Chicken Swap Update

Well Olive didn't pan out so well. She had a stuffy nose, was tiny, got beat up by the others, and was in general a weanie. So we drove back to Burnet and swapped her for another cutey. Thanks Josh!
New Olive is great - she's bigger, screams like an eagle, kinda looks like a Caracara Eagle actually. Anyhoo - Belina is still being a bossy, wierd-growling-noise making Head Hen and pecking New Olive as much as she can, but the others pretty much leave her alone. I think she's got a chance! She was sneezing on the way home in the car (adorable fairy sneeze sounds) but i fed her garlic and vitamin water and it seems to have cured her. Hoping they can be living together at all times by thursday, until then she's in the rabbit cage and sleeping with them at night.





OH! And i forgot to mention! While we were at Josh's place we got to see Dotti. He was super chill, hangin' out in his very own coop, and hanging out WITH his very own flock of lovely ladies. Times are good for Sir Dotti and his harem of young hens.

Olive's first few nights...

We've named our new little Silver Wyandotte "Olive" like a little black olive. She's tiny and sweet, terrified of us human monsters until we're holding her, whereupon she nestles into a calm napping state.
In order to 'sneak her into the roost' with the others the first night, I brought her in and held her in my lap til the others were good and sleepy. They settled nicely on the roost together, but by morning were pecking at her again. So, she's ostracized in her rabbit cage for a few more days - separate from, but close enough to get familiar with the other pullets.

Unfortunately last night I noticed a problem: while holding her I noticed that she breathes with her mouth open slightly, and i could hear a popping clogged sound - stuffy nose. Olive has a cold or some other ailment. I gave her bird vitamins and will do the same to the big girls - now i have to hope it's not anything serious, that she'll get better, and that she won't get the others sick. I may have to give her antibiotics to be safe, but holding out on that.
Such a pain, cuz i just want to start getting them together already, don't want to keep them separated any longer than necessary - especially since we're going camping next weekend!

*UPDATE*
Purchased some antibiotic today - 1 teaspoon per gallon of water for all the girls. Tomorrow we'll try some socializing in a 'neutral' location and hopefully we can get them to hang out together.

A Chicken Update

This afternoon I harvested my cockerel, Dotti and plopped him in a rabbit cage in the back of my car. The ladies were upset to be left behind, until i threw some scratch for them to play with. Dotti did great in the car, just rode along like an old pro.
We arrived in Burnet about an hour.5 later whereupon i set myself out to choose his perfect replacement. Not that easy when you're chasing around several wyandottes among hundreds of other chickens. We (with the help of Josh) managed to grab a hold of several who seemed 'pleasant' though I ended up with one with a single comb. So i had to ditch that one (want to stick to the 'ideal' standards of a wyandotte: rose comb) and caught the nearest next. I have no idea if she's perfect, in color or behavior, but she's not a boy!




Dotti seemed confused but not overly upset by his new surroundings. New chicken ran back and forth quite a bit in her cage before finally finding the food and water and settling down. Now i monitor the interaction between the other chickens and her and will introduce them to each other 'in coop' later this afternoon to see if they'll settle or need more time apart. Hopefully she'll settle into being a tame hen with our others. Though being older, she's much smaller - so i hope that won't put her at a disadvantage to be picked on, but hopefully now BB can catch up on growing as Dotti would always steal her snacks. It makes me proud of my care to compare my pullets to this one: she's smaller and not as sleek, despite being older: that indicates to me that all my garden fresh snacks, feed, and supplemental whey snacks must be paying off!

Dinner last night.

I bought some ground turkey last week and it was time to use it. I decided to try something similar to what i call my 'tortilla soup' but less soupy. I'd planned on using hominy but found no hominy in the cupboard and used orzo instead. I think that was an excellent choice. All told this took about 30-40 minutes to prepare.

Zesty Turkey/Poblano Stew (names are a work in progress)

Ingredients:
1 package extra lean ground turkey
2 BIG green poblanos (if i was using garden poblanos i'd have to use about 5 or 6)
1 big onion
3+ cloves garlic
hot peppers to taste, i used 3 dried thai peppers
3 tablespoons cilantro
1 can regular rotel (or generic brand tomatoes and green chillies)
Veg stock
1/2 cup frozen corn
Chile powder
cumin
salt & pepper
orzo
kaffir lime leaf
dash lime juice
seasoning salt
white wine

Chop the veg, place onions, lime leaf, and garlic directly in a lubricated pan - a big pan.
Heat the onions and garlic on med/high until they're sizzling and softening. Add the package of turkey, seasoning with chile powder, cumin, salt etc to taste. It is important to monitor the turkey at this stage, breaking it up and turning it often to create a nice sized crumble. Once the turkey is almost cooked, add the Rotel, dash of lime, and hot peppers. Keep turning and breaking turkey until it is cooked through.
Layer poblanos on top of juicy turkey mixture, followed by the orzo - enough to lightly cover, about 2 handfuls, followed by veg stock to cover peppers and pasta with liquid, about 1-2 cups.
Cover and simmer on medium until orzo is about cooked to a firm aldente. Stir and add in frozen corn and about 1/2 to 3/4 cup white wine. Cover and simmer until corn is warmed and orzo is cooked to your preference - not mushy but not crunchy.

Serve in bowls topped with shredded cheddar. Deliciouso! And again I ate too much. but at least i saved a LITTLE for lunch today :)

Ground turkey is such a versatile ingredient, I find it is always good to have around.

This picture is when i layered in the poblanos topped with the orzo.
You can see it isn't a ton of pasta, just enough to give the stew
a little body and interest. The pasta absorbs the yummy flavors
so nicely. The lime leaf added such a nice, fresh, light zest, and
the peppers a good amount of kick, but not overpowering.

KimChi! or "Using all that Excess Whey in Interesting Fashions"

So, when you make homemade cheese - you end up with a lot of whey leftover. Luckily I have 4 delightful chickens more than happy to slurp it up, along with old stale bread or by itself.
But it would be cool to use it for my own consumption, wouldn't it? Too bad I'm lactose intolerant (yes i know: so why am i making cheese? it's all part of a master plan, i swear).

I ran into a nice lady in Wimberley this past weekend who mentioned KimChi, the Korean version of sauerkraut, spicy and tasty. It can be made with whey, as it is a fermented concoction. I did a little research and found a few versions of this recipe online.
The husband was kind enough to pick up some veggies on his way home (though the cabbage he got is a little small, hoping amounts will be proportionate), giving me a fun experiment to do this evening.

Ingredients: cabbage, cucumber, green onions,
ginger, garlic, carrot + sea salt and whey

Chop, dice, and shred and pour the ingredients into a bowl.

Mush all these ingredients up. I do not have a
meat pounder, so I used my pestle (mortar?). Didn't
work so great, but pretty much got the job done. You
want to beat the veg until liquid rises.

Into receptacle.

Mush down so that top is covered with liquid and is
1 inch below surface of jar.

TA DA! Beautiful. Now it sits for 3 days
to ferment, then move to the fridge to be consumed!

Pita Pizza

Miranda's Yummy Vegetarian Pita Pizza!

Though I do not have kiddos, I would think this could be a great project for them to do with some supervision - if you choose ingredients like presliced mushrooms, pineapple tidbits, stir fry prechopped veggies etc - it could be totally kid-run, i would think.
Here's how i do it:

Ingredients:
Pita or Flat Bread (i'm quite particular with this - and have not found one i'm totally satisfied with, but this Toufayan wheat flatbread i used last night was great)
Shredded cheese (any type) or fresh mozzarella
Pizza Sauce*
Small diced veggies (such as green peppers, jalapenos, mushrooms, black olives, tomatoes, onions, garlic, pineapple, zucchini, you name it. I try to stick to what is in season and what is growing in my garden - but sometimes you just have to suck it up and buy stuff (especially when you're gardening in a massive drought and heat wave!)
fresh basil leaves, crushed
You could also use packaged pepperoni or ham if you want to satisfy some meat cravings.

Pizza Sauce:
I am generally cooking for two and this amount of sauce works for two liberally sauced pizzas with enough left over to make a third - could also be spread out further.

1 small can tomato paste
dash red wine
3 chopped garlic cloves
dash cayenne to preference
salt and pepper
dried oregano
dried basil

can be prepared in advance.

To build the pizzas:
lay out the pitas
spread pizza sauce to coat the surface to your preference, i like a lot of sauce and really load it on. Don't be afraid to go right to the edge. Sprinkle a light amount of shredded cheese. Pile on your ingredients to be evenly spaced, add a little salt and the fresh basil then layer on more shredded cheese or sliced fresh mozz. Have fun with it! the more you put on the harder it will be to slice, and messier - but that's half the fun, isn't it?? You don't want the ingredients to be to wet - as it could make the pitas soggy.
Put pitas in oven immediately to avoid the sog problem.

I use a toaster oven preheated to 425 F - Ideally you'll want to switch the back pita to the front midway in cooking for evenness --- but just watch them closely. Cook anywhere from 9 - 12 minutes depending on the type of pita used and your 'crunch' preference. I like a definate crunch, but don't want it scourched either. Last night we cooked these Toufayan based pizzas for about 10 minutes and they were perfect.

Ingredients all laid out. I used black olives, onions, fresh basil,
chopped poblanos and sliced tomato.

Ready to go in the oven. I made them right on the rack
for ease of oven entrance.

Voila! So delicious we made one more and shared it!

Note: We planned ahead for this meal and used the fresh mozz i made the day before, but this can also be a great last minute 'what's for dinner?' meal and one i've relied on several times before.
Pitas can be kept in the freezer for quite some time, ingredients can be thrown together based on what's on hand/leftover, and tomato paste is a staple in my pantry.

Cheese Round Two

Okay that was exhausting. 2 hours later i have 4 packets of mozz from two gallons of organic whole milk, and hands that smell a little sour.
There was snipping at husband, there was frustration with too cool water, there was scalding of hands on hot cheese.
But i think it turned out okay. Not perfect - plus 2 gallons makes a LOT OF CHEESE. too much to handle. 2 packets for freezing, the other two for pizza and snacks.
I used this recipe again, followed it more closely this time. Everything went well until the end. I have a really hard time with the stretching part - getting the cheese to be hot enough, the water hot enough, my hands non singed. I had to resort to putting batches in the microwave instead of all in the water - hopefully they're salty enough, i may brine two if i feel they're not - and i made one with basil - very tasty. might always make it with basil.
I hope my cheesemaking skills will improve and accept any advice on this last step.
I have a hard time telling how long to stretch, how much to stretch, how to keep it from getting those little break apart furries. troubleshooting cheese isn't as easy as i'd thought.
Next batch of cheese will be simple queso blanco - hanging bag cheese. Hopefully with raw goat milk.
All pictures on flickr under the housekeeping 09 set, but here are a few of the main points of progress:
2 gallons organic whole milk.
Add citric acid to cool milk, bring up to 88 degrees then add Rennet.Slowly bring that up to 108, stir curds.

Once temp is reached turn off heat, stir occasionally and let sit a while.
Strain the curds and drain in a collander for a few minutes.
Attempt to stretch. Note: this is a LOT OF CHEESE. i ended up breaking it up into 4 chunks to handle it, my hot salty water wasn't hot enough so i had to use the micro.
But it tastes okay and looks okay - will judge more carefully later after it has chilled.

Pet Sounds.

A second post today, but I could not resist.

I fed the girls (and boy) a frozen whey muffin today - they love these things (mostly good for them except for some sugar). Soot made many happy peeps.
But before that, just after i opened the door, Belina hopped up behind me to settle on my shoulder a bit. I caught a picture of her just as Soot sneakily stole the muffin from my hand. Distracted by the treat, Belina hopped back down - caught a pic just as she's disappearing (look closely behind my shoulder).
Pretty cute.

Of Aphids and Chicken Stock

After taking the dog beast and myself on a nice hour walk at dawn, complete with sunrise and chirruping bats returning to their bridge, we returned home to feed the chickens and water the gardens.

Watering has become a bit of a controversy here in Austin town: severe water restrictions limit personal use, and should be adhered to and enforced. Luckily I still have water in my rain barrel and the irrigating i do is done with a simple hose, no sprinklers. We're allowed to water that way, why? i dunno but i'm glad because without that water my sad garden would be much sadder.

Watering is also my chance to inspect the troops: check for pests, disease, production or lack thereof. I am repeatedly disappointed by the presence of aphids. I've never had a bad problem with aphids in the past as my garden was once a playground for ladybugs in all their phases. But the ladybugs seem to have cleared out: eaten by assassin bugs or driven out by the heat, i don't know. What i do know is that i spray and i spray and those evil aphids keep coming back. Started with the cucumbers, spread to the peppers then the eggplants. Sigh. But I continue the battle!!!

Aphid spray:
Dr. Bronner's Liquid soap, peppermint is preferable
Peppermint essential oil (my bronners is almond, so i compensate this way)
Srirachi sauce (for the hot pepper)

Mix these with water in a spray thingy and spray liberally.
The Sririachi sauce seems to be the secret ingredient. I have red that garlic pepper sprays are the best thing for nasties, but garlic can also deter bees, whom we need around for pollinating. So I scrimcoach an do the best i can, but those aphids are tough!
The ladybugs in their hayday:
Chicken Stock:
Andy brought home a roasted chicken last night that I turned into some spicy thai curry. The bones are presently simmering in delightful aroma, destined to be chicken stock that I will freeze in ice cube trays and store in ziplocks for use in the future. I like to have small quantities of chicken stock on hand to add to healthy sautes or curries.

Chicken, Turkey, or Duck carcass - fat and skin removed
water to almost fill pan, cover chicken
3 small bay leaves fresh or dry
some salt
you can also cook this down with onions and garlic for a richer broth

simmer on low, covered all day or until you just can't stand it, until the bones are completely falling apart and the cartilage has melted clear. You may have to add liquid occasionally as it will burn off in delicious smelling steam throughout the day.
Let cool slightly and either pour the stock through a strainer into a clean bowl, or lift bones out with a skimmer.
I like to run a splash of hot water over the removed bones in a bowl, swirl around, and poor liquid back into the stock as there's often good gelatin stuck to the bones.
At this point you can pour the stock directly into whatever you plan on freezing it in, add ingredients and make soup fresh, or allow to cool in the refrigerator for several hours - this will cause the fat to rise to the surface so that you can skim it off for lower fat stock. Freeze or use.


There is nothing quite like homemade chicken stock - NEVER throw away the bones from roast! Especially if you roasted a bird yourself, get the bonus meal out of the roast and boil down the bones for a delicious, versatile stock.

Uses for stock:
pot pie, soup, gravy, liquid in a saute, curry liquid base, mashed potatoes etc etc.

Great news for Dotti today!

Thank you, Josh!


I sent a hopeful email to Josh of Mobilechickencoops.com yesterday. He helped us to build our girls' coop and raises and sells a variety of chickens up in Burnet, TX. It was my great hope that he could give our little man, Donny/Dotti a new home. It was my pipe dream that he could trade a pullet (young hen) in exchange.
Well, this morning to my delight I received an email back letting me know that Josh is in need of a Wyandotte rooster to fill one of his model coops, and has pullets to trade! Not only will Donny now have a beautiful flock of pretty girl Wyandottes all to himself, but I will get a pretty girl to replace him here at home.
We couldn't be more thrilled.
So this weekend or next, sailboat in tow to a nearby lake, we will bring little Donny to his new home and pick up the newest addition to our family -- though I think we'll wait til we're done sailing to get the new gal, as a chicken at the bow of a sailboat sounds just a little too far fetched, though what a sight that would be!





Visit:www.mobilechickencoops.com to see all of Josh's great products. I vouch for both his craftsmanship and his generosity.

Some photos on Tuesday evening.

Here are just a few photos from around the gardens. August in Texas is not the most flattering for the vegetables. I'm battling a few pests, using a bit too much water, and treating the soil with soaks of water and John's Recipe (from the Natural Gardener), Hasta Gro occasionally, and this morning some whey. All in all it's going alright - if you don't count all the dropped flowers and absence of fruit.

My husband Andy's gourd project. He gets frustrated with their small size - but I think he's doing pretty well for a rather passive gardening project.

Dotti and Soot

Soot is such a friendly bird, and australorp - she comes up to you whenever given the chance, and is intrigued by the camera lense. I escaped peck-harm. Dotti "Donny" and Belina in the background. If only they would learn to roost 2 hours from now!


Sad Ichiban: overrun with aphids and mealybugs... i spray it weekly with peppermint, soap, and cayenne, but they keep marauding.



Nasty aphids. They've actually been significantly reduced.

Ripening Giant Marconis - the first batch grew to be about 4 times this size: i roasted them, skinned them, and stuffed them with delicious healthy (but evil tasting) things and baked them.

Garden in 'it's hot out here' mode.

mariachi peppers.


Suyo Long cucumbers: they make me think they're ripening, then just shrivel off and mock me.


At least the native plants are happy: sage, rosemary and lantana.

The green goddess eggplant is pretty happy - the fruits aren't getting much size though. Not sure how to increase the size of my yields.

The pepper grove.