Eat Like A Pagan - For Everything There is A Season

Today I have taken some raw milk from our goats and am starting my own yogurt/buttermilk/cheese culture. In an effort to do things as naturally and simply as possible I am not using anything other then the normally occurring bacteria in the milk itself.

To do this is simple – pour the raw milk into a glass jar, cover it loosely with a lid and allow the jar to sit out at room temperature for 24 to 30 hours until the mixture thickens and clumps into a culture.

Shake the jar once or twice and then pour off the cultured milk into an ice cube tray and freeze. Each cube then becomes a starter and can be taken out – placed into some fresh milk – voila – instant meophilic bacteria to start a batch of cheese or some other delicious food.

This week because we are fasting (some of us) there will be a little extra milk – so the plan is to attempt different kinds of cheese and perhaps yogurt. SO, I can’t wait to have enough milk saved up to give it a go!

Milk has become such an important part of our diets and lives – but not because we drink so much of it. Quite the opposite in fact. It has become important because we are connected to where it comes from, and we enjoy interacting with and raising our goats.

What is quite interesting is we have adjusted our eating, diets, lifestyle to enjoy what we have when we have it – if it’s a little amount of milk, that’s what we use and we budget for it. Sharing out the milk for cereal, baking and cooking. It’s the same with eggs, vegetables and meat.

When there are an abundance of eggs, we all eat eggs (more often and in more things). When we have a celebration of some sort, an animal such as a turkey, young goat or duck might be killed for our meal – but only what we need.

However, we also prepare for leaner times by preserving some of the extra foods when they are harvested. Thus my interest in making cheese (preserving milk), drying herbs, honey and raising animals for food. 

Last week we had lots of greens sprouting (leaves, sprouting broccoli, spring onion) and herbs to be harvested in the garden – salads and fresh herbs were added to our food and meals all week. But some were also made into meals that were then frozen. 

What I am finding is when you live your life following the natural rhythms and cycles of nature – you eat what is available, when it is ready and in the quantities you have - thus creating less stress on your digestive processes (and your budget).

You are also learning to wait for your food, to be disciplined in your eating and then to really enjoy all that you are given. It’s not Christmas everyday – but there are enough feasts and reasons to celebrate throughout the year, which are well worth the wait.

It really is true – for everything there is a season.

April 

Herbs in jar for vinegar!