Wild Raspberry Picking

Saturday we suited up for our first foray into the bushes and brambles in search of wild black raspberries. We were not disappointed. We gathered about a gallon in an hour or so before the kids were too tired to continue. We left about half of the trail and berries untouched until next time.

My plan, in my head and heart, is to create a u-pick berry farm in the coming years consisting of at least black raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. Many years ago my father attempted growing some hybrid black raspberries. They did well for a year or two before succumbing to root-rot. 

My plan as of today is to propagate and grow about an acre of black raspberries using the wild variety. While this does have its shortcomings, mostly size, it does offer some advantages including a natural resistance to disease, abundance of berry patches already existing on the farm for cuttings, and knowledge that the soil is right for berry growth if the current raspberry and blackberry patches are any indication.

Stay tuned as this plan hatches. In the meantime we'll post here the progress, problems, and "fruits" of our labor. We may even have a few berries to spare for our faithful blog followers!

Washed raspberries ready to eat and to flavor some raspberry gelato!

One of our dedicated pickers. He dove right in and picked like a machine...only eating a few along the way.

Delicious raspberries pre-wash.

The picking crew braving the thorns, dogging the bugs, and beating the birds to the berries.

A grand view of our home from the high hill above. The path also doubles as a sledding trail in winter.

It's looking like a great year for elderberries too!

A short pause to take in the view while picking.

 

Amazing Grasses Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

In August of 2000 I married up.  I married Cajun.  For the past 20 years I've been working on perfecting this Gumbo recipe and after numerous tastings have decided to share it with the world.  This is the the recipe that the kids love and look forward to whenever I make it.  It is a labor of love so plan on making it when you have a free day because it can take some time to prepare.  I usually make it on a Saturday to enjoy on Sunday.  Allowing it time to cool in the fridge gives it an incredible flavor.  Although it's not necessary to do it this way, it's worth the wait.

Here is the recipe that I use.  Please note that it is a double recipe so feel free to divide it if you don't have 10+ people or a small army to feed.  After the recipe I'll provide pictures as I work through the process...

2 whole chickens (you can also purchase roasted chickens if you don't want to do this part but you'll need to also supply about 12 cups of stock or more if you choose this route)

2 Tbs Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

2 cups of vegetable or canola oil

2 cups of all-purpose flour

2 large green bell peppers, chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

2 large onions, chopped

2+ lbs of smoked sausage or andouille sausage, sliced (I half and slice mine)

8 cloves of garlic (2 tablespoons of minced)

Salt and pepper to taste

Creole Seasoning to taste

2 Bay Leaves ( I ruined a batch by only putting in one leaf, just kidding, do Bay Leaves really do anythings)

I start the recipe by boiling 2 whole chickens in a large pot.  I put the chickens in the pot and then cover with water.  This means that the chickens, when pushed to the bottom are covered by 2-4 inches of water.  This will make the stock for use later.  I also add the 2 Tbs of Tony's and bring the water to a boil.  I let the chickens sit in the simmering water for an hour or two, basically until it's impossible to remove the chicken without them falling off of the bones.

Once the chicken is cooked and falling off of the bone I remove the chicken and set it aside to cool.  Once cool, I'll remove all of the meat by hand and break it up into small pieces.  I do this later since the chicken isn't added until much later.  Take the remaining water and pieces and pour into a large pot through a strainer.  This will be your stock for later.  If you have too much stock, save it in containers.  If you have too little, you can add commercial stock, homemade stock, or water later in the recipe.

While the chicken is cooling I slice the sausage to bite-size pieces.  You can slice it whole or half it and slice it.  I usually use both smoked sausage and a spicy jalapeno sausage that my in-laws bring up from Louisiana.  Since I want people to know which is smoked and which is spicy (for the kids) I half the smoked and then slice, the other sausage I just slice.  I also brown the sausage for extra flavor, this is a personal preference.

While the sausage is browning I begin heating the 2 cups of oil and begin chopping the onion, celery, peppers, and garlic placing them in a bowl.  Once the oil is hot enough to fry in I begin making the roux.

Making the roux is a critical point in the Gumbo creation.  Roux is basically fried flour in a powdered form.  I slowly add the flour 1/2 cup at a time to the hot oil while stirring with a whisk.  The whisk keeps the flour from clumping together.  This process is a bit time consuming but worth the effort.  If you don't stir it enough or add too much flour at once, bits of flour will clump together and burn (think of leaving a dough-nut in hot oil for too long).  If you start to see little black specks, you may need to throw it out and start over.  Slowly add the flour 1/2 cup at a time while stirring and then keep stirring.  Then, when you are tired of stirring, keep stirring.  Again, you are frying in oil that powdered flour, trying to fry it evenly.  As you stir, the flour will get darker and darker.  You are trying to brown it to the color of dark chocolate milk...see below...

Once the roux is a dark brown, about the color of dark chocolate milk, you will quickly add the chopped veggies.  Be careful during this process.  You are adding moisture dense vegetables to hot oil and you are going to get a lot of hot steam in your face in the process.  At this point I have switched from a whisk to a heat-resistant spatula.  Once all of the vegetables are added, keep stirring.  The result will resemble your onions, peppers, etc covered in a dark molasses.  Below you can see the steam rising up in my face.  It is also at this point that most of my family will come running in the house stating that they knew I was making Gumbo because they could smell it outside, across the hills.  The smell alone is worth the effort thus far...

It is here that you will also add your garlic (if not with the veggies) and sausage.  Keep stirring as all these new ingredients are heating up and the moisture cooking out.

Continue to stir and cook the vegetable and sausage for 5 - 10 minutes.  Now you will add the stock to the pot and bring to a boil.  Let the whole creation simmer for an hour or more...

After an hour of simmering you can add the separated chicken.  Please note, you can also add shrimp but do so for the final 15 - 20 minutes of the cooking process.  If just adding chicken, allow to cook for another hour or more...

After the chicken ( or shrimp) is cooked, your Gumbo is ready to eat.  You can eat it as is, over rice or however you like.  We serve ours over rice.  

To be honest we almost never eat ours after it has finished cooking.  I usually turn off the burner and allow the Gumbo to cool and then place the Gumbo in the refrigerator overnight.  Most times, our Gumbo is for the next day.  Allowing it to sit overnight gives the Gumbo time to rest and the flavors to blend.  We noticed that the Gumbo was always better the next day and so started making the Gumbo a day in advance.  

On the next day, skim off the excess oil (note that there probably won't be any congealed fat but there will be plenty of oil from the roux) and heat.  Serve over rice with a side of rolls and potato salad and enjoy...for days to come. ( I usually freeze a gallon or more for lager enjoyment)

 

Life, Death, Destruction, and Beauty on the Farm

 Yesterday, July 7th, 2017, a series of severe storms rolled through the area knocking out power, downing trees, and flooding roads.

As the storms raged on my family watched helplessly as the eggmobile began to rock back and forth in the gale.  The winds, some as strong as 60 mph proved too much for the mobile coop.  Daniel, 7, watched in horror as it rolled on to its side with about 100 chickens both inside and out.

We built the eggmobile a little over a year ago and it has served us well since.  As of this writing we are still trying to figure out how to set it back upon it's wheels.  Once that's done the repairs will begin.

Anthony and Samuel, who run the egg production, are taking the hit pretty hard.  They've invested countless hours and a good bit of money into these hens.  Anthony was wondering if things could get worse.  They can....and did.

Since the eggmobile was unusable the chickens were basically left to fend for themselves overnight.  We knew that the electric fence and the dogs would deter most larger animals like raccoons and coyotes but we also knew of one predator, sighted earlier in the week, that could wipe out all 100 chickens in a night.  This predator makes a sport of killing birds, especially chickens.  He often kills, drinks the blood and leaves his victims lined up nicely on the floor of the coop.

Last night while we slept and the chickens stood in the open field or in what shelter they could find, a mink decimated 17 of the helpless birds.  16 hens and a rooster were killed.  Thankfully, most of the hens were older and ones that needed to be culled but it's still a loss.

Life on the farm is a constant cycle of life and death.  It's something you are keenly aware of even if it is often difficult to witness.  This ebb and flow, like the ocean tide, is a way of life.  It's natural.  It's real.  It's often raw.

You realize quickly that getting angry or trying to lay blame does no one any good.  It's just the way it is.  You plan, work hard, and hope for the best.  The best often comes.  It comes more often than not.  The fact that this is a single post about tragedy among so many post that never touch that reality is a testament to the fact that we are surrounded by the best, the good, the true, and the beautiful.  It's why the tragedy stings.

The only response is to work, pray, and hope.  Worrying, being angry, or giving up are not options, they are distractions.

The eggmobile will return to it's wheels, it's a fact.   The boys will replace the chickens lost.  The dairy cows will once again mingle with the birds as they make their way back and forth across the hill as they do each year.  The event will seem a distant memory relived and retold in stories told around the fire or kitchen table.

That's the way it is on the farm.  There is life.  There is death.  There is destruction and there's oh so much beauty.




"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God." Ecclesates 3:11-13

Spring has sprung!

Spring has sprung around Amazing Grasses and not a moment too soon.  The chickens have been needing more and more fresh grass and only now has Mother Nature provided enough to keep up with these hungry ladies.

They've been in the hoop-house since late fall and I think they'll be glad to get back on to pasture.  Plenty of fresh water, sunshine, and available greens, worms, and bugs make the hens happy and our customers happier!

If you look closely at the pictures above you may notice that some of our hens sport stylish red anklets.  These plastic bands tell us that the hens wearing them are nearing two-years-old and theoretically their laying will begin to slow.  We haven't seen it yet but it will happen.  When it does, we'll sell these hens to folks who just want to have chickens or a few eggs now and then.

This morning the boys moved the eggmobile within the confines of the electric poultry netting and began preparing it for the season.

The eggmobile is a mobile chicken coop that allows us to move our hens to fresh grass every 7-10 days.  This is good for the hens since they get a fresh area to pick, find bugs, and play.  It is good for the ground since it won't be picked bare and won't be overloaded with nitrogen from their manure.

Over the next day or so they will allow the hens to get accustomed to the eggmobile again.  Once they are roosting in there rather than the hoop-house, we'll move them out into the lush green field and they'll forget all about that plastic winter home.

Hoop-house B.C. (Before Chickens)

Once the chickens are out of the hoop-house, we'll start seed beds in there for the summer garden.  The hoop-house and the area to the left of it in the picture will all be garden filled with tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and more.

Hershey at 6 months.

Hershey is now 6 months old and Josie is still giving about 2 gallons a day for our family.  The cream has really started to increase as she has access to more and more fresh grass.  Hopefully we can get back to making our own butter once again!

That's all for now, enjoy the weather and stay tuned to more great stuff from Amazing Grasses including some Pastured Pigs this year!

Can you color Brown Eggs?

A question we often get is, "can you color brown eggs for Easter?"  The answer, "absolutely."  In fact, I think brown eggs make far better Easter eggs.  When white eggs are colored the colors often appear harsh and fake.  Brown eggs tend to produce a softer, more natural color.

Anyway, here's how we color our brown eggs...

Hard cook your eggs.  There are multiple ways to accomplish this task but we prefer steaming.  We have a sauce-pot steamer that will hold a dozen eggs perfectly.  Put about two inches of water in the bottom of the pot and bring to a boil.  Once the water is boiling, place the eggs in the steamer, put the steamer on the pot, and cover.  Set your timer for 19 minutes and move to the next step.  (We place the eggs in the steamer right out of the refrigerator).

Once the timer goes off, give those cackle-berries an ice bath.  I usually let them set in the ice water for about 15 minutes or until the next batch is ready when doing large amounts.

Once cooled, placed them on a wire rack to dry or hand dry them.  Don't put them in the carton wet or you may never get them out!  When you put them in a carton wet, especially Styrofoam cartons, they dry and stick to the carton.  We learned this the hard way with raw eggs, big mess.

Fixing eggs this way makes beautiful yolks and eggs that are extremely easy to peel.

I got some professional help when preparing to color these eggs.  Daniel and Bella are skilled at dropping the eggs into the coloring cups and making them splash dye all over the place.

This was our first batch.  We learned that the longer you leave them in the dye, the richer the color.

As you can see, brown eggs do make a beautiful Easter egg.  Not only do our eggs make beautiful Easter eggs, they are good for you.  Contact us today to get a few dozen of our pastured eggs fresh from our farm to your Easter Basket.  740-324-0702

Let's Talk about Eggs and Molting

A molting chicken, not ours, poor thing.

Let's talk about molting. Every so often chickens molt or loose and regrow most of their feathers. It's a process that takes some time 4-6 weeks. During this time most of their energy and their protein intake goes toward feather production leaving little for egg production.

What does that mean for us? Our disheartened little farmers have about 100 laying hens and are getting about 12 eggs a day. Yikes!! However, this spring they'll probably be getting 70-80 eggs per day. What does this mean for you, our awesome customers? Eggs are in short supply and are on a "if we have them, you can get them" type sales program.

With half of the layers being pullets (young layers) the production should pick back up within a week or two. The eggs will be slightly smaller but they'll be back to normal soon.

Now, before you go running off to the grocery store, this is a good post offer points to ponder -

Factory Farm

1) How are factory chickens treated? - In order to get production year-round of perfectly sized and weighted eggs a few things must be done. One of those things done that we don't do and don't agree with is installing a light. Egg production, like other things in nature is regulated by light. An artificial light can be installed to keep production up but this burns the chickens out and isn't health for them. It isn't health for us either actually...

One of our little farmers

2) You are paying the same price at the store for eggs that you do with us and getting an inferior, and less healthy egg. You may say that Amazing Grasses eggs are $3 per dozen but at Kroger they are only $.99. While this is true, it doesn't reflect the entire price you pay. How can a dozen eggs only be a dollar and the factory farm still make a profit and stay in business? Simply put, the eggs are "cheap" because the feed is "cheap" (often including other chickens, yuck). The feed is "cheap" because it's subsidized by the government. You are the government. So, taxes pay to subsidize the feed that's used to feed the chickens to get the cheap eggs. You paid basically the same price, you just didn't see it come out of your wallet and your cheap eggs really aren't good for you (or the chickens for that matter) which leads me to..

3) If you think pigs should be pigs, cows should be cows, and chickens should be chickens, then support your local pastured farmer who respects the "piginess of the pig" to borrow a phrase from our hero Joel Salatin. Factory chickens never see sunlight, are kept in a cage with a footprint smaller than the size of a piece of 8x10 paper, and have their feed and light tweaked to get the most production out of each bird. Our method isn't perfect but it's what makes the eggs taste great, the chickens healthy, and all of us feel good about how they are treated. We even have a chicken hospital for the weak or sickly birds that need some care!

Anyway, if you are still reading, all of this is to say that egg production is a little slow but rather than mess with what God has given us, we're going to respect the natural rhythm of things. Thanks for your patience and continued support.

Pastured Eggs really are good for you!

Oh BTW, some may say an egg is an egg. Those of you reading this know that's not true, at least if you've had our eggs. Are our chickens affected by the environment? Absolutely, in fact there some receipe books (mainly French) that call specifically for Spring Eggs, Summer Eggs, or Fall Eggs. These chefs know that depending on the time of year and available foods for the chickens the eggs can be very different in taste, color, and nutrients. The egg is truly incredible!

Our production method, portable coop, fresh pasture, plenty of sunshine and bugs.