Holiday Memories Sprinkled With Love

A couple of weeks ago my oven suddenly developed an F-5 error message that required a house call from the oven specialist. It was a feeling of desperation when the repairman announced it would be eleven days before he would return for the final repair. The silver lining to this eleven day cloud was the fact that it didn't happen on Thanksgiving morning or during the holiday season!

As a temporary solution for baking our lunch, I decided to drive down the road to my son's house to borrow his oven. Cody lives in the house where his grandparents lived for sixty-five years. Just opening the back door and stepping into the house brought a flood of memories of special holidays and time spent together as a dairy farm family. As I turned on the oven and placed the smoked pork chops into the oven to bake, my thoughts turned to the sweet memories of the meals prepared in this kitchen by my mother-in-law. It didn't matter if it was the bowl of spicy chili served late after chores on a cold,snowy night or the largest spread of food at Thanksgiving, every recipe had a sprinkling of love and was prepared with the intent to nourish your body and soul.

Even though we will be milking and caring for our cows everyday through the holiday season on the dairy farm, I look forward to preparing the special family recipes that are holiday traditions for my family. Holiday memories will continue to be made on our dairy farm with a sprinkle of love from the cook!

Hazelnut Cafe-au-Lait

Hazelnut Cafe-au-Lait
Ingredients
3 cups 1% low-fat milk
2 cups brewed coffee
3 tablespoons hazelnut-cocoa spread (like Nutella,found near peanut butter)
Dash ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons whipped cream

Preparation
Microwave milk,coffee and hazelnut spread in a large,heat-proof glass bowl on high for 2 minutes or until mixture is hot,not boiling. Whip with a hand mixer or whisk until frothy.  Pour into 3 serving cups. Top with whipped cream or dust with cinnamon.

Substitution Idea: To save time, use a can of pressurized whipped cream to top the drink.

With the chill in the air and the holiday season just around the corner, this recipe appealed to my coffee loving tastebuds!  You can find a great assortment of holiday recipe ideas at http://www.dairymakessense.com/.

Well-Cow Check-ups

Yesterday was a scheduled day for the veterinarian to examine our dairy cows in the milking herd. It could be compared to well-baby check-ups only on the dairy farm it happens at least once a month and continues through the life of the cow. We actually call these exam days--herd health. Although Dr. Gary comes monthly for herd health, monitoring the health of our cows is our responsibility everyday.

On our farm herd health check-ups occur in a special exam area called the management rail. This special exam area is basically an alley with a rail on each side and a gate on each end. After being milked, the cows walk from the milk barn to the management rail. Ten cows will be walked into the alley in single file and positioned side to side so the vet can examine them.  After the exams are finished on each set of cows, the gate is opened and the cows will walk to the feed barn to eat,drink water, and then return to the pasture to rest.

My job on herd health day is to be on the front end of the cow, reading the cow's tag number,  providing information to the vet about each cow such as breeding date or health issues that we are following and recording all the exam results. Most of our exams yesterday were to determine which cows were pregnant.

Well-cow check-ups , like  well-baby check-ups, are  important to the health of the cows. By working closely with our veterinarian to provide periodic check-ups, vaccinations and prompt treatment of illness, our cows are healthy and comfortable.  We're committed to providing high-quality milk and that begins with taking good care of our cows everyday.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Fall weather in Northwest Arkansas has been perfect for the many harvest  jobs that must be completed on the dairy farm. These square bales of hay will be fed to young calves on our farm through the winter.  I'm thankful for  the technology and machinery that we have on the farm that make tasks like square baling easier and more efficient.

Attributes of an Ayrshire

Last week, Roxanne,Cody's Ayrshire cow, gave birth to a beautiful red and white heifer calf. Roxanne is special to all of us because she is the daughter of an Ayrshire heifer that Cody purchased the last year he was in 4-H as part of his dairy herd project. Roxanne was born and raised on our farm and is now the fourth Ayrshire to be milking  in our mostly black and white Holstein herd.

Here are some facts about the Ayrshire dairy breed:

• originated in Scotland
• brought to the United States in 1822
• reddish to brown mahogany color with white
• average cow weighs 1000-1300 lbs.
• easy calving and longevity
• strong
• adapt to all management systems
• have vigorous calves
• produce moderate butterfat and relatively high protein milk
• efficient grazer
• adapt to less than ideal conditions

Roxanne was enjoying resting in the pasture this afternoon when I went to take her picture.  I would add photogenic to her list of attributes!

Chocolate Milk--Trick or Treat?

Chocolate milk is stated to be the official drink of Halloween but low-fat chocolate milk is a nutritious treat any day of the year.  Low-fat or fat-free chocolate milk contains the same nine essential nutrients as white milk and strikes a balance between good nutrition and good fun. It's a fact--Milk provides nutrients essential for good health, and kids drink more when it's flavored.

Many parents have concern about the sugar content of flavored milk but on average, flavored milk contributes only 3% of total added sugars and only 2% of total calories to the diets of children ages 2 to 18 years.  In the last five years, the dairy industry has responded to these concerns by reducing the added sugar of flavored milk.  According to information from the National Dairy Council (http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/), research has shown that kids that drink flavored milk:

• drink more milk overall and have better quality diets
• meet more of their nutrient needs
• do not consume more added sugar,fat or calories
• are not heavier than non-milk drinkers

You can find more information about flavored milk at http://www.midwestdairy.com/. 

                   I hope you have a safe and happy Halloween  and enjoy dairy treats all year long!

Happy Halloween Holiday Salad

Holiday Salad is a recipe that my Dad made  for every holiday meal. The original recipe uses wild strawberry jello but since Halloween is Monday, I substituted orange jello.  I like this recipe because it's easy and can be prepared ahead. 


Holiday Salad

1- 15 oz. crushed pineapple
1 - 3 oz. orange jello 
1 -small carton small curd cottage cheese
1 -8oz. Cool Whip

Heat pineapple to boiling; stir in jello until disolved. Let partially set in refrigerator. Add cottage cheese and Cool Whip,stirring till mixed well.  Place in serving dish and chill.


Hope you have a safe,fun Halloween!