A Baker's Dozen Reasons Why Sourdough Bread is good for you!

Baked Sourdough Bread from The Garry Farm

 1. Sourdough often has a lower glycemic index than that of other breads–meaning, it doesn’t spike blood sugar as dramatically. This is because it depletes damaged starches within it, simply by its fermentative nature.

2. Sourdough bread contains the bacteria Lactobacillus in a higher proportion to yeast than do other breads. More Lactobacillus means higher production of lactic acid, which means less of the potentially dangerous phytic acid. And what does that mean? More mineral availability and easier digestion!

3. Easier digestion is made even more possible by the bacteria-yeast combo working to predigest the starches in the grains. Predigestion by sourdough = less digestion for you.

4. Sourdough preparation is more lengthy (triple leavening, lengthy kneads.) This longer prep time results in the protein gluten being broken down into amino acids. Again, this translates to easier and more pleasant digestion, sometimes even for those who are sensitive to gluten.

5. Acetic acid–which inhibits the growth of mold, is produced in the making of sourdough. So, sourdough naturally preserves itself. Isn’t that amazing?  The is produced by the extreme kneading so necessary in the making of sourdough

Picture of bread during its final rising

6. The fermentation process increases the content of beneficial bacteria in the bread AND the gut. 

Sourdough in the "rising" bowl getting ready to do some rising.  1/2 will be retained for more baking later

7. Additionally, these bacteria control yeast population in the gut, so yeast overgrowth and infection is less likely to occur.

8. The integrity of sourdough is very complex that it contains a host of goodness nutrients. In sourdough, you can find vitamins B1-B6, B12, folate, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin E, selenium, iron, manganese, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and potassium–in addition to uniquely balanced proteins and fatty acids.  This is in contrast to most commercially produced breads, which maintain only a fraction of their original nutrient content after all the processing they undergo and those breads often add artificial vitamins.

9. Sourdough bread made with wild yeast, bacteria, and whole grain flour is the oldest and most original form of leavened bread. It truly is an ancient art that is crafted in harmony with nature. It’s only natural that we eat it as opposed to other breads.

10. And farm/natural food guru Michael Pollan made his own sourdough in The Omnivore’s Dilemma 

11. The Garry Farm sourdough starter is the wild yeast Kind on the farm, our bread features local organic non gmo grains as well as other freshly ground organic wheatberries .

12.  Our bread contains NO yeast (it makes its own),  preservatives or additives and is very versital – using it to eat or toast if you prefer and serve with cheeses, or as baby pizzas or appetizers, make a salad bowl of it or a soup bowl, make your own croutons or French toast!   

13.  Our bread goes through several leavenings and is hand kneaded and crafted. A time consuming process but so worth the outcome!

A loaf of homemade Sourdough gracing the Garry Farm Table

With much appreciation to the blog cooks interrupt us and to cheeseslave page  and to the medical research that has been done on sourdough by Canada on the how health is affected with Natural Sourdough.  Please remember we do not offer medical advice. We are farmers and bakers and jam makers!  Please check with your doctor about your diet and feel free to share this with him/her when you do. Have a blessed day!

Four legged and two legged predators attack The Garry Farm

Wild and crazy weekend completed!  Major four legged predators on farm - so far 3 raccoons are no longer going to ravage our poultry. Raccoons ravage a farm, and although we have mobile tractors and guards, once a raccoon decides it's a chicken banquet there is so little to do other than remove a predator from the farm... 

The bigger/"badder" predator are the two legged kind.

We were also challenged by two legged predator(s) over the weekend.  Someone(s) attempted charges at Walgreens and grocery locations in the Dekalb County area.  They got away with nothing & safe to assume not even a store manager was called as the attempted runs were back to back in a short radius. These human(s) were certainly not as smart as our four legged predators.who were prowling to eat, for food and they were not going to take more than they could eat.   Their attempted charges were more than our farm spends on groceries for a year... This was not food/beverages for an emergency feeding.  This was probably funding a major party somewhere or resellable goods. The only charge temporarily approved was for wendy's.... That will be lifted after we verify that was not us.  

My hubby thinks I'm obsessing over this.  No, No, I am not!Hubby took care of the credit card mess. Although to my knowledge, no police report apparently will be made, or tapes of checkouts made as far as we know and that this will be another write off, my guess is this was a hard core group that knew these were forged cards.  It is as if it was "no big deal"....

I care about the attempted credit card thievry, but not for the reasons most think I do.  I wish I had been behind the human(s) at Wendy's and saw my name on "your card".  I would have invited you to sit with me.  I would have explained you are not me, but for the Grace of God, I could be right where you are.   I would attempt to explain what "Thou Shall Not steal" means and How God loves you, no matter what.   The cost of the Wendy's meal is NOT important.  Your soul is.   I pray for you all of  you.  What humans did not see, God did.  I grieve for you and as I type this I cry for you.  I doubt that you were buying things to help others or to stop a starving family. But if I had been there, I would have sat with you and talked with you and shared with you that LIFE is nothing without God. That you can lay down anything that is Evil or keeps you from the full light of living in the Light and Joy of God's path. . That all are sinners and God forgives us... That your Life Starts afresh because of God's sacrifices for you .  I wish you would contact me.  I hope that somewhere along the way, you bump into this blog or even get it forwarded to you by a Gangsta who thinks it's funny or old fashioned....  We need to talk or someone out there needs to talk or lead you to Light and Truth and God's Love.   

To my human predator(s), I do want to thank you for the blessing of letting me share this with others.  Through your acts, maybe we can all look at what we need to cast down and away from our lives.   God turns all to the Good for those that Love Him.  He says so in Romans 8:28 " And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."  and I believe Him . He loves you no matter your sins.   Please hear Him.....  

no matter what God loves you....... John 3:16 is not a song or a singing group.  It is real........and freely given.          LITLA

 

How do birds fly and talk at the same time? How do they breathe?

Lifelong learning is my "gig".  I love to learn something new and share it and on the farm, there is always something that comes along. Pic Borrowed from Bird Breathing without specific permission.  Tried to get in touch with them but their link is dead? Hope they are okay!

As a child I would look at birds and wonder how they flew so fast and far and never stopped to breathe.   I would pretend to be a bird and flap my human wings, fast as I could.  I couldn't understand how they could breath and fly.

Now, I understand.  The knowledge base expands.   as a fellow blogger Floyd explained in his blog "Chickens (and all birds) have a respiratory process that is quite un-mammalian and not surprisingly related to their high metabolic rate and the physics and blood chemistry associated with flight. Their lungs are not like ours, lacking the tiny permeable alveoli where gas exchange takes place" So what does that mean?

Air does come in through their nose, known as their nares and their mouth as well..  But guess what, poultry inhale and exhale at the same time.  They are taking in oxygen even as they breathe out.  

Why? Birds have no diaphram... Really. Without a diaphram, the air goes into their tummy area and can make that area vulnerable to whatever they are breathing in?   Remember the parakeet in the Coal Mine?   The parakeet quickly gets the toxin in and gives a little bit of time for those miners to get out!!!   It may look like poultry are breathing from their backside but they are not, this is the result of a lot of muscle activity related to breathing.

The downside of the birds system of breathing which is through their small little capallaries called alveoli.   They can get more oxygen than a human at the same "weight" but the toxins can be so bad for them..... So.......... What is the learning piece to take away from this. 

Several,  efficiency of air control and wings make for the ability of birds to fly long distances or distances at all.  (Body weight affects this too)  Heavy turkeys can fly, just not very well or sustain it.   

Take away learning for homesteaders, bird lovers, students, and more

1.Squeezing a bird too tightly (and NOT just around the neck), can cause respiratory failure - death and/or respiratory problems

2. Health of your ground affects your birds.  Birds that you keep are at a low level (usually ground level and then maybe with coops)....... Your shoes with oil, gasoline or even salts from ice roads can mean sickness and death if you use them in their area.   Runoff from your leaking car if parked near them can be toxic.   Unused feed that molds becomes toxic

3.Trying to catch a bird that is eating or drinking cause cause aspiration pneumonia.  Yup, just wait until they finish eating or drinking.

4.You can now explain to everyone why wild geese can fly and "talk" at the same time.
Be grateful not to be a bird, although their system moves more efficiently than us humans, it is actually double ours, They breathe in/out/out/in for our cycle of in and out air.  This means they are body muscular for the "flying" birds.  Now for the non fliers - such as heritage, or other heavy weight birds like heritage ducks, they don't get as muscle bound as early.

 5. For homesteaders, for those birds that do can easily get "muscle bound" even at a young age (the fliers and runners especially), this is why when you harvest birds for your table, they need to be at a younger age or pull out the soup pot. Now this is even true for those birds you get at the grocery store or other locations.  Now in days long gone by, the slow cooked chicken and dumplings was the answer for the too many roos on the farm questions.

If you crave even more information there is an awesome page here on the Bird Rspiratory System.   Fascinating reading... Have a blessed day!  Bird Respiratory System Ornithology BIO 554/754   ff
T In mammals,
respiratory cycle is necessary.
 

"Romeo, Romeo whereforth art thou Romeo?????"

This eloquent phrase first crafted by William Shakespeare so many years ago in that wonderful Romeo and Juliet work, Act II, Scene II. Most think of humans......

In our little farm, the image that comes to mind is our Romeo is a gorgeous Lamancha buck bought as a baby buckling from a dear friend Autumn, from Raven's Haven, winner of so many goat awards!  My human Romeo (Jacque), also my husband, wanted to get him for his great attitude and His coloring and diversification of Lamancha lines.!!!  We were blessed to get him and his offspring have been GORGEOUS!

Yesterday we went to sell at impromptu farmers market, and that pm, my human Romeo found our goat Romeo wandering around near his pen......   He was easy to bring back to his large pen, but my heart was beating being by him, because this is still mating season for milk goats and this Romeo smelled to "high heaven".  When someone says someone smells like an old goat, you really should smell a buck in heat to know what they are talking about.   AND if you are on a farm, anytime between say July and about March..... Back away from the male goats because you might get an unexpected happening and you will need two or maybe three showers and a change of clothing too!  I apparently had a coat on yesterday that I had visited our milk goats in and their scent drove Romeo wild! 

Last night I dreamed of Romeo the goat getting loose and running after me.  And today, on Sunday, a day of rest, this is what I saw.   Romeo in the front Yard while Hubby was trying to leave for a meeting.  Jacque secured Romeo (the goat) and walked him back to former Delawareville, now High fence residence to one Delaware rooster who wants to know what is this thing in HIS pen.  Promises to be an interesting afternoon.   Now, my dreams are not always predictive.  I am not Joseph the dream weaver.  I suppose one could say that I went to sleep and my subconscious played out its concerns.     Had Jacque been a little later in leaving for the meeting, perhaps I would have seen Romeo walking/running and in my trying to get him, he might have decided a game of chase would have been fun.....

Well for now, unless Romeo practices a super high jump, he is safely penned, although if he is really smart, there is a spot above the gate to his pen that he could back to the far end of the pen and jump over.   I think I'll just go sit by Romeo's pen until Hubby gets home.

There is one thing that life on a farm NEVER IS:   Boring........  

The farmer who gave His All for His farm!

Today, in 2015, it is time for a little education but also some levity and so we begin.....We are a thrifty farm and my husband lets me cut his hair and sometimes do a beard trim too!  For the price of an occasional new hair trimmer, about once every other year,  $17 to $20 on sale it is a savings of a lot of money and we can work in appointments really easily.  So I'm guessing yesterday saved about $26 plus gasoline and time.  Sometimes the hair salon doesn't want us to walk in as our shoes track soo much dirt! But more importantly I got to be creative and and I got the "locks" for an important project!!!

Now this was the top part of the hair that needed cutting....from the last real hair cut I did. I fell behind my hair cutting and he had to go to a pro shop.  So this time it was not quite as long or curly!  Here is a before shot on yesterday's cutting Chez Nancy Hair Salon

I like those curly but Hubby likes a #2 hair cut and that's short short short.  And he doesn't like moustaches to "sieve" the soup... So it was a hair cut and beard trim!  And because we were not trimming outside due to rain, I got HIS Hair for the compost pile!!!!   It will become dirt in probably a matter of weeks!!!! How cool is that!

This is his hair ready to go to compost......

So I guess you could say that our farm recycles and composts almost everything we can think of!!!!!  And here's a happy farmer with his New "do" and beard trim.....What an appreciative guy! So blessed....   All's well that ends well....  And don't forget to tend your compost pile.   You are making earth..... So much fun on the farm or even under your sink, just don't forget you have it there!!!!

 

What is this Celebration Cake of The Garry Farm All about.......??

Sometimes we need to celebrate life.   It may not always be the momentous beautiful wondrous birthday of age 84 where The Garry Farm celebration cake was delivered by her daughter Jane Griffin to her sweet mother Doris Chestnut in Alabama.  I hear that Doris enjoyed the love of her family but also her cake two times that day.

I can see where the gals in the family get their wonderful great looks, beautiful hair, face, smile, spirit of love and kindness and JOY!  All are natural beauties and I'm so glad to count them as special friends of The Garry Farm! Jane Griffin, I love your dedication & love you show to your mother and what a joy you are to me at market!  Always so enthusiastic and Joy filled!   and the love continues through to Nikki and her family too!

Then there is celebration of Zinnia's first birthday.... A special picture of her time with the candle, the cake and the camera!   Truly a farm birth and youngun and already helping mom and dad build their home!  Busy as a bee fits here and this picture of one of zinnias on the farm is a perfect match and have to share!

Please remember these little cakes are for celebrating lives.  Sometimes, we just need to celebrate the fact that we made it through the week ..... or even the hour...or to another benchmark year!

We have criteria for all the food made in The Cookery....  That it is made with Love and hand crafted in small batches, That it reflected natural goodness and simplicity and incorporated farm items and that our recipes are crafted and designed with joyful creativity.  This cake is moist and flavorful... Needs no topping but is happy toasted with preserves as a topping, or with a simple topping of fresh fruit, or even ice cream or cream/milk. SO like the small size as it is personal and assures we will savor the flavor without "over celebrating" So tomorrow we will be bringing 6 little cakes to market.... Who will celebrate with us?   Also bringing white chocolate chip cookies and amazing roasted red pepper cornbread featuring our cornmeal, local grown wheat berries, freshly ground in time for baking and also our roasted peppers! Recipes for the roasted red pepper cornbread are available. Most of ours are not.

Here's hoping you will enjoy your life.... Moment by moment and don't postpone all those pleasures until we are 100!  LITLA