The Love of Raw Milk



Its not easy raising a family on one income. When we decided to have children 6 years ago I neverwould have pictured myself as the "Stay at home Mom" kind of person. But then my two bundles came along it became apparent that being with my children (and my home) is where I was meant to be.

So the hubs and I sat down and really crunched the numbers. It would be tight but if it meant being with our children and raising them the way we had wanted, then penny pinching was the way to be. Bottom line......we were going to make it work.

I painstakingly plan out our budget every month of food and bills. I feel this is part of my job. And yes its not a secret that we go a different route when it comes to the food that we choose to provide for our family. Some things are cheaper in the long run and others are a bit more pricey. But I feel some things you just cannot compromise when it comes to your family.

One of the foods that is top on our priority list is milk.

We go through a TON of milk in this house. While my husband and I aren't big milk drinkers ourselves, our children can put away a gallon quicker than a blink of an eye. And add the dairy foods that come from that milk and it adds up.  

So considering how much goes into our family, finding good, quality milk is of big importance. Raw milk in our house is a must in our budget. I add it on with all the other main bills because its just not something I'm willing to compromise anymore.

I know it sounds crazy that we drink Raw Milk, but I promise you, with a little research and a reputable source, its worth every penny. I can guarantee organic, hormone free, wholesome milk that I know will fill my family with healthy enzymes, vitamins, and protein that pasteurization kills in conventional milk. I'm not saying that Raw Milk is the only way to go. I know its not readily available in a lot of places. For example even here in Kentucky. It is illegal to buy or sell raw milk here. I don't "buy" raw milk. I bought shares in a herd of cows. This is the product that my herd gives in which I am entitled too. I pay a maintenance fee every week which goes towards the care of our animals and in turn we get gallons of milk from our cows. Its simple but tricky. lol. Check your local laws. We own three shares so we get three gallons every week. And yes we use up all that milk.

Its not just milk that comes with it. Its the cream as well. Liquid, healthy fats. And with that I'm able to make our butter, coffee creamer, ice cream, and whatever else we need for the week. I'm even dabbling in cheesemaking! So in the long run those shares go along way!

I also love the fact that I know exactly where this product comes from. I even know the cows names!! White face, Black face, and Red. lol. The kids named them :-). Its such a religious and wonderful feeling driving out to the homestead every week to pick up our supply. To see where our cows eat, sleep and breath. Its magical. And so rewarding! Worth the 25 miles one way every week. Of course I hope to one day raise our very own milk cow, but until then I will gladly drive out there. Its my little slice heaven every Thursday. Thursday is now my favorite day of the week. Thursday is Milk Day <3

I'm not saying that Raw Milk is the only way to go. If its not available where you live, by all means, go find yourself some good organic milk. Please make sure you are drinking organic though. The hormones and process they go through is just not good. For you and the cows. But if it is available, do yourself a favor and check it out!

For more information on: Raw Milk
Also for useful information: http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2013/05/got-raw-milk-why-we-chose-to-go-raw.html

Mmmm.....Butter.

*sigh* I love butter. And I mean I REALLY love butter. That and bread. Two of my most favorite things in the food world. We go through a lot of butter in our house. And over time we have turned, slightly, into butter snobs. It's not mistake that you will see two different butter dishes on our counter. They both hold two completely separate butters. We have a regular vintage pyrex (I LOVE vintage pyrex) with organic, store bought, unsalted butter. We call this our "Cooking Butter". And then we have a butter bell to keep fresh our "Eating butter". Because, as much as I would love to be able to have an unlimited supply of fresh, homemade, grassfed, pastured butter, It just isn't in the cards right now. At least not until we are able to buy our very own dairy cow. Ah....dreams.

So What I'm going to do until then is skim the delicious heavy cream that comes on the top of my Raw milk every week and make this our eating butter. Butter really isn't that difficult to make. And you don't even really need to have raw milk (though I highly recommend it) to make it. Nor a butter churn ;-). But that would be super cute right?!

Homemade Butter

You will need:

• 2 Cups Heavy Cream
• 1/2 tsp Salt (or to taste)

Preparation

1.) Take your cream and salt and throw in your stand mixer with whisk attachment OR food processer. Yes you can do it by hand but its going to take an awful long time.

  2.) Now cover with towel. This is important. Purely for your kitchen cleanliness. Turn your mixer on high. First the cream is going to start to whip into whipping cream and then it will, slowly, start to separate. It will seem like its taking forever but I promise you its worth the wait. I usually am cleaning up around the kitchen while this is going. Once it starts to sound a lot like splashing in there, its probably done.

 

 

3.) Lift up your towel and look at the glorious little specks of butter in your bowl. SOOOO EXCITING!!  Drain out your butter milk into a bowl and reserve for pancakes or waffles later on. SUPER tasty. Make sure you use it within 3 days though.

 

 

4.) Now, this is important, you are going to want to rinse out your butter under cold water as best you can. I usually squeeze it through my fingers trying to squeeze out as much butter milk as I can. If this is not done, your butter will turn rancid pretty quickly. Once the water runs clear, you are done!!

 

Now take your HOMEMADE BUTTER and smear it on some freshly made toast and enjoy!



Introductions

When I had found I was pregnant with my first baby I was convinced that the "Working Mom" was the life style for me. Living in Seattle, "progressive working mothers" was the way of life.  Then that little bundle of blue eyed energy came into my life bringing a whole world of new feelings and emotions. Now I have always been a health conscience person of moderate affair and was blessed with the ability to go to culinary school to explore that……I’m getting off track. Let me start from the beginning. My name is Nikki and these are my crazy adventures of stay at home mom/homestead beginnings/complete transition for our family to local and homemade sustainable foods.

I have always been a self-described hippy at heart. Always in tune with nature and the healthy ways of sustainable lifestyle. Culinary school really solidified that for me in that I was able to taste and see the difference when incorporating local and natural ingredients. But when my two beautiful bouncing girls came into my life, first Sophia in the spring 2009 and then our early Little Bean or Lilith in the fall 2011, these principles really took on a new meaning for me. I began noticing I was reading labels more closely and asking where items came from. Now I’m not saying that I haven’t stepped foot in a grocery store since then. Times have been hard and to be honest: my babies gotta eat and I had to work. But over time and much contemplation, our family has found it best for me to be at home which affords me the time to really hone in on my skills of honest cooking and care.

I gave notice at my job and November 15 of 2013 was my last day of paperwork master. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be able to practice these principles I have grown to love. Teaching my children where our food comes from is so very important to me. We started our adventure, way back when, in Seattle, spent a short jaunt in Utah, and now live in Kentucky with amazing people and opportunity surrounding us. I truly think its a good fit. While we don’t have quite the food “selection”, per se, as we did in Seattle, we definitely have a different variety. And I’ve never been one to shy away from a good cooking challenge! And I hope to be able to share some these with you from time to time.