Doughnuts don't linger

My family was first introduced to Tony's Donuts at the Cumberland Fair several years ago. They are sold in the 4-H food booth during the fall fair and have been our favorite breakfast (or anytime) treat after animal chores and 4-H shows during the fair.

So when I was trying to find a way to thank my 4-H sheep farm friends who have been helping my daughter all week with her animals, I thought of Tony's. Most every 4-H family we know who goes to the Cumberland Fair likes those doughnuts.

I texted my girls to ask them what flavors to pick up for our friends and the girls put in their own orders.

My oldest daughter has a serious sweet tooth (it's a genetics thing she simply had no chance of escaping) and is not too discriminating with desserts. She likes them all. So it was no surprise to me to have received this text from her.

"Get a pastry that we have never gotten before if it looks good."

The problem with that request is that we've pretty much tried the majority of Tony's selections – creme horns, turnovers, eclairs, puffs, lemon squares, etc. I settled on the French toast apple boat for her (I could be wrong about the precise name but it included "French Toast" and "apple"). But I also picked up a couple of our family favorite standbys – molasses and chocolate donuts and crullers.

I bought a couple of dozen doughnuts for our friends and figured when I got home I'd snap a quick picture of the selections I picked out for my family for this post (pictures are always good to add to a blog post don't you know).

But my farm friends were already at my house when I pulled in to my driveway so I was distracted from the sweets. A couple of hours later, and thank you gifts doled out to friends, I realized I never did get that blog picture of my own family's selections. By then though, I was out of luck.

"Well, you can take a picture of this," my youngest daughter said of the last remaining bite of the half dozen items I had purchased from the shop.

I guess if readers of my blog want to see the tasty treats and doughnuts at Tony's, you're just going to have to go there yourself. My family doesn't want to share.

Got milk? yes and no

I could talk about how much cow milk my family drinks in a week – about 4 to 5 gallons among the four of us. Or how I buy my milk from my friend who has a Jersey dairy cow that gives us the creamiest, tastiest milk we’ve ever had.

Or I could talk about the kids visiting a friend who raises dairy goats. She has given my kids a few lessons on milking goats. We have learned – thanks to those lessons – that buying pre-packed goat milk from the grocery store tastes absolutely nothing like fresh-from-the-farm goat milk. It’s truly delicious when you find a local source.

But no. What I am going to talk about are the efforts of my 14-year-old (and the rest of the family) this week trying to help my daughter's 4-H sheep, Minnie, feed her newborn lambs.

We’re not sure what exactly happened to Minnie’s udder but it is mastitis-like (without the fever) and milk is not flowing out correctly. So my daughter and I have been learning on the fly how to milk a sheep as best we can to get things working again.

If you’ve never milked, let me tell you that it’s not easy for the novice. Truly. It requires a special technique that takes a while to master. With a dairy cow you have a handful of teat to hold but milking a sheep is a challenge because there isn’t much to grab on to. Factor in a blockage that creates pain for the animal, along with the lack of a milking stand and no experience milking (animal or human) and you’ve got quite a task on your hands. 

We have fumbled our way through the week milking Minnie round the clock and giving supplemental bottles to the lambs until things are working again.

And in case you were wondering, we are not fans of sheep milk. The smell alone is a big turn off and I doubt our love of dairy will extend to our wooly friend's supply.

But because of this experience we now have much more appreciation for amount of work it takes to get every cup of our favorite Jersey cow's milk to the kitchen table.

Yes, the lambs are drinking milk from soda bottles. A farm friend gave it to us because the nipples she had were made for one. We've had a few chuckles about this since we don't generally drink soda at our house.

Minnie and her lambs out for a walk with the idea that llke humans, a little movement might get mama sheep's milk flowing better.

One time treat begs for more

The girls pack lunches during the week for school and sometimes dinner for their various evening activities. So by the time Saturday comes around, there’s often not much in the way of lunch-making items. But they need a packed lunch because they have all-day Saturday art classes. Actually, I use the time they’re in their art class to do my weekly food shopping.

Recently I’ve fallen in to the trap so many parents do with picking up pre-made food on the go. There are some good healthy choices at grocery stores these days but it is still much cheaper to make your own lunch at home. But my kids really like the store options.

My 14-year-old's favorite go-to food at the grocery store is sushi and she begs for it regularly. For now, I’ve compromised with a once a week purchase due to the expense of the single item.

 

My 16-year-old has taken a liking to Trader Joe’s Santa Fe Style Chicken Flatbread Wrap. It has grilled chicken, cheese, corn, peppers and black beans. She’s not a big bean fan but mixed in with some meat and cheese, this flatbread wrap is a hit in her book. I like the small nutritional fiber boost the sandwich offers so I believe her choice is a good one.

The problem with these Saturday lunch requests is that I have to stop at two different grocery stores to buy each daughter’s preferred item. You see Trader Joe’s doesn’t have white rice California rolls. My 14-year-old doesn’t care for brown rice and her argument for the compromise is a valid one.

“If I can only get sushi sometimes, I want the kind I really like.”

And the truth is if I’m going to shell out $6.99 for a tray of sushi, I would prefer to not argue about it – or set myself up with my lawyer-like child to debate the merits of a second stop for white rice sushi.

I know how I ended up in this situation yet I started the ‘tradition’ of Saturday eating "out" and continue to indulge the kids with their request. I can’t find a lot of fault with the choices from a health standpoint. It’s not like they’re begging for an order of French fries with a double cheeseburger.

So until these Saturday art classes are over (in May!), I’m going to start my Saturday morning lunch pick-up at two different grocery stores.