Calendula - Son may have Tourette's

[calendula]

I think we are going to go ahead and add another hen to our little flock. Like TanksHill suggested, we are going to sneak her in @ night. The hen is a white leghorn. We have americaunas, so I don't have any experience with this breed. I just hope they all get along well.

Also, I found a really great new recipe the other day (if you like spinach). Even the kids who are not fond of salads thought it was good. Usually anything with bacon in it is good though:

Wilted Spinach Salad with Bacon & Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe

Recipe Type: Salad and Salad Dressing, Spinach, Balsamic Vinegar
Yields: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 min


Ingredients:

6 cups (5-ounces) fresh spinach leaves, washed, dried, and chilled
2 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/4 teaspoon coarse or sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly-ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon good-quality aged balsamic vinegar


Preparation:

Remove stems and veins from spinach and tear into bite-sized pieces; place spinach in a large bowl.

In a small frying pan over medium heat, fry bacon approximately 5 minutes or until crisp; transfer with slotted spoon to paper towel-lined plate, leaving fat in pan.

Return frying pan to medium heat; add oil, onion, salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is slightly softened. Add balsamic vinegar; swirl to incorporate.

Pour warm dressing over spinach and toss gently to wilt (when properly wilted, the leaf edges soften slightly, but the spinach retains some crunch). Sprinkle bacon over spinach and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

I admit I increased the bacon to 6 slices.

Also, I did not remove stems or tear the spinach up, I left the leaves whole.

 

[FarmerJamie]

I think we are going to go ahead and add another hen to our little flock. Like TanksHill suggested, we are going to sneak her in @ night. The hen is a white leghorn. We have americaunas, so I don't have any experience with this breed. I just hope they all get along well.

Also, I found a really great new recipe the other day (if you like spinach). Even the kids who are not fond of salads thought it was good. Usually anything with bacon in it is good though:

Wilted Spinach Salad with Bacon & Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe

Recipe Type: Salad and Salad Dressing, Spinach, Balsamic Vinegar
Yields: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 min


Ingredients:

6 cups (5-ounces) fresh spinach leaves, washed, dried, and chilled
2 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/4 teaspoon coarse or sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly-ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon good-quality aged balsamic vinegar


Preparation:

Remove stems and veins from spinach and tear into bite-sized pieces; place spinach in a large bowl.

In a small frying pan over medium heat, fry bacon approximately 5 minutes or until crisp; transfer with slotted spoon to paper towel-lined plate, leaving fat in pan.

Return frying pan to medium heat; add oil, onion, salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is slightly softened. Add balsamic vinegar; swirl to incorporate.

Pour warm dressing over spinach and toss gently to wilt (when properly wilted, the leaf edges soften slightly, but the spinach retains some crunch). Sprinkle bacon over spinach and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

I admit I increased the bacon to 6 slices.

Also, I did not remove stems or tear the spinach up, I left the leaves whole.

this might work well with tender dandelion greens if the greens were wilted in the grease....hmmm

 

[framing fowl]

Score on the windows and sink! When do you get your new chicken?

 

[calendula]

this might work well with tender dandelion greens if the greens were wilted in the grease....hmmm

That's a good idea. I have had a very difficult time convincing anyone in my family to try dandelion greens. My husband and sons tell me they are way too bitter. I agree that they are bitter, but I like them mixed in with other greens, and have heard they are a good "spring tonic" to cleanse the body.

 

[calendula]

Score on the windows and sink! When do you get your new chicken?

We got our chicken on Friday, but it isn't the one we had originally planned on getting. The white leghorn ended up gettting sold, so we had to get a younger chick, a New Hampshire Red.

We were pretty worried about raising such a young bird by itself. It has a lot of its "grown-up" feathers in already, but still has a fuzzy head. It was being seperated from the other chicks because it kept pecking at everyone, and I think they were glad to have it off their hands.

We have been playing with it a lot so that it doesn't get lonely. Yesterday, it was warm enough outside to take her out to explore a little. We had our 3 older hens out with her in the garden (they love to take dust baths in the garden). The new little chick, who we named Polly, was so cute scratching around in the dirt. The older hens did notice her, and looked at her curiously, but for the most part they ignored her. We didn't let her get too close though; we were worried they'd hurt her.

So far the chick is doing well, but I can tell she gets lonely. When we come up to her box, she runs right over to us and wants to be taken out. She loves to perch on our shoulders.

She enjoys burrowing into my hair; I guess it's warm under there. Luckily, I haven't been pooped on...yet.

 

[calendula]

Today is a special day for me. It is our 4th wedding anniversary today! We have had our ups and downs over the past 4 years, but we are still going strong, and I know that I am definately going to grow old with my husband. He considers me to be kind of a "hippie", while I think he is anal retentive at times , but somehow we work. We both have the same goals in life I guess...the desire to get back to the earth, be more SS, raise good, hard-working children (he is a great step-dad to my boys)...and a love for chickens.

Speaking of chickens, we have moved our little chick outside now; I guess she's not really a chick any more. Except for a little fuzz on her head, she has all her big-girl feathers in, and she's really grown a lot. We let the chickens out of their tractor in the afternoon (even though we're not supposed to according to city ordinance ) and she forages w/ them. Soon, we will move her to the big coop with the other 3 hens.

We are gradually planting our greenhouse babies out in the garden. We tripled our garden size this year. We are going to be doing a lot of food preserving this year. Food is starting to get so expensive, and we're sick of eating all these preservatives and junk! We're also stocking up on non-perishables just in case. We have a good stash already, but would like to add more.

I guess that's all I can think of for now, hope everyone's having a good day.

 

[framing fowl]

Happy Anniversary!!!

 

[Denim Deb]

Happy anniversary! Do you have some new pics of your girl?

 

[Wifezilla]

Sounds like you guys are a real life Dharma and Greg

Happy Anniversary ya rookies!

 

[calendula]

Thank you! My husband had to work late last night, so we actually didn't get to spend a lot of time together yesterday, but we'll make up for it this weekend. Three day weekend! Woohoo!

Sounds like you guys are a real life Dharma and Greg

Yeah, I know, I think I drive him nuts sometimes. We compliment each other well though. He keeps me in line, and I get him to loosen up sometimes.

I have a short video of Polly on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/hSvt_87aCOg

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day!