Happy Halloween

May your cauldrons be full and for those of you goolish gosties out there, witches and wicked pumpkins, as well as things that go bump in the night, I wish you a safe and happy Halloween. As for us...Darla is just going out as Underdog and fighting all of those who rob and plunder...

Let's Get Cookin'

I've not posted any cooking recipes and I like to cook. Shame on me! Today we will cook a dish from the 'Gumbo Shop' in New Orleans. You can substitute shrimp for the crawfish if you can't find them and use your favorite ham instead of the Tasso.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Tasso, it is a very spicy piece of pork. According to Wikipedia, Tasso ham is a specialty of Cajun cuisine. It is a spicy, peppery version of smoked pork made from the shoulder butt. In this case, "ham" is a misnomer, since tasso is not made from the hind leg of a pig. This cut is typically fatty, though leaner cuts are often used and have a great deal of flavor. The butt, which will weigh 7 to 8 pounds, is sliced across the grain into pieces about 3 in / 7.5 cm thick. These are dredged in a salt cure, which usually includes nitrates and sugar. The meat is left to cure briefly, only three or four hours, then rinsed, rubbed with a spice mixture containing Cayenne pepper and garlic, and hot-smoked until cooked through.

Tasso is not typically eaten on its own. It is used in dishes ranging from pasta to crab cakes, soup to gravy. Appropriate to its roots, tasso is most often found in recipes of southern or Cajun/Creole origin, such as jambalaya.

This is a dish that I made and served at my wedding...and yes, I used crawfish and tasso...

PASTA WITH CRAWFISH AND TASSO

1 pound pasta, preferably imported Rotini or Fusili
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 pound tasso or smoked ham
1 1/2 cups shallots, chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
2 cups heavy cream (whipping cream)
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 pound peeled crawfish tails
1/4 cup parsley

First, gather your ingredients:

Cook pasta according to package directions, being careful not to overcook. Rinse in cold water and set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Cut tasso in a 1/4 inch dice. Saute in butter until lightly browned. Add garlic, stir and cook for one minute. Add shallots and cook until tender.

Add cream, white pepper, cayenne and salt. Bring to a boil and cook about one or two minutes, or until slightly thickened, stirring often. Add crawfish (or shrimp) and parsley. Stir and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. If using fresh shrimp, make sure the shrimp are cooked through. This is what it will look like before adding the pasta:

Add pasta*, mix in well and cook until pasta is heated through. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 - 6 entrees or 8 - 10 appetizers.

*The sauce will thicken when the pasta is added and should also be slightly spicier before adding pasta.

Enjoy!


Oh, and I did post about 'Chicken Creole' here: http://barefootchef.blogspot.com/2008/07/feel-like-cooking-lets-try-chicken.html

She Had A Secret

Yesterday was a scary and mixed emotional day. While doing some dishes I looked out and saw Mr. Fox about 30 yards sitting and eying my chickens. I ran out the door yelling and screaming and he ran off. He was really quite a beautiful animal. A deep rich red with a beautiful thick bushy tail and the striking white tip. But the fact is that foxes and chickens don't mix unless you want the fox to have a fresh chicken dinner.

It was a rainy kind of day with the rain starting and stopping. My husband went out during one of the dry times and then came back in to get me. He couldn't find June anywhere. She was nowhere to be found. I went out with the special chickey bread that they all love and called. Only the guinea's and Ozzie came. No June. I looked and looked for her. No sign of her. I finally gave up knowing that the fox got his dinner. Poor June. What a horrible fate for her. My heart was very heavy.

I kept going out and looking for the fox to show up again. As I was looking out my back door watching Ozzie and the guinea's hunt and peck, from out of the garden area sauntered June. WHAT? She just waltzed over like nothing was wrong. I yelled and told my husband and he wanted to know if I was sure. Um, yes, I do know what June looks like. He came over to see her and asked where she came from. I told him I didn't know, just from the direction of the garden. I had looked over there but never saw her in the garden. I went out to give her some chickey bread that she had missed out on and then went to my sewing room to do some work.

I got to thinking...I bet she had started laying, after all, her waddles and comb are a deep red, indicating she is ready to lay and she has been giving me the "I'm going to have an egg" talk and then the "I've had an egg song". I kept telling her she was lying to me. After all I had looked for an egg and never found one. And when she didn't come for the call of a favorite treat, something was up.

I put on my muck boots and went to the garden. It is grown up now and is in desperate need of attention. What do you think I found? Not one egg, but 8. Yes, you read that right 8 eggs! I have the picture here to prove it.

You can see the one clean egg. That is the one she was laying while she went missing. The others are dirty from the rain and mud. I can't believe with all this rain, she lays there. I need to come up with a plan to get her in a better area if she will cooperate. I'm not sure if she is laying every day, every other day or what. For now, I took the fresh egg and put it in the fridge. The others are still there. I think I'll take an egg out and put a golf ball in it's place each day. Maybe that will trick her and the eggs don't go rotten and smell there. Hopefully she won't try to go broody on me this time of year.

At least for now, we still have our little June Bug. All is right in our world. Here is a picture of a young June.

In The Eye Of The Beholder

Beauty, that is. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and in this case...this is beautiful (to me) or comical, whichever the case may be. This is One Toe, my male guinea at 3 1/2 months old. He really is quite comical to look at and along with my two guinea hens, they are the three stooges and comical relief around here. One Toe's waddles just shake and wiggle as he wanders around the yard looking for bugs. You just have to shake your head and laugh at he and the other guineas following my little bantam chickens around. I don't know if they have really figured out if they are guineas yet. I'm not sure if I'd like to look like One Toe or not, but I sure would love to have his eye color!

Now here is a video of the silly young man taking a dirt bath. Notice how lovely the dirt makes a white bird look...

A Mothers Love

Well, Harriet finally did it! She hatched an egg and became a mom. My husband named the egg before it was born and the name he chose was Gordon. Not sure if this is a girl (pullet) or boy (cockerel), but it sure is cute. This is a picture of Gordon peeping out from the warm comfort of his/her mom's wing. Mom has been busy keeping Gordon warm and trying to teach how to eat and drink and this little peep catches on fast. Amazing how nature works. Yesterday I offered Harriet her favorite treat of crickets and little Gordon dived right in. Harriet helped break up the cricket and Gordon was a little pig, loving every bite. Gordon is all of 2" tall when standing upright so is a tiny peep. We certainly are hoping this little peep grows up to be big and strong, just like his Bantam parents.

Here is a picture of the egg Gordon came out of next to a quarter for reference...

She Wants To Be A Mom

Well, guess who thinks she might want to be a mom? My special little Harriet! That little hen just has my heart. I never thought I would ever be so in love with a chicken!!! I knocked her crate over while she was laying the other day with her in it and she didn't leave. Her little pet carrier (crate) is on top of a plastic milk carton and I was in a hurry, trying to cover her to protect her and her eggs from the rain. She has fussed at me over the last two eggs she laid. I didn't realize that she was beginning to be broody (wanting to set her eggs and be a mother). She has never fussed at me before. She has been staying with her just laid egg longer and longer and then when she leaves has been coming back once to sit on her egg for a while. Yesterday she only had her golf ball and got on it for a long time. I realized that she probably wanted her eggs to take care of. I had 3 in the house I was saving for the neighbor's incubator to try and hatch and I took out the golf ball when she took a break (it was totally warm from her!) and gave her the 3 eggs she had laid. She stayed on her eggs all day and when I brought out crickets that she loves so much, she wouldn't leave her eggs. When she did take her little break to potty, drink and eat, I brought crickets out especially for her. After a little stretching of her legs, she went back to her eggs. We brought her carrier (now bungeed to the milk crate that I knocked over) and put it in the pen where everyone roosts for the evening. I wanted her to be safe, or as safe as she can be. It goes back out in the morning and we will up her up in the evenings. She never moves while we move her crate! I don't know if she will/can hatch all, or one or none, but I am giving her the chance to be a mom. She want's it, and I want it for her. Just think, I could be a chicken grandmother!

Here is a video of her and what she does all day long...

Finding Harriet

As you saw in my last post, Harriet is quite small. She is an every other day kind of girl in the egg department. Today was the other day. Here is a photo of her egg by her golf ball. Yep, her golf ball. The golf ball gives her a hint that this is where she is supposed to lay. It helps so I don't have to play the Easter egg hunt game around the yard.

Now to finding Harriet. Not a problem, instructions are simple. 1. Go to the yard. 2. Ask, "Where's Harriet?" and call chicky-chicky-chicky. Here comes Harriet. Just tell her to run and hurry. She'll be at your beck and call in no time flat. Oh, and you'll get Ozzie and June along for the fun.

Harriet and Me

Just thought I'd share a picture of my best girl Harriet. She is fully grown and just a delight to be around! She comes running when I call (I always ask "Where's Harriet") hoping for a treat and when she is getting ready to have an egg, she comes and tells me. If I think it is about time and I am outside, I just pick her up, put her in her box and she has it. I can carry her around like I am holding her in the photo with her legs dangling. When hubby is under the hood of the car I bring her over so she can give her advice and recommendation. She actually looks under the hood like she is checking things out. This was her photo op after giving a consultation. Gotta love her!

Mason Bees

Mason bees are delightful little pollinators. I understand that they are easy keepers and don't sting. If you want to collect honey, they aren't for you, they don't produce honey, just pollinate. They are slightly larger than a fly and smaller than a honeybee. They will take up residence in Woodpecker holes in trees. I found some outback on the wild Lambs Ear (at least that is what I call it) and have taken some photo's and a video of them pollinating. Please excuse the video for being a bit blurry in some parts...I need to learn how to work my camera/video taker. I have an old Pecan tree (photo is at the bottom of my blog) nearby and think that is where these are living. If you'd like to learn more about them just type in Mason Bees in your search engine.

Early Morning Riser

They say that the early bird gets the worm, but in this case, it is the early worker bee that gets the pollen! I was out feeding the outside animals and saw activity on a plant that seems to be a false lambs ear. The pic here is of a honey bee. Notice the pollen sac on her rear leg. She is going to take this home so her colony can pack it away and use it as 'bee bread' to feed the young larve. This certainly makes for happy bees and a happy family!