The Benefits of Goat Shows

For my son and several friends, dairy goat show season is here! It is fall and fairs are in full swing. I don't personally choose to show, but I do believe that dairy goat shows have helped to improve some aspects of the dairy goat breeds, though Nubians aren't any any quieter or brighter! :)

When showing, body type, condition, age, and conformation all contribute to the overall score of the animal. However, being dairy, the biggest part of the score is the udder, which is what all the rest of the body is supporting. Udders and 'milky' lines have come a long way, with production amount and length of lactation improving through the years. This is a benefit to a homestead, as it is easier on the body of a doe to lactate several years in a row than to have to give birth every year to freshen. One of my Saanens lactated for four years, and only stopped because I dried her off, wanting a doe kid out of her. Let's hope she is pregnant! Her niece, a Saanen Nubian cross, has been lactating steadily for over three years now.

So...some folks enjoy the hoopla surrounding the shows...the stress, excitement, hope for winning premiums and titles on members of the herd to increase value. Its just not for me, but I do realize there is a benefit of the shows that I and anyone else who owns well-bred dairy goats have reaped...increased performance for the homesteader!

Grilling with your good pots....

My husband loves to grill.  I love to eat food that has been grilled.  However, one thing that I hate is when my husband uses my good stainless steel pots on his grill.  We have a side burner where you can cook beans or boil corn or whatever else you would like to cook.  And it is very nice during the hot summers to cook only on the grill without heating up the house.  But the BLACK soot marks on my pots are almost impossible to get off!

No, we don't have a dedicated set of pans for the grill.  That would take up precious storage space and it is hard to justify the expense when we only use the grill a couple of times each month. 

So yesterday Mr. B was going to grill some hot dogs and cook some baked beans.  I was not interested in spending fifteen minutes 'trying' to get the black marks off and I shared that with my husband.  My second oldest son said that he had read that if you rub the outside of the pot very well with soap, then the pot would be easy to clean.  So we decided to give  it a go.

Mr. B rubbed the outside of the pot very well with some of my homemade soap.  All of the way up the sides of the pot and the bottom of the pot.  Then he cooked our beans.  After lunch, he set out to clean the pot.  Yep!  Our son was right!  The pot cleaned right up with NO stress or major scrubbing! 

Wow!  I was really surprised and very thankful that I have a son that likes to read!

Happy Grilling!

Pumpkin Meanderings

Ok...it is October. Good bye (mostly) ice cream and watermelon...bring on the pumpkin pie! A versatile food, pumpkin pie is! Of course it is tops for dessert, but also great for lunch and breakfast, with a little protein added on the side.

Homemade is best, heavy on the cinnamon and ginger, and hold the nutmeg and cloves, thanks! Seeing as how I am usually the cook, I get to make it how I like it. No one complains! I also use whole goat milk right out of the fridge instead of evaporated milk, and it works fine, though I reduce the amount a little. But...today is not about a recipe! Its about canned pumpkin, and pumpkin meanderings.

Only...I heard that canned pumpkin it is not actually what we normally think of as pumpkin, but more along the lines of butternut squash. I am thinking that companies must use Amish neck pumpkin of some sort. Basically, Amish neck pumpkins are gargantuan butternut squashes! And they taste wonderfully. I have grown Amish neck pumpkins before, but they require a LOT of room, so I went back to butternuts, which don't require near the space in the garden but are still quite prolific. The Amish neck pumpkins absolutely took things over in a scary way, while the butternuts simply gently meander.

Now...there was a canned pumpkin shortage a couple years ago, but I hope no one went without a homemade pumpkin pie if that is what you were wanting. You don't need to buy canned pumpkin...simply buy a butternut, bake as I instructed in a post not too long ago, and then proceed with your normal pie recipe. Regular large orange pumpkins tend to be stringy, so I avoid them if a butternut is available!

Happy October...may you always get real whipped cream on all your desserts, and not a splat of cool whip!