Love From the Kitchen

"Cooking is love made edible."  Our society is all about food......everything we do is centered around food.  I think most people would agree with this.  I mean, what do we do for others during times of grief & loss, recovery, or celebration?  One of the most popular things to do for people is to bake them food.  I have found for most of my life that when I want to do something for someone, I start thinking about what food I can prepare for them.  I tend to get more out of it than the people I'm fixing for. 

For the past couple of years my sweet Ava has really developed at love for cooking.  I'm so excited about this.  And while she's only 10 years old, I can see her following thru with this into adulthood.  I can already picture her with her own little bakery.  Because of this love for it, I try really hard to incorporate both my girls in the kitchen.

During the summer my girls did several day camps.  I believe Ava's favorite camp was culinary camp.  She's already planning to go back next summer.  This camp was Monday - Friday for 3 hours each day.  Each day was themed & they prepared a meal & dessert.  She enjoyed every minute of it & learned a ton of valuable information.  She even received a certificate of completion on Friday.

Right after culinary camp she was eager to share her recipes.  Thankfully Granna & Opa was excited to let her cook for them. 

I've decided to nurture this love of hers & get her in the kitchen helping me.  She loves when I ask her to help.  And Aubrey has even developed an enjoyment for cooking......not the same way as Ava, but she doesn't want to be left out.  

Our first bit of love from the kitchen was a delicious blueberry bundt cake.  I got the girls in the kitchen to get all the ingredients out.  They've learned quickly that it saves time & makes the work flow better if we have everything out & ready to go.  These girls couldn't wait to get started. 

They took turns adding ingredients & mixing them.  We preheated our oven to the convection setting 350*.  The girls greased the pan, then added the batter.

They were so very proud of what came out of the oven.

And don't tell my girls......but this is about so much more than baking.  At this point, this time together in the kitchen means a lot more to me than it does to them.  I'm cherishing every minute I have with them.  Everyday & in the kitchen.  Then one day, they'll be able to look back on our time baking & see what it was really all about. 

Goat's Milk Caramel Sauce.............YUM!!!!

When we bought our first goats almost a year and a half ago, we planned for them to mostly just be pets.  Our girls, Aubrey especially, had wanted goats for a while.  But we also wanted to get a breed of goat that would be beneficial for the farm in some way. We started looking into goat milk & found that there are lots of health benefits to it.  So, Jim decided to try to milk our goats. And boy was that an amazing decision.  

We don't drink a lot of milk by itself, but we do use milk to make lots of things.  We use it in baking recipes, we make kefir & yogurt, & we also started making caramel sauce.  OH. MY. WORD!!!  That caramel sauce is the best stuff ever!!  And because we made it ourselves it is so CLEAN & has only the best ingredients in it!!!  So, we first started using it on desserts, but then I used it in my coffee!!!  Let me just say that I am a coffee snob.......now more than ever.  This caramel sauce is the best coffee creamer I've ever used.  

I thought I would share with you how I make my homemade caramel sauce.  I start with 4 quarts of fresh goat milk, organic sugar, baking soda, & a large stock pot.

Into the pot I put the milk, 4 cups of sugar, & 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. I use a wooden spoon to mix it up.  Then I set the burner between 4 & 5 to start with.    I set the timer for 22 minute increments......I know that is a weird number, but it's just what worked for me.  And I have to set a timer or I'll get sidetracked doing something else & forget about my precious caramel sauce.  Trust me, that happened once & I cried when I scorched the caramel to the pot.  :'(  So, take my advice & set a timer.  This whole process is going to take 2-3 hours from start to finish.

We all know that working with raw milk can be tricky.  We have to cook it to a certain temperature to make it safe to drink.  The caramel sauce cooks for so long that it is nothing to worry about.......it will be completely safe for consumption by the time it is done.  Just to keep from contaminating things, it is a good idea after the first few stirrings, to get a clean wooden spoon to finish out the process. 

As the mixture cooks you will notice it changing color.  It will start turning to a caramel color.   After 2-3 hours, your caramel sauce is done........it will have reduced by 1/2 during the cooking process.  I like to pour my sauce into mason jars.  I let it cool a bit on the countertop & then I move it to the fridge.

Now you are ready to enjoy this deliciousness!!!!  I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a cup of coffee now!!!  YUM!!!