Dear Bloggers,

Baby it's cold outside...I mean zero and going lower tonight. Not to worry about the cows, though, they're safe, snug, and warm inside the barns. The cows are milking like crazy - the cold doesn't seem to be slowing them down - yea!

From friend Maggie at Prairieland Herbs, just up the road, is this recipe using Picket Fence cream and butter....enjoy!

World's Best Scones
2 C. flour
1/4 C. sugar
2 tsps. baking powder
dash salt
4 ozs. Picket Fence butter
1 egg
1/3 C. Picket Fence cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. raisins
bit of extra cream and sugar

Preheat oven to 425 - lightly butter a cookie sheet. Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Cut butter into small pieces, and work into the flour mixture. It will resemble crumbs. Add egg, cream, vanilla and raisins and combine until you have a thick dough. Using a floured board or counter, press the dough into a circle, about 8" across. Brush with more PFC cream, and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Cut dough into 8 pie-shaped wedges; place on cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown on top. Best fresh and warm!

Tomorrow is delivery day in Ames. We'll be wearing parka coats for sure!

Until we meet again,
JB

Today, Thursday, Jan. 25, Jeff bottled milk, I made ice cream as fast as I could, and the customers were quite content! Orders received in the store today include locally grown chickens (the broth make the BEST gravy!), and our locally grown lamb. We're running low on eggs; the egg man had better get here in good time tomorrow!

By golly, Rod Stewart is coming to Des Moines. We'll have to see about attending that one. His hit, "Have you ever seen the rain?" is fantastic. I think it was Creedance that had the original? Let me know if I'm wrong!

Our five cats, the official store greeters, are hanging out by the store door again now that it's relatively nice outside. They are good at nibbling cookies if the kids let them!

Signing off for tonight,
JB

Happenings on the dairy today! Let's see...Jeff moved snow, snow, snow....but the cows are safe and sound and happy in their comfy barn. We can't wait for spring so we can let them out to eat lush, green grass again! For now, they are eating stored feed and are milking like crazy. Ahh - winter in Iowa.

We milk Jersey cows, the little brown milk cows, that don't give as much milk as their Holstein counterparts, but do give milk that is richer in butterfat...all the better for us to make whipping cream, ice cream and butter in our on-site creamery!

Our store just received a fresh shipment of Kalona noodles today, you can't beat 'em. Made with real egg yolk and you can TASTE the difference. Just like Grandma used to make! The noodles are among the local products from 80 local Iowa families that we sell in the store - a treasure chest of local, organic products!

Thanks to Prairieland Herbs for getting me started with my blog....I'll talk to all of you tomorrow!

JB