Egg Salad

After going through a number of recipes searching for an egg salad that I could love, I ended up settling on my own creation and I 'm pretty happy with it.  No measurements, I just take hardboiled egg, add a little mayo, a little Dijon, some chopped green olives, minced onion, and a little fresh ground black pepper.  Though this morning I also added a little diced ham, because it was there and needed used up.  Piled on some toasted homemade rye, this version (minus the ham) is now my favorite.  Its a fast breakfast or lunch.  My mother always made her egg salad on the sweet side, and heavy on the mayo.  I like mine thick and chunky.  Now I'm on a quest to gather a ton of egg recipes of all sorts, since I'm lucky enough to have such a great supply.

Big dog and medium dog were showing off their best moves for me this morning while I was having breakfast.  I think they know the weekend is about to begin. Garlic has to be planted this weekend... and if I'm really smart I'll also take time to hang some Christmas lights, before it gets too cold and I won't be bothered with it.

Hello February, Good-bye Ethel...

A lovely, quiet weekend on the farm made for a great beginning to February. Saturday was a day for butchering two of the Turken (aka "Naked Neck") hens that had approached the ripe old age of two years.  But really I was in a hurry to butcher them, because they are constantly eating everyone else's eggs, and because they are just plain mean to the other chickens.  Roosters included.

So the deed was done, and on Sunday I made a nice dinner of roasted chicken with a side of au gratin potato. The butchering chore was preceded that morning by a breakfast of French toast sprinkled with summer blackberries pulled from the freezer.  I even tossed a chunk of butter on top.

Mmmmm.... French Toast

The potatoes were easy; one potato-sliced thin, grated parmesan and heavy cream...

The dogs needed to get out and run, so I took a nice walk late afternoon to check fence lines and have a look around. The creek back in the woods was frozen, but I could still hear the little waterfall underneath the ice and snow. The dogs very much enjoyed the walk and slept well in the warm kitchen the rest of the day. Although, they seem to be confused as to which bed is in tended for which dog.



Louie on the hunt...

Checking the Fence



There's a waterfall under there somewhere...

Later in the evening when it was time to bring the horses in for the night and feed everyone else, I ended up needing Louie's assistance to help catch the turkey hen that escaped her pen.  She's done this three times now, so last night I clipped her wings. Hopefully this will put an end to that.  Her name is now "Lady Houdini..."

And the "Polar Vortex" continues...

Yep, its still c-o-l-d...  I know because I checked this morning, and the temperature read -23 degrees.  So it is true!.  This was the first time the big dog ever had frozen, stinging paws after running outside for a quick poop this morning. Poor Louie.  Because it was too cold to let the dog play outside, I took him along with me to the feed mill to pick up some grain.  He looked a tad concerned with my driving skills.  But in my defense it was snowing, and icy!



Louie riding" shotgun"

Snow and cold.  Cold and snow.  More cold, more snow. Cold snow. It appears never-ending. I'm going to loose my mind.  Have I already?



Heading to the Feed Mill

What have we been doing to get through all of this polar despair?  Drooling over spring seed catalogues and eating of course!  Lately we've just been hanging out in the kitchen, throwing ingredients together and playing around with our food to see what we could come up with.  So far the results have not been disappointing.



Perfect Seafood Soup



Red Skin Mashed Potatoes with Bacon



A little bit of everything omelet



French Toast and More Bacon!



Sausage Bean and Veg Soup (Spicy)



Simple Salad with Feta and Chickpeas

Farm Happenings

Not a lot has been happening lately around the farm, now that old man winter has set in (other than snow).  The turkeys have grown nicely over the past couple of months, and would be ready to butcher in a couple more weeks, except now that we have lost all but two (a tom and a hen) to predators. We will not be eating these remaining lucky birds.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some fertile eggs in the spring to toss into the incubator.  A Blue Slate / Bourbon Red Cross should make for some interesting poults, no?

The mother rabbit and her three babies that we acquired back in October appear to be all grown up. As mentioned before, I know absolutely nothing about rabbits.  My husband built them a four foot long box to live and hide in, and he refused to separate the boys from the girls, so I would assume that someone will be having babies soon.  When he goes away for work in January for a few months I will sneak in and separate them, if I can manage to learn how to sex them.  I'm all for a scheduled breeding program! 

Speaking of scheduled breeding programs, I really have to learn more about goat husbandry.  I let the female goat run with the buck all summer and didn't separate them until sometime in October.  I have not idea if she is pregnant or just fat. They had a "date" this past Friday because she was wagging her tail and seemed to be very interested in hanging out with him, but once we let them together he didn't seem so interested in her, or perhaps he just didn't want an audience?  Regardless, she will either give birth in the next couple of months, or she won't.  Time will tell.  And next time, we will schedule her dates with the buck!

The chickens are rather boring right now.  The last time I counted, I had around 42-45, with about 5-6 being roosters. I would think that egg production would be a little better, but as of the last few weeks I am only getting 1-6 eggs per day.  Not much. 

Speaking of eggs, the sole remaining Pekin duck that we were given back in October started laying an egg a day just over a week ago.  I thought she was a boy.  I was most definitely wrong.

And what can I say about the horses?  They are just here, hanging out in the snow, burning through six bags of grain every week (along with hay) and giving nothing back in return.  Yet.  Two are racehorses, and I hope they will pay back their way, and that of the other two, next season at the racetrack.  Otherwise, it will be time to decrease the herd for sure.  Horses are the biggest expense on the farm, and usually do not give back much, other than a fun ride and something to play around with when time allows. Oh but they do look pretty standing out in the pasture, right?  

Happy Spring?

Today is the first day of Spring. A lake effect snow advisory is in place, and it’s 28 degrees and snowing. Clearly, this proves “Punxsutawney Phil” was intoxicated the morning of February 2, 2013.

This is what Spring should look like...

And this is what it really looks like. At least it does here, in Northeast Ohio, where I live.

Spring begins with the vernal equinox at 7:02 A.M. (EDT) on March 20, 2013 in the Northern Hemisphere. The word equinox is derived from the Latin words meaning “equal night.” Days and nights are approximately equal everywhere and the Sun rises and sets due east and west. At the equinoxes, the tilt of Earth relative to the Sun is zero, which means that Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun. 

Wow, I just sounded really smart there, didn't I?

According to folklore, you can stand a raw egg up on its end during the equinox. And a broom, too. If you’re a witch. Speaking of eggs, here’s a great recipe that uses four eggs. So, you could take your mind off this nasty weather for a moment; and practice your best egg-standing technique while making this recipe, and picturing Phil, the groundhog, passed out with a bottle of rum...
Coco-nutty, Egg-y Dessert

Ingredients:
4 Eggs
½ Stick melted butter
1 Cup of Milk
1 Cup of Cream
1 Cup of Sweet, Flaked Coconut
½ tsp Baking powder
¾ Cup of Sugar
½ Cup of Flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients with a mixer. Blend until smooth. Pour into a buttered pie dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour. As soon as it is lightly browned and appears to be “set” in the middle its done. Let cool before cutting. Its extra good served with whipped cream, of course.

At the moment, I’m in love with this coco-nutty, egg-y dessert. Happy Spring?