Sunday, April 27, 2014

Rainy Sunday

A chicken keeper.
Some birds.

Some more birds.


Pop!

While Mama Hen was away last week, the tulips POPPED!


Hello Gnomie!

And the chickens are fine too.  Some of them are still just living apart together.  If that makes any sense.    

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Today's Eggs

Two views.

From left:  Fitz, Lou, Bill, and Bruiser.


Fitz's Feathers

It seemed like it would never happen, but Fitz's feathers are finally growing back .  This is a close-up of her chest.  Do you see the dark colored pin feathers?
Can you tell why a chicken might feel a little under the weather while these swords poke through their skin?  OUCH!
 You can see the ones that are lighter in color here.
There is still a patch on her chest that needs to be filled.  

On another day when I have an assistant to hold Fitz I will take some pictures of her head.  The feathers growing back around her comb look like teeny-tiny cotton balls.

And for the record, it took about 25 blurry photos for me to get these three pictures of her.  And these pictures aren't even very good.  Chickens move fast!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

More Spring Snow

We are having another spring snowstorm today.  Brrrrrrrrrr!



The birds don't seem to mind.

We took a post-chicken-chore picture in the mudroom.  




Sunday, April 6, 2014

Chickens and Friends

Friends came over for a visit this morning.




Red Door Coop Pen

Additional housing for the birds.



We've gussied up the pen a bit since we took these photos and will post new pictures soon.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Coop Morning

Saturday morning in the coop.


Look carefully at the next one!
And now, the Pied Piper of Red Door Coop.



Wednesday, April 2, 2014

New Quiche


On Monday I took my Favorite Quiche and melded the recipe with a Bruschetta Quiche that I read about over the weekend.  The texture of the quiche was creamy and custard-like.  Papa Hen said it was delicious and I was happy it was edible.  You never know what will happen when you play with recipes like this!   Here's my recipe.

Mama Hen's New Quiche

1 (9 or 10) inch pie crust
Little bit of softened butter
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs

2 cups heavy whipping cream
4 eggs
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tiny pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spread pie crust in a pie dish.  Spread softened butter and Dijon mustard over the bottom of the crust.

In a small bowl, mix olive oil, vinegar, cherry tomatoes, basil, a few shakes of salt & pepper, and Italian herbs in a small bowl.  Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together whipping cream, eggs, feta, nutmeg and a few shakes of salt and pepper.

Pour egg mixture into the pie shell.  Evenly add the tomato mixture on top of the egg mixture.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.  Then turn the oven down to 325 degrees.  Bake at this temperature for 35 minutes until it is brown on top and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Add time as needed.

My quiche needed an additional 20 minutes but I resist saying to cook it for 55 minutes at 325 degrees because it would be terrible to overcook it!  Just check it frequently.

Whenever we want quiche, I bake it the day before we eat it.  Quiche is always better after a night in the fridge.