Posts Tagged ‘Freezer’
Raising Meat Chickens in Suburbia
From Day Old to Dinner Entrée – If you want to make sure the chicken in your oven is raised well and processed humanely –Raise them yourself!
Most of my friends cringe when I tell them that we raise our own meat chickens and my daughter NEVER tells her friends for fear they will avoid eating over. But, this relatively simple process has become an integral part of our suburban homestead and food storage plan.
I’ve always had laying hens to provide us with eggs for the table and manure for the garden. And, when the girls were too old to lay they got to live out their life scratching around for bugs, churning up the soil and adding manure where ever they went; a mutually beneficial relationship I think.
It wasn’t until my friend Sandy bought and raised her first batch of meat birds that I really started to get interested in raising our own chickens for meat. But, raising 50 chicks seemed a bit too ambitious for a beginner, not to mention someone who lived in suburbia. So, several years ago I began by raising 8 Cornish/White Rock crosses, usually referred to as Cornish Rocks. These fast growing birds are the same breed raised commercially and sold to restaurants and supermarkets either as whole birds or in cut-up parts.
My test project was a huge success! All 8 chicks lived to their 8-week maturity, were healthy and seemingly happy, and the processing of the birds was nothing like I had imagined. When the project was over and we were feasting on own homegrown chicken, juicy and full of flavor I was determined that meat chickens would be an annual crop raised on our little suburban homestead. Read the rest of the story »
Banana Pecan Pancakes
I’m a big fan of using small bits of most anything to make hearty well balanced meals—big fan. So much of what people leave behind in the fridge goes to waste when just a bit of creative energy can turn those bits into a wonderfully satisfying meal. Case in point — last night, when I was cleaning the kitchen I realized that my banana was getting too soft to eat. Usually I make banana bread out of the soft ones, but with my life as an empty nester, a loaf of banana bread is too much for one person. My solution…turn that lone tropical fruit into a small batch of banana pancakes, with some help from a small amount of pecans I had in the freezer. Simple.
After mixing up a batch of pancake batter for one I mashed the banana, chopped a handful of pecans and threw it all into the bowl. Once that thick batter hit the hot griddle the kitchen smelled amazing; warm and inviting and comforting like an early fall morn. When my stack of pancakes came off the griddle I slathered them with butter and drizzled warm Vermont maple syrup over the top; added a few slices of crispy bacon and a sliced apple, and there it was—dinner. There’s nothing like the tantalizing smell of breakfast for dinner to turn your head away from the day and bring you solidly into the easy flow of a relaxing evening. Perfect.
What little bits are looming in your fridge that can be made into a wonderful meal like a quiche, fritatta, stew, soup or chopped to top a hearty salad? Be creative and eat well!
Rustic Peach Pie
The last of the summer peaches are coming off the tree. And, after making them into batches of spiced, jam, chutney, butter and salsa what better way to use them than in a Rustic Peach Pie.
These are rather free form rustic types of pies. Rather than the crust rolled out and placed neatly into a pie plate for that perfect Sunday potluck dessert it is rough and free and ragged around the edges. They are so fast to make when you have previously made pie crusts in your freezer. Simply defrost on the counter, fill with your fruit mixture, fold up the sides and bake. After baking, top with fresh whipped cream or homemade ice-cream. Yum!
What could be easier or tastier after a long day of farm chores? Except for maybe a Rustic Apple Pie!
Dreaming of Fall, folks. Dreaming of Fall.
Banana Pecan Pancakes
I’m a big fan of using small bits of most anything to make hearty well balanced meals.—big fan. So much of what people leave behind in the fridge goes to waste when just a bit of creative energy can turn those bits into a wonderfully satisfying meal. Case in point — last night, when I was cleaning the kitchen I realized that my banana was getting too soft to eat. Usually I make banana bread out of the soft ones, but with my life as an empty nester a loaf of banana bread is too much for one person. My solution…turn that lone tropical fruit into a small batch of banana pancakes, with some help from a small amount of pecans I had in the freezer. Simple.
After mixing up a batch of pancake batter for one I mashed the banana, chopped a ¼ cup of pecans and threw it all into the bowl. Once that thick batter hit the hot griddle the kitchen smelled amazing; warm and inviting and comforting like an early fall morn. When my stack of pancakes came off the griddle I slathered them with butter and drizzled warm Vermont maple syrup over the top; added a few slices of crispy bacon and a sliced apple, and there it was—dinner. There’s nothing like the tantalizing smell of breakfast for dinner to turn your head away from the day and bring you solidly into the easy flow of a relaxing night. Perfect.
What little bits are looming in your fridge that can be made into a wonderful meal like a quiche, frittata, stew, soup or chopped to top a hearty salad? Be creative and eat well!
Steamming Bowls and Library Books
My mornings have taken on a new rhythm now that I am working full-time again. The slow leisurely pace of morning is gone. Most of my chores are done before the rest of world thinks of getting up. I feel at home with the new routine, keeping up with fall preps and the farm humming. Change is afoot and not just in the weather. I have plans, folks, plans to finish the greenhouse, plans to plant a winter garden full of greens and roots, plans to start an herb garden of kitchen and medicinals. There will be room for new chicks in the barn and perhaps a pig in the freezer.
Fall is not quite in full swing, but nights are dipping into the 40’s. I wake in the cool foggy morning to a steaming hot bowl of oatmeal, choke full of fruit and nuts. I cook it over my stove rather than in the microwave, it only takes a few minutes. People think I’m crazy that I don’t use those little brown packages that cook up in 30-seconds or so. But, I like cooking over a stove, any stove—gas, electric, wood. I do have a microwave I just never use it for cooking. And—who needs it anyway. Oatmeal is simply adding oats and milk and fruit and nuts and sugar and cinnamon to a pot, and there you have it, an amazing hearty breakfast full of carbs and energy, enough to keep you going through swinging a hammer or stacking a load of firewood.
Tonight I’m off to town to the library’s annual book sale. I’m sure the place will be packed, it always is. The sale has become a kind of ritual for me, a thing I do every season…adding to my growing library. I will comb the stacks, make my selections, sit on the floor and decide what to buy. And, when I am finished I’ll head over to the small café across the street for a wonderful bowl of homemade clam chowder. It’s not like most people would spend a Friday evening, but it is mine.
Opossum Update
The opossum problem I wrote about last week has finally been resolved. We caught the mamma last Friday night and each night since we have caught one of her litter. Finally, last night, after setting traps every night, the trap was empty for the second night in a row. So, I think we’ve caught and relocated all of the juvenile youngins – 6 in all.
Because of the attack and the uncertainty over whether or not the remaining meat chickens have been exposed to rabies they were destroyed. An expensive loss for our small homestead, but a necessary one. No sense in taking any chances.
Another mystery has also been solved. From the first night we caught the mamma opossum our egg production has gone up. After not getting any eggs for weeks and thinking my girls were too old and needed to be replaced we are now getting 5 to 6 eggs a days. A pleasant turn about.
Plans are in the making for another batch of meat birds and new ideas for more secure meat bird housing is also in the works. So – come September we’ll be back in the chicken business, and none too soon either. The freezer is getting a little thin where poultry is concerned.
It’s Chick Time!!
I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new batch of meat chicks. My friend and fellow 4-H mom Angie was kind enough to let me tack on a dozen Cornish Rock crosses to the meat chick and turkey order she places each year for her kids’ county fair exhibit. Just in time too. I only have a few half chickens left in my freezer from last year. But, by August Sandy and I will back at it—butchering, cleaning and packing a years worth of chicken for this soon to be one person household.
There is a lot of controversy over what breed makes the best meat chickens—Freedom Rangers or Cornish Rocks, but, when you are trying to make your suburban homestead as efficient as possible growing times matter. From vegetables to trees and berries to flowers and meat animals I choose varieties based not only on their taste and appeal, but those with the shortest growing times as well. It’s what allows me grow a wider variety of food for the house.
Yes—the Cornish Rock is probably the ugliest farm animal you will ever raise compared to the Rhode Island Red style cuteness of a Freedom Ranger. And who wouldn’t like to see a flock of little red birds roaming around pecking through a bright green pasture, but honestly I don’t have a 12 to 14 week span of time to wait for the Freedom Rangers to reach a butcherable weight, and I don’t mean a heavy weight, just an average weight. At that age, a Freedom Ranger will weigh 4 to 6 pounds. In that same amount of time though my Cornish Rocks would be pushing 9 pounds, with some topping 10. I jokingly tell people I have the three bag poultry project because it will take about three bags of feed to get my birds from chick to freezer. Not a bad use of time, energy, resources and money, don’t you think?
Don’t get me wrong folks; I’m not bashing the Freedom Ranger in favor of the Cornish Rock. I think they both have merit and their place in the world. But, given my circumstances (and I’m sure I’m not alone) the shorter start-to-finish growing time of the Cornish fits well into my little homestead. The question shouldn’t be so much what you raise as it is how you raise them and the quality of product you have at the end. I can tell you this for sure…no matter which breed you raise a homegrown chicken is far superior to any store bought. The meat is denser, juicier, more flavorful and strangely enough take longer to cook than any store bought chicken.
Perhaps some day, when a larger farm comes my way and I have the space to let a flock of meat birds roam the pastures I will take the time to raise a batch of Freedom Rangers and do a side-by-side taste test to see which I prefer. But for now, time and space factor in heavily to what I grow. And for that I make no apologies.
Raise what works for you and enjoy your chicken dinner.
The Duck Diaries
Butchering Day
BLOG POST WARNING!!!!! This post will chronicle the process of butchering our batch of meat ducks. If you are opposed to raising livestock for consumption this is NOT the post for you. It will be detailed and sometimes graphic. And—there will be pictures. Fair warning, folks, enter at you own risk.
Today day started early. Actually, the butchering day prep started yesterday. Brianne washed and sterilized two large ice chests cleaned the area where the butchering would take place, used almost every plastic container we own to make ice and generally readied our farm to put home raised meat in the freezer. She did all this while I worked more than a full day at my job. Sometimes our farm life and work life collide in unexpected ways and life gets crazy busy.
The morning was all about processing meat into meals, though. The ducks were pulled off feed the night before, but kept their water fonts so they don’t become dehydrated. Pots of water were boiling on the stove to give the scalder a head start at heating up. There were lined trash cans strategically placed near the killing and cleaning areas. Sandy will be here in about an hour with killing cones, scalder, and plucker in hand.
We have set up our makeshift butchering area near the patio where there is easy access to water and power. We will work in assembly line fashion—from killing to scalding to plucking to gutting to cooling. The set-up means we can work quickly and efficiently to get each duck processed and in the cooler as quickly as possible. I have knives, scissors, cutting board and plastic tablecloth at the ready. They will be the last supplies to be set out before we start.
Sandy and I have butchered chickens many times before, but never at my home. I’ve always packed up and brought the animals to her farm. So, today should be interesting, but we are as ready as can be and my set up doesn’t look much different than the arrangement we have at Sandy’s place.
Now I just wait for Sandy to arrive. Read the rest of the story »
She’s Not a Little Girl Any More
The sweet little Sebastopol gosling, we picked up on the way to a sheep show last March, is all grown up now. How do we know this? Well, we found this gigantic egg outside the barn yesterday morning. And I do mean gigantic. Poor little girl…the egg measured just over 3 ¼-inches. OUCH! Brianne was so excited when she bounded through the back door clutching Sophia’s inaugural egg.
But, our delight was tempered by the knowledge that even though Sophia is laying eggs there won’t be any goslings running around the farm. Her hatch mate and gander friend (Sebastian) died of unknown causes shortly after we brought them home. They were still in the brooder at the time. When I checked on them in the morning all was well, but in the mid-afternoon I walked by the brooder box and Sebastian was cold and stiff. We talked to the breeder and they had no idea either why he died, but they were kind enough to replace him. Read the rest of the story »
Organizing the Well Stocked Freezer
I opened the door to my freezer the other day, to get something out for dinner, and instead of finding what I wanted an avalanche of frozen meat came tumbling out and landed right onto my foot (%#@$), nearly breaking my toes. At that moment, amidst the pain and four-letter words I vowed to get my freezer organized and stay organized so something like this would never happen again.
I normally purchase frozen items when they are on sale and when I have a coupon for them. Meat from the discount bin and butter when it’s on sale at holiday time are big items. But, because they are not “planned for” purchases I usually have not made space for them in the freezer, so things are just shoved in where ever they will fit. Bad idea, as I came to discover.
So, I set out to reorganize my 25 cubic foot upright. But, how?
Easy part first – The Freezer Door: This is the warmest part of the freezer. I use it to store soup base, butter, lemonade concentrate and half-gallon milk jugs filled with water to use in the ice crest or in the rabbit hutch on hot summer days.
When the door was finished I stood there staring at four large shelves and one pull-out drawer crammed full of chicken, lamb, beef, pork and a variety of other frozen staples like flour, rice, spaghetti sauce and pre-made soups. Where to begin? I scratched my head.
I knew I wanted everything “contained”, easy to locate, with older items close to the front so they would be used before newer purchases. After standing there for a few minutes I decided to use the same approach as I had when I organized my garage, plastic lidded bins. Only this time I wouldn’t need the lids. I measured the length and width of the shelves and determined what size bins to buy. One large bin would be too heavy when full, so I decided to buy two smaller bins that could sit side-by-side. I headed off to town and purchased eight 16-quart bins that measured 11”x16”. Perfect!
Fortunately for me the day was cold and I didn’t have to worry about spoiling what was in the freezer as I pulled packages out and sorted them. Shelf by shelf I sorted meat into bins and vegetables, soups, sauces and other items out of the way as I worked my way through the freezer. Now I have an individual bin for chicken, pork and beef. Since we butchered a whole lamb last fall I needed two bins for those packages. The bins also have a slight slant to them and when sitting on the shelf provide a nice little “cave” between them for oddball items or overflow. The bottom drawer is used for miscellaneous items like odd cuts of lamb we feed to the dogs, lamb salami I had made out of our ground lamb, and large roasting chickens that won’t fit in the bins.
The top shelf is stocked with rice, flour, vegetables, fruit, ice cream, pre-made soups and sauces. At a glance I can now see if I need to purchase more of a particular item, helping me take advantage of sales and coupon specials. I can also see what I may have too much of, enticing me to find new recipes in order to use it more quickly.
My organization project also showed me how woefully lax I have been at dating my meat and freezer containers, leaving too much to memory on when it was purchased or made. In the future, I’ll be more diligent about dating and labeling what goes into the freezer so I can use the oldest items first.
All-in-all it was a well used chilly afternoon.
photo credit: Cowgirl Jules
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Aenean nonummy hendrerit mauris. Phasellus porta.