Life is Good

If you follow me over on 'the facebook' then you know I'm always spreading optimism by liking and sharing the Life is Good products. Doesn't everybody just love those guys? Do you know their story? I started seeing their tire covers on jeeps and figured it was some hippy thing.  But I tell you the truth there is just something infectious about their happy message.

 

My favorite hat of all time. Gives me courage under fire. 

I bought my Life is Good hat - yep the one here in my self portrait - several years ago at an airport when I was having a particularly bad day. I thought I needed some inspiration and that simple message, Life is Good, gave me courage on a bleak day. It's a great reminder that happiness is a choice, even if you are slogging thru a hard time. You can choose to be happy despite your circumstances - or be overwhelmed by them. How you respond to life depends on you. It's better to remember that life is good.

Who could be grumpy with this mug?

This is why I like to promote the LIG products. I love their joyful, easy, simple messages and I see them as an encouragement to keep on keepin' on. Sometimes, if things are really grim, I'll double up and wear my inspirational tshirt AND hat at the same time. That is for the toughest days. It's kinda funny how I got that shirt. Come to think of it, I bought that Life is Good shirt at an airport also.

I was on my way home from a not particularily fun time visiting a new mommy. She was in "that" phase and insisted that I wash all my clothes in her "approved" laundry soap. Just to be in the same room with the new baby. I wasn't even approved to hold the baby. For heavens sakes. It is a fact that I am allergic to almost everything scented. Not only did I not want to smell like a fresh baby diaper... I did not want to break out in hives. But I was assured that this special baby laundry soap was totally hypoallergenic so I gave in and handed over my clothes.

Several days later - there I was in the airport on my way home - scratching. And I was mad. Real mad. I shouldn't have washed my clothes in that Acid and Barbed Wire bubbly stuff. It was not hypoallergenic and I smelled ridiculous. And I had a rash.

I figured I'd adjust my attitude and get a new shirt. I picked up the softest shirt the Life is Good store had and rushed to the cashier. "That will be $39, please" said the too-perky-for-my-bad-attitude cashier. My jaw dropped. Apparently there is a lot tax at the airport....but it was worth every scent... I mean "cent." I'd need all the encouragement I could get for my journey home.

I boarded the plane and found my seat. And then he showed up. Oh gosh. You know that fellow traveler. I call him Smilin' Guy. Typically an executive who is trying to overcompensate for having to be in the rear with the gear....with all us travelers in coach... instead of first class. He's the one with too much cologne, a too crisp shirt, and an expensive watch. He's gonna try and impress you with his flashy smile and small talk. I hate small talk. I hate it even worse on a plane. And if I have a bad case of the scratchies...well then golly.

Immediately I stuck my nose in my book - a tome about ancient war generals - and avoided eye contact. He was persistent tho and pounced as soon as I looked up to see if they had started the beverage service.

"So! How's your day?" He over-enthusiastically asked.

"Bad. It's real bad, friend." But I didn't really say "friend" like I meant it. He didn't hear me anyway and he kept on yammerin'. "On the way home or heading out?" He kept on.

"Home. I'm going home and I've had a terrible trip." At this point the flat tone in my voice was lost to him.  He started to ask me something else but I cut him off. "Where's my waitress? I need a drink." I said looking around.

About that time the flight attendant was at our row. "I'll take a double, honey. And just leave the can of tonic, if you would." I said. Even that gal could tell I was starting to crack so she left me extra limes and gave me an understanding look.

"Boy, you weren't kidding...a..about the drink." Smilin' Guy said looking a little nervous.

He was still trying to break the ice when I threw back my second gin and tonic. Finally I leveled a look at him that has been known to stop a sassy rooster mid-step, silence a naughty child who wasn't even mine, and make a grown man give me a 10 foot radius. He went back to looking at his important papers and I went back to reading about how to divide and conquer an empire on horseback.

Mercifully the plane touched down in the Good Land and about that time my scratching stopped. My Life is Good shirt had fixed me. Not only was my skin rash gone, but by the time I ran out of the terminal and into our big work truck driven by The Big Man, it reminded me firmly that happiness is a choice.

They have great dog shirts. My Dog#1 had me at woof.

Life is good, friends. And its ok if you need a reminder now and then. I have a hat and a shirt that proclaims this simple message.

Happy Tuesday everyone!


Editor's note: Do you love Life is Good products? Would you like to support this blog? Head on over to my store on Amazon and get a great shirt, hat, or coffee mug. Any products you buy thru my links support this blog. Shopping anyway? Click on the Amazon badge to get to the regular Amazon site...or use the black Amazon search box on the right. Thanks!

Cheese Making List

Thanks to everyone who has been using my Amazon store or the Amazon search box for their shopping! I really appreciate the support and I hope that my recommendations have been helpful. So far its going great. There's still a few more shopping days left before the holiday - so how about another list? Is cheese making in your future? Or maybe you just need to stock up?

My absolute favorite book, 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes: From Cheddar and Brie to Butter and Yogurt. I love this book especially if you have goats. It has a ton of recipes just for goat milk, does a great job of explaining the difference in goat vs cow cheese making, and gives exact instructions. If you only get one cheese making book this is it.

Of course there are some other great books out there. I started with Ricki Carrol's Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Homemade Cheeses. Its a good start and is great for folks who want to try cheese making and may not have access to a fresh, unpasteurized milk. On my wishlist tho, is the stunningly beautiful Artisan Cheese Making at Home: Techniques & Recipes for Mastering World-Class Cheeses. Isn't it a vision?

Some folks are hesitant to make cheese at home thinking its overly complicated. Nope. If you can follow any cooking recipe then you can make cheese. You just need a few things not normally found in your kitchen and a little confidence. I was absolutely thrilled to see that my favorite cheese making supplier,  Leeners has a store on Amazon. I love these guys. They have superfast delivery, excellent products, and exceptional customer service. You can also order directly from their website http://www.leeners.com and if you are lucky enough you can go and visit their shop.

If you are just starting out, there is a Deluxe Hard Cheese Kit with Red Cheese Wax with absolutely everything you could ever need. Or you can purchase the bits and bobs as you go along. I have everything that I use listed on my Cheese Making store page here.

One thing you need (that most folks don't already have) is the biggest stainless steel stock pot you can find. A 20 quart is probably the minimum. I would probably pass out with joy if I ever got one of the Prime Pacific Heavy Duty Stainless Steel Stock Pot with Lid, 35-Quart. That's 35 quarts! Oh man...the cheese I could make with that... The most important thing to remember is that it must be stainless, NOT aluminum.

A couple "bits and bobs" include really good quality cheese cloth, not from the grocery, but something like Cheesecloth Commercial Grade 3 SqYrd 27 SqFt which is a bargain here on Amazon.

I mostly use mesophilic starter for my cheeses:

 

And I prefer the rennet tablets such as Tablet Vegetable Rennet - 10 ct. They have a liquid version also.

If you are going to make aged cheeses you'll need somewhere to age it. A cool cellar is just the ticket but our basement is finished so that doesn't work for us. If you are skilled you could convert an old fridge so that it holds a temperature of about 50* or below.... or you can do what we did. Get a wine fridge with temperature controls, such as this Koldfront 28 Bottle Ultra Capacity Thermoelectric Wine Cooler - Platinum. This was absolutely our best idea. And it worked like a dream!

The important thing to remember about cheese making is not to be hesitant. There are some new words you'll need to learn, like mesophilic culture, and you might have some cheese fails - but so what? Even if your cheese doesn't turn out perfectly its still cheese. If it's a total fail then you can just give it to your chickens. Or pigs. Plus, what a fun skill to learn!

I have a good friend in the city who called me up after she had a gathering with her friends. Someone brought a goat cheese appetizer that costs something like $15 or $20. We both cracked up laughing because I could make the same thing for a cost of goods of less than $1 plus milk from my goats.

I used to stand in front of the cheese counter at an expensive grocery store and pine away for all that amazing cheese. Now I just go home and make it myself. And so can you! Stop waiting! Now is the time for you to get up some confidence and make some cheese!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Editor's Notes.... I've added a new "search" features to my Amazon store. But it seems to be limited to certain categories. If you ever get lost in my store, just click on the "Powered by Amazon" badge and you'll go right to the normal Amazon store. Or you can just use the black search box on the right of this page. If you are doing some shopping anyway, why not start here? You'll be supporting this blog and it won't cost you a thing!  And... um.. I might have made a bet that I'll have to make good on here soon. It involves a bra. And me. Oh golly. 

Dog Training Tools & Books

Thanks everyone for all their support for my new Amazon store! I'm thrilled that its working and hope that you are happy with it also.

 I asked on 'the facebook' if anyone had any list requests and one of my pals suggested doing one about dogs. So I did! I also added a new "page" across the top of the blog called Dogs. Its in blue next to the store. I've collected my posts on dogs and dog training all in one place... and some adorable pix and videos.

If you've been a blog pal for long you know that my hard working farm dogs are key to my success. They are like an extra pair of hands and I couldn't get my work done without them. Whether they are guarding the perimeter, killing varmints, or keeping baby goats in line - my Dog Horde is second to none. And they are the stars of many "not entirely fiction" stories!

The books I recommend if you have a dog, want to get a dog, know someone with a dog, or just want to learn more about dogs - especially hard working farm dogs are Be the Pack Leader: Use Cesar's Way to Transform Your Dog . . . and Your Life, How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners (Revised & Updated Edition), and The farmer's dog. I was not a dog person before I moved here and these are my only references. These books have led to my success.

Our Very Good Vet changed the way I look at dogs and also how they play. Frankly she told me that dogs need to learn to entertain themselves and should go and find a stick to play with instead of begging for attention. So we don't have a lot of toys - especially since my Dog#1 obsessively chews on things and wore down all of his canine teeth. But since we have big, smart dogs we needed something .... so she recommended a few things including the Jolly Pets Egg Plastic Ball for Pets, 12-Inch, Red.

 

But our big toy is a ball and a Chuckit!  Our dogs love to play fetch....well..most of them love to play fetch. Mostly Kai just likes the running.  The Chuckit allows you to throw the ball really far - and as we say, a tired dog is a good dog.

You can see all of these books and more by clicking on the links or by going to the Dogs & Dog Training section in my Farm Tools & Book Amazon store.

Thanks everyone! By clicking on these links you are supporting this blog. If you are interested in any of these products - or need to do some shopping anyway - why not click on one of the links in this post, go to my Farm Tools & Books store, or use the Amazon search box on the right side of this page?

Have a great Wednesday! Now get out there and train your dogs!

Bacon Makin' and Butcher Day Tools and Book List

Thanks for everyone's support yesterday on my new Amazon store. I asked the folks over on "the facebook" if they'd like to see anything specific. I got some great ideas so those will be coming soon. Let me know in comments if there is a specific list you'd like to see.

Today I'll share my favorite tools and books for bacon making and butcher day.

We have an older version of this Char-Broil Offset Smoker American Gourmet Deluxe Charcoal Grill.

Folks ask me what tools we use and if I just say "a boning knife, a paring knife, and kitchen shears" they usually want to know EXACTLY which ones. In fact, we had a hilarious chitchat on 'the facebook'  about how my review for my favorite Henckels knives would say "great for gutting chickens!"  I'm not sure that's the kind of advertising they want to see but here it is.

As always, the best references for makin' bacon are Rulman's Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing and also Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing. Why? Because he makes it easy and approachable. Any one can do it! Just order a pork belly from your butcher and get to work. Pretty much the only thing you need but won't already have in your kitchen for curing the bacon is "pink salt." Some folks don't like it because it has nitrates - but do your research and figure out what is best for you. I use it and don't feel bad at all. I think it makes the bacon more bacony.

 

Pink salt. Its pink

Mostly what you need to make bacon is confidence. So fire up the smoker and give it a try.

As for butcher day tools, my favorite things to use are my Henckle knives. I actually got my set a long time ago in Germany. They are absolute a treasure to me. Knives are like shoes tho, it really depends on what is comfortable you to.

My favorite knife of all time -  Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star 4-Inch High-Carbon Stainless-Steel Paring Knife. Its a vision. I use it for everything.

But hands down the most important tool for home pork butchery is my meat saw. We love this Weston Butcher Saw with 16 Inch Stainless Steel Blade. Make sure you get the 16 inch version or or the blade will have to much flex in it. 

The biggest surprise tool that we use for pork butcher is our garden trolley like this 1200lb garden cart. It worked great on our last butcher day. Make sure its the heavy duty one tho - ours is good up to 800 lbs. Its an older model and next best one I could find was an extra heavy duty maximum 1200lbs  model.

 

My last recommendation is also a must have - heavy duty baking trays. These Focus Foodservice Commercial Bakeware 13 by 18 Inch 18 Gauge Aluminum Half Sheet Pans are perfect for holding a mountain of just butchered chickens or a huge belly section of pork. They are bigger and deeper than regular old cookie sheets. These heavy duty trays changed my life.

That's just a few of my recommendations. You can click here to get the full list for bacon making and butcher day tools and books. 

Happy Saturday everyone!