Our family will be enjoying some Cornish game hen in another month or so… These chicks are currently nearly 3 weeks old; they were just a few days old in these pictures. They’re so cute.
Cornish chicks April 1, 2011
Chinese New Year at Boulevard Farm February 3, 2011
On Wednesday, we gathered with friends for a Chinese New Year feast. We wore red, we decorated the house, friends brought us oranges for good luck. We got new haircuts! (We did not clean the house, or wear all new clothes, both of which are also traditions. Nor did I distribute red money envelopes.)
Egg rolls.
Making dumplings
Wally REALLY wanted squid.
Veggies for stir fry
Chicken and Beef stir fry.
Dessert. The gelatin stuff was pretty good – basically plain gelatin with almond and milk, topped with fruit. (should have gone with frozen instead of canned!). The cake wasn’t bad – I think it turned out just as it should have – but it wasn’t my favorite thing to eat.
Frontier Stew January 14, 2011
We made this earlier this week for homeschool. We have been studying the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, Sacagewea, etc. I found this recipe in a book on the Corps of Discovery, then adapted it a little.
1 can white beans. (we used navy beans) If you aren’t hurrying trying to get this made before the troops revolt from hunger, you could use dried beans, too. (I mean, you’d have to cook them first.)
1 large or 2 small winter squash. I used our squash from the garden this year. Peel it and dice it.
Scallions or onion, sliced thin.
2 cups corn. Fresh if you have it (just slice it off the ear), frozen if you have to.
1 cup milk
1 cup broth or stock
Thyme, salt, pepper
Butter or oil.
Cook the onion and squash in the butter/oil until soft. Add everything else. Bring to a boil. Then simmer 15 minutes.
I let ours simmer until most of the liquid was cooked out, to make it really more like stew than like soup. It was super good.
You could also add bison (which they likely would have had), or beef, or really any other red meat.
I’m thinking we might try this in the summer while camping, when we have fresh corn.
(PS, notice the use of the three sisters – squash, corn, and beans.)
Farmer of the Day December 19, 2010
Well, that was kind of fun. A few weeks ago, I joined the Farmer in the City program at Urban Farm Online. And on Friday, I was voted to be Farmer of the Day.
I’m on to them now… December 13, 2010
I’ve finally figured out the Chicken Plot. Days I check on them: no eggs. Days I decide to skip: at least 1 egg, usually 2. Yup. So I’ve found several frozen eggs, but have not been able to get any actually usable eggs for a few weeks now. Perhaps now that I’m on to them and their evil plot, they’ll change things up again.
Foghorn was super yummy. December 10, 2010
So, we had one chicken that was just huge. He (as it turns out) was big as a chick, and outgrew his fellow chickens quickly. I mean, he was GIANT. Look at him there in comparison to the other birds.
Randy named him Foghorn, because he reminded him of the cartoon character.
And now look at him in the smoker:
And on our plates:
He was pretty yummy.
And it’s sad to say this, but I had never eaten meat I’ve raised myself. I mean, historically, that’s a very bizarre thing to say – only in the last generation or two have people been able to truly say, at 34, that they’ve never eaten meat they raised themselves. Fortunately, my kids won’t grow up thinking this is an unusual treat – I hope that eating food that they’ve raised themselves is just a part of life for them.
Family Meals December 1, 2010
Since Spring, our family’s been spending one evening a week with the Glann family of Sugar Creek Family Farm. (Together, our farms make up Swingin’ Goat Farms.)
The idea was that Randy and I would spend the evening working around their farm, in exchange for fresh produce from their garden, since we have no garden. Typically, what happens is that Abby and I go out and do some work while Randy cooks and watches Genna while the other kids play. We all eat after Andrew gets home, and then if there’s still light, Abby and I head out to do more work.
As the days got shorter, though, we ended up eating dinner and then heading down to watch a movie together. We have decided, though, that we enjoy the fellowship so much that we’re going to continue even during the winter, but perhaps alternating houses. We’re compiling a list of winter tasks to complete on our work/dinner nights.
I will say, the appeal of our evenings to me has become just the relaxed time spent together with another family that shares our values – from homeschooling to Christ to food.
Pardoning Turkeys – the Dumbest Tradition Ever December 1, 2010
Really, pardoning turkeys? Was this contrived to give Presidents some press time on a slow news day? Is this not the stupidest tradition ever?
Let’s think about this from a practical perspective. Those turkeys – two every year – supposedly go live the rest of their natural lives at Mt Vernon, or wherever. Turkeys can live to be 10-12 years old. So, on average, if they don’t actually kill the birds, Americans are paying for 20-24 turkeys to be NOT KILLED. Do you know how much turkeys, particularly full-grown ones, eat? They eat more than chickens, and my chickens eat a LOT. And I’d be willing to bet that the US Government isn’t feeding them on kitchen scraps.
Wouldn’t the whole country be better off if they instead slaughtered the turkeys every year and fed the homeless with them, and with the money we would NOT be spending on their upkeep?
Frankly, I’d like to see a President who can, instead of pardoning some cutesy-named Turkeys, actually participate in their preparation. I wouldn’t require that he don protective garments and actually slaughter them, but pulling the feathers would be acceptable. THAT would make the news.
Fall Farm Chores November 30, 2010
This weekend’s lovely weather provided a perfect opportunity to finish up our fall chores.
First I moved the chickens around to their winter home. We joke that they are Snowbirds because they move south for the winter. I like to have them near the back door for the winter so I don’t have to walk as far to feed and water them in the cold. I had already insulated the interior of their house with straw,making them some of the most pampered citified birds around. I put a small food can and the heated water dish inside, as well, and left the main set of food and water outside. I also added some cracked corn to their feed to help keep them warm, and we put up a pallet as a wind and snow break on the west side.
This is the view out the south windows of the bedroom – a nice benefit of the summer home is being able to see them easily from the house.
Then we finally got the storm windows on the house! I say “finally” because we never put them on last year. Frankly, I was a little out of practice. But we can already tell a difference, so yay!
AND! I got the garlic planted! Something else I didn’t get done last year. (I had left it in the car all winter, actually, but if we had any Vampire emergencies, we would have been in good shape.
Here’s hoping that this winter is warmer than last year’s was!
Chicken stock and Turkey stock November 29, 2010
When we eviscerated the chickens, we kept the necks, gizzards, livers, hearts, and fat. Last Monday, I cleaned out the gizzards (which were full of rocks and ground up corn), gave everything a good rinse, and threw them in the crock pot with the other parts, a few carrots, some celery with leafy tops, a few bay leaves, a splash of vinegar, and some salt and pepper. Giving credit where credit is due, I was merely following Abby’s directions, as I’ve only ever made chicken stock with the leftover parts of roast chicken, and I never thought it was very great.
After it had cooked for about 24 hours, I strained out the large parts and put the liquid in the fridge to separate out the fat. I had been reading a few websites that recommended removing every last bit of fat from the stock before canning, but then started reading that this wasn’t so important, after all. I ended up just dumping everything back into the stockpot to make it liquidy and hot again, then canning in the pressure canner (11 lbs for 20 minutes).
Thursday after our guests had left, I did the same thing with the turkey. Except this time, the canner wouldn’t seal correctly, so I’ve still got the stock in my fridge and I’ll can it at Abby’s house on Wednesday. After that, I’ll have three cans of really concentrated chicken stock and five cans of less concentrated turkey stock. All with minimal effort.
