We expected 2 friends for dinner tonight and I decided to bake a STROMBOLI instead of the normal bread I always make
I used my standard bread dough recipe, using my own organic milled wheat flour and rolled it out about 0.5 cm thick. Dressed it with Fresh baby Spinach, Caciocavallo cheese, Tomatoes, Capocollo, Salami, Garlic, Parsley, Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper – Most of the Produce, Cheese and Salumi are my own produce
Roll it up thightly
Proof it in one of my spare egg incubators
Bake at 225 C for 30 minutes, turn the heat down to 190 C and bake for another 30 minutes
Ready for the guests
The end product was not only visually appealing, but met with the approval of all !!
Winter in Dunedin means that the garden is not very productive and we need to eat what is available. Beetroot seems to ignore the cold and the plants were producing throughout winter – fortunately I planted enough. The problem of too little vegetable varieties becomes more intense as one runs out of ideas as to how the beetroot is going to be cooked today. I harvested some more beetroot and asked Mrs BYF to do something else with it this time and she came up with this wonderful Beetroot Risotto – I am now sorry I did not plant more.
Ingredients
4 small or 2 large Beetroot (about 500g) washed but not trimmed
1 whole Garlic
4 Scallions (because we have lots in the garden) finely chopped, including the tender parts of the green leaves.
1 1/2 cups of risotto rice like Arborio or Carnaroli
500ml of Stock. Any good stock will do of which we again have ample supplies of.
Olive oil for frying
1 tablespoon of Butter to add at the end.
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Grated Parmigiano reggiano to serve.
Pre heat the oven to 200C. Brush the beetroot and the garlic with olive oil and roast until cooked, about 40 minutes. Don’t leave them too long, they get dry and wrinkly.
When the beetroot and garlic are done and have cooled enough to handle, trim and chop the beetroot ( I never remove the skin) if you chop finely enough you don’t have to blend anything. Squeeze the garlic over the beetroot and set aside.
Heat the stock to just below boiling point
Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a pan, big enough to contain the cooked rice, scallions and beetroot add the chopped scallions and fry until translucent. Add the rice and fry for a few minutes. Add half a glass of good white wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate. Start adding the stock a few tablespoons at a time, don’t make a soup. Keep stirring while adding stock. Each grain of rice should have a coating of moisture and float separately from the others. Keep this up until the rice is almost done, then add the garlic and beetroot mix to the rice. Cook and stir until the rice is tender enough to taste. Adjust salt and pepper. Add the butter and stir very well before serving hot onto heated plates
Top with Parmigiano reggiano and some chopped parsley
For many years I used plastic brooders to grow my small quails in and it worked very well. The problem came having to clean these all the time and since I replace about 10 of these in my hatchery every week, it became a very laborious and unpleasant task. A water blaster was the only way to clean them properly which created a lot of effluent as well. Alternatives were investigated and I settled on Banana Boxes. The advantage is that there is no cleaning as I just replace the used box with a new and clean one. The downside was that I had 10 manure and bedding “soiled” banana boxes every week. I solved this by flattening the boxes and turn them upside down in my garden with the manure and bedding underneath and the box on top. This makes a wonderful source of nutrients fertilising the soil and also an excellent weed mat.
The results are excellent from a plant growth point of view and I have also not seen that many earthworms in all my live. I normally leave the boxes, well watered, for a couple of months before drilling a 40 mm hole about 200 mm deep through the box into the ground, fill it with good quality soil and plant the new plants or seeds it the hole. One needs to pack the boxes down in the beginning (I use old bricks) until the plants are stronger, otherwise the boxes move too much and the hole is not over the seed any more, or the small plants get damaged. After about 1 month the boxes have disintegrated and the bricks can be removed. The plants are now strong enough, weed free and well fertilised.
For Coturnix coturnix Quail and Other Wild Birds such as Pheasants and Partridge
Combining my experience in animal nutrition and husbandry with extensive reading of recent nutritional developments, I am now manufacturing feeds based on a more advanced nutritional approach
These feeds are designed for high-performing quails and other wild birds such as pheasants and partridge, and have been incorporated into all the feeds I offer for sale
My objective is to maximise nutrient digestibility and utilisation using a carefully selected combination of quality feed materials and specific feed additives
I also utilise selected probiotics and prebiotics to support development of a favourable gut environment and encourage beneficial gut flora, while helping maintain the integrity and function of the intestinal lining
The formulations are also designed to support the enterocytes responsible for nutrient absorption and intestinal maintenance, while selected ingredients provide nutritional support for normal immune function
Four specialised feeding stages
I formulate the following feeds specifically for Coturnix coturnix quail
28% Protein BYF Quail Starter Feed For young chicks requiring a highly concentrated and digestible diet during early development
26% Protein BYF Quail Grower Feed For the rapid growth and development period following the starter stage
24% Protein BYF Quail Maintenance Feed For mature birds that are not actively laying, including males and moulting birds
22% Protein BYF Quail Layer Feed For laying females with the nutritional requirements associated with sustained egg production
These are the top-of-the-range BYF formulations and contain a range of nutritional additions beyond the standard Vitamin and Mineral Premix
Balanced amino acids and improved nutrient utilisation
The formulations include additional Lysine, Methionine, Threonine, Isoleucine and Valine to help balance the digestible amino acid profile of the diet
Rather than relying solely on the crude protein figure, the objective is to provide the bird with a more useful balance of available amino acids
Four specific feed enzyme activities are also incorporated to improve the digestion and utilisation of nutrients from the feed materials
These include Phytase, Beta Glucanase, Xylanase and Protease, together with Mannosidase activity to assist the utilisation of nutrients from different feed ingredients
The intention is to improve nutrient availability and feed utilisation rather than simply increasing the amount of protein or other nutrients appearing on the feed label
Vitamins, minerals and functional ingredients
The formulations also contain bioactive Vitamin D in the form of Hy-D, Vitamin C and Calcium Carbonate to support normal bone development, mineral metabolism and antioxidant function
Kelp meal, minerals and electrolytes are included as part of the overall nutritional package
Selected sources of protected Butyrate, Carvacrol and Thymol are included to support a favourable intestinal environment and help discourage the excessive proliferation of undesirable bacteria
Together, these additions are designed to complement the basic feed ingredients and Vitamin and Mineral Premix rather than relying on any single ingredient to achieve the desired result
Designed to support birds without routine antibiotics
The objective of these formulations is to give chicks and mature birds the nutritional foundation they need to start well, grow well and produce well
This is particularly important with very young chicks, including the tiny, bumble-bee-sized quail chicks, where rapid development places considerable nutritional demands on the bird
The same nutritional principles can also be valuable for mature birds experiencing periods of increased nutritional demand or environmental stress
The formulations are designed to support gut function, nutrient utilisation and normal immune function without relying on routine antibiotics
For me, this is the important difference between simply supplying a feed containing a specified percentage of protein and formulating a diet around what the bird actually needs to digest, absorb and utilise those nutrients effectively
New Zealand has far too many rabbits. They are eating their way through the countryside ruining the pastures so we decided, as payback, that we would eat them! There are many ways to cook this lovely, lean meat and ‘Kentucky Fried Rabbit’ is the best when one has had too many stews or roasts
Even though I am not a loyal KFC customer, I know lots of people who are (Obviously not close friends of mine). When I stumbled upon an Italian food site claiming to have “acquired” the famous KFC recipe (tongue in cheek off course from the Italians) and disclosed it all on their page, I was interested. I am often asked how to cook rabbit as I have AMPLE supplies in my freezer, my standard answer always is that you can cook it in any way you cook chicken. Having made the connection between chicken and rabbit and having the secret recipe at hand, I was determined to try some KFR (Kentucky Fried Rabbit) or DFR (Dunedin Fried Rabbit) in my mission to eat every one of these NZ PESTS!!!
It was my turn to cook Saturday lunch and I thought I may as well try my new adventurous recipe on Mrs BYF. Weighing out the ingredients to the closest gram and carefully following the intricate steps of the recipe, I had some food on the plates about two hours later and to my BIG SURPRISE it was very good. Some of my regular KFC muncher “friends” even seriously commented it to be better than the famous KFC!!! Watch out Colonel here comes New Zealand!!
Recipe
1 large wild rabbit
Cut the rabbit up in portions
Use a pan big enough to fit all the rabbit pieces in a single layer
2 cups of vegetable oil for frying
1 cup potato flour for the first drenching
2 cups flour for the second drenching
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 tablespoon powdered garlic
3 eggs beaten
Method
Because one can never be sure of the age of the rabbit I steam it until it is soft but still firmly on the bone. It takes about 20 – 30 minutes for an old rabbit. This step is not required if you know it to be a young rabbit and the results are always better than cooking an older rabbit
When the steamed rabbit has cooled, pat dry and drench with the potato flour. Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Dip the rabbit pieces individually first in the egg and then in the flour mix, then dip the pieces in the egg and flour again. Heat the oil in the pan. Slip the pieces into the hot oil (the rabbit should sizzle) and fry for about 10 minutes on a side, controlling the heat so that the rabbit becomes golden brown and not burnt
One probably should have this with mashed potato and gravy but I served it with steamed broccolini and polenta.
