I'm going to be all up in your face with a farm update today.
First, did you see what my freezer looks like these days?
The pigs are home where they belong.
On to the garden...
I went into the mud room on Saturday and found this:
COW had been in the garden and harvested everything that was left out there.
Apparently he found some carrots.
And these...
were out there, too.
Who knew?
We spent Saturday night turning that sink of green into this:
We blanched them, dried them, and bagged them for the freezer. They will be used to make some good meals this winter!
Thirdly, the girls.
We have found a chicken outside the fence a couple of times. As soon as I get out there to put her back in, she does this...
I'm thinking once we identify which ones are doing it (There are 30 chickens, and most of them look alike!) we'll take a try at clipping their wings. I'm sure that will go well and completely excitement-free.
And lastly, it is the biggest news on the farm as far as COW is concerned.
With the freezer full of ground pork, COW has been able to pull out his birthday present to make some sausage links.
The boy could barely contain his excitement.
This is a (long) video of COW and the little boys adding the spices to the ground pork. He's giddy, I tell you. Two things before you watch...
1. I am in the kitchen making lasagna for dinner.
2. The recipe calls for 10 pounds of ground pork, but his sausage stuffer only holds 5 pounds. He is making 5 pounds, thus having to halve the recipe.
Once the sausage stuffer came out, COW was all business and no silliness. It would be a travesty to overstuff the sausage, so he had to stay focused.
 |
| These first links are pretty pathetic. |
At one point, Cuckoo and I were scolded for not STOPPING when we were told to STOP! Unfortunately, one link tragically burst. It was reincarnated as the link's ugly stepbrother, the sausage patty.
We got the hang of it, though, and were able to put 4 and a half pounds of breakfast sausage in the freezer. (We had to taste it!)
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| He got much better at it as we went along. |
That's all I have for now. And since it's getting cold out there, I'm planning on going into hibernation. Hopefully, I won't have to go outside for any reason until spring.
What are the chances?
Have a lovely day!
Your girls look a lot like mine--you must be eating green eggs!
ReplyDeleteWe will be, if these girls ever decided to start laying them!
DeleteTotally thought she was calling your sons girls >.<
DeleteHa! Sorry, Jak. Just some farm talk. :)
DeleteI thought she was referring to a whole different set of girls… Hahahah glad I read all the comments.
DeleteHa! I thought you might recognize something in the photo. :)
ReplyDeleteI doubt many will watch the video, but it makes me laugh every time I watch it.
I'm glad you liked it.
Oh my...I laughed when I saw the title and thought to myself the exact thing you wrote at the beginning. Spam, spam spam! :) Have fun with that!
ReplyDeleteLove the video...awesome as always!
I'll let you know how it goes. :)
DeleteI'm glad! Thanks.
(thank you Considerer...I was assuming that's what that was on the counter)
ReplyDeleteI love to hear your husband's giggle - now I know where the kids get it from. Not that YOU don't laugh! Ha ha!
ReplyDeleteI fell in love with that giggle long ago. I can't help but laugh when I hear it.
DeleteI so remember all of these things. The chickens would be in the freezer too since we didn't have ones that laid eggs. I so remember all of this right up to the sausage. Yes I do and it's a great treat for breakfast too.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
We have done meat chickens before, but it's just so much nasty work for meat I can get for pretty cheap. I'm sure if we did it more often, we'd be better at the butchering, thus taking out quite a bit of the work. Alas, we have enough to do.
DeleteYou made sausage? As a kid or adult?
I love your freezer. And I don't mean that in a nice way. I mean I LOVE it. I'd like to empty it into my freezer, but I'll be happy just raiding your freezer. Seriously. Raid. Your. Freezer.
ReplyDeleteI'd be happy to sell you some. :)
DeleteHoly last harvest!
ReplyDeleteAnd that is one serious sausage production. Looking that full freezer must make you feel really content.
I know! Shocking, isn't it?
DeleteIt is a great feeling to have a freezer (and shelves) full of food. To know we raised/grew it and it is all there ready for us to eat throughout the coming year makes me happy.
Awesomeness! Sheer & complete Awesomeness!
ReplyDeleteButtercup sounds so grown up...initially I thought it was you. :)
Why thank you!
DeleteShe is getting rather old, I hate to say. Lots of people think she looks very much like me, too.
We wouldn't know if she is looking more like you or not, since you haven't updated her picture yet....
DeleteAck! I didn't know you were part elephant. Or is it monkey?
DeleteYES...YES!!! to everything Lizzi said! LOVE, LOVED the video!!!! I never, EVER had the patience to make things with the boys when they were that young. You guys have waaaaay tooo much fun! :D
ReplyDeleteyeah, google is just gonna eat you alive with that title... but on the upside... the video is priceless!
ReplyDeleteHa! I'll let you know how it goes. :)
DeleteGlad you liked it.
I'm so glad you all liked it.
ReplyDeleteWhile it isn't always THAT much fun around here, we do enjoy each other's company.
I actually enjoy having the kids cook with me. When they are little, it's a good way to keep an eye on them and be productive at the same time. Plus, now the older ones are helpful. I can tell them to make the salad or peel potatoes or start the oven, while I sit and read a book. (One part of that sentence isn't true.) :)
Learn something new every day. COW had a job in a meat packing plant when he was in college. Knowing what went into sausage and other meat products not only didn't deter him from eating it, but made him crave it more all these years. He is beyond happy.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome anytime. I really do love cooking breakfast for people.
I'm not a salad person either. ;)
ReplyDelete1. I ditto everything Lizzi said (she's so dang good at commenting)
ReplyDelete2. Your vegetable are GORGEOUS. I have grown very little in my garden, but I know how exciting it is to eat something you've planted, nurtured, and pulled out of the ground yourself. It's a somethin' special, so I can appreciate the amazing feeling of having that beautiful bounty in your kitchen for your family. job well done!
3. the video is so sweet! Your husband's laugh is adorable and his enthusiasm was infectious! hell, I wanted to stuff sausage by the end of it! (the food of course, not what googlers are looking for when they find your blog. get yer mind outta the gutter)
Love the whole post....and your precious family. So cute. :)
1. I know!
Delete2. Thank you! After 7 years of gardening, it's about time we figured some things out and got some food out of it. Do you grow very little on purpose? It is very exciting.
3. I just love his laugh. You are welcome to come try your hand at sausage stuffing (Step away from the gutter.) any time.
Thank you!
I refuse to read the other comments until after I comment because I always feel like they well, make me take it in half. I love you saying "cover your mouth! over the table! cover!"
ReplyDeleteYOUR HUSBAND's laugh is freaking AWESOME
I'm so jealous that you have so many kids right now...so jealous...you're like the well, house I imagined having...in the best of ways...
"If I could have time in a bottle!!!"
And this, which I so didn't think I was going to get past, but did because well, the rest? OMG I want to move into your house...this is the "which" I didn't think I'd get past: The pigs are home where they belong.
HOLY SAUSAGE! I'm well, maybe not that much of a farm girl. Still, totally wanted to be in your kitchen. And watched the whole thing. "MOM! You're in the way!"
The sneeze just took us all by surprise, as usual. He rarely sneezes, and when he does, it's like he's been holding it back for weeks, because my word, they are so loud and so forceful. I think he'd blow his arm off if he did the Vampire cover. (Which, BTW, the kids and I do every time we cough or sneeze.)
DeleteHis laugh is the best.
Would it have helped you get past the pigs in the freezer part if I would have added, "I'd like to see them escape now!" No?
I'm glad you liked the video. Your family is welcome in our kitchen anytime.
No idea what possessed you to go with that title lol but it's chock full of jokes to be made... But an important matter at hand: That title, along with the words "special sauce" should never... ever... go hand-in-hand again, mmkay?
ReplyDeleteIt can only do 5lbs? Sounds like he needs bigger and better! Good thing Christmas is right around the corner! Your husband seemed really excited to be making the sausage. I'm glad you told him to cover his mouth, though! Gross! I suppose at least he turned away...
You seem to be experimenting a lot more with video. I think that shoulder is the most I've seen. Are you doing the video brunch yet?
Congrats with your final yield from the garden, and hopefully you don't have to do too much more outside until Spring...
Cuckoo has some mad singing skillz :)
Jak at The Cryton Chronicles & Dreams in the Shade of Ink
If I didn't put that title, you wouldn't be here, now would you?
DeleteHe was very excited. He used to work in a meat packing plant, and ever since, he's been wanting to make his own. (Which is hilarious to me, as many people who work in those places, swear off the meat they packaged.)
Ah! The pig escape had a few glimpses of me. I am not doing the brunch. Our house is busy, busy on Sunday mornings.
Yeah, we're thinking of enrolling him in some singing competitions. (No, we're not.)
Hahaha! I have the funniest readers on the internet.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great video. Fun. And having home grown sausage must be amazing.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I was surprised at how good the sausage tasted. Our daughter was so excited when she tasted it. "It tastes just like it does at a restaurant!" Except better, because we know what's in it.
DeleteI am jealous of all that farm fresh food you have there. I wish my freezer looked like that!
ReplyDelete-@PregoForMenBlog
If you can't raise your own, I'm sure there's a farmer somewhere near you who would love to help you with that dream! :)
Delete1. "The pigs are home where they belong" is the best. sentence. ever.
ReplyDelete2. If you put a different color of nail polish on each chicken's talons, then you would be able to tell them apart and know who was escaping. Just a suggestion....
3. COW is positively giddy with the excitement of making his own sausage (the possibility of so many jokes here). Love the giggle!
4. COW and Cuckoo are quite a pair. They need to take their show on the road.
5. Your cinematographer is a little bossy, but someone (ahem) DID keep getting her shoulder in the shot.
6. Impressed with your use of name brand cheese.
7. Do you make biscuits and gravy to go with the sausage? If so, I'm coming over for breakfast.
1. Thank you!
Delete2. Brilliant! I'm sure nothing could go wrong.
3. So many jokes. He is adamant that he does not giggle. Whatever.
4. They certainly crack me up.
5. Wouldn't a good cinematographer predict that and move?
6. Ha! Only the best for my kids. (It was on sale.)
7. I make the best biscuits and gravy. Come on over. Then you can help give the hens their pedicures.
I will give the hens pedicures if YOU hold them (knowing full well how safe I am there).
DeleteMy gravy tastes like library paste.
I want your garden and your pork. Everything looks delicious in your fantastic pics. And how fun to make your own links! Glad I tuned in to see your harvest (and your slaughter). :-)
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you, Linda! I'm glad you tuned in, too!
DeleteMy hubby found a huge load of carrots in our garden as well! I need to get them taken care of before they spoil. Love that sausage - how did it taste?
ReplyDeleteChristine, I love, love, love your farm updates!! They are so REAL and of course entertaining because you are delightfully hilarious. "The pigs are where they belong" - the BEST!! What a fantastic final harvest. It makes me miss my garden already. Please pray that we find a farm soon - we're all going a little town crazy here!!
ReplyDelete