Making stock using chicken feet

My college aged daughter is in home for the break and has been struck with a nasty upper respiratory infection.  Being the nice mama that I am, I decided to make some chicken soup for her to make her feel better.  However, it wasn't going to be just your ordinary chicken soup, it was going to be made from stock made from chicken feet.  According to Sally Fallon author of "Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats" Jewish folklore states that there is a medicinal quality associated with stock made from chicken feet and other chicken parts, and science supports it.  That's why it's called "Jewish Penicillin". Apparently, the gelatinous texture of the reduced chicken parts renders the nutrients better able to be absorbed by the body.  Plus, it just tastes heavenly.
Even though I raise chickens they were still using their feet at the moment, so I went to Hiller's Market to buy the feet.  I had seen them packaged next to the turkeys and always wondered who purchased them. Hiller's is known for their excellent customer service and one of the meat cutters actually came out to answer my myriad of questions. My query was answered that it was only the professional personal chefs who purchased them. That was a good enough answer for me!
I searched on line for a recipe and used this one.
Tonight I'll be using this stock which will actually be a demi-glace to make chicken noodle soup.The stock will be so concentrated that it will resemble a gelatinous goo. I'll take one part stock to three parts water and  will make the broth that will be the base for the soup.  I'll be adding some left over turkey from Thanksgiving (so it's not technically chicken soup, but turkey will do, carrots  onion and celery.  I'll also add some German noodles. I'll serve it with some crusty bread that JJ baked.  We all will be nourished and, hopefully, Janie will feel better.

Farm and Garden Design Class: I'm So Excited!

I am so excited!  I'll be taking an on-line Farm and Garden Design class with two of my homesteading/farming/sustainable living gurus Sharon Astyk  and Aaron Newton.  They have recently collaborated on the book A Nation of Farmers.  This book discusses how our current industrialized food system is directly involved with the food crisis.  The basic premise is that in order to guarantee one's food future one needs to become adept at self-sustaining farming.  Whether one farms an apartment balcony or one farms 10 acres we all need to take a vital role in our own food acquisition.  The online course will cover all kinds of things from garden design based on your own growing area through plot  and soil preparation, small livestock, container gardening, vertical gardening, making money... It's going to be great because all those questions that have been running around in my head during this last growing season will now get dealt with.  With an acre to work with I vacillate between growing just for myself and my family or do I think bigger, like starting a CSA or sell at farmer's markets?  Those who know me know I sold many of my salad greens at the Wixom Farmer's Market during the summer.  It was a great experience.  I loved it.  But I  the work was a little too much for me.  Remember, I'm a one woman farm.  My husband, JJ, helps me when he can, and my children will take care of the chickens to an extent, but  have no desire to become vegetable farmers.  So, most of the time, the job falls soley in my lap.  How to make the best of an acre with limited manpower is the question.
As a reader of Astyk's blog Casaubon's Book, my eyes have been opened to the disconnect we have with our food.  If the grocery store closed tomorrow, would you be able to survive on your own know-how?  Would you count on the government?  (Think Hurricane Katrina!) Or would you be able to count on yourself?  Coming times don't look too promising.  With the decrease in  availability through limited reserves or expense  it is time for us to look at food attainment without the use of fossil fuels.  Growing one's own makes sense in that fuel miles are eliminated . The only energy used is the energy needed to walk to the garden and pick something for dinner.  What I like best about growing my own food is the feeling of empowerment and the reconnection of the earth.  I am forced to eat seasonably and locally.  I am more connected to the ebb and flow of nature's cycles.  It puts me in my place as to who is really in charge.
Check out Astyk's book and blog and you may find your thinking changed as well!

The Substistance Farming Project

My first season at subsistence farming was met with some successes and some disappointments, albeit , I'm glad I even got to this point as most times I will think a project to death and never launch it.
My definite victory was the actual acquiring of the chickens.  Recall I pre-ordered 6 chicks for JJ's birthday last December and now we are up to 11 chickens. There were some roosters that needed to be taken back to Destiny Farm, yet we came back with a replacement hen or two!  We now have 3 (for sure) layers so that means we are getting about 3 eggs a day!  Which is plenty for us, but we definitely welcome more!  What progress I have made.  Never would I have dreamed that I would be so intimately involved with my avian friends.  So far so good.  It has been fairly easy.  I'm just waiting for the day when I actually have to administer some type of chicken first aid or something.  But as a free-rangers, I know their lifestyle is most conducive to a healthy bird.  I'll just keep doing what I've been doing and deal with the obstacles are they arise.  Raising birds in cold weather will be my next learning curve, but I'm ready for it.  As an animal lover, I have to constantly remind myself that life on the farm can be cruel.  I will be dealing with death as well as life.  Any day I could be faced with remnants of a predator's attack.  Or a bird that froze during the night. I'll have to remove the emotion from it...I'm sure that's easier said than done.
Next, the gardens...
Bear in mind that I originally wanted just to grow food for us to eat, but got caught up in wanting to grow for market.  No problem with either of those paths, but I think I need to be focused with either one or the other.  Trying to do too much has been my downfall.  So, for next growing season, I will stick to growing for our consumption only.  If I start to vear off my path,  remind me, please, with a gentle kick in the pants.

100 sq.ft tomatoes (includes roma, cherry and slicing tomatoes)
50 sq ft. zucchini
24 sq green beans
500 sq ft various greens (lettuce, spinach, swiss chard,kale,bok choi)
50 sq. ft zucchini
basil
oregano

Preserved:
8 1/2 pints of jam (mulberry/raspberry mix)
4 pints of  strawberry jam (Long's U-Pick)
10 quarts of raw pack tomatoes
2 quarts pickled zucchini
2 jars of preserved cherry toms (one in vinegar and one in oil)
1 pint of pesto

Goals for next season:
500 sq feet of wheat
500 sq feet of potatoes
100 sq. feet of green beans
50 sq. feet winter squash
25 ft. zucchini
50 sq. feet pickles
50 sq. feet sunflowers (chicken feed)
Not sure about the quantity of the next  few items:

onions
beets
garlic
peas
2 fruit trees
1 nut tree
2 berry plants

That's all I can think of right now...I'll continue tomorrow.

Vegetarian Crock Pot Chili

I woke up this morning and felt a little nip in the air. Mind you, the temperature is in the 60's and it rained last night. But I feel fall is just around the corner! Where did the summer go? Anyway, I felt like making it easy today and got dinner going right after I got up. So when dinner time hits everything will be ready! Yes! Chili just seemed apropos but I wanted chili with a twist. Enter vegetarian crock pot chili. It's loaded with summer vegetables including zucchini which I always can find a use for. I found this recipe at Allrecipes, one of my favorite cooking websites. You can find the recipe here. I'll serve this with a nice crusty bread and some fresh fruit for dessert and all will be good!
If you are counting WW points then it's only 2 points.

Eggs: Pastured, Organic, Cage-Free...What Does It Mean?

As many of you know, our hens have recently started laying. Yay! An average hen will lay one egg about every 25 hours. So, with 2 of our 11 hens laying daily we can enjoy a fresh egg just about every day! But what is all the excitement about, I mean an egg is an egg, right? Well no, an egg isn't an egg. There are many different factors involved. .
When you shop in the grocery store you will see a variety of egg choices and (prices). There are conventional eggs (usually the least expensive), as well as cage-free, organic, etc.. Let's look at what these terms mean.
Conventional eggs: These are your standard run-of -the mill eggs. Usually coming from what some call "factory farms".These eggs are usally featured as loss leaders at .88 a dozen. Wow! A bargain! But what you don't know is how the hens laying those eggs are treated. Generally, hens are crammed into large windowless huts where they are do not have access to the outdoors. They are usually fed a diet that is loaded with antibiotics to stave off any disease or illness associated with living in such close quarters. The diet is usually corn based which is subsidized, hence very inexpensive to provide. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
discusses these very conditions. This book is a "must-read" for those curious about the inner workings of the origins of our food.
Organic eggs come from chickens that are fed a diet of organic feed, meaning no pesticides, insecticides or fungicides may be used. Also, there may be no GMO products or animal by-products used in their feed. Usually, organic is linked with "free-range" chickens. According to the USDA, in order for a farmer to claim his chickens are free-range chickens, they need to be able to reach the outdoors. However, the chickens don't actually HAVE to go outdoors. The opportunity just has to be present. Also, the area outside can be on grass, dirt or even concrete. The next time you are near a chicken farm, take note of the ground material outside of the pens. It will be highly unlikely that you will see green, green grass beneath the chickens' feet. And that's if you see any chickens outside the facility at all.
Pasture raised chickens are what is usually associated with farmers who raise small flocks of chickens. Small flocks are usually under 100 chickens. Chickens are naturally vegetarians, so for a company to claim their chickens are fed a vegetarian diet is praying on the naivete' of those not familiar with the nature of chickens. Chickens pasture-raised are allowed to walk around on either grass or soil looking for small bugs, bits of vegetation to meet their nutritional needs. Scratching the ground is a vital part of a chicken's make-up and should be provided to allow for a happy bird. Usually, as a safeguard, additional feed is provided as a means to make sure the chickens are receiving their recommended nutritional requirements. Bugs and grubs and even little toads are a necessary element to a chickens diet, which provide proteins to produce a superior egg. A superior egg has many different qualities. The first thing one may notice upon cracking open a pastured egg is the color. Instead of yellow, the yolk is usually a deep orange. Instead of spreading out in the frying pan, the pastured egg will be more compact, it's borders more defined. But what's even better is the nutritional value. According to LocalHarvest pastured eggs have 10% less fat, 40% more vitamin A and 34% less cholesterol than factory farms. The very best thing is the taste! A deep, rich taste that tells you right away that this is what an egg should taste like.
So, consider yourself enlightened! Now when entering the marketplace whether it be a supermarket or farmer's market, or maybe even your own "backyard market", you will have the tools to make an intelligent decision about the eggs you choose. After all, an egg isn't just an egg.

Spinach Frittata

I made a wonderful dinner tonight using what was in the garden and what was left over in the fridge. Also, with our chickens laying regularly now I had a bunch of eggs that needed to be used: hence, Spinach Frittata.
A frittata is an Italian omelette. It's usually made with eggs,veggies, meat and cheese. However, it's baked in the oven as opposed to preparing it on the stovetop. I find it fairly easy and you can make it as simple or complex as you'd like.
Tonight's frittata consisted of spinach, from the garden, and roasted potatoes, from last night's dinner, with some shredded parmesan.
Without getting too "formal" here is what I did: Took an oven-proof skillet and sauted some garlic and green onions in a little bit of olive oil. Next I added the roasted potatoes and spinach from the garden. I'd say about a cup of each. Let them cook for a bit to wilt the spinach and heat up the potatoes. Meanwhile I took 8 eggs and beat them in a mixing bowl and then added some salt, pepper and little hot sauce. Finally, I added the eggs to veggie mixture, stirred them then popped the skillet into a 400 degree F. oven and baked them for about 30-40 minutes. After the eggs were set, I took the skillet out of the oven and sprinkled some grated parmesan cheese on top. Cut the frittata into 8ths and serve straight from the skillet. That's it! Very easy and very easy to customize!

Baseball Bat Zucchini!

I have zucchini coming out of my ears...and who doesn't at this time of year. I always recommend growing zukes to new gardeners because the vegetable is fairly forgiving if you make a mistake or two (watering irregularly, not amending soil etc...) and rewards the gardener prolifically. The trick is to not let your zukes get any bigger than about 6-7". Any bigger than that and taste quality suffers. Actually, I prefer my zucchini to be on the rather small side with the blossom still attached which can be floured and fried in a little butter. Yum!!! Sometimes even missing one day of harvesting can land you with a huge baseball-bat of a squash. When I come across one of those I automatically allocate it for making zucchini bread/muffins. Save those little green gems for when you want a zucchini at it's flavorful peak!
Below you'll find a wonderful recipe for zucchini bread. Zucchini bread is a "quick bread" so you don't have to worry about kneading and rising and all that. I got it from 'The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook". Enjoy!

Bagley House
Zucchini Lemon Muffins

2 Cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 T baking powder
1 tsp. salt
grated peel of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup (or more) chopped walnuts
1/2 cup (or more) raisins
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c milk
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 cup (packed) shredded zucchini

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon peel in a large bowl. Stir in the walnuts and raisins.

In a smaller bowl (or a two-cup liquid measure), combine the eggs, milk and oil.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Stir just until barely combined and then gently fold in the zucchini.

Spoon the batter in a greased, 12-cup muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins spring back when you press them with your fingertips.

These freeze well!!!