The Goat Meat Diaries- True Confessions

First of all, goat makes a mean pot of Chili. Everyone loved it. Small wonder. With all the beans, tomato sauce, and spices you could put squirrel in it and no one would know. (Stop panicking I'm not going to cook or eat any squirrel!)

Here is my confession: I won't eat the goat meat. Everyone else in the family likes it and eats it. But me, the woman who went on and on about it- won't touch it.

Why? I'm not sure. Venison and Elk don't freak me out and they taste similar. It is most likely because I associate goats with cute fuzzy pets. It is all in the mind my dears and my mind says goats are pets , not food.

Live and learn I suppose. Next time I get a bright idea I'll go shopping instead. *grin*

Ellen

The Goat Meat Diaries: "Reality Bites"

Welcome to The Goat Meat Diaries Part 2. In this segment fantasy meets reality. They clash. Reality wins.

When I arrived at the butchers to pickup our meat, I was asked to pay twice the amount quoted to me. Shocked, I asked why. The I was told about some 'charges' that the butcher claimed he was sure he told me in advance. Trust me, he didn't.

Stunned into compliance, I mutely handed over my last $85, took my box and went home.

I'm sure your wondering what $85 of goat meat looks like. VERY LITTLE. I could have bought 3x the amount of meat at the grocery store for the same price.

Thus, I am obliged to think of these little butcher-wrapped packages as a specialty item. After all, the price per pound was phenomenal.

Is it good? Yes! What does it taste like? A lot like venison.

I learned a valuable lessons from this experience:

1. Don't just take their word for it, get your quote in writing

2. If your female, take your husband with you to pick it up.

3. If they try to charge you too much, just tell them to keep it and walk
away.

In short, do the opposite of what I did. :)

no harm done,

Ellen

The Goat Meat Diaries

Some time ago I wrote a post about goat meat. I wrote of its growing popularity in the U.S. I told of how my teenage son had tried it during a mission trip to Jamaica and liked it. But as of today, I myself have never tried it. All that is about to change.
Friends have given us a "wether', (a neutered male) for butchering. My first thought was one of delight, my second thought was, "oh, now I am actually going to have to cook it and eat."

What is it in Americans that makes us so afraid of food beyond the conventional, pre-wrapped offerings of our sanitized supermarkets? This is certainly not an urban area we live in. Many of us in this town grew up eating deer, elk, or cows and chickens raised on our own properties. Still, I have to wonder, what will Chevon (goat meat) look like? What will it smell like? Taste like?

And so I offer up myself and my family as guinea pigs. Or perhaps a better word choice would be 'product testers'. When we are finally in possession of our chevon, I will document our findings on this blog. If you have any recipes or cooking tips, offer them now.

adventurously,
-E

What didn't work

So here's a hard look at the some of my less than productive efforts:

1. The goats- Despite my lofty declarations of a future filled with goat cheese and goat's milk soap, I produced nothing. The problem? As they say in the real estate world, Location..Location...Location. As I live in the city(no backyard goats allowed), driving several miles a day to milk a goat ain't gonna happen.

2. Growing eggplant didn't produce more than 2 small fruits. The miniature pomegranate died, and the mini blueberry plant has yet to do much of anything.

3. Home made bath soaps- Lots of fun, but too time consuming for me to do very often.

4. Our rabbits- We certainly aren't going to eat them, but we don't really have time to play with them. They just sit there creating fertilizer all day. Which I suppose isn't entirely a bad thing.......

Live and learn what works for you. Lackluster results give us valuable information that we can use to our advantage.

Never give up, always try something new. And don't forget to have fun!
love,
-EJ

Goaty Bliss

Maxwell wants to pet "Sheriff", who is orbiting his mother like a tiny, furry planet. She noses him indulgently, then turns back to her grain. As soon as Max gives up chase, Sheriff goes looking for him.

Feisty little Scarlett is happy to play with the humans, much to the chagrin of her mother. "Baa! Baa!", Robin calls her back. A tail wiggle, a pounce, and Scarlett is gone again.

Soon both babies are nursing their mamas. A deer watches this mixed-species gathering from the hill above. We notice her, she notices us and bounds into the treeline.

The Mamas are brought together to visit. Although grown mothers now, they butt heads like the doelings they once were. Their babies imitate their headstrong play. We laugh.

It is a great moment. One worth holding onto. :)

-Ellen

Baby #3 is born!

John and Joy called about an hour or so ago: Robin gave birth to a little girl.

Locksley's babies are only 3 days old, maybe Robin was tired of her hogging all the attention. :) Robin has always been an attention hound.

More details to come. I am just happy that the mommas and babies are okay.
Oh, and that new baby goat? Her name is Scarlett. (as reported to me by Dante' LOL)

Honestly, I don't know how John and Joy get any sleep with all the goat drama. :)

happily,
-E

Twins!!!

We just got the call. Locksley had her babies last night. The first one popped out around two in the morning. The second one shortly after.

We are on our way to go see our new beautiful babies. We will post pics as soon as we return.

grinning,

Ellen

Newest pictures of the goats

As you can see by the pics, Locksley is large and visibly uncomfortable. Robin, on the other hand, is the same as always.

Someone asked, "Didn't they get pregnant at the same time?"

Answer: No. Because although they were both in the company of the billy goat at the same time, they didn't go into heat at the same time. The billy was with them for 3 weeks so there is potentially that much space between the girls regarding due dates.

We continue to wait.

Still waiting

No baby goats yet. Technically they should still have about two weeks to go.
Still, I am convinced that Locksley will not make it that far.

We went to see her today, poor thing, and she is palpably miserable. She stands up, sits down, readjusts position-always trying to get more comfortable. She is not eating much right now except straw. Grain and other goodies are just holding no appeal.

Robin on the other hand is quite cheerful. She is probably going to last the whole two weeks remaining on her due date. While Locksley leans wearily against her lean-to, Robin dances around looking for attention.

So we wait. And we pray that all goes well.

Baby watch!

Earlier this evening we got word from the friends who board our goats- They seem likely to give birth sometime this weekend.

Basically what's going on is that they are showing some signs of being ready. Their udders are much larger, the babies have dropped, and their 'backsides' are a bit pouch-y.

Dante' and I grabbed poor sleepy Maxwell and loaded him in the van at 9:30 to rush out and see the 'girls'. When we got there John, Joy, and Melissa had literally thrown up a separate shelter for each goat in about 20 min. flat! I tell you what, if life gets dicey and I need something done on the fly, I'll call the Weber family. They hustle!

So we kissed and hugged all over Robin and Locksley. We made much of them while Dante' brushed their fur. They were so funny. They are acting just like pregnant women. One moment they are desperate for affection, the next they want nothing to do with you. But if you leave them alone they come looking for you. I guess women are women whether they have 2 legs or 4. (LOL)

Dante' and I have a youth group car wash all day tomorrow. But Dante' has her cell phone with her and if we get a call saying the girls are in labor- We are OUTTA THERE.

I'll keep y'all posted,
-E

You just can't make this stuff up

Here is a play-by-play of a typical day in our life. It really should be titled, "The Good , The Bad , and The Ugly, (with yours truly playing the part of ugly) but that has already been taken. Read on. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it will become a part of you. Grinning- Ellen.





AM- * emptied the rabbit cages, lined the bottoms with newspaper, and filled both food and water containers. Shoot! We forgot to get more straw for bedding. It will have to be gotten today.

* Fed the dog and the cats. Rex generally fulfills most of his caloric requirements eating the neighbor's cat food. Aphrodite eats the dog's food. What's up with that?

* Friends come over to knit, crochet and talk. We exchange patterns, ideas and life stories.

PM* Dante', Max, Rex and friends pile into the van. We go to the community garden to tend
our plot. Surprise! Over the weekend potatoes have come up. We are jubilant. The
peas, radishes and green onions are tall. What ever happened to the beans, we
wonder? Organic slug repellent is sprinkled, stray calendula from last year's garden is
ruthlessly yanked.

* Rex ate a chocolate Easter bunny we didn't watch carefully in the car. We panic and
take him to the vet. She smiles and says he will be fine as he didn't eat enough to
make him sick.

* Next we head for the stable where we board our horse. The dog
comes along and usually causes trouble by trying to chase a horse. Max searches out
puddles and gets soaked-again.

* The goats need more grain and the girls want to see the cute guy at Milk-E-Way feed
and seed. So we drive 12 miles and buy the grain. The cute guy isn't there today,
which leaves the girls feeling rather deflated.

* We grab sandwiches and sodas at the McKay's. Full bellies make for good spirits.

* At Melissa's house we drop off the goat grain. Our pregnant girls are really fattening
up. Dante' takes some of the goats straw home for the rabbits.

* Home again, home again, jiggety-jig. We drop off Dante's friends and go back to our
house. The dog goes into his kennel, Max goes into the bathtub, and I go into the
kitchen to clean up and start dinner.

* Our cat, Aphrodite has brought a mouse inside. It promptly gets away from her and
is lost somewhere in the living room. Is that it? Did I see it? Paxson moves
furniture, Dante' shrieks, and Aphrodite grows bored. She leaves without retrieving
her prize. This would never have happened in her younger days. I realize she is
beginning to grow old.

* Phil comes home, dinner is over, we all scatter to the far ends of the house. William
helps with dishes. I fold laundry. Phil is working on taxes.

* Bedtime ritual for Max: Brush teeth, wash face, hands and feet. Read a bedtime
story before prayers. I steal a few moments of computer time before doing it all
over again.
Believe it or not, today was relatively quiet.(minus the dog drama) That is our life. It sounds crazy sometimes but it's real. You just can't make this stuff up.

Goodnight and God Bless,
Ellen

ps- I still don't know where the mouse is.

It's that time once again

The community garden is open, and our plot is planted. Oh yeah, I told myself to not be in a hurry. Be cool, take my time. Wait in case the weather changes. Let's face it, I'm not a waiting kind of girl.

So our little plot is full of seeds. Peas, onions, lima beans, pole beans, radishes, potatoes- as many as I could get in and not be too over-the-top. Waiting is no longer optional, but mandatory. How long 'til seedlings come up? Will it freeze again?

While waiting for those answers I will be content digging up and planting the garden in the front yard. Tiny packets of lettuces, cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, chard and spinach await their turn for planting. Herbs will occupy the space just outside the front door and make a lovely tea garden.

In mid-April Leona will open her raised garden beds for planting. Her generosity allows a space for squashes and root vegetables. Turnips , carrots, zucchini and more will be planted there.

Our goats grow fatter by the day. Their bellies are near to bursting. Will they make it until May or surprise us and kid in April? There will be sweet new babies and mommas full of milk.

I love spring and the promise of things to come.
-E

How do you know?

How do you know if your goats are pregnant? Do they start knitting baby blankets? Do they crave weird foods? And what on earth would be weird for a goat? They eat just about everything anyway......

Okay, so Robin and Locksley have been 'shacked up' with a billy goat now for at least two weeks. He is a sweet , gentle little boy and came to us with no name. Dante' was invited to name him so she kept with the theme and calls him "Gisbon". Quite a mouthful for a simple farm animal.

I know its an odd subject matter. But we've never bred goats before. The jokes about it go on and on around here.

Now it is the new year and time for Gisbon to go home. Hopefully, he has done his job. If not, that's okay. We have really enjoyed him tailing the girls everywhere they go. They make a funny sort of convoy: Dante' crosses the grounds with Robin just behind, Locksley rushing to keep up with Robin, and Gisbon jogging along behind with no clue what's going on. He simply follows the women. Clever boy!

Home Ec for tough times(heftt)

Not to come off all doomsday-ish, but the financial financial difficulties many are facing will not end anytime soon. (Yeah, I've said all this before.)
Rather than panic, I chose to get creative. Its been an incredible learning experience. I have totally redefined what I think of as 'want' and 'need'.

Wastefulness is rampant in our lives but we have been blissfully unaware of it. Re-thinking the art of 'home-making' is a good part of the solution. For years, magazines have been telling us to keep up with trends. Food trends keep us buying expensive ingredients and pricey meals. Decorating trends have us constantly dissatisfied with our homes. More money goes out for new curtains, rugs, paint, or furniture. Clothing trends mean a yearly dumping and re- buying of wardrobes for some people. We go through acres of toilet paper, tissues, napkins, paper towels and paper plates. Even though my family's finances minimize some of these issues, there is plenty of room for improvement.

First, I started buying in bulk. Lots of rice, beans, flour, and sugar. Also lentils, salt, brown sugar and honey. Next came the gardening. Lots of good, healthy food provided for my family. Then canning, dehydrating, and freezing. Also the making of our own cleaning products. Cheaper and healthier than store bought cleaners. And the foraging of local foodstuffs.

But it wasn't enough. For some reason, I just wasn't satisfied. It didn't feel like enough. Thoughts of self-sufficiency kept circling 'round my brain. Then came the goats. We purchased two Nubian does to provide milk for drinking and for making cheese. And possibly goat's milk soap as well. They are currently 'shacked up' with a male in hopes of breeding. Whether or not this will be a successful or worthy endeavor remains to be seen. More on that as it develops.

Fall came, the gardening ended, and things were quiet for awhile. Then something really cool happened. Friends taught me to crochet. My daughter learned as well and we are hooked.
(No pun intended) I didn't realize just how handy this was going to be until the holidays came and I found myself with no money for presents. No money? No problem!

William got a handmade scarf, as did Paxson. I also made and gave away hats and (my favorite) a crocheted coffee cup sleeve. It fits on those drive-thru coffees, protects your hands and is environmentally friendly.

Sewing was a blessing as well. I don't sew very well, but I do some basic things. So out came the bamboo pattern fabric and I made a lovely set of napkins and a tablerunner. Add $3.00 worth of pretty green chopsticks from the local Asian store to complete the set. A supercool easy-peasy gift.

Lest you start rolling your eyes, lets get something clear right off the bat. I am not, I repeat NOT, creative, artsy or handy. Although many of my friends are. (You know who you are: Kimmy, Dawn, Annie, Danielle, Shannalee, Jeri, etc.) All of this could not have been thought of or made to happen without the inspiration and help of God. So please don't be intimidated if you are thinking of trying something new. Especially if it benefits your home and family. God will bless a worthy endeavor.

Now then, I 've all of that just to say that this will be a recurring theme on the Eating Oregon blog. Many of the aformentioned tips will be discussed in greater detail with recipes or instructions if necessary. This category will crossover a lot with the whole Urban Homesteading theme as well as the Eating Oregon theme. And forgive me if I've mentioned most of this before. I'll turn 40 in May, blame it on age.

So, anyone out there want to write an article for the blog or send a recipe or tip? email it to :
ellenjeffery@verizon.net

-E

Anyone out there have great moneysaving

Why I love my pets as explained by way of sleepless verbal meandering.

I'm not sleeping lately and it's my own fault. A few months ago I ran out of my medicine. It was always on my mind to get it refilled, but life takes the front seat and everything else falls behind. Big mistake. The result: sleep disturbance. The scary part is how subtly it builds at first, and then erupts into a major problem. I am so exhausted my body aches, my head hurts, my eyes burn and I can't think clearly. I have no energy and feel like bursting into tears over every little thing.

I get my meds in the next day or so, and should feeling better just in time for Christmas. 'Til then, just bear with me.

So I dragged Max to the stables today to deliver hay and was met by the usual loving 'hysteria' of the goats. I was instantly happy, even in spite of the insomniac fog surrounding my brain. It was nice to take a moment to scratch their fuzzy heads and watch them greedily chunk down a flake of hay.

Back at home,Max and I fed the bunnies. I was astonished when our large, mixed-breed Jack nearly fell out of the cage trying to get to us. We thought he just wanted food so we loaded him up on goodies. Nope, he wanted lovin'. So we brought Jack indoors, fed him treats and pet him copiously.

Jack was happily munching away at a celery when a few inches away, Aphrodite's fuzzy black face popped up from under a pile of laundry. She sleepily regarded the rabbit, then lay her silly head back down. It was cute enough to pull a laugh from the depths of my lethargy-induced apathy.

As I write this, Grrr is sleeping on my bed. Keeping in mind that he is Dante's cat, that's BIG. They say animals can sense when you don't feel good so I'm taking his presence as a gesture of good will. Either that or he's waiting for me to die so he can eat my face off and get his picture on MSN news.

Dante' teases me that I must have a tumor and her cat knows it. Ha-ha. So funny. If your sleeping at night, don't take it for granted. Hopefully I've learned my lesson.

peace,
-EJ

taking stock

The year is beginning to wind down and I'm looking back on the positive changes of the last several months. I feel the need to evaluate all the endeavors of this year and fine-tune it all a bit for next year.

coming up will be final reports regarding gardening, canning, dehydrating, energy conservation and self-sufficiency efforts. What worked , what didn't and what I can try that I havent' already. It has been a lot of fun and a great education.

Update on the goat situation: Phil and Richard finished both the fencing and the goat pen. It looks really great. The girls are spending their first night in it and I hope they like it. Thanks again to my hubby for playing along with the wild ideas generated by his wife and daughter. :)

Misc.

Lettuce in the home garden is really doing well. At the community garden today we actually got to pick a few radishes. This new batch is a different variety, red at the top, white at the bottom. Max loves them. Well, loves to eat them is a more accurate statement.

The goats, Robin and Locksley are my new obsession. ( I know I say that about everything) They are just so darned cute. They 'baa' for us when we arrive and bleat piteously when we leave. I feel like such a heel when they do that.

Lots of life stuff happening. Nothing to call the press about, just normal life. Youth group is going well. It's a great group of kids with a heart for the Lord. They are just super. We meet at a nursing home and have already made a new friend there. A woman named Teresita has sort of adopted us and we adore her. She is a retired school teacher, 77 years old, and she LOVES kids. We visit Teresita every week after youth and she prays for us.