New Baby Goat and Gluten-Free Green Bean Casserole

cuddling baby goat

I was out feeding the Kalahari goats yesterday when I noticed that one of the mamas was a whole lot skinnier than she had been that morning. Sure enough, over by the shed, was this pretty little girl newly born.

new baby goat

My buddy Tony was SO excited to pet her. 🙂

little boy with goat

She is a bit shy when humans get too close, but if you hold her snuggly so she feels safe and warm, she calms right down.

shy baby goat

She is a gorgeous little thing with interesting markings on her face and hooves that set her apart from all the others.

cuddling baby goat

She is doing so well, already nursing and standing up without falling over too often.

Kalahari kid nursing

This afternoon she met her older sister…and was promptly head-butted for her troubles.

goats butting heads

Thankfully she had some much kinder visitors, namely the other Kalahari kids who now look positively enormous next to her tiny self.

Kalahari babies

After all that socializing it was time for a rest and some nuzzling from mom.

Mother goat nuzzling baby

I know just how she feels. 🙂

Last week was one of the busiest we’ve had in recent memory, culminating in Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner with dear friends on Friday night.

It was the first time I’ve cooked Thanksgiving dinner all by myself, and definitely the first time I needed to make it gluten-free. At first I felt quite overwhelmed, but I tackled one recipe at a time, figuring out good substitutions, and finally everything was ready.

We had such a great time. 🙂 I couldn’t find a turkey so we celebrated with crispy roast chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, dilled carrots and peas, and my very favorite Thanksgiving staple: gluten-free green bean casserole.

This dish ranks right near the top of comfort foods, but the original is made with canned mushroom soup (gluten) and crispy fried onions (gluten) and I can’t eat it without getting very sick. So I made mine with a double garlic cream sauce thickened with cornstarch (you can also thicken it with chia seeds if you can’t have corn). I topped it with a combination of gluten-free crispy fried onions and gluten-free crispy fried garlic from an Asian market.

It was absolutely fantastic.

In fact, I’d say that it is far and away better than the original. That thrills me no end. 🙂 Eating healthy is hard enough around the holidays. I’m so thrilled that with a bit of creativity I was able to make one of my holiday favorites gluten-free.

gluten free green bean casserole

Next time I’ll tell you about my gluten-free Apple Raisin Pie with Walnut Streusel.

What is your favorite holiday comfort food?

Gluten-Free Triple Garlic Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

4 cans green beans, drained
2 cups milk (or nut milk)
3-4 Tbsp cornstarch (if you can’t have corn, replace with chia seeds. Stir into milk and let it thicken 20-30 minutes before stirring in remaining ingredients.)
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp crispy fried garlic (look at Asian specialty shops for ones made without flour)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup crispy fried onions (look at Asian specialty shops for ones made without flour)
1/2 cup crispy fried garlic (look at Asian specialty shops for ones made without flour)

Directions:

  1. Dump beans into large mixing bowl. Set aside.
  2. Pour milk into saucepan and whisk in cornstarch, 2 Tbsp crispy fried garlic, sea salt, and minced garlic until cornstarch is incorporated.
  3. Place over medium high heat and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Let boil 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens.
  4. Remove from heat and pour over green beans.
  5. Pour into 9” by 13” casserole and smooth top.
  6. Sprinkle evenly with crispy fried onions and garlic.
  7. Bake at 375 F/200 C for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
  8. Serve warm.

 

Stormy Days and Curious Baby Goats

turquoise egg

Although we’ve had some very hot, almost summery days, there have also been a couple of stormy ones that I’ve absolutely loved!

For most of my life September and October meant chilly Autumn days perfect for country rambles. It’s been so lovely to have a few of them here in Queensland even though it’s Spring.

The other day Bear and I went for a stroll around the farm and found some delightful little treasures. Like this turquoise eggshell that came from who knows where.

turquoise egg

These gorgeous, feathery leaves among burnished jacaranda blossoms.

fallen leaves

And this rich red gum leaf sitting atop newly sprouted grass.

red leaf

The baby Kalahari goats are getting braver every day. I love sitting and watching them, especially when their curiosity overcomes their timidity and they just have to come and see what I’m up to.

baby goat peeking

I adore those little faces. 🙂

baby kalahari peeking

I’ll be taking a break from blogging for the remainder of the Spring holidays and look forward to long, sunny days puttering on the farm with Bear. Wishing you jolly days of your own. 🙂

Eggs, Foxes and Curious Little Goats

skirt full of eggs

It’s been gorgeous weather this Spring, and with the returned warmth and a new shady home for the birds, our chickens and ducks have been laying like mad!

Yesterday I went to let them out for a feed and returned with my skirt full of eggs. One dozen in one day!

Needless to say, I’m on the lookout for egg-centric recipes. 🙂 If you have any recommendations you’d like to share, I’d love to hear about them in the comments. 🙂

skirt full of eggs

Unfortunately the warm weather has also brought out other animals, like foxes. Our eyes goggled at the enormous fellow we saw scampering around the top goat paddock earlier this week.

We have a sneaking suspicion he’s the one who devoured our beautiful Muscovy drake. 🙁 We’re making doubly sure that everyone is locked up tight at night.

Thankfully our baby Kalahari goats are safe and sound. Their Maremma guard dogs – Freja, Apollo and Solar – warn us of any potential dangers and that is a great relief.

baby boer goat

I was out with them the other day and they were their adorably curious selves, trotting over to see what I was up to, clustering at my feet quite certain that something interesting was about to happen.

cluster of baby goats

They quickly tired of waiting for me to do anything entertaining and made a beeline for the fence of the Isolation pen, thrusting noses and hooves through the wire to say hello to the goats “doing time” there. 🙂

baby goats playing

Soon the babies will be large enough to join the rest of the herd grazing in outlying paddocks, so I’m enjoying their cute little selves trotting around the yard for as long as I can. 🙂

What is your favorite egg recipe?

Goat Fights, Bread Baking and Corned Beef Hash

corned beef hash recipe

Spring is almost here and I couldn’t be happier. 🙂 Only the mornings and evenings are cool now. The days are gloriously warm, sometimes hot, and I love being in sundresses and sandals again.

We’ve been working hard on fencing, getting two new paddocks ready for our Kalahari goats. They’re happy as clams in their new feeding areas, grazing their hearts out as they clamber up hills and trot down into gullies.

This gorgeous weather has my creative juices flowing again, and I’ve been having such fun getting my garden ready, trying out new recipes, and baking loaf after loaf of crusty artisan bread.

baking bread

Since moving to Australia, I’ve been introduced to the delicious and oh-so-versatile corned beef. I know most people are very familiar with this cut of meat, but I never grew up eating it.

I sure love it now though! One corned beef can be turned into so many delicious things: shredded and served with mustard and boiled potatoes, sliced thickly for sandwiches, or chopped and fried up with potatoes and caramelized onions for a rib-sticking, comforting corned beef hash. Yum!!!

corned beef hash recipe

The goats are thriving in this weather, happy for new green grasses to eat.

Robbie and I took them out for a bush walk the other day and were privy to one of the rare but necessary goat fights as the mamas bucked, reared and clashed horns in a fight for supremacy. This time it was between Koda and L’Abri with L’Abri taking the lead. 🙂

goat fight

This was the first bush walk for the new Kalahari babies and they loved it, leaping and dancing through the underbrush, reaching up on spindly legs to nibble low-hanging leaves.

The only thing they didn’t like was losing sight of their mamas in the tall grass. After 45 minutes of grazing they were too tired push through the grasses, so Robbie and I took a couple under each arm and carried their squirmy, bleating little selves back to the paddock where a happy reunion ensued. 🙂

baby goats in tall grass

What have you been up to this week?

Corned Beef Hash
serves two

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup shredded or chopped cooked corned beef
4 medium potatoes, boiled, cooled and sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat olive oil in frying pan over medium high heat.
  2. Add onion and garlic, frying 5-10 minutes until onions have softened and darkened.
  3. Add potatoes and corned beef, salt and pepper (add more olive oil if too dry), stir to mix then heat through.
  4. Serve warm.

Three Baby Goats for Mother’s Day

holding baby goats

We had a surprise this Mother’s Day in Australia. Three new baby goats born in the wee hours of the morning.

Three boys who are strapping and healthy and cute as can be. They are very sweet-natured, more than willing to be cuddled and stroked. I’m smitten. 🙂

baby boer goats

Our friends Neil, Ann (from thisANNthat), Jess and Alex were visiting for a day of medieval fun with our Black Wolf medieval group, so they got in on the fun of holding them, laughing at their wobbliness and spraying their boy bits with antibiotics.

treating baby goats

We had so much fun with them, marveling at their soft coats and cute little bleats.

girls holding baby goats

I just checked on them a bit ago and they’re curled up inside old tires, snoozing in the sunshine. 🙂

What did you do for Mother’s Day?