No Name Chili

My company held their annual "chili cook-off" this past Monday.  I didn't win.  But this chili recipe that I entered with, under the classification if "most unusual," was a very good recipe any hoo.  Expensive because of the amount of meat involved, but very good and filling.  The "heat" was just right.  I don't appreciate fire-house type chili that is so hot you can't taste any of the flavors anyway.

And, I got to try out my new meat grinder attachment for my mixer.  Fun! I ground my own pork for this recipe, which you can find at Food 52.  Anyone have a great chili recipe they'd like to share?  I could use one.



Beer makes it better!

(the wine was not part of the recipe - it was for the cook!)

 

 

Pressure cookers, snow, and a fat goat

 

"You know who" has still not shown any sign of a due date.  I'm ready to give up on her...

 



 

I'm feeling rather low and beat down with all this cold and snow and snow and cold.  And what do woman tend to do when they're feeling down?  Shop, of course.  And so I did.

I have an aluminum pressure canner/cooker that I absolutely love, but knowing that aluminum is not the best to cook with (only to can with), and knowing how often I use my canner (a lot!), I decided to splurge an buy a smaller, everyday stainless steel cooker for non-canning use. So I bought an 8-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker this morning on Amazon and now I can't wait for it to arrive!

I hate waiting.  I'm already dreaming of all the recipes I want to try with it. 

Five days or so and it will arrive.  Unless the delivery man cannot get up my snow filled driveway.  Fingers crossed...

Something's got to give...

The weather is getting to me.  All I want to do is eat. Worse, all I want to eat is "comfort" food.  Carbs, Carbs, Carbs... 

Yesterday I canned some mushroom barley soup to put away for my work lunches, and for those evenings when I just don't have it in me to cook anything. Which happens to be often, lately. Really,  I have absolutely no interest in doing much of anything in this cold weather, other than eating and taking care of the animals.  I think part of my nasty outlook has been due to this respiratory, cough thing I've been battling for three weeks now.  Between the cough and the weather I am sure I can't take much more!



Barley Soup "to go"

In an sad effort to pretend I can even remember what summer feels and tastes like, I sliced up a baguette, toasted it, rubbed the pieces with garlic, put a frozen basil leaf on top, followed by a slice of tasteless, (but roasted) winter tomato, and topped it off with shaved parmesan and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.  I tried.  I really, really tried. But it just couldn't compare to using the same ingredients in, say, August.  It was really a sad moment.

Then I tried pasta.  I was a little more cheery after that...


Pasta = Happiness ?

Then there are some who the snow has no effect on what-so-ever....No horse-flies! Let's play!



Still no signs

Well, its February. 

February is Goat kidding month.  The month when goats normally start having babies (aka "kidding").  But the only kidding happening here on this farm is my goat kidding with me about whether she will ever give birth.  Can you tell I'm getting impatient? 



February 3, 2014

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..."

Adios January

Its 36 degrees today as I sit here slurping a hot bowl of tomato-basil soup, and this weather feels absolutely amazing after so many days of arctic BS.  This is the last day of January and I am very glad to see it go! I am so hoping for a kinder February and looking forward to spring again.

Not much of anything is happening on the farm right now.  Its just cold and uneventful.  Mama-to-be goat still has not shown any sign of having any babies any time soon.  I really am beginning to wonder if she is in fact pregnant?  What a trick that would be.  She went out for a stroll and played in the snow with her BFF doggie "Louie" yesterday, and seemed as content as ever bouncing around the snow covered pasture.

I am almost decided that a pig will be added to the farm this year.  I'm a little leery about getting one, because I know nothing about pigs and I still have to set up a pen for it.  But the farmer called me the other day and said the two sows had just given birth and the piglets will be ready in mid March.  So I need to hurry up and make a decision, pig or no pig. Have any of you out there raised a pig before, and if so, can you give me the dirt on what I'm getting myself into if I get one?  Is it worth it? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Well the weekend is finally here, and I'm looking forward to some better weather and the quiet time to experiment with some new recipes. I hope you all have a lovely weekend. 

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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

What (almost) a year can do...

A little flashback to some of the farm babies, showing how they've grown over the past year (or less).

June 2013 (We're focusing on the little yellow guy here)

Remember that little yellow guy?  Here he is in December of 2013

 

And how about this cute little man back in March of 2013...

 Here he is now in December of 2013.  (With a suspicious turkey watching from behind....)

Limbo

Life on the farm feels madly stuck in a sort of "limbo" stage at the moment.  Everything is frozen. And still. And nearly lifeless.  I rode one of the horses all over the property last weekend to inspect everything and see what was new.  Not much.

In the garden, the garlic had poked their little heads through the soil at some point during this winter and the little green tips were frozen solid.  But I'm not concerned, the same thing happened last year and everything was fine come July. The only thing that appeared to show tiny signs of life were the blackberry bushes. They seem to be growing a little, like the buds on the trees.  But it could be my imagination.  Or just my lust to see something green and growing!

The goat is still waddling around looking like a small pregnant cow. The woodpile continues to shrink.  I'm worried about the goat because if she is actually pregnant and does go into labor please, please, please, don't let it be in the next ten days when the temperatures are in the low "teens" and dipping below zero during the nights.  Otherwise, I will have to bring her and any babies into the house.  No question there!



January 13, 2014

The sun sets today at 5:29 p.m. here in Northeast Ohio.  How I long for the month of May when things really start to green up and the sun sets at a more respectable time!

On another dismal note, I've discovered lately that one of my racehorses has come to despise chickens. He's bashed a few around now, but this latest outburst was downright savage! Not only did he crush this hen, but then proceeded to tear into her, toss her around a bit, and then finish her off by stomping her to death. Maybe the horse is suffering from cabin fever as well...

French Onion Soup

I haven't posted for a few days.  I've been "under the weather," the weather has been "under the weather," and all I want to do is crawl under a blanket and eat soup.  I looked at the weather forecast for the next ten days, and the high temperatures are only going to be in the "teens" and twenties.  Overnight lows will be in the single digits.  I do hope February will be more kind to us. I really can't stand much more.

Speaking of soup, last week some farmer friends I visited were kind enough to share some of their surplus of onions and squash they had stashed away in the cold cellar. The first thought that came to my mind was French Onion Soup. A perfect soup for frigid weather. 

So I tried a version made by Tyler Florence, from the Food Network.  I like Tyler, I think he's rather fine! And the soup was great - even better over the next few days.  I admit, it was hard for me to part with the entire cup of red wine the recipe called for, so I poured one for myself to ease the pain, and all was good. I'll definitely be making this recipe again and again.



Butternut Squash Soup is in the background as well...

French Onion Soup   Serves 4-6

1/2 cup of unsalted butter ( I used salted and it worked)
4 large onions, sliced
2 or 3 cloves of garlic-chopped
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
sea salt and black pepper
1 cup of red wine
3 tablespoons of flour
2 quarts of beef broth
1 baguette -sliced
1/2 pound of grated gruyere or provolone

Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme.   Cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes or so.  Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are somewhat dry, about five minutes.  Discard the bay leaves and the thyme sprigs. 

Don't let the onions (which have now turned a lovely shade of purple from the wine) scare you.  It will look normal in the end, I promise.

Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir.  Turn the heat down to medium-low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the flour taste.  Now add the beef broth, bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. 

When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler.  Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer.  Sprinkle with the gruyere and broil until toasted and golden brown, 3-5 minutes.

Ladle the soup in bowls and float the baguette slices on top.

Poultry Plans

Okay so I was dreaming about hot chicks the other day.  For those of you with dirty minds, I was thinking about the kind with feathers - as in poultry. I do hope I didn't crush anyone's fantasies...

Anyhoo, I decided its time to start the flock planning for the new year.  Last weekend I did a head count and came in at 29 hens, 4 roosters, 1 Blue Slate Tom Turkey, 1 Bourbon Red Tom Turkey, and 1 Bourbon Red Turkey Hen.  And last, not least...one lonely female Pekin Duck.  Hey, she lays an egg nearly every day, so she gets to stay. Most of the others will be headed toward the freezer over the next several months.  Hence, the "plan" to add to the flock.

It looks something like this...

Two scheduled hatch dates - March 1st and April 5th.  All eggs are going into the incubator because my hens suck at doing the job themselves (I won't go into details unless someone asks). I currently own and use the Farm Innovators Model 4200 Pro Series Incubator and have excellent results with it.  It's great for hatching forty or less chicks. So that is the way I do it.  Oh, and I schedule the hatch dates on the weekends because I like to be home to watch. I can't help myself.  I'm like a kid at Christmas! Now for the goal...

Hatch #1 (March)                 Hatch #2 (April)
25-30 chicks                         25-30 chicks
1-10 turkeys                         1-10 turkeys

Why so many??? Some for the fox, some for the hawk, a few for the weasel.... and the rest for me!

Seed Saving

Sunday, I rolled out of bed to catch an ethereal sunrise.  I watched it unfold into its many different colors as I sipped my black coffee and savored the silence (aside from the roosters crowing). 

Then I went to work saving some seeds from last fall's pumpkins and gourds.  I can't wait to plant them this spring and hope for the best!  The pumpkins and gourds were all mushy and weird-feeling after being frozen and then thawed. 

 

One less packet of seeds to buy this year!  : )

Spicy Pasta, Bean & Sausage Soup

Cabin fever was setting in again yesterday, and I absolutely had to leave work for lunch just to get some fresh air.  And because they were cooking up some nasty smelling, asphalt stuff in the plant.  Really I just couldn't stand the smell.

Because the temperatures are still below zero, schools were closed and the streets pretty empty.  I'm guessing a lot of people stayed home from work either because their cars wouldn't start or because they are smarter than me...or both.  But it sure made getting around town nice.

Mind set that hot soup was the only thing that would suffice for dinner, off I headed to pick up ingredients. I found this recipe on Epicurious, and it just screamed "warm-your-ass-up" kind of soup.  Beans, pasta, meat, cheese, spicy.  How can you go wrong with that?  I do have to apologize for the photos, I was having a "bad camera" day.

Spicy Pasta Bean & Sausage Soup
Bon Appetit / February 2001

Yield: 4-6 main course servings

Ingredients:

2  15-16 ounce cans of chickpeas
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb hot Italian sausage (casings removed)
4 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 lg garlic cloves, minced ( I used 4, because I love garlic)
crushed red pepper flakes (to your tolerance)
1/4 c of tomato paste
5 cups of chicken broth
8 oz of orecchiette or other small pasta
1 1/2 c Romano cheese (I used Parmesan because I prefer it)

Strain liquid from the beans into the blender. Add 1 cup of beans and puree until smooth.  Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.  Add sausages, rosemary, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes.  Saute' until sausages are cooked through, breaking up with a fork (about 8 minutes).  Mix in tomato paste.  Add bean puree, remaining beans, broth and pasta.  Simmer until pasta is tender and mixture is thick, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes.  Mix in 1/4 cup of the cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve. Pass remaining cheese around to sprinkle on top.