My sister mentioned that a friend of hers wanted some chicken feathers for tying fishing flies, so I've been been on the lookout for them whenever I go out now. I'd never really paid too much attention before, but chickens naturally lose a lot of feathers. It's been fun to gather the pretty ones up. I've been keeping them in an old canning jar, but today I put them in a bowl to take a photo of them. Nature is so beautiful.
India is by far the pickiest eater in our family, so with her on her 8th grade field trip down to Washington, D.C. this week, I decided this would be a good time to make this queso fundido as it was something everyone (but India) would enjoy.
The original recipe called for 1 jalapeño, but I’ve really been enjoying the flavor of poblano peppers lately, so I used half of a jalapeño and half of a poblano, If you like things really spicy, you can use 2 peppers. If you or your friends are more, ahem, delicate, then stick with one chile and remove the seeds and ribs. I also added a bit more chorizo, as I was making it a meal and not an appetizer, and I used black refried beans that I found at Whole Foods and also added a can of whole black beans as well.
Makes 12 servings (appetizer)
Active time: 35 minutes, Total Time: 45 minutes
I found this recipe in Gourmet Magazine’s “Comfort” special edition publication. Original recipe altered by Crafty Farm Girl, March 2012.
INGREDIENTS:
ACCOMPANIMENT:
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350o
Cook chorizo in 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring, until golden and pieces start to crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.
Cook onion, garlic, peppers, and paprika in fat remaining in skillet, stirring occasionally, until vegetables start to soften and turn golden, about 8 minutes.
Stir in 1/4 cup water and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender and almost all liquid is evaporated, about 3 minutes.
Stir in refried beans and remaining 1/4 cup water and simmer until slightly thickened and mixture is bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the can of refried beans. I know what you're thinking, so don't even say it. I was thinking it too.
But see, it looks much better once you stir it in.
Add the rinsed and drained black beans and stir them in as well.
Remove from heat and stir in reserved chorizo and half the cheese until melted.
Pour bean mixture into a shallow (2-quart) flameproof crock or baking dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake in the oven about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and just starting to brown.
Serve with tortilla chips.
COOKS’ NOTES:
The bean mixture, before the cheese is added, can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat it on top of the stove over medium-low heat, adding additional water if necessary, then stir in half the cheese and continue with the recipe.
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I’ll try not to dwell on this, but it’s an unfortunate fact of farm life.
Late last week there was a raccoon wandering around the edge of our property in the afternoon, Now a raccoon out during the daytime means a) it’s rabid or b) it’s got young to feed. Either one isn’t good. I set the dog out after it and it wandered up the hill across the street. I knew it would be back though, and I’ve been keeping a watchful eye out.
Monday morning my husband was leaving for work and called me on his cell to say that there was a dead chicken at the edge of the next-door neighbor’s property. I went out and discovered one of my Buff Orpington hens, head removed and body ripped open. I suspect somebody driving by scared the thing off. Poor little thing. I have a few Buff’s, and they are lovely, gentle birds and good layers.
It makes me so damned mad. Unfortunately our town does not allow the discharge of guns of any kind, or I can assure you I would happily blow its head off.
Tonight when I did a head count at lock up I was down another hen. I may just sit out there and rip his head off with my bare hands.
On a lighter note, and I certainly hope nobody was eating when they read that, I’ll show you some farm photos I took today.
This is the view from my computer desk. The old chicken coop has a sunny front porch that is a favorite lounging spot for the goats. Today I caught all 4 of them having an afternoon siesta, and I got the photo through the window.
And Rocky seems to get bigger every day. He’s starting to crow more, which is unfortunate — for him mostly — as I won’t be able to keep him if he starts making too much noise. It wasn’t like he did any good keeping the raccoon away, right?
Rocky surveying his domain.
And I am telling you, Gracie is the happiest goat alive. She always appears to be smiling.
A Smiling Gracie
I’m a night owl, not getting to bed before 12:00 most nights, and then I read every night once I get there. My normal rising time during the week is 6:20, but this morning it was 5:00 as I had to deliver my daughter to school by 6:15 for her class field trip to Washington, D.C. It also happened to be her 14th birthday today, so we pretended it was her birthday yesterday instead.
And yes, I live in a fairly constant state of exhaustion.
India and her Sun Conure parrot, Salsa, open birthday presents a day early.
Now, having to get up that early was awful, but I wasn’t going to let an opportunity to be near the beach at sunrise pass by without taking advantage of it.
A beautiful sunrise.
A seagull flying with his breakfast in his beak, looking for a good place to drop it and break the shell open. I love the golden sunrise reflecting off the underside of his wings.
Everybody seemed to be having breakfast!
The breakfast drop completed, and preparing for landing.
And it was COLD this morning; 19 degrees when I was out there. I wished I’d brought a hat and gloves, but I wasn’t functioning properly at that hour.
A shallow tidal pool froze into the most beautiful ice crystals.
I’ve been meaning to do this since the summer, and I finally got it done. I bought a bunch of 6″ x 6″ white square wood frames on sale, had my favorite shots from the old motel sign photos I took this summer (see It’s a Sign and It’s a Sign – Part 2), had them printed by Shutterfly, had black mats cut with 3.25″ openings, and framed them all up.
I love the way they look together as a square grouping. These were squashed together so I could fit them into the photo, but they looked great with about an inch between each frame.
But this is our bedroom in Wyoming. See that blank space over our closets along that whole back wall? I think I’m going to run them along that whole space. If I ever manage to get back to Wyoming, (it’s been 2-1/2 months and it feels like a lifetime), I’ll hang them and let you see what it looks like.
Roo, my Partridge Penedesenca hen, was doing her strange, marching gait around the yard today and I caught it mid-step. She's a lovely, rare chicken, but she sure does walk strange.
I'm not much of a beach person, preferring ponds and lakes for swimming. I think perhaps it's from two summers of beach rentals with infants & toddlers that permanently spoiled the whole sand/beach experience for me. Photos like this remind me why most people so love the ocean though.
As a follow-up to a post from last September, “Chickens Don’t Look Good Wet“, I would like to once again prove that fact. We had some nasty weather at the end of this week, and the farm was quite unhappy. Chickens just look miserable when they are wet.
A muddy, wet white cochin just can't look good.
It doesn't matter the color of the bird, no chicken can carry off the wet look well.
Heading inside where it's dry.
Kiki heads inside.
Kate's going to see what Kiki and Grace are doing.
I love the way my Welsummer hen blends in with the stone foundation of our house in this photo.
An unexpected snowfall on a farm-hunting toodle last week provided some beautiful scenery, even if it wasn't great weather for the task at hand.