Sunday, 30 March 2014
The Great Chicken Adventure: Day 14
Today marks one week from my eggs (hopefully) hatching! Ive still got a bit of shopping to do before Im ready - but I have most of what I think I need. Nothing has changed in the incubator, so as far as I can see; so far so good. Lots of exciting things will be happening this week along with my chickens hatching. The weather seems to be on the upward turn, the temperature is significantly warmer than last week, and I think the sap will run good. We have about 15 buckets up, but so far we only have 3 trees dripping - from the south side. They say the south side runs first but the north side runs longer. This week will involve a lot more tapping and if we have enough sap it may mean boiling a day this week. Ill do a post on maple syrupping later this week. And tomorrow Im cooking rabbit for supper, a first for me. This is the "determiner" on whether or not we'll be getting a couple of meat rabbits over the summer. If it goes well and cooks up nicely, youll hear about it, haha.
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
The Great Chicken Adventure: Day 10
Only 11 more days to go and we'll be expecting some action from the incubator! Yesterday the power was out for no good reason - for about 10 minutes. I was away at the time on an ice-road trucking adventure, but when I heard that the power had been out I was a little concerned for the little eggies. But everything seems to be fine, the incubator was running when I got home, as there is no on or off switch. I watched the turner closely as well and it seems to be doing its job. Its nice because the incubator has a distinct humming when its plugged in, and the automatic turner has a distinct ticking noise, so its easy to check that things are working. The weather hasn't warmed up yet, but it should this week. Along with everyone else, Im getting antsy for the temperature to get warmer, but for the sake of my birds and the maple syrup run. In the four years that we have done maple syrup we've never started this late (we haven't even started yet!). Hopefully maple syrup and birds hatching wont conflict too badly. Both seem to take a fair bit of time.
Thursday, 20 March 2014
Honey Garlic Sausages (What to do, and what not to do)
Monday was once again a sausage day this week, but seeing that I was spending so much time trying to stare at my eggs enough to make them hatch early - I didn't get the recipe posted. So this sausage-making time I had a chum of mine, tot in tow, come laden with venison ready to make sausages. We got the baby comfortable, and got our hands right into the meat. Then the baby was fussing so, we'd pause, clean up, get the baby happy and begin again. Here is what I don't recommend trying: making sausages with a baby(s) around UNLESS you have a playpen (or babysitter) where the baby can be completely happy with all their needs supplied! Now, here is what I would recommend trying: the following recipe for honey garlic sausages!
12lb. venison, ground
8lb. fatty pork, ground
1 kg creamy honey
1 1/2 tbsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
4 tbsp. garlic powder
So the method is standard. Mix everything thoroughly and stuff into casings. Of course, make sure you have something really big to put your meat into, I used my largest stockpot. Be sure to fry a patty to make sure theres enough of what you like in it. ie. add more garlic, salt, whatever. We were super satisfied with our mix on the test patty because it was self-glazing. The creamy honey seems to melt, seep out and make the meat saucy, of course that was just the test patty. I don't think that would happen with the casing on. This recipe would be great, downsized for a batch of meatballs. And my last tip, is make sure you have whatever you will package your sausages in, ready. Seeing that this was such a large quantity, we didn't have enough large Ziploc bags. We ended up using Styrofoam plates, and seran wrapping them. This worked but I think the freshness wont last as long as the freezer bags.
Give it a try, Im sure youll like it! FYI the yield was 76 sausages!!!
12lb. venison, ground
8lb. fatty pork, ground
1 kg creamy honey
1 1/2 tbsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
4 tbsp. garlic powder
So the method is standard. Mix everything thoroughly and stuff into casings. Of course, make sure you have something really big to put your meat into, I used my largest stockpot. Be sure to fry a patty to make sure theres enough of what you like in it. ie. add more garlic, salt, whatever. We were super satisfied with our mix on the test patty because it was self-glazing. The creamy honey seems to melt, seep out and make the meat saucy, of course that was just the test patty. I don't think that would happen with the casing on. This recipe would be great, downsized for a batch of meatballs. And my last tip, is make sure you have whatever you will package your sausages in, ready. Seeing that this was such a large quantity, we didn't have enough large Ziploc bags. We ended up using Styrofoam plates, and seran wrapping them. This worked but I think the freshness wont last as long as the freezer bags.
Give it a try, Im sure youll like it! FYI the yield was 76 sausages!!!
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
The Great Chicken Adventure: Day 4
Im only 4 days in and Im getting impatient already! In a re-evaluation, I think the next 2 1/2 weeks will pass slowly afterall. Ive gotten into a daily routine - check that the water level is full, if not, add water; make sure the turner is turning and that's about it. And that's all there is for the next couple of weeks. I guess I should take this opportunity to relax and enjoy my time, because as soon as those birds hatch they will come with an implied to do list attached to them, haha. Out with the knitting needles, once again!
Monday, 17 March 2014
Old-Fashioned Deep Fried Doughnuts
Im sharing a great recipe I tried this week for "Swedish Doughnuts," they turned out fabulous, the best homemade Ive ever had! They were crisp on the outside, with a texture like a heavy honey cruller on the inside. They were just the right amount of sweet, rolled in cinnamon sugar to top them off.
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
2 c. cold mashed potatoes
3/4 c. buttermilk (I used leftover whey from cheesemaking)
2 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
4 1/2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. nutmeg
oil for frying
Method:
Combine eggs and sugar until creamy. Stir in mashed potatoes, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla. Combine. Add dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.
Refrigerate dough for an hour or more until thoroughly chilled. Roll dough 3/4" thick and shape as desired. Make rings or twist into crullers. Deep fry at 375oF for 2 min on each side and golden brown.
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
2 c. cold mashed potatoes
3/4 c. buttermilk (I used leftover whey from cheesemaking)
2 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
4 1/2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. nutmeg
oil for frying
Method:
Combine eggs and sugar until creamy. Stir in mashed potatoes, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla. Combine. Add dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.
Refrigerate dough for an hour or more until thoroughly chilled. Roll dough 3/4" thick and shape as desired. Make rings or twist into crullers. Deep fry at 375oF for 2 min on each side and golden brown.
Sunday, 16 March 2014
The Great Chicken Adventure: Day 1
Today marks day one of my chicken keeping experience. Ill explain what was involved and explain it in detail. For the non-interested, check back in 3 weeks for cute pictures of hatched birdies. The details are for my benefit next year when I forget what I did this year, as well as for the benefit of anyone who wants to use this as a guide to incubating chicks themselves. My information for doing this was strictly taken from 2 well-seasoned-born-and-raised farmer ladies. They've hatched hundreds of chicks in their lifetime (chickens of many varieties, turkeys, pheasants, partridge, quail, duck etc.). I know this ought to be reliable, since its worked for them for so many years.
First of all I acquired my 42 eggs, laid this week and never refrigerated. I brought them home, and today the process began. The birds will be incubated and kept in the house until they've made it past the two week mark, then they'll be evicted from the house, and moved to the chicken coop. Fortunately I was able to borrow an incubator, a Genesis II, and an automatic egg turner (this save a lot of trouble I have heard). Today, I turned on the incubator at 8:30am, filled the first water compartment and let the incubator heat for 4 hours. Then at 12:30, I placed my eggs in the turner with the long pointy end of the eggs pointing down. Then I lifted the turner into the incubator, replaced the lid and plugged in the turner. I checked back in at 1:30pm to make sure the turner had shifted, which it had.
So that's basically it, for 21 days. I have to check the water level every day and replenish it as needed. I think these three weeks will pass entirely too quickly. We still have one more coat of paint for the inside of the chicken coop, roosts and nests to build (not like they'll need them quite yet). And soon as you know everything else to do with spring will start taking up precious time too - indoor planting, maple syrupping etc. etc.
But as for the chickens, the countdown is on!
First of all I acquired my 42 eggs, laid this week and never refrigerated. I brought them home, and today the process began. The birds will be incubated and kept in the house until they've made it past the two week mark, then they'll be evicted from the house, and moved to the chicken coop. Fortunately I was able to borrow an incubator, a Genesis II, and an automatic egg turner (this save a lot of trouble I have heard). Today, I turned on the incubator at 8:30am, filled the first water compartment and let the incubator heat for 4 hours. Then at 12:30, I placed my eggs in the turner with the long pointy end of the eggs pointing down. Then I lifted the turner into the incubator, replaced the lid and plugged in the turner. I checked back in at 1:30pm to make sure the turner had shifted, which it had.
So that's basically it, for 21 days. I have to check the water level every day and replenish it as needed. I think these three weeks will pass entirely too quickly. We still have one more coat of paint for the inside of the chicken coop, roosts and nests to build (not like they'll need them quite yet). And soon as you know everything else to do with spring will start taking up precious time too - indoor planting, maple syrupping etc. etc.
But as for the chickens, the countdown is on!
Saturday, 15 March 2014
The Debut of My Chicken Adventure
My long awaited dream of raising chickens is finally becoming a reality. Tonight I picked up my 42 Buff Ophington eggs to hatch in the incubator. Tomorrow will be day one, and after just 21 days Ill have my fluff balls to figure out how to keep alive. Forty-two chickens seems a bit overwhelming, but the saying "don't count your chicks before theyre hatched" rings true. Theres a pretty high mortality rate and even after they hatch its not always clear sailing. Im hoping for a minimum of 30 survivors (not like theres much I can do to control that). Buff Orphintons are a heritage breed of a laying hen, so if half are males, they will be slaughtered for the freezer come fall and the females will be kept to produce eggs. Im setting the eggs in the incubator on a full moon (tomorrow) because I read that by doing that you may get stronger and healthier chicks. Tomorrow the adventure begins - the good and the bad, and most importantly, an experience to enlighten myself about another aspect of growing my own food.
Heres a "prenatal" snapshot!
Heres a "prenatal" snapshot!
Monday, 10 March 2014
Back To Dairying: Cheese Curds
I've made cheese before but this was a successful first for cheese curds. Along with one of my farming friends I went on this culinary adventure. The recipe is simple, the process is similar to basic cheesemaking but the pressing is omitted.
Here was what we did.
We took 2 gallons of fresh whole Jersey milk, heated it to 86oF and stirred in 1 packet (11.6g) mesophillic starter culture (from Danisco). We left the milk to sit covered for 1 hour, remaining at 86oF. We ran out to get some chores done and when we got back in the temperature had sneaked up on us to 100oF. That was ok, we let it cool to around 96oF. We diluted 1 tsp. liquid rennet into 1/4 c. cold water. We then mixed the rennet solution into the milk using a up and down stirring motion. What is supposed to happen with cheese when you add the rennet is a soft jell should form which you cut into 3/4" cubes. Then you cook the curds in the whey slowly to 102oF. This didn't happen for us, I believe the milk was too hot and cooked the curd immediately. As soon as we stirred in the rennet in, the soft jell formed on one "down" motion with the spoon and the curds solidified with one "up" motion of the spoon. We made do by skipping a couple steps, cutting the curd into cheese curd size pieces and heating slowly to 102oF (the heating took about 20 min). Then we drained the whey off the curds and salted them with about 1 tbsp. pickling salt. They wanted to stick together because they were warm so we stirred them occasionally until they cooled to room temperature. Curds are best chilled for several hours before serving. There is no pressing involved! This recipe turned out absolutely wonderful, although we took some short cuts as listed above. The flavor is comparable to store bought, but oh so superior! We ended up with about 3lbs of cheese curds - and lots of whey. Don't forget to keep the whey, it can be used to make ricotta cheese, for baking, cooking, marinades, breads, and so much more. Give it a try and I hope you have as much success as we did.
P.S. don't forget that great cheese comes from lots of practice!
Here was what we did.
We took 2 gallons of fresh whole Jersey milk, heated it to 86oF and stirred in 1 packet (11.6g) mesophillic starter culture (from Danisco). We left the milk to sit covered for 1 hour, remaining at 86oF. We ran out to get some chores done and when we got back in the temperature had sneaked up on us to 100oF. That was ok, we let it cool to around 96oF. We diluted 1 tsp. liquid rennet into 1/4 c. cold water. We then mixed the rennet solution into the milk using a up and down stirring motion. What is supposed to happen with cheese when you add the rennet is a soft jell should form which you cut into 3/4" cubes. Then you cook the curds in the whey slowly to 102oF. This didn't happen for us, I believe the milk was too hot and cooked the curd immediately. As soon as we stirred in the rennet in, the soft jell formed on one "down" motion with the spoon and the curds solidified with one "up" motion of the spoon. We made do by skipping a couple steps, cutting the curd into cheese curd size pieces and heating slowly to 102oF (the heating took about 20 min). Then we drained the whey off the curds and salted them with about 1 tbsp. pickling salt. They wanted to stick together because they were warm so we stirred them occasionally until they cooled to room temperature. Curds are best chilled for several hours before serving. There is no pressing involved! This recipe turned out absolutely wonderful, although we took some short cuts as listed above. The flavor is comparable to store bought, but oh so superior! We ended up with about 3lbs of cheese curds - and lots of whey. Don't forget to keep the whey, it can be used to make ricotta cheese, for baking, cooking, marinades, breads, and so much more. Give it a try and I hope you have as much success as we did.
P.S. don't forget that great cheese comes from lots of practice!
Back To Dairying: Yogurt
After putting it off for too long, I finally made homemade yogurt! Its not too difficult but the key thing is to have a low source of heat to incubate your yogurt. So first things first, here is the recipe and then I will dissect it and elaborate on it.
1 L whole milk
3 tbsp. plain yogurt
Bring the milk to a boil, stirring often. Cool the milk down to 95-110oF. Remove the skin that forms. When temperature is achieved, whisk the milk into the yogurt. Divide this into 4 pint size jars. Layer wax paper over jar openings and screw rings - not lids on. Let yogurt sit at 100oF for 4-6 hours. Refrigerate the final product.
Here is the dissection and my added notes from my first homemade yogurt experience.
-I used skim milk and it worked but I wouldn't recommend it if you can avoid it
-Its recommended that as soon as your yogurt sets, freeze 3 tbsp. for the next batch of yogurt you make
-To keep the jars at 100oF I chose to place the jars in a crock pot bowl, and give them a warm water bath. Keep a thermometer in the water in the crockpot to monitor temperature and add warm water as needed to maintain 100oF.
There are so many wonderful ways to use yogurt and its so wonderful that you can make it at home quite simply without the cost of storebought yogurt!
Enjoy!
1 L whole milk
3 tbsp. plain yogurt
Bring the milk to a boil, stirring often. Cool the milk down to 95-110oF. Remove the skin that forms. When temperature is achieved, whisk the milk into the yogurt. Divide this into 4 pint size jars. Layer wax paper over jar openings and screw rings - not lids on. Let yogurt sit at 100oF for 4-6 hours. Refrigerate the final product.
Here is the dissection and my added notes from my first homemade yogurt experience.
-I used skim milk and it worked but I wouldn't recommend it if you can avoid it
-Its recommended that as soon as your yogurt sets, freeze 3 tbsp. for the next batch of yogurt you make
-To keep the jars at 100oF I chose to place the jars in a crock pot bowl, and give them a warm water bath. Keep a thermometer in the water in the crockpot to monitor temperature and add warm water as needed to maintain 100oF.
There are so many wonderful ways to use yogurt and its so wonderful that you can make it at home quite simply without the cost of storebought yogurt!
Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)