Ode to Eggs...

So we are decided.

We're going to be chicken farmers.

It was something that my husband and I have talked about for some time.

Now we are in a property that would allow us to actually have poultry

and not disturb our neighbours or break any by-laws.

The property we bought in May has a fenced in area.

Some of you may remember it from my post breaking the news about the new place.

Its been a few months and we really neglected this particular corner.

We had other things going on.

I finally took a crack at it with the lawnmower.

That is saying a lot when you consider wild black raspberry canes and goldenrod had taken over the entire place, standing about waist high!

The entirely fenced space is just perfect now!

I even found an old sink (that matches our clawfoot tub used for gardening) buried!

One of the previous owners apparently had rabbits.

The old structures are still present.

Old and dilapitated.

Rotting and foul.

The fencing needs some attention.

In some areas, the nearby trees have grown right around the fence!

Our plan is to research all winter about what kinds of chickens, what housing is needed, how to design it and built it.  We will be saving all winter to be able to feed these animals and what will be required for care.

There is a nice introductory chapter in The Backyard Homestead about chickens along with a simple design for a coop.  Fingers crossed and come next year we'll finally be protein producers!

So this recipe post is in honour of people who raise their own chickens!!!

Here's to years of omlettes and quiches!

Here's to roasten chickens all winter long!

After all that mowing, I was tired, sweaty and hungry.

I made a quick salad and ate it on the back porch, observing all that I had done.

Feeling quite proud of the progress I had made.

Next step will be to have the husband clear out the dead trees and chop them up for winter wood burning in our fireplace.

For the salad, I mixed up some baby spinach, boston lettuce (that a friend gave us), baby pear tomatoes (from nana), some white onion and cucumbers.  I hard boiled an egg and sliced it up fine.  I also made a quick mustard vinegrette.

Dijon Mustard Vinegrette:

glob of oil

splat of white vinegar

a few drops of lemon juice

squirt of grainy dijon mustard

1 small pressed clove of garlic

fresh ground salt & black pepper

Substitutions:

- If you use dandelion greens or garlic mustard greens, omit the black pepper and lessen the dijon mustard

-If you use purslane, add more lemon juice

-you can also add chopped up bacon or ham

And don't forget to check out my all my recipes on facebook...I've been posting them there all summer long...

My facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Small-Purse-Big-Garden/248329288518059

My facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/161202447273633/

The Great Dandelion Coffee Experiment...

My husband and I are great for trying anything....especially when it comes to cooking and gardening!

My son Noah always called them wishing flowers...he always hated it when we mowed the lawn....bye bye wishing flowers!  Lawn maintenance aside, we all know how much people have grown to dislike the lowly little yellow flower. 

Wishing flowers in action!

This summer I was fortunate enough to get a hold of a copy of Susanna Moodie's novel "Roughing it in the Bush".  This woman wrote of her own experiences in the first hand regarding the settling of the Cobourg/Douro area of Hastings County (Peterborough for the sake of argument).  One of the best statements made in the book was "Necessity has truly been termed the mother of invention".  This became my mantra during my unemployment of the past year.

During the winter of 1835, a particularly scarce and difficult year, Mrs Moodie discovered that dandelion roots provided a better coffee than could be found in stores.  Now that was in the 1800's, prior to international trading on a large scale.  Juan Valdez's coveted beans were probably not in the store Mrs Moodie was shopping in.  Her description of the discovery and the process for procuring the drink was so interesting that we HAD to give it a try.  She mentions that dandelion coffee has the opposite effect of coffee beans, allowing the drinker to be calmer and more apt to sleep.

While digging up our parsnips, we were able to find a few dandelions that had survived in the warm fall weather this year.  The long, slender taproots are very similar to parsnips.  They were also all about 5-6 inches long.  We cleaned the taproots gently, as Susanna suggests, so we didn't scrub off the delicate brown skin that gives the drink the flavour.  Once cleaned, we laid the roots out to dry for 2 weeks in a warm spot on our counter top.  We then attempted the roasting.  There were no instructions in Mrs Moodie's book about the particulars...as she was roasting over a wood stove.  After having roasted our roots on 200 degrees F for about an hour, we ground the roots and straight into the coffee percolator.  Ches brewed the drink twice just in case.  Again, Mrs Moodie talked about brewing the drink on the wood stove until it was thick and dark like the coffee beverage, so we were trying to get that same consistency. 

Result:  If you've ever had the Celestial Seasonings "Sleepytime" Tea, you'll know what flavour to expect from your Dandelion Coffee.  It was very aromatic and floral. 

Things we learned:  Perhaps the next time we try this we'll skip the coffee pot and try the stove for the brewing.  Also, we have since discovered, in other resources, that the roasting should be done for 4 hours instead of one.  Note to self for the next trial!

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Gayle, who loaned me the book in the first place, as well as Mrs Susanna Moodie herself for writing about her adventures, trials and tribulations as a testiment to the Canadian spirit.

Susanna Moodie 1803-1885