This Little Piggy Went to the Freezer

Last Saturday, our friend & neighbor, Craig Biggers decided it was time to butcher one of his 2 Red Wattle pigs, "Beans" ("Pork" needs to get a little fatter, so he's safe for now).

Since Aaron and I would eventually like to have 1-2 pigs of our own, we asked if we could help.
Craig graciously let us tag along and help out in anyway we knew possible...which was limited.

The following pictures are for those interested in seeing all that goes into getting a small-farm hog onto your plates...BEWARE!!!!! THESE ARE GRAPHIC, so stop now if you have a weak stomach (on the right side of the screen, click on "Christmas 2010" to skip ahead)!

To everyone else, enjoy!

When H.W. was a little boy in Arkansas, his family would get up very early on hog-killing days. He'd be very hungry after a few hours, so his mother would let him have the "melt" out of the hog. I'm not sure what this is: I think it was right next to the stomach?

So, reliving his youth, H.W. cooked it over an open fire. It tasted kind of like bologna...after a generous sprinkling of salt!

Cutting the skin into cubes in order to render the lard. Heating the cubes separates the fat from the skin. The skin that's left over is called "cracklins" and can be put into cornbread batter to make "Cracklin Cornbread." The cracklins can also be reheated in the oven to make pork rinds--probably much better than you can buy at the gas station...and with no other preservatives besides salt!

My camera battery died, so I didn't get pictures of us grinding the lesser cuts into breakfast sausage.

**It was a fun & educational day, utilizing the old self-sufficient skills that have kept humans alive for centuries!

Homemade Christmas 2010

It was another fun Christmas, making a few simple gifts for the gals!

The apron I made for my mom out of her Grandmother's flat bed sheet...

The cloth napkins I made for my sis Rheagan and sis-in-law Adrienne. These were all made out of clean flat bed sheets...

A purple scarf for neice Ashley and a grey scarf and knitted dishclothes for sis-in-law Steph...

Can't wait for next year!

Christmas 2010

Oh what fun it is to ride...to your family's house for Christmas!

Another great time with the Hilburn and Stanley clan!

Brother-in-law Matt with his token pose!...James reading a blessing to little brother Trevor...Janey modeling the scarf I knit for sister Stephanie...

Little bro Trevor...Aaron the b-day boy (33!)...neice Ashley giving a shout out to the TMNT (old school, of course!)

Rheagan & Juan decided to drive from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. to Fair Grove, MO. this year (the returning trip was worst) and stayed for almost 2 weeks!

Jonas ready for a trip to Bass Pro...Elijah, Auntie, Rheagan and Jonas...Elijah and the Alligator Gar at Bass Pro ("is he steh-wee?")

Daddy and Elijah...Grandmother Stanley & Jonas...Christmas morning with new toys!

You're never too old to get a new toy for Christmas!

Jonas with his Great-Grandmother Gentry...Elijah on Uncle Aaron's tractor...looking at our nieghbor's pigs...

On the tractor with Papa...helping Auntie cook in the kitchen...

Here's hoping your Christmas was even better than ours!!

Raw Butter

I've been making our own butter for over a year. I make it in my food processor, which makes super-quick work of it. We love the taste of real butter and, since it's unpasteurized, all of the wonderful health benefits that come with raw food (http://westonaprice.org/food-features/519-why-butter-is-better).

I buy the milk from a local farmer, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight until the cream completely rises to the top and then skim off the cream (this is what you whip into butter)...


Here is cream from 1 gallon milk in January 2011. In the spring & fall, the cream will be much more yellow (and, therefore, so will the butter) due to the rapidly growing grass. Incedently, butter in the spring and fall contain a much higher amount of vitamins and as well as other good stuff.

The following pictures were taken last fall. As you can see, the cream is a brighter yellow.

After pouring some cream in the food processor, I let it whip anywhere from 6-15 minutes (depending on the temperature of the cream).

Now the cream has separated into 2 parts: butter & buttermilk. I pour the mixture into a colander, placed over a bowl that catches the buttermilk.

I squeeze the globs of butter a little and then place in a bowl of very cold water.

I "wash" the butter & squeeze out any leftover buttermilk several times until the water I squeeze out is relatively clear. I'm not too much of a stickler on this.

Now I have a lovely (albeit, visually imperfect) butter log that gets wrapped in plastic & frozen.

Oh, heavenly blob of butter, how I love you!