From The Hen House

This is the view from the back door of the hen house where I could see our sheep grazing in the back pasture this morning. It was raining when I took this picture, but I am hoping it will clear up later today. It is that time of year again (click here) and I'm thrilled to have the rain clear the air a bit. Below is the chicken house, our hens, both the happy and the broody, our growing chicks, and the morning's basket of eggs collected -enough for another flan (click here), more deviled eggs, or a lemon meringue pie (click here) perhaps. It is the time of year to appreciate and celebrate that which comes from the hen house: the incredible edible egg!

Flan

We finished last weekend with a flan, and I also made one for a Father's Day dessert. If I were a good little blogger I would look up and share the origins and influences of flan, but instead I will simply tell you what very little I know about making flans. The most important thing about flans is that my husband really likes them. Flans are quite tasty and not really that difficult to make, though there are a few tricks: It's essential to use a water bath while baking one to insure a smooth texture, and it's done baking when it no longer jiggles; they need to chill so must be baked well ahead of when you want to serve them; I've always used this ring mold (I think I bought it years ago at a yard sale) so I have absolutely no idea if you can make one using anything else; the caramelized sugar may look scrumptious after you've coated the ring mold, but if you take the tiniest little taste from the pot (you know, that indulgent finger-taste you just can't help yourself from taking whenever you're bake something) YOU WILL BE SORRY as it is REALLY hot; a flan uses 8 eggs, which can be great if your chickens are producing almost a dozen a day (like ours are), or a complication if the are not yet producing (like the little chickens of Lucy 'In the sky' (click here). This is my recipe for making flan.

Basic Flan
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 1/2 c. sugar + 3 T. water WITHOUT STIRRING. Swirl once in awhile until the sugar turns honey-colored. Wearing an oven mitt (trust me, you should wear an oven mitt), pour into a 2-quart ovenproof mold and swirl the caramel around to coat the bottom and some of the sides, taking care not to burn yourself. Set aside.

Whip:
1 egg
7 egg yolks
2/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. nutmeg or almond extract -NOT both
pinch salt

Add: 2 1/2 c. milk or almond milk
Pour over caramel in mold. Place in a larger pan and pour warm water for water bath to reach 2/3 height of mold. Bake 1 hour, or until no longer jiggles. Cool, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight. To serve: run a knife around edges to loosen custard. Set mold in hot water (in sink or water bath pan again) to reach 1/2 height of mold for 1 minute or so to melt caramel to unmold flan. Give a quick spin-wiggle to make sure the custard is loosened. Cover with a plate and quickly invert -it should plop right out.

Eggs and Chickens

"Put all your eggs in one basket -and watch that basket." -Mark Twain



"Parenthood is like being pecked to death by small chickens." -Bly on CryingWhileEating

Stir-Fry Szechwan-style Pork with Cabbage

Somehow, I managed to break my drop spindle, which ROYALLY pissed me off. I glued it back together, but I don't have high hopes for it being a completely successful fix.

Instead of spinning silk, I went and bought hay and chicken feed. I find this a blessedly easy way to get alfalfa hay -even if it is $15 a bale. We grew alfalfa on the ranch I grew up on, for the cattle's winter feed, and a major portion of my adolescent summers were spent moving the irrigation pipes that watered the alfalfa fields, and then haying -cutting, baling and moving hundreds and hundreds of alfalfa bales, each by hand, from the fields to the barn for winter feeding. Despite the hard work of working in the fields back then, I love the smell of alfalfa hay and the memories associated with it. I took a break between hauling each of the four REALLY BIG BALES into the barn. Spinning and knitting do not keep you in shape for moving hay bales.



During one break, I looked at our now grown chicks we hatched out late last summer. They are happy, peaking in the dirt and finding the few odd bugs and other things that make chickens happy. Some will become replacement layer hens, and some will go into the freezer.



During another break, I watched the lambs.

I love watching sheep and lambs.

And if they don't have anything more interesting to do, like eating grass, their caution will eventually be overcome by their curiosity and they will come to see what you are doing.

And when I was all done, I had some leftover stir-fry for my lunch. This was really good, both at dinner and as leftovers. It's very easy, quick to make, and delicious. I used sliced yellow onions, but green onion cut in 2 inch lengths added towards the end would be good too, and the broccoli can be left out, or a bell pepper added.

Stir-fry Szechwan-style Pork with Cabbage

Cut 1 1/2 lbs (3 large) pork loin steaks into 1/2 inch ribbons or slices

Place in a large Ziploc bag. Add, smoosh together and let all set 30 minutes:

1 1/2 t. cornstarch

1 1/2 t. soy sauce

1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. white pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

Put on some white rice to cook.

Cut and have ready:

1/4 head cabbage, 1 inch pieces

1/2 onion, sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

defrost: 1 qt. bag broccoli

Mix in a small bowl:

1 T. cornstarch

2 t. soy sauce

2 T. water

This next step takes only a few minutes, so just before everyone is ready to eat, heat a fry pan or wok on high. When it's HOT, add 1-2 T. vegetable oil and pork. Cook, stirring occasionally until no longer pink. Add vegetables and cook a few more minutes, then add 1-2 t. Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce and 1/4 c. broth or water. When it boils again, add the cornstarch mix from the small bowl, and stir until thickened. Remove from heat, add 2-4 T. minced cilantro leaves (or not), and serve with hot rice and soy sauce. And some (I'm not one of them) like more Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce to add at the table.

Fall Scarlet and Gold Harvests

I love both the foods of fall and the colors of fall. I love all the scarlet found in nature this time of year: the scarlet of our vine maple tree,



the scarlet the leaves on the blueberry bushes turn, and the Scarlet Runner Beans I harvested.



A bit on the late side, but we'll have at least a few to store. I use them in cooking the same as I do pinto beans. In a perfect world, we would grow acres of these, store them, and then eat the dried beans we'd grown ourselves all winter long. Well, we don't live in a perfect world, so we just have this small amount, but I'm still pleased.

I love the Fall Gold Raspberries that are like a surprise gift that keeps on giving. I think the season is all over -but wait no, here's more berries!

And some more.

And it's another small harvest to put away in the freezer.



Our cat, Sunshine (I didn't name her, but the name does suit her) is our little Gold Angel-Demon kitty, so loving to us, but death to any small creatures hiding in the grass.

And more gold to harvest. Unpleasant fact and an unpleasant chore, but they were raised for the freezer and it is time.

Farm Visit

It is so much fun watching the chicks we hatched in June becoming big chickens now. They are so pleased with themselves just being chickens and doing chicken stuff! Yesterday I visited the farm of some like-minded people undertaking similar animal husbandry projects. It was fun to see all their animals, good to hear the values, frustrations and observations of raising animals for family food shared by others, and to know we are not alone in pursuing this lifestyle. Like us, they were raising rabbits and chickens, as well as...

a prolific flock of Broadbreasted White Turkeys, including breeding turkeys and quite a few growers (I'm going to miss having turkey in the freezer this winter). There was also...

...a flock of Embden, Sebastopol and Pilgrim Geese. The trio we lost last winter to the coyotes were Pilgrim Geese, and seeing these yesterday reinforced the desire to get more next spring. They also had chocolate colored Muscovies, one with 10 ducklings. Of course, that can change overnight as life is very hard and there are lots of lethal dangers for little ducklings. We couldn't find the peacocks that were hiding from the heat. Smart peacocks.



It was also exciting to see animals that I have admired and thought of raising, like Highland cows and...



...Jacob Sheep. They are so cute and have such nice fiber. Both of these animals have horns -hornless being a characteristic I like in animals we raise. I'll keep reminding myself that 1) we don't need another animal project, and 2) you can't do everything -even if you really, really want to. Their little faces are pretty adorable, though and hard to resist!