are mostly black. But I really like the red traditional Limousin the best.  Cross one of them with an Angus bull and you get one of the best beef animals anywhere with light marbling. Breed a Limousin cow to a Limousin bull and you get naturally lean, heart healthy, tender, tasty beefand lots of it.  Laura's Lean Beef and Whole Foods favor the Limousin breed for their beef.  Certified Angus Beef sellers like the Limousin Angus cross - as long as the animal has a black hide and grades high, it counts for Certified Angus Beef.  That Limousin added to the mix means more pounds for the same or less feed, so you get more for your money.  Now you know!

Cows in Winter



Checking on the cow over on the right. She's due to calve this month.

A friend of mine shot this picture of me last weekend. I was checking the cow over to the right. The cow is Violet and she is due to calve this month. Last year she had twins, both of which died within the first three days after their birth. Once a cow has twins, she is likely to have them again, so I am keeping a close watch on my sweet Violet. No calf yet.

Here I am in front of the round bale feeder.  I call this my Michelin Tire Man picture as I am wearing and old Carhart jacket from my ex husband and about three layers of sweat paints. It's not glamorous but I am toasty warm. As you can see the ground is really nothing but mud. Last weekend the temperature dipped low enough to freeze the ground. As of tomorrow when its suppose to hit 50 degrees I won't be able to stand in this spot and wave to anyone - I'll be fighting the Muckmaster 5000 as I call it - mud up to my ankles.  It's one of the hazards of feeding a herd of large heavy animals. They really churn the ground into mud.  On the up side, the Muckmaster 5000 takes about an inch off my hips each winter.

Bees and Things

The latest issue of "Ohio Farmer" magazine has a very interesting article in its Conservation section about pollinators.  The headline reads "Pollinators make progress." That's good news.  The main thrust of the article has to do with the USDA's 2008 Farm Bill.  That bill put new emphasis on conserving of all kinds of pollinators, not just bees.  The Natural Resource Conservation Service, part of the USDA,  in particular is working with farmers and land owners to develop pollinator conservation practices and strategies.  Since 2008 the federal government's Conservation Reserve Program has added 60,000 acres of land to pollinator habitat conservation. Locally we can get information at our county extension office or the local NRCS office or your Farm Services Administration office. The last two are located in the lower level of the Thompson Building on Columbus Ave.

The article also talks about the Xerces Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of invertebrates.  This Society began with one man's quest to save butterflies that were going extinct in Britain. It's a world wide organization now, particular popular in the US - though I challenge you to tell me you have heard of it. 

Help save endangered butterflies. Check out the Xerces Society at www.xerces.org

Small Batch Brownies

It was my turn to bring dessert to the family Monday night get together.  Most of the family (except me) eats oatmeal everyday for breakfast to help with their cholesterol levels and general health. I don't because I can't stomach oatmeal without a lot of brown sugar, pecans and raisins - which makes it way too fattening to eat every day.  Anyway, I found a really good ice cream at the Kroger - Denali something or other, their Private Selection brand - and decided to serve ice cream and cookies  - oatmeal raisin cookies to be exact.

I baked the cookies last night and just for interest I threw in 1/2  a cup of chocolate chips. They turned out pretty good. But then about 2:00 this afternoon (Monday is my day off) when I was really, really tired of cleaning house, I decided that ice cream would really be best with some chocolate brownies. 

I checked the pantry and found I had only two squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate on hand.  I checked the Baker's One Bowl Brownie recipe and sure enough, a whole batch took four squares. Stands to reason then that half a batch would take only two squares.  I was right, and they were soooo good.

I really like this half recipe. It made enough for every one to have one good sized brownie and I didn't have to worry about any left overs to tempt me later.

Small Batch Chocolate Brownies

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

6 tablespoons salted butter

2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup flour

1/2 nuts (walnuts, pecans, chopped almonds or hazelnuts, even peanuts) optional

In a double boiler or a mixing bowl set over simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate stirring it together.  Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the sugar, mix well. Add the egg and the vanilla and mix well.  Add the flour and mix well.

Pour the mixture into a greased 9" square pan, and bake 50 minutes.  Cool and cut into nine squares.

You can line the pan with parchment or foil to make it easy to get the whole mass of brownies out of the pan, but make sure you grease the foil.





Tater Comes Home

Last May my good cow GMEG Jealousy gave birth to a bouncing baby boy which I named Yukon Gold.  Limousin calves born in 2011 are registered with a number and the letter Y.  Y is the year letter and indicates that he was born in 2011.  I really like that name but it took me a while to remember that Yukon Gold is a yellow fleshed potato!  He was such a cute little baby calf that he immediately became "Tater Bug".  He's officially registered as BTAP Yukon Gold, but to me he's Tater.

BTAP Yukon Gold with his mother, GMEG Jealousy

Tater and Jealousy have been visiting FWLY Big Time at Fawley Farms.  GMEG Jealousy is now pregnant and expecting a calf by FWLY Big Time.