A cold week

Brrr!  We have had some chilly days this past week with the temp sometimes below 0*F.  The animals are faring well in spite of the cold.  They flock to the food at the morning feeding anticipating their meal.  Having plenty of food and water keeps them warmer and better able to withstand the cold.

The chickens continue to lay eggs, much to our delight.  They taste so much better than the store bought ones.  The eggs are still small, but we are starting to see some bigger ones come in.  They will continue to get bigger the longer the hens lay until the eggs are standard size.  It's amazing, but even the small eggs can have double yokes. 

Two of our younger children normally do the chicken chores.  They are learning to work together.  To water the chickens, they each get on one side of a 5 gallon bucket and carry the water to the chicken tractor.  As I watch them through the kitchen window, my heart smiles to see them learn good life lessons in teamwork.

Local agriculture Predicted to get Huge in just eight years

NEW YORK:  A group of futurist experts and authors convened by the politically conservative business magazine Forbes predicted that by 2018, only seven years from now, 20 % of the food eaten in major urban areas of the USA will be grown close to, or in the city itself.  The magazine noted that this is a huge dollar number and would really shake up modern American agriculture, which is currently built around a small number of large-scale farms and long distance shipping.  "In addition to making our cities more resilient, the health benefits, for both our bodies and our planet, of consuming food that is grown within a small number of miles of our homes or workplaces are significant."  the magazine said in the October 25th 2010 edition.

Smoked chicken for company lunch

As I had told you before, Mark is a great chef!  He prepared smoked chicken for company after church.  We were planning on 20+ people, with some of them children. 

Since our family can eat 1 chicken in one sitting, we thawed 4 chickens to smoke.  On Friday evening, we soaked the chickens in the salt water while we were at a friend's house for New Year's Eve.  When we got home, the chickens were rinsed from the salt water and refrigerated overnight.  Saturday morning Mark smoked them in 2 shifts as the smoker holds a max of 2 birds. 

Brushing and injecting the marinade

We baked the chickens low and slow all afternoon, deboned them in the evening, and put the chicken pieces in a 9 X 13 for easy heating during church.  The guests enjoyed the pasture-raised poultry, and we even had enough leftovers for chicken sandwiches on Monday. :)

Exciting day at our place!

Our day started out very exciting today.  We were blessed by our first egg from our free range chickens.  We started our layers from chicks, and after 20+ weeks of waiting we received the long desired product, "EGGS"!!  What a way to learn a few basic life principles like: patience, hope, diligence, delayed gratification, just to name a few.  God provides a lot of opportunities through nature to teach principles of successful living.  That is one thing we love about having our own small farm; everyday we get a new opportunity to go out and see what surprises await us and to behold the awesome handiwork of Jesus.

Christmas Blessings from our family to yours!

We want to extend a Merry Christmas blessing to your family!  Remembering the greatest gift that was given to mankind, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, may your home be filled with joy and blessing as you build family memories and  fellowship with your loved ones.

Mr. Chef

Mark cooked up a fabulously tasting chicken for supper this week!  He looked online for directions on smoking chicken and came up with a winner.  The meat was so moist and delicious that I could not stay out of it.  The leftovers were just as yummy!  I had fixed rice to go with the chicken but it was too bland from not adding enough seasonings.  That made it perfect for combining the deboned chicken for lunch the next day.  The broth made from cooking the chicken added the right amount of moisture and flavoring to the rice.  This menu has become a favorite in our household!

Step 1:  Mix 1 gallon water and 1 cup salt.  Soak chicken in salt solution for 3 hrs.  Rinse chicken.

Step 2:  Combine 4 oz. hickory bbq sauce and 2 oz. Worchestershire sauce.  Brush over chicken.  If using a whole chicken, use a syringe and put brine in the breasts and thighs.  Sprinkle seasoning salt on the outside of the chicken and rub some on the inside.  Wrap in aluminum foil.  Smoke in smoker for 2 hrs. @ 140*. 

Step 3:  Transfer wrapped chicken from the smoker to the baking dish.  Bake @ 225* until done.  Cover baking dish with foil also.  The chicken will produce its own broth.  When you bake low and slow, the meat is tender and delicious!

We learned that the salt brine causes the chicken to draw in moisture.  No liquid was added to cook the chicken in except for the brine.  After we used the chicken for supper, I deboned the rest of the chicken and put the chicken pieces on top of the "bland" rice in a pyrex dish.  I then strained the broth from cooking the chicken and poured it over the rice and chicken.  The broth made the rice moist and flavorful.  We enjoyed 2 meals from one cooking session.  Who knows, maybe I'll let Mark cook a little more often. :) 
 

21st Century Workhorse

In days gone by, nearly all farmers had a workhorse or mule on their place.  These animals were used to lift and carry burdens on the farm.  Much like the old days, I recommend farmers have a modern day workhorse to help with getting daily tasks completed on the farm.  Here is my workhorse; it is 20 years old and is still paying for itself.  I use this machine nearly everyday doing multiple chores around our farm.  Here are a few things that I use it for:

1. Hauling hand tools around the farm like: a post driver, bolt cutters, chainsaws, hay bales, etc.
2. Streching electric fence wire
3. Moving the chicken tractor
4. Checking different pasture areas
5. Pulling small equipment

Now, like anything else a workhorse must be used responsibly and with caution.  If not used with respect, these useful tools can cause heartache in your family and become a curse instead of a blessing.  So ride with care.