Daisy, the new Toggenburg and Charity, the Anglo NubianWe finally have a new goat. We would have been happy with some mongrel beast with a set of good looking udders, but it was not to be. We ended up with Charity, Anglo Nubian royalty and a royal pain in the bum with it. She won first prize in the first milker section at the Royal Hobart Show probably a year or so back. But she became an uneven milker and she has one teat that needs a rebore it's so narrow. She takes forever to milk. That would be OK if it wasn't for the fact that she's behaved like such a cow the other goats will have nothing to do with her. She roars her displeasure constantly even after nearly a month of being on the property.
Daisy, our other newish goat, is young, unflappable, and ignores Charity's derision and continues to offer the hoof of friendshi. For her troubles she bites poor Daisy on the ear and generally shoves her around. Bella sees Charity coming, puts her head down and horns out and lets her know Butt out!
Still, we have 2.5 - 3 litres of milk a day, a fetta factory coming on and Charity has finally learnt how to jump into the goat palace for a milk (you think goats are agile, but it's not necessarily so).
On the up side she has a gentle character with humans, friendly with us as she is haughty with the Toggenberg's. She'll get there, but the next goat we buy won't cost $300 and will hopefully be a little less self-important.
4 comments:
Hi Linda,
Was wondering if you are interested in a French/American family living in France who have similar ideals. Last year the family did not buy anything except food and this year (from last September) not even buying food but growing, bartering etc. She has interesting tips and recipes and is currently writing a recipe book (her background is in cooking and lifestyle). She also writes freelance. One blog is on her food and the other on her family's journey to not spending money. I have also included (the second link) on photos of her family, cooking etc
http://frenchtoastfrance.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/81951381@N00/
http://garlic-breath.blogspot.com/
linda dont get ripped off buying overpriced
goats ranalaigh markets have good cheap goats
MOROCCAN GOAT
1 tbspn olive oil
750g goat shoulder, cut into 4-5cm cubes
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 can plum tomatoes, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
30g dried apricots, roughly chopped
Pinch of saffron
Goat or lamb stock or water
For the spice mixture
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground chilli
Maldon salt and freshly ground pepper
To garnish:4 tbsp finely chopped coriander
1/2-1 tsp of harissa paste
Zest and juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp honey
To Serve
300g pumpkin, peeled, chopped into 1-2 cm cubes and roasted in olive oil with a little seasoning.
Place the olive oil in a large saucepan or casserole pan and put it over a moderate-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion to the pan and sweat for one minute until transparent.
Place all the spice mixture ingredients in a bowl and mix together until combined.
Toss the goat in the spices so that it is well coated. Add the spiced goat and garlic to the pan and seal the goat on all sides so that it is browned.
Stir in the chopped tomatoes, cinnamon stick, apricots, saffron and enough stock to just cover the goat. Bring to the boil then reduce to a slow simmer. Leave the goat to cook for 1 - 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon (add more stock or water if the liquid is below the goat).
If the stew is too watery, drain off the excess liquid into a saucepan and reduce until thickened. Then return to the stew.
To finish:Stir in 3 tablespoons of the chopped coriander, harissa paste (more or less to taste), lemon zest, juice and honey.
To serve:Garnish with roasted pumpkin and scatter over remaining coriander.
Yep, had a good look at the frenchtoastfrance site - it's fantastic. Thanks Nicole. Anonymous if you can lead me to a better goat please tell me. We decided this morning that we will replace her with a quieter goat. Our neighbours have been very patient, but she starts 'roaring' at 6am and again at 4pm until we milk her. There's plenty of feed, but she's a talkative goat, the other two have had quite enough of her too.
And Harry, your post cracked me up. The subtle, 'if she's not to your taste, why not taste her' theme was appreciated in our house, and the recipe had even my tastebuds, which lean towards the vegetarian (but can't quite make it all the way) could appreciate. But we'll sell her off to someone with lots of land and a nice buffer zone between her, the house and the neighbours. Her milk does make an excellent cheese.
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