Farmfresh City Homesteader - the sound of falling oaks.

[keljonma]

In the movie Food Inc they show Bee's boyfriend (stalking victim?) Joel Salatin and his crew...

I think tht fact that I was not mortified is a tiny step in the right direction.

My mom used to say that as a child and young woman she had no problem with the non-friendly birds. But the ones that just wanted to be her best friends were the hardest to slaughter.

When we were growing up, mom bought the birds all ready for cooking from a local butcher who raised his own birds. When cutting them up during prep (prior to cooking), we used to hear memorable stories of kosher kills, smelly wet feathers, proper hanging, the smell of removing pin feathers over the gas ring, and other fun stuff like that.

 

[Farmfresh]

You really won't mind eating.

 

[keljonma]

As far as the stinky cleaning problem - several things will help there.

#1 Withhold feed, but continue to water the birds for 24 hours before slaughter.
#2 Add some citrus dish soap to the scalding water... it helps saturate feathers and smells nicer.
#3 Feeding greens. The chlorophyll in the greens makes them smell better.

But FF, those were some of the best stories of my childhood! Hearing my mom's version of growing up self-sufficient in the early 1900's..... all their birds were "pasture raised" because it was an easy and inexpensive way to raise chickens, ducks and geese.

My maternal grandmother raised the birds and had the rabbi do the deed, so she could sell the birds at a premium price to the kosher specialty market.

I am not sure they had citrus anything back then that they would have "wasted" on washing poultry! I heard my dad say that fruit was what grew on the farm and an orange was something you got as a Christmas present (when he was growing up as the oldest of 17 kids).

 

[Farmfresh]

Let's start with the headless chicken stories!!

 

[Farmfresh]

Now the work is done.

 

[Up-the-Creek]

FF,...made that peach butter today,....it is divine! Thanks so much for giving out the recipe! I posted a picture on the canning thread. I bought a half bushel of peaches this morning so tomorrow I will be busy making more. It was a toss up with what to do with the rest of the peaches,..until DH took a taste of the peach butter. He likes the peach butter very much,...I thought I was going to get to can a few pints of peaches with syrup, but apparently not this week. He said he would buy me more peaches next week to can.

 

[keljonma]

Now kel ... that stuff is for us old timers.

I am trying to make the raising and butchering of your own meat - easier for the beginners out there.

Let's not start with the headless chicken stories!!

 

[keljonma]

I got my canned goods delivered to the State Fair today. I drove there with my D1 and my sissy! The drive there was HOT. Even with the air on in the car we were still uncomfortable.

We arrived at the fair grounds about an hour early. The fair is not officially open so there was really nothing to do there as of yet, so we went to the nearby K-mart to kill a little time.

When we finally got there to check in my entries I took in the first crate of jars and my sister was bringing in the second box. I got my box checked in and my sister still had not brought in the second box. When I looked up D1 was coming in the door. She told me the other box had been DROPPED!

At first I thought she was kidding me, but she wasn't! When my sister went to pick up the plastic crate the held the jars one handle on the crate broke off and the whole box tipped out of the car onto the GROUND!

Well of course my sister felt horrible. Fortunately only two of the 12 or so jars were broke and one more jar of strawberry jelly got pretty shaken leaving it full of bubbles. Of the broken jars one was Hot Pickled Okra which was not my best work and the other was my sisters favorite Blackberry Jelly. I actually scratched two other entries as well since they were not up to show standards.

All will work out as it was meant to. Of course I had to take the opportunity to torment my sister a bit over the whole deal. I told her I was sure that I would miss the Top Honors by the missing points from one of those jars! Before too long my torments had my sissy feeling lots better!

Now the work is done. I just have to sit and wait for the results. I'll keep you all posted!

Good Luck, FF!!!

 

[Farmfresh]

OH I shudder!

 

[keljonma]

I had best work in the garden this morning for a while as next week is VALDAMORT! You Harry Potter fans will realize this is the name that is not mentioned. Well I dare say for those of us who work in the public education system there is another word even more horrible and terrifying than that one. A word that starts S-C-H ......

OH I shudder!

As former school employees we know whatcha mean!