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Novice Baker

12/29/2015

2 Comments

 
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My friend, Barb, sent me a link to The Chicken Chick’s directions for a gingerbread chicken coop.  I told her I wouldn't do anything that involved unless she came and helped me.  She called my bluff. 

​I’ve never made a gingerbread house before but I thought a chicken coop would be a simple start…silly me.

PictureThis was the idea when we started...
The Chicken Chick had all kinds of details, like little nest boxes complete with marzipan eggs and roosts made of pretzels sticks, a Purina feed sack behind the door, weather vane, a feeding dish made out of molded candy melts filled with grain and a marzipan chicken taking a dust bath in brown sugar.  
​http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/12/gingerbread-chicken-coop-instructions.html   

I found it a challenge just to roll the gingerbread dough panels out to the same thickness.  ​
Before reality set in, I did look for marzipan at the store.  Being Christmas time, the baking aisle was pretty well sold out, but I asked anyway.  The employee stocking shelves in the baking aisle, was apparently new for the Christmas season.  After I’d repeated my request twice he shook his head and said, “I don’t even know what that is.  You’d have to ask my supervisor.”  I suddenly remembered I had a miniature chicken cookie cutter and decided I really wanted gingerbread chickens, anyway. 
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Unfortunately, as I was cutting out the little chickens Joel asked for help with the real chickens.  I quickly put the cookie sheet in the oven and went outside.  When I came back in I couldn’t find the cookie cutter anywhere.  I gave up and went on to other things.  I found my plastic cookie cutter when I took the pan out of the oven.  My cookie cutter now looked more like red wax lips for Halloween than a chicken.  No more gingerbread chickens.  Barb and I each had a flock of two until I found more chickens in the gingerbread scraps when I was cleaning up.

Joel has often mentioned how magical the gingerbread house was that his dad made one Christmas.  Perhaps very young children are easily impressed.    I heard the Norway House on Franklin Ave. has a gingerbread  display through January 15th, complete with the Foshay Tower, the Capitol building and the Stone Arch Bridge among other things. http://norwayhouse.org/event/gingerbread-wonderland/ 
        I think I’ll just go eat my chicken coop.
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2 Comments

​Christmas Cows!

12/26/2015

6 Comments

 

​Every Christmas the Kay Jewelers' commercials proclaim,  “Every kiss begins with Kay.”  The other night Joel remarked, “At our house, 'kiss' begins with cow.”   Not very grammatically or phonetically correct, I suppose, and I realize some women may not appreciate it, but I was thrilled with my Christmas present this year.  With investment help from our nephew, Joel surprised me with two Scottish Highland heifers for Christmas.  This was a sacrifice on his part because he would have preferred Angus or Herefords or something more practical, but aren’t the Highlands just about the cutest things you ever saw?  And they have lots of hair so I don’t have to worry about them getting cold.  
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On a more practical note, Scottish Highlands have lean meat (the hair insulates them so they don’t need as much fat), which is low in cholesterol  (but I’m not going to think about the beef part of it at this point — that issue is way off in the distant future).  They also have lots of butterfat in their milk.   And that part I do like!
6 Comments

Chicken Tales

12/22/2015

0 Comments

 
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​I haven’t written much about the chickens lately.  It's not that they don't still entertain me, I just haven't had the time to write.  The first year went so well we decided to expand this past summer — 10 more chicks and one rooster.  (I thought it would be nice to make our own chicks on site and not have to buy new ones every year.)  The "chicken store" generously gave us a spare rooster in case the one we bought didn’t survive.  Both of them thrived.  I read that roosters are fine if they are raised together so we kept the two: Bob Tail and “the Other One.”  

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Shortly after getting 13 new chicks, three of the year-old chickens went broody.  They were determined to stay on the nest until they hatched some eggs.  I actually could relate.  I had been in labor for 12 hours with my first child when we went to the hospital.  They told me I was nowhere near delivery and should go home again.  I told them I was not leaving until I had a baby to take home…so I sympathized with the chickens.  I just hope I wasn’t as noisy or silly as they were. 

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Roosters come with a dot of ink on their heads.
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​Since the ‘boys’ were still too young to be of any use,  I went on Craigslist looking for fertilized eggs (you can get anything on Craigslist!).  I found some for sale not too far away and stuck them under the chickens.  By the last day of June I was hearing little peeps coming from underneath the hen.   They were adorable little multi-colored things.  And it was so easy! (for me, anyway).  There was none of this watching the thermometer to make sure they chicks were warm enough and changing the bedding every three hours or so; Mama took care of everything! 
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PictureLesson #1: Don't climb into the food dish
When the time came to venture out, Mama taught them what they needed to know (which,  for a chicken is not very much).  They stayed close to her at all times in the yard.  At night she would take them back to the brooder house and they would climb in underneath her for warmth and protection. 

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That first lesson is really hard to remember!
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Even when they were getting rather large they would still try to push underneath Mama so she would have to stand up to sleep (notice Gray Baby peeking out behind on the picture on the right).  My own ‘chicks’ have long since ‘flown the coop’ so as an ‘empty nester’ I enjoyed watching them cuddle up to her.   One night they all moved into the coop and no longer needed Mama, not even at night.  ​​Sigh.

Picture"Gray Baby"
Sadly, after about four months those cute little chicks were huge, the biggest three in the entire flock…and then they started crowing.  Not one female!  So now I had a flock that was 20% roosters.  Even as a novice farmer I realized that was not a good idea and I’m pretty sure that  the neighbors agreed every morning.  So, I talked to some fellow novice farmer friends.  Together we watched a Youtube video on butchering chickens.  I choked.  I gave them “the Other One” with the stipulation that he leave my place alive and well and that they were careful to ensure he wouldn’t suffer.  I was down to four roosters...still too many.   Back to Craigslist.  

We traded Gray Baby and Bob for two slightly older Gold Sex-link hens.  The new chickens are a little battered from being picked on by Rhode Island Reds (yes, chickens are somewhat racist, I’m sorry to say.  They recognize different colors and breeds and tend to be naughty at times).  So the new chickens (affectionally known as "the scrawny ones" are “re-cooperating” (see what I did there?) in the brooder by themselves, re-growing their feathers and plumping up.  I might get some eggs from the new scrawny hens.   I at least have a better chance of getting eggs from them than from a rooster.
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​So now I’m down to two roosters,  trying to pick the one with the nicest personality: the Black One or the Other Black One…they are identical except one seems to be nicer.  I just can’t tell which one it is when they move around.  This is the part of farming I don't enjoy.
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"The Black One"
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The "Other Black One"
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Eggnog!

12/18/2015

0 Comments

 
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I really like eggnog and it’s that time of year that I can justify drinking copious amounts.  I priced it in the store yesterday —  2 quarts for $4.98.  So I bought 2 quarts of milk for $1.79 instead and decided to make my own (it helps that we have a refrigerator full of eggs). 

I’ve been playing around with a couple of recipes over the years but the problem is that I can’t remember by the next year which one worked better.  So this year I combined them.  Feel free to adapt it to your personal tastes     (I always do).

                                  Christmas Eggnog
1 quart 1 or 2% or whole milk, depending on how rich you want your eggnog
4-6 eggs depending on their size (and how many you have in the refrigerator)
¼ tsp salt
¾  cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp rum extract (or to taste…I like lots)
1 cup whipping cream (opt.)
Nutmeg
 
          Heat the milk in a large pan until hot but not scalding.  While the milk is heating, mix the eggs, salt and sugar together in a large bowl.   It's hard to get powdered sugar to dissolve in the eggs so I generally save about ¼  cup of milk to mix with the sugar first.  After the sugar has dissolved in the milk, I add the eggs one at a time.  
          Slowly add the hot milk to the egg mixture.  Return to the pan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the temperature reaches 160° on a candy thermometer (it will take about 5 minutes).  Remove from heat and add the extracts.  Chill in the refrigerator.  After it’s chilled I like to blend it in a blender until smooth and frothy.  For a richer eggnog, fold in one cup of whipped cream.  Pour into glasses and sprinkle nutmeg on top.  Find a nice fire, put on some Christmas music and enjoy!
          As a disclaimer, I recently heard this poem.  I looked for the author but all I could find on line was that it is anonymous.  For the record, this is generally how I cook...
            Recipe
I didn’t have potatoes
So I substituted rice.
I couldn’t find paprika
So I used another spice.
 
Tomatoes weren’t in season
So I used tomato paste.
The whole can, not a half a can;
I don’t believe in waste.
 
She said it was their favorite --
You simply couldn’t beat it.
There must be something wrong with her,
I couldn’t even eat it!
                                                             — Anonymous
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        One of the things I enjoy most about gardening is the solitude.  It is a place to escape the noise and busy-ness of the day, to quiet my soul and listen to the birds, to bask in the beautiful creation and worship the Creator.    
        Sometimes the mood is serious and awe inspiring but other times it's 
    the delightful 
    entertainment of a silly chicken or a pensive toad.
        I invite you to join me in this journey of discovery and re-creation.
                              Donna 

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