Kitchen Quick Tips - Storing Cottage Cheese

Extend the shelf life of cottage cheese by storing the container upside down before and after opening.  

Backyard Chicken Eggs

Our neighbours a couple of doors down have laying hens. I had full intentions of having laying hens this year but decided against it with the house being on the market. Raising laying hens mainly for the purpose of egg production is a growing backyard activity across Canada and many US communities. Some municipalities have enacted by-laws against raising backyard chickens while other are embracing the notion. And why not? Unlike dogs, chickens make very little noise and in fact most times no one will even know chickens are in your backyard. Chickens are easy to keep, low maintenance and don't smell. In most cases your neighbours won't even know you have chickens. A small flock of 4 laying hens will produce about 4 eggs per day so that is a rather good return on your investment. It is a good way to inexpensively add protein to your diet while increasing your self sufficiency.  Many backyard chicken owner get quite attached to their hens, fondly referring to them as their girls.

Backyard chickens will give white or brown eggs depending on the chicken species. The only difference is the colour of the shell. Seriously the eggs taste the same. The real difference is the difference in the taste of backyard chicken eggs in comparison to store bought eggs. The yolk in backyard chickens eggs is almost orange as pictured. It is considerably deeper coloured than store bought eggs. Part of the reason for this is backyard chickens tend to be free range within the confines of the backyard. That means their diet is a lot more varied than chickens producing store bought eggs. Most times backyard chickens are not grain fed other than during winter months and even then only if absolutely necessary.

Pictured are the cracked backyard chicken eggs.  Just look at how beautiful and richly coloured those yolks are.  That depth of colour translates into wonderfully flavoured eggs.  I grew up with farm fresh eggs delivered right to our door every week by the egg lady.  Adjusting to store bought eggs was a bit difficult.  I went back to buying farm fresh eggs every time I got the chance.  When our kids were younger I even had an egg lady of my own who delivered eggs every 2 weeks.  Once you switch to farm fresh eggs you won't go back to store bought unless absolutely necessary.  However, backyard chicken eggs are even fresher.  They can be used in your favourite recipes within minutes of being gathered.

The difference in flavour is undeniable! Backyard chicken eggs like free range chicken eggs have a wonderful flavour that well out weighs store bought eggs.  The reason being backyard chicken eggs are considerably fresher.  Better yet you know what they have been fed.  Backyard chickens tend to be healthier than commercially raised laying hens.

Scrambled eggs are one of the easiest ways to prepare eggs.  I scramble eggs plain with no water or milk added cooked in a non-stick fry pan with just a dab of butter then lightly seasoned with fresh ground salt and pepper.  The beautiful deep yolk colour of the backyard chicken eggs is not lost with cooking.  Let me tell you these eggs were delicious!

Gremelli with Meat Sauce

Pasta comes in so many shapes and sizes it would be hard pressed to find one that does not appeal.  Not only is pasta one of those staples pretty much everyone likes, pasta is extremely versatile.  It can be served plain, with any number of sauces raning from very simple to complex, as or in a casserole, in soups, as a salad as well as hot or cold.  Various pasta shapes have different cooking times to al dente so if in a hurry I choose a quicker cooking pasta like angel hair.  Experimenting with various pasta shapes is fun so I'm always on the look-out for a different shape to try.  I came across gemelli that looked a bit interesting.

Gemelli is the Italian word for twins.    Even though this pasta appears to be twin tubes twisted around each other they are a single s-shaped strand twisted into a spiral.  Gemelli is great with any sauce but can also be used in pasta salads or casseroles.  This pasta cooks to al dente in 9 minutes. 

Rather than top the cooked gemelli with sauce as I often do with pasta, I mixed it with homemade meat sauce then plated.  This gave the gemelli a chance to grab and hold the sauce.  A light sprinkling of fresh ground Parmesan cheese and parsley flakes completed the dish.

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Food in Uncertain Times (1)

I've been follow a discussion on one of the forums that I participate in on food in uncertain times.  According to one source the 5 foods that should be grown for sustainable living are: potatoes, corn, squash, beans and eggs.  Of course I had to do a short write-up on my gardening blog but I want to take the topic into greater detail here.  This week's Frugal Kitchens 101 topic is Food in Uncertain Times.

Food is a basic necessity of life.  In times of stress and financial hardship regardless of the cause, food may be one of the few comforts left.  I personally feel that keeping a 1 year supply of food on hand is prudent and in my case it borders closer to 18 months to 2 year supply.  That being said, no food supply is considered sustainable if it cannot be replenished.  During the depression and war times every household was encouraged to have a victory garden.  The premis was taking responsibility for growing what you could yourself took the pressure off of the commercial food supply.  That still holds true today.  Unless you live in a building with no balcony and even then virtually every living space can be used to grow some of your own foods.  Growing can be done indoors, outdoors or both and it can be done using the new techiques for small space gardening. 

What you can grow depends on your space and climate but growing indoors can extend what you can feasibly grow as well.  In general most herbs and a wide range of vegetables can be grown in small spaces and indoors.  On the other hand some foods like wheat, rice, corn and potatoes really take up too much room for a home garden unless you have a lot of space. 

Here is a list of fruits and vegetables that I would consider necessary for sustainable living space permitting of course:

• tomatoes 
• peppers
• lettuces
• chards
• onions
• carrots
• squash (including cucumber)
• pole beans
• peas
• rutabaga
• fruit bearing bushes 
• fruit bearing trees

Some animals take up more room than others and depending on location may not be allowed by the municipality.  Consider too that animals are a 24/7 commitment so may not fit in with your lifestyle.  Here is a list of animals tthat would be nice to have for sustainable living in smaller spaces.  Of these rabbits should be rather easy to keep, low maintenance and allowable pretty much anywhere:

• rabbits
• chickens (laying hens only)
• goat
• fish (eg. trout)

Next week's Frugal Kitchens 101 will discuss food in uncertain times a bit further.