My family got me a hand-crank flour grinder for Christmas. I'm resisting grinding up every grain the house. This mill isn't so easy to turn as liquid, but it's not so hard that our nine-year olds can't do it.
The best part is that the flour we are getting is noticeably finer than what we were getting with our KitchenAid grinder. The bread kneads easier and holds together better. Pie crusts roll out easily at whatever thickness we want. It's fully adjustable so we can still do a course grind for pizza and cereal.
We set the timer so each person takes a one-minute turn and then the next person jumps in. The four-and-a-half cups of wheat that we need for two loaves of bread took each of us about three turns.
I think I have finally figured out caramels. These turned out smooth, rich, and perfectly firm. Mix 2C sugar, 3/4 C corn syrup, 1/2 C butter, and 1 C cream in saucepan over medium heat. After it starts boiling, gradually add another cup of cream. We brought it up the point that it held together when dropped in cold water, which was only 221ºF. Pour it in a buttered 8x8 pan and let it cool completely.
We have discovered that cleaning out the cow shed is much faster with Christina out of it. Our teenage daughters take her for a walk in the pasture while we get it cleaned. When it's done they unhook the rope and they all walk in. Christina knows her candy is waiting for her and she usually makes it back first.
She goes straight for her stanchion and we milk.
I've noticed that we rarely have to ask Christina to move her legs anymore when we're milking. She used to have a leg forward often, which made it impossible to milk the back quarter. Every single milking one of us would be pulling on a leg to get her to move it. Now, she may have a leg forward, but as soon as I swing the pail under her, she backs that leg up out of the way. What a good cow!
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