Monday 8 February 2016

Dairy, Socks and Sheds



Our butter for the coming week. This batch is cultured and oh how lovely it is to make because it "turns" very quickly with hardly any beating at all. 
I haven't been separating Daisy's milk lately for two reasons. Firstly, I had been over dosing on the cream and my clothes were feeling tight, and secondly, she is not giving as much milk now; averaging six litres a day.
I'm feeding Rosie a supplement feed each morning to make sure she is getting enough milk. I doubt she is getting enough from her sneaky raids on Lavender's udder, and this makes me feel better knowing she is getting two litres every morning from the calf feeder.
So I've only got four litres of milk to bring back to the kitchen each morning at present.
However, during the months of excess milk and separating the cream, I had stored lots of it in the freezers to have on hand for this time, so I can continue to make our butter during times of no cream.
I took some cream (approx two litres) from the freezer yesterday morning and let it thaw on the kitchen bench all day. Frozen cream is fine for butter making and using in cooking, but it doesn't make nice ice cream or for eating after it has been frozen.
My guide to butter making here.
Last night I stirred a dessertspoon of yogurt into the thawed cream and left it sit on the bench over night to culture.
The cultured butter milk is an added bonus and I will use it for baking or for a cheese starter some time over the next few days.

I have also got a batch of Feta on the go this morning and am stirring it with my hand every five minutes while I write this. I cheated with the above photo, that is not today's cheese, but "one I prepared earlier".
I'm wondering if anyone else is having issues with Mad Millie rennet tablets.  I'm finding that often, the cheese is not coagulating (setting) in the required time and I have to add another rennet tablet which puts the whole process back by at least another hour or two. Already I'm using half a tablet above what the recipe calls for, and today, I've used a total of two and a half tablets when the recipe actually called for one tablet!  Just as soon as I can get to the "Big Smoke" shops I'll be making the switch to liquid rennet. I really like to have rennet in the tablet form as it stays stable (supposedly) and is easy to store without refrigeration, but I'm really getting tired of the inconsistency.
I will be running a cheese making workshop here next week and as the time is limited to four hours I can't be taking the risk of the rennet not coagulating in time.


The "new" tractor is so high it doesn't fit into any of our sheds. We want to look after this large investment and are hoping it will be the last tractor purchase we ever have to make.
So Brian whipped up a shed over the weekend! Yep, I know, most people would take weeks to build this, but he's one of those blokes who gets an idea and has to work until it is finished.
He gathered the supplies of timber during the week. On Friday evening he dug the holes with a digger borrowed from friends who had hired it for the day and finished with it earlier than planned. (Bonus)!
The tin was from his stack that he has gleaned over some months from other people replacing their roofs. (Roofs doesn't sound right, but spell check tells me that "rooves" is incorrect and far be it from me to argue.)  A bottle of wine or a tub of honey is traded for the iron.
All of our sheds are built this way to make them look old and to fit in with the sheds that were already here.
 Just the eastern side to fill in the gaps, but mostly it was finished by Sunday evening. Phew, it was exhausting just watching him and getting him to pause to eat a meal.

 And finally!  When I've gone to all the trouble of darning a sock I'm not shy about the darn being visible. Celebrate the darn I say!
Do you mend your clothes? Darn your socks?
Truth be told, these socks were from one of my favorite op-shops and cost 50c over a year ago. Now they will go on keeping my feet comfy for another year.
Cheers for now and I hope your days are full of things that make you happy or content.










19 comments:

  1. Another day in the life and happenings on Jembella Farm...what a wonderful post and I have really enjoyed reading it. Thank you for sharing the day to day routine of life on the farm.

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    1. Sorry I doubled up on the above comment...Technology.. I'm always fighting with it!

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    2. That's OK Heather, I can always fix it up this end. I'm just glad to get your lovely comments.

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  3. I love the darning on the socks and they look like they are your favourites. It's so hard getting lovely cosy woollen socks these days I'd be hanging on to them as long as I could too. Cheers and enjoy your week.

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  4. Nice shed and nice darning (I mend my favourites until they fall apart). With the rennet, I was thinking that liquid rennet losses its effectiveness and you gradually need more and more. I don't know if the same happens with tablets, but it sounds like it! It is frustrating as you never know exactly how much to use... I order it from Greenliving Australia :)

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    1. Thanks Liz. I used to use the liquid and you are correct about it becoming less effective with age, in fact each time we open the lid it loses some of its power. Today's cheese was a major fail in the end. It somehow got full of air bubbles and was twice the height it should have been. Obviously some rogue bacteria got in there. Have had that happen once or twice before, have you? The dogs are enjoying an extra bit of dairy in their diet though. ;)

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    1. I thought you would already be onto darning Phil. The epitome of frugal. ;)

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  6. I haven't used the Mad Millies rennet but I gave up
    on their kefir starter after several fails and now
    use another type. I always think with MM you're paying
    for the packaging and the hipster aura and not a lot
    else!

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    1. Totally agree Barbara, and that's interesting to hear about the kefir starter. I've never bought a kit (way too expensive for frugal me) but I buy the rennet tablets through OzFarmer on-line. MM were the only ones to do it in tablet form, but I shall be returning to liquid rennet after tomorrow. However, I do have success with their recipes for Blue Vein and Feta. Their blue mould (Penicillin Roquefort)in a sachet I have found to be good quality.

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  7. Darn, it is smiling at you :)

    A very nice blog you have!

    Wendy

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    1. Thanks Wendy! It would be a wry smile I think. :)

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  8. I love it when a shed goes up so quickly and fits the purpose it's designed for ideally.

    Darning in any colour is good for the soul, and keeps favourite socks alive for that little bit longer. I tend to leave any needle I've been sewing with still threaded when I put it back in the sewing box, so whatever needs sewing next gets that colour cotton - regardless!!

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  9. I have enjoyed discovering your blog. I remember my mum always having the wooden darning mushroom close handy for all those mending jobs!

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    1. I remember Mum's mending lady had one of those mushroom things too. You will notice my "darn' is a tad more freeform. ;)

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  10. I mend my clothes and the kids but rarely my husbands, by the time I med his the whole item is so worn it tears next to the mend!! Though my sons school pants I mend when he wears through the knee, not very prettily may I add and I figure that's the consequence of wearing though the knee in the first week of school!

    I would like a darning mushroom. These children wear their socks outside far to often, I pity my neighbors hearing me bellowing..."Get back inside and take those socks of before you ruin them, seriously how many times do I have to tell you?!?!"

    Your Brian builds sheds the same as Grant, though the boys slow him up he is much the same. We have a similar looking construction taking shape at our place at the moment, though only for the ride on mower. ;)

    xx

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  11. I bet you will have that wood fire of yours cranked this week also, it should be a lovely cool week, what a nice change! :)

    xx

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    1. I wish I was more proficient at sewing but I mend our socks on the toes only. They go into the rag bag once the heel goes. Looking forward to lighting the stove if the temps drop below 24degrees Emma. :)

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