Our First Cheese-Making Course!

Hey ya’ll!
   It's been quite a while since our last blog post, but a lot has been happening at the farm! We just had our first cheese-making course yesterday, and it was a great success. We learned how to make basic cheeses and had a delectable lunch made by our very own world-renowned chef, Michael ;) Here are a few pictures from the day, and we are already looking forward to the next class! A huge -thank you- to our "didaskalos" (teacher), Elizabeth, for all the valuable skills we learned in a short amount of time...We will make you proud! :)

Explaining how to make butter!

ya'll...we made butter in 5 minutes!

we had some little visitors, too :)

Michael creating our amazing lunch!

Heaven in your mouth, let me tell you...

We also got to make ricotta...said with an Italian accent, of course...

               






Thankful for the wonderful students and the great day the Lord gave us...So grateful!                                                                                                               

   

After everyone left for the day, we celebrated JoAnna's 3rd birthday at the end of the day, and enjoyed just relaxing together as a family.

happy day!

                                  - Hannah

Its CHEESE time!

     So its official, we finally have reached the point where we are ready to have our first cheese course in our new farm location!! The course will be November 2nd starting at 9am and ending at 1pm. This will be an introduction to cheese making simplified. The home cheese maker will leave this class confidently able to make butter, yogurt, ricotta and cream cheese type spreads for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. We will try our hand at other dairy products as time allows. Cost is $65 which will include a light lunch and refreshment. Class is limited in size so reserve early please. Lunch will be a delicious surprise prepared by our aspiring Chef Michael Sprague. 
     Michael is my husband and is a genius in the kitchen. Through the years he has worked under some talented chef's  and has a unique way of making the simplest things taste new and inspiring. 

If you follow us on Facebook you will be able to sign up for the course here.
    https://www.facebook.com/events/195687680613710/ 

If not shoot a email or give us a ring at the farm and we will get you all signed up! Payment can be made in advance or on day of class. Email or call farm for details. Looking forward to meeting and learning with you! 
  
~Amanda~

Swift Moving September

        Well its mid-September already... FALL is in the air! My favorite season. The change of colors, the crisp cool air, sweaters and warm cider... I could go on and on. The time is just flying around here - so much to do, so much already going on. We have had our first official birthday party here at Didaskalos. Our little Elizabeth turned 4! 

We enjoyed celebrating together almost as a complete family, We look forward to the days of all us siblings together. Great food, sweet treats, which included Hannah's Hello Kitty cake made with fresh whipped cream. Rides with Grandpa, and so much lovely fellowship. It was truly a great time. Here are some more pictures of that joyous occasion!

The fall garden is in and sprouting nicely, which is always exciting! We also have added some additions to Didaskalos Farm: A new Saanen Buck to establish a herd in the next few months! (We have not named him yet so suggestions are welcome). We just picked up 15 Guinea Keets and they are so cute and tiny. They will be a great help to reduce the insect population that grows on the farm. And last, but certainly not least, we have received our Organic fruit trees from Tasteful Gardens in AL. We love getting our organic plants and trees from them. They ship amazingly and come ready for planting.

Our Organic Apple Tree from right to left are Jerseymac, Red Fuji and Golden Delicious

Our Organic Olive Tree! Will go in the ground in the spring, until then we will plant it in a big pot.

A Vanessa Grapevine

Organic Strawberries

And more lavender for the front walkway!

Hope you all are enjoying the cool weather and breaking out the fall attire and decor as we are! 

Until Next Time!
~Amanda~

Meet the Ladies of Didaskalos Farm

                                                                        Hey ya'll!

My name is Hannah and I'm SO excited to have the pleasure of introducing the "Jersey Girls" (as I like to call them). I'm the one farm girl here at Didaskalos Farm that was born and raised in South Carolina, so I'm not technically a "Jersey Girl", but I married a Jersey Girl's son, so I kinda got adopted as one :) We also raise Jersey cows, so it's fitting!

I am new to the farming lifestyle, and I must say, it has been such an eye-opening and awesome experience! Never did I think my manicured nails would milk a goat, or my cute rain-boots turn into muck boots sloshing through cow manure. But ya'll, I love every minute! The Lord has taught me so much being around my mother-in-law and sister-in-laws on this farm already. I am a stay-at-home mom to 5 beautiful kiddos, and am super happy that they will be able to grow up around animals and hard work. My husband (the afore-mentioned Jersey Son) is a great father and husband and he is my best friend...I am so blessed!

My mother-in-law, Elizabeth, (Momma), is the Mentor/Teacher of the Jersey Girls. She and my father-in-law, Craig, have been farming since 2004, and they strive to farm by God's grace and all for His glory on a daily basis. She has 5 grown ( we are blessed to share the same number) children and 13 grandchildren (+2 on the way!) that keep her moving constantly :) She's a true teacher of everyday things and spiritual things, and we are so grateful to have her in our lives as an "iron" to sharpen us and point us to Jesus!

We especially love her wonderful cooking and can't wait to share some goood recipes on the blog soon!

Amanda is Elizabeth's oldest daughter, and is a tremendous help around the farm. She is hilarious and loves to play with the children and do whatever she can to make others' lives around her easier. She and her husband, Mike, along with their son Zane have 7 acres about 15 minutes away from Didaskalos Farm. They are actually building up a farm of their own, leaning in the art of charcuterie (aging and dressing meat, mostly pork). She homeschools Zane and loves to research and learn new things. She enjoys milking small animals and when our Saanen doelings mature, we will be teaching and making Feta cheese! Very excited for this new venture.

Ashley is Elizabeth's youngest daughter and she has literally grown up on the farm...She's homegrown! :) She and her husband Isaac and their young son Nathaniel love to spend time together and come on the weekends to be useful wherever they are needed. Ashley is the "unofficial farm photographer". She is a bargain hunter and is a tigress in the land of deals :) We have a grand old time laughing and sitting around the counter talking to Momma while she cooks. Ashley is expecting baby #2 (as Ashley likes to say, "farm hands") so that will be another interesting topic we will be touching on here in a couple months...Stay tuned for updates!

Well, that's us! We hope as we renovate, and create, learn new things, and then share them on this little blog, that you will be inspired and refreshed as you increase in your understanding of Christ and natural living. Thanks for stopping by!

//Hannah//

What's a Didaskalos?

So... Another Farm Blog?
Didaskalos? What does that mean?
Who are we?

Let's try to answer some of these questions. Hello, My name is Amanda and I will be filling you in on who "we" are and what "we" do. Let's start from the beginning. My family has been sustainably farming since 2004. Through these years the Lord has led us to search out God-honoring practices in agriculture: How to take care of our families while still honoring Him in how we do it. We have learned a great deal and believe he has given our family the gift of teaching which leads me to the farm name. Didaskalos means "teacher" in Greek and that is what we hope to do. 

Now to "who" we are. We are a Christian family which consists of my parents, Craig and Elizabeth, the farm owners, three of their five children which are myself and my husband Michael, my brother Josh and sister-in-law, Hannah, my sister Ashley and brother-in-law Isaac, and 8 of my parents' soon-to-be 15 grandchildren! We all (at one time or another) work on this farm :) God has given each of us talents and we hope to utilize them on this farm. On this blog you will hear farm news from Momma, recipes from various contributors, enjoy farm photos from our own farm photographers. You will be able to learn about what we like to teach most -CHEESE! But truly most of all, you will hear about God and the wonderful things He gives to His children.

Oh! Don't let me forget the farmhouse. Yes, we purchased a 1830's farmhouse which we will be updating room by room. We hope to keep its charm as we learn more of its wonderful heritage. We have to make it functional so keep an eye out as we blog our progress with the projects. Especially our teaching facility, which happens to be a quaint two-room schoolhouse. Oh yes, so much going on here--don't miss out!

~Amanda~

The Farmhouse

Momma, Daddy and Josh discussing plans for the schoolhouse.

Momma, Hannah and Kezia making pizza dough

Momma making everyone's favorite BACON!