Tuesday Twister – June 2, 2009

Good morning! Here are a couple things on my mind this morning.

• We are headed out shortly to go to the grand re-opening of a local country store. They’re having a ribbon-cutting (of sorts) and invited us to be there – from the sounds of it, it is important to them that some of the first people they serve are children. I think that is great and we’re going, no matter if it is our day in town or not. I’ll take pictures to share with you tomorrow.
• Chevre – I made my second batch of chevre (here’s the first). With the first batch, I thought I was mistaken by double-folding the muslin cheesecloth (creating four layers), but it would appear that it wasn’t that big of a mistake. For my second batch, I did not fold the cheesecloth at all, and it still took more than 2 days for all the whey to drip out. So now I’m thinking… is bag-style chevre not supposed to be thick? Or is my fine cheesecloth too fine a weave? ‘Cuz I’d really like it to finish in 6 to 8 hours as the recipe states. What do you think? Over the weekend, when we had company, I had planned on chevre to spread on turkey sandwiches, but it wasn’t done – so I used some of it pretty wet, as if it was mayonnaise. It was really good, but still. I’d like it to be done when it is supposed to be done. Speaking of mayonnaise…
• Homemade Lacto-Fermented Mayonnaise – I am so going to try this! My Mikah is allergic to eggs, but less so to yolks, so I’m hoping he can have this mayonnaise.
• Speaking of Mikah’s allergies, over this last week, he broke out with rashes all over. I was devastated, thinking he was allergic to the raw goat milk we’re eating now. What a disappointment that would be – after trying him out on it awhile back and finding him free of any reactions. But his rashes weren’t in the same places as his usual food-related eczema rashes, so this gave us hope that it was something else. We think now that it was poison oak. Even though he wasn’t in any poison oak, our little baby goats are and he’s done his fair shair of holding them and rubbing them. We think the oils transferred over that way. Some of his rashes could be hay-contact related, too. Anyway, the rashes are fading now, and while still drinking milk. Praise the Lord!
• Folk Remedy: Chew Honeycomb for Seasonal Allergies – If I can get my hands on some honeycomb, I’m going to try this too! I would love to get away from relying on antihistamines OTC. I just hate admitting that I use them, but I do. I feel I have to. I absolutely cannot function during this time of year if I don’t take something. Just ask my kids or my husband. This folk remedy suggests that chewing on honeycomb completely alleviates seasonal allergy symptoms within 30 minutes, or if you start chewing it before allergy season starts, symptoms may not develop at all. Wouldn’t that be great?

So, what’s on your mind today? Join in the Tuesday Twister and let us all know what’s going on with you!