The Sly Cook

Just a girl who loves her chickens, the best homeschool idea so far. It’s tricky trying to keep an extremely active Annabella busy, whilst we both attempt to work from home, but with the help of Diane and Barbara the hens, things are becoming a little more manageable. This summer we decided to participate in the rent the chicken program from Barnyard Organics. Barnyard Organics offer customers a chicken coop and either two or four hens from June to October. In the fall, the chickens return to the farm.

Hens for Rent provides everything you need to enjoy a summer life with laying hens including:

• portable chicken coop;
• two or four egg laying hens;
• certified organic, locally-grown feed;
• food & water dishes;
• instructions on how to keep your chickens happy!

Within two days of the arrival, your chickens will lay eggs ready to use! Your hens should lay 8-14 or 16-28 eggs per week depending on your the number of hens you choose. You will know exactly what your chickens eat by using East Coast Organic Feed Mill products grown and milled right here on their farm!

How does it work? They schedule a date to bring you a portable coop, two or four chickens that are already laying eggs, and the supplies needed for your rental period. Chickens produce the most eggs when daylight is at peak. Towards the end of the rental period, if you realize that you were born to raise backyard chickens, adopting the chickens is an option (keeping in mind that the coops provided are not winter-ready)! Otherwise, they will schedule a date towards the end of your Rental to stop by and pick up the rented chickens, coop and supplies.

You can call to register with Barnyard Organics for next year, at 902-887-3188 or use their convenient online registration form.

This Wednesday, June 19th I’m partnering with Get Cracking for its Wake Up to Yellow event. Come out to The Old Triangle, meet local egg farmers and learn about the benefits of starting your day with eggs from 7:30 am- 10:30 a.m. I’ve been so inspired by the delicious breakfasts they’re going to serve that I decided to make my own recipe for Shakshuka! You can find more delicious egg recipes like this one at eggs.ca. Hope you enjoy!

Recipe

 3 tbsp of vegetable oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

 4 large eggs

2 spring onions, chopped 1 tomato, chopped

1 piece of fresh ginger, 2cm, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 bird’s eye chilli

4 sprigs of thyme

400g of tinned chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp of coriander stalks, finely chopped (leaves roughly chopped to serve)

 salt

Method

● Heat the vegetable oil in a large ovenproof pan on a medium heat and add the chopped onion. Let it fry for 2 minutes, then add the ginger, garlic, chilli and thyme. Cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take care to not let it burn

●Add the chopped fresh tomato, let it cook for 1 minute, then add the chopped tinned tomatoes, coriander stalks and a splash of water. Season with salt and cook for 5 minutes

● Preheat the grill or oven and crack the eggs into the pan over the tomato sauce. Cook for a few minutes, or until the egg whites start to set, then place under the grill or in the oven until the egg whites are softly cooked and yolks are still runny

●Take out, scatter with coriander and spring onions and serve with fresh bread.

I am super excited to be working alongside Get Cracking for the Wake Up To Yellow event on Wednesday 19th June at The Old Triangle, Charlottetown. The event starts at 7:30am and goes until 10:30am. Delicious, healthy and complimentary breakfast sandwiches and wraps will be available, alongside yellow potted plants, egg recipe cards, and a chance to meet with local egg farmers! This is a fantastic opportunity to stop by and find out more about this mighty little nutrient packed protein and also an opportunity to speak with farmers about the benefits of quick, easy and nutritious eggs. Why not stop by on your way to work or school?

Eggs are such an easy way for me to add some protein into my morning and help me stay energized on my busy days! It takes me about 10 minutes to make any style of egg; they’re a healthy breakfast option that the whole family loves. You can find some great recipes at eggs.ca and watch for one of my favourites on the blog later this week!

Here are some more egg-citing egg facts for you: 

It takes less than 10 minutes to make a protein-packed egg sandwich for the morning. Adding a fried or poached egg to any meal only takes a few minutes.

Eggs are an easy way to include 6.5g of protein, which provides the energy your body needs to start your day

Join the conversation! Tell your friends to come out and grab a breakfast sandwich or veggie egg wrap on us, and meet a local egg farmer in your area.

With fourteen important nutrients, eggs are a simple and smart way to start your day.

I hope to see you all at the Old Triangle for the Wake Up to Yellow event! You can follow along on social or post your own photos by using #WakeUpToYellow.

Method

This recipe will makes 6 small pies or one large pie.

Begin the recipe by preparing the meats which need to be coarsely chopped in a processor using the pulse button – you need a chopped rather than ground.

Combine all the filling ingredients and give everything a really good seasoning. Pre-heat the oven to gas 350°F (180°C).

Next, the pastry: sift the flour and salt into a bowl and then put the milk and 25 ml of water into a small saucepan and add the lard, cut up into small pieces. Place the pan over a gentle heat and when the fat has completely melted in the liquid, turn up the heat to bring it just up to the boil, then pour it on to the flour and, using a wooden spoon, mix everything together. Turn the dough out on to a work surface and knead very lightly and briefly.
 
You have to work quickly now, as it’s important that the pies go into the tin while the dough is still warm. Take two-thirds of the dough and cut this up into 6 equal parts. Roll each of these into a ball and put 1 into each of the holes in the tin. Using your thumb, quickly press each ball flat on to the base and then up to the top edge. Press the pastry over the rim of the top edge; it should overlap by at least ¼ inch (5 mm). Now divide the processed pork mixture among the lined muffin cups. Then roll out the remaining pastry and cut out six 8 cm rounds for lids; the pastry will be quite thin, so you may need to sprinkle the work surface with a little flour.

Next, using a pastry brush, paint a little egg yolk round the edge of each lid and gently press a lid on each pie, egg side down. Then, using a small fork, press the rims of the lids against the tops of the pie cases. Re-roll any pastry trimmings and cut out diamond-shaped leaves to decorate the lids. Then glaze the tops of the pies with the rest of the egg yolk and make a steam hole in each one. Now place the muffin tin on the baking sheet and bake the pies for 30 minutes on the middle shelf, then remove them from the oven.

After this time, carefully and, using a small, round-bladed knife and oven gloves (or a thick cloth), remove the hot pies from the tin and place them directly on to the hot baking sheet; this will make the sides and base crispy.

Bake for a further 20-25 minutes or until the sides and base of the pies are crispy, then leave them to cool on a wire rack.

You can now add your jelly if you choose to do so, I use stock and gelatine leaves – you can also use the traditional trotter method or a gelatine sachet. The pies should then be chilled, overnight is best to set the jelly.