Tulips

I have a lot of tulips blooming right now!

Linking to Alphabe-Thursday where the letter of the week is T.

The Round Bale Arrives

I’m entering all new territory with the goats.  I can’t let them out to pasture until the fence is replaced on the south border, and that won’t happen until May.  I don’t have many square bales of hay left, so I’m bringing in the big round bale.

Well, my sweet nephews brought it and set it up last night.  We put cattle panels around the bale and removed the plastic sheeting.  The goats (and llama) were quick to test it out.

sisters Harley and Haley; Maggie to the right

It seems to have met with approval.

Muffin and daughter Jelly

In typical goat fashion, however, some goats have to try and dig in as far as possible to find that most tasty morsel.

Victoria

Silly miss Sallie had her head stuck this morning.  It’s a lot easier to get the horns in rather than out.  Later, she was more civilized and eating from the edge of the hay.  Others seem to think the farther up the better tasting it must be.

Jelly standing up

Maggie

Vinnie and Victoria were stretching as far as they could.

Muffin and Jelly; Victoria and Vinnie

Each day, I’ll check to see if I need to tighten the panels around the hay.  I don’t want them to think they have to put those heads all the way through.

Having a mid-morning snack

I really hope this is successful for feeding the goats until they can get out in the pasture.  I’m not sure how long one bale will last, but we have two more that they can also eat before I’m just out of food for them.

Maggie

Heck, if it works, this might be the way to go for next winter because round bales are a lot less labor intensive to make.  Has anyone out there tried using round bales for goats?

Linking to Alphabe-Thursday where the letter of the week is S.

Linking to Thankful Thursday.

Linking to Rural Thursday hosted by Nancy at A Rural Journal and Lisa at Two Bears Farm.

Asparagus Quiche

It’s time for Alphabe-Thursday’s letter Q.  That’s a hard letter.  It’s also getting close to spring when I look forward to new green plants growing.  I figured it would be the perfect time to share the reicpe I did last spring for asparagus quiche.

Start with the crust.  I just mixed it in the pan I was using.  I use the square baking dish rather than a real quiche or pie pan.  Put one cup of flour in the pan.  Cut 1 1/2 cups shortening into the flour.

Add 1/2 cup of water and mix it together.

Press the crust into the pan.

You can set this aside while you make the filling.  Chop 1/2 cup of celery, 1/2 cup of mushroom and 1/2 cup of onion.  You also need 1 cup of asparagus tips.

Sautee the mushroom, onion, and celery in some olive oil.  Add the asparagus and sautee until the veggies are just tender

You can spread the vegetables over the crust and set them aside.

To  mix the custard filling, you need six eggs.

Add 1 1/2 cups of milk and mix thoroughly.

To the egg and milk add 1 teaspoon of salt, a dash of pepper and 2 tablespoons of flour.  Mix it thoroughly with the whisk.

Grate two cups of swiss cheese.

Add this to the egg mixture.

Pour this over the vegetables in the crust.

Sprinkle the top with ginger.

Bake the quiche in a 350* oven for about one hour.

Honestly, I wasn’t too thrilled with the way it turned out, but I don’t like to waste food, and it wasn’t bad.  The next day as leftovers, however, it was wonderful!  Letting it sit allowed all the flavors to blend.  I’m certainly going to make this again this spring.

Linking to Alphabe-Thursday hosted by Jenny Matlock where the letter of the day is Q.

Linking to Rural Thursday hosted by Nancy at A Rural Journal and Lisa at Two Bears Farm.