Making Butter

What's a girl to do when someone gives her a few pints of heavy cream? My initial thought was to recreate a vanilla bean ice cream I made a few weeks back. Well at 236 calories per 1/2 cup I opted to give butter making a try since I won't eat that by the bowl.

It was quick and easy! Here are the steps I followed:

1) Pour the cream in the mixer, start on low.


2) As it starts to thicken (a few minutes), increase speed to medium.
3) Mix for a few minutes then increase speed to high.

After a while the cream eventually turns into whipped cream.

4) At this point you want to watch it closely as it turns to a crumbly butter-type texture.


5) As soon as you start to noticing liquid accumulation, drain off into a bowl. After that I mix a bit then drain liquid, repeating this cycle a couple times. Then form the butter and rinse the remaining buttermilk off.

The buttermilk can be used for cooking.

I made a batch of plain butter adding approximately 1 teaspoon of salt per pint.

Then I made cinnamon honey butter using 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 cup of local honey.

My all time favorite was garlic/dill. A couple crushed cloves and 2 Tablespoons of dill.

Can you guess who got skunked?

Yes...Callie the Naughty at 9:30 tonight after I had just walked through the door after a long day of work and errands. First thing I did was call my neighbor even though it was after 9, that is usually my cut off for night time calls. They have a kennel with a self- service pet wash but....after 4 rings I assumed they were in bed. Sorry Dawn I was desperate. Then I googled "skunked dog". Lots of info popped up and they all had a similar recipe as the one below and they unanimously said tomato juice is an old wives tale.

Mix one quart of Hydrogen Peroxide (3% solution) with a ¼ cup of baking soda and a squirt of dish soap.

I thought great, I have all the ingredients then I read this one article that said use only fresh hydrogen peroxide because old stuff turns to water. I pulled out two "old" bottles and sure enough they had turned to water. I never knew that, you learn something new every day.
Note to self, always have fresh hydrogen peroxide in the house!

Regardless, I donned my gloves, pants, and boots, and hose and went at her with some stuff John suggested that he had out in the barn. Then I used a washcloth with baking soda and detergent when I finally let her in. Thankfully the little devil only got her head so it was not too hard of a job.


Ok, next topic. I need some advice on growing herbs, this year is a first. I have cilantro, basil, dill, parsley, and mint. I have used a good share of it cooking but a bunch went to seed before I knew it. What do you do to keep up with it, cut and dry, but will it grow back?...I just have no idea! I know I am going to need LOTS of cilantro when my tomatoes ripen for salsa making so I planned on planting more.....HELP!

Laying chicken are up to 8 - 10 eggs/day. It has been over a week since I bought any. We consume quite a few. Leah makes a 6 egg omelet in the skillet almost every morning.
Even one of the "injured" chickens laid one for a first today.

Lastly, I wanted to mention some sick ER excitement I had today. Electricity....a wonderful thing. Kinda wacko but I love defibrillating people. Well today we had a middle aged gent code not once but four times...we got to juice him 4 times. That is what I like most about the ED....things that get you adrenalin pumping. About 1 hour later I felt suddenly exhausted, my high had worn off.