Simplification

channelled whelk

"How do I remain whole in the midst of distractions of life?  How do I remain balanced, no matter what centrifugal forces tend to pull one off center; how to remain strong, no matter what shocks come in at the periphery and tend to crack the hub of the wheel?  There is no easy answer.  I only have clues, shells from the sea.  The bare beauty of a channelled whelk tell me that one answer is simplification of life.  One learns from the beach how to be simple." Anne Morrow Lindbergh,  "Gift from the Sea"

La Jolla

Sandpipers

follow a trail

Grace

Laguna Beach at low tide

"But I want first of all...to be at peace with myself.  I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central core to my life that will enable me to carry out (these) obligations and activities as well as I can.  I want, in fact...to live 'in grace' as much of the time as possible."
Ann Morrow Lindbergh  from "Gift from the Sea"

Kate, Laguna

sandcastle block from A Day at the Beach

Islands in a common sea

pelicans on La Jolla bluff

"How wonderful are islands!  Islands in space, like this one I have come to, ringed about by miles of water, linked by no bridges, no cables no telephones....The past and the future are cut off: only the present remains...One lives like a child or a saint in the immediacy of here and now....I feel we are all islands ----in a common sea."
Anne Morrow Lindbergh,  "Gift from the sea"

Sea lions on the beach

girl on Santa Barbara pier

Gift from the Sea- Happy New Year!!!

gifts from the sea

"One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach---waiting for  a gift from the sea.."

"But it must not be sought for- or heaven forbid! dug for.  No no dredging of the sea bottom here. That would defeat one's purpose.  The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy or too impatient.  To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed but lack of faith.  Patience, patience, patience is what the sea teaches.  Patience and faith."
Anne Morrow Lindbergh from "Gift from the Sea" written 1955

Carpinteria

Merry Christmas from me to you

Who doesn't love this time of year?  It's crazy, it's glorious, it's exciting, it's expensive, it's fun but it is filled with love and joy.  I hope all of you have had a wonderful Christmas season:

Everyone is asked to find their inner organizer and we all do the best we can BUT there are always surprises: There was a goat emergency so off my friend Kim and I went to Caramel Apple Farms for some Match.goat

Kim at Caramel Apple Farm at sunset Christmas Eve

Then home for a yummy dinner.  Ryan and Ella helped me in the kitchen.  Ryan made mashed potatoes.  Ella waxed the cheese (don't do that every day)

Ryan and Ella

This year's Christmas theme was Fa la la la llama.  Wrapping, ornaments, cake and crafting all with the llamas in mind.  Well I couldn't find any goats:

Flourless dairy free chocolate hazelnut cake

Kim and Ella crafting llamas


Dinner was delish: Prime rib, roasted and mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus, watermelon radishes and the dessert:  your choice caramel or berry sauce.

or both

Amaryllis wrapped in satin ribbon


Christmas morning Kate and I were working on the legos

Engineers in training with Charlotte the pig

A little Christmas cold: brrr

A snow day!  Too much snow overnight so my boss called a snow day!  What! For a dental hygienist?  I'll take it.  Wait!  I have to shovel this foot of snow.  Now that it is the afternoon and almost dark I have given myself permission to take a little hot chocolate break
of course I have a daily supply of fresh milk and I love to use Williams-Sonoma's salted caramel hot chocolate.
Later I may treat myself to some fresh gingerbread that has just come out of the oven:   It's Ina Gartin's recipe but then I touched it up a bit:  Here are the ingredients:

Those are my Mom's hand painted Mr. and Mrs. Claus helping out:

Looks good, right?
Here is the recipe;Ina Gartin's old fashion gingerbread.  I used Cup4cup gluten free flour.
It appears I am in a plain mood this Christmas:

Enjoy your winter day wherever it may be.

WHEY to go Sunflower

milk products in a week - well a long week

This weeks work in the kitchen with fresh goat milk.  Each day at 7 am and again at 7 pm Sunflower and I go to the milking parlor to do our farm thing.  Each trip I am given about 3 cups of delicious milk.  This summer I have been drinking it straight or in an iced coffee but at the end of each week I take my milk collected from the week and start making cheese.  I started with cheddar.  I'll wax it and place it in the basement to age.  It takes 2 gallons of milk to make 2 1/4 pounds of cheddar cheese.  Then I took 1/2 gallon and made chèvre which is shaped and dried in tube cheese molds - about 1 pound.  Flavor it with anything but today it was an herb blend from Penzey's  Spice called Sunny Paris.  Today I made mozzarella from a gallon of milk-makes 1 1/2 pounds.  These leaves a lot of whey which I hate to pour down the drain so I bring the whey to 200 deg and add 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and the remainder of milk in the whey will become ricotta- really squeezing the last bit of cheese out of the process.  Now what to do with the whey?  Take it back out to the barnyard and feed it to the chickens - oh Sunny and CoCo like it too.
This is the main reason I started raising goats 3 years ago.  I adore these animals but I love it when I can make their milk into wonderful good.  Now I will go out to find some eggplant to make into eggplant Parmesan 
Thanks Sunny!
Whey to go!

Whey to go Sunny!!!!