Henhouse To Table

Back in the spring and early summer I had a neighbor who also has chickens come by and wanted to trade a clutch of her chicken eggs for some of my Buff Orphington eggs for her to hatch. I like the Buff Orphington breed of chicken as I think they make a great farm chicken. Large enough to be able to use them for meat, docile so that I am not being chased by flogging roosters and reliably laying large brown eggs throughout the year. And even better the willingness to hatch their own eggs. I always have at the least two hens go broody a year to ensure that my flock always has a clutch or two of chicks to replenish the flock.  

Not wanting to eat the neighbors eggs because I did not know how far they were in the hatching process I put half the fertile eggs under a broody hen and the other half in the incubator with turkey eggs that I had just set. Once the eggs hatched the chicks were all black but one and I put them all back under the old hen to raise. 

The old hen out in the shed was shut up in a partitioned off corner of the goat barn. She was snug and warm with lots of straw and a safe place to raise a brood.   

Behind a wire fence and locked door nothing could get to the chicks and they were raised there until they were old enough to turn out into the goat yard. 

 After the mother and other  chicks almost pecked the little yellow one to death she was rescued and brought into the house and became a pet we call Paula. O Wise One is convinced Paula is deaf because of the pecking to her ear area and she lives away from the black chickens. 

I had hatched out some young Buffs earlier in the spring and they were integrated back into the main flock and will become part of my main egg production flock. The Bourbon Red turkeys will also be butchered other than the ones that are out with the gobbler and hens and raised by the turkey hen. These young hens and gobblers already a part of the flock I will keep as my gobbler is getting up in age and this young stock will eventually replace the older gobbler and hens. They themselves are a sealed flock isolated from the turkeys that I intend to butcher. 

I know many people buy meat chicks to raise and butcher. I do not! We butcher what we raise on the farm and this year it was the neighbors black chicks now half grown. Raised off some grain and a steady diet of grass and garden culls throughout the gardening year and kitchen scraps.   

With cool weather arriving it was time to begin the butchering process so that we can get it over before the severe winter weather arrives. 

So yesterday my spring black chicks became canned chicken meat and rich bone broth for the pantry. Healthy and farm raised and used regularly for casseroles, soups, noodles and gumbos throughout the year.   

And chicken breast are freezing in the freezer. They will eventually be vacuum sealed in serving size portions. Lean white meat, farm raised and butchered.  

So as the leaves continue to turn and fall off the trees and the weather cools, a soft autumn rain falls here on the holler. It has been raining off and on since yesterday and is predicted to rain again tomorrow. So as the weather worsens I will continue to cook down my butchered birds and once we finish then start butchering turkeys. With 16 chickens and 9 turkeys to be butchered we will try to do a few every day or to. Once they are processed then we butcher some more. 

It may take us a week or two but slowly we will get it all done. 

Blessings from The Holler 

The Canned Quilter

Molasses Popcorn Balls

After my mention of a molasses popcorn ball recipe yesterday on my gingerbread posts I received several emails and comment requests for the recipe. Took me some digging to find the book. I will credit this recipe to my husbands grandmother "Betty'. Born Dec 7, 1898,  Betty was mother to 5 and the local midwife delivering hundreds of local babies in her lifetime. Betty was known also for her good cooking. Many of her recipes coming from her own mother also known for her cooking skills. 

Upon Betty's death at the age of 94 her hand written notebooks of recipes went to Betty's daughter, my late mother in law. Upon my mother in laws death the recipes were passed to me. Upon my death they will go to Baby O, Betty's youngest great granddaughter . Not gourmet recipes by any means but a handwritten collection of farm recipes for simple food and canning. Recipes going through generations of one family and connecting all these women of whom I am proud to be a part of and pass on to my own daughter. Although tattered, stained and faded a connection through the generations of one family of women preparing food for those that they love. SO with gratitude I credit this recipe to Betty....

Pop Corn Balls

1 cup molasses

1 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon vinegar

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 quarts POPPED pop corn

Keep pop corn hot and crisp in oven. Cook molasses, syrup and vinegar t hard boil stage, Stir in butter and salt. Pour slowly over corn and shape into balls. 

Tops butter your hand well before handling and be careful because it is hot. Handle warm and shape balls quickly before it sets up. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Plain Old Gingerbread

Before the days of easily finding granulated sugar there was molasses, I even have recipes for popcorn balls for Halloween made from molasses. Nothing says home on a frosty autumn morning like warm gingerbread. To quote my grandson Hank " Got cake grandma? You should! " A sliver of this soft and moist gingerbread and a tall glass of ice cold milk makes me immediately think of my own grandmother who made gingerbread often for her grandchildren. This stuff is moist and keeps forever making it the perfect treat, grandchildren or not.

The ingredients are things often produced on the farm and found in the farm cupboard. 

Simple and good can't be beat.     

Gingerbread

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup mild molasses
3/4 cup well shaken buttermilk
1/2 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 350 and place rack in middle of oven. Butter a 9 inch baking pan.

Whisk together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl.

Beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed until fluffy

Beat in eggs until blended.

Beat in molasses and buttermilk.

Mix flour mixture in gradually on low speed until smooth

Add hot water and beat 1 minute only!

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. 

Cool and serve.

Note***I sprinkle powdered sugar lightly over my gingerbread and serve***

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Allowing Vegetables To Age For Seeds

I get so many emails every year from people asking when to save the seeds from their vegetables and saying that the seeds they do save do not come up. I personally think that some times this is because they don't let the vegetable age properly. Above is a yellow summer squash we just picked. O Wise One allowed it to sit on the bush for several months. He picked it right before first frost. Notice how big the warts are on the fruit. This fruit is fully mature. 

This squash is for human consumption. It is picked young and immature with very small immature seeds and very soft and tender outer skin. I like to pick my squash about 6 to 8 inches long. 

Notice on the yellow squash how small and flat the immature seeds are. When you are cooking them this is what you want. These seeds most times will not germinate. 

Now lets cut our giant squash. Unfortunately I couldn't! O Wise One had to take a meat cleaver to this squash because the outside was so hard. 

Once cut see how thick that outer skin is!

The seeds are large and plump and mature. Those are how you want your seeds! Not those flat and immature seeds. These seeds should germinate just fine once dried and cured.  

See how the middle is now tough and stringy and dried out. It looks almost like a pumpkin middle!

And look how big and plump those seeds are as they are laid out on a piece of waxed paper to dry out. So if you are harvesting your seeds before your fruit is mature that is why your seeds are not coming up good. Let those vegetables get fully mature before you harvest for seeds. Try planting 1 extra seed plant and just leaving the fruit just for seeds maybe and just not picking anything off that plant at all.  For us we simply leave the squash or cucumber here and there and let them get huge. When the plants are pulled out those are our seed fruit.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

First Frost

The long anticipated first killing frost finally paid a visit to the holler followed last night by a killing freeze. In a way I am sad about the end of vegetable gardening for the year. But in a way it is also a welcome relief from the day to day work of weeding and caring for the garden, mowing and almost daily canning that comes along with those regular harvests. It gives my body a chance to rest and my mind a welcome retreat from the hard work. Though there is still plenty to do in the house with the preparations for the holidays and I always have my beloved quilting, crocheting and sewing to fill my days. And I have an entire list of books I want to read this winter.  

Some people get out and cover their crops with coverings and plant in hoop houses to extend their harvests but once winter gets here I just let what remains freeze. From November to March I rest. I have enough canned in my pantry and in my freezer to last me far longer than that 5 months and am just too old to get out and fight that snow and ice to try to garden. I grow enough  vegetables and I buy an occasional head of lettuce from the grocer for that 5 months and enjoy the citrus when it comes in season and always purchase that.  Other than that I live out of my pantry and freezer for the winter.  

But for a few weeks I will still have some fresh vegetables that were salvaged there at the end. Yesterday we ate fresh peas and new potatoes creamed. The last peas of the season. O Wise One has fed all the vines to the goats and rabbits. 

 And those green tomatoes I salvaged became oven fried green tomatoes. 

I still have a drawer full of bell peppers int he bottom of my refrigerator and simply stuffed some peppers last night with a stuffing of ground meat, bread crumbs, egg, onions and diced peppers. (think meatloaf) I spooned a topping of ketchup and A1 Sauce over the top covered them with foil and baked them for about an hour in a medium oven.  

I sprinkled some cheese over the top and served hot. 

Baked an old fashioned gingerbread for dessert. Homemade with lots of butter, farm eggs, buttermilk, ground ginger and molasses. Dark, moist and sweet just like Baby O likes it. 

And for breakfast this morning apple muffins. 

See I won't miss gardening at all! I'll just cook all winter : )

(Recipes to follow)

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Next Years Hope

The autumn leaves are turning fast nowadays. The light covers on our beds have been laundered and stored and again we have drug out and aired those trusty heavy winter quilts to replace them. As we pull and dispose of garden crops, store tomato cages, clean animal pens and apply fresh bedding for the winter months we constantly add to the growing mountain of compost piles that will overwinter to enrich the gardens come spring. As the old garden plants are pulled most are fed to the goats, chickens or turkeys who make pretty short work of disposing of them. My goats adore watermelon and apples! But like most seed savers our minds are always looking to the future and next years gardens.  As we clean the plants from the garden we are constantly gathering any remaining seed pods that had been left to dry in the fall sun. The okra above must be gathered before the pods shatter and reseed the entire garden with unwanted okra plants. 

Soon the fall rains will come so we want those pods while they are still dry. O Wise One simply breaks them open and takes the hard black seeds from the pods. Careful though those pods can be sharp when dry.

The seeds are about the size of bb's and hard. We allow them to air dry naturally in paper plates on the table for another couple weeks to make sure they are good and dry before we attempt to store them. Paper plates are perfect for this because I can write the variety name on the bottom of the plate for identification. Wet seeds will mold and we don't want that so we make sure they are good and dry. 

Once good and dry I found these little plastic bags at the craft store for storing them. Just the perfect size for about a tablespoon of seeds or so per package. They are easy to write the variety name on the package with a permanent marker. I used to buy wax coated paper envelopes especially for storing seeds. I haven't seen those in years and doubt they still sell them.  

The corn is really dry now so O Wise One took it off the cob by simply taking his thumb and running around the cob dislodging the kernels. Just these couple dozen ears yielded us enough sweet corn seed for several years. This is the open pollinated variety Golden Bantam. 

Even though it is pretty dry already we again lay it out on trays for another week or so to make absolutely sure they are dry before storing in the freezer in vacuum bags. 

Old baking sheets are perfect for laying seeds out to dry in large quantities. I never throw them away as they are one of the handiest things around for everything from dehydrating things in the oven, freezing those blanched vegetables to laying out seeds. Though old and beat up they will serve their purpose for many years to come.  

So as the leaves turn and fall from the trees and the mercury dips on the thermometer we always look forward to that next year, next crop and next garden. But for now we plan and collect the seeds that make it possible. We prepare the last of our harvest for the year. We store the apples, onions and potatoes. We arrange the jars like jewels on our pantry room shelves, labeled and ready for those hot winter meals.  Soon it will be time to butcher. Lots of chickens and turkeys to go in the freezer and jars this year.  The pecans will soon fall and our afternoons will be filled with picking out the sweet meat from those hard shells. 

But even though we plan for next years gardens and the harvests to come we don't forget the most important part of all. The business of thanking our maker for the bountiful harvests of the year and the health and endurance to nurture this land and feed ourselves and the continued good health that allows us to continue year after year. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Just Kiddin

Over the weekend they predicted frost in low lying areas and temperatures dipping in the 30's. SO we scrambled to get all the apples picked before a frost. 

And the watermelons that were still in the field. 

So O Wise One spent Sunday delivering baskets of apples and watermelons to neighbors and people he thought could use them.  We kept a few for us too. We certainly have gotten used to our nightly small bowls of chilled watermelon. It has taken the place of any baked goods these days as a dessert. 

I continue to dehydrate apple chips for the year. They are in bags, jars and gallon jugs until I get finished.   

So instead of taking my usual Sunday off I spent the day washing and sorting apples. I saved some for my own family and will store them in the drawers of my refrigerator. 

I filled my crock pot with the last of the horticulture beans from the garden before he pulled up the plants and fed them to the goats. I made beanie weenies. And with fresh potatoes, yard eggs and my homemade dill relish I made a bowl of potato salad to go with it. 

I put a bowl of bread dough on the heating pad to rise. 

The extra french bread will be sliced and frozen for garlic bread in the future. The sandwich loaf we will use for breakfast toast and sandwiches for the next couple days. 

And part of a loaf will go wonderfully with our barbecued beans and potato salad. Cold watermelon for dessert and we will have a last summer meal before that frost gets here. By the way the frost warnings did not come to be. We have missed the bullet for another night or two. 

In the meantime we will continue to deliver apple baskets to our friends and neighbors until they lock the doors and hide. There was a time when the house was full of kids and there was  a need to feed many mouths. Now that this old farm produces more than we can eat and the children are gone, maybe it's  just a new opportunity to help those who do need it. 

So as O Wise One pulls up and stores tomato cages and I struggle to sort and deal with these amounts of fruit I thank God for the opportunities before us and  we continue to work preparing for the eventual cold that will arrive. 

I must admit I am ready for a few winter days under my quilt frame, needle in hand. I have grown weary of the canning this year as It seems to have all fallen together at the same time. The spring crops were late and the summer early making them all come ready together which makes canning particularly tiring when it drags on for weeks day after day. It is time for a rest. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter