Friday was a work day. Nothing real exciting. My boss had an appointment to get his taxes done Saturday, so it was a last minute scramble to get all the information finalized for his appointment. I left work at 7:45 PM, grabbed some take-out and went home.
Remember in last Thursday's post I had mentioned that I had to drop something off for a friend of ours and that you would get to meet Stan...? Well, I never got to do what I was planning on doing Saturday for you to meet Stan, but I'll get to that in a moment. Instead, my hubby wanted to go out. He took me shopping! I couldn't believe it! He's been so busy pushing snow, catching up on sleep and working his real job, I haven't really seen much of him. So, I jumped at the chance to spend some time with him. I do kind of like him.
Before you get too excited, our shopping isn't usually anything too elaborate. My list included:
cooling racks
serving spoons
3-Ring binder
See, nothing extravagant. Matt was in the mood for a good burger. Our usual haunt wasn't really on the way to anywhere we wanted to go. We decided to head to Mansfield and eat at Logan's Roadhouse. Before we stopped at Logan's, I wanted to stop at Once Upon A Child and see if they had anything we could use to set up our nursery to prepare for foster kids. I did find a Noah's Ark quilt for $4.50. For those of you who aren't familiar with Once Upon A Child, it is a children's resale store for gently used items. Logan's had an hour wait, so we decided to eat elsewhere. We made a few quick stops at Goodwill and Gabriel Brothers before stopping at a new restaurant, Johnny Biggs. Check out the links under "Where I've Been".
We weren't very impressed with Johnny Biggs. They were a new restaurant and definitely needed to work some bugs out. The food was overcooked and under-seasoned. I hope they will do some tweaking. It has a lot of potential.
After supper and still unable to find cooling racks, we tried Meijer. They didn't have any like I wanted either. They have 15 kinds of bake pans and sheets and two kinds of cooling racks! I was looking for chrome or stainless steel ones, not ones with non-stick coating or that stacked. The last ones I had, had the non-stick coating and it eventually chipped off and would stick to my cookies, yuck! No luck at Meijer, so we tried Kohl's. They only had one kind of cooling rack! I gave up and will try another store. Overall, it was a nice evening with my fella.
Sunday was another day of rest spent going to church in the morning and the rest of the day with my parents in leisurely fellowship. I helped mom plan menus most of the afternoon and then we sat around and talked awhile.
Today, I started with chores, like always, and began cleaning up the house. I worked until 4:30 PM and then I got ready to go milk...yes milk. Milk cows. Here enters our friend Stan. Matt pumps manure for Stan and was his very first customer. Let me give you a little history how I got to know Stan...
Back in the fall, Matt was at Stan's pumping his manure pit. Matt was there several days before he finally got finished. For some reason, I had to go to the farm a few times in the evening--usually during milk time. One time my parents even stopped to see Matt's operation up and running. Anyway, I had always wanted to learn how to milk cows--I know, it seems odd, but I did. However, I could never find anywhere to learn and couldn't get hired anywhere because I wasn't experienced. I really liked heading to the farm those few nights and was noticeably disappointed when I didn't have a reason to go anymore. Matt was on the phone with Stan a few days later and relayed my disappointment. Matt handed his phone to me and Stan told me that they were going to test milk in the morning and I was welcome to come watch!!! I was a step closer to realizing my dream! WOO HOO!
For someone who never sees 4:45 AM, Matt was impressed I rolled out of my rack to go watch milk be tested--what that entailed, I still had no idea. For almost two hours I stood in the milk parlor and watched the milking and the testing. The medicinal smell of the teat dip and the pulsing vacuum of the milkers was mesmerizing and calming to me. I was captivated--I know...I'm odd.
To give you an idea, testing measures the amount of milk each cow produces over two milkings. Milk is measured in pounds, not gallons. Also, a small sample of milk is taken and then sent to a lab and analyzed.
I went home elated and told Matt everything that happened. I was disappointed that I didn't get to milk. However, testing time wasn't the best time to learn anyway. But, Stan said that I was welcome to come and milk anytime! WOO HOO! Finally!!! The next Monday I was at the farm at 5:00 PM for evening milking. I milked a couple of times a week from the beginning of October to a few days before Thanksgiving. Everyone wanted to know why on earth I wanted to learn to milk and astonished that I did it for free. True, I wasn't paid with money, but I was being paid in knowledge--that's priceless.
With Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then I had the flu and Matt had knee surgery--I hadn't had any time to call my own, let alone go see the cows--until today. I was a little slow, but quickly fell back into the routine. After milking, we fed the new calves. I got to bucket-feed a new heifer and Stan bucket-fed a new bull. New calves are so cute! I'll try and get some picks to post for you. I hope I can keep going to milk on a regular basis. I do enjoy it very much.
Tomorrow I'm going to get to experience hoof trimming the cows...That should be interesting.
Recipe of the Week: Brats with Mustard Slaw
courtesy Renee Schaaf, CT Farm
5 (or one pack) Brats
4-5 c. water
4 c. cabbage, thinly sliced
1/4 c. honey mustard
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. black pepper
1/2 T. vinegar
1 T. brown sugar
1/4 t. celery seed
1 large onion, sliced
1 T. olive oil
Cook brats thoroughly.
Bring water to boil in large saucepan. Add cabbage to the water and blanch until tender, but not soft. Remove cabbage and shock it by running it under cold water. Drain and set aside.
Combine, mustards, salt, pepper, vinegar, sugar and celery seed. Whisk together. Set aside.
Cook onion in olive oil until tender. Add cabbage and toss with onion. Add mustard mixture and toss together. Add cooked brats, sliced or whole, to cabbage and onions and let cook together for 10 minutes.
1 comment:
Renee, I've got an award for you over on my blog!!
Post a Comment