Change

Change is inevitable. It can be good, bad or both but it will always be happening in our lives. Tonight, I was reminded of this. We have spent the fall looking at colleges, getting transcripts, college application, FAFSA and all the other things that go along with having a senior in high school. I have not had a lot of problems with these activities but tonight it hit me. My little girl will be leaving home soon!

Mary and I attended an information meeting on the home school senior recognition ceremony (commencement) held in May. As the lady was explaining the ceremony and process, it suddenly hit me-my baby girl is going to leave us in the next 6 months. How could I possibly be talking about her high school graduation? It just seems like yesterday I brought her home from the hospital for the first time. I found myself getting wispy eyed as the continued to talk.

I am very proud of the beautiful young woman my daughter has become. She has worked hard. Next fall, she will be entering Morehead State University here in Kentucky with an honors scholarship which will pay for everything except her personal expenses. I am excited to see her grow through her next phase of life but will miss her being here with us on a regular basis. Change can be good and bad but this change will be mostly good.   

Broody Chicken

We have been dealing with a broody chicken now for a few weeks. We have tried the easier tasks of keeping eggs from under her and pushing her off the nest (she just finds a new one). Now, we are having to get serious with her. I would love for her to hatch baby chicks but this is impossible when we do not have a rooster. Unfortunately, this is a little hard to explain to a chicken.

I read up on "broodiness" yesterday. After the chickens had all laid the eggs, we closed them out of the coop so she could not get to the nest box. We gave them food and water within the run. From what I read, decreasing her body temperature will sometimes get her out of the "that broody feeling". Apparently, there body temperature increases when they go broody to help them keep the eggs warm. She went back to the nest as soon as we opened up the coop for the night. We are going to try it again today. If that does not work, it will be solitary confinement for her for a few days in our cage we keep for sick and injured chickens. This will usually break them because they do not have a nest to sit on.

We will see how it goes. She seems to be a very persistent and stubborn chicken.

Backyard Chicken Accommodations

One important area of research you should do before acquiring your first chickens is how big is your coop and run area going to be and how many chickens will that space accommodate. In the city, completely free ranging chickens may be difficult. In Lexington, the ordinance specifically states that all chickens must be contained. You can actually be fined for each time a chicken gets out of the yard. Here, we also have many cats and dogs with some even roaming the neighborhood. We also have a cat of our own. For our chickens safety, we have compromised the free range principle by allowing them plenty of space to roam in an enclosed run that we move around the yard. This keeps potential predators out and them safe from attack.

There are minimum amounts of space requirements to house chickens. Adequate space allows for good sanitation and happy hens. Here are the minimum space requirements as outlined by Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens.

-In the coop, there should be 4 square feet per adult chicken
-there should be one nest box for every 4 chickens
-nest boxes should be 14" wide x 14" high by 12" deep
- 10" per bird of perch space

These numbers are for the enclosed shelter area and assumes your chickens will have an open run area. This is a good starting point for figuring out how many chickens to house in your space. 

Backyard Chicken Choices

There are many breeds of chickens that you can choose from and there are different categories of chickens. There are meat or egg only chickens, dual purpose breeds (good for both meat and eggs) and show chickens. Your first decision needs to be what do you want your chickens to do for you. If you are looking for primarily eggs than choose a breed which will be good egg layers. After you decide what function your chicken will perform there are a few other considerations.

First, I will answer a common question I get asked. You do NOT need a rooster for your hens to lay eggs. Many city ordinances will allow hens but not roosters. If you will keep your chickens in an enclosed place or a small backyard, you will want to choose a breed which is not known to be an active breed or likes to range.   These breeds do better in larger spaces. If you have not had a lot of experience with chickens or they are going to be around children, you may want to consider a breed which is known to be more docile versus flighty or aggressive. If your winters are very cold, you should get a breed which is known to be cold hardy.
Different breeds of chickens lay different colored egg shells. You may want to factor this into your decision.

This last consideration requires some explanation if you are new to backyard chickens. Some chickens are known to become "broody" easily. Being broody means that they like to sit on eggs so they can hatch (by the way this is when you do need a rooster). If you do not want baby chicks then broodiness is probably not a quality you want in a hen. They will stop laying while they are broody and will sit in your nests and dirty them. The table I referenced yesterday tells how broody a chicken breed is known to be. Pick a breed which is not known for its broodiness or is a good setter if you do not want baby chicks. It will even out your odds of getting a problem chicken who insists on becoming a mother of unfertilized eggs.

Having backyard chickens is a rewarding experience. The best part is you do not have to get all the same chicken breeds. You can mix and match. Just make sure they are compatible with each other. The biggest consideration is their temperament. Mixing aggressive breeds with docile breeds could head you into some trouble. It is important though to do research ahead of time before bringing those first chickens home. You will be glad you did in the end. 

Choosing Chickens

Several of my friends and I are getting together to order baby chicks this spring. We all want just a few and the minimum order without spending tons of extra money is 25. We order from McMurray Hatchery (.McMurray Hatchery ). We like them because you can mix and match breeds as long as you have a minimum order of 25 chicks. The reason that 25 is a minimum order is that this is the amount of chicks necessary to fit in a small box tightly packed together so they can maintain each others body temperature while they are in the mail. The catalog carries a wide variety of breeds.

One valuable internet tool that I have found is from the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC)   ALBC Breed Comparison Chart. It is a chart which compares the different qualities of each chicken breed. You do not want to get just any breed of chicken. Even if your friend loves them, it does not necessarily mean that you will love them or it is the right breed for your situation. In my next post, I will try to go over some of the considerations in choosing chickens for your backyard. In the meantime have fun cruising through the McMurray Catalog. It is amazing the variety of poultry types and breeds which are available to purchase. 

Preserving Produce

Last night, we had strawberry shortcake in the middle of winter. The strawberries were some that I had frozen this past summer from our patch. It was so good. We have also been eating many other of our frozen and canned produce. If you have not preserved produce before, this time of year is a great time to start researching how to do this task. Preserving your own produce or those bought locally during the peaks of the seasons is a great way to help decrease your food carbon footprint. The best part is you will increase the taste of your food in the winter time.

There are many ways to learn how to can. Your local home extension service will have brochures available on the subject that you can get online or at the actual facility. You can check a basic food preservation book at the library. This is a good way to test several books and then pick the one that works best for you before buying one for a resource book.

Quote of the Day

"The tragedy of life is not death but what we let die inside of us while we live."
Norman Cousins

Fast Food Habit

As much as I hate to admit it, I have a fast food habit. I have decided to make this the focus area of change for myself. Last year, I worked on not using or eating chocolate derived from slave labor. Even though I was not perfect, I did do a substantial change in this area over the past year. I will continue to work on this area but now it is time for a new resolution. It is time to break the fast food habit.

I can try to justify to myself that I do not eat beef at these places and do not frequent them near as much as other people but the truth is as long as I eat at these places I am part of the problem. Not only is not good for my waistline but fast food extends a heavy toll when it comes to the carbon footprint it leaves behind.  When I do go out to eat, I will try to eat at places which have a better carbon footprint such as Chipotles. Now that I have put it on my blog it will be easier for me not to cheat. I will let you know my progress in this area. 

Vegetable Juice

One thing I started doing several years ago is saving the juice that I cook or can my vegetables in. In my freezer upstairs, I keep a container labeled "veggie juice". At the end of a meal, I take what juice is left in the container that I cooked the vegetables in and add it to the "veggie juice" in the freezer. I also do this for the juice in the jar from the vegetables that I have canned myself. One other source of juice is the water from cooked potatoes. Not only does this not waste the juice but it is a great way to have good quality vegetable juice to cook with when you need it.

When I have a recipe that calls for chicken broth, I use the "veggie juice" instead. I also use this juice to replace some or all of the milk called for in quiche recipes. I find that this juice is very flavorful and has the added bonus of having all the vitamins and minerals in it that were leached out of the vegetables during the initial cooking. I never use juice from commercially canned items as they tend to have lots of salt and sodium in them. You will be surprised of the extra flavor this juice adds to your recipes.

One other item to address is cleanliness of this practice. In our house, we only use serving spoons to get vegetables out of the bowls on the table. This way no one who has already used their utensil will be dipping it into the bowl that everyone else is using. This way I know that the vegetable juice is not contaminated with any one's germs. (We have to be very careful about germ control in our family because my youngest daughter has a compromised immune system.) By freezing the juice right away, I also keep it from spoiling or building up bacteria.

This is a great method to get organic vegetable juice without having to pay the price for it. Try it out sometime. 

Chicken Enchiladas

Yesterday, I took some of our leftover turkey I had frozen out of the freezer and made chicken enchiladas. This is a easy meal to make and can be fairly healthy with some substitutions. I have included the ones that I do. This is a great way to use up leftover poultry.

Chicken Enchiladas
2 cups diced poultry
1-16 oz container sour cream (I use fat free or plain yogurt)
1 Tbs dried cilantro
1 medium onion
1/4 cup banana or hotter pepper of your choice
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use healthy request soup)
8 tortillas ( I use whole wheat ones)
1-8 oz bag sharp cheddar or mexican blend shredded cheese ( I use 2%)

Saute onion and pepper in a little bit of olive oil until tender. In medium size bowl, combine poultry, sour cream, cilantro and cooked onion and peppers. Spray a 9x13 pan.
To assemble enchiladas, put 1/8 of meat mixture and small amount of cheese in tortilla. Wrap up and put in pan. Continue until all 8 tortillas are filled. Put cream of chicken soup over top of enchiladas in pan. Spread remaining cheese over soup. Cover and bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. They are done when cheese is melted and bubbly on top.

My family loves these and it is not that hard to make. You can make these up ahead of time and freeze them or put in refrigerator before cooking. If put in freezer, thaw completely before cooking. 

Simplicity Quote

"It is the simple things in life that make living worthwhile."--Laura Ingalls Wilder

Basic Quiche

I find quiche is a great way to use up leftovers especially meats and vegetables. Here is the basic recipe I use. I then put in leftover meat and vegetables. I will sometimes use leftover cheese but will also match the cheese to what I am fixing.

Basic Quiche
1-9" unbaked pie crust
1 cup cheese of choice
1 1/2 cups liquid (I use leftover veggie juice, milk, salsa, etc.)
4 eggs
seasonings of choice
leftover meat and/or vegetables

Put crust in 9" pie pan. In seperate bowl, beat eggs and stir in liquid. Stir in rest of ingredients. Dump in pie shell. Bake 350 degree oven for 45 minutes-1 hour. Quiche is done when center does not wiggle when pan moved and knife inserted in middles comes out clean. To make serving easier, let it set for about 10 minutes before serving.  

Hope you enjoy this great way to remake leftover food.

Friendship

Today, I was reminded about how fortunate I am to have the friends that I have in my life. We received some bad news this week about my youngest daughter's eyesight as well as mine. I have been trying not to worry about it but have to admit I was feeling pretty down about all of it on Saturday. Today, we went to see my friend in Richmond. Not only was I able to talk about it with her but by the end of the day feeling much better about everything. Makenzie has an appointment with a specialist in two weeks and I have one in about a month. I know that no matter what the news is that my friends and family will be there to help me through it. I am very blessed to have them in my life.  

Pretty Day

One nice thing about winter in Kentucky is that we usually have periods of cold weather with warmer weather  breaks. Today was gorgeous. It was sunny and in the 50's. In our house, when the weather is nice in the winter it is time to head outside to do some garden and flowerbed preparation. The spring here is usually so busy with getting the garden planted as well as all the regular chores that I try to get some of it done ahead of time. In the fall and early winter, my compost pile has usually not frozen completely. On days like today, I work on hauling compost to the garden. I dump it in piles and as the chicken coop gets moved around the garden, they scratch it in for me. The other thing I try to work on is general clean-up. I trim down old flower and asparagus stalks. I keep the yard free of branches and sticks that blow down through the winter. This gives me a head start once the nice weather starts and everything starts popping up. Take advantage of nice days you may have this winter. Enjoy the sun and get a head start on the next planting season. 

Canned Cranberry Sauce

When I was at the store the other day, I found cranberries on sale for $0.99 per 12 ounce bag. My oldest daughter and I love cranberries and look forward to the holiday season when they are available. I decided that surely I should be able to can them somehow. Mary and I found a recipe for canned whole berry sauce as well as a cranberry-grape jam recipe. We made both of them. The cranberry sauce turned out well and was approved by our taste buds yesterday. Here is the recipe if you would like to take advantage of those post-holiday sales.

Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
4 cups sugar
4 cups water
8 cups fresh cranberries
grated zest of 1 large orange (optional)

In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved in the water. Boil hard for 5 minutes. Add cranberries and return mixture to a boil. Reduce heat  and boil gently, stirring occasionally until all berries have burst and liquid begins to sheet from a metal spoon (about 15-20 minutes). Stir in orange zest, if desired, the last couple of minutes of cooking.

Ladle hot sauce into jars, leaving a 1/4-inch head space. Put on lids. Water bath can pints and 1/2 pint jars for 15 minutes. Cool and store. This make 4 pint size or 8-half-pint jars.   

Parsley

Each year I grow parsley. It does such a nice job of lightly flavoring many of my dishes. This year though I thought it had died. I looked for it and never could find it. On Sunday, I was cutting back the dead stems from my daisy patch and there was a parsley plant that was still green and healthy. I quickly pulled the plant as we were supposed to have a hard freeze last night. Parsley will survive some frost but not when it gets down below freezing for a long period of time. I cut off the leaves that were still good and put them on the dehydrator. The rest of the leaves went to our rabbits who enjoyed it immensely. We will now have fresh, dried parsley all winter. Yum!

Parsley is an easy plant to grow and preserve. It is a biennial which means it dies back the first year and then blooms and goes to seed the second year. After that the plant has completed its cycle and will die. It can be grown from seed but I usually get plants because I can easily plant them in my flower beds and one or two go along way. I cut fresh parsley off of it all summer. When winter approaches, I harvest the plants, take off the leaves and dehydrate them. They then can be stored in an airtight container and used. I put mine in a baggie and store in freezer upstairs because I have more room in there versus shelf space. I would not let them grow the second year unless I was going to store seed from them. They quickly go to seed.

I would encourage you to try to grow parsley this year. It is a great herb to use and full of vitamin C.

Happy New Year

I have taken some time off from the blog this month. Hope all of my readers had a wonderful holiday season. I cannot believe that it is New Year's Day already. I have enjoyed taking it easier this month. I purposely scaled down our normal holiday activities and focused more on spending time with my family and making memories with my daughters. Now, it is time to get back into the swing of our everyday routines. January and February are my down times. No gardening or holidays so things are a little slower pace. I take these two months to catch up on many other activities that sometimes get neglected. Hope you are all enjoying today.