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And in the meantime – are there any topics you’d like to see covered on the blog in the future?  When we first got the Nigerian Dwarf goats, I asked if there were any books that would be good to have on hand for reference. The two that our friends from Wild Wind Farm recommended are definitely worthwhile as they’re specific to the Nigerian Dwarf breed. I’ve since attended classes on goat care etc., but having [...] Continue reading Recommended Reading for Nigerian Dwarf Goat Owners  The Better Hens and Gardens proclaimed focus is “Self Reliance – Real Foods – Sustainable Living”; but what does the “Real Foods” part of that really mean? I’ve been pondering that a lot lately, probably because of what I recently learned about raw milk and beverages. It turns out that you can’t sell raw milk [...] Continue reading What’s Real Food?  This is another dish that we made over the holidays; and it was so yummy that there were several requests that it be posted to Better Hens and Gardens - so here it is. The fennel and Gruyère cheese really elevate au gratin potatoes to a special dish. It’s can go from the oven to the table, or can be cooked ahead and [...] Continue reading Potato Fennel Gratin I’m reasonably sure now that all three Dwarf Nigerian does are “in a family way”, but we carefully considered their maturity and pregnancy needs before taking this step. Basically, there are three stages of care to consider: 1) breeding, 2) early gestation, and 3) late gestation. At each of these stages there is a preferred [...] Continue reading Basic Goat Pregnancy Care  We’re nearly out of commercial glass cleaner, and Randy keeps trying to buy more – so I had to prove that a homemade glass cleaner could be concocted that would work just as well as the commercial version. And, be so inexpensive that you’d be crazy to go pay $5.50 for it (that’s what a bottle of [...] Continue reading Easy Homemade Glass Cleaner  This is a rich bread pudding that everyone seems to enjoy (and coworkers requested be posted here), and it really doesn’t need the whiskey sauce to be delicious. The bread pudding recipe is adapted from Best Recipes by Cooks Illustrated while the whiskey sauce is from Penzeys spice catalog. Bread Pudding 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 4 large eggs, [...] Continue reading Best Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce  2011 was another good year on the farm, as we tried to make progress on sustainability, self-reliance, and using real food: Goats - The year started with the arrival of a third baby Dwarf Nigerian goat (Jewel Box) and we watched the three of them grow into beautiful young does. As they grew, we learned to trim hooves, [...] Continue reading 2011 – Another Good Year  This is a favorite lasagna that’s a little lighter and easier – because it uses turkey and the noodles don’t get precooked. The recipe can be made ahead, refrigerated, and then baked just before dinner; so it makes a nice dish to bring along. It’s adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten. 1 yellow onion (chopped) 1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage (casings [...] Continue reading Turkey Lasagna 
The idea of buying wrapping paper, wrapping gifts in it, opening the gifts, and throwing the wrapping paper out drives me crazy - it’s just so wasteful. During the winter holidays, 4 million tons of wrapping paper and shopping bags are thrown away. So, last year we started using fabric gift bags (see Green Gift Bags and the picture [...] Continue reading Green Gift Wrap  I like to make most things from scratch; but this is a quick, throw-together dish that’s great for so many potluck situations. Everyone always seems to love it. I’m sure it can be varied infinitely and there are many versions out there - we use Stephanie’s version. Anyway, this batch will be going to work tomorrow for Christmas lunch with the [...] Continue reading Hillbilly Beans  I’ve written about trimming the goats’ hooves before, but we’ve learned a bit more since then so I thought I’d share. It’s always important to keep their hooves trimmed, but particularly in wet and cold weather hoof care is important. In addition to improper alignment; when it’s wet, poorly trimmed hooves can cause them to [...] Continue reading Goat Hoof Trimming  During colder months when there are fewer seeds and berries available for the wild birds, we enjoy feeding and observing them; but we like to stay warm and toasty too. Fortunately, there’s a window seat overlooking a protected nook that’s perfect for this, and we put a variety of seed and suet in feeders there [...] Continue reading Feeding Wild Birds (& Homemade Suet Recipe)  This is the time of year for making meaningful gifts; and these cherries are great if you have friends or family that like to drink Manhattans. Typically, maraschino cherries are added to a Manhattan – but these are ten times better than any maraschino cherry from the store! They’re pretty good spooned over vanilla ice cream too. 1 1/2 cups bourbon 3 tablespoons [...] Continue reading Bourbon Cherries  These natural pine cone ornaments are not only beautiful; they’re easy to make and inexpensive as well. All it takes are some pinecones (gathered for free in our case), spray paint, ribbon, and a glue gun. I chose to make them using metallic gold paint and gold ribbon, but they could be made in whatever color suited [...] Continue reading Beautiful Natural Pine Cone Ornaments |
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