raising chickens | our first egg

we have eggs!... We knew it was going to be any day now, but the anticipation was growing by the minute. Then it finally happened. We opened up the door to the nesting boxes and there it was, our very first egg, and what a gorgeous first egg to have. Gertie gifted us with her beautiful brown-flecked moss green egg.

Part of the fun were are having in raising chickens is celebrating the different varieties of hens. Gertie is an Araucana. Originally hailing from Chile, this breed has morphed into a wide range of chickens that carry portions of the original strain. Truth be told, Gertie is more of an Ameraucana. But even that could be up for true debate because the majority of these type of chickens are basically mutts. They are also know affectionally as the Easter Egg chicks because they lay pastel colored eggs in shades of green, blue, yellow and buff. Their eggs tend to be on the small side and they are not known to be the most prolific layer, but I highly recommend them for the fun quotient alone.

We were happily surprised that we found the egg in the actual nesting box. We checked those boxes every day for weeks just to see if anyone was using them and each day they looked in the same exact condition as the day before. We learned that you can try to lure the hens into the nesting boxes with a decoy egg or gold ball. We tried the gold ball, but to no avail. Then early last week, my husband said he found a decoy egg and put it in the nest. Much to my surprise, he placed my Mom's 40-year-old Jade egg into the nesting box. Seriously? So, of course I had to tease him endlessly about this. But the joke turned out to be on me. Here I go teasing Tom that he put a green egg in the nesting box and what turns out to be our first egg? Gertie's green one! I shall never underestimate the power of the jade egg again.

Since Friday, Gertie has provided us with three lovely eggs which we happily dined on for breakfast this morning. Studying their behavior, it looks like BuzzBee will be the next in line to lay, followed by Beatrice. Turtle, my chicken pal shown above, well, Turtle looks like she's not in much hurry to do anything other than pose for some snapshots.

These girls continue to provide a lot of joy and learning. Now, add providing our family with a nutritious food, well that is just icing on the cake. Bock! Bock!

recipe | chocolate chip applesauce cake

the case of the vanishing cake... I swear I made Applesauce Cake on Sunday, but I have no evidence left to back up my claim. Though, in the sink there is a suspicious looking empty baking pan with moist crumbles strewn about. Usually, around our house, cakes and cookies sit about getting stale prior to being thoroughly feasted on. That's why I'm so shocked that as of this morning, we're already ate the whole cake.

Applesauce Cake is another one of those happy childhood memories for me. I drift back to being ten and Mom making her Pennsylvania Dutch Applesauce Cake. I can still see that battered index card with the cut-out recipe pasted on to it. Just thinking of it makes me go "yummmmm".

So of course I'm pleasantly pleased that both my boys delighted in this weekend's cake. It is the perfect celebration of your freshly-picked orchard bounty. I made up my batch with some of the applesauce I jarred the other week. Here's a post from last year with my favorite applesauce recipe. Mind you, I did health up Mom's old recipe a bit with the addition of whole grains. My personal opinion is that you can forgo white flour all together in favor of whole wheat if interested. Next time I make this (which will probably be this weekend), I'm going to reduce the white flour and add in some spelt flour and double-up on whole wheat.

Chocolate Chip Applesauce Cake

3/4 cup apples, diced

1 cup apple cider

1 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup flax meal or wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 cup applesauce

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

8 oz chocolate chips (personally recommend bittersweet chocolate)

Note: Best baking practices advise that you allow any cold ingredient like butter, eggs, and the applesauce to come to room temperature before adding.

Lightly grease a square 8"x8" baking pan. Preheat oven to 325º.

Mix together the diced apples and cider in a small saucepan. Simmer until the apples become mushy and takes on a sauce-like appearance. Set aside and cool to room temperature.

Whisk together in a medium bowl the flours and baking soda.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg and salt. Add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove and whisk until mixture lightens a bit. 30 seconds or so. Slowly whisk in the melted butter. Follow by gently mixing in the apple and cider mixture, applesauce, and vanilla.

Fold the flour mixture into the batter until just moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips and pour into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle a little sugar across the top if desired. Bake for 40 minutes. Cool to slightly warm prior to serving. Also, absolutely delicious cold straight out of the fridge.

from my window | summer swan song in sepia

summer swan song in sepia... It seemed fitting to give this beautiful summer a proper send-off. Though just as short as last week, the chilly weather of fall seemed fairly far off. Today I'm wearing my snuggly brown cardigan and slippers as I sit here and type and honestly, I'm a tad tempted to flick on the heat. But I'll fight that urge because once we turn it on, it signals the reality that it won't be turned-off for another eight months.

So today I bid goodbye to summer with a few favorite snapshots I took along the way.

gardening | september harvest in maine

alive and kicking... It may be September, but thankfully no one has told that to my garden yet. Without a doubt, this has been our most fruitful garden in ten years. I've canned, pickled, sauced, dried, and froze more than I can even begin to type.

One nod to our success has of course been the incredible weather. Though a touch more rain wouldn't have been too shabby. I also practiced succession plantings for crops like lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, beets, beans, and peas. Normally housing withered vines around this time, our whiskey barrels are vibrant and full of lush bean and pea foliage. Garden beds are full of carrot fronds and rich beet leaves.

I have yet to win my family over to the love of the beet. I'm hoping that with fall's approach, some freshly-roasted beets on a chilly day may tip the scale slightly more in their favor. I'm not going to hold my breathe though. I'm hoping the sell of maché later this month will come a little easier.

With powdery mildew settling in rapidly, I snipped a few New England pie pumpkins and Zeppelin Delicata winter squash. I'm pretty excited by the other varieties that are still sprawled out through the garden. Growing in the winter squash camp are some Sunshine, Nutty Delica, Burgess Buttercup, Sweet Meat, and Baby Blue Hubbards. Over in the pumpkin side are my yearly favorite Luminas, Jack Be Little, Tiny Ornamental, Early Sweet Sugar Pie, and my pride and glory... Jarrahdale.

The tomato plants are beginning to wane. After producing over 130 pounds of tomatoes, they have done more than their fair share. I'll probably be out within the next week or two plucking the last fruits from the vine to finish their ripening from the comforts of a brown paper bag.

This year's leeks were a huge improvement from last year. I only grab what I need for the night's meal since the rest are happy hanging out in the soil. The first batch of potato-leek soup is on the docket for later this month. It'll be a great treat to finally make it with my own leeks.

I may have gone overboard on cucumbers. Earlier this July, I listened to story after story of fellow gardeners raking in cukes by the dozen. My plants on the other hand, barely had flowers. So being the ever impatient one, I decided to sow a second crop of cukes. Not being able to pick just one variety, I ended up planting around 20 more plants. Well, this pat August, my initial crop of cucumbers exploded. I still can't keep up with them. Now, the second sowing is taking over and is covered with tiny little cukes. I've already run out of Mason jars (twice over) and am reconsidering if we really need as many jars of pickles as we have.

It's been the best summer ever for our carrot crops too. I did a lot of succession planting, so we've been happily munching on these treats since the end of June. We have another four rows full so hopefully we'll be good through winter.

We had a pepper miracle summer. For the first time in almost ever, the peppers actually ripened red. Honestly, this is incredible. Normally I'm saving green, tart peppers from the approach of the first frost. Not this year. No, we feasted on 10" long Carmens. They were incredibly sweet and crisp. Fresh or grilled, they complement any dish. Tiny Thai hots were tossed into stirfries and sautés. I even tried my hand at making my first chili paste/sauce this weekend. The Cayennes are in the dehydrator on their way to becoming chili flakes.

Slowly the kale, swiss chard, spinach, and winter radishes begin to emerge. Add into the mix the still growing brussel sprouts, chinese cabbage, carrots, squash and beets. If all continues to go well, we'll be dining on garden delights for the next few months. After that we'll be cracking into our root cellar stash to get us through until next spring when we start this beautiful waltz all over again. Happy gardening!

daily photo | orchard wildflowers

september 12, 2010 | a quiet close to a lovely weekend

living | apple picking at Thompsons Orchards

my favorite time of the year... The harbinger of autumn has arrived and folks everywhere are heeding its call by heading in droves to Thompson Orchards in New Gloucester, to delight in a little apple picking. I don't use the term quintessential much, but for me, apple picking is my quintessential childhood memory.

We are so fortunate to have a wonderful orchard just right down the road. Thompson's Orchards has been around for over 100 years. Every year at the onset of autumn, our fairly quiet town livens up with a rush of traffic going to the orchard to take part in a hay ride, or maybe feast on Thompson's famous freshly-baked donuts.

The apples this year were absolutely gorgeous! The trees were completely laden in perfect fruit. Our family has developed a tradition of taking a stroll throughout the entire orchard prior to picking any apples. Mind you, there is a bit of snacking along the way as we meander lanes of whimsical trees, tractor treads, and wildflowers. The picking commences as we make our way back towards the farm.

The pumpkin harvest was a few weeks early this year, so they are already making their arrival at the orchard. Right now it is mainly pie pumpkins. In a few weeks, we'll be heading back to scout the perfect carving pumpkin for Halloween.

Of course, no visit would be complete without nibbling on some warm homemade doughnuts and sipping fresh, crisp cider. We got a doughnut for each of us, but mine suddenly vanished when I went to take a photo a few feet away. I only got one bite before I was robbed. I suspect my grinning five-year-old whose shirt sparkled with sugar crystals.

I'm hoping to make some applesauce today and just noticed that we're out of apple cider. I'll have to run down to the orchard to pick up a gallon, but I fear that my will power will be non-existent and I'll come back home with another huge bag of apples. I've run out of room in the freezer. I may need an intervention.

raising chickens | goodbye to the roosters

and then there were four... We said a bittersweet goodbye to our roosters Dottie and Clark the other week. It was the right decision, but one that did not come easily. All in all, it was a lesson learned. When we decided to raise chickens, roosters were never a part of the plan. In the Spring, when I chatted with our farmer's union about which hen breeds we wanted, I was talked into also including a rooster into the mix. The reason being was that the rooster would provided a good security alert for any potential predators.

To me, that made all the sense in the world because we live in a fairly rural setting where folks who let their chickens go free-range, often find themselves a few hens short. The rooster would sound the alarm if something wicked this way was coming.

Logically, we also we very aware of the fact that the roosters would fertilize the eggs. We didn't worry too much about that part since we'd be dedicated egg pickers harvesting them the same day they'd be laid. If you do that and place the eggs in the fridge, fertilization is pretty much a mute point.

So, with the good advice from the Farmer's Union, we added Clark, a New Hampshire Red rooster, into the mix. We specifically selected Clark's breed because of their temperament. Fast forward a few months and we discover that Dottie, our Silver Wynadotte hen, is actually a rooster. That's when I learned my new favorite quote about the sexing of chickens, "You won't know it, til' they crow it."

Dottie was always by far, the most aggressive of the chicks. But he grew to be an aggressive rooster who bullied the other chickens. I was sitting right next to the coop when I saw him grab Turtle by the neck and whip her right into the fence for no reason. The other problem was that Dottie would not stop crowing. 4am. 5am. 6am. All for 20 minute intervals. Anytime you were outside, he'd crow. A fly would buzz by, he'd crow. We were not winning any neighborly love with this. So we started to look for a new home for Dottie. And we looked. And we looked. Turns out, no one wants a rooster. I mean no one. I even got desperate enough to call up animal control to see if they even knew of anyone in need. Nope. This went on for three weeks and during this time the hens were at the beginning stages of trying to nest and Dottie's aggressive behavior was amping up even more.

Finally, we found a family in need who took Dottie. A few days later, we got word from a very knowledgable source, that we should also get rid of Clark. He said that Clark would be literally on top of the hens 24-7 and that the Farmer's Union only told me to get a rooster because they need to find homes for all those rooster chicks. Heartbroken, we took Clark to a farm that only raises roosters. Our quest to find homes for these two birds did not end up as we had hoped. Realistically, these two birds have provided meals to deserving families.

As a former vegetarian, it is hard for me to look at these birds and imagine them eventually on our dinner plate. But if we choose to eat chicken, at least we know that these animals were raised well, feed well, and lived a nice life. When you compare that to the horrors of those dark, dank chicken barns where they pack them in by the thousands, you come around to accepting the fact they are not pets, but livestock. I won't lie to you, I'm still not comfortable with the thought of "off with their heads", but I also cannot ignore the reality of where that styrafoam package of chicken in the market is coming from. As news of samonella and e. coli outbreaks garner headlines, we can rest slightly easier in knowing where our food comes.

On a positive note, our remaining chickens are doing quite well and are starting to nest. We're trying to lure them into using the nesting boxes by placing a golfball in each one, but so far those hens seem to want to lay down everywhere but the nesting boxes. Within the next few weeks we should see our first eggs. We can't wait!

living | reflections

september—seriously?... A flock of Canadian geese just soared across the morning's sky. Autumn cannot be too far behind. With that comes reflection. For me personally, the summer has been a battle to balance work and life. So far, the life side is losing and that has been evident in my lack of posts. But I'm trying my best to reset that pendulum so that it once again swings in balance.

I admire so many of the brilliant bloggers whose posts continue to provide everyday inspiration. I know that many of you, like me, work full-time, are parents, gardeners, cooks, you name it. We all have our lives flying by at 100mph. Honestly, life is too short for that. It's partly because of this, that I started this blog. Everyday life can often be so hectic just getting by, that if I didn't get out there with my camera each week, I would would miss so much of the amazing beauty that is right out there smack dab in front of me. Through my lens, I'm able to pause and appreciate the incredible world I'm so fortunate to be a part of.

Thanks so much to each of you who stop by and share part of your day with me. You folks have provided so many smiles after sometimes some really long days, and for that I thank you. Cheers to a wonderful September!