Tag: Milk

Cathy’s Cooking Corner

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Baked Parmesan Chicken

Baked Parmesan Chicken is rich and delicious. It’s great for serving guests or for your own special family.

3 pounds chicken pieces
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons butter
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
½ cup shredded Swiss cheese
¼ cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add chicken and cook, turning, until browned, about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle ¼ cup of the Parmesan cheese over bottom of a 13 X 9 X 2-inch baking dish. Arrange chicken in dish.

In the same frying pan, whisk flour into pan drippings. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually add milk and cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick. Remove from heat and stir in Swiss cheese. Pour sauce over chicken.

Top chicken with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 1 hour or until chicken is tender.

From 365 Ways to Cook Chicken

Grass Fed is Best? A Horror Story From our Living Lab

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To hear some people talk, you might get the impression that raising chickens and animals on grass is the secret ticket to success in farming and to health. With grassfed, there will be no more problems and the chickens and animals will excel far beyond conventional farming methods. Any grass is good. All you have to do is get the animals out on the grass, in the sunshine and fresh air.

That is not true.

Before you think I fell off my rocker, I will state that I believe that grass fed is BEST! But, as you will see, not all grass is best or even able to properly sustain life.

I was shocked and very disappointed with the large amount of weight loss that our sheep experienced after only 16 days in the new silvopasture. Two specialists from the Maryland Extension service, had visited the silvopasture just before the sheep were put into the new pasture. They were very impressed with what they called the “high dairy quality” of the grasses and clovers. They were concerned that the forage would be too lush, too rich for the sheep and that they might bloat (their stomachs fill up with gas) . On the contrary, the sheep did not bloat and we were in for a big surprise when we weighed the sheep.
The 54 Adult Sheep : lost (-345.5 lbs.) total in the 16 days between May 14 & 30, 2015. This number included rams (males), ewes (females) with lambs, and year old females that were not bred. Many of the nursing mothers lost 10 to 15 lbs!

The 48 Lambs: gained significantly less than they did the 16 days before they were turned into the Silvopasture:

Gain between 4/28/15 & 5/14/15 (16 days) = 465.5 lbs. an average of .61 lbs of gain per day before being in the silvopasture.
Gain between 5/14/15 & 5/30/15 (16 days) = 209.1 lbs. an average of .27 lbs of gain per day
Weight gain difference = -256.4 lbs.

While these weight losses were very disappointing, they showed how dramatically different pastures can be. Grass fed will not produce healthy animals and poultry if the soil is not built up properly. The main part of our farm, where the lambs gained the most, probably had the same quality of grass as the silvopasture eight years ago when we first moved here. We applied some principles that we learned from Carey Reams and some that we had developed on our own from some of his teachings and it made a dramatic improvement in the pastures. The main concept is that at least 80% of a plant’s nutritional food/energy comes from the air. By building up the soil and foliar feeding the plants with milk and honey, we were able to increase the amount that the plants were able to take out of the air. One of the main things that we did was to repeatedly mow our pastures and let the grass lay on the ground. We have explained this in some of our other articles.

I also need to add that there were also a few other things that likely contributed to the weight loss – over maturity of some of the grasses and grazing too long for the quality of the forage.

What was significant was that on the main part of our farm, the pasture alone, with no grain feeding, produced a weight gain of .61 pounds per day in the 16 days before the lambs went onto the silvopasture. That is exceptional for grassfed only and comparable to grain feeding.

Mike Neary, Ph.D., Extension Sheep Specialist at Purdue University says this about lambs in the 45 – 80 lb range, which was the size of most of the lambs that we put on the silvopasture: “Lambs with high to moderate growth potential that are fed a grain based diet with proper amounts of protein should gain from .5 to .8 pounds per day…
“If lambs are grown on high levels of forage [pasture], then one can expect slower gains than if fed diets with a high amount of grain. Gains for lambs grown on pasture will normally be from .25 to .5 pounds per day.” http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/sheep/articles/feedlamb.html

During the 16 days in the silvopasture, the lambs averaged .27 lbs of gain per day which is at the bottom end of what Neary said is the expected gain for lambs on pasture. However, the results were actually worse than that. During the time that the sheep were in the Silvopasture, it appears that from the amount of weight that the lactating ewes lost, they gave the fat off their backs to their lambs and that is why the lambs gained and did not lose weight like their mothers.

Last week we weighed a few of the ewes and lambs when we were sorting out the lambs to take to the butcher. We were encouraged that they were gaining weight again. Those lambs had gained about .67 lbs a day in nine days. We do not have the data yet for all the lambs.

The lesson in all of this is that all pastures are not the same and will not give the same health qualities to the eggs, meat and milk that they produce. The same is true of fruits and vegetables in the store. They may look beautiful, but be lacking in the nutrition to adequately sustain life.

Sheep grazing what appeared to be very lush forage in the silvopasture demonstration plot.
Sheep grazing what appeared to be very lush forage in the silvopasture demonstration plot.

The soil in the 8 acres in the silvopasture is about as chemical free as it will get. It has been probably at least 20 years since it had any chemicals or chemical fertilizers put on it. It also had not had any animals on it or any farming activity for at least 10 years before the silvopasture was established; therefore, it did not have the immediate negative affects of chemicals or bad farming practices. The forage specialists had recommended the grasses and legumes to plant to reduce the amount of tall fescue grass that was in the pasture. Tall fescue has a toxin in it that negatively affects sheep and cattle. Those grasses and legumes had been planted and looked beautiful as you can see in the picture.

In spite of the problems, I am looking forward to what we will be able to accomplish in the silvopasture. I feel that we have a solution, by repeatedly mowing the silvopasture to build up the soil. We also will be spraying milk, honey, and egg as a foliar spray to increase the photosynthesis and brix (sugar) of the pasture grasses and legumes. In the next three years, I believe that we will see a very significant improvement in the pasture growth and nutrition in the silvopasture, and a significant growth increase in the trees over the trees planted in the adjacent fields.

For me, the silvopasture gave me a reference point that showed that we had indeed improved our pastures from when we first moved to this farm.

Cathy’s Cooking Corner

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In the last newsletter I wrote, “If you know of something to wrap the burritos in other than foil to heat them to go, I’d love to hear from you. I like to use as little foil as possible because of aluminum’s implication in Alzheimer’s.” I received several replies suggesting I use parchment paper. Thank you! I thought maybe the rest of you would like to know, too.

Speaking of those wonderful eggs, I decided to put my basic quiche recipe in this newsletter. I would say it is probably our family’s favorite way to eat eggs. It is a never-fail recipe with its silky texture and savory flavor. This is also a great way to use leftovers. It is a great main dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Quiche

1/2 pound sausage, bacon, hamburger or meat of your choice, fried
1 cup shredded cheese (or more)
Your choice of veggies: sauteed onions, mushrooms, tomato slices, steamed broccoli, olives, wilted spinach or kale, eggplant, zucchini slices, sauteed garlic, etc.
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups light cream
1 Tbsp. mustard
3/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Unbaked 9-inch pie crust

In the bottom of the pie crust, layer the meat, then the veggies of your choice and top with the shredded cheese. In a mixing bowl mix together the eggs, mustard, salt and pepper. Add the cream and mix. (A stick blender works beautifully.) Pour into the pie crust over all. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Then reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake 30-35 minutes more until knife comes out clean when inserted in center. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Serves 6. Enjoy!

Maybe you have a favorite egg recipe you’d like to share. I’d love to hear from you!

Cathy’s Cooking Corner

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Recently our family watched “Frontier House”, a PBS historical reality series that first aired in 2002. Three modern families were selected to go back in time to 1883 on the America Frontier in Montana during the Homestead Act. Each family needed to establish their homestead as if they were living in 1883, and prepare food and firewood for the coming Montana winter. Would they be able to survive the winter?

One of the things that stood out to our family was how little food that they actually had for the winter. The growing and preservation of food for the winter seemed to be way too low on their priority list. They had small gardens and did not have much set aside to make it through the winter and the spring until the next summer’s harvest came in.

Most modern families, by going to the grocery store two or three times a week, buying lunch at school or at work, and eating out several times a week, do not realize how much food that they actually eat in a year’s time. I went to the mom of our largest chicken customer and asked her how much food her family needs in a year’s time. It is a family of eight that produces a lot of its own food and tries to source as much local food as possible.

This is her list (It is not a complete list of everything they eat in a year’s time):

250 chickens a year
10  25 lb turkeys
5 to 6 dozen eggs a week
one beef cow a year
1 1/2 to 2 gallons of milk a day
        plus 1 to 1 1/2 quarts of yogurt a day, 5 lbs of cheese a week, and 4 lbs of butter a week

The following is per year:

60 qts of peas
100 qts of green beans
65 qts of sweet corn
45 qts of lima beans
40 qts of kale (frozen and canned)
23 qts of spinach
35 qts of canned tomatoes
40 qts of tomato juice
40 pts of ketchup
40 pts of salsa
20 qts of pizza sauce
40 qts of dill pickles
70 qts of peaches
50 qts of applesauce
25 lbs of blueberries
60 pts of raspberries
700 lbs of potatoes
250 lbs of sweet potatoes
200 lbs of winter squash
170 lbs of carrots
900 lbs of wheat

It is hard to believe that one family would eat that much food, but I know it is true because it is our family. We made a decision a number of years ago, that if we wanted our family to be healthy, we needed to opt out of the grocery store/ restaurant food system (including the organic grocery stores) as much as possible and produce our own food. Our observation has been that most of the people who eat that food are not as healthy as they should be. That is evidenced with around 70 percent of the US population being on at least one pharmaceutical drug. Our family’s goal is not to be food independent, self-sustaining, or homesteaders, but to be healthy. Health is often taken for granted until one is sick or lacks energy. Life is too short to live it in an unhealthy state and not be able to enjoy life as one should. It is much easier to eat right to stay healthy, than to try to get healthy once we get sick.

The nutrient value of all the foods that we eat is more important than what most people realize. We try to grow as high brix and as nutrient dense food as we can. We are what we eat. It is difficult to be healthy if the food is low in necessary nutrients and when the chemicals and antibiotics in the foods are working against us. 

In one of the upcoming newsletters we will be sharing with you about a harmful antibiotic that is in much of conventionally produced, non-organic (and non-GMO) foods. We found out about this harmful antibiotic a little over a month ago.

A Tribute to Daisy


Our old family cow, Daisy, was a casualty of Hurricane Sandy. It was her time to go. She was 11 years old, was not able to breed back, and had stopped giving milk. She had blessed our family with thousands of gallons of rich Jersey milk in the eight years that we milked her. This is a 2005 picture of our son Nathan walking Daisy down the road on her way back from being bred by the neighbor’s bull. (The average cow in a commercial dairy farm is only able to be milked for two years before being sent for hamburger!)

Federal Government Seized South Mountain Creamery’s Bank Account

South Mountain Creamery is a farm here in Frederick County that sells pasteurized milk products and other produce at farmers markets. It recently had $70,000 dollars seized in its bank account because they made regular cash deposits from their farmer’s market sales last year that were just under $10,000. The Federal government is suing to keep $63,000, even though no charges were made.

Taylor’s Produce Stand on the Eastern Shore had a similar thing happen to them last year. They had $90,000 seized. In December, they received half of the seized money back. There were no criminal charges made. They will not see the rest of their money!

For articles on South Mountain Creamery:
http://citypaper.com/news/cashed-out-1.1301518
http://blogs.citypaper.com/index.php/2012/04/feds-sue-to-keep-south-mountain-creamerys-structured-cash-deposits/

Raw Honey and Its Ability to Improve Brain Function

Another food that we produce here on the farm that is important for school students for success in school is raw honey. On the containers of raw honey that we sell here on the farm, Joel has this quote: "Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good." Isaiah 7:15

I have often wondered why milk and honey would enable a person to be able refuse evil, and to be able to chose properly between right and wrong. The ability to make wise decisions is a skill that many children, and adults, lack today. Parenting would be a lot easier if you could feed your child food that would help them behave. School would be a lot better if kids didn’t have to be drugged so that they could sit still and behave. In Barnes’s Bible Commentary, commentator Barnes expresses what most people think: "As this translation now stands, it is unintelligible. It would ‘seem’ from this that his eating butter and honey would ‘contribute’ to his knowing good and evil. But this cannot be the meaning." But what I have found in my research is that milk and honey can have an effect on a person’s brain, and the brain’s ability to function properly.

Here are some pieces of the puzzle that I have been able to put together recently. I did a Google search for "calcium brain". What I found is that calcium is used by the brain cells to conduct the electrical signal using protein ions. Nitrogen (protein) is an electrolyte and conducts electricity in a liquid. Each brain cell has to have calcium in it for the electrical signal to work. Calcium is an alkaline earth metal and conducts electricity. The protein ions conduct the electrical signal from one brain cell to another to communicate messages. If there is not enough calcium, the brain will not function properly. If there is not enough protein the brain will not function properly. Raw milk is an important source of calcium and as such is an important food for brain function. So yes, milk can be a food that helps a person make wise choices.

I also learned that honey helps the body to absorb calcium. Therefore eating both milk and honey together helps the brain to assimilate and use calcium properly. The brain needs the calcium in order for it to make wise choices and decisions. One interesting piece of research that I found was on calcium and the affect of calcium on the honey bee in memory and learning. They found that calcium is crucial for long term memory in honey bees. When honey bees were deprived of calcium, they were not able to remember their food source. Within three days after receiving calcium, the bees were able to again learn and remember their food source. I find this interesting because this may be a clue for the decline of the honey bee in recent years. With Colony Collapse Disorder, the honey bees leave the hive and never return. It is possible that because of low calcium in the brain, the honey bee is not able to remember where home is. Because of acid rain, calcium is being depleted out of our soils. Our foods contains significantly less calcium than they did 60 years ago. It is likely that the honey bee is not getting enough calcium for it to function properly. I see what is happening to the honey bee is an important clue of what can be affecting us. They honey bee has a short life of only about 6 weeks. Our life span is closer to 70 years. Therefore affects on health will show up quickly in the honey bee, years before it will show up in our health. To read more about the honey bee and calcium:
http://insects.about.com/b/2009/06/22/calcium-crucial-to-long-term-memory-in-honey-bees.htm

After finding out about the importance of raw milk and raw honey in the ability of a person to make right decisions, I believe that the battle for raw milk is also a spiritual one, not just a legal one. Today, both milk and honey are pasteurized and the important function of helping teenagers and adults make right choices is destroyed or significantly reduced.

The take home message – Eat homemade ice cream made with raw milk and raw honey. Dessert is important! You need to eat your dessert so that you can make the right choices of what to eat and what not to eat!