A Watched Pot

We began with our chickens four years ago and it has been such a rewarding experience.  It was about this time, that I suddenly lost my ability to hard boil an egg.  After 20 some odd years of never having a problem,  every egg that I would hard boil the white would all but disintegrate when I tried to peel them.  Talk about frustration!  It took quite some time for me to realize that this was as a result of fresh eggs!  I ran a number of experiments to determine how old my eggs would have to be to mimic the pristine peels that I would get from store bought eggs.  My verdict?  Five weeks plus!  I have tried any number of remedies and variations in cooking methods to no avail.  This morning.....Eureka....  I found one that works, so I had to share!  As per usual, I placed my eggs into a pot of cold water, and brought them to a boil.  I let them boil for 5 minutes, then turned off the heat and let them sit for about 15 minutes, then ran cold water over them.  The main game changer?  I threw about a half-teaspoon of baking soda into the water at the start.  Here is a brief description of the science behind this, it all has to do with increasing the pH.  I am so glad that this little tip made it's way into my kitchen!

Fair Week

Fair week was comprised of very busy days, lots of driving, lots of waiting, and LOTs of fried junk food.  Overall it was a grand success and the kids, exhausted, yet happy are eagerly planning what they want to do next year.....already!

Last year was Sidney's big year, and our first year.  We learned a lot about the mechanics of fair and what was involved with having a farm animal to show.  This year, due to the loss of our show chickens, Sidney's animal involvement was limited, but Charles, having his first year of animals, was ramped up. 

So, how did they do??  Fantastic!  Sidney took two first place blue ribbons in her photography, a first place blue in her archery shoot, and a third place white in her eggs.  Charles took two first place blue ribbons in his vegetable category with an additional spotlight ribbon awarded to his carrots! He also received a first place blue in archery.  He took two second place red ribbons with one of his Mini-Rex (Polka) rabbits and his New Zealand (Meat) and a first place blue with his other Mini-Rex (Dot) as well as his showmanship.  Thanks to his generous grandparents bidding from afar, his meat rabbit sold at auction for $250!  This was our first year in a meat auction and it was quite exciting.  In our barn there were chickens, ducks, turkey's & rabbits and the prices went anywhere from $100-$1200 on each one!  I was stunned, and also thinking that a turkey or two for next year might just be a grand idea!

They are both eager to enter several additional projects into the 4-h class, and next year plan to both participate in the rabbit project.  Who knows what else we may have bit off by that point that they can participate in!

Little Gifts

 Nothing puts a smile on your face like the first tiny eggs from the chicks that you watched grow through the summer.  No matter how many years we raise babies, each time they start laying, it is like receiving little gifts.

Happy Friday!

Egg-cellent!

With the exception of a fall crop of lettuces our farm baskets have wound down.  It was a great first season trial and I thank my guinea pig families!  We have entered phase two of production with all of our ladies now laying eggs!  We've had close to a dozen a day since last Wednesday, so I sent out a post on facebook and what did I find??  Eleven families quickly jumped on board the organic egg bandwagon!  We have delivered the first four dozen and I'll have an other two by Wednesday, woohoo!  A friend emailed me this Craigslist sale last night, how cool, antique egg crates both reduce and reuse!  Let's see... I can purchase them with the proceeds of 15 dozen eggs!  Egg-cellent!