A rooster named Helen

Even though Allen and I both grew up working on our familys' farms, neither of us had ever raised our own livestock. We decided to start our farming adventures with chickens.  I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting to start a small farm for their family. Chickens are relatively inexpensive to keep and only require a tiny bit of real estate to flourish. My daddy, Allen and his son Micheal built our first chicken coop out of old scrap lumber and ply board they collected from various abandoned sheds and barns around the farm. A box of nails, a full weekend of work, a few expletives, a coat of bright red paint and we were done. It was a sight to behold. It was nothing like the beautifully crafted coops with ornate dormers and decorative flower filled window boxes I saw in the pages of Hobby Farm and The Grit magazines. But it was sturdy, cheap and all ours, we loved it!


My daddy, Ogburn Taylor, with our coop.


Now the fun part, to acquire some chickens. A local farmer and friend of my daddy generously gave us a starter flock. Their was the proud rooster, a white headed game cock we appropriately named, Don Crowleone, three black hens of unknown breed and a white silky that looked more like a snowshoe rabbit than a fowl. They were a mix matched flock of mutt chickens, but we loved them. They took up residence in our "masterpiece" chicken coop beneath a elm tree in our backyard. We spent every Sunday morning sitting beneath that elm enjoying our morning coffee while the chickens entertained us. And, if you've never sat and watched chickens go about their day, it is far more entertaining than the latest reality show and certainly more family friendly.

Several months into our chicken adventure a friend of a friend came to us with a dilemma. "Chicken Lady Kate", as we now call her, had moved to rural southside Virginia from the suburbs of New York city. Completely enthralled with every aspect of country living she had quickly started her own flock of chickens. These chickens were her babies. She cooked for them, cuddled with them daily and even bathed them in her kitchen sink. She gave her chickens more love and attention than most of us show our out-of-town relatives!
Unfortunately, she had to move and her beloved flock could not accompany her. Through our mutual friend we offered to foster her five orphans.

Late one Sunday afternoon a very nice, clean car pulls into the drive. A beautiful, teary eyed woman, wearing a, "Have you hugged your chicken today?" t-shirt, introduces herself. It was Kate. And in the front seat along side her was a wire cage containing her five precious, feathered babies. Her four hens, Sadie, Sophia, Blacky and Tarky...and Helen...a rooster. When Kate purchased her flock, she was told each was a hen of various pure breeds. There was a beautiful Rhode Island Red, that actually won first place at a local fair, a Buff Orpington, an Ameraucana, and two silkies...one hen and one not. Helen turned out to be a "he".


"Chicken Lady Kate"


We introduced our new adoptees to the existing flock with no trouble. Speaking of trouble, that should have been Helen's middle name. Silkies are noted for the furry appearance given by the feathers on their head and legs. This adorable ball of fluff struck fear into the hearts of all he encountered. It must be a primeval instinct to run when being chased, even when its from a 2 pound rooster!

***MOMMY NOTE; When a rooster ruffles his hackles, the feathers around his neck, and does a little side-step dance, he is contemplating an attack. When a rooster flogs an adult it typically strikes the legs, but the roosters spurs can easily strike the face and eyes of a small child. If a rooster does attack, it is because he thinks you are another rooster. Don't fight back, slowly walk away.***

I have enjoyed many priceless moments from my kitchen window as friends and family would pull into the driveway and exit the safety of their vehicles. Helen, with the systematic stealth of a cougar, would surprise attack every ankle he could, sending his unsuspecting victims scrambling back into their vehicle or bolting for the backdoor. We have 40 pound gobblers, a 15 pound Rhode Island Red rooster and a 500 pound boar hog and none of them command the respect that is demanded from this 2 pound rooster... named Helen.


The infamous Helen.



This little piggy went to market

When my husband and I decided to begin raising pigs it was not just on a whim. We did considerable research on the various pig breeds before deciding to go with registered Berkshires. It is one of the oldest know breeds of domestic pigs. Its origins lay near the city of Reading, England and its namesake, "the shire of Berk". These beautiful, black pigs with white stockings and faces are noted for the remarkable marbling of their meat, think ribeye. A naturally raised Berkshire pork chop is very red in color, not the pale, listless grocery store chop your used to. This intramuscular fat results in a tender, juicy finished product, as the meat "self marinates" when this fat melts while cooking.

 In attempts to modify everything edible into something with "less fat and lower cholesterol", the fat was bred out of modern mass production hogs. However, the fat is where the flavor is. And realistically, no one is going to enjoy a tasteless, bland piece of pork. They are going to slather it with cream sauces, gravy or cheese...and back comes the fat. So why not actually taste pork when you eat pork? That's where all natural, slow grown pigs come into play. When a heritage breed pig is allowed to grow as nature intended, with its naturally occurring fat, the flavor returns. And a pig, taste like pork...what a novel concept!

Berkshires are a heritage breed of pork. Heritage breeds are old breeds that are best suited to grow outdoors at their own pace. With the on slot of mass meat production came the mixing of genetics. Desirable traits from many different breeds of hogs were intermixed into a production breed to make them grow more quickly, has less fat and be able tolerate being confined their entire life. Heritage breeds typically grow at half the rate of modern production hogs. This is why purebred heritage breeds are not used as the sole breed in these settings. This slow growing characteristic is the primary reason heritage pork is more expensive. The animals have to be fed twice as long, and all natural, non-GMO feed is expensive. Even though they have constant access to pasture, our pigs have to be fed 2-3% of their total body weight per day in feed. When your talking about a 450 pound animal that's alot! Pigs are not ruminant's, having a stomach with four compartments, and therefore are not sustainable on grass alone. The digestive system of a ruminant, such as cows and goats, has the mechanical and chemical means to break down plant matter to extract all the nutrient they need from that alone and thus can be solely pasture fed.

When we purchased our first registered Berkshire breeding stock of two gilts, a female pig who has never had babies, and one boar, a male pig, we decided to get an extra pig to eventually go in our freezer as well. "Bacon", as he was affectionately named, was raised along with the breeding stock. He enjoyed belly scratches and being fed extra treats like tomatoes and watermelon. I grew up on a farm, but we did not raise our own meat, so this was a new experience for me. We love our animals and handle them daily and knowing Bacon's eventual fate bought new emotions to deal with.

My husband Allen with Bacon, his first day on the farm.

The time came for Bacon to go to slaughter. I drove him to the butcher myself and returned several weeks later to retrieve 230 pounds of pork. Later that night, I found myself in a crowed kitchen full of eager taste testers. While standing over a cast iron skillet, filled to the brim with juicy, oh so fragrant, pork chops I had to face my dilemma...to taste or not to taste. While no one was looking I sliced off a tiny bite. I had never tasted "real" pork before, I just didn't know it, and boy was it good!

 Like the vast majority of humans, I am not a vegetarian. However, I do applaud those who are. I love animals, but I also love meat. I came to realize that by personally raising the animals I consume, I can ensure they are raised humanely and with respect. Like everything in life, these animals have a purpose, to become the meat that will feed my family. I especially appreciate the sacrifice Bacon made to fill that cast iron skillet. I now understand those emotions I felt. Thanks to Bacon, I know how to let go of something you care for and appreciate it for what it is meant to be.

"Hey Mom, what's for dinner?" 

"Country Fried Pork Chops.....yummmmy!"

• 1" vegetable or canola oil in cast iron skillet
• 4 all-natural pork chops from your local farmer
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup buttermilk (recipe below how to make buttermilk from milk and lemon juice or vinegar)
• salt and pepper and garlic salt

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet till it reaches 350 degrees. (My husband recently purchased me a laser temp gun from the local Napa store to use in the kitchen. I love it! It works great to check the temp of skillets or a cut piece of meat for doneness). Add 1 tsp of salt, 2 tsp pepper and 1 tsp garlic salt to flour and mix. Salt and pepper the outside of each chop and rub into the meat. Dip each chop into the buttermilk then lay into flour and press flour onto each side, shake off excess. For a thicker crust, redip each chop in buttermilk and flour. Let chops rest for about 5 minutes on a wire cooling rack. This allows flour to adhere to the chop so your crust wont fall off after frying. Use tongs to place chops into skillet. Flip when they turn golder brown. Check for doneness. Cut a small slit into thickest point of a chop, juices will run clear if it is done. Or shoot the laser of a temp gun into cut opening, aiming at inner most part. Pork should be 145 degrees. Drain on a clean wire cooling rack. It's an unwritten southern rule that pork chops must be served with mashed potatoes and biscuits. Enjoy:)

Buttermilk recipe

• Milk
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

 Add 1 Tsp of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.  Let stand for five minute and you've got buttermilk! 

"Have you ever plucked a chicken?"

Have you ever plucked a chicken? This is not a question that one encounters often. It is now one that I can answer with an emphatic "YES"! In our every evolving quest to provide our family with healthy, all natural meats we embarked on a mission for good ol' home grown chicken. Loving known around southside Virginia as "yard-bird".

Our mission began with the purchase of 20 cornish X rocks from our local Tractor Supply store. This is a hybrid breed of chicken which comes from crossing a cornish rooster with a white rock hen. The large poultry suppliers spend years and lots of money fine tuning their crosses and enhancing specific traits, such as rapid growth and large breast. The 20 chicks we purchased grew to a slaughter size of 10 pounds in 10 weeks! If I hadn't raised these birds myself, I never would have believed they weren't chocked full of growth hormones and steroids. We made sure our birds were fed an all natural diet of high protein chicken feed. They were kept on pasture in movable chicken sleds I built myself, but that's another story.

Finally the day came to slaughter our chickens. I certainly wasn't looking forward to it, but it had to be done. These chickens grow so fast and get so large that their organs and legs can not support their own weight if they are allowed to grow beyond a certain point. My husband nor I either one had every processed (term for killing, plucking and gutting) a chicken before. Several You Tube tutorials later we were as ready as we'd every be and went to it.

***MOMMY NOTE: We all know the importance of teaching our kids where their food comes from. Chicken processing is messy and could frighten some children. Watch some online videos first, then decide if getting your kids involved is right for your family.***


Our first meat chicken adventure taught us several things. First, hand plucking a chicken is not easy, no matter how perfect your scalding water is, nor how correctly you follow directions. Second, to meet my personal standards, it will involve hours with tweezers. And third, the purchase of an automatic chicken plucker (the Featherman Pro) was the best money we ever spent!! The first batch of meat chickens was trying, but a success. There was no question after the first one I roasted that it was worth all the effort.

In years past, my grandmother killed and fried a chicken every Sunday morning. My dad tells of one Sunday, when he was about ten years old, that she sent him out to "fetch her a bird". Not wanting the chicken to see what was about to happen, he held an oak leaf over the chickens eyes while he chopped its head off. That was just how it was done 60 years ago. Today, when a kid helps grandma get a chicken, it involves a shopping cart and the freezer section of their local Food Lion. There is no concept of where that bird came from, how it was raised or the sacrifice it made. Quite honestly, I never put much thought into it either, until I had to hold that metaphorical leaf myself.

                         "Hey mom...what's for dinner?"

                             "Roasted yard-bird"

• 1 (6-8 lb) whole chicken, thawed in the fridge
• 1 orange
• 1 lemon
• 1 onion
• 1 apple
• 1 stalk celery
• vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 2 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• salt, pepper and red pepper flakes

Pre heat oven to 425. Line a roasting pan with foil for easy clean up. Wash and pat dry chicken with paper towels. In a bowl, mix zest of orange and lemon, juice from orange and lemon, basil, sage, rosemary, 1/3 cup oil and 1 tsp each of salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Quarter remains of orange and lemon, stuff into cavity of chicken along with quartered onion, celery and apple. Chop into smaller pieces if it all doesn't fit. With breast side up, GENTLY, pull skin away from meat starting just above large cavity opening and work your way towards neck opening. Use a spoon to stuff spice/oil mixture in between skin and meat. Drizzle additional vegetable oil (doesn't burn as quickly as olive oil) over skin of bird and liberally sprinkle with additional salt and pepper. Rub all over to coat entire exterior of chicken.
Place breast side down and brown for 15 minutes, the oil will smoke some. After 15 minutes remove from oven and flip chicken so breast side is up. Insert a meat thermometer into thickest part of breast without hitting a bone. The ONLY way to properly roast a chicken requires using a meat thermometer. Brown for an additional 15 minutes, then loosely cover chicken with aluminum foil and DECREASE temperature to 325. Roast until meat thermometer reads 165. Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Enjoy:)

              

Peppers, peppers everywhere! Jalapenos galore!

HOT! HOT! HOT! Who doesn't like it HOT?!? Well, if you're talking about the temperature, not me, but when it comes to cooking...ohhhhh yeahhhhh! And there is no better way to spice it up then the those little green bites of goodness...the jalapeno. When the rest of my garden resembles a barren waste land, the pepper corner is rocking. Jalapenos seem to L-O-V-E the hot, humid summers and acidic, red clay soil of southern Virginia. A $1.50 pack of four jalapenos plants have produced enough peppers to last my family an entire year and my kitchen never skimps on the spicy! The picture above is from the first picking off my four plants.

So, now that I have all these peppers, what is the best way to preserve them? Frozen or canned? Sliced or whole? My answer...all four! I never know when the need to burn will hit me, so I want to be prepared with a vast array of preserved peppers. Canned pickled pepper slices stay nice and crisp and add a kick to sandwich's and burgers. Chop a whole canned pepper to add to any cooked dish, like chili. Use frozen julienned peppers to take your stir fry to the next level. Not all jalapenos are created equal, so before your double dose that pot of chili, take a test bite. I have found jalapenos vary greatly in heat, unless they all came from the same plant.

***MOMMY NOTE: When picking or doing anything with hot peppers, keep the kids at a distance. Make sure to thoroughly wash your hands and all equipment before touching your kids or letting them handle any of the buckets, bowls or utensils you used. When slicing peppers, the seeds will fly! The oil that burns our skin is found primarily in the seeds and insides of the peppers. ***

For a tried and true source for canning instructions I rely on www.pickyourown.org. They have simple step by step instructions with lots of pictures that even a first timer can follow. When it comes to canning and preserving instructions, always get your information form a reliable source. Improper canning can not only waste your time and money, it could make you and your family ill.

Canning can be very intimidating, the simplest way to preserve is freezing. But, if your gonna freeze veggies put the money into a vacuum sealer. It really will pay for itself! Time and again I have tossed freezer burnt items. I have yet to have a vacuum sealed bag let me down. Currently I am using a FoodSaver vacuum sealer. The refill rolls are pricey but well worth it in the long run and can be found online and at Walmart. If you're gonna put the time, effort and money into a garden, you owe it to yourself to do same when preserving your gardens bounties.

                                        "Hey Mom...what's for dinner?"

                               Grilled Roast Beef and Jalapeno Samich

So, your family doesn't eat leftovers, here's what to do with last nights pot roast and some of those jalapenos...

• roast beef, trimmed of all fat and gristle, shredded or sliced thin
• french bread, cut into 1" thick slices
• 2-3 jalapenos, seeded and sliced into rings (discard stem)
• sliced provolone or muenster cheese
• butter, mayo, olive oil and A1 sauce

Heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat in skillet. Cook jalapeno slices until slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Remove pepper slices from skillet and set aside. Return pan to heat. Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Place buttered side down in pan, top with roast beef, peppers (as many as you dare) and cheese. Top with second slice of bread, butter side up. Grill for about a minute or until golden brown. Hold top slice with one hand and help guide it over as you flip with spatula to grill other side. Smash it down with the spatula to get all that goodness in the middle stuck together. Whisk together 2 Tbsp mayo with 1 Tbsp A1 sauce for dipping sauce. Enjoy :)