Here are the chickens that laid the eggs to make the lasagne that TJ built:


Here are the home-made ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, home grown tomatoes, fresh pasta dough, and home grown basil and oregano that went in the lasagne that TJ built:


Here is the little girl who helped make a mess of some dough and flour that did NOT! go into the lasagne that TJ built:


Giving her a little dough that she can play with keeps her out of the dough that I'm trying to turn into dinner.  

This is the lasagne that TJ built, with a side of fresh garden veggies (yellow squash, onion, bell pepper, okra, and tomato), fresh bread, and fresh home-churned butter:


It was much yummy!  

Oh great.  And I thought I was hungry BEFORE clicking on this thread!

I am so impressed!  Do you have your own cow or goat or sheep for the milk?

I already use a lot of things out of my garden, but not to this extent.  So you make your own pasta, is that hard to do?  Homemade ricotta sounds heavenly.

Quoted: Oh great.  And I thought I was hungry BEFORE clicking on this thread! I am so impressed!  Do you have your own cow or goat or sheep for the milk? I already use a lot of things out of my garden, but not to this extent.  So you make your own pasta, is that hard to do?  Homemade ricotta sounds heavenly.

We own a "share" of a cow.  We pay boarding fees and pick up the fresh milk from the farm once a week.  It isn't homogonized, so we can skim the cream for butter, etc.

Fresh ricotta and mozzarella was much easier than I thought!  I make the mozzarella into cheese sticks for the kids and they love it.  I made the ricotta "old world" style - from the whey left over from other batches of mozzarella and cottage cheese.  Takes about 30 min for the mozzarella and a little longer for the ricotta. Neither is very involved.

Here's a link to cheese making info: www.cheesemaking.com/

The pasta was just a matter of mixing flour w/ eggs into a dough then rolling it out.  I have a hand crank pasta roller, but you could use a rolling pin - I think.

I just thought it was pretty cool that most of our dinner originated from our own back yard. Plus the devil in me gets a kick out of giving my finger to the supermarket.  

Oh, and just so you don't think I'm a complete kook: I've just started dabbling in making cheeses as a hobbie.  After making the mozzarella a few times then trying the cottage, I thought I'd try ricotta.  And ya know...mozzarella + ricotta screams for some kinda pasta - at least in my warped mind it does.    so tada! Lasagne.  woo hoo!

Can you put out another place settin' for me?  Please.

Oh Man that looks good.
and all from scratch



Edit: The little girl is quite beautiful and looks very happy to be "assisting"

Yum!  Patty

WOW.  As someone who hates making their own fresh pasta, I commend you.  Lasagna is an all-day process anyway, but you made your own cheese too?!

My Perse!  Thank you for the link, I bookmarked it.  BF has a nubian goat and I milked her once... might try making goat cheese.  I won't drink that milk from the grocery store.  Icky.  Has to be fresh.

I didn't realize pasta was so easy to make.  !!  I'm going to look for a pasta crank now.  I love making things from scratch and don't mind spending a little extra effort in the kitchen to get real good food.  

You've inspired me.  And is that a little buff cochin hen in the top picture?  Hard to tell from the angle but I see fluffy feet.  Cochins are my faaaaaaaaavorite.    Sweet lil' thangs.

I heard about buying a share of a cow on NPR of all places.  That would be cool, but I can see myself getting milk goats first.  Is it true that milk that has not be homogenized has a lot more nutrition?

[eta:  are chickens difficult to raise? and your daughter is a cutie]

Finally....another cook that goes all out!

Nice work.

Bomber

that is why God made Carrabbas!!!    

Looks delicious!

Little one is a cutie Persephone

Quoted: Here are the chickens that laid the eggs to make the lasagne that TJ built: img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/Persephonepics/DSC01579b.jpg Here are the home-made ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, home grown tomatoes, fresh pasta dough, and home grown basil and oregano that went in the lasagne that TJ built: img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/Persephonepics/DSC01583.jpg Here is the little girl who helped make a mess of some dough and flour that did NOT! go into the lasagne that TJ built: img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/Persephonepics/DSC01585.jpg Giving her a little dough that she can play with keeps her out of the dough that I'm trying to turn into dinner.   This is the lasagne that TJ built, with a side of fresh garden veggies (yellow squash, onion, bell pepper, okra, and tomato), fresh bread, and fresh home-churned butter: img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/Persephonepics/DSC01600.jpg It was much yummy!

OMG!  Will you marry me?

Oh wait.........nevermind


That looked great!

That looks GREAT! Please IM me for my address so you can send me leftovers. I'd like to try that out myself!

even though I couldn't eat another bite, that looks awesome!!

Quoted: I heard about buying a share of a cow on NPR of all places.  That would be cool, but I can see myself getting milk goats first.  Is it true that milk that has not be homogenized has a lot more nutrition? [eta:  are chickens difficult to raise? and your daughter is a cutie]

Raw milk is much better for you.  The enzymes are not killed in the heat of pasturization (sp?).  That process is what makes milk virtually undigestable and why so many people have trouble with "milk".

Goats are great, they make just enough milk and it's healthier than cow.  But sheep milk is supposed to be the best of all.  Milk sheep tend to be very expensive though.

Chickens are simple as dirt.  Make them a little coop, give them some corn, let them out to catch bugs... collect their eggs.  The biggest problem you will have with them is predators... just make sure their coop is secure at night and nothing can reach in and grab them through the wire.  A raccoon will literally rip them apart piece by piece to get them out.  Yuck.  If you're neighbors are likely to complain about crowing, then just stick to hens.  They're quiet.  

Another shameless plug:  Get bantam cochin hens.  

Looks great,and what a cutie. Looks like she had just as much fun helping.

Hey, thanks for the kind comments guys!  It was fun to make.

Yeah, she's a buff cochin.  I call her "commander fuzzy butt".  We ordered all hens from McMurray hatchery (mostly standard breeds because I wanted them for meat and eggs) but I got 4 feather-footed bantams 2 buff and 2 partridge just for fun.  One partridge didn't make it.

We also got a free bird with our order.  He turned out to be a golden-laced Wyandotte.   I call him "General Tso".  He's really pretty.  On the one hand I like having him around, on the other he is a rooster and I really didn't want the noise.  So far it's not too bad so it's still up in the air whether we'll be having General Tso for dinner any time soon.    

I also got some American Araucanas, but no blue eggs yet.    I wonder if they start laying later?  Or maybe I got a pair of duds that actually lay brown?  Or maybe they're escaping the yard and laying for the neighbors?  That would be my luck -- to have traitor chickens.  

Daydreamer: just like LaBelleRebel said chickens are pretty easy.  This is my first attempt and it's gone pretty well so far.  If you give them space they don't eat much feed, they pretty much feed themselves off the land.  And they are like walking compost piles - they'll eat all kinds of table scraps.  The kids love throwing them the scraps from their dinner plates.  

The milk is good.  It's still alive - no "ize"ing (homogenize, pasteurize, all that jazz).  I see the cows every week and know they are healthy and well taken care of.  They're grass fed except for the "treat" of grain they get while milking, and some grain supplemented in the winter.  I like that the milk is so versatile.  We get about a gallon for the same price as a 1/2 gallon of organic, and we can make our own butter and buttermilk, so it comes out a lot cheaper.

I wish we had enough land to try a milk goat.  Mmmmmmm feta.  And hubby wouldn't have to mow the lawn as often.  

As for time and effort into this meal... it was a little more effort, but it was broken up over several days so it wasn't so bad.  The mozzarella was made on Friday when I got the milk.  I made some into cheese snacks for the kids and saved the rest for dinner.  I made the ricotta when I got bored on Sunday.  The sauce was made in a big vat when I was jarring tomatoes from the garden last week.  The pasta was the only thing I "made" that day and that only took a few minutes longer to prepare and less time than regular pasta to cook, so it's almost a wash.  

Besides, I'm a work at home mom so I tend to have more time than money.    Takes more time to make all that stuff but it saves a lot of $.

That looks marvelous!

[email protected]

Quoted: Besides, I'm a work at home mom so I tend to have more time than money.    Takes more time to make all that stuff but it saves a lot of $.

No kidding.  I think I've eaten $200 worth of watermelon, cantelope and honeydew this year alone!  But it's all free for me since it's grown (organically!) by myself.  Probably 25 cents worth of seeds yeilded all that.  

Made some spaghetti sauce last night and added fresh okra and green peppers.  Mmm.    I hope to have an even bigger garden next year, since I went to Europe in May of this year, it kinda screwed up my gardenin' plans.  

Those aracuanas should be laying.    They must be hiding the eggs?  Sometimes the eggs will be a shade of green or green blue... or just plain blue.  Each hen has her own color.  But no... you probably didn't get "duds".  They're just being crafty and hiding them.  How old are they?

they're 22 weeks.  I'd hate to think that they are hiding them.  That means they are out of the yard because there are no hiding places left in the yard.  

I took a cooking class in Tuscany last spring. It's amazing how much this picture brings me back. Your daughter is very cute!




I like to make homemade pasta but really only do so for special occaisions. Was this a special event or Mom and daughter fun time or do you cook like this everyday?


Bomber

Quoted: Daydreamer: just like LaBelleRebel said chickens are pretty easy.  This is my first attempt and it's gone pretty well so far.  If you give them space they don't eat much feed, they pretty much feed themselves off the land.  And they are like walking compost piles - they'll eat all kinds of table scraps.  The kids love throwing them the scraps from their dinner plates.   The milk is good.  It's still alive - no "ize"ing (homogenize, pasteurize, all that jazz).  I see the cows every week and know they are healthy and well taken care of.  They're grass fed except for the "treat" of grain they get while milking, and some grain supplemented in the winter.  I like that the milk is so versatile.  We get about a gallon for the same price as a 1/2 gallon of organic, and we can make our own butter and buttermilk, so it comes out a lot cheaper. I wish we had enough land to try a milk goat.  Mmmmmmm feta.  And hubby wouldn't have to mow the lawn as often.

Okay,  you two say chickens are easy.  Now, answer me these:

1.) Do chickens lay eggs whether or not there's a rooster around?  My guess is yes.

2.)  Have your chickens ever gotten lice?  Had a woman tell me yuckies about lice running up her arms when she was getting eggs as a girl.

3.)  What do you do about predators during the day?  Used to live on a ranch and remember looking out the window to see the "2nd rooster" running by the window while I was washing dishes... turned out, he was running for his life.  Only one chicken survived in an entire brood, but there's no telling what got them in broad daylight.  They left little circles of feathers behind like some X-Files episode.

4.) When do you harvest eggs?  What happens if you don't get them on time?  Are they edible right after they are laid?

I'm wondering if I can raise chickens in city limits and if they'll eat these !@# mosquitoes.

Quoted: Quoted: Daydreamer: just like LaBelleRebel said chickens are pretty easy.  This is my first attempt and it's gone pretty well so far.  If you give them space they don't eat much feed, they pretty much feed themselves off the land.  And they are like walking compost piles - they'll eat all kinds of table scraps.  The kids love throwing them the scraps from their dinner plates.   The milk is good.  It's still alive - no "ize"ing (homogenize, pasteurize, all that jazz).  I see the cows every week and know they are healthy and well taken care of.  They're grass fed except for the "treat" of grain they get while milking, and some grain supplemented in the winter.  I like that the milk is so versatile.  We get about a gallon for the same price as a 1/2 gallon of organic, and we can make our own butter and buttermilk, so it comes out a lot cheaper. I wish we had enough land to try a milk goat.  Mmmmmmm feta.  And hubby wouldn't have to mow the lawn as often.   Okay,  you two say chickens are easy.  Now, answer me these: 1.) Do chickens lay eggs whether or not there's a rooster around?  My guess is yes. 2.)  Have your chickens ever gotten lice?  Had a woman tell me yuckies about lice running up her arms when she was getting eggs as a girl.  My chickens have pleanty of places to take a dirt bath  and lots of room to roam so no lice issues so far.  All wild animals aren't crawling with lice  because they have enough room and are otherwise healthy.  If they do get lice, there's stuff you can get for it, so it's no big deal.   3.)  What do you do about predators during the day?  Used to live on a ranch and remember looking out the window to see the "2nd rooster" running by the window while I was washing dishes... turned out, he was running for his life.  Only one chicken survived in an entire brood, but there's no telling what got them in broad daylight.  They left little circles of feathers behind like some X-Files episode.  I'm going to guess that was a hawk?  You can confine them and put net over where they stay if there is a big hawk problem.  We haven't had any troubles yet.  There's also a thing called a chicken tractor.  The chickens are confined 24/7, but you move their house all over the yard so they get fresh pasture each day.  I don't have that many chickens so that's too much like work.  For night, we got an electric net fence around their home and my garden (rabbit and deer problems with the garden). 4.) When do you harvest eggs?  What happens if you don't get them on time?  Are they edible right after they are laid?  we get the eggs every day.  It takes longer than you'd think for them to go bad at room temperature. I'm wondering if I can raise chickens in city limits and if they'll eat these !@# mosquitoes.  check your zoning.  Most places do not consider chickens "farm animals"  they are classed like rabbits, and people are allowed to have rabbits in the yard.  Get a book from the library - I have one called "living with chickens".  It gives directions from hatching eggs all the way to butchering the birds.  Yeah, mosquitoes stink.  I've only seen minor improvement, but we have woods around our property.

Quoted: they're 22 weeks.  I'd hate to think that they are hiding them.  That means they are out of the yard because there are no hiding places left in the yard.

The aracuanas I had could just about fly.  The could get up into the barn loft... (in fact that is where one hen laid her eggs!)  They KNOW you're taking their eggs and most definately try to hide them from you.  Just lost 2 hens because they were laying their eggs in the woods and one day they decided they had "laid enough" and started to set... never to return again.  

We used to put a ceramic fake egg in the "nest" to encourage them to lay in one spot.  And that worked pretty darn well right up until the poor black snake got fooled by it.  (He didn't make it.)



But anyways, if the hens can fly out of your yard, they might be doing that and then coming home again.  It's hard to say.

I like dinner pics.

Quoted: Okay,  you two say chickens are easy.  Now, answer me these: 1.) Do chickens lay eggs whether or not there's a rooster around?  My guess is yes. 2.)  Have your chickens ever gotten lice?  Had a woman tell me yuckies about lice running up her arms when she was getting eggs as a girl. 3.)  What do you do about predators during the day?  Used to live on a ranch and remember looking out the window to see the "2nd rooster" running by the window while I was washing dishes... turned out, he was running for his life.  Only one chicken survived in an entire brood, but there's no telling what got them in broad daylight.  They left little circles of feathers behind like some X-Files episode. 4.) When do you harvest eggs?  What happens if you don't get them on time?  Are they edible right after they are laid? I'm wondering if I can raise chickens in city limits and if they'll eat these !@# mosquitoes.

1-  yes they will.  The eggs will not be fertile though.  A hen is fertile up to a month after her last being with a rooster..!  A long time really.  I think the hens enjoy the roosters company and it lifts their spirits to be abruptly torn out of deep sleep every morning at 4am by a loud screeching crow in their ears... no seriously, they like the roo roos but they're not necessary.

2- A couple years ago I think they had some little buggies.  We just dusted them with a powder and moved their coop more regularly (it's a movable "chicken tractor", not stationary).

3- Hawks can be a problem.  We'd close them in their coops for a few weeks and hope the hawks would give up and move on.  At the zoo, they put a netting over the ducks area.  I thought that might work for the chickens as well.  Otherwise, you could make them a enclosed area that they NEVER come out of.  But what fun is that.

4- After work.  They lay sometime around 10am or so, after I'm gone.  I've eaten them right after they were laid, still warm.  I wouldn't eat them if they were more than a day old... but it's probably not a problem... because sometimes the hen will "collect" her eggs for a month before incubating them and the eggs are obviously still okay for her to do that.  She lays about 1 egg a day for a few weeks until she's satisfied she has enough.  I imagine the eggs would be good to eat during that time period.  I prefer them to be FRESH though.  LOL.

You should be able to have chickens, if you're IN the city limit, you might not be able to have roosters (because of the crowing).  Not sure about the mosquitos... since chickens go to roost about the time the skeeters come out.  Dumping over standing water really makes a difference.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm....you say lasagne, I say lasagna

Yes chickens are easy. I kept their coop clean and mine had a run. Too many stray dogs and predators around for us not too. I raised mine for meat too so I didn't winter them over. I also found raising pigs easy too. Which I will hopefully doing again next year.

Thanks Persephone & LaBelle for the suggestions!  It's encouraging to think of having your own eggs.  We eat an incredible amount at my house.  At first, I imagine it would be weird for me... picking up a warm egg right out from the 'coop'...  If I had to butcher my own chicken or cow, would I ever eat meat again?  Maybe if I was raised to it or starving or something.  I can't see myself wringing chicken necks without some form of extreme circumstance.

Quoted: Mmmmmmmmmmmmm....you say lasagne, I say lasagna

Smart ass.    dictionary.reference.com/search?q=lasagna

la·sa·gna also la·sa·gne    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (l-zäny)
n.
Pasta in flat, very wide strips.
A dish made by baking such pasta with layers of sauce and fillings such as cheese or meat.

I usually don't spells so good, but this one is sorta right and stills ya picks on me.  

Quoted: Quoted: Mmmmmmmmmmmmm....you say lasagne, I say lasagna Smart ass.    dictionary.reference.com/search?q=lasagna la·sa·gna also la·sa·gne    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (l-zäny) n. Pasta in flat, very wide strips. A dish made by baking such pasta with layers of sauce and fillings such as cheese or meat. I usually don't spells so good, but this one is sorta right and stills ya picks on me.

The beauty of it is....WE ARE BOTH RIGHT! Typical womenz

Quoted: Thanks Persephone & LaBelle for the suggestions!  It's encouraging to think of having your own eggs.  We eat an incredible amount at my house.  At first, I imagine it would be weird for me... picking up a warm egg right out from the 'coop'...  If I had to butcher my own chicken or cow, would I ever eat meat again?  Maybe if I was raised to it or starving or something.  I can't see myself wringing chicken necks without some form of extreme circumstance.

We never ate any of our chickens.  Just the eggs.  


I'd be lieing if I said that I've had a few roosters that I didn't WANT to kill.  I never did though... but man... some roosters are annoying.  They all have different personalities.  I've had real sweetheart roosters too, that will dance for you and find you "treats" (bugs) for you to eat.  Yum.  Heh...

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Mmmmmmmmmmmmm....you say lasagne, I say lasagna Smart ass.    dictionary.reference.com/search?q=lasagna la·sa·gna also la·sa·gne    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (l-zäny) n. Pasta in flat, very wide strips. A dish made by baking such pasta with layers of sauce and fillings such as cheese or meat. I usually don't spells so good, but this one is sorta right and stills ya picks on me.   The beauty of it is....WE ARE BOTH RIGHT! Typical womenz

HAHA!  You know that's right.





 

OMG!!! She is soooooooooooooooo cute!!!!

And she can cook for me anytime!