Zinnia’s school had an egg hunt yesterday at which the “Easter Bunny” made an appearance. The Producer fled with her bucket, a similar reaction to the one she had at their Christmas party with Santa. I realized that she has an innate sense of facade, a trait kids seem to share. But adults tell them to stifle it, “come on it’s just fun,” and then when we get older we simply turn that into, “what are you, a conspiracy theorist?!” I have also noticed that The Producer has an innate desire to participate and help around the farm. I can see how parents would say, “I’ll just do it myself because kids are messy, awkward, take forever, etc” but once again we have discouraged what could turn into the curiosity of an adult who is engaged in his or her community. Just some thoughts on this Easter weekend. Being a parent continues to teach me so much about why Jesus said, “Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” For those of you celebrating the empty tomb today, hosanna! One of my favorite verses in John is the very last line, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.“
I love making sauerkraut with kids. They enjoy every part of it and get interested in fermented foods at a young age, which kickstarts taste buds geared for a healthy adulthood. It’s incredibly easy to do! Fermented foods are packed with probiotics, vitamins and minerals. They restore your gut health, which is the center of all health. Please drop your favorite fermented food recipe in the comments. Here’s how we make sauerkraut.
🥬 One large head of cabbage, remove outer leaves.
🥬 Rinse under cold water.
🥬 Cut out the core and slice into thin pieces.
🥬 Put in a bowl and pour 1-3 tablespoons of sea salt on it.
🥬 Mash the cabbage in the bowl, use your hands, a muddler or a wooden spoon. (This is the fun part for kids!)
🥬 Once cabbage pieces are almost half the size they were, and you have a good amount of liquid in the bowl, transfer to your fermentation container.
🥬 Add water to cover the cabbage and use weights to keep it below the water level.
🥬 Add dill or anything ...
Did you know that chickens love milk? Whenever our goats knock over a jar while we are milking them, we give the remainder to the chickens as a treat. They go crazy for it. It has a lot of protein, which gives them a boost for winter nutrition, and calcium, which is great for strengthening egg shells. Raw milk is also given to chickens at times to aid with gut disorders because of the beneficial bacteria and enzymes. Plus, our chickens just love it! Anyone else do this?
