What’s brown, warm and bigger than expected?

First!

We were beginning to think we had a couple of moochers on our hands. Then we kept finding piles of poo in their nest box and thought maybe they were confused over precisely what they were suppose to be squeezing out.

But today Zeb was the discoverer of our very first light brown egg. :D We all did a happy dance, took many pictures and gave our chicky-doos lots of extra treats.

The warm little gift was sadly cracked. Can we still eat it? And would you call me crazy for padding their nest box with foam? I think the girls would like it. I could even use egg-crate foam! HA!

New Additions

Care to guess as to the two lovely ladies who have recently joined our clan?

Guess What

I know! We’re very excited!

I had taken the advice of another when it came to the legality of our feathered friends in our community. Silly me. After making a phone call, I’ve come to find out animal control cares very little about a couple of these quiet “pets”, as long as they are well cared for. So with an “okay” from the neighbors, we went for it!

We had found several ads on line but serendipitously stumbled across a woman just minutes before we set out to make our purchase. She had been raising her babes all naturally but just had a few too many for her coop. We had a wonderful chat and narrowly avoided buying her sweet baby goat. Instead we came home with two not-yet-laying pullets.

Want to meet the girls?

Skittles

Zeb named this one Skittles. She’s a Rhode Island Red and is about 6 months old. She’s larger, lighter colored and certainly the bolder of the two - first one out of the coop for bug hunting, always scoping out our hands for hidden goodies. I wouldn’t say she’s 100% comfortable with us yet but she’s getting there.

Roxy

This is her sister, Roxy, although I’m very tempted to change her name to Nervous Nelly. She’s a skittish little thing, jumping at the slightest noise or rustling of leaves. She’s very hesitant to come near us and allows Skittles to clear a path before she ventures anywhere. She’s also a Rhode Islander and is the same age.

We’ve had them a few weeks now and we’re really enjoying them, although we’re beginning to see the perks of raising chicks, if for nothing else than to avoid this “getting to know you” stage.

Cooped

Justin built their coop and run to be movable, but roomy enough to be stationary as well (that’s a whole long post for another day). Right now, because of the heat and intense sun, they are parked under a tree but as the temps drop we’ll move them around the backyard, as we get ready to prepare new beds. We let them free range in the morning but only away from our garden, as we’ve found they make quick work of tearing things up!

The Girls

I’m loving all the free fertilizer they’re leaving us and we’re told to expect to see large brown eggs within the next 2-3 weeks. Now that’s what I call ”friends with benefits”! ;)

Easy Homemade Butter

I learned how to make homemade butter today.
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raw homemade butter
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Well, technically I learned how to do it over a year ago but today was the first time I put my homemade butter-making knowledge to the test. I have no fancy equipment and no churn and that’s just the kind of kitchen work I like.

I’ve been wanting raw butter for its healthy properties. It’s so incredibly easy to make once you know what you’re doing. Which took me a minute. But I did it! Here’s what’s needed:

  • Room Temperature Cream: Raw and organic is my favorite kind of dairy but any sort should work. Just about any amount will work. My half pint of cream made almost a half pound of butter along with a cup or more of buttermilk (I spilled it before I measured it so I’m not positive).
  • Canning jars: Bigger is better or several is necessary. The cream shouldn’t take up more than 1/3 of the space in the jar.
  • Colander or similar
  • A bowl or two
  • 1/2 Teaspoon of salt per pound of butter (optional)
  • A knife and rubber spatula also come in handy

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Here’s how to make raw homemade butter:

I bought a (half pint? I don’t know) of raw cream, dumped it into a canning jar and tightly twisted on the cap.
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raw cream to make butter
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Then I started to shake the living bejeezus out of it. I did a variety of shakes; including but not limited to a hammering motion, a side-lying left/right shake, a Half-Circle Twist, the My-Arms-Are-Getting-Tired Whole Body Wiggle, and what can only be described as Neck Throttling. I’d suggest a similar variety of shakes to avoid muscle fatigue.

Around minute two I began to see that making butter on a day I had not attempted pushups would have been a better idea. This was also about the time the consistency changed from a liquidy sloshing, to a foamy sloshing. You’ll know it when you hear it.

Around minute TWENTY-FIVE I began to think I was doing something wrong. I was most certainly not suppose to be doing a cardio workout, was I? So I one-handedly splashed that jar around while I did a quick search through my books and web resources.

That’s when I discovered the action known as “butter concussion”. I’m not making this up. Without adequate room in the jar you cannot give your butter the concussion it needs to separate from the buttermilk. So I split the cream between two jars.
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making room for concussion
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No joke, within 60 seconds of continued shaking the sound changed from a slosh to a splash and the butter separated from the buttermilk and no longer coated the jar. I shook it up a bit more to produce a slightly firmer, but still pretty soft and spreadable butter. The more you shake after that moment of separation, the firmer it will be. (Too much shaking is supposed to produce a waxy butter, so be careful. I only shook for another 30-60 seconds out of fear of screwing this up.)
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butter and buttermilk
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Then it was time to strain the buttermilk from the butter. With the assistence of Zeb’s LEGO as a support, I used a colander over a cereal bowl to allow the buttermilk to drain.
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straining the buttermilk
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I rinsed my homemade butter under cold, running water for a minute or two, threw it in a bowl to mix it around while occasionally pouring off any excess water and added a bit less than 1/4 teaspoon of salt into the mix.

That was it! If it weren’t for my mistake in using a too-small jar, the entire process would’ve only taken about 15-20 minutes, much of which can be done doing anything that doesn’t require the use of your hands. (I read our Fact-of-the-Day calendar while I did most of my shaking.)
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I like bread and butter
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Zeb, aka the Butter King, declared it “The Best Butter Ever” which is really something coming from his choosy taste buds. We ate it the only way homemade butter should be eaten: on freshly baked bread. Mmmm…

Just to recap: How to Make Homemade Butter in 5 Easy Steps

1. Throw your room temperature cream into a jar, filling it only 1/3 of the way.

2. Shake it until it goes from a foam sloshy sound to a definitive splash. At this point you’ll see buttermilk and a clumb of butter.

3. Drain the buttermilk and rinse the butter under running water, being sure to drain the water out.

4. If you prefer salt, mix it into the homemade butter at a ratio of 1/2 teaspoon per pound of butter.

5. Eat it fast before someone else does!

June’s Meal Plan

Last month’s meal plan was a partial bust. I guess I was still in cold weather foods mode. Mid-way through the month, we just couldn’t do anything involving the oven. Or the stove for that matter. Justin broke out the grill and we improvised. We blew through our frozen chicken but it was worth it to not have any pans to wash. :)

This month is being dedicated to the grill with little veering and less variation. We’ve only planned for what I needed to buy at my once-monthly grocery trip. Everything else – like side dishes – will depend on what is available at the Farmer’s Market that week, hence all the “whatever”.

Breakfast:

Monday: Cereal
Tuesday: Fruit/Yogurt
Wednesday: Eggs/Toast
Thursday: Peanut Butter Toast and Fruit
Friday: Fruit/Yogurt
Saturday Brunch: Muffins or other baked goods
Sunday Brunch: Pancakes

Lunch:

We’re planning lunches a bit later now that Justin gets home by 1:30. So, these are for all three of us.

Monday: Quesadillas
Tuesday: Mac and Cheese
Wednesday: PBJ Sandwich
Thursday: Lunch with grandparents
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday and Sunday is a late brunch and early dinner.

Dinner:

1. Black Bean Veggie Burgers
2. *Grilled* Mozzarella Pizza
3. Chicken on the grill
4. Grilled Veggie Sandwiches
5. Hot dogs and whatever
6. Hamburgers and whatever
7. Grilled Vegetables and Rice
8. Grilled Quesadillas
9. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
10. Chicken on the grill
11. Sweet Potato Kabobs
12. Brats and Sauerkraut (bleh! Justin chose this one)
13. Dinner with family
14. Grilled Fish and whatever
15. Black Bean Veggie Burgers
16. Grilled Mozzarella Pizza
17. Chicken on grill and whatever
18. Grilled Veggie Sandwiches
19. Hot dogs and whatever
20. Hamburgers and whatever
21. Father’s Day Steaks
22. Grilled Quesadillas
23. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
24. Chicken and whatever
25. Sweet Potato Kabobs
26. Cheese Brats and Sauerkraut (double bleh!)
27. Grilled Fish
28. Grilled Veggies and Rice
29. Chicken
30. Leftover night

Off to make those Black Bean Burgers. I’ll let you know how they go.

Stay tuned for an awesome and truly “Green” giveaway tomorrow morning. :)

May’s Menu Plan

This is for those (two?) people who actually wanted to know what we’re cooking with our monthly meal plan. And it’s partially because I’m going to try that blogging once a day thing for the month of May…NaBloPoMo? As if. ;) But here it is anyway.

You’ll  notice many of them include a vague reference to “veggies” or “fruit”. That is because it will depend on what is available at the farmer’s market.

Breakfast:

Sunday’s (Brunch): Pancakes and fruit
Monday’s: Cereal (usually Joe’s O’s from TJ’s)
Tuesday’s: Peanut Butter Toast
Wednesday: Eggs and Toast
Thursday: Oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins
Friday: Fruit and Homemade Yogurt
Saturday’s (Brunch): Baked Goods (muffins, breads etc)

Lunch:

For Justin:
Week One: Potato Salad
Week Two: Pasta Salad
Week Three: Egg Salad Sandwiches
Week Four: Tuna Salad Sandwiches

For Zeb and me:
Monday’s: PB & J Sandwiches
Tuesday’s: TJ’s boxed Macaroni and Cheese (Shoot!! I forgot to get any!!)
Wednesday’s: Tuna Sandwiches
Thursday’s: Lunch at Great Grandma’s
Friday’s: Lunch at Gramma’s
Saturday and Sunday: no lunch due to late breakfasts and early dinners

Dinners: (ready for this?)

1st: Pasta with greens, tomatoes, herbs/spices and feta cheese
2nd: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
3rd: Homegrown Spinach Lasagna
4th: Pasta with Broccoli and Alfredo
5th: Cinco De Mayo with Fish Tacos and homemade salsa
6th: Minestra Di Ceci (new recipe from my crock pot book!)
7th: Snobby Joe’s
8th: Arroz Con Queso (another new one from cock pot book!)
9th: Homemade Veggie Pizza
10th: Leftovers or Mother’s Day w/ family
11th: Tuna Wraps
12th: French Toast Sticks and fruit
13th: Crockpot Chili and homemade cornbread
14th: Baked Potatoes and Salad
15th: Quesodillas and Spanish Rice (need to find recipe)
16th: Eggs and Biscuits w/ honey and jam
17th: Hamburgers and Homegrown Salad
18th: Spaghetti and Garlic Bread
19th: Black Bean Tacos
20th: Ravioli and seasonal veggies
21st: Raw Tacos (avocado, tomato, veggies wrapped in greens)
22nd: Salmon and Rice Casserole
23rd: Western Omelet (another new crockpot recipe!)
24th: More leftovers
25th: Penne Alfredo with Peas and Salmon
26th: Stacked Burrito Pie (recipe from Family Fun mag)
27th: BBQ Chicken and Salad
28th: Seafood Pasta w/ veggies
29th: Cannelloni (another Family Fun recipe) w/ veggies
30th: Black Bean Soup in the crock pot (another new one)
31st: “Leftover Stew” (all the leftover veggies throughout the month get frozen, then cooked in a stew at the end of the month)

Wow. I feel so exposed.

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