In my opinion, Saturdays are much better than Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, or Sundays. I do like Friday evenings also. But Saturdays are so nice- a whole day to do what I want to do!
So thanks for celebrating this Saturday with me :) Here's the Homesteading things I've achieved so far today:
- Master Gardener class in Monroe on House Pests. The Monroe County office was just great.. Jenny who is the Extension Agent there was so full of information and willing to share it- I love that!
- Went out to lunch w/ Jen and Jess in downtown A2
- Picked up a roaster chicken, 2 dozen eggs, and a smoked turkey breast from Karl Baer, my meat guy (doesn't sound too good..). I will be referencing Di's (from Life in the Prairie Box) wonderful tips on whole-chicken roasting, since I am inexperienced at this kind of thing. Thanks Di! :)
- Stopped at Downtown Home and Garden in A2- look at the spoils of my trip! :
Got a thermometer for outside, since I don't have one. Thought it would come in handy. Also got some Burpee Sunflower seeds. Sunflowers are my favorite flower of all time. Even though they can get pretty huge and tall, it seems terrible to think about not having some in my yard. I'm thinking maybe they can kind of be a back border to the section of my garden that will have my raised-beds?
My last exciting buy was The Backyard Homestead! I usually don't buy books- I borrow a lot from the library, etc., but I've seen it's bright, warm, inviting cover for nearly a year, and I've lusted after it! I even picked it up in the bookstore, but didn't have money for it at the time. So today I did, and it came home with me! I've read the first chapter so far, and I really enjoy it. It seems like a nice overview for those looking to pursue Urban Homesteading, whether that might be just having 2 chickens in your backyard, growing some tomatoes and canning your own tomato sauce, or trying to achieve some kind of self-sufficiency!
Here's what it looks like if you're interested:
Now I am off to read, reflect, eat some dinner, and maybe to roast a chicken! Ahh!!
Don't fret - roasting a chicken is very easy. =) I grew up with my mom doing it all the time. It's actually been awhile since I've done it myself (since my husband does all the cooking). I do remember a couple things. I would loosen the skin on the bird, just stick your hand between the skin and meat part and you'll figure it out. Then I'd slip pats of butter and cloves of garlic under the skin on the breast and legs. My mom often cooks her birds with wine (just pour some in the cavity). I've done that and I've also used apple juice, and once I just put some apple slices in! You can put veggies in as well, but not necessary. I think you cook it at around 350 for a couple hours, watch it toward the end, it may need to be covered with foil. A little basting may be helpful too. You can add to the flavor with some pepper and rosemary too.
ReplyDeleteI hope your experiment goes well!
I definitely need to by that book!
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