April 2nd (Survey and Farmer's Cheese Recipe)

 Hi All!

I have enjoyed sharing my goats with you guys the last two weeks (and again this week with the teens). For those who would like the recipe for Farmer's Cheese, I will put it at the bottom of this page.

I have been tossing around some ideas about the co-op and would like some input. If you could take a couple of minutes to answer these 4 questions in this survey, I would really appreciate it: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2KKWJSG

I realize that Friday is Good Friday, however, we typically don't celebrate Good Friday until the evening, so we are still planning to meet, though I definitely understand if you won't be able to make it because you want to keep that day sacred. 

If you are unfamiliar with Good Friday, this whiteboard illustration gives a short explanation as to why many Christians call the Friday before Easter--or Resurrection Sunday as we call it in our home--Good Friday: Video. Also, this is an illustrated version of one of my favorite folk tales that tells about the life of Jesus through the story of Three Trees...in addition to studying the passages about Christ's death and Resurrection in the Bible, It is a tradition for me to read this to my children every Easter...and cry every single time (literally, EVERY time...my kids will tell you). It's called the Tale of the Three Trees and the illustrated book I have is just beautiful. (The Tale of the Three Trees Video)

And, although it is not specifically homeschool related,  if you ever want to talk about Christianity or the Bible in general or my faith in particular, I would love to talk with you. Just ask. I promise not to bite ;-). I have four major passions in life: my family, animals, homeschooling...and above them all, my relationship with Jesus Christ. I can talk about all of these topics all day long :-). 

Ongoing Requests:

If you have been gifted in the ability to teach larger groups, and would like to, and are not otherwise needed, we could use some help with running Group A  PE games or crafts.  This would not be every week and I would be happy to come up with activities for you if necessary--I just need someone to help facilitate the activities. Let me know if this is something you would like to do. If you can't do this, please pray for someone who LIKES to do this. 

Here is what is on the agenda for this week:

Schedule for Friday, April 2, 2021

From 10-Noon(ish) we will break into group activities:

Group A-- Ages 5-8

You will be doing PE this week.  Sunscreen and water bottles are recommended. Prepare to run and have fun in the sun!

Materials Needed:

Tennis shoes and comfortable clothes

Water

Group B-- Ages 9-12

You will be doing Gardening this week. Please be prepared to get dirty. If you want to wear gardening gloves, please bring your own. Come prepared to learn, since Ms. Paula is a wealth of information!

Materials Needed:

Garden gloves if you want them

Group C-- Ages 13-18

We will be learning about goats this week! I love my goats!  We will be making some cheese, (because...yum!), but we will also be learning a little more about the biology of the dairy goat and why I think goats are one of the most important animals to raise worldwide. Come prepared to play with goats and learn WAY more than you every thought you wanted to know about my favorite animal :-). 

Materials Needed:

We will be getting dirty with the goats. Do not wear your best clothes--they may be chewed on.  

We will be eating cheese and crackers. If you have special allergy needs, but want to eat with the rest of the group, please bring something for that purpose. We will have saltines as well as vanilla wafers.

Please note: Teens are held to a slightly higher standard than the younger kids. If you choose not to participate in the activity of the day, we will "volunteer" you to help with the younger kids. A respectful, pleasant attitude is expected. You have been warned...

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Movement Therapy/Stretching with Ms. Paula

After the group activities, Ms. Paula will host a Movement Therapy/Stretching class in the front yard area. Please let Ms. Paula know if you are wanting to do this class. She doesn't want to interfere with anyone's fun by announcing it is happening, but she would love to come get you if you are wanting to stretch with her. All body types/ strength levels are encouraged to attend. Ms. Paula is absolutely AMAZING. She designs her stretches based on the needs of the class, which she can see simply by how you normally move. 

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Picnic Lunch

Everyone is welcome to stay and have a picnic lunch in the backyard area. You are responsible for bringing your own lunch. Please do not feed any animals with that lunch and please make sure all garbage is disposed of in the dumpster or garbage can. 



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Farmer's Cheese

Farmer's Cheese is a very versatile cheese. It can be dry or moist, depending on how much whey is left. I use it plain with crackers, mixed with spinach as a stuffing for various meats, and in place of ricotta in my lasagna, but it can be used in so many recipes.

Here is the basic recipe:

Ingredients:

1 gallon of unpasteurized milk

1/2 cup of distilled vinegar (or lemon juice)

salt  (to taste)

Directions:

Instant Pot:

Place milk in the Instant Pot, seal the lid and press the Yogurt button. It should blink "BOIL".  Walk away. Come back when it says "YOGRT" and complete the steps below.

Stove Top:

Place milk in a double broiler if you have one. If not, place in a normal pot. Heat over low/medium heat, stirring frequently so as not to scald the milk. When the temperature reaches 180*, remove the pot from the stove top.


Once the milk is "cooked", gently stir in 1/2 cup of vinegar--do not over stir, it is simply to make sure the vinegar is mixed in. While the curds and whey are separating, place a strainer over a bowl in the sink (if you want to save the whey) and cover it with cheese cloth or a thin kitchen towel. Pour the milk/vinegar mixture in the cheese cloth. Strain out the whey. Typically after the whey has been strained a bit, I will tie the cheese cloth over my faucet to let the whey continue dripping out. 

Once the whey is strained to your preference, place the cheese curds in a bowl and stir in salt until the mixture has a "cheese" taste.  The salt will dry out the cheese a little more.


Variations:

I prefer to add garlic salt instead of regular salt, to have a "garlic cheese".

Many people leave it a little moister than I prefer and then roll it in an herb/cracker mixture to make a cheese ball.  You can add whatever types of herbs you prefer. Experimenting here is part of the fun.

Desert Cheese:

After adding in a dash of salt, you can also mix in sugar and cocoa powder (again, to taste) for "chocolate cheese". Blend it in a blender for a yogurt-like texture.

We also enjoy frozen strawberries/sugar and raspberries/sugar--both of these blended in a blender and eaten with vanilla wafers.