10.25.2017

9 BIRDS // elspeth


I've been cooking in snatches recently. After dinner, before bed, in the morning while the coffee brews. In these snips of time I've made lemon curd and rosehip jelly and applesauce and homemade bread and toasted pumpkin seeds from the two pumpkins we grew for jack-o-lanterns out front. In another snip of time we planted a couple of hazelnut trees in the spring through the Food Forest Initiative of Cape Cod and discovered one day recently that three tiny hazelnuts were ready for harvest. And two months ago, my friend Drew brought over nine chickens for us to raise for meat. 


Sally helped Alex load them into the moveable pen I built last spring when we got our six layers, before we set them up with a run and a coop. I bought an extra "hen hydrator" and got a few bags of meat bird crumble and in the moments before and after work we fed and watered and moved them. They were certainly a different breed from the layers—it's hard to believe that a chicken can eat and drink and excrete at such a pace. But eat and drink and excrete they did until exactly one week ago our friend Neily and I built a fire and brought a big pot of water to a boil and two by two slit their necks. If you don't want to hear about this, skip down a paragraph. I won't go into too much detail. But I will say it was both a challenging and satisfying day; going into it I had helped with the aftermath of killing a bird twice but had only a vague understanding of the steps. I now feel confident that I could do a reasonably good job of the whole thing, if I needed or wanted to, without help.

Besides the satisfaction, the best part about raising and processing our own birds has been the parts. Neily told me that in Jamaica near where he's from people will help a friend or neighbor kill their birds in exchange for the hearts and the feet and the livers and the other innards, which can be boiled and fed to a dog. Since he brought the knowledge and the rooster-catching-courage I gave him two birds and most of the parts, but I kept a few livers and feet for us. 



Neily instructed me on chicken foot soup, which I'd tried at roadside stands in Jamaica the two times we'd been to visit. It was easy enough: for about 4 feet, he said, you use a couple quarts of water and throw in a few of the necks too for flavor (like you would for stock) and then add scallions, potatoes, thyme, carrots, salt, pepper, and dumplings rolled from water and flour. The potatoes and dumplings break down to thicken up the broth and the feet and necks give it a rich chicken flavor, and after an hour or two of simmering you have a thick, delicious soup. My girls remembered it from last fall, when Neily made it after we had to kill the roosters, and gobbled it up despite having been home for the slaughter the day before. I made chicken liver paté, too, the next night with butter and thyme and brandy and mushrooms, and Nora declared it "very yummy." Still, I couldn't bring myself to roast the one chicken we kept from the freezer until Saturday. 




When we finally did it was excellent: huge and juicy and flavorful and succulent. We ate it with friends at a house on the bay watching the sun set with beer and mashed potatoes and three girls and two babies, and it felt fitting. Some days I'm not sure exactly where I fit into the world—whether I'm meant to be a writer or a farmer or a radio producer or a business owner or a community organizer or maybe a bit of all of these—but I did enjoy raising, processing, and eating these birds. One day, I imagine, I'll know for sure. Or maybe not! But for now, this feels like as solid a knowledge as any.

34 comments :

Unknown said...

You’re one cool lady. Thanks for sharing this!

Joanne S said...

Congratulations--it took a lot of courage to do this. the roasted bird looks delicious.
Next up will be a pair of piglets--who are supposed to be more fun than dogs. and the piglets
will "prep" garden space where no garden has been and become hams, chops and bacon.

syedAmmar said...

Cool Day..Thanx For Share it...
FL Studio Crack

Elspeth said...

I do hope piglets are next!

Admin said...

TuneUp Utilities Crack 2018 Free Download
amazing blog keep posting this type of nice blog

pexejurer said...

Thanks for sharing this information with us, your website is really awesome. framaroot pingpong root Root Master

RogerLavoie said...

This is extremely helpful info!! Very good work. Everything is very interesting to learn and easy to understand. Thank you for giving information. online dissertation writing service

samwhite said...


Contact us for best price and deals ever

Weblink:https://www.elightdocumentation.com
Email: elightdocumentation@gmail.com
Whatsapp No: +1 (318) 500-3487
product link:https://www.elightdocumentation.com/grade-aa-fake-euro-for-sale/
https://www.supercounterfeitbills.com
https://www.bestqualitynotes.com
https://www.flymedishop.com
https://www.buymoneybills.com
productlink.. https://www.elightdocumentation.com/where-to-buy-the-best-counterfeit-money/
productlink.. https://www.elightdocumentation.com/grade-aa-fake-euro-for-sale/
productlink.. https://www.elightdocumentation.com/buy-counterfeit-mexican-peso-online/
productlink.. https://www.elightdocumentation.com/the-best-counterfeit-money-sale/

Buy Counterfeit Mexican Peso Online

Buy Counterfeit Mexican Peso Online. While our counterfeit currency is
top-notch,
you shouldn’t risk more than you need to. Don’t use fake money at any place that
has professionals who can determine whether a banknote is fake or not.
If you try to pay a fine with counterfeits, there is a high chance you will
be caught pretty soon.

What you should do instead is to pay for regular purchases in places
where no one
cares enough to check the money. Mix the real and the fake banknotes to lessen
the chances of being caught even further. The two will look alike, however.
Place an order now, and you can see it for yourself. Buy Counterfeit Mexican
Peso Online
Buy Counterfeit Mexican Peso Online

Contact us for best price and deals ever

Weblink:https://www.elightdocumentation.com
Email: elightdocumentation@gmail.com
Whatsapp No: +1 (318) 500-3487
product link:https://www.elightdocumentation.com/buy-counterfeit-mexican-peso-online/
https://www.supercounterfeitbills.com
https://www.bestqualitynotes.com
https://www.flymedishop.com
https://www.buymoneybills.com
productlink.. https://www.elightdocumentation.com/where-to-buy-the-best-counterfeit-money/
productlink.. https://www.elightdocumentation.com/grade-aa-fake-euro-for-sale/
productlink.. https://www.elightdocumentation.com/buy-counterfeit-mexican-peso-online/
productlink.. https://www.elightdocumentation.com/the-best-counterfeit-money-sale/

Jammu NewsLine24x7 said...

Wonderful food and a beautiful blog

Chinese toys ruining India

Lavish house of Priyanka Gandhi in Shimla

Chinese posing danger on Ladakh

J&K is the capital of toll plazas

Zojila tunnel to counter China and Pakistan

JK House to be divided

Anonymous said...

Escorts in Jaipur
Escorts in Jaipur
Escorts in Jaipur
Escorts in Delhi
Escorts in Guwahati
Escorts in Guwahati
Escorts in Guwahati
Escorts in Guwahati
Escorts in Lucknow

health magazine said...

I’m really happy to find this site and did enjoy reading useful blog posted here. The ideas of the author was awesome, thanks for the share.
Bread makes you fat
protein foods
Banana Diet
Food near me open now

ncrhotgirls.com said...

Want to share that you are excellent blogger and can attract your readers from first para itself. You inspired me a lot for writing blogs for
Call Girl Service in Jaipur
Call Girl Service in Jaipur
Call Girl Service in Jaipur
Call Girl Service in Jaipur

ncrhotgirls.com said...

I really appreciate the way you write...Please check my work as well
Jaipur call Girl
Jaipur Call Girl
Jaipur Call Girl
Jaipur call Girl

Ashima said...

What Are Directional Control Valves, And Why Do You Need One?
Poppet Directional Control Valves
"
HOW TO ACHIEVE ULTIMATE PNEUMATIC TOOL PERFORMANCE BY OPTIMIZING AIR LINE INSTALLATION
"
What You Need to Know About Airmax Cylinders
The Ultimate Guidebook to Rotary Joints & Unions

Daniel Lisa said...

Know about what are the causes and effects of Quickbooks update error 15223, and how you can rectify your update error over here Quickbooks update error 15223

abhijit said...

Packers movers in Mira road
Movers and Packers in Ghatkopar East
Movers and Packers in Ghatkopar West
Movers and Packers in Nerul
Movers and Packers in Bhayandar

Events Company In Mumbai said...

Hartia event management can do your events,anywhere in India and have already executed events in Delhi,Jaipur Indore,

Kochin, Goa etc. Based on your brief, goals, budget we can organize and manage the event for you. We offer our services in Corporate Events, Sporting Events, Special Events,Birthday, Promotions etc.
Audit in Telangana
Cantar Activity in Chennai

james brown said...

Your article makes perfect sense. Writing that is worth reading. oh yeah btw also visit my website
buy logo design

Certifications Center said...

Your article makes perfect sense. Writing that is worth reading. oh yeah btw also visit my website
CCNA Training Center|
CCNA Bootcamp|

Certifications Center said...

Your article makes perfect sense. Writing that is worth reading. oh yeah btw also visit my website.
CISSP Certification Exam Test Center|
Proxy CISSP Certification Exam|

Certifications Center said...

Your article makes perfect sense. Writing that is worth reading. oh yeah btw also visit my website.
PMP CERTIFICATION EXAM |
PMP TRAINING & CERTIFICATION EXAM CENTER |

Legal Translation Company in Dubai said...

If you are looking for best Legal Translation in Dubai. Your business is most important to us, and with translation services in Dubai to help you, just know that you are bound to benefit from such a service. Expanding over more than 55 Services, our Translation Services in more than 75 languages.
www.communicationdubai.com

Daisy said...

send birthday gifts online
car transport
vehicle transport
cake delivery

Webasha Technologies said...

thanks for submit this article.
CEH Test Center|
CEH Exam Questions & Answers|

Webasha Technologies said...

thanks for submit this article.
AWS Test Center|
AWS Exam Questions & Answers|

Webasha Technologies said...

thanks for submit this article.
CCNA Test Center|
CCNA Exam Questions & Answers|

Webasha Technologies said...

Thank you for this wonderful and interesting article. I would surely share this article with my friends.

CISSP Certification Exam Test Center
Proxy CISSP Certification Exam

Webasha Technologies said...

I am always eager to catch hold of the new posts being published on your website, becausthis article is very interesting.. i got much valuable information from it... so keep posting information like it..

GCP TRAINING & CERTIFICATION|
AZURE Bootcamp|

Legal Translation Company in Dubai said...

Superb post, we enjoyed each and everything as per written in your post. Thank you for this informative article because it’s really helpful, I really like site.

English to Nepali Translation
English to Polish Translation
English to Sindhi Translation
English to Swedish Translation
English to Ukrainian Translation
English to Arabic Translation
English to Cambodian Translation
English to Dari Translation
English to Flemish Translation

Legal Translation Company in Dubai said...

United Arab Emirates, Minister of Justice Resolution No. (554) of 2021
United Arab Emirates, Minister of Health and Prevention Resolution No. (134) of 2021
United Arab Emirates, Minster of Climate Change and Environment Resolution No. (253) of 2021
United Arab Emirates, Minister of Climate Change and Environment Resolution No. (234) of 2021

Slot said...

แสดงความรับผิดชอบ
สมัคร สล็อต

John Hardy said...

You doing very nice work. I really love food blog. I got a lot of good ideas from this blog. Thanks for sharing this one. Now it's time to avail HALFCASTE CREAM SET for more information.

hari said...

Elspeth recounts her recent culinary endeavors, weaving tales of homemade delicacies like lemon curd, rosehip jelly, and freshly baked bread, each crafted in fleeting moments between daily chores. Her narrative evokes a sense of resourcefulness and fulfillment derived from embracing the rhythms of domesticity and the joys of self-sufficiency.

Digital Marketing Master Courses in Chennai :

Search Engine Optimization course in Chennai with certificates
Search Engine Marketing in Chennai with Placement support
Social Media course in Chennai and Learn SMO with Placement
Social Media marketing course in Chennai with 100% Placement

Micheal Jackson said...

If you're searching for a great place to get fit, snap fitness fallston
! It's an excellent gym that offers flexible hours and a welcoming environment. For more insights on fitness options and tips, visit The Fitness Secrets. They provide valuable resources to help you make the most of your fitness journey!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
All text, photographs, and other original material copyright 2008-2010 by Elspeth Hay unless otherwise noted.