Fridge Pickings and a Gift of Beans makes Lunch

2015-03-07 - Mushrooms 2015-03-07 - Prep2015-03-07 - Rustic Lunch

The kids went away on holiday and we were told to remove all the perishables from their fridge. We found spring onions, mushrooms, small tomatoes and lemons. Great! That sounds like lunch already, but when we got home the neighbour had left us some freshly harvested beans.  I augmented everything with  fresh chili and a tiny garlic bulb from the garden, picked some parsley, and this was the lunch made by the Never Trow Out Anything maniac in the kitchen.  A bit of lemon went into a gin and tonic for Mrs BYF, and the rest was squeezed over the peeled apples (from the tree at the back door) for the apple  crumble which is now in the oven !  The rustic bread and salami was made by me. Wash it all down with a glass of great red home brew and ENJOY!!

HARD TIMES !!

Lunch today

2015-03-06 - Chicken Feet Pot2015-03-06 - Chicken Feet

Dairy prices are down, venison keeps falling, electricity is up and the courier companies are screwing us left, right and center, so here at Back Yard Farmer we are not wasting anything.  We have worked out using almost everything from the garden and are now working on using every part of the back yard chickens, starting with what we always discarded, the feet. I have often eaten chicken feet, mostly in some Asian restaurant, and the very best I had was on a recent business trip to Qingdao, China (along with an assortment of scorpions, tasty bugs and larvae like things – the food of the future). Strange how Chinese food does not taste as good in restaurants outside China. The same goes for Italian food, I suppose, unless one cooks oneself, so, here is Mrs BYF’s version of chicken feet – delicious although the cook was a bit squeamish to start off with.

Zampe di Gallina 

Chicken Feet Arrabiata  (Arrabiata means angry – so this is quite hot)

4 chicken wings or any other part of the chicken that is not dry white meat, skin on

6 to 8 chicken feet, nails removed (I had to do that myself, Mrs BYF baulked)

1 piece of fresh ginger just bigger than a thumb finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 large red chilli or as much as you can take, finely chopped

1 litre of chicken stock

small handful of parsley and sage finely chopped

4 table spoons of olive oil

1 cup of wine, red or white

Pre heat the oven to 200 deg

Use a cast iron pot with a close fitting lid, big enough to take all the chicken. Heat a tablespoon of oil in the pot and brown the chicken pieces well on all sides. Remove and add the feet,  cook on medium high for a few minutes. Remove the feet. Add the rest of the olive oil to the pot and add the chilli and garlic. Cook until the  garlic is soft but not coloured. deglase the pot with the wine, cook until the wine bubbles.  Add the chicken, feet and all to the pot, and cover the chicken with the stock. Bring to the boil on the stove, cover the pot with the lid and place the pot in the oven. Cook for 3 hours, twenty minutes before serving, add the parsley and sage. Eat with polenta.

Do not forget to enjoy this dish with lots of red wine!  ENJOY!

 

ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING!!

2015-02-26 - Sick Giraffe

Do yourself a favor and allocate 15 minutes of your time to read all three articles.

We are trying at all costs to stay away from purchased products.

http://www.sportsground.co.nz/Article.asp?SiteID=10563&ArticleID=3809

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php

http://www.eco.org.nz/news/43/15/Pesticide-residues-in-most-food-samples-shows-need-for-organics.html

 

Anconas in the Backyard : welcoming Sparklespot

2015-02-23 - Sparklespot

When I started my small flock of Anconas I knew that the genetic material for breeding would be limited.  In the struggle to find additions to the happy family is ongoing, with long road trips to collect chickens not related to Alvin the rooster and consistent lobbying on the internet has become a way of life. Sometimes I celebrate a new arrival. The 4 year old grandson went up to the coop to inspect the new girl, and to give her a name. To our delight he announced: ‘she IS Sparkelspot!”. Great name for such a spotty chicken.

Beetroot Tops Pie

2015-02-23 - Beetroot Top Pie 3

 

We have agreed the beetroot tops are more tasty than spinach so, today, Mrs BYF made a delicious pie out of the leaves and all the stems of the leaves. Even the thicker bits went in to the pan. The reds and greens of the leaves and stems were colourful and the slightly rough texture was very good. It was so good that I had to share the recipe.

PIE CRUST

This recipe works with sour cream or home made yoghurt, full cream, no light stuff. Greek style bought yogurt may work as well.

2 cups of self raising flour

1 cup butter cut in small cubes

salt

1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream

you can add a tablespoon of sugar if you are making a sweet pie

Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl, add the butter and work the butter in until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the cream or yogurt and mix and knead util the dough comes together. Refrigerate until needed

BEETROOT TOPS FILLING

1 large bunch of tops, well washed and roughly chopped. Use the tasty stems as well but chop the thicker ones finer

2 tablespoons or more of olive oil

pinch of chili

pinch of pepper

1/2 cup ricotta or soft cream cheese

2 table spoons of parmigiano cheese or any cheese you have on hand

1 egg

METHOD

Use a lidded pan that can hold all the spinach and add the olive oil and chili. Turn the heat to med high and cook the chili for a few minutes before adding all the tops. Do not add any water, the water clinging to the leaves after washing will be enough. Cover the pan and cook until just softened. Do not  over cook. Cool the leaves a bit and mix in all the other ingredients well.  Line the pie dish with the pastry keeping some to make the lattice over the top. Fill the pastry case with the filling mix, decorate with strips over the top and bake for about 30 min at 200 degrees.

Do not forget the red wine. ENJOY!