Organic Pastures Tour

As those of you who know us know, we drink raw milk.  I had the opportunity to set up a tour this morning of the farm in Fresno and it was a blast.  The cows are out eating grass and enjoying the sunshine.  There were calves and bulls as well, but most importantly there was the milk.  Our CAVA teacher posted the outing so we had the opportunity to meet other families which made it extra special.

The cows that they have are Holstein, french normande, jerseys, and most importantly mixes of these breeds.  The mixes usually produce the best milk which consists of 3/4 cream and 1/4 milk, so just imagine how amazing raw milk and raw milk products taste.  We learned about their cows and how they are raised which was incredible.

We also got to meet Boo a cow rescued by PETA.  Boo was about to be slaughtered because she had 3 teats instead of 4.  Dairy men are becoming ever more picky about their cows and only want to keep and feed the perfect ones; all others are sold for slaughter.  Boo has a bell around her neck so that PETA can pick her out of the crowd and take walks with her.  I love this story and the fact that all of the cows are distinct, and even the aesthetically challenged ones have a good life.  It only strengthens my resolve for raw milk.

Let us know if you want to head over for a tour.  We would love to visit again.

Our home gets a makeover

We FINALLY took the plunge and put in laminate flooring in the house. We are in love. The new flooring went into the kitchen, dining room, living room, and hallway. The house looks bigger and brighter with the new floors and new paint. We painted in teal and soft grey; we decided to keep the brown because we felt that it anchored the room. The kitchen cabinets got a new stain which blends into the brown very nicely. We've gotten lots of compliments from those of you that have come over so thank you. The hard work was all worth it.

Feta Update

Feta is officially edible. Will post again with recipe and raw milk vs. pasteurized milk comparison.

Homemade Feta

I'll have to try it to make sure that it doesn't kill anyone. Keep you posted. Not made with goat's milk which makes this REALLY cost effective. This first batch was made with raw milk, but I will make some feta with pasteurized milk to see which one has the better texture. I'll let you know, but I suspect the raw milk will win. Check back at casaclarkcooks.blogspot.com to see what happens.

Mid week box

Went to the garden this morning and was able to harvest some food. The tomatoes are finally turning and are quite delicious. It's like getting a CSA box mid week. You'll see the dragon tongue beans (which I plan to pickle; hopefully they retain their amazing color), yellow cherry tomatoes, currant tomatoes, Italian heirloom tomatoes, one tiny Martino roma tomato, eggplant and garlic. It's totally awesome and we are all really excited about planning our fall plantings.

Chloe is finally a big girl with pierced ears. It's going to fast.

Look at those beets

Went to the garden today because I didn't have room to pull some beets that were ready to go. Yesterday I came home with butternut squash, eggplants, spaghetti squash, zucchini, cucumbers (which I'm pickling), arugula, and some chard. Back to the beets; aren't they gorgeous? They are called chioggia and they are Italian heirlooms. You are able to keep the rings if they are cooked whole and cut right before serving. Just gorgeous!

I made homemade cornmeal!

In order to concentrate properly, and let's be honest, have my VERY OWN food blog, I've decided to launch casaclarkcooks.blogspot.com. Visit this blog to discover our culinary adventures.