Money Monday: Keeping Hens

Three of our girls getting adjusted.

Well I've finally lost it. I got chickens!  It's something I've always wanted to do, but didn't think the neighbours in our previous estate would appreciate it.  Since moving to the country it just kept niggling at me and when the landlord gave us the all clear I just had to go for it.  Assurances by neighbours around here that they are easy to keep helped assuage himself's misgivings and here we are.  

What does this have to do with money you ask?  Well, as an avid cook and baker I would easily go through 2.5 dozen eggs a week.  This works out to almost ten euro a week, as I would not negotiate on eggs, free-range is the only way to go in my book, both by taste and ethical standards.  So that's over 520 euro a year. The chickens cost me 50 euro and the coop cost 200. I got it as part of a starter kit from Farm Fowl in Wicklow. The feed is cheap and lasts for a long time and they munch on scraps from the kitchen as well. If they all lay daily they have paid for themselves in six months and will live for about four years.  Granted there will be times when the laying tapers off, but overall I think it's a sound investment that has many added benefits!

Lawn fertiliser for one!  We move the coop every couple of days and it's a bit of a mess when we move it, but within a few days it has turned a lush green and is quite distinctive from the rest of the grass. Himself has a grid pattern going now and is determined to get the lawn looking great with the chickens!

The eggs are FABULOUS!  You notice the difference as soon as you crack them.  The yellow of the yolk is so vibrant and the white just sticks around the yellow, it doesn't run out and this results in the most perfect poached eggs (stay tuned for eggs benedict recipe!) 

Ella finds the first egg!

The joy the kids get from the chickens is wonderful. They think they are so fun and love watching them and the little man loves chasing them around and giggles hysterically at them.  Not to mention the learning experiences involved. The girls have been very helpful with feeding and watering them and are learning some important lessons in animal husbandry. 

I find that personally it means I am outside a lot more during the day which is always a good thing and has prompted me to do some gardening and yard work that I would normally avoid. All in all it's been a fabulous experience and should pay for itself at the end of the year.  They are really no trouble and a wonderful addition to the garden. I would highly recommend it, if it's feasible for your family, no regrets!

Do you raise hens or ducks or some other animals for food purposes? I'd love to hear about it!  Any tips for the newbie hen keeper? I'm all ears!

Happy Monday! x

Cheater's Pizza

Excuse my absence of late, we have moved to the fabulous County Tipperary and I haven't had much internet access!

So this week the kids were bugging me for pizza and it was 5pm and I knew I didn't have time to make dough properly and have it risen and rolled out etc in time to feed them. However, I had some no-knead wholewheat dough in the fridge and had a brain wave!

Normally to use the no-knead dough as pizza you have to roll it out, pre-heat your oven to the highest setting and somehow manage to get a topped pizza into the oven without the use of a pizza peel, which I cannot find anywhere in Ireland, so my pizzas generally turn into calzones on the way to the oven. But this time I tried something different.  I fired up my grill pan to a high heat and rolled out some dough very thin and threw it on the pan.  It grilled up quickly and then we let the kids top them (don't ask me about the corn, I know it's insanely wrong, corn on pizza, it's something they have picked up in Ireland!) and threw them under the grill/broiler in the oven to melt the cheese.  Ridiculously quick and easy and none of the usual pizza hassle.  So easy we did it again the following night!

Ingredients:

• 1 quantity of no-knead dough *
• Pizza Sauce **
• Mozzarella
• Toppings of your choice

Pre-heat grill pan until it is smoking. Pre-heat oven grill/broiler.

Sprinkle your dough with flour and coat your hands in flour. Tear off a fist size ball of dough and roll out as thin as possible on a floured surface.

Throw on grill pan and grill for 2-3 minutes until grill marks are prominent then flip and repeat. It should get quite crisp.

Top the pizza base with sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice. Pop under grill/broiler until the cheese is bubbling and browning.

Enjoy!

* If you have not heard me wax evangelical about no-knead dough, check out this post. If I had to give up all my cookery books save for one, this would be the one I would keep.  The bread takes next to no effort, is cheap and so delicious!  There is now a UK version of the book for those who prefer to work with weight measurements, but I prefer the book with the US cup measuring system, less thinking or time involved!  The dough I use on a daily basis and used for this recipe is their light wholewheat bread.

The recipe is as follows:

3 cups luke warm water
1.5 tbsp dry yeast
1.5 tbsp kosher/sea salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
5.5 cups white flour

Mix the water with the yeast and salt and gradually stir in the flours. Stir until all combined, don't knead or over mix.  Leave to rise, lightly covered for two hours or so until it flattens again.  At this point either use the dough or pop it in the fridge and pull off as needed.  One pound pieces make lovely boules and loaves.  I rip off small fistfuls and make the kids rolls for lunches. You can use it to make pizza, pitta, naan, cinnamon rolls... the list is endless. The book has so many different dough recipes from granary to rye to broiche. I cannot recommend it enough!

** I just mix some passata with garlic powder, a pinch of sugar and Italian seasoning when I'm in a hurry!

Messy Tasty Kiddy Fun: Making Truffles

"I'm bored" and "I'm hungry" seem to be favourite sentences around here of late.  I decided to tackle both problems when the girls had some friends over.  I let them make truffles. Pretty gourmet for kids, but this easy recipe is so simple that it's perfect for kids to have some fun with. You can play around with flavourings too adding orange or raspberry extract for fruity versions and you can definitely experiment with toppings. I asked if they wanted coconut but got a resounding "ewwwww!"  For adult versions you could add some grand marnier.



Easy Cream Cheese Truffles

• 8 oz full fat cream cheese
• 12oz dark chocolate, melted
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Cocoa, icing sugar, sprinkles, coconut etc to decorate

Beat the cream cheese with a spatula until softened. Add in sugar and vanilla and beat until combined.  Stir in chocolate, it should start to thicken right away.  Once combined, refrigerate for 20 minutes to an hour.

Use a teaspoon and scoop out a spoonful of truffle mixture and roll into a ball in your hand.  Roll in topping of choice, eat immediately or refrigerate until serving. Enjoy!