Honey Lavender Goat Milk Gelato

Santa Claus brought an ice cream maker and I'm working on recipes for future goat milk surpluses.
Since I love all things intriguing and culinary surprises, here is honey lavender goat milk gelato.


2 cups goat milk
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dried lavender
7 egg yolks

In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the milk with the honey and lavender. Bring the mixture just to a boil, making sure the honey has dissolved. Remove from heat and let the lavender steep for 3-5 minutes. (The longer it steeps-the stronger the lavender flavor.) Strain the mixture, reserve the honey milk and discard the lavender.

Meanwhile, whisk the yolks with the sugar until the mixture is pale yellow. Ladle some of the milk into the eggs whisking constantly. Repeat until half of the milk has been added to the eggs. Return the egg-milk mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. DO NOT BOIL. When the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon, remove pan from heat and strain into a bowl.

Place the bowl in an ice-bath and let stand until chilled.

Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

New Home

Francis is on his way to his new home in Landers, California.  I made the difficult decision to give him away after a lot of contemplation and much frustration. However, it's just not very practical (nor safe at times) to have him while I'm trying to grow my dairy herd.  His dietary needs are completely different than my pregnant does, he's a little too rough with them, and much to stubborn for his own good. 

He's going to live with 2 Nigerian dwarfs on 2.5 acres where all he has to do all day is be a goat.  He'll be a lovely pet and apparently his new owners are already enamored with him.

Au revoir Francis, you're quite the character.

Welcome Home

The girls are back home.  Although I anticipated a spectacle on par with Cirque de Soleil from Francis upon their arrival he was rather...disappointing to watch. He actually didn't do anything.  He looked at them drive up and calmly watched then walk into the pen. Of course I know he's happy they're back (he doesn't scream bloody murder when you leave him now) but he doesn't necessarily seem overjoyed.

The girls are as sweet as ever but have brought back with them the smell of a barn. Both are getting a bath this weekend.

Clover was bred on November 24th so if it didn't "take" I should know in the next few days. The breeder was a very nice woman but I truly hope they don't have to make the trip up there again this season.

Assuming both girls are pregnant we should be expecting our first kids on April 23, 2011 and May 5, 2011.

Imaginary Friends

A lovely friend of my mother's suggested that I put a mirror in the goat house to give Francis the sense that he isn't actually alone in the pen. (The little guy is still mourning the loss of his girls.) What a novel idea. 

I found a 3/4 length mirror and propped it up on one of the walls in his house. Francis promptly investigated then began to bite and butt at the reflection. He would stare at it, then run out of the house to see if he could catch the goat, then he'd run back in and begin the process all over again. I'm not sure if it actually gives him a sense of companionship but it definitely gives him something to do during the day.

One is the loneliest number

The girls are gone (for the time being) and Francis is absolutely devastated. The poor guy isn't eating and he's been crying so much he's made himself hoarse. When you go to the pen he talks for a few minutes then settles down...so long as you're in his eyesight.  The minute you get up to leave he begs you to stay.  He hasn't eaten a lot of hay the last few days but if you bring him romaine lettuce he'll gladly accept it. I've read lots of things that say goats are companion animals and need a friend.  Since I have three I didn't really see this as a problem.  However, now that he's only one it's painfully apparent. I keep telling him that the girls will come back but he's lost all faith in me. Here's hoping the breeding goes well and fast so the girls can come home soon.

The things we do for love...

Today was an interesting day. A long interesting day. Today we took the does to a farm 85 miles away to be bred. They hated every minute of it. However, it's a necessary step in the life cycle of a dairy goat. Doe meets buck, buck impregnates doe, doe has kids, owners get fresh goat milk.

My ingenious father built a cover for his F-150 truck so that we could transport the goats without the need for expensive and slow trailers. They luckily followed me right in since I was carrying a bowl of grain and they're pretty greedy when it comes to grain. After they loaded up and we began to move they started crying. I mean full-blown belting their discontent. I couldn't take it and rolled the windows up.

On our drive we encountered 30 mile per hour winds, rain, a 20 degree temperature change and a double rainbow.  When we arrived they were shivering and frightened. We got them settled into a stall, attempted to introduce Rosie to her mate and left. They cried and cried as we walked out the barn. That is, of course, until they realized they had fresh alfalfa in their pen.

Weights II

The last time I weighed the goats I used a traditional scale and the traditional method. I stepped on it with them then subtracted my weight and got the approximate weight for the goat.  Apparently you don't do this. I soon realized that when I nearly broke my back since they're so heavy. The way you're supposed to weigh goats doesn't use a scale at all.  In fact you measure around their chest and use a chart to determine approximate weight.

Clover clocked in at 30" = 84+ lbs
Rosie clocked in at 29" = 78 lbs

This chart comes from Fias Co Farm and can be found here.

Inches	Pounds		Inches	Pounds
10 3/4	5		26 3/4	66
11 1/4	5.5		27 1/4	69
11 3/4	6		27 3/4	72
12 1/4	6.5		28 1/4	75
12 3/4	7		28 3/4	78
13 1/4	8		29 1/4	81
13 3/4	9		29 3/4	84
14 1/4	10		30 1/4	87
14 3/4	11		30 3/4	90
15 1/4	12		31 1/4	93
15 3/4	13		31 3/4	97
16 1/4	15		32 1/4	101
16 3/4	17		32 3/4	105
17 1/4	19		33 1/4	110
17 3/4	21		33 3/4	115
18 1/4	23		34 1/4	120
18 3/4	25		34 3/4	125
19 1/4	27		35 1/4	130
19 3/4	29		35 3/4	135
20 1/4	31		36 1/4	140
20 3/4	33		36 3/4	145
21 1/4	35		37 1/4	150
21 3/4	37		37 3/4	155
22 1/4	39		38 1/4	160
22 3/4	42		38 3/4	165
23 1/4	45		39 1/4	170
23 3/4	48		39 3/4	175
24 1/4	51		40 1/4	180
24 3/4	54		40 3/4	185
25 1/4	57		41 1/4	190
25 3/4	60		41 3/4	195
26 1/4	63		42 1/4	200