Time, more Time Please

All this talk of food and food sources brings up another question. How does one blanance work, motherhood, wifely duties, and so on and cook good healthy food from scratch and locally produced? It takes a lot of time to plan menus, make the food, whether it is bread, crackers, stew, pie and so on, let alone clean up after a toddler. It must come down to a couple of phrases I learned in college. "KISS" and the "6 P's" Keep It Simple Stupid and Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

I was talking to my mom last night about a Gauva Cheese Cake made up and she was telling me about her Enchildas. So I asked her how she made hers. She grew her own Tomatillos and canned them then added green enchilda sauce to them. Her way issimpler than the way I do it even though I buy my tomatillos. I roast or boil a whole chicken, then shred it, roast the veggies for the sauce, grate my own cheese, chop onions and cilatro, sometimes I even make my own corn tortillas. (I really need to get my own tortilla press, the rolling pin takes forever.) It takes all day! I need to buy a case of tomatillos and tomatoes and make my own sauce and can it. Maybe that would help with the time factor. But then where do I store it? My house has a great lack of pantry space. My Dream is a great big huge green house to grow this stuff and learn how to forage for wild greens and mushrooms...

Oh bother, I need to feed myself and come up with a dinner menu. Last night was Bacon and Onion Tart, Spinach and Mushroom Salad with Warm Lemon Dressing and the Gauva Cheese Cake/Tart. UMMM good.

Found Now What

Okay, this past month was very busy. Had a surprise party for the husband, started a new job, and found a full time job. Did a bunch of research on-line about grass fed animals in Colorado. Everything was was too far away and rather pricey. Then I brought home a weekly local news paper, flip through it and scan the classifieds. I found a source of local grass fed and finished beef! I called Cap K Ranch to get a few more details and they are even going to raise chickens also! You can visit the ranch, just make a phone call to set up an appointment. Trying to get some friends to go in on a half a steer with me. They need a freezer. So that has slowed the process down.

I took Dante up there to check it out and he really didn't want anything to do with the animals at first. They have a llama, some goats and chickens along with the cattle. Very clean, neat and orderly operation they are running. The goats were a 4-H project. The child raising them decided he wanted pets instead of meat... The llama is a pet. The chickens are a new project for the ranch started after the ranch Manager Dave read the Omnivores Dilemma. Apparently when you buy chickens they are cheaper to buy un-sexed so the chickens are a bit on the noisy side. His six year old is supposed to pick one rooster to keep. Dave sent us home with 5 eggs and some ground beef to try. I am so looking forward to it. Dante and I made corn tortillas last night so... Taco night here we come.

There were several things that impressed me. The neatness of the houses and barns. I almost felt like I was back in Austria, where they seem to use a straight edge and ruler to maintain their yards. The cattle are a Saler (pronounced "Sa-lair") breed. That do well with the elevation and terrain. Cap K Ranch has also worked with the Department of Wildlife in the past to try and control the whirling disease that the local trout have. It seems to have been successful. All in all a great experience and a nice little operation. Here is the link to the Trout Unlimitted Article http://www.tu.org/science/aquatic-invasive-species-ais/pathogens/research/cap-k-ranch-tam-filtration-0