Avacodos to Yogurt
Tuesday | January 27, 2009

We are using our frozen goat milk now since the goats are dried up. The goats will kid in March, so we should have fresh milk in April. We are thankful the milk freezes well, and are able to make yogurt with it. We like to eat it with lemon flavoring, blueberries and pineapple for a yummy breakfast or snack.

I found a great deal, which is rare, on cranberries and avocados. We use cranberries year round. Thus, they are always in our freezer. Since cranberries are high in Vitamin C and iodine, we eat cranberry sauce routinely, and make cranberry juice for a cool refreshing drink in the hot summer. I have never seen avacodos 4 for $1; they are usually over a dollar each. I tried freezing them whole with the skin on and they came out of the freezer in great condiditon. Just thaw them a bit and they are ready to peel and eat! What a blessing to have these nutritious foods in our freezer!

We grew Reids Dent corn a couple of years ago and grind it to make cornbread. It is so good-what a difference fresh ground cornmeal makes in making cornbread! Here is some I recently ground. We have already bought the seeds to plant more this year. According to my records, we planted nine 30 ft. rows, which yielded 39.73 lbs of dried corn. It worked out well to plant enough dried corn for two years; I use about 20 lbs corn per winter. The years I do not need to grow Reids dent corn, I can use the extra garden space for other vegetables or, use the energy to do something else!

I started leek and cabbage seeds indoors this week. I have not grown leeks before and in learning about them, found they have a very long growing season. They will go outside after the frost date, which is April 20 for our zone, and they grow until October. I am thankful I found out about their growing habits or I certainly would have failed since I thought they were like onions. I also started a few cabbage seeds inside, although it is a bit early to start them. They do not go outside in the garden until after the frost date. I will plant a few each week so they can be harvested at different times. I usually leave cabbage in the garden through the summer and this year bought a variety that will not split as it waits on us to use it. I am anxioulsy awaiting growing season this year and look forward to getting the garden started. We plan to grow more vegetables than usual in order to sell to our existing customers.

I have grown luffa several years with very little yield. I will start the seeds indoors this year since I think they need a longer growing season. Here are the ones I savaged from our harvest. I will use the luffa in our homemade goat milk soap. I also saved the seeds; I am seeing if the seeds are viable by placing them on a wet napkin in a plastic bag on top of the refrigerator. If they do not sprout, I have not wasted time trying to grow them during the growing season.

The righteous shall flourish
like the palm tree:
he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
(Psalm 92:12)