Homestead Braindump

...because I'm too lazy to make multiple posts outta this stuff.

• When we got home from vacation, we noticed Kung Pao was spending a lot of her time in the nest box. Eventually, we realized she was spending ALL of her time in the nest box.  She got all puffy when you got near (good thing she wasn't a RIR, or we'd never have been able to get to the eggs!), she had plucked all of her tummy feathers and was VERY warm.  From what I've read, the 2 best ways to discourage broodiness are to lower their body temperature and to make them as uncomfortable as possible on the nest.  First, I hoped stealing her eggs would work, then I moved her off her nest several times a day, then I put an ice pack in the nest box, then we started dumping her in buckets of cool hose-water.  Nothing.  She is now quarantined in an elevated dog crate in the yard.  It's drafty, uncomfy and at the very least will hopefully keep the broodiness from spreading.  Although, nick said he spotted another of the girls without tummy feathers.  ugh.  This is definitely affecting egg production.  

Get away from my nest!

Do I look comfortable to you?!?

Preserving Eggs

In the fall, when our girls had just started laying, it was all we could do to get enough eggs to not have to buy more.  Once they finally started to pick up the pace, the cold weather settled in and their laying stayed on at a very reasonable pace.  we only had 3 or 4 extra dozen eggs all winter long.  But our girls are young and now that the weather is steadily warm, it takes less than 2 days for them to put together a dozen eggs.  We are swimming in them.

The Last Day of "Winter"

Well, Ikea let me down...again... (raise you hand if you're surprised!) They now say that the counters I'm waiting for will be in on Thursday.  I hope it's true, but I'm not holding my breath.

Ikea aside, the last day of winter was a productive and shockingly summer-like kind of day.

I did indeed make an eggs for sale sign, and it worked too! Not 2 hours after hanging it, someone who had never bought eggs from us before knocked on the door and said "If that sign's for real, I've got $2".

Sorry about the glare, I said it was sunny yesterday!

Tada!

Hey folks. Sorry for the long absence.  I almost didn't realize it had been so long between the holidays and a pretty incredible head cold (which still refuses to go away).

On Thursday, after work, Nick and I removed our sink (always an unsettling prospect) and old counters.  Its a little unnerving to do something that's so hard to reverse, I won't lie but being brave enough to do it is what gives us the opportunity to make things better.

One last look

You have to undo the plumbing... 

...before you can remove the sink

And you have to remove the sink before the counters can come out

Naked cabinets!

Friday after work, we stuffed ourselves with Chinese take-out (no counters or sink) and set straight away to cutting our counters.

Once we installed a carbide-tipped finishing blade to our circular saw, the straight cuts were simple enough.  After the primary cuts were finished, we put all the pieces in place inside.

We wanted to cut the sink hole inside because we were afraid of  moving it and breaking it afterwards.  We made a cardboard mock-up of the counter so we could measure and cut the sink hole without fear of destroying our counters.  

Even so, we cut the hole a little smaller than it needed to be at first, and widened it from there.  We drilled a hole to allow the blade of Nick's new jigsaw to get started.  

Looks almost finished, right?  Well, then we disassembled it all for 2 days of waterlox application.  My only disappointment with the waterlox was that the lambswool applicators, which are what the can said to use, left fuzz in the finish giving it a little bit of texture, so its not totally smooth when you run your hands across it.  

Yesterday, we screwed the counters into the cabinets, actually installed the sink (plumbing is much easier than I thought it'd be) and caulked the seams.  Both the counters and caulk are dry, but "curing".  Aka: we can use them, but are best to be as gentle with them as can be for a few more days.  

Tada!

Now it's time to start learning how to tile for our backsplash!

A Christmas Flop

Easter is our holiday to host. For the rest, we go to other family members homes. Being a good little girl, I call everyone to see what I can contribute to our meals.

My assignment for Christmas dinner this year is "a pie or two". I like that kind of assignment. It's specific enough that I'm not lost in my options (like if someone said dessert) but broad enough to play. Also, in most cases I can whip up a pie from stuff I have on hand.

My game plan was a persimmon pie (yay a chance to try the persimmon paste) and something more classic in case it turns out poorly or folks are leery of something new. I have canned apple filling, frozen zucchini filling and a couple cans of pumpkin left over from thanksgiving. Nick voted for pumpkin, so pumpkin it is.

Linda, neighbor and american persimmon guru, had tried the recipe before and swore it baked long enough to cook the tannins (which leave you feeling like you've eaten chalk) all the way out. Long story short... Not in my case and I was left with a pie and tart that were completely in edible. The goodish news is the chickens really enjoyed them.

Oh, and speaking of chickens, it appears that our 2nd Easter egger and a second Australorp are laying now. Sometimes well get 7 eggs in a day. Our Easter eggers both lay green eggs, but one lays blue-green eggs and the other lays yellow-green eggs. Crazy, no?

Countertop Sealants

With our counters being delivered in 2 days, it was time to finally nail down what type of finish we're going to use .  Ikea sells it's own counter sealing oil (called Behandla), which would seem to be the obvious choice but different counters have different needs, even in the confines of my own small kitchen.  The "outer L", where the sink is and most dish drying happens, could benefit from some extra waterproofing.  The island, where most cutting and food-prep goes on, could benefit from a coating that penetrates so that even a knife gash in the wood would still be protected.

This article from Ikea Hackers, was INCREDIBLY useful.  Basically, it says that there are coating or drying barrier-like options and penetrating or non-drying potions.  Most of the barrier options are not food safe, but the one that is is waterlox.  It claims to be tung-oil based, but comes in a low-VOC formula (which means that the original formula isn't so low in VOCs).  My guess is it's a mix between an oil and a urethane.  It is the most water-proof of all the options and it's the one I've chosen for the "outer L".  It comes in both Original and Low-VOC, and original, satin and gloss sheens.  The original sheen is both a sealer and a finish, the satin and gloss sheens are just finishes, so you have to put a few coats of the original on no matter what.  Also, if you use the original sealer, you have to use the original finish. If you use the low-VOC sealer, you have to use a low-VOC finish.  This morning, my task is to order a quart of low-VOC original sealer/finish and a quart of low-VOC satin finish.

I chose the satin finish because, when the island piece is in-stock and finally ordered, I plan on coating it with mineral oil.  Mineral oil leaves a satin sheen and I'd like for the counters to have similar sheens.  All of the penetrating finishes (which you can cut on) are oils.  Tung oil, behandla oil, mineral oil, linseed oil.  There are ups and downs to each of them, but mineral oil is the least expensive, most easily gotten a hold of, and i know folks who have used it to great effect.

Pumpkin Pie: Theme & Variations

 I've been enjoying my holiday festivities to the detriment of this here blog lately, sorry. Last year, if you remember, I baked up an incredible storm! This year, our festivities were a little more spread out and my assignments a little easier. We ate with my dads family on Thursday and we were asked to bring wine and 2 pumpkin pies. Friday, we ate with my mother-in-law's family and I was asked to bring cookies. Today, we're ate with the in-laws and had (ugh) family pictures... I brought pierogi casserole.

For Thursday, my grandma had initially requested that I bring Brussels sprouts. I protested, not wanting to become the person who always has to bring the same thing every year. Bad idea. I was all but verbally stoned, and made to promise that I'd bring them for Christmas. Anyways, I wound up with the pumpkin pie assignment. For the sake of tradition and crowd pleasing, I wanted to stick with a classic pie, but for the sake of my ego and boredom, I wanted to jazz up my pies.

Recovering a Stew

Nick likes to eat hearty, beefy, filling things.  Man food.  The kind of food I only consent to making in the winter.  Usually I send his 2 favorites (shepherd's pie and Brunswick stew) to hunting camp with him.  Unfortunately, his new job has made it impossible to make it this year.   As such, I'm consoling him by making it for eating here.

Unfortunately, I found that my recipe card was missing and I hadn't given the recipe out to anyone else.  I got the recipe from an older woman at a church I worked at in Ohio.  I dawdled and dawdled, but finally decided to just call her for the recipe.  Unfortunately, when I googled her, I found she had passed in April 2010.  Ugh.  I had no option left but to try to remember the recipe.

Turkey Corn Chili

Playing Catch-Up By Way of Bullets

•  Cacciatore has escaped 3x since last reported.  She's becoming quite the little escape artist.  

Mustard Watermelon Rind Pork Loin

This one goes out to all those doubters who said Pickled Watermelon Rind was useless!

Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Beurre au Citron... on Broiled Spanish Mackerel

I'm not a huge fan of fish.  As a matter of fact, as far as I've been concerned, if it isn't beer battered and fried maybe it shouldn't be eaten at all.  Now, admittedly, today's recipe prolly is just as fattening (thank you, Julia) but my hope was that at least it'd help broaden my palette.  At least Beurre au Citron only calls for 1 stick of Butter, Beurre Blanc calls for 4!  You heard me, a whole pound of butter.

Farmers Market Challenge: Week 2

I went to the Farmers Market with $20, and I bought...

Umm, I guess I went to the farmers market with $30 and picked up $5 worth of stuff for a friend and forgot I had that other $5... (oops)

I went to the Farmers Market with $25, and I bought...

Farmers Market Challenge: Week 1

The farmers market here is on Thursday afternoons from 3-6.  Last year, I went every-other Thursday.  This summer, I worked every Thursday, so no farmers market for me :(  But now that the school year has started, my Thursdays are my own again and I actually Have a 6:30 yoga class right down the street from the farmers market (how convenient).  My plan/challenge to myself (and you can take it up too, if you like) is to head to my farmers market every week my schedule allows through the end of the season (our market goes through October) armed with $20 and see where it gets me.

Last week, I went to the farmers market with $20 and bought:

Handmade Basil Linguini: $4

3 Beautiful Eggplants: $2
(sorry no more pics of the items straight from the market...thats what happens when u don't think of a post 'til after you've already done the work)
2 Big Baskets of Tomatoes: $9
8 Green & Yellow Bell Peppers: $4
Half a basket of Jalapenos: $1

Oktoberfest Mustard

I really need to quit being such a picky eater, or I'm never gonna be able to taste test the stuff I make.  This one was a particular request of the hubbs.  German-style beer mustard.

Halushki

Our poor garden only produced two (rather puny) cabbages, bless it.  Thankfully they were both ready at the same time and equally thankfully, right before we leave town.

Banana Butter... Who Knew?

About a month ago, my dad gave me a book called "Preserving the Fruits of the Earth".  He got it from his grandma (my great-grandma).  The Sub-Title is "How to "Put Up" almost every food grown in the United States in almost every way".  It's not kidding.  Its hard to believe only 230+ pages could contain all that info, but it figures it out.  There are multiple preserving methods and recipes for every american plant, fish and animal you can think of.  Some of its more exotic entries are Buffalo Berry Jelly, Pickled Eel, Candied Kumquats and how to clean and can snapping turtle meat.

Amongst all that craziness, I uncovered a recipe for banana butter.  I've never heard of such a thing, but it sounded wonderful AND bananas are cheap.

Julia was Right

...when she said fresh eggs poach much more easily.

Of course, I first broke them into separate dishes to investigate and check for blood spots.  Apparently thin shells, no yolks and blood spots are all more common in the small first eggs.  Our chickens have been on layer feed probably a little longer than they should have been, so the shell was anything but thin.  Thankfully both of our tiny eggs had tiny little yolks to match and were blood-spot free.

Aren't those yolks yellow?

Washington County Fair

The last few years, ever since moving to a county that takes their Ag. Fair seriously, I've been telling myself I was gonna enter some goodies.  Didn't matter what, I just thought it'd be a cool thing to do.  Last year, I even had some stuff together, but was quickly discouraged by not knowing the ropes.  This year, I stumbled through the ropes and regs and actually entered some stuff, and Nick did too.  Yesterday, I dropped our goodies off and the judging was last night.  The results are in and I'm so excited to share!

Capicola

Well, it's still got some ice on it, but 24 hours in the fridge has at least thawed our capicola enough to investigate a little