Happy Spring!

Spring time = sheep shearing and lambing time
Wool for Sale
Heritage breed chickens available
How to defrost a chicken
Recipe: Chicken in red wine with onions, mushrooms, and bacon

Happy spring! Or should I say happy winter directly into happy summer.  With the recent hot temperatures outside, we were glad to be doing our sheep a huge favor. That's right, it was shearing time. Time to cut off their beautiful thick woolen coats leaving them looking naked.  This year it was interesting because shearing time coincided with lambing time.  This meant that some of the ewes already had lambs (who weren't too happy to have their moms being put on their butts and given a buzz-cut), some of the ewes had yet to lamb which meant they were large and "bagged up", and one ewe actually went into labor while waiting for her turn! Anyway we let her keep her sweater on for a while longer once we noticed her little one making its grand entrance into the world.  We'll post some of the phtotos from shearing day with a notice so you can check them out.

Our sheep are registered romneys, which is as an old heritage breed long valued for its fine wool.  Romney wool is popular today with handspinners and crafters.  If you or any of your knitting friends are interested in local and organic wool: raw wool, washed wool, roving for spinning, or handspun/hand-dyed yarn for knitting or weaving, send us an email for prices and availability.

We have butchered a number of heritage breed chickens.  These are mostly a large dual purpose (eggs and meat) breed called barred rocks, that we started as chicks last summer.  This is the kind of chicken people used to eat, back when you had to go out in the yard and behead a bird if you wanted chicken for dinner.  Sometimes now called "stewing hens", these chickens definitely require different treatment in the kitchen.  However, prepared properly (do not just roast it!), they can be a very enjoyable meal.  Stewing hens are 8-12 months old when butchered, and are appropriate for a slow braise such as a stew or curry. In fact, stewing hens are much more appropriate for some preparations such as stews.  According to Julia Child, : "Younger chickens, such as broilers, should never be used; their flesh is so soft and tender that it dries out and becomes stringy."  This is different than an actual spent laying hen or old rooster which may be many years old, and is even tougher which makes excellent soup stock but not much else. If you are interested in trying an 8 month old heritage breed chicken, please email us and we will replace some or all of your usual chicken portion with this chicken.  Be adventurous and give it a try!

Julia Child also has to say about chicken, "Modern poultry raising has done wonders in making it possible to grow a fine-looking chicken in record time and to sell it at a most reasonable price, but rarely does ayone in the country discuss flavor.  If you are interested in price alone, you will often end up with something that tastes like the stuffing inside a teddy bear and needs strong dousing of herbs, wines, and spices to make it at all palatable.  A chicken should taste like chicken and be so good in itself that it is an absolute delight to eat as perfectly plain, butter roast, saute, or grill.  So when you buy chicken, make every attempt to find a market which takes special pride in the quality and flavor of its poultry." And while I have the cookbook open, I'll share her description of the best method for defrosting frozen chicken: "leave it in its transparent wrapper and let it thaw in the refrigerator.  It will lose much less of its juice and flavor.  The best alternative is to unwrap it and thaw it in a basin of cold, running water, and pulling the legs and wings away fromt he body as soon as they will move."  I will add that after defrosting as slowly as you have time for, it really helps to leave the chicken unwrapped in an uncovered bowl or plate in the fridge for a few hours to let the skin thoroughly dry.  This air-drying in the refrigerator ensures a perfectly crispy skin.

Recipe: Coq au vin (chicken in wine)
This classic french dish is a slow-cooked feast well suited to using the stewing chickens mentioned above.  You could also use a regular broiler, but reduce the cooking time.

Ingredients:
3 to 4 ounces of bacon
butter
One cut-up chicken
salt
pepper
~3 cups wine (red is "more characteristic" of the french dish, but white can also be used"
1 to 2 cups chicken stock or any other stock
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
optional: 1/2 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 onions
1/2 lb mushrooms

Directions:
Saute the bacon, diced, until lightly browned.  Remove to another dish and set aside till the end.  Cut the chicken into pieces, dry it well, and brown it in the hot bacon fat.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Pour the wine into the casserole pot, add just enough stock to cover.  Stir in the garlic and herbs and optional tomato paste.  Bring to a simmer, cover, and keep at the slowest simmer possible for about 30 minutes for a broiler and about an hour or more for a stewing hen, or until the chicken is tender and cooked through.  Remove the chicken from the pot, and rapidly boil the liquid to reduce it by about half.  This is a fine sauce, or you can thicken it with a bit of arrowroot starch, corn starch, or a flour paste (blend 2 Tb softened butter with 3 Tb flour into a smooth paste.  then beat the paste into the hot sauce with a wire whip). Saute the sliced onions and bacon in butter until soft and lightly browned.  Add the reserved bacon, and serve on the side of the chicken with the sauce on top.


Anna