Adventures of a Granola Ginger

Goodbye Goldie and Chickies

Wed, 30 May 2012 09:26:00 -0400

Last night we had a raccoon attack our chick-a-loo with our 19 chicks and broody momma hen Goldie. Only three chicks survived. It was a heart breaking scene. Not just because of the death of 16 chicks but because Goldie was one of our original three bantam hens and probably one of the coolest, best momma chickens ever.

Alot of evidence was left behind from the attack but we were not able to find Goldie. The survivors include one coronation sussex, a white crested polish, and a marans. This was especially hard on the family member that found them first this morning- my Dad.

I’m not sure how we will proceed. We have three chicks to raise and 13 adult birds in our flock. It won’t be the same without Goldie, and I’m not sure if we will try for more chicks this season or even consider selling most if not all of our flock.

This is surely just part of raising farm animals but right now that doesn’t bring alot of comfort. We’ll miss watching chick T.V., seeing those little yellow pom poms grow on the polish hens, and ultimately collecting eggs from our backyard flock. More then anything, our flock will be short one broody brahma hen- the true matriarch of our flock.

You’ll be missed Goldie.

Stuffed cabbage - pre baked (Taken with instagram) Recipe-...

Mon, 28 May 2012 19:40:00 -0400

Stuffed cabbage - pre baked (Taken with instagram)

Recipe- venison beef stuffed cabbage leaves with homemade tomato sauce

Ingredients:

For stuffed cabbage
1 head of cabbage
1 lb ground chuck
1 lb ground venison
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 1/2 cup cooked rice
2 eggs
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 Tbs tomato paste
2 Tbs fat (bacon, olive oil etc)
t Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp hot pepper
1 tsp sweet paprika
3 tsp salt

For tomato sauce
32 oz crushed tomatoes
remaining tomato paste
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
t Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs fish sauce
1 Tbs red wine or sherry
Salt to taste

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Core the head of cabbage and place it in boiling water. The outer leaves will loosen layer by layer as they cook.
Remove the cabbage leaves one at a time as they come lose and become tender. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine all the filling ingredients and mix well.

Fill cabbage leaves with meat/rice mixture. Fold the cabbage leaves around the meat mixture. Make sure to not over fill the leaves. This recipe will make about 12 large rolls or 18 large and medium rolls.

For the tomato sauce, saute garlic and onion in oil. Use the wine or sherry to deglaze the pan after the garlic and onion becomes tender.
Mix in the crushed tomatoes and paste. Simmer the sauce until it thickens. Stir in the fish sauce at the end of cooking. Salt to taste.

Place cabbage rolls in a oiled 9x13 inch pan, seam side down. Pour tomato sauce over the top, cover with foil, and bake for 1 hr.

Coronation Sussex chick- #farmlife #chicken (Taken with...

Sun, 27 May 2012 11:31:00 -0400

Coronation Sussex chick- #farmlife #chicken (Taken with instagram)

Full 2012 Chicks flickr album!

Homemade Bone Broth in the making- all local ingredients! (Taken...

Sat, 26 May 2012 19:39:00 -0400

Homemade Bone Broth in the making- all local ingredients! (Taken with instagram)

1/2 the recipe via Nom Nom Paleo’s recipe.

P.S. - grass fed beef soup bones were sourced from McLaughlin Farms Ltd. via the Meridian Township Farmers Market.

#homemade fried rice outside on the grill burner! (Taken with...

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:34:20 -0400

#homemade fried rice outside on the grill burner! (Taken with instagram)

Fresh Produce: access and equity

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:01:42 -0400

Fresh Produce Poll

Fish on! Stuffed fish ready for the grill! #grillin...

Sun, 20 May 2012 17:03:00 -0400

Fish on! Stuffed fish ready for the grill! #grillin #sundaydinner (Taken with instagram)

Before we headed to the farmers market and other market store...

Sat, 19 May 2012 11:18:00 -0400

Before we headed to the farmers market and other market store this weekend I had some crisper drawer clean-out to accomplish. There is seriously NO better way to get some almost gone bad veggies used up than to make a frittata. Especially if you have a basically endless supply of eggs on hand that comes with a nice sized flock of back yard hens!

Ingredients

8 eggs

2 medium sized potatoes shredded, rinsed, and patted dry

1 cup of green (I used baby spinach)

1 roma tomato diced

1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms

1 onion chopped

1 clove of garlic minced

1/2 cup of crumbled sausage or bacon (I used spicy turkey sausage)

1 cup of shredded cheese (use what you have on hand! I used swiss and a dash of left over motz)

1 Tbs salt free seasoning (like Mrs. Dash)

1 Tbs of fish sauce

1 Tbs of white wine

1/4 tsp hot pepper

2-3 Tbs coconut oil

Sprinkle of paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a quiche pan.

Shred the potatoes into “hash-browns”, rinse, and pat dry. Spread them in the bottom of the quiche pan, top with a liberal sprinkling of salt free spice mix and once the oven is up to temperature, bake for 10-15 min until the potatoes are tender.

Prep the veggies- chop the onion, mince the garlic, slice the mushrooms, rinse and dry the spinach, and seed & chop the tomatoes. Melt the coconut oil in a medium saute pan, and sweat the onion with a pinch of salt and hot pepper. Cook until tender. Add the minced garlic for about 30 seconds. Stir in the mushrooms and cook on medium until tender.

Turn off the burner and stir in meat, spinach, fish sauce, white wine, and salt free seasoning. Warm until the spinach is wilted and most of the liquid has evaporated. If it doesn’t evaporate, turn the burner back on low for a short time.

Shred the cheese of choice.

Wisk the 8 eggs.

Once the potato crust has been baked until soft, remove from the oven, add the layer of sauteed veggies and meat, toss on the diced & seeded tomatoes, and pour on the whisked eggs.

Distribute the shredded cheese evenly across the top and add the paprika.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 min, until the egg is thoroughly cooked.

Serve hot, warm, or cold.

Everything but the kitchen sink- frittata (Taken with instagram)

This is dinner! Too many delicious things here to describe them...

Thu, 17 May 2012 19:25:00 -0400

This is dinner! Too many delicious things here to describe them all! (Taken with instagram)

Source: google.com via Molly on Pinterest

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:31:20 -0400

Source: google.com via Molly on Pinterest

Chicken bake (with roasted rooster meat) (Taken with...

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:50:00 -0400

Chicken bake (with roasted rooster meat) (Taken with instagram)

Recipe for the chicken bake from The Kitchn!

What would be change about the recipe?- we added kale instead of chard (it’s what we had) and I would add ALOT more liquid. Maybe some more wine, milk/cream, and a little pasta sauce. The flavor was GREAT and we really liked the dish. Below is a picture of what it looked like on The Kitchen website.

Finished product! Pressure cooked rooster! #farmlife (Taken...

Mon, 14 May 2012 20:52:36 -0400

Finished product! Pressure cooked rooster! #farmlife (Taken with instagram)

Adventures in suburban homesteading - cooking our rooster (Taken...

Mon, 14 May 2012 20:30:11 -0400

Adventures in suburban homesteading - cooking our rooster (Taken with instagram)

Ladies in my yard! #farmlife (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 13 May 2012 18:53:56 -0400

Ladies in my yard! #farmlife (Taken with instagram)

Mushrooms ahoy! (Taken with Instagram at Elmer and...

Sun, 13 May 2012 18:15:35 -0400

Mushrooms ahoy! (Taken with Instagram at Elmer and Dafey’s)

Our new baby chick! (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 13 May 2012 12:53:58 -0400

Our new baby chick! (Taken with instagram)

Hypertufa creations by Farmbrook Designs.

Sun, 13 May 2012 10:08:55 -0400

Hypertufa Birdbath Fountain

Seedum Hypertufa Planter

Hypertufa Michigan Stepping Stone

Hypertufa creations by Farmbrook Designs.

Strawberry Jam (Taken with instagram)

Fri, 11 May 2012 18:01:25 -0400

Strawberry Jam (Taken with instagram)

Our baby chick coming out of it’s shell!

Fri, 11 May 2012 15:23:00 -0400

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

Our baby chick coming out of it’s shell!

Our baby chicken hatching! (Taken with instagram)

Fri, 11 May 2012 10:37:00 -0400

Our baby chicken hatching! (Taken with instagram)