Goodbye meat chickens

Hot. Humid. Every morning begins with heavy dew. A few days ago, I saw an odd triangular white object from the kitchen that turned out to be this spider web when I went out for a closer look. The spider really outdid itself spinning silk to the tops of broad-leaf plantain flowers. The irregular net weavers usually stick to the horizontal.

Spider web pyramid

Last Friday was when our meat chickens had their appointment with destiny. We are getting better at the round up. Terry backed his truck up to the chick fence and put the cages in the back. Hilda stood by the truck and put the chickens in the cages as Terry and I caught them. Terry used an old fishing net to capture the chickens, and I picked them up by their shoulders, one hand on each wing, and handed them over the fence to Hilda. I also had some success using the leg hook. I used the hook to pull up one leg of the chicken, immobilizing it. It helped that they weren’t that mobile to begin with. The hook is not nearly as effective on regular chickens because it’s hard to get the hook around their leg, and their foot is so small they just walk out of it unless you catch them at the ankle (which you might confuse for their knee except that it bends the wrong way—the knee is between the thigh and the drumstick).

In any case, we had all the chickens in the cages in a matter of minutes and managed to do it without becoming completely covered in chicken poo. The chickens calmed down right, except for panting in the heat. I thanked them for their sacrifice and hoped that they had enjoyed their brief time with us. They seemed unconcerned. 

Hanging out in the pickup

Terry and I delivered the chickens to the butcher a few miles away. While we were there, I made an appointment to have the turkeys processed just before Thanksgiving.

And on Sunday they came back looking like food. We butchered at six and a half weeks this year, down from our previous seven and a half to eight weeks. We liked this schedule better for two reasons. First, we were spared the last week of changing the wood chips in Coop 2 daily because of the appalling accumulation of wet, stinky poo. Second, the dressed weight was a more manageable 4.5 pounds as opposed to the 7 pound behemoths that the 8-week chickens were.

4.5-pound 6-week chicken vs. 7-pound 8-week chicken from last year

And here are our chickens in Freezer Heaven.

Freezer heaven

The turkeys and pullets took a day or two to adjust to the absence of their large and smelly comrades. They huddled together by the greenhouse, but every time I came near with the camera, they dispersed.

Where did everybody go?

We have one tom turkey and two hens. Tom is beginning to feel his testosterone.

Hey, baby!

With our plum tomatoes limping along, we had to buy tomatoes from a local farm stand. Like the pickles, I wondered at first why we didn’t just buy the tomatoes processed. If we did that, however, I would not have any of my favorite baked tomato pasta sauce. It’s work, but it’s worth it. After blanching, peeling, and deseeding the tomatoes, I smear them with a paste of parsley, garlic, and olive oil. The tomatoes bake at 425°F for an hour. Here’s how they look when they come out of the oven.

Baked tomatoes

The sauce is finished by stirring in butter and basil. I also add some tomato pasted to thicken it. I used to mash it up with a potato masher, but this year, I took the stick blender to it.

Sauce ready for freezing

I was proud of myself for actually serving pasta for supper that night. The way I usually roll this time of year is to spend all day cooking and bake a frozen pizza for dinner.

It is even more unusual for me to cook myself lunch, which is a shame when so much excellent food is available. Here is a stir fry of green pepper, red shishito peppers, onion, pattypan squash, and kale, which I tossed with spaghetti and peanut sauce. I wish I had that kind of ambition more often, although there’s nothing wrong with a quick tomato sandwich either.

Stir fry lunch