What Did She Do Today?

She Made Cheese and Artichoke Chowder November 21, 2010

I'm a CSA convert.  When I started eating locally I started at the Farmer's Markets.  I enjoyed the shopping experience, and wasn't sure I wanted to have my food picked out for me, instead of picking it myself.  Besides I had no idea what to do with Bok Choy, or a Kohlrabi, anyway, so I'd rather just buy my "Normal" veggies instead. 

Well, in the Spring my friend Abe announced he was going to have a CSA.  Great, I thought.  Abe is fabulous, I buy from him at the markets every week, anyway, now I can help support him in the beginning of the year when money lots of money is being spent, but nothing has grown enough to sell, to bring any money in.  Besides, Abe grows all the "normal veggies", so I still wouldn't need to figure out what to do with Bok Choy. 

The CSA season was great!  I shopped at markets far less often, as a result, which saved me money on impusle veggie purchases, and kept my budget for food more predictable.  The share was pefect to round out what was coming from my garden, and gave me enough extra of things like carrots, so I could dehydrate for winter.  It was a sad day when I went for my last pick up. 

Enter, Wake Robin Farm.  I heard about their Fall/Early Winter CSA, and now that I know what to do with Bok Choy, and Roasted Kohlrabi is delicious, I figured I'd join that one next.  Boy am I glad I did.  The amount of food in this CSA requires a serious focus to finish in one week, for a family my size.  But we are having a great time.  I had no idea how amazing Collard Greens are after the frost.  No way anyone could have made me believe how sweet it is. 

One item that we have gotten each week is Jerusalem Artichokes, or Sunchokes.  They are very tasty, but I wasn't finding a way that I really enjoyed eating them.  They are softer inside than the skin is, but they are sort of weirdly shaped little things, so peeling them seems impractical.  Well, tonight I found a great recipe that allows me to enjoy the flavor, not have to peel, and not have to deal with the textural wierdness that I find the skin to be.

Cheese and Artichoke Chowder.  I used parmesan cheese because I didn't have gruyere, but otherwise it was the same.  I also threw a dollop of Creme Fraiche on top, instead of the recommended garnish.  What a great light dinner on a long cold day.

I'm excited to pick up my next bag from Wake Robin.  In the mean time I will be enjoying some greens sauteed in garlic and butter for dinner, Roasted Kohlrabi with radishes...because I learned that roasting radishes makes them sweet, rather than spicy.  Great information to file away for next year, for my fall planting.  Radishes grow so fast, and keep in the ground, quite well.

This past Saturday was the first of the Seacoast Winter Markets, and it was at Wentworth Greenhouse.  So Fun!!  I really missed those markets.  Having everyone, all my favorite vendors and those I'm just learning about, in one place, bumping into friends and acquaintances among the crowd of people.  So Fun.  I'm glad for this season.

She Enjoyed a Great Soup November 1, 2010

Welcome November!  Welcome cold, soup weather.  I often hear people discussing soup recipes, and while I certainly have used recipes for soup, and some have been delicious, soup is really a great place for learning how to improvise in the kitchen. 

A good soup needs a good base, but from there, anything goes.  My "formula" is to start with a good base of stock made from a chicken, rabbit, or duck carcass, though other meat bones would work, too.  I take all the drippings from the pan, that I used to cook the animal, along with all the bones that are left from pulling any extra meat from the carcass.  Add water to fill pot, add onions, carrots, celery, herbs, salt and pepper.  I also add about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar.  This helps pull all the nutrients out of the bones.  I then simmer overnight on my stove.  You could do this in a crock pot, if you didn't want the stove running overnight.

The next day, a couple hours before we are going to eat, I strain out all the goodies that have been simmering, and start adding stuff.  I usually add meat, either from what was pulled off from the carcass before simmering, or leftovers from another meal.  If I don't have meat, and sometimes, even when I do, I'll add dried beans.  I buy local, first year beans so they don't take hours to soften.  Usually a couple hours and they are lovely. 

A starch, usually rice or potatoes, sometime quinoa, occassionally pasta.  If I'm using rice, pasta or quinoa, they go in about an hour before serving, not 2, but I've had the rice in for 2, when the schedule requires it, and it's been just fine.

Veggies.  Often these are chopped up fresh veggies, but certainly there could be dried/dehydrated veggies thrown in there.  Most often there are onions, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, squash, kale, corn, anything really.  It's a great way to clean out the fridge, or use up remnants from a CSA share.   Then I heat to a soft/low boil for a couple hours. 

I tend to make a big pot, and then we can lunch on it for a couple days.  Once it's starting to get repetative, I'll throw in some curry powder, and it's a whole new soup. 

I love topping soups like this with some creme fraiche, or sour cream.  Delicious!  Easy!  When I think ahead, enough, I'll make up sourdough biscuits or crackers to serve with it.

 

She Welcomed Henry and Made Cough Syrup September 29, 2010

There are some new additions to our Rabbitry.  I've decided to add the Champagne D'Argents to our breeding stock.  The Champagne is a different breed, not just a different color.  They have slightly different standards and with the Champagnes weighing in, on average 1 pound heavier with slightly more meat on their frame.  They are are born black, and silver out, as they age, making a beautiful rabbit, with a great pelt.  They are still relatively small boned, with a good butcher to live weight ratio.  I received a jr buck, that is 4 months old, from a breeder in PA, today.  The breeder was heading out here to pick up some Cremes from the breeder that has helped get my friends and I up and running, so I had her bring an extra jr buck along.  His name is Henry.  He's a little narrow in the face, but he has a nice body form, so I think he'll make a great starter buck. He is in his gawky teen stage, and he's still silvering out, so he'll look more like his back, all over, when he's fully mature.

Tomorrow I'm driving with friends, to Maine, to pick up a Champgne Sr. Doe.  You can meet her tomorrow night.

Josie's single kit is getting VERY large.

So much so, my rabbit mentor recommended bringing it inside for 12 hours a day so it feeds less.  If you let them get too large they can have joint issues.  So we have the little one in the house tonight.  What a little chub!  She'll go back out tomorrow, for the day, but we'll be bringing her in at night for a little while to let her develop properly.

The Progressive Pioneer Make and Do Friday recommended a recipe for cough syrup.  There is a great shop, in the next town over, that is a font of information about herbs and their uses.  I brought the recipe over for a second opinion.  I wanted to know 1) if there was anything they would add, or leave out and 2) is it safe for children.  Not all herbs, even though they are simply plants, are good for everyone.

It was recommended that I take out the Balm of Gilead, Coltsfoot and Lobelia because this will be used with the girls.  Also to add in some Elderberry Flowers and Elderberry Syrup.  So in the end the recipe I used was as follows:

• 1/2 tsp each: thyme and elecampane
• 1 tsp each: boneset, slippery elm, wild cherry bark, elderberry flower and yarrow
• 2 tsp irish moss
• 1 Tbs Mullein, Peppermint
• 3 Tbs Elderberry Syrup (I used the syrup I made from foraged berries)

Add all the above to 4 cups water.  Boil until 1/2 the liquid is reduced.  I reduced a smidge too much so added water back to reach 2 cups.  Strain, and add 2 cups of honey.  Return to stove and simmer for 1/2 hour. 

It was recommended, at The Mustard Seed to give 1 tsp every 2 hours to children and 2 tsp every 2 hours for adults.  The link on the Make and Do Friday site, has a little bit of information on each herb and why it would be helpful.  If for adults you could leave in the omitted herbs and still add the Elder ingredients, as Elder is a great immune booster.  Once I picked up the ingredients this was a very simple process and very cost effective.  It tastes, primarily, like honey, but you can taste the elder and mint as well as hints of other things.

My sprout experiment has been fun, so far.  The broccoli needed to get light sooner, it's rather leggy.  The corn is very strangely corn tasting.  Like if you took all the flavor from a whole cob of corn and packed it into one kernal.  Intense.  I'm going to try them in a sautee and see how that works.  The peas are doing well, and the basil is slow but filling in nicely.  I could definitely have sown them more densly, so I'm glad I did this random seed experiment to see how they grow.

This is the leggy broccoli.  I'm going to sow them closer and in their own tray since they move much faster than any of the other things I tried.

These are the peas, flanked on either side by two varieties of basil.   I'm going to let the peas grow into pea tendrils, and I think that when I do this "for real" I'll cover them with dirt instead of the cloth I used this time, as they are a larger seed and would probably be happier in more dirt.  The cloth was brilliant for the basil and broccoli, though.

 

She Finished Finished Mittens and Gathered Fruit! September 28, 2010

I didn't meet my goal of 5 pairs of mittens in one week.  I needed 1 more hour, to finish 1/4 of a mitten, so not bad, but I went to bed last night with only 4 3/4 pairs done.  They are done now, and look great!

In the basket are 3 beautiful pears.  Jessica and I went on a little road trip to Londerry, in Southern NH to the only place we could find who had pears, Mack's Apples.  We gathered up 4 bushels of bartlet pears, which we will be canning on Saturday!  There is going to be a group of us working on them, and it should be a fun and productive day.

Today Jessica, another friend and I, headed over to Butternut Farm/Orchard, in the rain, to gather drops.  We were three drenched, but happy ladies, with 9 bushels of apples!  They will be turned into great things like applesauce, apple butter, frozen apples and possibly some dried apples. 

Last Thursday, Husband and I got a babysitter, and spent the day together...harvesting rabbits.  Another local rabbit raiser, stopped by to learn this end of things.  She has the Creme D'Argent breed, as well, and has a doe, with 5 young that are almost ready for harvesting.  Husband got the chance to learn about the eviscerating.  He usually does other things while I do that part, just by the nature of how things work, but he got to try his hand at this, as I was teaching him, and Virginia, as we went.  After letting them rest in the refrigerator (my free refrigerator, thank you Maggie!), they were bagged up and put in the freezer.  If you are interested in purchasing rabbit, let me know. I have a few for sale.

Food around here, lately, has been very good.  We had a lovely dinner of rabbit livers in sauted onions, accompanied by sweet potatoes fried in duck fat!  What a lovely way to deep fry food.  There was no rancid "fried food" smell in the house. Just clean yummy fragrance wafted about.  Delicious!  And a fun fact, the duck fat, livers and onions all came from our yard, and the sweet potatoes came from our CSA farm up the street.  Very local, indeed.

I've been missing cereal.   It's great as an occasional snack, so I whipped up a batch of the soaked grain granola that I've made before, and greatly enjoy. Irma, my sourdough starter, and I have been having a grand ole time making crepes, fluffy pancakes and and other great treats.  I highly recommend the "Pay what you can" E-course that I'm taking.  Lots of Rabbit dinners, including rabbit in gravy over mashed potatoes.  Tonight was ice cream with pears that I sauteed in butter and syrup.  I don't think I've ever eaten this well!

Our little family is getting busier as the girls are getting older and into more things.  Mini is taking Ballet Lessons once a week, thank you Grammy and Grampa, still has Swimming lessons once a week, and now we are taking part in a local Homeschool Co-op one morning a week.  Last week Mini had a great time playing with a little boy, as they painted the rocks.  the Co-op is very free form, with several activities set up, allowing the children to explore and decide what they want to participate in, including activities they dream up all on their own, like the rock painting. I look forward to seeing how it evolves, but the girls really enjoyed themselves their first week.

Husband is getting busier, too.  His last speaking engagement has already led to a second.  He will be giving his lecture on how to teach story on November 2 at the Chichester Library.  We expect to be seeing the first copy of the book that he and Mini wrote early in October, as well!  The Skunk Zoo is a collaboration with the story idea coming from Mini, compiled and illustrated by Husband, with some editorial direction from Mini...including the demand for the addition of a ballerina. 

Yes, our little family is busy, and it's been a lot of fun. 

She Zipped Corn September 8, 2010

I don't tend to do much with kitchen gadgets.  Tools, sure, I have some great tools, a Vitamix, Kitchen aid, good knives, cutting boards.  All these are very useful, helpful, and tend to make the work load lighter.  I don't have an asparagus peeler, an artichoke steamer, or even those little doodads that you poke in the ends of corn to hold it while you eat. 

I'm sure there are folks who have those gadgets and love them, but by in large, if a gadget only has one purpose, I'm not that interested.  I will now share an exception to this.  My corn zipper.  This little item made some seriously light work of the 4-5 dozen ears of corn that Jessica and I processed today.  The corn in Abe's field is done.  It has peaked, so is now losing sweet and gaining starch, so it's not that wonderful sweet corn that you can boil, butter, salt and savor.  It is, however, still great "storage corn".  Jessica and I, being the little forage ants we are, headed out to the field yesterday to pick corn, and today we shucked and zipped.

That Bowl is Huge.  It was a great deal I got at a yard sale last Saturday for $3.00, and it's stainless steel.  We are pretty sure Jessica could sit indian style in that bowl. 
It really is huge.  I can't wait to see how much corn that is.

The Zipper, not only took the kernals off, at lightening fast speeds, but it also aided me in removing the milk from the cob so we can use it to make cream style corn.  I will be canning the corn in my pressure canner, probably all day, tomorrow.  Corn takes 85-95 minutes in a pressure canner!  That is a long time.  But, it will be very worth the effort, to have corn and cream corn this winter for such dishes as Kansas Corn, Shephard's Pie, and Corn Chowder with Corn bread. Oh, I'm can smell them cooking already!

So if you have any inclination to can, or freeze, corn, or have any other need to remove it from the cob, I highly recommend one of the zippers.  It even smiles at you while you work. 

Before the corn event, which was followed by the cleaning and flash freezing of our grapes, I canned a few more jars of Peaches, prepped a few more jars worth of tomatoes for canning, and canned a few jars of grape juice.  I used the method my Mom and Grandmother used to use:

Grape Juice:

• 1 cup popped grapes
• 1 Cup Sugar, but I used 1/2 cup honey
• Fill the quart jars with boiling water. 
• Water Bath for 25 Minutes.

I decided to try a couple other experiments.  I used 1 cup grapes in 1/2 pint jars to see if I could make a concentrate that I can add water to, later, instead of having to store all those quart jars. Not sure how it will work, but it was worth trying.

The Grapes will be strained when the jar is opened. 
It is by far the easiest way, I know of, to make juice.

 

 

She Gave in, Exhausted, but Left You with Inspiration September 3, 2010

I'm very tired today.  Not sure why, but I woke up quite early, and couldn't go back to sleep, despite the tired feeling that I was experiencing.  I bit the bullet and started my day.  I never shook the tired feeling, and by the time I got the girls to bed, I was ready for some quite time before retiring myself.  I decided to muster enough energy to make a batch of those amazing sourdough skillet cakes that I am in love with, then I topped them with some fresh peaches, that I picked today, and went to Progressive Pioneer to see what ideas she had for the "Make and Do" Friday.  I was disappointed to find, she had none.  Fair enough, she does have a lot going on with a new baby and a little guy, and all, so here are my ideas for the weekend...

Make a Harvest basket.  This looked like a fun idea, that would be handy, and simple.

Shop at the local Farmer's Market for some delicious heirloom tomatoes to make some of the Tomato Butter that I can't stop talking about.

Grill Some Peaches

Make a deck of cards, and spend some family time playing with them.

Make a Pretty Windsock to welcome the cool breeze of fall!

 

 

 

She's Not Even Sure She Believes What She Did Today September 2, 2010

First of all, hear me out on this one.  I made paper towels today.  That's right, paper towels.  So, before you click away thinking "This chick has gone too far", please let me explain.

Okay, about 6-8 months ago, not sure now how long, Husband forgot paper towels at the store, when he went grocery shopping.  He didn't get back for a couple weeks, so we made due without them.  We decided to see if that was just a less than messy couple of weeks, or if we really could go without that extremely handy little item.  Sure enough, 2 weeks later, on his next trip for Peanut Butter (almost the only thing we were buying at the Grocery Store, at that time) we skipped the towels.  They are pricey, afterall, so cutting out the cost was the driving factor.  Why spend money on paper towels, when there are fun kitchen items to scoop up at the antique store, or fun ingredients to purchase for this foofy canning, that I'm all into...or an electric bill to be paid, oh, yeah.

After about 3-4 months of this, we did find there were times that using a hand/kitchen towel, seemed like over-kill, so I thought about making up a light weight, simplyecloth that would be "disposable", should it be used for something particularly gross, or messy, and that stains wouldn't matter.  I'm not super concerned about the appearance of my dish cloths, but if I could have a "paper towel" that could keep my good kitchen linens lasting longer, and looking prettier, why not.

I made a couple to try, and they have worked well.  Today, I spied the fabric for them, so I grabbed it, and my serger, and set out to make as many as I could, while I tended to the water baths for the newest round of Tomato Butter, that I canned tonight.

These are not square, they are not perfect, they aren't even all the exact same size.  This project was 'Fast and Dirty".  I just eyeballed the lines, and used my serger to cut the fabric, instead of cutting out squares and then serging the edges.  The serger worked great, the cloths will not fray, which is why I didn't just rip them in squares.  I didn't want frayed edges, that can drop little strings while being used, or in the washing machine.

In the time it took to water bath 20 little jars of the butter, I made up 20 "paper towels".

The fabric I used is, what I consider to be, the perfect weight.  It's 100% cotton, made in the USA, thin, white, with a little texture.  I bought it at Joann's in Newington, where they labled it "diaper cloth".  I think it was about $1.00 a yard, or something like that, maybe on sale, or with a coupon...either way, it's not very expensive.  It has held up to many washings, has been used and abused over the past few months. 

When I hear about people making more permanent options for the temporary things in our lives, I often hear folks bringing up the concern for the "extra water and electricity used to wash them".  I heard that about cloth diapers, a lot.  These are so lightweight, that you will never need to start a load for just them.  They could be thrown in with any load you are already running, without maxing it out.  If you don't care if the stay white, it also doesn't matter what load you throw them in with, either.

Oh, two other little comments, I'm not espousing that anyone "should" do this.  I did this because it worked for us. I will not scoff at you, who purchase paper towels.  Also, I do not see myself making my own toilet paper...I don't.

Tomato Butter.  I like this batch, it was yummy, but it does not hold a candle to my first batch, made with the brandywine tomatoes from Stout Oak Farm.  I'm going to be tracking her down, because I want to make at least one more batch of this stuff, and I really want those lovely heirloom tomatoes of hers.  I also think that using 3 different varieties of tomatoes helped the layers of flavor that the first one posessed.  The flavor of this batch wasn't as mature...oh, doesn't that sound fancy, and all foodie-like.

 

She Made Soaked Grain Granola July 25, 2010

I've mentioned before that we try to use grains that have been soaked in an acid liquid for 8-24 hours.  This is to release the phytic acid, which is a chemical in seeds that keep them from sprouting unless the conditions are right.  This is very useful for the seed to prosper, but it's not helpful for your digestion of the seed/grain/nut.  Phytic acid also keeps the grain from releasing all the nutrients, making it difficult to impossible for your digestive system to access it, thus rendering the consumption of the grain not nearly as nutritionally beneficial as it could/should be. 

Soaking the grains before consuming them allows your digestive system to break the grain down more fully, gives you access to the nutrients and is all around a better food/digestion experience.

Well today I tried a recipe for soaked granola. You soak the rolled oats in a mixture of water and yogurt for 24 hours.  The you add the sweetener and flavorings, at which point you lay in on parchment paper lined cookie sheets, cook for a couple hours on 200 degrees in the oven, and then add your extra goodies, like raisins, pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut or other dried fruit/nut combos.  I just added pumpkin seeds and raisins for now, and figure I can add other things should the mood strike.

It is delicious!  I am thrilled to have a cold cereal option.  Sometimes, especially in the summer, I just want some cold cereal with super cold milk!  Yum. 

The entire recipe is available on another blog.  She used a recipe from still another blog, and altered it a bit.  

She Had A Preditor Strike June 9, 2010

I'm thinking it was a raccoon, as the birds were eaten through the fence.  One bird lost it's head, and the other it's leg, got away, and died from the injury.  Very sad.  See this is the way animals die in the wild.  It's not noble, or human, it's just awful.  My solution was to build a roost, place it in the middle of their run, in the hopes that being on the roost, they will not be close to the walls, so can not be dragged through.  I hate that we lost two birds, I hate that it was to a predator, as whatever it is now knows that there are chickens here, to snack on, so will likely be back. Ugh.  I guess it was bound to happen.  We have been fortunate thus far to not have a problem.  I'm seriously considering spending the night, perched in my bedroom window (with the perfect view of where it struck last night) with my knitting, and a 22 rifle across my lap. 

Today was a day of education.  This morning my friend Jessica brought some high school kids over to her house to witness a chicken being butchered.  She's guest teaching at an alternative school in the area.  The whole unit is very fascinating, and exciting.  They hatched chickens, made jam, bread, cheese, watched Food Inc, discussed different local farms, and today there was a field trip.  They went to a couple farms, including Nippo Brook and Lasting Legacy.  Went to Jessica's to make lunch, see her rabbits, and then to a picnic on the grass followed by the butchering of one chicken. 

The field trip was optional, and I don't think the entire class did come, but I'm pretty sure I counted 13, 2 of which were boys.  The kids were very funny about the whole process.  They had the option of walking around the vegetable fields while the butchering took place, if they wanted to.  A couple opted to not be around when the animal was killed, but at some point, during the process, everyone watched.  Some watched the whole time, some came over and then back to see the other animals.  I think the funniest quote came from one of the girls "Oh, Gross...wait, can you hold the neck like that again so I can get a picture".  There were cell phones out with stills and videos being taken.  

I found this encouraging, because the overall feel of their comments, and energy, was interested, and processing.  It was a lot to take in. 

One girl helped pluck the feathers, with a couple others joining in briefly.  Jessica did the actual eviscerating, showing them where the internal organs were, what was edible, what was to be discarded.  It was a really great opportunity for the kids to see where their food comes from and what it takes for it get to their plates.

Later in the evening I spent some time with a group of adult women, making cheese.  There was a group of women who recently spent time together on Wednesday nights discussing "The Menu for the Future", a discussion course about food, where it comes from, and how to eat more sustainably, and locally.  They have finished the discussion/course, but they were interested in trying a couple of activities, including cheese making.

I made some yogurt cream cheese to share with them.  I simply put some plain yogurt into a cheese cloth, hung it, and once the whey had dripped off (about 6 hours), I had a cream cheese style yogurt flavored cheese .  SIMPLE!  Well, after I had the cheese, there certainly needed to be something to place it on.  Perfect time to finally make those Parmesan Crackers, to go with the Violet Jam and cream cheese.  That would make a perfect little snack to share.  The batch made enough for a little snack to bring, and a few left for Husband and the girls to enjoy while I was gone. 

While there, we made a couple batches of Ricotta and Mozzarella.  Every time I make these cheeses, I wonder why I don't do them more often, as it's so simple.  It was a fun evening, thought cheese making and chatting made the cheese making take a lot longer than it should...hopefully it doesn't discourage anyone from trying it themselves, for fear it will always take 4 hours to make a couple pounds of cheese!

She Made it Through Another Ridiculously Hot Day May 26, 2010

It was another day in the 90's.  Homesteading, or Farming, will make you keenly aware of the weather.  When I worked in a temperature controlled office, and lived in a temperature controlled home, I really never knew what the weather was.  It didn't much matter.  I didn't go outside very often, and unless it rained on a weekend, when I had plans, the weather just went by. 

Now I know that it hasn't rained in days.  But Thunder Showers are going to make it so I don't have to go out tonight to water the plants!  The thunder shower also means that a cold front is moving into the warm weather we are having, causing the thunder, and thus a cooling will occur.  Yes, that was the one thing I took away from the meterology class I started in College.  I dropped it when I realized that it wasn't going to be the slacker Science credit is seemed like it would be.  The professors of such classes seemed to know their subject had such a reputation, and would then make it a lot harder than necessary.  The Children's Lit professor did the same thing, so I dropped that too, but I digress, back to the weather.   

Tomorrow it's supposed to be back down in the 70's and should be that way through the weekend.  Excellent.  I did spend three hours outside today spraying down the rabbit building, altering the setup, cooling ears, refreshing water.  I probably didn't need to do as much as I did, but I wasn't taking any more chances.  And all the rabbits are outside and looking great.  I was impressed with how good Josie, Hyacinth, and Almanzo held up to the heat.  Josie's kits were looking very good through it, too.  All little notes I'm jotting down for future breeding**.

I was given a few plastic bottles from my friend up the street (thank you Andrea), so I'll be freezing them for the next hot day, because that was a great idea that Colleen gave me yesterday! 

I came across a very cool little thing online.  I don't do a lot with recipes, but I thought I'd give my mom a copy of the violet recipe, along with a jar, as a thank you for letting me pick all the violets, and this was perfect timing.  A recipe Card Generator, that lets you input the title, source, ingredients and directions.  It also lets you pick from two different backgrounds.  Very cool.

 

**Okay, cool breeding information.  I read, tonight, that if you have three good kits from one litter (preferably 2 does and a buck) and you want to figure out if the traits you like came from either the buck or the doe, you can keep all three, breed the buck from the litter back to it's mom, and the does back to their dad.  If there is a weakness or a strength it will most likely to show up in the breeding back to the parents.  This is exciting.  Josie has 3 kits, and if I sexed right there is 1 buck and 2 does.  They are ALL the same size as the kits from Calliope and Clementines litters when they were about 10-11 weeks old, but Josie's litter is half that age!  This litter is much closer to what a good meat producing breed should be weighing.  I'll be breeding Josie to Almanzo again, to see if the size thing was what I can expect from the pairing, but I'm seriously considering holding onto the whole litter to do that test.  I love learning about how to do what I'm doing with the animals even better than the way I'm already doing it!  Okay, thank you for indulging me as I got all geeky about rabbit breeding!