Visit to the Walley Homestead

I went a birthday celebration at a friends' yesterday. They are scientists by profession, but are some awesome urban homesteaders. When I got to their place I was blown away beautiful their place was. Their place was on a hill that overlooked an essentially untouched nature reserve. They had plenty of sunshine to have raise beds in the front and chickens in the back. The chickens looked so happy, and the food was fantastic. I managed to take a few pics before all the margaritas got to me.

Birthday Girl with a half naked baby in the chicken pen.

Red Rhode Island, Black Minorca, Cuckoo Wyandotte, Americana, and a Black Copper Maran in the back.

Look at how dark the maran's egg is. They are all JUMBO sized too!

A pretty nifty coop design. One of the hens had just laid an egg.

Stacking worm compost bin. The 4x4 squares stack on top to make the bin as tall as they want. Allows for easy transfer from the composted to the composting pile.

Malabar Spinach. Isn't that beautiful?

Rosemary bush by the front step.

Lunch. Grilled chicken, potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw, guacamole, and two types of green salad.

Forget Sprinkles, check out desserts by Dior.

Last thing on my camera. Yorkie going after a gopher.

Sweet Potato Pielettes

My boss Fabulous T is giving her presentation today. Over the last few days we've been spending long hours at the office data mining. Since instead of helping her I ditched her for Robert Burns Night at Shakespeare Pub I decided to wake up early and bake something for our lab meeting.

I had no toppings for cookies, but I had some premade pie crusts in the fridge and few sweet potatoes leftover from Thanksgiving. (Thank you Costco.) Mmm I hadn't made sweet potato pie in forever. I havn't been able to find a good recipe that I like so I Frankensteined a recipe from various online sources.

Instead of making one big pie, I decided to fill a cupcake pan with the crust and bake them that way.

Sweet Potato Cups

4 cup Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1/2 stick Butter
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Salt
2 large Eggs (from my chickens)

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix the mashed sweet potatoes in with the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and spices*. Add in the egg last. Mix until smooth and creamy.
3. Roll out the pie crust. Cut 3in diameter circles and lay inside well buttered cupcake pan. Fill all 12 and add a big scoop of pie filling in it.
4. Bake in middle rack for 20-30 minutes.


*(I steamed my sweet potatoes and mashed them in a mixer with the butter then added everything else to it. I added in the egg last to make sure it wouldn't cook in the mixture. By then the sweet potatoes had cooled to a comfortable temperature.)

Address to a Haggis

Address To A Haggis

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn,
they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve,
Are bent lyke drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
"Bethankit!" 'hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thrissle.

Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!

The Translation:

Fair is your honest happy face
Great chieftain of the pudding race
Above them all you take your place
Stomach, tripe or guts
Well are you worthy of a grace
As long as my arm

The groaning platter there you fill
Your buttocks like a distant hill
Your skewer would help to repair a mill
In time of need
While through your pores the juices emerge
Like amber beads

His knife having seen hard labour wipes
And cuts you up with great skill
Digging into your gushing insides bright
Like any ditch
And then oh what a glorious sight
Warm steaming, rich

Then spoon for spoon
They stretch and strive
Devil take the last man, on they drive
Until all their well swollen bellies
Are bent like drums
Then, the old gent most likely to rift (burp)
Be thanked, mumbles

Is there that over his French Ragout
Or olio that would sicken a pig
Or fricassee would make her vomit
With perfect disgust
Looks down with a sneering scornful opinion
On such a dinner

Poor devil, see him over his trash
As week as a withered rush (reed)
His spindle-shank a good whiplash
His clenched fist.the size of a nut.
Through a bloody flood and battle field to dash
Oh how unfit

But take note of the strong haggis fed Scot
The trembling earth resounds his tread
Clasped in his large fist a blade
He'll make it whistle
And legs and arms and heads he will cut off
Like the tops of thistles

You powers who make mankind your care
And dish them out their meals
Old Scotland wants no watery food
That splashes in dishes
But if you wish her grateful prayer
Give her a haggis!

To Robert Burns

Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796) is a famous Scottish barb and poet. In honor of his birthday Shakespeare Pub hosted a Robert Burns night. Dinner opened up with the Selkirk Grace and soup, followed by the Parade of the Haggis with a pipper and drummer.



I've never had haggis, only seen it on the Travel Channel and on Bizarre Foods. It is a mixture of chopped up heart, lung, and liver mixed with oats, onions, and spices and baked in a sheep's stomach. Doesn't sound appetizing. But really it tasted like a good earthy meat loaf! Served with kale and tatties it just like an American meal.



Dinner also included a scotch whiskey tasting. Which I have yet to develope a palate for. Each scotch that was served had amazing nose to them but I couldn't finish mine. Serve me bourbon any day, but keep me away from scotch. It was fun though and an amazing experience.

Chickens.

What turns a vegetable garden into a farm? Chickens.

My friends over at the Surf Club thought the landlord was selling the house, so with 3 month as our deadline we decided to get a couple of egg playing chickens for the summer. (This was back in July.) We had to go 25 miles inland to get them from a sweet old lady who raised them as a hobby in her old age.

Things we didn't think about at the time. 1) How to construct an adequate suitable coop for the hens. 2) Change in environment. 3) Amount they poop.

None of the hens laid for the first month, except the little red bantam who became broody. (Then it was months before the Buff Orpington and the Maran began laying.) She wasn't socializing well with the bigger hens so I got her an assorted bantam cochin hatching eggs and allowed her to go through with her cycle. Within a couple weeks she became a proud mother of four assorted. One of them turned out to be a rooster, then dinner. But the rest are still around. They havn't laid yet but the Little Red Mama's started laying again.




The Americanas (Shanti Clara and Lady Gray), Buff Orpington (Buffy), and the Black Cuckoo Maran's (Aunt Jemima) are all laying now. We get 4-5 eggs a day 5-7days a week and we expect the little hens will start laying soon.



The two small light ones in the back are Little Red Mama's, three dark brown ones are Aunt Jemima's (they should be a chocolate brown, but I didn't get the hen from a reputable breeder), light brown in front is Buffy's, the funny shaped long pale green one in the back is Lady Gray's first egg, and the other two are Shanti's.

The Coop 3.0. It took several trys, but they seem to be liking their new housing.

Quick Berry Pie

Its really hard to live a "sustainable" lifestyle and eat completely seasonally. One of the things that's hard to go without are berries. During the summer time I try to eat my fill of fresh berries, but the during the wintertime I indulge myself in frozen berries. To clear my conscious I will try to only buys berries grown in the States, and from farms close by.

One of my favorite things to make with frozen berries (usually not fresh) is make a mixed berry pie. With premade pie shells in the fridge, I can whip up a batch before I leave the house. This one's for my friend Sarah. She's a Texas girl and makes the best pies I've ever had, and I've decided to make a pie for her (in her pie pan.) Here's a quick easy recipe. I decided to vary up the recipe for the winter by making a crumble top crust.

Recipe:

Filling:
4 1/2 cup mixed frozen berries
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tbs corn starch
1 tbs lemon juice

Crumble topping:
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup flour

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F
2. Mix all the ingredients for the filling. Tossing the berries and letting the powders coat them evenly. Allow the mixture to thaw out ~15 to 30 minutes before filling. (When I'm in a rush I'll throw it in the microwave to defrost for a few minutes.) Set aside while prepping the topping.
3. Melt the butter. Mix in the sugar and cinnamon. Toss in the oats and mix in the flour without over churning the mixture. Set aside while the filling is defrosting.
4. Prepare a pie dish by rubbing butter into it, lay out your pie pastry (maybe one day I'll make my own, but I don't like to have to deal with flour.)
5. Fill the pastry with your filling. Evenly. As the berries cook the juices will fill in. I try to leave my berries as whole as possible. Dot the top with the crumble filling. Cover lightly with foil.
6. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes, remove foil and bake for additional 15 to 20 minutes.
7. Allow the pie to cool completely before cutting.

Wine Wednesday

Margaritta Monday, Taco Tuesday, Wine Wednesday...

I was planning on going to Wine Vault & Bistro for San Diego Restaurant Week but I couldn't get a reservation for tonight. Dinner plans were a bunk, but luckily a friend of mine (T) gave me two Omaha top sirloin steaks earlier today. *SWEET* I've also been on a mission to eat up what I've got. Coming up with meals is always a fun challenge for me.

I started by opening up a bottle of Tuttobene, toscana rosso igt '06 and started seasoning the steaks. I gave them a good dry rub of salt, herbs, garlic, and crushed peppers and let them marinade in olive oil.

I started chopping an onion and looked around the kitchen for ingredients. I found a big jar of neglected arborio rice, a few cans of beef stock, a surprising crisp bunch of asparagus, block of Parmesan, and a couple sprigs of rosemary. Tonight I was making risotto. *Yumm* I love making risotto. Soon I had the whole house filled with warmth from the savory broth boiling on the back burner and onions browning. (Today was a cold day in San Diego, the high was 60 F.)

T Chan's taught me the way to make perfect risotto was by adding one cup of simmering broth to the rice at a time. Slowly and carefully watching the bouncing pebbles of rice absorb the broth. Stirring frequently. I began mine with a healthy splash of red wine turning the rice red then began adding the broth. As the dish became creamer I started browing the steaks and sauteed the asparagus. My timing was perfect. The risotto finished as the steaks rest. I stirred in the asparagus and shaved parmesan, sliced the steaks and dish was done.

It was perfect.

With the wine and savory meal. I needed something sweet to finish off the meal. I managed to throw together a quick something out of greek yogurt, 1minute warm fig "compote", and a nice thick balsamic. Sweet, but rich and mellow to finish off the meal.

I'm going to try to give you the recipe, but it was thrown together as it came to me so its only an estimate.

Steak

Salt the steaks to taste, and make the marinade.

Equal parts of dried (1tsp each) or fresh (2 tsp each) rosemary, parsley, and basil. Crushed red pepper to taste, and 1 clove of mince garlic per 5oz steak. Add equal amount of olive oil to the mix and rub the steaks leaving it to marinade.

Brown the steaks on a hot skillet for 3-5 minutes each. I like mine cooked rare. As it rests it will cook a little more.

Indian Fusion Pork Chops

I don't know what's gotten into me these days, but I've been craving savory spiced foods. Last night I made variation of a middle eastern dish, traditionally stewed lamb with dried apricots and other dried fruits. I used chicken and instead of apricots I had dried persimmons and cranberries left over from thanksgiving. Severed over a bed of steamed brown rice it was delicious.

Today all I had in the fridge was pork chops, yogurt, old bread (refrigerated) and frozen peas. Luckily, I also had turnip greens from the garden. I was craving stuffing so I knew exactly what to do with the bread. But I wasn't sure what to do with the yogurt. I couldn't decide if I wanted to have a traditional breaded and fried pork chop dinner with stuffing and stewed southern turnip greens or something savory with lots of flavor.

I decided to go with an Indian theme (so I could use the yogurt.) I ended up making a tikki masala pork chops browned on the stove top and finished in the oven, sauteed turnip greens with onion and garlic, and a tomatoe based korma stuffing. Overall I say it was a success.

Tikki Masala Pork Chops

4 Pork Chops
1 c Greek Yogurt
1/4c Vegetable Oil
1 tbs Curry Powder
1 tsp Chipotle Powder
1 tsp Mustard Seed
Salt and Pepper

- Mix all the ingredients and marinade the chops for at least 1 hour.
- Heat 2 tbs of oil in a heavy skillet and brown the chops on each side for 3-5 minutes before flipping.
- Top them with left over marinade and throw them in a 375 preheated oven covered for 20 minutes.

Korma

3 c Diced bread cubes
1.5 c Chicken stock
1 tbs Tomato Paste
1/4c Melted Butter or Ghee
1/4c Yogurt
1 Egg
1 tsp Cumin Seed
1 tsp Tumeric Powder
1/2tsp Ground Ginger
1 c Frozen Peas

- Dry out the bread cubes in the oven at 425 for 5 minutes with the oven ajar. Mix all the other ingredients together.
- Toss everything together and bake in the oven covered for 15 minutes. Then take off the cover off and bake for another 5 minutes.

Sauteed Turnip Greens

5 c Chopped Turnip Greens
1 Medium onion, sliced
4 Garlic cloves, minced
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

- Heat a tbsp of oil and add the onions. Brown it, add the garlic. Stir once to coat evenly and salt. When the oil gets hot add the chopped greens one handful at a time and toss with oil. Wait 1-2 minutes inbetween before tossing in more. You're trying to flash fry the greens without burning the onion and garlic.

A New Year

I spent all weekend working in my garden and cooking. It was wonderful. So much has happened since summer. The sustainable project has expanded to egg laying hens and meat rabbits. Getting those projects started was no easy task, nor an easy chore. They consume a lot of time, start up costs and care, but is it worth it? I say, "Heck yes!"

Chickens have just as much personality as a dog or a cat. They don't like to be petted or play fetch but my girls all love me as much as I love them. (Or its the trail of bread crumbs I leave for them whenever they are out.) I currently have a black cuckoo maran, buff orphington, a brown and gray easter egger, and five assorted bantam cochins. Unfortunately only the maran and buff are laying at the moment.

The first batch of fryers are about 6 weeks at this point. The buck is a California with an extremely high libido. The breeding doe is a New Zealand and the other doe is her daughter with a New Zealand sire (whom we ate). The hybrids from the California and New Zealand seem to grow bigger and faster. They are pretty cute, but they'll all end up in a pot.

The winter garden of 2010 is booming after the week straight of showers we've had the warm weather that followed.




I also cooked a lunch for the Jew who came back from birth right. Marinated Pork chops on top of fresh sautee greens with a black cherry sauce, accompanied by brown rice and chantrelle mushrooms.