Chicken raising- part 2

After my last posting I was left wondering about our choice in Chickens for meat.I don't like the whole idea of Cornish Cross Chickens; they have been bred to grow quickly and deformed in the end,as our friend Jen says "They are Franken-Chickens." We don't want Franken-food on our table why promote Cornish's, the whole point behind the breeding of these birds goes against every thing we are trying to accomplish here.Why stick with them?

Why? Well it goes back to what we already knew,my Dad always raised Cornish's,they were easy and reliable. But like lots of other areas in our life we are and need to rethink the old ideas we are still holding onto. We got rid of our BIG gas hog truck and down sized as a way to follow our "new" way of thinking now it is time to address the meat chickens as well.

Jen whom I mentioned above sent me an email after reading my last posting with an inquire about raising a larger number of Chickens for meat together. It was a bit of a ponder because they live 3 hours east of us on many acres of land outside of Sister's Oregon.Could we do it? After a phone call we decided it could be done.

Our plan is to share an order for a dual purpose chicken like the Buff Orpington's which will live at their house until butchering time.We will split the costs of both the chicks and the feed.

Jen and her family's chicken coop is a better set up too,their coop is the size of our garage and the run area is the size of most of my front yard.Lots of room,no worries about the neighbors complaining about a large number of birds and oh darn we will have to spend an weekend at their house visiting folks who are part of our family,swim in the creek,cuddle their little ones and drink coffee to die for.It will be hard so very hard but you won't have to twist our arms to do it.We love it over there and coming home is always hard because we rather stay...forever.

We still won't be raising 104 chickens,our estimate for a years worth of chicken dinners. We will still raise a few meat birds here but will most likely rethink the rotation to fit around the birds out east butchering.

Tinker, tinker, tinker, we are always tinkering what we are doing here.We try and take what we know of farm life and skills and apply them to the Suburbs.We have no map,book or school to show or teach us the way,we are writing our own story here.
Rois

Book Reviews

Image via Wikipedia

I want to share with you two books that recently came into our ownership. Both of them are great gems that are going to make some yummy things in the near future.
The first book is a baking book called The Grand Central Baking Book by: Piper Davis and Ellen Jackson written by the owners of one of our local bakeries,
Grand Central Bakery.
We enjoy going to Grand Central for a treat every so often. Close by to the hospital in Portland is one of their locations and after bigger tests at the hospital I like to treat Issac with lunch from the bakery.
Grand Central uses good quality ingredients for all of their food focusing on fresh seasonal items all the year long. The following is from the Introduction of the book, " The bakery and family recipes in this book are designed to showcase easy to find local and seasonal ingredients with ease and elegance while offering a thoughtful balance of practical wisdom and professional expertise." After reading the book cover to cover they have lived up to their hopes in my mind.
I love Grand Central's cookies and breads.When I saw they had a baking book I was pretty excited.Although the book dose not feature their breads it dose have all of the cookies they bake along with many more items that I am wanting to try here at home.Through out the book there are lots of tips and ideas for using their recipes at home.Some recipes even feature seasonal variations to try as the fillings of pies both sweet and savory.
I have only tried their Dutch Baby Pancakes so far,which were excellent, but I am planning on trying out several more in the coming weeks.The first cookie I am going to try is their Graham Cracker Sandwich Cookies. I like the looks of this recipe,the one I have already was a disappointment but Grand Centrals look easy to do and like they will come out better. I am also saving some bread scraps to make the Bread Pudding Muffins for a weekend breakfast.Chance loves bread pudding and I thought the muffin size for breakfast would be a fun way to make it.
The second book we now have is "Preserved" by:Nick Sandler and Johnny Acton with a the foreword written by: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
From the foreword: Preserving is about intelligent home economy.It is a matter of maximizing resources,using know-how both ancient and modern to get the most out of your food. But this doesn't imply parsimony or tight-fistedness.If understood and practiced well, preserving techniques will never produce food that seems meager,mean,or bland.Instead they introduce a whole range of flavors and textures to the cook's repertoire,which are as pleasing and exciting as they are diverse. And I say AMEN! to that.
What excited us about Preserving is the whole book shows how to preserve some really great foods.This is not just a canning book,in fact there isn't much canning at all but how to preserve through drying,salting,smoking,sausages,pickling,fermenting (which is different from pickling.) sugar,alcohol,bottling/canning,air exclusion and freezing.Mixed in with the how to's are tidbits of historical information about some of the foods presented such as, the first foods to be pickled in the 16 century were onions,eggs and walnuts.Also along side the history are scientific facts about the how of some of the sections.
This book covers things like drying your own mushrooms,making fruit leather ( I love home made fruit leathers they beat the store stuff hands down.) mincemeat and false capers made from Nasturtium seed pods.And at the end of each chapter there are recipes using the items from the chapter. The recipes are very modern and from all over the globe.
The updated-ness of this book is awesome.Chance and I enjoy cooking good food and are trying to produce more on our own,I think this book is goiong to be put to good use.
In our up and coming seed order I had ordered several packets of Nasturtium seeds because I love them.I have wanted to try out making the false capers using the Nasturtium seeds but always wondered how I would ever grow enough to have the seed pods all at once.My dilemma is solved according to the book I can start a jar with vinegar,salt and an herb mix and keep it in the fridge.Then I can keep adding to the jar as I have more seed pods. We don't use a ton of capers in our cooking but I just thought the novelty of the whole project would be worth the effort.The recipe says the jar will keep for a year in the fridge.
Preserved is going to fill in some gaps to our putting more of our own food up.Chance and I both felt that this book was written for the two of us,there are recipes that appeal to both of our interests in food.Lots of meat and sauces for Chance to try out and lots of fruit and veg stuff for me.
Both books are great and I encourage you to check them out.
The rain here has been awful,muddy and drenching.I think January is the worst month of the year,the weather is WET,there is not a lot going on any where and I get a bit shack whacked (aka cabin feverish.) but we are mostly through the month and all will be well sooner or later.In the mean time I am working on indoor projects,sewing some and reading lots of books.
Rois

C is for Cottage Cheese....F is for Figs.

Today was a great and busy homesteading day.My day started with some housework,which never goes away- laundry,dishes and tiding up. I then started our Apple sauce.I peeled and sliced a third of our box of Apples,this was all my biggest pot would hold.Cooked the Apples down and filled the jars...HMMM maybe this box will be all for Apple Sauce, I ended up with 6 quarts not nearly enough to last us for long.I am still mastering the "How much" part of canning our own food.One thing I know is the boys can finish off a pint of Apple Sauce in one sitting so I am going to need the whole box,if we run out I'll make some fresh later on. Once I finish this box I'll go pick up another to make Apple Butter.
Chance came home and went to pick the Figs we have been watching in an empty lot near by.They were mostly ripe but with the cooler nights they were not going to ripen any more on the tree. We had driven by a few days ago and saw a gentleman picking some of the Figs, with this in mind Chance left a fare share on the tree for others.He ended up bringing home 3 dozen which Chance plans to dry once they have ripened a bit more. One more treat to put away for winter.
Next our elderly neighbor Dick stopped by to ask us if we still wanted his compost.He had offered us his black gold many weeks ago and we just had not gotten to it. Dick lives behind us kitty corner so we put ladders up in the corners of our fences allowing Chance and I to hoist 5 gallon buckets up and over to our wheelbarrow.That was work, but we filled 5 wheelbarrows full before my arms and Chance's back gave out.There's still 4-5 more wheelbarrows full waiting for us to come get.Both Chance and I had a good time getting to know a bit more about our neighbor who is in his upper 80's and still cuts and stacks 6 cords of fire wood each fall. We both hope to be as spry as Dick when we are his age. We worked out a trade for the compost , we gave Dick a box of our Asian Pears and tomorrow (if the lazy hens give me some eggs) I am baking him some Gingerbread and will send a jar of Apple Sauce for it. Food for his belly and Food for our Garden.
Before we hauled the compost we laid out a new garden bed to use for Garlic.We planted 5 heads worth and will need to put in more in the next few days.With the thick layer of compost that looks like any bagged up garden soil you could buy, I am certain the garlic will do well.Like Onions, Garlic is a heavy feeder so the rich soil is necessary.
I want to share with all of you a simple dish I made with dinner tonight. Chance's grandmother used to make it mostly as a lunch dish but I also make it as a side dish. It is called Noddles and Cottage Cheese.Now when Chance first made this for me I was not too sure, warm Cottage Cheese? I don't know about that.Now tho' I love it and so do our boys. Here's how it goes...

Choose one pound of dried pasta, I like to get one that is a shape that will catch the bits of Cottage Cheese,like small shells or Macaroni. Chance's Grandmother always made it using Spinach Noodles.
Next you need a one pound tub of Cottage Cheese,which ever fat content you like. A couple of Tablespoons of Butter.If you are worried about fat the butter can be left out. Salt and Pepper to taste.
Cook and drain the pasta.Stir in the butter until melted.Now dump in the whole tub of Cottage Cheese mix it into the noodles.Salt and Pepper to taste.I don't always need the Salt depending on the saltiness of the Cottage Cheese.Serve it up. Our boys love it with steamed broccoli on the side.
I like this dish, it is easy,cheap, and goes well with almost anything or can even be served as a main dish. I also like the fact that it is as easy as a boxed Mac and Cheese but is fresh and healthier.I have used Gluetin Free Pasta's as well and it works great for that too. If your family likes Mac and Cheese this might work for you too.
Well, lets hope I wake up to a nest box full of eggs in the morning.This seems to happen to me, I suddenly have a stock pile of eggs so I share or trade them, then those crazy birds don't lay for days on end.I am left thinking should I just horde my eggs? It's kind of like which came first the chicken or the egg.I don't care I just want eggs.
Rois

Pickled Mixed Veg Salad

I have a cook book that is one of three that I would grab if the house was on fire,a book so dog eared it should be able to bark by now."Please to the Table,the Russian Cook Book" by Anya von Bremzen adn John Welchman is filled with delicious food,notes about Russian life and a recipe for any occasion. I must have 12 pages marked with tabs because I use them so often and pages stained from many days worth of cooking. Soups, meats,vegetables,dumplings, noodles,breads and desserts oh my! There is even a chapter From the Pantry listing sides to go with your meals. If you are looking for an interesting book with a new venue of food check this one out.Sadly the price has gone up since I bought mine many moons ago but it is worth every penny.I have yet to find a bad recipe in this gem.
Today I am going to share with you a recipe I make often and like when there's so many fresh veggies around.It's a Pickled Mixed Vegetable Salad that can easily be adjusted for your tastes in vegetables and spice. I always keep the cabbage in the recipe since it is the base of it.I have used beets before and unpeeled cucumber.I have also used semi-ripe tomatoes and other colors of bell peppers.Depending on who I am feeding I have also monkeyed around with the chili pepper amount or I have left it out.I find that the salad is best the second day,this time allows the vinegar to pickle the veggies and gives the garlic time to open as well. I hope you will try it and enjoy it.

Pickled Mixed Vegetable Salad from "Please to the Table"

1 medium sized green cabbage shredded
2Tablespoons Kosher or other coarse salt
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup White Vinegar
12 black pepper corns I have just used plenty of pepper from my shaker.
1Tablespoon Sugar
1 Large Carrot peeled and cut to julienne
3 Medium sized Red Bell Peppers,cored seeded and julienne
2 Onions sliced thinly
2 Green Tomatoes seeded and diced
2 small dried hot chili peppers chopped. Or you could use a bit of crushed chilies.
3 whole cloves of Garlic sliced
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil.

In a bowl toss the cabbage with the salt and let stand one hour.
Meanwhile in a non reactive sauce pan combine,water,vinegar,pepper corns and sugar.Bring to a boil and then let cool.
The salt in the bowl of cabbage will have pulled some of the cabbages liquids out.Drain and squeeze the liquid out.Now add the Carrot,bell peppers,onions and tomatoes.Add the chilies and garlic.Toss well.
Add the oil to the marinade and toss with the veggies.Let stand for one hour.
From here the book says to place the salad in a sterilized 2 quart jar, seal with a lid and put it in the fridge.I don't always do this step,if I know we are eating it that day or the next I put the salad in a covered bowl and cover with whatever I have handy.I think the sterilized jar is for when you might be keeping the salad longer but the book dose not say how long it will keep.One of my canning projects is to figure out how to can this salad like a Chow Chow.
Rois