Things are starting to wind down on the farmy in some ways.
And wind up in others. The bulk of the apples and tomatoes and vegetables are in jars and in the cellar. The pears and apples are next in the crusher, not quite yet though. I have a lot of picking to do yet.
Seeds are being collected and dried.
Last night we had Lamb rissoles. I mixed ground up left over roasted lamb, mashed potato, an egg, an onion and whatever green herbs are hanging about. Grandma always added parsley. Here is the recipe exactly as she wrote it in a blog post I wrote two years ago about Daisy getting lost in the field. We had corn that year too.
I always make a few extra jars of apple crumble for John’s and the old Codger’s lunches. These ones have plenty of room for the Old Codger to add his favourite vanilla ice cream.
The meat side of my farm is winding Up. We are on an ominivores diet and so I raise grass fed meat to go with our vegetables. The Bobby and Charlotte went to the locker early last week. Both animals loaded easily and took their early morning trips to the abbatoir without fuss. It was sad to see Charlotte go but she left a trail of destruction in her wake. Not the least of it being: breaking the fence between her and the ram – letting him in with Minty and Meadow and completely demolishing the chooks run over and over again. Feeding her was a very chancy operation. Poor old thing could only have lived in an indestructible concrete stall and that is not how I keep my animals. But I am going to name my new line of soap after her so she is not forgotton. Although she was a nervous bad tempered mother she did help me learn an awful lot and for that I am thankful.
I am lucky that the man down the road, an ex Vietnam War Vet on a pension, does all my truck driving for me. He is a gentle man and he and his wife are paid in meat for helping me which pleases them greatly as the army pension is not very much to live on.
I spoke to the man at the abattoir and he has some lard I can have to start making soap. It is a small family run outfit and when I go to pick up the lard on Saturday I will show you. It is absolutely nothing like the big terrifying slaughter houses. This wee country abattoir only does a few animals a day, it is quiet, efficient and personal. They know my animals are grass fed for maximum nutrition and gently grown and like all their charges they move them swiftly through their last moments with gentleness and dignity. It is one of those tiny businesses that help keep a tiny town open and I am comfortable sending my animals there and being part of this old fashioned country cycle.
This weekend I am going to try and make soap for the first time. If any of you have made soap I would be grateful for any tips. I want to make lavender soap.
The Black Mariah is parked up again for a while though. The broiler chickens (who go in two weeks) will be taken to their special organic meat bird abbatoir in a covered truck bed. And the piglets who are no longer piglets have a few more months on the farm yet.
Good morning. Today I am making a pound cake for John to take to Georgia tomorrow. He is going to visit his son who is still in basic training down there. I promised The Tall Teenager I would send him a cake. But we are not allowed to send food to the camp now. So he can eat it when they leave the base. I am going to put a fork in the tin with the cake. Otherwise he might pick the whole cake up and take a bite right there outside the gates.
I hope you all have a lovely day. It is 6.30 am and still dark. Starting to work at sunrise is not as early as it was.
You all have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farm, celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
85 responses to “The Omnivore’s Farm”
Be sure and wear protective glasses and gloves when stirring the lye with the water. It gets very VERY hot and when adding oils the lye mixture and oil mixture have to be around the same temperature. This can be a little tricky too. When mixing the two together, I bought a immersion blender, just keep your gloves on because the mixture can still burn your hands. Never made soap with lavender so I’m not sure when would be a good time to add it. I usually make some with cornmeal for scrubbiness for garden hands and add it near the end. Also, after you pour it up, you need to wrap it. I lay a big wool blanket over the box for about a day. When you uncover you should be able to cut into bars and then let dry on screens for about a month. The soap will still be caustic until it has cured. Hope this helps.
brenda
That does help brenda, thank you, esp the tip about drying on screens! i have a few old ones too.. Promise to use gloves! c
I read this post and then went back for Grandma’s lamb rissoles, and got quite lost in the story of Daisy in the corn… I’m making them next time we have lamb roast. The G.O. will love them 🙂
Life gives us choices, and it’s how we make them that counts. You’ve explained the omnivores diet and farm practices beautifully.
I love the dynamics of rural communities. They worked so well for so long, and I’m truly happy people are starting to see things that way again.
There is a definite resurgence out here, people are coming back to the land, slowly, but I think it will hold. It is hard to fight against the big growers though.. the rissoles are lovely, so simple! c
A note to Mere, I have two Nigerian Dwarf wethers and they have never jumped ever. They really don’t attempt to climb much unless there’s a handy fence to stand against to reach a tree branch. I admire yo Celi in raising your own meat animals. I don’t think I could do it, I had to rehome a horse once because he had some training issues and it put me in a blue funk for weeks. Normally any animal that comes here lives out its life here and I felt terribly guilty that I might have failed Jack, even though he went to a very good home.
Good luck on your soap making, my all time favorite scents for soap are lemon grass (so fresh and clean) and peppermint (especially on a hot sweaty day).
Sherry .. what good news, i have put off even thinking further about these goats because of the jumping and escaping issues. I have just discovered that i might be able to find some locally too! Hope mere finds some, she is such a darling… I understand about your horse.. life is not always kind, but nice that he went to a good home.. c
What a wonderful way to honor Charlotte!
Admire your honesty and the care you show your animals. Love homemade soap (I keep it in my drawers too!); such a beautiful way to remember Charlotte. I’ll second The Blonde Gardener: be sure to wear protective goggles to prevent lye from splashing into your eye (it can cause blindness very quickly). Have fun and stay safe!
I will wear glasses and gloves (if i can find some!) I know I have one.. c
I’m sure the Tall Teenager will enjoy the cake.
How fantastic to have a small local abattoir. I admire the way you are producing the meat you need, all done with care but without sentimentality. Soap-making sounds like a nice thing to do. Good luck with it – I see you are gathering in plenty of tips from the fellowship.
The days are certainly getting shorter aren’t they? Love your apple crumble in a jar. Do you cook them in the jar? And if you do, how hot an oven will the jars stand?
I made my first batch of soap using Janine’s instructions at http://olallieberry.typepad.com/blog/basic-handmade-soap-tutorial.html and then made some with lard from Natural Soap by Melinda Coss. About to make some more as supplies are running low and it’s so good! I used a stick blender the second time, which was much quicker.
In case you need any more soap links – Down to Earth – its an aussie “back to basics” blog and you may find her tips of use, although I did notice she uses oils. Joy
Now you have me excited to see your lavender soap! I look forward to seeing the process, the result, and your assessment of the process. I just know the photographs will be lovely too, Celi! It is your way.
The lamb rissoles look wonderful! Beautiful photos – as always!