Smoked Smelt

Just when I thought I would never have another homesteading project to share due to the crappy( daily hail as thick as a snow flurry,cold temps,pouring and pounding rain.) weather we have been having Chance smoked some smelt for snacking.
 Last Friday Chance and I went in to Portland to run a couple of errands and ended up stopping at Fubon our local and biggest Asian Supermarket.I have mentioned Fubon before and if you live here in the Portland area and have never been you should go.The prices on everything is well worth our trip all the way in,ingredients that inspire and it's fun to try out new things.
  If you go,don't be afraid to ask a fellow customer questions about what you are wondering about.Chance and I have had some informative conversations standing in the aisles.This last trip we learned how to make what the Thai's call Na-va (not too sure about the spelling but that is how the word sounds.) Na-va is made from tapioca flour,dyed green and rolled into little worms for a couple of different desserts and sometimes used in the southeast Asian dessert/drink called Three Color. I was super excited about finally learning how to make these.Growing up I lived for a time with a family from southeast Asia and one of my favorite desserts I had at the Ly's house was the Na-Va with coconut milk and tapioca pearls.It was the one dish we always bought so I did not learn to make it.But I am posting about smoking smelt so I'll get back on track now....
   While at Fubon we picked up a package of frozen Smelt Fish.Normally we like our fish to be fresh but since we wanted to try smoking these little fish we thought it would be fine.The package was about 1 pound of fish and was just over $2.When we came home again Chance defrosted the fish and found this brine for them.Chance soaked the fish for the 4 hours recommended and laid them out to dry (see photo at the top.) then smoked following the recipes guidance. We were happy with the fish but we are going to change a couple of things next time.First of all they are a bit too salty for us; so next time Chance is going to replace the garlic and onion salts for powder and see if that helps.And we will keep better track of the time,a couple of the fish were too dry.The fish are fun little snacks that are kind of like fish jerky.

 We came home from Fubon with 4 bags of groceries and our lunch all for $35.We bought meat ( 5 pkgs),veggies,noodles,spices (including a five spice blend for only 88 cents! ) coconut milk and some jars of sauces.
  I have been shopping at the local Asian markets a long time and know which products I like, my tips about learning to shop international markets where you may not be able to read the labels are: Take a gamble and try something new, if you like it memorize the packaging or save it for your next trip.You will also find that packaging can have pictures of key ingredients.In many countries not everyone can read so this is the way things are marketed for the none reader.And like I said just ask someone,a clerk or customer.If you are respectful and show interest you may just open a new door in your world.

 Over the weekend we celebrated Issac's 16th Birthday.It was great to have his gang of friends here and to see their smiling faces.I am impressed with this group of kids,we have watched them grow up and they are all turning out to be a fine group of young adults.Young adults with car keys! That was new this year and sure sign time is passing.
 In the photo you can see Issac's Voodoo Guy donut from a local shop,Issac always wants donuts instead of cake for his birthday.


Other that all of that we have been indoors...way to much,thank you very little Mother Nature. I am worried about some of my seeds rotting in the ground either that or they have all washed away with the rain. The only up side to the weather is if my seeds do rot it's not too late to replant.
Yesterday Chance made his first and very successful batch of bread.He has decided if he just tries eventually he will be able to bake.
Tonight for dinner we are having the Duck Wings we bought, a nice change from the ever present chicken.And that folks is all of the news I have for now.I'd be really interested in knowing if anyone has questions for us about anything you think we may know or do or even something I mentioned just in passing you would like to know more about.So shoot me some questions...
 Rois

Rosemary Brac and HOA's

 Yesterday I had a visitor from the neighborhood next to ours,the neighborhood working towards having chickens allowed by their HOA. My visitor had emailed asking if she could take some photos of our coop for an up coming HOA meeting,sure why not anything to help their cause. We visited while I gave her a tour of our gardens,pictures were snapped and then a request was made,could I, would I mind manning a Q&A table at their HOA meeting? All I would have to do is answer people's questions about keeping chickens in the city.Ok I said,I thought at first I would have to stand in front of a partially unfriendly crowd to talk with mic in hand so standing at table seems easy enough,only a few folks at a time to talk to I can do that.
 The pro-chicken crowd had sent out a survey to their neighbors with questions to answer and a space for them to list any concerns.The three main concerns were very simple to answer and two are easy to solve.The other is a matter of tolerance.
  Many of the surveyed people were worried about smell and rats. I can understand both of those.A smelly yard is no joy to me so I got that one. I ran all of  my answers by my visitor to see what she thought. Keeping the smell down is simple, when your nose tells you that your coop is smelly,clean it.Your nose will know before your neighbors catch wind of it.This can be about bi-weekly in the summer because city chickens live in much smaller coops than farm chickens,like any other small space it needs cleaning more often.In the winter it can take longer because of the cooler weather. ( We don't clean our coop from November until March, the composting manure releases heat and helps keep the hens warm.)
  As for rats, I hate wild rats and do not want to see them in my yard at all. The best ways to keep rats from coming are easy, feed your hens in the morning and take their feed bin in at night.Rats are nocturnal if there is not anything there for them to eat at night they are not going to hang out. Also by keeping your feed stored indoors the rats won't be tempted to chew through your feed bags or buckets.Indoor storage also keeps your feed dry which is always good too.I had not thought of this until now but by designing your coop so it is up on "feet" you won't be building rat habitat,they love living under things.Finally, keep your coop clean.
 The third concern was how much noise chickens make.That has kind of a round about answer, yes they make noise but not all of the time.My visitor said she read somewhere the loudest hen ever recorded was 80 decibels the same volume as a dog barking.She asked me about the "I just laid an egg" chatter the hens do.So far I can find no rhyme or reason to this behavior.Sometimes my girls will go for weeks with out announcing they have laid an egg,then one day it is the biggest news since Obama won the Presidential race. But really my neighbors dog barks longer than the hens sing out about their egg laying habits.In my mind if you can ignore a reasonable amount of dog barking you can ignore a hens cackling.The only other time the hens make noise is when there is some threat in the yard and this is a good thing to tune into,there's trouble in the yard and it is your duty to A.keep your hens safe and B.fix the problem.
 So a HOA meeting is where I will be one evening next week,wearing my best Suburban Mom costume,no nose ring and a big patient smile.There's some conservative folks over there so I will need to blend in like G.I Joe in the jungles of Way Far Out.
   I have another recipe to share today.I know I always post some sort of baked thing it is because they are the only things I cook I have an actual recipe for.When I cook it is a dash,handfuls and a bit of this or that.Well I do follow the recipes for canning but that is different.
 Today's recipe is for Rosemary Brac,(Brac is an Irish term for tea cake.) I have no idea where I got this recipe, I have it written down in my book but the origins are lost.This makes one 9 inch round cake that is slightly sweet,savory and has it's own richness to it as well. The first step to making the Brac is steeping golden raisins and rosemary in warmed milk.This step is important,the warmth of the milk softens the raisins and allows the oils in the rosemary to infuse the milk. I know this may seem like an odd combo,sweet and savory but it works. I had a slice of it slathered with butter and apple butter yesterday,the apple butter sent it over the top! Yum.
   
    Rosemary Brac-
    Preheat oven to 350   remember if using a glass pan turn the oven down by 25 degrees.
   Grease a 9 inch round pan.

   1/2 Cup Golden Raisins
   1 Cup Milk
   1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh Rosemary or 1 1/2 teaspoon dried
        Heat these together in a pan until the milk just starts to boil.Set aside and cool to room temp.

  In a bowl -
  2 Eggs beaten until frothy
  4 Tablespoons of melted Butter
  3/4 Cups Sugar
   Add butter and sugar to eggs mix well.Now add-
  2 Cups Flour
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
    Add dry ingredients to egg mixture beat until smooth then add in the milk,rosemary and raisins.Stir it all together and pour into your pan.
Bake for 30- 45 minutes. Somehow when I first wrote this recipe down I did not write down the temp or time, duh Rois. So I had to work it out for myself.Most cakes bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes so that is what I went with.My oven takes close to 45 minutes.
 The Brac reminds me a bit of scones, a bit sweet,rich and will go with lots of things.I hope you try this recipe out although it sounds odd it is really tasty.
  Enjoy your weekend and happy Mother's Day to one and all.
    Rois

A Citrus Celebration-Marmalade and an Orange Tart

Orange Marmalade and an Orange Tart.


Thursday my friend Alison came over to walk me through making Orange Marmalade.I had decided that I wanted some help since every single recipe for Marmalade was so different I felt a bit overwhelmed.Alison makes great Marmalade so she was my choice in teachers. You can click over to her blog for the full details on how to make various Marmalade's and a link to the book she uses for the recipe.

To make 2 batches took us a whole days worth of work with visiting in between. Four oranges and two lemons gave me 3 pint jars worth of Marmalade. The amount of jars verses the amount of work has left me wondering if I will do this again.We love marmalade but I don't know....maybe if next year I have company again to help make the time go by I'd do it again.Never the less the Marmalade is a treat and much welcomed in the pantry.




Wednesday's I like to bake us a midweek treat for dessert.I wanted to make something from my Grand Central Bakery Book but kept finding I was lacking one thing or another,dang it, but I came across their Lemon Tart recipe and decided to make it with a twist that fit what I had on hand.The recipe calls for Lemon Curd and lists the recipe for the Curd but I had Oranges in the pantry so my experiment started.I replaced orange zest and juice for the lemon in the recipe,I was not sure how it would turn out but it was awesome. The only thing I will change next time is to monkey around with the crust amount,I got the back edge of the tart crust a bit too thick.The first time I use a recipe I always follow the directions and make my own adjustments the next time.The tart was very rich and buttery with a pleasant mild orange flavor.I am thinking the next time I make one of these I will add a bit of zest to the tart dough too just to boost the orange flavor.


I had wanted this to be a longer posting with a bit more information but time is pressing me else where so away I go.I am coming back this weekend to talk about raising your own Chickens for meat and about butchering classes.I must zoom off so far well for now.
Rois