Week of December 25, 2022 – Spicy Christmas Berries & Swift Return of a Temperate Clime

(Above: Chiltepin garden on the icy morning of 12/25/2022.)

12/25/2022: Today began in the low 20s and warmed into the high 40s. Sunny throughout.

Dawn of 12/25/2022: One of the morning’s first tasks was to straighten the troughs in the calf lane to prepare them for feeding.
The troughs were filled a brief time later, and a herd of calves gathered to enjoy the feast.
Chiltepin garden on the icy morning of 12/25/2022.
A Christmas Morning task: Making two blueberry pies. I took my time and had plenty of dough. It was a peaceful and artistic endeavor.
Pie crusts ready for filling.
Assembled pies ready for the oven.
To aid in rising, Doug joined me in the warm office of Jacobhouse.
The baked Blueberry pies. One was brought to Grandma’s house, and the other was given to Gregorio (family friend) to share with his family.
Chiltepin pepper plants under ice (i.e. Spicy Christmas berries).
Christmas lunch at Grandma’s house: Uncle- Neal-made-Pork-Ribs, Madre-made salad & corn, and Jacob-made bread & BBQ sauce. It was a terrific repast.
To conclude lunch, I had a finger-sized piece of blueberry pie with a dollop of whipped cream. The only sweetener used in this recipe was Monkfruit & Stevia. It needed nothing else (and it was delicious).
After resting and helping with some farm tasks, it was time for dinner of 12/25/2022. Fried chiltepin & garlic eggs alongside a Padre-made green salad topped with purple onion. Quite light, which was welcome on account of lunch’s plenteousness.
Christmas dessert: Three cannoli-cups. The pastry and filling were homemade, and the chocolate was shaved from an 86% dark cocoa bar.
The pastry was light and chewy almost akin to a croissant. As for the filling, it was rich & not too sweet. The shaved dark-chocolate on the top made for an excellent garnish and granted a chocolate flavor that really paired well with the other two parts of the dessert.
Despite our having just eaten dessert, Padre and I were still a little hungry. So, we sliced one of the pears my brother sent. It was juicy and much sweeter than the pastry I had just enjoyed.

12/26/2022: Began in the high 20s and warmed into the mid 50s. Mostly sunny throughout.

The morning list of 12/26/2022. It is heartening to see that in spite of the recent inclement weather, the calf inspection list is of typical length.
A fancy vehicle seen on the way in to Sushi Bistro of Ocala. I think it is a Chevrolet Corvette (cost of $100,000 for something that gets 16 mpg in the city). Still looks interesting, though.
For lunch of 12/26/2022, we enjoyed a repast from Sushi Bistro of Ocala. The rice was well-cooked, and the fish had excellent flavor and texture.
A leaking polar bearvine found in the wean lots just east of Jacobhouse.
The frost-burnt field visage of the central beef pasture. (12/26/2022)
Christmas dinner #2 was enjoyed at the studio. It consisted of: Wagyner Blue sirloin tip roast (reverse-seared), a Padre-made & Jacob-dressed salad, and a couple glasses of Nessun Dorma Tuscan Red. This was followed by the dessert shown in the next picture.
For dessert, Padre, Madre and I enjoyed a second bout of cannoli-cups. This time, I added a little bit more shaved chocolate to the cream, and I sprinkled on a couple flakes of kosher salt (I’d recommend doing the same in the future).

12/27/2022: Today began in the low 30s and warmed into the low 60s. Mostly sunny.

The frosty dawn of 12/27/2022.
The aloe has survived the cold, and in a couple days I’ll be able to drag it outside. Here, I moved it into the sun in the freezer room for a little photosynthesis.
Mother #268, one of the heaviest cows on the farm, gave birth to a massive Belgian Blue heifer this morning. They were both a tad shy in front of the camera.
Lunch of 12/27/2022: Deer & Wagyu taco salad. Sides consisted of tomato, avocado, onion, sour cream, and salsas.
The assembled Deergyu taco salad. It tasted about as good as it looks.
During this afternoon’s activities, we weighed the calf. Padre and Wag lifted it up to me while I stood on a scale. It ended up being right at 120 lbs. Here, Padre is appreciating the calf’s immense size before we ventured in for the evening.
A close-up of Mother #268, her calf, and a Madre in the background.
Dinner of 12/27/2022: A simple and very satisfying fare of 4 thin sourdough bread slices (toasted) topped with sunny-side-up eggs. Padre also provided a large head of steamed broccoli.
After eggs, toast, and broccoli, I enjoyed a plate of sliced Granny Smith apple along with some yogurt.
1/3 of a Christmas-Pear (one of those my brother sent). This piece got a little dose of cinnamon.

12/28/2022: Today began in the high 30s and warmed into the low 70s. Mostly sunny.

Writing time during the cool early morning of 12/28/2022.
Mother cow #268 and her now tagged heifer calf #7289.
As we pulled a new electric fence wire along the front of the bull lot (directly west of Jacobhouse), we came across a telephone pole covered with protrusions. They at first looked like splinters, but on pulling one off and squeezing lightly, we discovered that they were cocoons holding small black grubs.
A Greek salad enjoyed at Lorito’s for lunch of 12/28/2022. The cucumber was a tad odd in texture and flavor, but the rest of the salad was fresh and had good flavor.
Oaks draped with Spanish moss seen during the evening pasture inspection of 12/28/2022.
Dinner of 12/28/2022: A remarkable repast of reverse-seared coffee-encrusted Belgian Blue sirloin accompanied by a side salad comprised of cucumber, tomato, and garden-grown radish. The new skillet-on-camp-stove setup is giving the beef an even greater crust than I could previously achieve.
A dessert of sliced & cinnamon-coated Granny Smith apple.

12/29/2022: Today began in the mid 40s and warmed into the mid 70s. Sunny throughout.

Dawn of 12/29/2022 in central beef pasture.
Jacob amongst the herd on the morning of 12/29/2022.
The freshly fortified dehorners (I added the bolts that go through the handle).
Lunch of 12/29/2022 consisted of eggs-on-sourdough-toast. These were sprinkled with Madre-made shiitake mushrooms and a sprinkling of Cholula hot sauce. A Padre-made & Madre-dressed salad made for an excellent side.
Late-afternoon farm activity: Fixing the lagoon-herd’s entrance & exit gate. Padre fixed the gate hinges as Wag and I installed a new electric gap to prevent bovines from scratching their butts on the already-abused metal gate.
Large-cow #268 and her calf (left) at sunset.
Dinner of 12/29/2022: This evening, I reverse-seared a coffee-and-salt-encrusted Belgian Blue chuck roast. It was supremely tender because it belonged to steer #3372.
The full dinner spread consisted of Belgian Blue chuck “filet” accompanied by Padre-made & Jacob-dressed cucumber salad. Sour cream & mustard for dunking.
A dessert consisting of cinnamon-spiced apple & pear slices accompanied by sour cream left over from the main course.

12/30/2022: Today began in the mid 50s and warmed into the mid 70s. Mostly sunny with some more clouds in the afternoon.

Dawn of 12/30/2022.
A late-morning task: Padre milked a cow as Wag held the tail. This is the same cow we milked for Wagyu yogurt. Now, however, instead of her just beginning to raise a young one, her calf is being weaned. The milk will be used for some form of experiment in the Jacobhouse kitchen.
Lunch today was eaten at Mojo Grill (Silver Springs) with my Uncle Neal, Aunt Betty, Grandma, and Great Aunt Lori. We started off with the chips and salsa. Unfortunately the chips were a bit tasteless and perhaps a little stale. The salsa, however, was very good. It was fresh made with tomato, garlic, cilantro, and lime. I could have eaten the salsa by itself and almost did.
The second course consisted of the Mojito Chicken Salad. It was a bit too sweet for my liking (I don’t know how one would make a sweet lime & cilantro dressing… perhaps with the addition of much much sugar?) and there were some foul bits of vegetation interspersed throughout.
A very brown central pasture studded with the black bovine tenants.
A Belgian Blue sirloin (left) and a Wagyner Blue NYS (right) salted for reverse-searing later in the evening.
Those aforementioned steaks a few hours later and after reverse-searing. Belgian Blue sirloin (left) and Wagyner Blue NYS (right) were accompanied by a salad which contained garden-fresh greens and radish.
A sweet & sour combination of cinnamon-sprinkled brother-pear and Granny Smith apple.

12/31/2022: Today began in the mid 60s and warmed into the low 80s. Cloudy through much of the day with some sprinklings of rain.

The foggy dawn of 12/31/2022.
This is the beef check list for the morning of 12/31/2022.
For lunch of 12/31/2022, we prepared the ingredients for a mighty taco salad. These included: skillet-seared beef, lettuce, spinach, avocado, red cabbage, green pepper, radish, and a little bit of purple onion.
The assembled salad.
Following afternoon farm activities, Padre and I both made pizzas. Jacob-made cheese pan pizza can be seen at the back and a Padre-made beef & pepper pizza can be seen at the front. Both were produced for the dinner of 12/31/2022.
Plated up: A piece of Jacob-made Cheese pizza accompanied by a Padre-made cucumber & cabbage salad.
A dessert consisting of sliced apple & yogurt sprinkled with cinnamon and doused with a little bit of Ginja9 Cherry Liquor. It was excellent and made for a true dessert.