Egg Season is Here!

Few people know eggs have a season, and it is now!  Hens have taken a rest during the dark and cold time of year - what Eliot Coleman calls the Persephone season.  

 Persephone, daughter of Demeter was abducted by Hades.  Demeter and Hades struck a bargain that she would spend part of each year with her mother - spring to harvest - and part with her husband - winter. 

Coleman points out that crops can be maintained during this "Persephone season" in winter, but will not really grow with the low level of light.  
 

Spring hatch

Chickens are light loving animals - they rise early and roost for the night at dusk. They lay the most eggs in spring, the same time when wild birds lay eggs and hatch out young as well.  Why else does the Easter bunny have a basket of eggs?  After a real shortage all winter, the eggs become plentiful, and are a welcome sign of spring.

We keep hens over winter, so we maximize the natural egg season.  Ken sources whole grains so we can soak and sprout them for optimum nutrition for the birds, and later when we have pigs for the pigs as well.  Over the years he has grown tired of uneven egg production as a result of inconsistent ground feed quality.  He misses the old days when each local mill ground feed on a weekly basis and one never got rancid feed

With the sprouted grain our animals are healthier, calmer and consistently productive.  Higher quality feed means more nutrition for the hens and more nutrition and flavor in the eggs that they lay.  And people can tell the high quality of these eggs.  So, consider an omelet or quiche or custard to celebrate spring.  And with some Aracaunas in the flock you won't need to color your Easter eggs!

Wow! More Snow

We had two days of above freezing weather. 

Snow melted, dripped and slid off many of the roofs. 

Then we had more snow - a lot more snow.  Although snow did settle and levels dropped, we still have a lot of snow.  This is a pig panel.  Usually I can't step over it.

These nest boxes are usually a real stretch for me to reach into to pick eggs.  Now I am bending over to pick eggs.

It was a sticky snow, so it stuck to trees, 

our rock by the drive, 

and even fences 

and a chicken transport cage

Here is an early season photo of Ken's bowling balls

and a photo of them taken today.

I can walk under these arches when we don't have snow.

And here is a photo of our own bobsled course - the driveway

For a sense of scale here is a photo of a five gallon bucket on the drive and an egg basket on the bank of the drive.

Morning in the Kitchen - Mostly Local Food

This morning began in the kitchen.  

First I got some chicken legs in a barbeque sauce of our tomato, Ken's hot sauce, our onions, some of Ken's dark honey, our garlic, some of the last of our semi dry chipotle and other peppers, Ken's apple vinegar - all from our larder.  

Then I started some long grain brown and wild rice - not from our larder. 

Ken had smelled an off onion smell the other day so I sorted onions and squash and cleaned them up. 

And cleaned some of our greens and sprouts with kefir herb dressing with some purchased feta cheese.

I started some kefir from milk from a friend.

Since the chickens are laying, I made some custard - our eggs, a friend's milk, our maple syrup and purchased salt and vanilla.  I had to use the "savory casserole" as our dessert casserole is at a friend's farm.  Hope there is no garlic bread residue!  

With the extra egg whites I made macaroons (purchased coconut and organic sugar, but our egg whites).  Although I had filled the rack , some have gone with Ken on his errands.

And finally a layer of chocolate cake for Ken to have with the custard and some frozen fruit.   He likes plain cake - sometimes a glaze.  We had chocolate cake and our frozen strawberries with yogurt for Valentines Day, and I planned to bake the slightly dried out left over cake in some custard, but no leftovers.  So I took out some frozen organic cherries for his dessert tonight.

CSA Newsletter

After plowing the drive

Greetings from the Garden!  This box has salad mix, cabbage, onions, garlic, shallots, squash or pumpkin, potatoes, beets and carrots, celery root, kohlrabi or rutabaga.

Field Notes.  Ken has been planting micro greens all winter.  This week he starts planting full season crops like leeks.  Soon, depending on the weather he will be working in the greenhouses.  And so the season starts anew.  The days are lengthening, and the hens are laying eggs again.  Spring is just around the corner.

Ken has been clearing and cleaning.  as the produce became more and more year round, there was less time to sort, clear and toss out stuff.  He now has a permanent space to do yoga - this is a big thing for a farmer's health!

From the Kitchen.  Eggs.  I made an egg dish I had years ago at a friend's house.  He had had this as bar food in Spain.  He used cooked potatoes, but I am sure you could use any cooked vegetables like kohlrabi, rutabagas, or frozen broccoli.  It is like a crustless quiche.  Heat fat in an iron skillet.  saute some onion, add potatoes to heat, and then pour beaten eggs with salt,  pepper, and crumbled herbs like sage or thyme over the vegetables to cover and top with grated cheese.  I cooked covered on a cool spot on the cook stove and then transferred uncovered to oven to brown the cheese.  good warm or room temperature.

One of my favorite growing projects is to take a couple roots like a rutabaga or a couple beets, and cut the top at the shoulders and place in a dish of water.  

Soon leaves sprout and grow.   i usually get a couple pickings.  the rutabaga greens are like kale or cabbage and the beet greens are sweet and have the texture of chard.

'Til Next Month, 
Judith

Fish or Cut Bait - Weaving

People in the Midwest sometimes ask a person whether they intend to fish or cut bait.  This winter I have been clearing, cleaning and organizing rags for rugs.  

I have been cutting the seams out of garments so they are ready to cut into strips and sew into long strips.

Here is a pair of corduroys - seams and pockets removed

I took a dyeing class

And now, finally I have begun weaving.  So far I have the space for fringe and have just started the body of the rug.  Hurrah.  I am not just a "cut bait" type after all!

Local Food

 Eggs are back!  After a brief vacation during the darkest month, the hens are laying again.  I celebrated with this one pan dish.  Saute onions, add some of the wrinkly red peppers we still have from last fall, crumble in some dried sage, add some cooked potato cubes, surround with beaten eggs with salt and pepper, top with grated cheese.  Place in oven to bake and brown cheese.  A friend made the cheese - otherwise it all came from here - except the salt and pepper

Great hot or as a leftover.  Gave a slice to the mailman who brought me a package along with a slice of cornbread.

What I Did on My Winter Vacation

Last Thursday I took a class in dye for cotton at the Textile Center in Minneapolis.  Ken and I made a day of it and ran errands - the clay supply company for glaze and clay components to add to our local materials, a heat mat thermostat for seedlings, and my class.

We did three color wheels - the first in jewel tones, 

The second series were pieces added to those dyes after much of the dye was spent for a pastel series.

And the third series was from a different set of dye colors to create a "harvest" series.

I hate waste.  when we were done, I asked people to put their extra dye in my extra zip lock bags so I could bring them home and use them.. They were glad to see them go to use rather than pouring them down the drain!

I brought them home.  I weighed out denim strips I had prepared to weave into rugs and over dyed them with varying combinations of remaining dye.

This was why I took the class!  From this used denim to 

a whole new palette of options that are drying by the cook stove.  

And now dry - balls!