Anna's blog

Goats Milk Soap Process in Pictures

Submitted on Friday, February 12, 2010 - 02:04

Today was also goats milk soapmaking day and I wanted to create a new scent using organic essential oils. But first stop...the goats for milking!

Step 1.

Basil-flavoured honey?

Submitted on Friday, February 12, 2010 - 12:54

What a day. A beautiful morning is always a good time to go and check on the bees, and delighted to discover three boxes of honey fully capped and golden. Popped clearer boards on (so the bees can escape) before I head back out there to extract the boxes in a couple of days. Swung by the garden on the way back to the house to pick up some mint as the kids have requested a new goats milk ice cream flavour: mint choc chip. The mint is in a raised garden bed along with echinacea, oregano, spearmint, stevia, rosemary, parsley, basil and perennial basil.

Goats Milk Soap Taking Over the House

Submitted on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 - 12:26

We've been soaping up a storm most days as we prepare for farmers markets and online sales and the results are hundreds of bars of beautiful handmade goats milk soap bars curing all over the house.

Araucana Chickens - The Blue Egg Layer

Submitted on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 - 11:45

Araucana (or as some people spell it: arakana and arrowcana) chickens are a South American breed who lay beautifully-coloured green or blue eggs. At our nsw farmstay we pop in a breakfast hamper with free range eggs and are often asked by the guests if it's safe to eat the green ones. It sure is.

To Microwave or Not to Microwave...

Submitted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 - 01:51

That is the question we're now faced with after the ol' microwave gave up the ghost today. Just a few years ago I would have just tossed it and rushed out to buy another...replace, upgrade, replace, upgrade...afterall, that's just what we did. Not now though.

New Goats Milk Soap "flavour" and the flavour of life

Submitted on Friday, February 5, 2010 - 02:53

When you're stir, stir, stirring goats milk soap batches, you get to ponder a bit about life, listen to a little talkback radio and watch the chickens through the window enjoying their free ranging. Today I was experimenting with a new goats milk soap recipe which includes a nice big dollop of yoghurt for extra silkiness and nourishment of the skin. Soapmaking is like life really - it's fun to do, sometimes it can be hard work, but you never quite know how it's all going to turn out!

Goats Milk Soap now on the menu

Submitted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 - 02:44

We made our first few test batches of goats milk soap last year thanks to the fresh milk our beautiful British Alpine goat Tracey was giving us (now she's been joined by our lovely Saanen girls so we're practically swimming in it). We went down the soap-making route because our youngest daughter suffers from eczema and itches and rashes (super sensitive in skin, not in humour thank goodness! :) ) so we wanted to find an alternative for her that didn't have steroids, petrochemicals or fake chemical fragrances in it.

What do do with egg whites - Recipe for Friands

Submitted on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 - 02:10

Okay, so you've made your goat's milk ice cream...now what do you do with all those eggs whites besides making meringue's?

If you've got a friend like Helen, she'll come round to your house and show you (which is how I know what to do!), if you don't, you'll just have to read on!

Helen's tip is to make friands:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain flour
1.5 cups icing sugar sifted
1 cup almond meal
6 egg whites, beaten lightly
150gm melted butter, cooled
150gm fresh or frozen raspberries (or blueberries or strawberries or choc c

Goats Milk Ice Cream recipe - more more more!

Submitted on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 - 01:41

Okay, so we've now had to change SBS's "Gourmet Farmer's" goats milk ice cream recipe again (check out the post from a few days ago) because:

everyone wants to keep eating it
we've got a lot of eggs at the moment
we were using lemon juice to make goats milk paneer so it made sense to use the rind to make the ice cream
we want to experiment with some other flavours besides the vanilla and choc chip.
It's addictive

Basically, we've learned that if you're going to go to the effort, you may as well make a bigger batch so you can

Plastic lunch boxes new health warning

Submitted on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 - 05:43

Well, the gorgeous 5yo headed off to big school with the big siblings yesterday and came home with an even bigger grin than she'd left home with. Yay!