"The Milk Cure"

I'm sick and tired or being sick an tired!! you too?  I hear ya! I made it the whole winter, only to get sidelined on the second day of spring!

 I am on my third week now of being sick.  It started as a cold with a cough that wouldn't go away.  I started to feel better, worked extra hard around the farm for just one nice day, and bam! strep throat!  So now I'm on antibiotics  A few more days and I'll be done with that.

Meanwhile, even though I haven't had much as far as colds/flus go through the winter...my TN has been a bear.  I try not to say much about it.  It's like a toddler misbehaving for attention, if you don't acknowledge the bad behavior  and "reward" it, it'll go away...right?  Right?!? OK, so maybe I'm somewhat delusional.  HA! 

Today I have re-read many of the articles I had saved to my computer about using a Raw Milk Fast to bring about better health. I read them a few years ago and was so impressed then that I added doing a raw milk fast to my 101 in 1001 list.  

The most informative of them was an article called the "Milk Cure"  it tells of two doctors that ran a sanatorium around the 1905 and the amazing results from so many different diseases and ailments just by having their patients only drinking raw milk. https://www.realmilk.com/health/milk-cure/

Raw unpasteurized milk is a whole food with all the vitamins, minerals, enzymes that the body needs. Many of those same vitamins, minerals and enzymes are either destroyed or compromised so that the body can't absorb it. Raw milk is high in antioxidants, vitamins (including B-12), all 22 essential amino acids, natural enzymes (including lactase), natural probiotics, and good fatty acids.

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I'm amazed to read (but not too much cause we have an AWESOME all-knowing God!) how the vitamins we need have to have certain minerals in order to be absorbed, and TA-DA!  Raw milk has exactly the right amount of each to make it the perfect food!

Back to 1905 doctors, they used the raw milk cure for everything from tuberculosis, the high blood pressure and renal failure to NERVOUS SYSTEM Disorders.  Also there is a mention of numerous patience with failure of the thyroid having function completely resolved!  (you should really read this article https://www.realmilk.com/health/milk-cure/ and see all the different ailments they addressed!)

The doctor even made an interesting point about milk is equal to "sweet sound blood" that the only difference is the color in the restorative properties.

I found another blog post about a lady with Lyme's disease that tried it, and though she is not cured of Lyme's, has had many of her secondary infections addressed. 

http://curingchronic.com/curing-chronic-lyme-disease-the-raw-milk-diet/

Now, I have had many "cures" suggested to me for my TN.  And have tried or at least considered most of them.  Many folks swear by essential oils.  Others with diet.  Salt caves.  Moving to Arizona...etc.  And I have used the heavy duty drugs to find relief as well (much more often than I like!)  Recently I have found myself actually considering the brain surgery that has about a 50% success rate.

I am in the perfect position to try this.  I milk my two Jersey cows every morning.  They are over producing so I have extra milk just hanging out in my fridge....I've tried most everything else.  So...As I finish my antibiotics, I am going to embark on this for a month and see if it helps.  It sure can't hurt!!

I've had various folks close to me express dismay and trepidation of me doing this. (Not my hubby tho..)  The unknown is scary!  It may be a "waste of time" but I won't know if I don't try.  And if I find that it works for me, what a huge blessing! 

What might be my stumbling blocks....1/ I am totally addicted to caffeine in the form of my favorite diet soda pop, so not having that may be tough. 2/ I love cooking (and eating!)  3/ I love the stuff my guys cook too! (Hello, homemade beef sticks and home cured Canadian Bacon...not to mention RIBS!!  Plus, my boy has made dinner every night this past week!)  

HOWEVER, I'm not giving up food forever...I'm not doing this on a whim, really. I want to see if it will help my TN.  And the other health issues that have been creeping up as I age could be arrested as well-They've seen good results with insulin resistance! 

THEREFORE, as scary as it is to put this out there...I am going to do the month milk fast. With only a few modifications.  They recommend bed rest...I unfortunately can't do that as I need to milk the cows to get the raw milk!

  

I will be starting tomorrow.  

Herdshare spots OPEN!!

Our girls, Franci and Miracle, are loving the spring weather and the new grass coming up! 

So much so that we have more milk than we know what to do with!  We have decided to open up some new spots in the herdshare.  WOOP!!  

Every day but Friday and Sunday is available.  Feel free to contact me at calicoty(at)hotmail.com for more information (or to sign up)

All the pricing details, etc can be found on the NEW Herdshare Page

http://wallacehomestead.blogspot.com/p/milk-herdshare.html

One of the many milking helpers #TBT 5/25/15

The cats love to help with the morning milking.

Asia is in the wagon ready to go to the barn

Quatro used to be so shy, but now when it's milking time, he comes to me and he flops down in between my feet.

Yogurt Take #2

Making Mozzarella

We've been milking for over a year now (I say "we" isn't that funny!?!) and the only cheese I've made so far is 'farm cheese' because it is so fast and easy.  I have read the recipe for Mozzarella about a zillion times, and each time decided that it sounded too hard...

Well, the time has finally come!  I am going to do it! 

Homemade Mozzarella

Gather your ingredients and supplies:

Gallon on milk (ours is raw whole milk, but you could use store milk too)

Measuring spoons.

1/4 Teaspoon of Citric Acid dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water

10 drops of liquid rennet in 1/4 cup warm water

Salt

Thermometer

Wooden Spoon, Slotted spoon

Gloves

Warm the milk up to about 88*-94*

Then add the citric acid, keep stirring.

It will start to separate.

Now add the rennet.

I keep stirring until the curds start to come together.

Then using a slotted spoon pull the curds out of the whey into another bowl.  

You could drain it through cheese cloth if you want.

I like to add a bit of salt to the curds.

Then you put the curds into the microwave for 30-60 seconds.  

This is the part I have always balked at, my grandma didn't have a microwave, but then I got over myself...

It'll look a bit like this.  

Then you have to knead it to get the whey out of the cheese.

At this point the smart thing to do is have gloves as the middle of the cheese is about 140*.  (And HOT!) and you need to knead it like bread. 

Knead and stretch.  If you can get it to stretch to about 12 inches you are done, but if not, put it in the microwave for another 30-60 seconds and do it again.  Keep draining off the water (milk).

Once it stretches, knead it into a ball and put it into icy cold salted water

Change the water once, then put it in the fridge to finish chilling.

Ta-Da!  See it's not as hard as I thought...

...and now getting brave enough to do Cheddar. (Now that will be a challenge!)

Oh, and then do all the dishes.  

A BIG thank you to my new resident photographer, Man, for helping me out!  It is so much easier to do tutorials when you have a "staff photographer!"

First post-calf milking...

We've had lots of people talk about how big Hershey's udder had gotten. 

This would be why!  Our first milking was 5.5 gallons, and a quart.

It's really yellow because this is what is known as "Transitional Milk"  It's about 1/2 colostrum, and 1/2 milk.  This is what we will be feeding to Miracle as she still seems to not realize that no milk is going to come out of Mama's neck waddle!

Graphic Milk Picture....Warning, Kelly!

This looks like a very easy picture, right?  I call this the Octopus...as in "Trying to wrestle an octopus." 

 I need about 2 more hands!

Horray! MILK

FINALLY!!! We are back in Milk.  This is Hershey and I's first effort.

And no, even though her name is Hershey, she does not make chocolate milk. :(

New Milker...

Yesterday, 4 very Heavy Boxes appeared on my back porch.

WooHOO!  It's the milker.  All 105 pounds of it.  Who knew it would come in so many pieces?!?

Only the 3 smallest boxes

Cleansers

This milk can is JUST a bit bigger than I anticipated....umm...just a bit.

We ended up getting a milker that had lots of extras included.  Back brush for one....

Man and Boy helping put the vacuum pump and motor together.

It's still not completely together.  That will be tomorrow's project...while it is in negative temperatures again...Now that the milker is here, soon so will the cows!

Herdshare Information....know what this means??

"What is a herdshare?"   In the State of Ohio, it is illegal to deliver raw milk, to advertise that you have raw milk for sale, and to have more than 2 cows, 9 goats, and/or 9 sheep that are lactating for raw milk consumption purposes. These laws are restrictive and make it difficult for a small farm to succeed.  A Herdshare is when you purchase a "share" or interest of a herd of milking cows or goats or sheep. You become a joint owner of the herd of milk producing animals and in exchange for paying a monthly boarding and care fee, you receive 1/2 gallon or share of the fresh milk from your animals weekly. Herdshares are legal in Ohio and are allowing Small Farms like mine to help Support themselves and help families by supplying a good fresh product and by employing our neighbors to help us on our farms.

 "How do I purchase a herdshare?"   Contact the farm via phone or email to check for availability!  Once you have emailed or phoned and confirmed that we have share(s) available, then you must print out the Herdshare Agreement form, sign it, enclose your payment for Herd share(s) and mail or drop off on your first Milk pick up at the farm. 

"How much does a Herdshare cost?"  There is a one-time purchase cost of $15 per share of either the Cow Milking Herd.

"How much per Month do I Pay?" You then pay a monthly fee of $15 per Cow Share or $32 per Goat Share for care, feeding and boarding of your share of the animals which Equates to 1/2 gallon of Milk per Share. The herdshare purchase fee and the first-month boarding fee ARE due at the same time and then each month the monthly boarding fee is due during the FIRST WEEK of each month there after.

"What if I drink more than 1/2 gallon of Milk per Week?"  Then you  would need to purchase more shares.  Example:  If you need a gallon a week, purchase 2 shares, etc.

"What about Milk Containers?"  Milk is placed into 1/2 gallon Reusable Glass Jars and Metal Lids. The Farm has the jars that you will Purchase for your first pick up.  Your first jars and lids are paid with your intitial herd share purchase for $2 per each jar and lid per share.  You will need to bring the clean and empty jars back each week when you pick up your next batch of  full jars so we can keep reusing them and repeat each week. The Jars and Lids are sanitized again on the farm in a dishwasher for everyone's safety.  You will need to bring a cooler with ice or ice packs in it to transport your raw milk. Raw milk MUST remain cold at all times, at about 38 degrees!

SO you realize what this means, right?!  We are about to get a cow in milk!  Weeee!  I left the goat information in there, only because we are debating goats later in the summer.

Home made ice cream...flavor #2

Working on that 101 list...and I said we'd make at least 5 flavors of ice cream. Vanilla...check.

Tonight...Dutch Chocolate !YUM!

 

It doesn't look nearly as good as it tasted!  It tasted a lot like a Wendy's Frosty!

With nuts and sprinkles!

 

Next up...Butter Pecan!

 

And...I just found a recipe for Apple Pie Fries!  I am going to have to try that too!

I'll take help wherever it comes from....

Our friends came over for a picnic last night....but they needed to come early enough for their oldest daughter (and Boy's Best Friend's younger sister) to help me milk.  She milks goats, so it was a fairly easy task for her and she was very quick!!

She's been wanting to do it for some time, and I would be glad to keep her here as she is such a thoughtful young lady!  (And already makes great pies!)  Thank you, Miss M!

Of course, Danny needed to "help".

So far in a year....

One year ago, I walked Bess home and started the long road of cow raising....

Here she is today...

 

And her boy that we hope makes it past the "veal stage".

 

He's starting to get the "black face" that some Jerseys get.

Flashback....Father's Day

For father's day...we entered to win an ice cream maker on a blog....

...we didn't win....

So....not to be defeated...we just bought one on Amazon.

This also helps with number #60 on the 101 list....

Happy Cows!

I LOVE this video!!

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, my Boy went to the best friend's house and got quite the treat.  They have been waiting for their Nigerian Dwarf goat to kid for weeks (She was over due for about 15 days).  She went into labor just as they were heading to their house.

 

She had twin doelings.  Boy and his best bud, J, helped out by milking the mama.

 

 

2 posts in one day??? WHAT?

I know, right?  What is this noise?

Anyway...my 'colie (aka City Mouse) came to visit me (Rea, Country Mouse) after Christmas.

It was way fun to read her post about my Every.day.Reality!

Check it out here

I love the pictures, but I think my favorite is the "rays of goodness" coming out of the milk fridge!

 

I know some of my "Jar Friends" may check out the blog occasionally and might like to see the process from someone else's view.

You need cheese.....

 

OK...now that you are totally cracking up!! 

(Shout out to DH for finding this video tonight!) 

 

Almost everyday, I make farm cheese.  I haven't gotten the courage up to make any of the other kinds.  (OK, I made Motzerella one morning and even took pictures for a tutorial...but it totally flopped, so those pictures are currently in limbo).

 

However farm cheese, you can't really mess up.

Heat your milk up to 160* to 180*.  Pull it off the heat.  Put a splash of vinegar in it.  Stir until it clabbers (seperates).  Let it sit for 30 minutes.  Pour off whey.  Pull the cheese apart, salt.  Smush back together and put into cheese bag.  Let drain for 30 minutes. 

 

Eat!  Defeat mouse traps!!

(BTW, the cheese actually squeaks!)

Milk, milk, milk

So What do you do with your time?  Mine seems to always involve milk.

 

We are only getting a gallon and a quart (about) per milking.  I say only as when she if fresh it could be upto 5 gallons per milking.  I don't know what to do with the 2 1/2 gallons a day I get now....good thing there will be a calf to help out!

 

Here's last nights milking.  See the line about 2 inches down?  Yes, above that is the thick cream that I shake into butter.  Below is whole milk.   

 

Almost every day I make farm cheese (Fast, easy, and hard to mess up).  It tastes like a really mild motz.  I think I like it the best when I mix chives into it.   It's wonderful on PIZZA!!  Every other day (about) I shake butter.  This past Tuesday, I tried canning butter.  (Post coming)

 

Boy making butter!