I had some old cube steak sitting in the fridge, and I was trying to figure out what to do with them.

Of course, Alton Brown had a show completely dedicated to cube steak, so I tried to the Swiss Steak Recipe.

It turned out fantastic.  I pounded out the steak and then dredged it in flour.  I then seared it on each side until it was golden brown.  In the remaining juices, I fryed onions, garlic, tomato and mushrooms until they were soft.  I then added paprika and oregano along with some Worcester sauce and some beef stock.

After putting it all in the pot together ensuring that the meat was all submerged in liquid, I threw it in the oven for 2.5 hours.

As a last touch, I added cheese to the top when it came out.

The steaks were incredibly tender and fabulous.  We enjoyed eating them a lot.  I think that I even like it better than a straight up steak because no matter how tender the steak is straight up, it is never fork tender like a properly prepared cube steak.

We will be eating more of this in my house.  I plan to change it up a little next time, and I have just the idea.  I’ll post the recipe when it has been formulated!

Go out and buy some cube steak for dinner tonight.

Daphne and her daddy have been working on the word, “shoe”. She finally got it about a week ago, and now she has an incredible respect for shoes because she can communicate about them.

Every time she sees a shoe, she points to it and says, “shoe.” This included when we were in a store that had shoes, and often it is necessary for her to pull the shoes off the shelf and try to put them on herself.

I have a confession to make. I take her shoes off and leave them on the floor so I can hear her say the word, “shoe” when she sees them. I love being a mommy!

I have heard here and there that raw milk is good for you, but I never really understood on a scientific level until today.

Every time I went to the chiropractor, he asked if I was drinking raw milk because it has the best absorb able calcium in it.  As soon as it is heated, it becomes hard for your body to recognize.  I also have a cookbook called “Nourishing Traditions” that I use, which really touts the benefits of raw milk (they are connected to the Weston Price Foundation).

Julie came over today to make some milk.  She doesn’t have a raw milk source, so she just brought the Lucerne brand of milk from Safeway.  We followed all the directions to make the cheese, but at vital stages of the cheese making process, it became clear that the milk was inferior, and that the pasteurization of the milk had actually damaged it.

She was making mozzarella.  Everything was fine until it was time to stretch the curds.  Despite the fact that they heated up to the temperature necessary for stretching, they remained in tight little sand gradual balls.  Nothing would make them stretch, not even with a lot of coaxing.

We then moved on to making Parmesan, and when the rennet was put in, it simply curdled.  It didn’t turn into curds and whey like it is supposed to, it too turned into sand curds and whey.  It was completely unable for cheese.

The good news is that she was able to get her money back from Safeway because the milk did not work, but it came abundantly clear to me that the milk I am working so hard for IS superior to what I can get at the store.

After the goat harvest last Monday, my milking quantities shot through the roof.  The boys had been weaned a few weeks before the harvest, but they still must have been sneaking milk because I was only getting about one quart every 24 hours.  The quantities were really inconsistent too, which was frustrating.

Things have really started to turn around now.  Milky Way is giving me about a half gallon every 24 hours.  I actually get a little bit more than that some days.  I have also been milking Scott’s other goat, Raven, as well, and she gives about a half gallon as well.  It feels good to bring home a gallon of milk every day.  I’ve been making cheese and yogurt up a storm.  I’ve also just got plans to freeze the milk so that I have some milk during the 3 months that my goat is dry (while she is pregnant).  With my new freezer, project milk freezing should go off without a hitch (as long as I can find containers to freeze in)!  I plan to freeze about 2 gallons per week, which is only about 24 gallons.  That should be enough to make a soft cheese every week as well as have a gallon to drink and cook with.  A high goal, for sure.  If I saved all the milk every other day for a month, I would be there!

Today, I proudly came home with more than a gallon of milk, which is sitting on my counter turning into Chevre.  I didn’t even need to reheat it.  It was still warm from the goat when I put the culture in.  It’s the easiest cheese ever.

We have been going to the Carlton pool almost every day.

The water is cool enough to cool you off but not so cold that it is unbearable. It has been so much fun to get to go and hang out whenever I want.

My friend Julie gave me a floatie for Daphne, so she has been sitting in it and enjoying herself. She likes to ride the water like she is sitting on a horse. It keeps her from getting too wet, but helps her have a good time at the same time. What fun!

Go to the pool and enjoy the summer (at least cool off).

For any of you in the local area, I thought that this information might be useful.  I know this doesn’t have much to do with food, but I try to help with information about the local area when I can.

We love to go swimming, and I have had a hard time finding information about the Carlton pool anywhere online.  I thought I’d post this here in case anyone in the area was looking to swim and needed to know when to go.  Hopefully I will see you there.

The pool is open June 11th to August 29th

Public Swim
Monday – Friday 12 pm to 3pm and 5pm to 8pm
Saturday 12pm to 7pm
Sunday 12pm to 4pm

Family Swim
Sunday 4pm to 6pm

Fitness Swim
Tues and Thurs 8pm to 9pm

Mommy & Toddler Time
Tues/Weds/Thurs 11:30am to noon

Night Swim (Themed)
Fridays 8pm to 10pm

There are pool passes available

Family: In district: $77 Out of District: $97
Individual: In district: $65 Out of District: $81
Child/Student: In district: $49 Out of District: $61
Senior: In district: $49 Out of District: $61

General Admission is $3
My understanding is that children under age 3 are free, but I can’t find that written anywhere.

The source for this is the Yamhill-Carlton Newspaper.

Hope that helps. See you at Mommy Toddler Swim!

A lot of people have been making their way to this blog looking for hours of the Carlton Pool.

The pool is open June 11th to August 29th

Public Swim
Monday – Friday 12 pm to 3pm and 5pm to 8pm
Saturday 12pm to 7pm
Sunday 12pm to 4pm

Family Swim
Sunday 4pm to 6pm

Fitness Swim
Tues and Thurs 8pm to 9pm

Mommy & Toddler Time
Tues/Weds/Thurs 11:30am to noon

Night Swim (Themed)
Fridays 8pm to 10pm

There are pool passes available

Family: In district: $77 Out of District: $97
Individual: In district: $65 Out of District: $81
Child/Student: In district: $49 Out of District: $61
Senior: In district: $49 Out of District: $61

General Admission is $3
My understanding is that children under age 3 are free, but I can’t find that written anywhere.

The source for this is the Yamhill-Carlton Newspaper.

Hope that helps. See you at Mommy Toddler Swim!

It has become official, we are now cat owners.

My friend Julie went on vacation and left us a kitten to take care of.  It turns out that she is allergic to cats, and her youngest daughter is just not quite sure how to handle them.  We decided to adopt her.

The kitten is named Moses.  She is a sweet little 2 month old kitten.  She gets along well with Daphne, considering the fact that Daphne insists on picking her up constantly.

Welcome to the family Moses.

Papa Bob was up to visit this weekend, and Daphne got a new chair as part of the deal. The chair actually came from Jared’s room when he was a little kid, and it is now being handed down in the family.

Daphne loves to sit in the chair and just eat or talk or even just sit there. It is pretty cute to see.

Oh, and she is not willing to share her chair with anyone, so don’t even ask.

This is my last announcment about my new blog.

I have decided it is time to split the two blogs apart, so if you want in on all of the good fun we are having here on the 1/10 of an acre farm, you’d better get on over to the Oregon Natural Foods blog site and sign up. I am working hard to post every day about the adventures here on the farm since something is always going on.

Check out our latest freezer adventures here.

The blogs are splitting, so no more double posts!