Farm Food

Brandon and I find ourselves talking about food more these days.  Not just because we are trying to grow some of our own food, but also because the consequences of our food choices have more direct impact on us than in days past.  Do you remember the good ole days, when our internal organs ignored us as much as we ignored them?  These days, we're getting feedback from some of our organs, including a gall bladder that has decided to finally protest the years of being ignored.  Since this irritated gall bladder has limited language skills, we've been trying to guess what it's problem is, which hasn't been working very well.   The doctors, when asked, get a gleam in their eyes and start sharpening their surgical knives.  Eek!  It's time to get serious about this, so we're opting for an elimination diet in the hopes that we can calm it down, and figure out which foods are causing the upset.  I haven't read the book yet, but I get the feeling we're embarking on a two month food journey that's going to keep us busy in the kitchen.  

Thankfully, the elimination diet we've chosen to follow doesn't put garlic on the "no" list.  I harvested a whole basket full from our garden this week.  We also have plenty of kale and chard, and have green beans on the way.  When we saw that tomatoes are not on the list of foods that can be eaten during the second phase of the elimination diet, we laughed at the rows of beautiful tomato plants in our garden.  Oh well.  If you want to see the yes and no list of foods for the detox phase, click here.  

Unfortunately, we suspect one of the foods that gets the gall bladder riled up is eggs.  Doh!  Since Brandon hasn't been eating eggs, and I have ten laying hens, I had fun boiling a bunch and pickling them with salt, vinegar, onions, and dill.   They should be ready in a few weeks.  Not that we get to eat them...stupid gall bladder.

One food that we have produced on our little farm is chicken.  The frying pan special roosters are at the right age for harvest, and Brandon and I put six of them in the refrigerator recently, and have nine more to go.  

I spent more time butchering the meat into separate cuts this time, which makes it easier for meal planning when I don't have to cook an entire bird.  These birds were raised on half organic chicken food and half the regular, toxin coated kind.  The elimination diet encourages using all organic ingredients.  We've decided to eat our own chicken, but I'm encouraged to grow the next batch on all organic food.  I need to learn to grow my own chicken food, right? 

For the first time since we began learning how to grow our own meat, we were able to eat a chicken dinner on the same day we butchered.  I'm not sure what kind of progress we're making, but I think it's progress!  

Chard cooked with onions in a little coconut oil is one of my new favorite side dishes.  I have just a handful of plants growing in the greenhouse, but they've been very generous with their leaves.  

I consider the herb spiral garden that is right outside the back door a total success!  It's so much fun to step right out the door and pick a handful of herbs for our meals.  Thanks to generous friends and some success with starting my own plants from seeds, I've got basil and holy basil to spare, and even enough sage, thyme, and oregano to play with.