I have really enjoyed watching our chickens grow and develop. I’ll fill you in on some of their happenings in a post soon, but thought I’d share things I never knew before this chicken experience (which started in September)
1) Chickens stand on 1 leg a lot of the time
2) Roosters can only crow with both feet on the ground
3) Roosters can crow while walking/running
4) Hens need their egg shells back (ground up in their food) OR oyster shells so that they can continue to lay eggs
5) Green eggs (the shells, not the innards) have lower cholesterol than brown or white eggs.
6) Roosters don’t only crow in the very early morning - they crow all day long
7) Crowing is the way a rooster greets you - they’re great "watch dogs" because they let you know when people arrive, or when surroundings change
8) Chickens will eat ANYthing . . . food scraps, banana peels, slop, you name it . . . I think they’re pigs with beaks
9) Chickens are social, and prefer to hang around people. They will also wonder (in a "herd") quite far away from their coop, but will come back at roosting time
10) Roosters don’t crow at sun-up. They crow well before the sun even thinks about rising - as early as 3am. Jennifer suggested they do this so I’d know where to aim a gun. I’ve been tempted.
I was going to make this a "Top Ten" list, but then I wasn’t sure how many things I’d end up with. My next option was a "Top xx List" but then I worried about what kind of hits and nonsense that would produce. So I’ll stick with a less conspicuous and more ambiguous option.
This is a list of things I could blog about but a) didn’t; b) won’t; c) can’t; d) shouldn’t or e) might still
1) The chickens’ first eggs
2) Landscaping my yard - the strong desire and almost a vision of what should happen, but strong doubt that the inspiration will stick for longer than the rain.
3) Grass planting and the agony of spreading hay over the seed all by myself because my kids went camping and Farming had to drive for 3 hours to get the fertilizer and then spread it so our farming day "together" ended up with me unrolling 3 huge bales of hay that I spent less painful hours last year putting into the bales. And I’m not done. But I am still sore. ALL over. (hey - that’s an entire blog entry right there)
4) My precious daughter’s 13th birthday surprise
5) Learning how to ride a dirt bike with a clutch (that would be me)
6) My commitment to blog 10 times in the next 20 days with no whining, apologies, or fear/hang-ups
7) The behindness of where I am with work and other assignments (don’t tell anyone)
8) A very fun trip to Charlotte to visit friends over Easter
9) Stamping that I’ve done and still wish to do
10) A stamp room that is photo-worthy for an "after" shot (I already have several "before" shots that could be recipient of some sort of "least inspiring of creativity" award).
11) A link to a cousin’s site introducing his amazing work with "World Outside My Shoes" - look for a book in the near future
12) Observations of Prince Farming’s 25th Highschool Reunion
13) Book reports on my new pass-time (audiobooks - have to LOVE that invention (or discovery) coupled with iPhone)
14) The chicken’s new house and their general life to date
15) Spring time beauty on the farm
16) The death of a cow. And a few chickens.
17) A wonderful and stress-less weekend with Prince Farming while the kids were gone
Every week I swear I’m going to blog more faithfully. I mean, there’s so much going on - it’s not like I’m lacking for information. But I have this feeling of needing to have "stellar" writing - something witty or amusing or clever. And my life just isn’t that witty or amusing or clever. So here’s the ramble.
This past weekend my kids participated in a choral festival in Georgia. There were over 200 kids there from all over the place. I went down with a friend to listen to their performance and was totally blown away by the quality! Granted, their teacher here worked with them for the past several months so they’d be familiar with the music. But bringing that hodge podge of miscellaneous groups together and getting them to sound like something decent is quite the feat. Here’s a poor-quality iPhone shot of part of the group.
The empty chairs are where the strings came in during some of the pieces - they added quite a lot to the overall effect. We drove home after the program - which means we got to bed somewhere around 1:30am. Maybe that’s how come I feel so totally wasted today (my dad always said "you paint the week red on Saturday night - we were out on Friday night, but it’s having the same effect).
A project that has been looming for a little while is getting our chickens OUT of the garage and into a new dwelling somewhere on the farm. I’ll take pictures of them soon - but just know that chickens do not take a long time to grow up. Prince Farming is quite fond of his chicks and is worried about what wild life might not respect chicken life as much as he does. I told him we might need to appease the Raccoon and Hawk gods with a sacrifice or two, but he’s wanting to take a chance without that pay-off. Last Thursday we started working on getting the small barn ready for chickens. It’s been a bit of a dumping ground since we moved here, so there is a lot of clean-up to do. It’s not done. I did spend some time helping to stack some HUGE logs. They were HEAVY. And after only 2 hours of work out there my back ached. And my wrists haven’t been the same since. We were going to do more work on the chicken house on Sunday, but . . . . I’ll have to tell you about that another time. Brace yourselves. It just might involve a cow story.
This week we have a cooking class - actually we call it a "Lunch & Munch" - don’t know where that term came from, but it’s stuck. In my non-farm, non-home life, I am the coordinator for a Wellness program which is grant driven (not-for-profit). We do all kinds of lifestyle classes, including smoking cessation, healthy living, dealing with diabetes, cooking classes, and wellness lectures in public schools, among other things. It’s a fairly new program, and from year to year we never know how much work we’ll have to do (or get paid to do - there’s always a lot to do). So tomorrow is a short class - we’ll do the same thing twice (11am and 12pm). We have to have everything done in short order because people come through on their lunch hour and hope to get interesting information and a good meal out of the deal. So today we prepped and cooked. And we video-taped the demonstration so that people could be eating while they watch how to prepare the dishes. I am also responsible for the recipe cards - had to get them printed, cut, and collated. It’s been a FULL day. And tomorrow will be the same.
Next week I have committed (advertised and everything) to having a Christmas Card stamp class. I’m very excited about doing a class again - it’s been over a year already (can’t believe I said that out loud!). So I needed to figure out what I’m doing so I could get an order placed so my materials would be here in time for the event. I’ll post about that soon - I want to have the cards done so you can see what I’m up to. It just added to an already full day today. I placed an order. I just hope I have thought it all through enough to have what I need.
This week is full speed ahead. Thursday is going to get here and I’ll be ready to take a nap, but I’ll have the chicken thing to contend with. Unless Prince Farming gets distracted by something more pressing. One can only hope. Although I’m REALLY ready to have those smelly things (chickens) OUT of the garage. It just doesn’t seem fitting to have 25 fully grown chickens roosting in the garage, does it?!
One of the things I remember from my childhood is chickens. We had them (bantams) in at least 2 places where we lived. They were easy pets, and could be left on their own with occasional throwing out of a handful of food. We didn’t have them for eggs - just as lawn decorations, I think. So when we got the farm, I was certain I wanted chickens. But Prince Farming is a light sleeper, and he didn’t want a rooster. That was the one thing I did want - I mean, how quaint is it to be woken up in the morning by the crowing of a rooster. But that was not meant to be. Until recently. A nearby farmer had a rooster. He thought the rooster was lonely, so he brought over a hen. The hen laid eggs. The eggs hatched. Then all of a sudden he had a family of chickens, and he didn’t want them around his horses. One day I came home, and Prince Farming and our son were in the barn fixing up a place for this little family.
In this area there are wild dogs and other predators (racoons etc.) that make a chicken’s life slightly vulnerable. So we were quite skeptical about their longevity. Wild critters can get inside a chicken coop very easily. Based on the time we had and the resources immediately available, Prince Farming rigged a really nice little coop. Except not nice enough.
The next day the family was down by a few chicks. So it continued (despite renewed effort for their safety) until it was just one rooster and one chick. One day we went down to the barn to take some food and we heard the rooster, but couldn’t find him. Finally we looked up - and there he was in the rafter of the barn.
We also heard a chick (still really little - unable to fly) but couldn’t find the little guy ANYwhere. It was the craziest thing. Our daughter climbed up on some hay to look around - and she found the chick. It was sitting on the rooster’s back up on the rafters.
How totally cool is that? The only way for it to have gotten there would have been for it to climb on the rooster’s back before the rooster flew up. Because there was no hay anywhere close by where they could have done it in small steps. I just totally marvel at nature sometimes. I know hens are nurturing and will guard their chicks to the death, but this rooster took on the care of that chick and did it well. BTW - Our daughter took all these pictures - budding photographer that she is.
Anyway - the rooster does crow. People who take walks along the road have heard him. We don’t hear him from the house because the barn is down the hill and a small distance from here. That works for Prince Charming. But now he’s caught the chicken bug. The rooster is all that’s left, and he wants more. He brought home a catalog of all sorts of critters and the stuff one needs to keep them safe. So I’m sure there will be more chickens in our future. And they might even move up the hill to be closer to us - who knows? But these chickens will be our local egg delivery as well as pets - Prince Farming LOVES farm fresh eggs - brown ones with bright yellow yolks. Now THAT’S nutrition!
This recipe is one I originally downloaded from a bed & breakfast place (Agate Cove Inn). As much as I don’t like cooking, I really do enjoy reading recipes. I found this one when doing a search for something travel-related (I way prefer traveling and eating out to cooking - that would explain this discovery more appropriately, I suppose). My printed recipe tells me this discovery was made on October 17, 1999. Alrighty then.
This is one of the easiest recipes I have. No - that’s not true. All the recipes that I have that I will share would have that description. I’m all about Flop-Proof Cooking. There are so many ways a person can flop. It’s not a confidence booster. So this recipe, while it turns out slightly differently (you’ll see why) it’s always a big hit. And people are totally impressed that a) I know what biscotti is and b) I actually make it from scratch.
Here’s the original recipe:
Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon strong coffee (cooled)
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup walnuts
1-1/3 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
3/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries
In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients and blend well. In a small bowl, whisk together all liquids, add to dry ingredients with mixer. You may want to add a few drops of coffee to get mixture gooey. Add chocolate chips, walnuts and cranberries. Turn dough out onto a well-floured board and form into 1/2 x 3-1/2 inch flat logs. Cook on greased/floured cookie sheet at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes. Cook until cake-like. Cool. Cut logs into 1/2-inch pieces, lay (cut-side down) flat on cookie sheet and bake another 6 to 8 minutes at 300 degrees one side only. (For a harder Biscotti, cook both sides of cut pieces for 6 to 8 minutes each side.) Cool and serve.
Variations: Pistachios, almonds, or dried cherries.
Yields: approximately 32 Biscotti. Recipe easily doubles if needed.
Okay. That’s how it started. By the way, this recipe has never been done without doubling in my kitchen. It’s ALWAYS double.
I’ll share pictures of my process and tell you about variations. You see, whenever I see things like "1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon" of anything, there’s WAY TOO MUCH DETAIL in that. Give me a break. I call that "a quarter cupish" I think that’s descriptive enough.
The dry ingredients are a no-brainer really. I did pretty well following those directions (maybe because they’re at the beginning of the recipe.
Then come the wet ingredients. Oh - wait. Before I start, I always put the craisins (dried cranberries) into a container, fill it with water, and microwave it for 3 minutes(ish). And then let them sit. Because craisins are already dry. So if you put a dry ingredient in the oven, it becomes rock-like. If you re-hydrate the craisins, when you put them in the biscotti to bake, they end up moist and manageable in the final product.
If this looks like more than what the recipe calls for. . . ummm. . . it might be. This particular measuring cup doesn’t give the sum of 3/4 and 3/4. So I just went over the line(ish) with a few extra for good measure. Then filled it with water. BTW - if this overflows in the microwave, . . . consider yourself warned.
Okay - then the wet ingredients. Eggs. A lot of biscotti recipes call for lots of eggs. I’m not sure why. This recipe is great - and healthy :-). Only 1 egg (well - two if you double the recipe). And these are nice fresh farm eggs. Brown ones. With very healthy yellow yolks. This picture is here specially for Louise’s Prince Charming. Nevermind - when you come to visit, I know a place that sells insipid weak-looking unhealthy whitish/creamish colored yolks.
Did you know that when you get eggs from chickens, it’s a good practice to give them back their eggshells? Otherwise they peck at their laid eggs to get whatever nutrient they need from these shells. All this is part of my farm-life education. And I’m sharing it with you. This is really apparently true. I had no idea.
Now it calls for "strong coffee." I understand that. But if strong coffee is good, then wouldn’t this be better?
I mean - in reality, I’ve used strong coffee before. I’ve even used Sanka when I made this recipe for a cooking class. As for the 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon? Well - let’s just put it this way:
Today it looks like I used about half a cup. And the reason the picture is blurry is because . . . it’s hard to take a picture of something while holding something else. And the reason the bottle is empty is because I’ve obviously made this recipe a lot of times before this. And I don’t think any other inferences are necessary. Actually, I use anywhere between half a cup and 3/4 cup.ish.
I forgot to take a picture of the bowl with the wet ingredients. It doesn’t look like much to go with all the dry ingredients. But that’s okay. Just go with it. I’m telling you - this is a flop-proof recipe. Sometimes it’s a little wet. Sometimes it’s a little dry. It turns out. Really! So if your mixture looks something like this, it’s okay.
Because then you’re going to add the craisins. Pour off most of the water from the craisins, but save it - just in case. The moisture from the craisins does the magic.
Today’s biscotti turned out drier than last time’s biscotti. There are two reasons this might have happened. 1) My empty bottle of coffee flavoring and 2) I let the time on the craisins in the microwave go longer than normal, and a lot of the moisture that I might have saved ended up splatted and pooled all over my disgusting microwave (btw - this is one reason I don’t love cooking. . . clean-up issues)
After you add these things:
and
You can mix the whole mess together. Oh yes. You don’t want to put the chocolate chips in immediately following the craisins. Especially if you forgot to rehydrate them from the beginning. This is a little physicschemistrynaturekitchenscientific chocolate phenomenon. When chocolate chips come in contract and are stirred with something warmish in nature, they end up not holding their integrity. They become mushy. And smear all the way through your biscotti. Which is not a bad thing, per se. It’s just different from the final product picture that I’m going to show you. It has happened to me before - and then you have like chocolate ribbons throughout the biscotti, which is actually quite attractive. It all depends on how you want the chocolate. Oh - another variation: The time I used Sanka for coffee flavoring, I also used sweetened carob chips. To make it healthy.er. People really liked it. But I have issues with fake/non-chocolate, so I prefer to go with the full strength, unadulterated chocolate. Semi-sweet.
Okay, so you divide the biscotti mix onto two baking sheets. Then you flatten them out and sprinkle them with flour (to make it look "official") then you put them in the oven (pre-heated - did I mention that?).
I bake them for about 20 minutes. I actually check them when I start smelling them. If they look crispy around the edges already, I turn the oven off and leave them in there to cool with the door closed. Because it’s easier to cut slightly dried biscotti. And I don’t let it go all the way to normal biscotti consistency. We prefer to eat them like cookies. So if they look and smell like this they’re probably ready to turn off:
When they’re cool, and you don’t have anything else going on, you can cut them. I find a bread knife works well. They might be pretty crispy (depending on how cool they are - if you want an easier slicing job, just take them out a bit before they’re totally cooled) And you’ll end up with delicious, hearty, yummy and in high demand
