The Non-Vegan Cow Cake

Allen turns 53 tomorrow. We got together to celebrate his birthday today. I (Rose) was in charge of bringing the cake.


I knew a while back that I wanted to bake some sort of cow cake. I mean, he's a dairy farmer, he loves cows. I started Googling "cow cakes" to find inspiration. I wanted to find a picture of something someone else had created and pattern my own cake after it. Alas, I found the perfect image! I followed the link to a website with more directions. And then, I gasped. The image was on a Vegan blog. 


I was at a crossroads. On one hand, I really liked how the cake looked. On the other, I couldn't help but wonder if using a Vegan blog as inspiration was like making a deal with the devil. After days of deliberation, I decided I would use the vegan cake as a model, but I would be sure to use extra butter in my own recipe.


So, here's what I did. I whipped up a marble cake mix and baked it in two 9 inch round pans. (Did you know that you can substitute milk for the water in a cake mix to make an extra moist cake?!)

Next, I plopped the first cake down on the cardboard circle that I planned to serve the cake on. I freehanded a cow head and two legs on wax paper, and cut through the wax paper with a knife. 

Then, using my trusty Wilton cake lifter, I lifted up the cow head and set it aside. I took the second 9 inch cake and placed it on the cardboard circle. I put the legs aside on a small plate. 

I placed the head on the "body," put the legs in place, and crumb coated it with frosting. (If you've never decorated a cake, this is a layer of frosting that you put down to hold the crumbs in place.) I also traced the mouth and some spots onto the body with a toothpick.

I used regular buttercream frosting and chocolate buttercream frosting. The chocolate frosting is easier to turn black, since it's already a brown color. I used star tips and a regular round tip. I used the Wilton buttercream recipe:


Ingredients:

• 1 cup solid vegetable shortening (I use butter! It has great flavor!)
• 1 tsp clear vanilla extract
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar
• 7 tbs milk (You can use water, but the milk has a rich flavor. Plus, it supports the dairy industry!)

Directions:

Combine shortening and vanilla. Add sugar and milk. Beat at a medium speed until light and fluffy. 

Ready to see the finished product? 

Non-vegan approved ingredients used in the cake and frosting:

• 3 eggs in the cake
• Milk instead of water in the cake
• Butter in the frosting
• Milk in the frosting

So, there you have it, my alternative to the cow cake found on the vegan blog. I've never had vegan cake, but I can tell you this conventional one was pretty tasty!

Some dairy goodness

Tonight I whipped up some cookies. You're probably wondering what these have to do with the blog title. Well, it's as simple as two things: butter and milk, both wonderful products that come to us courtesy of hardworking dairy cows. 

These cookies are probably the easiest, fool-proof cookies out there. My secret to success is taking them out of the oven before they're completely baked, and letting them set up on the cookie sheet. It helps keep them soft. I also highly recommend butter over any other kind of shortening. Of course, I also suggest enjoying them with a cold glass of milk. Try them for yourself!


Chocolate Chip and M & M Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• Chocolate chips (as many as you like)
• M & Ms (as many as you like)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugars, and vanilla until mixed thoroughly. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Slowly add flour mixture. Beat until mixed through. Add chocolate chips and M & Ms as desired. Place onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool.

As you enjoy the cookies, be sure to say a quick thanks for dairy farmers who care for their animals each day to make yummy dairy products possible for your family!

Pepsi or Coke?

It's a timeless battle. Which is better: Pepsi or Coke? Each has pros and cons. In their favor, Pepsi has a cooler label, while Coke puts happiness into each beverage. On the negative flip-side, Pepsi had the disturbing commercial with the boy getting sucked into the bottle, while Coke can corrode a penny. In the end, it all comes down to personal preference.

This blog really has nothing to do with caffeinated sodas, but it does have to do with a heifer named Pepsi. Here she is:

Greg and Jason headed down to Columbus on Friday to the Buckeye Classic Sale at the Spring Dairy Expo with the intention of dropping a few bucks to improve our herd genetics. Before they went to the sale, they perused the sale catalog with data about each cow, so they could be sure they were picking out the best addition to our herd. The data in the catalog can tell you just about everything you need to know about a cow. It lists her pedigree; if she's in production (meaning she's been milked), it lists her milk records; it lists her registration number; it even includes her birthdate. With 53 head of cattle in the sale, it was a lot of reading material!

So what were the boys looking for when they set their sights on a cow? Milk has two main components: protein and butterfat. Dairy farmers are paid based upon the amount of each component in their milk. Greg and Jason wanted to make sure that they selected cows that would help the herd average in those two areas. They also wanted to pick cows that had high production (made a lot of milk.) A lot of this is done based on speculation. Remember how I said the sale catalog lists pedigree information? You can tell a lot about how a cow will milk based on her lineage. If her dam (mom) produced a lot of milk, then it is likely that she will also.

Once Greg and Jason selected a few head of cattle that they were interested in based off of their paper records, it was time for them to look at them in person. Before the sale started, they were able to look at each cow and heifer they were considering. Just like anything, it might look good on paper, but in front of your eyes, it's a different story. As they looked at the cattle, they examined their confirmation (how their legs are set up), their frame size, and their overall appearance. Based on what they saw on paper and what they saw in person, they narrowed down their wish list.

When it was all said and done, Greg and Jason came home with Pepsi, not Coke. (Ok, that's a bad joke. I doubt there was even a cow named Coke in the sale.) Pepsi is a two-year old registered Holstein, set to calve on April 18. They also picked up two heifers (young females that haven't had calves yet), Divine and Daurel. The barns are a little fuller, but we're looking forward to seeing how these ladies contribute to the herd.

Milk- it does a body good

The following article can be found in its original state at http://www.idfa.org/facts/milk/milkfact/milk5.pdf

THE IMPORTANCE OF MILK IN THE DIET 

Although milk from the cow is processed, it is not an engineered or fabricated food. It is about 87 percent water and 13 percent solids.  The fat portion of the milk contains fat soluble vitamins.  The solids other than fat include proteins, carbohydrates, water soluble vitamins, and minerals.  These nutrients in milk help make it nature’s most nearly perfect food. 

Milk products contain high quality proteins.  The whey proteins constitute about 18 percent of the protein content of milk.  Casein, a protein found only in milk, contains all of the essential amino acids.  It accounts for 82 percent of the total proteins in milk and is used as a standard for evaluating protein of other foods.  Protein is needed to build and repair body tissues and to form antibodies which circulate in the blood and help fight infection. Milk contains the following nutrients: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. The calcium found in milk is readily absorbed by the body.  Phosphorus plays a role in calcium absorption and utilization.  Phosphorus is needed in the proper ratio to calcium to form bone.  Milk provides these two minerals in approximately the same ratio as found in bone.  Milk is also a significant source of riboflavin (vitamin B2) which helps promote healthy skin and eyes, as well as vitamins A and D. 

In adults, a calcium deficiency, along with other factors, may result in bone deterioration called osteoporosis.  The recommendations for calcium is 1,000 milligrams for adults, 1,300 milligrams per day for adolescents, 500-800 milligrams per day for young children and 1,200 milligrams per day for adults over 51 years of age.  It is difficult to obtain adequate calcium without milk and milk products in the diet. About 73 percent of the calcium available in the food supply is provided by milk and milk products.  The following daily consumption of milk group foods is suggested: 

• Children, 3 cups 

• Teenagers, 4 cups 

• Adults, 3 cups 

• Adults over 50, 4 cups

Enjoy your glass of milk today!