April 29th

Good Day Sunshine!
It is 70 degrees, and not a cloud in the blue sky.
Beautiful day.
We have several remembrances for today.....
1) International Dance Day - being not much of a dancer, as in,
     the rhythm "isn't in me", I can merely just be a bystander.
2) National Pet Parent Day - now this, I can get behind.
     The chicks and the dog allowed me to hug them.
      Not a pretty sight, me running after hens, them running away...... you get the picture.
3) World Wish Day. This makes me happy.
      I wish for lots of things, from the sublime to the mundane.
      (and some are totally selfish, just for me)
In the area of my wishes, here are a few.....
Why can't modern science come up with a pill that makes you lose weight while asleep??
Why can't people get along? Everyone doesn't have to be right ALL the time. 2 words, Golden Rule.
Why do people expect pristine fruits and vegetables in the store when they spend an inordinate amount of time squeezing them?
Why, when my nose is stopped up, does it sometimes whistle with no real musical talent at all?
Why can't they make underwear that doesn't need extrication from between your buttocks?
My mind is like my kitchen junk drawer.......
Just sayin'

The sunflower finally opened.

It's really beautiful.

Here's a close up...

(FYI: the bud doesn't taste like an artichoke)

😜

fractals in nature!

All that means is a mathematically repeating pattern.

If you start to look, they are everywhere.

Astonishing, how simple yet complex.....

 

 

Last time, I went on about my edible flowers...

Well, these are pansy's.

Wait,

How do they taste, you ask?

Like lettuce.

Pretty much, no taste.

Lettuce needs stuff to make it a salad, right?

Croutons, dressing, cheese.........

Same here.

Besides being pretty little things,

they are full of goodies like,

Vitamin C, Vitamin A

Potassium, antioxidants

and they reduce inflammation.

I pick them when fully opened and dry the petals.

I can either put them in salads, make teas or use them in soap.

(caution! teachable moment coming up!)

Tea isn't some complex thing.

All it comes down to is; putting something in

hot water, letting it steep,

draining it and adding whatever you want after,

like, sugar, lemon, ice....

Don't add milk to an herbal tea concoction,

it'll curdle the milk.

 

 

Can't really see down in there, but there's a bud!

An artichoke.

We are kinda novice backyard farmers for some of the things we grow,

so we never really know exactly when to pick the artichokes before they bloom.

                                                 We are always learning about our plants.

 

(Still looks like the Sarlac pit to me.)

 

 

Wild Morning Glory's entwined in the spokes of a bike.

How southern is that, y'all?

 

The infamous

Pickle plant,

AKA

Cucumber.

 

There are about 8 or so babies.

Their flowers are edible too, I don't pick them because I want the cucumbers.

So, no picking those little guys.

So far, I've pickled the last 2 big ones.

(warning, yet another teachable moment coming....)

An easy recipe for pickling your own veggies is to

keep the liquid from your favorite type of store bought pickles,

Wash the item to be pickled very well. Place in the liquid.

Try to immerse it as much as possible,

then leave it in the back of your fridge for a couple of weeks.

It'll change color slightly, but remain fresh in the pickle juice,

and voilà!

Pickles!

 

 

 

 The blueberries and strawberries are doing fine.

So far the hens haven't tried to eat them.

Keeping fingers crossed that they don't.

I'd love to use the fruit in canning some jam.

Depends on how much I get.

 

 

 

 Lucy, always the curious one,

and Ethel, her partner in crime.

Same as their TV namesakes.

 

 

 This is Sandy, following me, hoping for a handout.

As, I walk around the yard, I weed or prune.

I also sample the veggies, fresh and warm from the sun.

Delish!

I was munching on some kale, but started choking.

Needing water, I thought, "chocolate wouldn't have done that to me!"

Back to the narrative....

Sometimes I find an unsuspecting bug.

That's when I offer it to the nearest hen.

Can't show partiality here.

That's when chaos ensues.

 

 

 

Pepper, Ethel and Sandy.

Finishing up a tasty leaf of spinach.

 

 

 

 

Last entry, I took pictures of the flowers on my potatoes.

That was the first time we'd ever seen potatoes flowering.

This is the weird alien fruit they produced.

 

So, knowing me, I looked up

"potato flowers and fruit".

This is one of the many sites I found.

Well, so much for that!

I did know that a potato was a member of the nightshade family.

Same as tomatoes, eggplants, bell peppers and,

weirdly,

tobacco and belladonna.

So, although the flowers were pretty,

we tossed the fruit in the garbage.

We weren't sure if they'd decompose into a poison

in the compost heap.

 

And,

speaking of potatoes,

This is my potato salad.

It is made of, almost exclusively, everything from our garden.

Eggs, potatoes, celery, green onions, and pickles.

Only thing we bought for this was the mayonnaise.

(has to be Blue Plate, of course!)

Pretty cool, huh?

Sustainable living at its best.

 

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And this.....

 

To paraphrase Forest Gump,

"You can pan fry, deep fry, stir fry. Then there's pineapple chicken,

Lemon chicken, chicken soup, chicken stew,

Chicken and potatoes, chicken salad,

That's about it"

 

This is just too funny not to post.

 

=====================================================

 

 

Somebody is eyeballing me.

Its time to go for a walk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Don't forget to hug someone*

Or say "I love you"

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 21st

Annnnd another month is in its waning days.
Jeez!
The days fly by!

Here at Chicken Scratch farm, there's always something to be done.
But, for me, the lure of an afternoon nap on the patio seems so tempting.....
Sigh....
Not today, too much to get done.
Anyway, moving on,

did you know?.....
April is National Frog Month!
This is the most prolific time of year for them to breed.
Although, around these here parts, the frog is a Cajun delicacy.
Eaten by humans and fowl alike.
Only difference is, here, these little unfortunate amphibians are
consumed fresh and swift, no bothering with just those pesky legs.
That's good because we'd have an abundance of amputees and the yard isn't ADA capable.

Our girls have pretty much cleansed the yard of any pests,
or any other small creatures who have the misfortune not to be able to run away.
Anole lizards are another favorite food of theirs,
but their ability to move faster than
greased lightening
and
climb out of the way of a snapping beak,
has kept their numbers high.
Crickets, worms, caterpillars and such have absolutely no chance.
Once those beady little chickey eyes are set on their prey, its like a sniper taking out a target!
Apparently,
their omnivore status makes for quality eggs.
They do produce a tasty product!

This group is washed and ready for the fridge.

Oops,

The non-humans are in need of assistance.

I hear a hen.

 

The CEO is turning the compost heap.

That's Lucy.

She's his constant companion whenever he's outside.

She'll even try her hardest to follow him into the house.

She's not one to miss an opportunity for a tasty earthworm!

 

I walked around harvesting, weeding and pruning, when I came upon this.

I, at first, thought she had passed on to that big Coop in the sky.

It is just Sandy.

Sunning herself.

I tried to explain that she'll never get a tan covered in all those feathers,

However,

 I could pluck her and she'd get a lovely golden brown in my oven.

As you can guess,

She declined to take me up on my generous offer.

 

Pepper and Nugget munching on the mustard greens.

 

Pepper, giving me the stink eye.

I interrupted her cricket pursuit

to take her picture.

 

Ethel,

Chillin'

 

 

 

A sunflower.

Reading about them,

I came to find out that the entire bud,

in this stage of

development, is edible

and tastes similar to an artichoke.

Hmmm,.

Might have to see about that.

We have about a dozen sunflowers.

The site I checked said to boil the bud

till soft, then eat.

I swear I'm gonna try this.

The kids want to see the flowers bloom,

so I'll only try a couple.....

This is Stevia

Same plant that the sugar substitute is derived from.

(her name is....

Yeah,

You guessed right.

Stevie Nicks)

Clever?

😜

The salad garden.

Its beautiful!

Kale, Romaine, Butterhead and Purple Bibb.

Wonderful tastes!

 

Artichoke.

Hope it produces well,

The ones from last year were

wonderful.

 

 

Broccoli we've allowed to flower.

All of the plant is edible.

The flowers are somewhat milder.

Family and chickens love it.

 

We found this in the with the mirlitons.

Believe it or not,

its a peanut plant.

The squirrels bury them and then they germinate.

The peanuts are actually a kind of rhizomes that is in the ground.

When you pull up the plant, they are hanging onto roots.

We had a few last year,

but gave the peanuts to the chickens.

Not enough for us to roast and eat.

 

Yay!

Strawberry flowers.

Only 2 flowers, so I can't sing Strawberry Fields Forever just yet.

 

 

Kumquat

 

Tangerine,

Moment of silence....

 

May they rest in peace.

😢

We've tried a few remedies,

but,

they just couldn't come back after those frosts.

We'll be clearing them out later on.

The Circle Of Life.

(you sang that, right?)

 

 

I posted this WTH plant picture before, but

now we know its name.

Its called Shiso.

Its an Asian herb.

Used in sushi and soups.

(as I've said, tastes nasty!)

Anyway,

Mr Miyagi - (his name, of course),

won't be finding his way into our meals.

But,

He is quite beautiful.

So now, Miyagisan is an ornamental!

 

 

This is an amazing concept, barring illness or disease.

So, from a rapidly aging female,

This sounds pretty good!

 

 

 

I've been researching edible plants, flowers and roots.

(one word - retired)

Not the normal stuff,

but, to put it simply,

Weeds.

Yep.

Legal weeds.

(thought that needed a clarification)

This picture below is a dandelion.

I've collected a few and they are drying.

I don't have immediate plans to eat them,

but I will use them in my soap.

The entire thing is edible, from flower to root.

They contain vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber.

American Indians have foraged them for centuries.

A few other edible wild plants are,

Geranium flowers, wild violets, jasmine, chrysanthemums,

begonias, and pansy's.

There are hundreds more, but these are the ones I grow.

I've got several species drying now.

I will post results.

(Disclaimer: we do not use pesticides. Everything in our environment is chemical free)

 

##############################

Here's a

Cool, quick recipe......

I know.....

It doesn't qualify as totally "healthful",

but its really good,

and I'm feeding 5 hungry mouths.

===============

Chicken Casserole

1) pick apart a store bought rotisserie chicken. About $5.00.

it'll yield about 3 cups.

2) a 16oz container of sour cream.

(no one here likes sour cream,

so they simply don't know. 😜)

3) 1 can of cream of chicken soup, low sodium.

4) 1 pack ranch dressing mix.

5) about a cup of cut up bacon pieces.

Because.....well, BACON.

6) 2 cups shredded cheese.

I use sharp cheddar, but any will do.

7) a 2lb bag of tater tots

 

 Preheat oven - 350

Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with PAM.

In a large bowl, mix everything together.

Then spread out into the pan.

Bake for 40-45 min or so, until bubbly

I sprinkle green onions from the garden on the top before serving.

This is quick and filling.

Serve with salad (mine is freshly picked!)

and some sweet tea.

(sometimes the tea is mint!)

Kid friendly, especially after school!

I've changed this around to use leftover baked chicken breasts or hashbrowns.

Also good. 

 

*and if you line the pan with foil, zippy cleanup!!

 

 

 

 

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Some funny stuff I saw on Pinterest and I wholeheartedly agree!

😁

 

 

more Louisiana silliness.

 

 

and,

since yesterday was 420,

 

 

For me,

It isn't just about food,

gardens and the animals.....

Read,

Create,

Grow,

Live!

 

Remember what the Doormouse said!

 

 

 

*and Grace Slick

 

 

 

 

 

                              

April 14th

It's me, again,
back by popular demand!
Not really.
😢
Here's my shout out to the 3 people that read this humble blog.
You guys rock!
I love the input and comments.
I got a personal request to post more garden picks.....
Here ya go.

This is a Meyer lemon.

We grew it from seeds.

Our neighbor has a tree and she shares her harvest every year.

He's a slow grower, but a sturdy little guy.

 

 

 

These are my Simon and Garfunkle plants,

Sage

Thyme

Parsley

Rosemary.

I crack myself up!

 

 

These are in the
"Grocery Store"

 area of the garden.

They've all been grown from leftovers.

Beets.

Grown from the tops we cut off after boiling them

and eating them in butter.

Yum.

Yellow and white onions.

In the background is garlic.

All planted from leftover tops or garlic buds.

We usually harvest the green parts so the plants keep producing.

 

 

 

The tomatoes weren't started from seeds.

We bought a few of those little starter packs.

Cherry tomatoes.

Its flowering, so it should start to produce soon.

We've planted heirloom tomatoes too.

 

Bell peppers.

There are actually 4 plants,

this is just a picture of one,

and all are sadly, in this shape.

The hens have decided that they like

bell pepper leaves.

Lucy!

You got some 'splainin' to do!

They are now sprinkled with cayenne.

Hens don't like that!

 

Potato flowers.

Pretty, huh?

Who knew?

Another planting of leftovers that we allowed to bud.

There are red russet and Yukon gold's in this raised bed.

 

 

More tomatoes...

These are Creoles,

Love to eat them, right off the bush,

warm from the sun.

Nothing like it!

Muscadine grapes.

This little guy only produced 2 clusters of grapes last year.

Hoping for more.

Grape jelly or maybe we'll learn how to make wine?

 

Mustard Greens - hens LOVE this stuff!

Us,

not so much.

Maybe it'll keep the girls away from the stuff we DO like!

 

Spinach

 

Cabbages

 

 

 

Greek Oregano.

We planted this in honor of my

Daughter in law.

😁

WTH plant.

(dunno what the hell this is,

doesn't taste so good,

and neither of us can remember its name)

But...

Chickens don't like it

and

Its pretty.

 

Moving on...

 

Strawberries.

We only have the two plants.

No flowering yet,

hopefully soon.

(The girls think strawberries are crack!)

 

Pickle plant....

AKA cucumber,

Full of buds!

Its already produced 2,

4 inch sized cucumbers

that I immediately put in my

special pickling spice jar in the 'fridge.

(leftover kosher dill juice. I always keep some to pickle veggies)

Currently there's some baby carrots, asparagus and now my 2 cucumbers in the jar.

In 2weeks,

Voilà!

It'll be a pickle.

 

Yellow Squash.

He's looking kinda sad,

but,

 he was also a rescue,

so we're hoping he'll rally.

Basil, Oregano, Thyme and my little Bay Laurel bush.

I'm drying some in the house.

 

French Lavender.

This is a remote relative of rosemary,

but,

the smell is divine!

I use this in my handmade soap.

 

 

 

Henny and Lucy chowing down.

 

Hand feeding Pepper, Nugget.

The black butt belongs to

Sandy.

 

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A small tutorial in drying herbs....

This is Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme.

I wash them, then shake off excess water and dry on a paper towel.

I don't squeeze or crush them to release their fragrances.

I want that to remain in the plant.

I then gather the stems and hang upside down in a window.

(I save bread twist ties for this very purpose)

The natural light helps with drying.

(I use these in my homemade soaps as well)

 

 

This is Bay Laurel.

Same stuff the Greeks and Romans crowned their winners with.

I already have some dried,

but my plans are to put it and this bunch into a canning jar in the pantry

and use whenever it's needed.

 

 

 

This one in my bay window,

is rosemary.

I gave the bush a "haircut"

last week and this was a stray branch.

Rosemary is a woody, resinous, herb.

It is very fragrant.

I use it in cooking and in my soaps.

It has astringent and antibiotic qualities,

great dried and crushed in soap!

But,

 typically I use it when cooking fish.

Easy Recipe:

Pour some olive oil in a foil covered pan,

Then place the small branch of rosemary,

under the fish

(We like salmon, but any fish will do)

Sprinkle the fish with a bit more oil

and then

with lemon or lime juice and a bit of sea salt.

We sometimes add sliced tomatoes, potatoes or asparagus.

Bake

Eat

Yum!

When you're finished,

Ball up the foil and toss into garbage

(my favorite part of cleanup is literally no real cleanup!)

 

 

 

 

Peace out!

 

 

 

Just remember...

If you love what you do,

then its never a JOB.

and I love to garden!