Weekend

This weekend had us eat the first rhubarb pie of the year. For some reason I never developed a taste for American pie recipes, so I always bake German pies. This one has a nice buttery crust, a moist rhubarb filling and is topped with a sweet lemon meringue. It is quite good.

On Friday I made the first sheep's milk cheese of the season. To be correct, I started it. Today it will be ready to enjoy. I made a quick and easy soft cheese with fresh chives. So far I only milk a couple of ewes, so not too much milk jet. And what little I have the kids usually drink up before I get to it! By the end of this week I will hopefully be milking four or five ewes and have some extra milk to make more cheese and yogurt. I milk only once a day (the other milking the lambs do for me) and usually get between 3/4 to 1 quart per ewe.

This weekend also saw the first baby chicks crack their shells, only to be greeted by a mean momma chicken. Yes this girl sits on the eggs just fine, but when the chicks hatch she is downright nasty to them. So now we have a baby chick nursery in the coop. All it is, is a wire cage with a heat lamp , cardboard for wains coating and carpet remnants for flooring. This provides the little ones with warmth around 90*F, no drafts and non slippery footing. One a day has been hatching since Friday and each is different from the other. We have around six more eggs to go.
These little puffballs do not need any food for the first 48 hours since they still have the yolk in their tummies. We offer them rolled oats and fresh water for the first few days. After that, chopped dandelion leaves and stinging nettle ~ even a bird has to have it's greens!

Leberknoedelsuppe - all mind over matter

Oma and Opa are visiting from Germany.

Oma likes to cook and more importantly knows how to cook. I like to take advantage of this and pick up a few recipes along the way.

As a child I always liked Leberknoedelsuppe. So, much to my husbands dismay I thawed out lamb liver and ran it through the food processor, so today we can enjoy this traditional Bavarian dish!

We do indeed eat most parts of the animals we butcher, including innerds. I got the older kids started a bit to late on this food group and they tent to have plans for the evenings I serve kidney, liver or heart.

I truly believe this is a case of mind over matter.

If I was to serve you this dish not sharing the list of ingredients, you are most likely to enjoy it. If you help me prepare it, you will probably go hungry .

This would surely be my husbands choice, but since he takes being a role model very serious, he does slurp the soup with a content smile on his face, and so do the wee ones.

If you are an adventurous eater, please let me know, I would be glad to share the recipe for liver dumpling soup.

No lambs jet, but BIG udders, I am on my way out to get the lambing pen ready for the ewe that looks like she is about to burst. Usually they stay in the pasture, but it has been cold and snowing, so she will move where she has her own shelter, peace and quite.... and probably be the last one to lamb!