Fertile Eggs!!

Wow- we had some excitement over the weekend!  We discovered that our eggs are in fact fertile!!  We have been closely monitoring our hen/rooster lately, and we had noticed that he was really enjoying some "adult time" with the hens.  My husband I think is a little jealous of the rooster- apparently male-bounding transcends species!   So, I did a little reading in my backyard chicken book (great reference), and it had a very detailed section on how to tell if you have fertile eggs.  I had always heard you put a candle under them- we tried a flashlight in a dark closet, but having no clue what we were actually looking for- this proved to be very unsuccessful.  The book said that once you crack an egg, you can look at the yolk for a very small white circle.  If the circle is neatly formed with a bulls-eye shape or doughnut, then you have a fertile egg.  If the white shape is very disorganized, well then your rooster is not doing its job properly (as my husband says "shooting blanks").  So into the kitchen we went with two fresh eggs from the coop.  Being a house with four growing boys, someone is always hungry, so we knew after we examined the eggs we could fry them up to eat- no wasting!  After cracking the two eggs in a shallow bowl, my husband and I were closely looking for the white shape- I must confess, I felt as though I was waiting for the results of a pregnancy test!  Bingo, we saw the perfectly white shaped doughnuts- tiny as can be, but there indeed!  So, as it turns out- our rooster is apparently the "real deal", no "blanks" for this guy!!  Needless to say, we were all extremely excited about this discovery.  It has always been a dream of ours to hatch our own baby chicks.  Especially since our hens are of good stock- why not keep the good breed going?  Next step, incubator.  Yes, we could go buy one- but as you know by now, if it can be made, we will make it (excuse me- my husband will make it).  I am not the handy type at all- hence the reason I married one!  So, onto the internet I went- I can research really well!  I must say, I am not normally a fan of computers, but when it comes to finding info.- wow!!  Well, we found some great plans for incubators on the Mother Earth News website- told you this is a great magazine!  My husband decided the one made from an old cooler suited our needs best.  So, after everyone went to bed- he stayed up and watched the Youtube video of making an incubator from a cooler.  Supplies: old cooler (plentiful around here), working computer fan, hot water heater thermostat (had one from the heater we just replaced- hence the reason we never throw anything out- you never know when you might need it), thermometer, chicken wire, light bulb, and you are ready to make it!  First thing the next morning, my husband was up making the incubator and it was completed by lunchtime- it is so cool!!  He cut out the top and replaced it with plexi-glass so we can monitor what is going on at all times!  Once we got the temp. and humidity (cup of water) right in the incubator, in went the eggs.  Tuesday Feb. 15th was day one- 11 eggs went in- a variety of white, little brown, and big brown ones.  That first night- it was like a newborn baby in the house- I was up every hour checking on them to make sure the temp. and humidity were ok.  Everyday they must be turned- four times a day.  The temp. and humidity must remain constant, too.  But, if we are successful, in about 21 days, we should see little chicks popping out of the eggs!!  We have great expectations and I will keep posting back here on progress!  On another note, we have successfully made mozzarella cheese- absolutely delicious- no comparison to the store-bought kind!  Only took about 45 minutes, too!  With this warm weather, I have been busy getting my raised garden beds ready for spring planting.  I add chicken manure daily and yesterday we shoveled compost to top dress all the beds.  Our potatoes and onions went in the ground this week- 5lbs of red and yukon gold, and 2 lbs of red and yellow onions.  Seeds are sprouting in the greenhouse- tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, lettuce, pumpkins, watermelons, cucumbers, basil!!  Yeah, my favorite time of the year!! 

Making Bread

I wanted to share the recipe we use for making bread.  I discovered this recipe while reading my Mother Earth News a while ago- which by the way is an awesome magazine!  Anyway, it is a very simple no-kneading recipe that you can add to or adjust as you like, and it is very kid-friendly (smooshing dough with your hands!).  Things you will need before you get started:  bread flour/all-purpose flour (better to use unbleached), yeast (packets or jars- jars are better value if you will be baking a lot of bread), salt (I use sea salt or kosher salt), cornmeal, pizza peel (I use a small cutting board with a handle).  The recipe is for a free-form artisan loaf or French boule. 

• Start by heating 3 cups of water to about 100 degrees.
• Add 1 1/2 tbsp of granulated yeast and 1 1/2 tbsp of kosher salt to the water in a 5-quart bowl- I use a wooden salad bowl, but you can use any bowl that you can loosely cover or lid.  Do not worry about getting all the yeast to dissolve- just swirl it around a bit with a wooden spoon.
• Mix in 6 1/2 cups of your flour by gently scooping it into measuring cup and leveling it off with a knife (don't pat down)
• Mix with a wooden spoon or stand mixer with dough attachment until uniformly moist.  If hand mixing becomes too difficult (which it will)- this is where your children can help.  With wet hands, have them mix the dough together until flour is blended together and all moist.  This step is done in a few minutes- remember no-kneading.  The dough is ready when it is wet and loose enough to conform to your container.
• Cover it loosely and allow to rise at room temperature for about 2 hours (until it flattens on top).  If it rises longer- no problem (if you are like me, two hours slips by sometimes). 
• You can use the dough anytime after this; however, if you refrigerate it for a few hours (better overnight)- it will be easier to work with and the taste will improve.  Refrigerate it covered loosely (I cover my bowl with plastic wrap and a towel- or sometimes just a towel.
• When you are ready to bake, sprinkle a little cornmeal on your pizza peel to keep it from sticking.
• Sprinkle top of dough with flour to make it easier to cut a piece away- then with a serrated knife cut a piece of dough about the size of a grapefruit or cantaloupe (if you want a bigger loaf)
• Take the ball of dough in your hands if it is sticky add a little flour to your hands so it will not stick
• Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on four "sides"  rotating the ball of dough a quarter-turn as you do, until the bottom of the dough has a collection of four bunched ends.  The bottom part will flatten during resting and baking.
• Put the dough on the cornmeal-sprinkled pizza peel and let it rest for 40 min.
• Twenty min. before baking pre-heat oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone on middle rack and place an empty broiler tray for holding water on the bottom rack.
• Dust top of loaf with flour to slash it with a serrated knife to allow for bread expansion.  Slash scallop pattern 1/4 inch deep in loaf.
• After 40 minutes and oven is preheated, with a flick of your wrist, slide the loaf onto the baking stone, and add 1 cup of hot water to the roasting pan and close the oven quickly to trap the steam.
• Bake for about 28-30 minutes depending on your oven
• Take out and cool on a wire rack before cutting- then enjoy your delicious homemade bread!
• Refrigerate the rest of the dough to use over the next week

It may sound difficult or long, and yes the first time, as with any recipe, may take awhile and seem hard.  But, trust me, the end result is worth it.  Plus, after doing it a couple of times, it will be like second nature to you.  Then, you can add ingredients (sunflower seeds) or use different flours (like wheat) once you get the hang of it.  We have started using the dough for making pizza on Friday night- it is delicious.  Just cut a piece of dough off the size of grapefruit and roll out and put toppings on and bake same degrees- if you like a crustier dough- bake the dough a couple minutes before adding toppings. 
This bread is so good with honey drizzled on it or dipped in olive oil.  Great snack for your children when they get home from school- especially on cold days.  Also, thinly sliced, it makes perfect sandwich sizes for kids, and toast in the morning before school.  Send me a comment or e-mail if you have any questions.  caroline_watford@bellsouth.net

A new snack- Kale Chips!

Once again, we have discovered a new way to eat a food that we would have never eaten before.  On Saturday when I went out to pick up our CSA share, one of the vegetables we got was kale.  My husband has never been a huge fan of kale (not really sure why), so I normally just get one bunch and then trade our other bunch for collards.  However, when I was picking up the kale bunch, I noticed a new recipe above the kale- Kale Chips!  It seemed very easy and might just be tasty- you never know til you try it!  Also, my husband and boys have seemed to be craving a new snack food.  So, into my bag the bunches of kale went!  When we got home of course everyone was "starving" and dinner was still two hours away.  It seems with growing children and a husband someone is always starving!  Since dinner was still a few hours away, I decided to try the kale chip recipe out for a snack food.  All you do is take the kale bunches and remove the stems and cut or tear the kale into bite size pieces.  Then, in a bowl mix about 1/4 cup olive oil, a few splashes of vinegar (I used red wine), salt, and pepper, and add the kale pieces to this, and mix this together.  Then, spread out on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes at 325 degrees, or until crispy.  Then take a bite and enjoy!!  Trust me, I did not think kale could possibly make a good snack food, but I was proven incorrect.  As it turns out, kale chips are delicious!  My husband could not believe how good they were!  Of course, my boys were the ultimate taste testers- and it passed their taste buds with flying colors!  Turns out kale makes a very yummy chip, and guess what, it is super nutritious, too!  It comes out crispy and tasty just like a potato chip- but even better!  We also made a batch of sweet potato chips, too.  We were able to satisfy our snack food craving with nutritious and local food, but we did not have to sacrifice taste, and we did not have to feel guilty about eating all the chips!  Update on cheese making, our cheese supplies came in over the weekend, so today it is homemade cheese making day- bring on the mozzarella and ricotta!!

Handmade Greenhouse

I know I have not been blogging as much, but with this warmer weather we have been having, I am beckoned to be outside digging in the dirt!  Plus, my wonderful, very handy husband just built me a greenhouse!  A few weeks ago, he install new windows on a older home.  Being the thrifty recycler he is, instead of throwing away perfectly good windows, he brought the old windows home.  They are the really cool looking old-fashioned white wooden window-pane kind.  Anyway, he thought they would make a perfect greenhouse, and so over the course of the weekend, he built me a greenhouse using the recycled "old" windows.  He sure knows how to make his wife happy.  I love it- it is like my own little retreat, complete with a planting shelf, planting beds, and sliding sides for ventilation.  He constructed it right next to the house, and the bottom portion of our house is brick.  So, during the day, the bricks soak up the sun's heat and at night the heat is slowly released into the greenhouse- passive solar heating at its best!  I have already started my seeds in there, and the boys love coming in there and planting with me, or of course, just digging in the dirt.  Give me a place to plant, good dirt, and some seeds, and I am a very happy lady.  Some women want fancy clothes and jewelry; no thanks, just some good crumbly black dirt and some heirloom seeds for me!  Instead of drooling over clothes magazines, I daydream over seed catalogs!  Takes all kinds to make the world go round, right?  Also, lately I have been cooking even more with pumpkin.  Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins.  This are wonderful for snacks and/or breakfast.  They also make great treats to share with neighbors, friends, teachers, etc.  All you do is take your pumpkin cut off top part, slice it in half, clean out seeds and save for roasting (great snack for kids as well), then place two halves skin side up in a large roasting pan with 1/4 inch of water in it (this keeps pumpkin for drying out), then you bake it in oven at 450 for 45-60 min. until you can easily pierce skin.  Then let it cool and peel skin off, then put pumpkin in a big bowl and puree using a masher or a hand blender.  Now you have fresh pumpkin to cook with.  Just scoop out desired amount for recipes or freeze into batches for use later in soups and/or recipes.  Update on cheese making:  supplies have been ordered from cheese queen and we have raw milk on hand.  Should be making fresh mozzarella this weekend- check back for update.  Also, going to try making butter again using raw milk- will keep you posted on success.  Until then, happy digging- and remember before you toss something into the garbage can, pause a second and think if it can be used another way or recycled.  You just might surprise yourself and get creative!