annaraven - more random update stuph

[AnnaRaven]

Congrats on the improvements

You don't find them helpful when they help you in the garden??

Buffy and the raiders are quite useful at loosening soil, digging up mulch and eating any stray shoots - unfortunately, they enjoy the planted greens as much or more than the weeds.

I'm looking forward to my new garden!

 

[Denim Deb]

Right now, I'm just looking for my garden! Part of it is still snow covered.

 

[AnnaRaven]

Right now, I'm just looking for my garden! Part of it is still snow covered.

I understand. Did that for years up in Minnesnowta. I'm still getting my gardening bearings here in cali.

 

[AnnaRaven]

Well wasn't that exciting. We live across the street from a gradeschool. Today, there's about 18 police cars and the swat team pull up and block off the street for a couple hours. Find out that a mom was holed up down the block with her two year old, and threatening suicide, all because of a custody battle. The cops were being extra careful to make sure nothing got anywhere near the school which was on lockdown.

Apparently, it ended peaceably, with the woman and kid in one piece. But wow. A ibt more excitement than I expected today...

 

[Denim Deb]

Glad everything turned out OK. I know when I was in college, we had a bomb scare. They evacuated the school. We were in the middle of a chemistry test, so the professor borrowed my cell phone (I was the only one in the class w/one, this was b4 they were really popular), called his wife and let her know that he was bringing the class home so we could finish our test.

 

[AnnaRaven]

Found out why Smart&Final's "First Street" whole fryer chickens are so cheap. Y'know that little bag that comes in the whole chickens with the innards in it? The heart, lungs, liver, etc? Well, guess what's not in the 1St whole fryers? Nope - the heart lung and liver are still there... just, they're still freaking attached and not in a little bag. So, I basically had to finish the butchering before I could use the darn birds! Argh. The worst part is, Safeway had a sale for the same price, 2 weeks later. And I *know* those are fully butchered.

Ah well. The chicken parts are all in a roasting pan now. Then they go into the stock pot with water and get to make brown stock. Tomorrow I'm making minestrone. If there's any stock left after that, I'll can it.

 

[AnnaRaven]

Awesome soup! I made a minestrone with rice and beans, courtesy of Mario Batali. OMG it was so good. DH said it was probably the best minestrone he's ever had.

AND it used up the remaining half-head of green cabbage.

 

[BarredBuff]

 

[AnnaRaven]

Chicken livers and stock make a really yummy pasta sauce. Especially with some nice minced onion. Cheap too. One of these days I'll make my own pasta. One of these days...

First I've gotta can the leftover brown chicken stock.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Chicken livers and stock make a really yummy pasta sauce. Especially with some nice minced onion. Cheap too.

Oh.....I definitely agree...!! I sometimes use rabbit or duck livers in the same way....I save them up in the freezer.
I often add bits of crispy bacon at the end, on top of the pasta. Here in the UK I can but giant packs of smoked bacon mis-cuts which are so cheap & delicious.

Anna, do you add chicken livers to ground beef when making a meat sauce for lasagne......I do as it gives such a depth of flavour to the dish & even the most finicky eater can't detect it is in there as the liver is ground up (or chopped finely) before cooking. I was taught to do this by a wonderful old farmer's wife in the hills above Spoleto. It was years ago, in the 1970's & she still cooked in the ashes on her hearth (in a heavy Dutch oven with hot ashes piled on the lid). Oh, It tasted so good.........
Oh dear now I am really hungry for that dish & it is breakfast time over here..........!!!!

I have to process my surplus cockerels any day now as they are driving me crazy with their crowing & fighting.....I just need the right weather....!!

Hattie