Museum of Life and Science

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Making Kimchi

A friend on mine that runs a farm up in Virginia called me this morning to ask me if I wanted some Bok Choy, as she was over run with it from her garden. I said, “Sure, bring me five heads of it! I’ll think of something to do with it.”

Here are the five beautiful heads of Bok Choy she brought me. Bok Choy is a Chinese vegetable that is classified as a cabbage, looks more like celery and contains leaves resembling lettuce.

I opted to dehydrate two of the heads for making soup later on. I wanted to keep one for a fresh stir-fry meal in the next couple of days. That left me with two Bok Choy heads left. But what should I do with them?

I discovered that Korean Kimchi is typically made with Napa Cabbage but can be made with Bok Choy as well. What is Kimchi? Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented spicy dish most commonly made with napa cabbage and other vegetables such as radish, green onion, chive, carrots and cucumber. Kimchi is the most common side dish in Korean cuisine. Kimchi is also a main ingredient for other common Korean dishes such as Kimchi stew. I have never made Kimchi before but there is a first time for everything.

After a bit of chopping, measuring and mixing this is what my Kimchi looks like…

It is not done yet as it still needs to ferment for 2-3 days to get that sour tang you find in dill pickles and sauerkraut. Then I will put it in the fridge where it will be good for 2-4 months.

Horse 4-H Meeting

We belong to a horse centered 4-H club called the Southern Ring Rockers. Tonight was our monthly meeting. Baxter came along with us to see what we do there. The monthly meetings are mostly business events where we talk about what the club has done and make plans for future events as well. 

The battery died on my camera so I didn't get to take photos of Baxter at the table sitting with McKayla but he was there!

Farmer's Market

The Farmer's Market in our small town officially opened for the season today.

After a few quiet days at home Baxter was ready to hit the town so he opted to come along with McKayla, Taylor and I to the market.

Our Farmer's Market is pretty small compared to some but it is early in the season and not all of the vendors have started coming yet.  Also, next month they are planning to build a permanent structure to house the Farmer's Market in as well. I am looking forward to that!

We purchased some fresh baked items to snack on... a rhubarb tart for me, oatmeal raisin cookies for McKayla and Baxter chose chocolate chip cookies... Yummy!

I picked up a few plant starts for the garden... a purple tomato, thyme, dill and oregano.  Then Baxter spotted these huge fresh picked strawberries!  It didn't take much convincing for me to buy 4 quarts of them.  We ate a few right in the parking lot, the rest I hid away until we got home so we could make strawberry jam with them.

We made Freezer Jam today because it is fast and easy as it doesn't require any cooking.  First I cleaned and sliced the strawberries up to equal 8 cups tightly packed berries.

Then we added in a package of Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin (this is different then the pectin for cooked jam).  Pectin is what makes your jam (with fruit chunks) or jelly (pureed smooth) get thick and spreadable.  It is naturally in many fruits but adding additional pectin helps achieve a thicker result.

The strawberries and pectin are mixed together really well to a consistency that you like.  At this point Baxter wanted to go swimming in the mixture it smelled so good!

Finally, after letting it set for about 30 minutes we spooned the jam into freezer containers (our batch made 11 half pint jars) and store in the freezer up to a year.  Not only is this great jam for sandwiches it is also great over ice cream and makes a wonderful stir-in for plain yogurt too!

Homemade Pizza Pockets

It was still too windy and cool outside to use our pizza box solar oven that we made yesterday.  So, we decided to make some pizza pockets for dinner tonight.

Baxter helped measure the ingredients into the mixer.  He really enjoyed watching the mixer go round and round.

Once it came together as a soft dough we took it out and I showed Baxter how to kneed it so it was a smooth stretchy dough.  We then let it rest for 15 minutes to proof (expand).  We rolled it out really thin...

and then McKayla came to help cut 3 inch circles out.  We needed 24 circles, 12 for the bottoms and 12 for the tops.

We added pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese to the 12 bottom rounds.

Finally, McKayla brushed an egg wash along the edges and put the top circles on.  The edges were crimped with a fork and I put them in the oven for 20 minutes.

Baxter wanted to try one right away but I made him wait until they were cool so he wouldn't burn his mouth.

Pizza Box Solar Oven

This afternoon we made a Pizza Box Solar Oven.  The kid's had seen a segment yesterday about these solar ovens at the end of a Curious George episode and wanted to make one.  We found the instructions here.  This oven can reach 275F and can cook things like mini pizzas, hot dogs, cookies or s'mores.

Here Baxter poses with the materials we needed to make our pizza oven; pizza box, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, glue, tape and box cutter.  The packing tape I used to attach the plastic wrap is missing from this shot.

First I cut a flap in the lid one inch from the sides.  Then we covered the flap with aluminum foil.  The inside of the box also got lined with foil.

Here Baxter demonstrates how I covered the hole with plastic wrap from the inside.  The oven is now done.  Unfortunately, it was too chilly and overcast for us to try it out this afternoon.  Hopefully tomorrow will be warmer.

After dinner McKayla wanted to play Memory.  Baxter thought that sounded like a great idea until he found out it was a princess version!  So girly!  But, in the end he played too.

Baxter and McKayla working together to play.  They ended up winning this round.

Gymnastics Class

Baxter came along with us to McKayla's gymnastics class.  But first we ran a few errands in town.

We had to stop at the post office to mail a package as well as some postcards we are trading with others around the world.  Baxter and McKayla mailed the postcards while I waited to mail the package at the window.

Our next stop was to the recycling center.  Our county (Person County) recently acquired a new recycling system.  We are now able to take more types of materials to be recycled and it does not need to be sorted ahead of time!  We recycle as much as we can here and the recycling center is a stop I make once or twice a week.

Finally, it was time for gymnastics.

McKayla, at 5 years old, is in a girls level 1 class and loves it.  The play equipment you see in front is for a toddler class.  McKayla's class uses the equipment to the rear of the gym like the balance beams, uneven bars, trampoline, dance mats, etc.

After gymnastics we all went to Pizza Hut for dinner.  We ordered what we always do; a family order of cheese breadsticks and a cheese lovers with half pepperoni on a hand tossed crust.  Yumm!

When we got home we discovered this postcard in the mailbox from Baxter's family.  It is the capitol building of New Jersey which is where Baxter is from.

Sunday on the farm.

This morning started as we begin every Sunday morning... homemade buttermilk biscuits with sausage and gravy and scrambled eggs. Not the healthiest of breakfasts but we indulge this one day of the week. Leftover warm biscuits are often eaten with jam or honey.

Warm biscuits right from the oven are so tempting!

After breakfast it is time for chores. Here Baxter is seen with our goat Mary Jane. Mary Jane is eating her breakfast on the milking stanchion so I can milk her. I am currently milking two goats; Mary Jane and her mother Peppermint.

Eggs needed to be collected. This is a Welsummer hen, one of my favorites.

After finishing up feeding the rest of the animals (photos to come over the next few days) we headed back to the house to strain the goat's milk. I got over a liter today but used some to bottle feed the last goat kid (baby) that we haven't sold yet. Once the milk is strained I put in the freezer for 30 minutes to rapidly cool and then it goes into the refrigerator.

Next thing that needed to get done was wash the eggs we collected this morning. Here is a picture of one of our eggs cracked open. The yolks from chickens that free range and eat good things like bugs and fresh grasses are very orange instead of the lighter yellow of commercial raised eggs you get at the grocery store.

The rest of our day was spent doing odds and ends around the farm. This evening we did some reading and relaxed together while watching TV.

Dinner at the grandparents

Poor Baxter had to hang out in the house most of the day while farm chores were done, water hoses repaired, goats were sold and just the general weekend farm things that need to get done.

But, on Saturday evenings we usually go over to the kid's grandparents (the Bensens) house in Virgina.  Even though they are in another state it is only a 25 minute drive from our farm.  We usually take turns with them making dinner for the whole family and tonight I offered to make beef stoganoff to bring over.  The beef we used was beef we raised right here on our farm.

After dinner Baxter, Evan and McKayla went out on the deck to read stories with their grandmother.  They are currently reading a Star Wars book together.

We always enjoy our visits with the Bensen granparents but it is nice to come home again.

Typical Friday

Fridays here at our house are pretty laid back.  We usually don't go anywhere as it is my day to catch up from the week and get ready for the weekend.  I clean the house, do lots of laundry, and plan the meals for the weekend.

Baxter just hung around in the kitchen and kept me company.  So, when I started to make some homemade yogurt Baxter asked to help too.

Making yogurt is really simple.  First you heat 1 litter of milk to a low boil then let it cool to about 110F.  While it is heating you can add 1/3 cup powdered milk (helps make the yogurt nice and thick) and 1/2 cup sugar if you are making a sweet flavored yogurt.  Once the milk is at 110F you add the cultered yogurt starter (I use either a powdered starter or several tablespoons from my last batch of yogurt).  The last thing I add is any flavoring I want.  Today I made vanilla yogurt so I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract.  The milk mixture is then poured through a mesh strainer to remove any lumps. 

Finally it is poured into individual jars and placed into our yogurt maker to set for 8 hours.  So, later tonight I will put them in the fridge to cool and they will be ready to eat in the morning.

Baxter also helped me out with one of my daily chores... washing our farm fresh eggs and putting them in cartons for sale.  Our chickens lay many different colored eggs, including beige, light brown, dark brown, speckled, green and blue eggs.  We sell them for $2 a dozen when people stop by the farm.

Earth Day

Baxter had a full day today! First, Baxter got to go the barn and meet the animals and help with chores. Then, since it was Earth Day today, we did several projects to celebrate that. Then we went to a local park to ride bikes and play.  Here are some photos of our day with Baxter:

This is one of three rabbit litters we currently have.  These are American Chinchilla rabbits.  They are ranked number 6 on the rare breed rabbit list in the US.

Baxter liked the chicken chicks that are just a week old as they weren't much bigger then him.  We currently have 16 chicks of several different breeds.  This one is an Americana.  If is grows up to be a female chicken it will lay green/blue eggs.

These are two of our 12 alpacas.  This is my favorite color - dark brown.  Alpacas come in 22 natural colors - from white to fawn to brown to black and grey and the shades in between.

Here are our goat does (females).  They are Nigerian Dwarf goats and we milk them daily.  We use the milk for homemade cheese and soap.

Baxter even got a kiss from our goat Belle.

Once chores were done Baxter helped the kids build and paint birdhouses.  He had lots of fun but needed to wash his pajamas afterward.

Here are the birdhouses Baxter helped with.  Evan's is on the left and McKayla's is on the right.

Next we made some birdfeeders for our wildbirds at home.  Baxter tried to help stir up the concoction....

but ended up falling in by mistake and Evan had to help him out.

In the end he helped make four bird feeder pinecones that Evan hung in the trees around the playground at home.

This is the small park that we went to this afternoon.  It is not too far from our house so we go freqently.  It has two baseball fields, a walking/bike path and a small playground.

Evan and McKayla with Baxter getting set to ride their bikes.

Baxter and McKayla clinbing trees.

Then Baxter helped Evan search for four leafed clovers.  They didn't find any though.