The Wayward Seed latched onto this idea, and is now offering Ohioans weekly drop-offs of fresh produce for a flat rate. The concept is simple: Purchase your vegetables in the winter, enjoy them in the summer when the crops are ready and they are delivered. No longer will you have to worry about the rising costs of supermarket produce, and you’ll benefit from a healthy, fresh lifestyle.

Besides fruits and veggies, The Wayward Seed also has delicious herbs that are home-grown on the farm. Their herbs add a delicious, savory aspect to any meals. What a perfect way to add flavor without dumping in extra salt.

The Wayward Seed refuses any use of petrochemicals or pesticides in its operation, and ensure that all plants are given a healthy feeding of seaweed, fish emulsion and humus. Aged compost is applied at certain times during the year to encourage microorganism growth in the soil, which benefits the crop. Quite simply, the Wayward Seed’s Columbus fresh produce is better than any in the region.

Making this treasured treat will fill your whole home with the sweet smell of cinnamon and sugar. This is a recipe I used to make in my restaurant and still make for friends and family… every so often. It doesn’t take very long, but expect to have to make seconds… and sometimes thirds!

Here are the requirements for the eggs and bread – our example will be for 4 people

• 2 Eggs Per 3 Pieces of Bread
• 3 Pieces of Bread Per Person
• 1 Large bowl able to accommodate the mixture and bread slices

So – for our 4 hungry people we will need:

• 8 Eggs
• 12 Pieces of Bread
• 1/2 Cup Half & Half, heavy Cream or Milk
• 2 Teaspoon of Vanilla
• 3 Tablespoons of Sugar (White)
• 1 and a 1/2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
• 2 Tablespoons of lightly melted butter (the butter must not be hot as it will be poured into the egg mixture – we don’t want scrambled eggs!)

Step One: Add the Eggs, Milk, Vanilla, Cinnamon Salt and Sugar into a large ceramic or plastic bowl (no steel) for at least 4 minutes – making the eggs just a tad frothy.This will help to break down the sugar. Mix with a hand mixer (or blender on medium) for at least 3 minutes.

You’ll notice right now the sweet smell of the mixture… it gets better

Step Two: Once mixed well, add in the warm, melted butter. Remember, the butter must not be hot or it will cook the eggs. You should be able to stick your finger in the butter and notice its warm… and not too hot. Start mixing the egg mixture once more and while whisking, add in the butter – whisk for 1 minute.

Step Three: Heat your frying pan or griddle.

Step Four: Take a piece of bread and submerge it into the egg mixture. Take another piece of bread and do the same. Add as many pieces as will fit onto the frying pan/griddle or will fit into your bowl. When taking the pieces out – make sure the egg mixture stops dripping. If the pieces are too wet they will take a while to cook and will be too soggy. One dripped out (?really?) then place onto frying pan and let cook for about 45 seconds to 1 minute per side. Keep in mind your stove or griddle temperature may be different than mine so it may be sooner or longer.

The flip side will always take less time to cook!

Step Five: Once browned on both sides – remove from griddle and serve – no need to add powdered sugar or even syrup!

This French Toast recipe needs no syrup! – Enjoy! And if you like this recipe and want to make your own egg recipes from the freshest eggs in your side of the world – go get Dan Kennedy’s book “Make Your Own Chicken Coop” and start farming your own organic eggs!

One of the main reasons for building our chicken coop was to have our own fresh “real” organic eggs. This didn’t mean feeding our chickens corn products or other feeds from feed stores. Nope – we made our own chicken meal from scrap produce and day old bread. The chickens were crazy for it!

… and we reaped the rewards of having the freshest, sweetest eggs in the city!

One crack of our eggs and you can tell just in the shell that the eggs were sturdy and not thin, like store bought eggs. Since we also opted to feed our chickens a little bit of chicken shell back in their mix (ground fine of course)  this only bolstered the hardness of the shell by adding more protein into their system.

Making omelets, scrambled eggs and eggs every which way – our families and guests have really tasted the difference. They all claim the eggs are much creamier – maybe its due to no stress egg laying – we’re unsure as we are not scientists or doctors – but we have become really good farmers!

If you are interested in raising your own chickens, and it doesn’t take many – typically only one or two per family (and some people have more dogs and cats than that!), have a look at Dan Kennedy’s book on how to “Make Your Own Chicken Coop.” It was really easy and the videos were fun and inspirational to watch – not to mention educational!

So our questions to our breeder:

1. Will Rhode Island Reds eat more than White Wyandottes?
2. Will either be foul (ha!) to each other of they are mixed in the coop?
3. Which one has the better egg?

To each of these questions it is based all upon the bird. Althouh we have recently discovered that the Rhode Island Red chicken has a stronger shell – that explains why most cooks use them and also why they are more expensive. (Write about feed and oyster shell new post – link it back here)

We also noted that it is fine to have all species of bird within the coop, but mind them when you ar epicking them out. You want to look them over very carefully to make sure they are not diseased or are missing too many feathers. Especially blood on chickens – if you see even a speck of blood on a chicken disregard it and look at the next.

Don’t be led into what the breeder wants to give you – pick your own. If you chose wrong, so be it – your choice. It won’t appear as the breeder was getting rid of the worst producers or sickliest stock.

So we chose 2 Rhode Island Reds and 2 White Wyandottes to start our flock – no rooster necessary (states the breeder). Getting them caged was another task and one that is best left for a friend with a truck. I think the interior of my car will smell like chicken droppings for quite some time.

Word of caution – DO NOT put your new birds in the trunk of your vehicle to get them home – if they don’t get baked in the sun or frozen in the winter they’ll surely get gassed by your cars emissions.

This breakfast tradition is sometimes also referred to “Eggs With a Hat”, or “Eggs In A Hat”.  Quite simple to make, its one of those one pan wonders!

Egg In The Hole

Ingredients:

• Pat or two of butter
• 1 Egg
• 1 Piece of Bread (any style)
• Salt/Pepper To Taste

Instructions:

1. Remove a center section of the piece of bread large enough to fit the egg through it (still in the shell – this is for measurement only)
2. Butter both side of the bread – place in hot pan that has been heated on medium-high heat
3. After about 40 seconds – turn the bread over in the pan
4. Drop 1 small pat of butter in the hole – immediately crack the whole egg and let the yolk rest in the hole (this next step depends on how well you like your eggs cooked through – we suggest you mind the rules of salmonella… and cook the egg thoroughly)
5. Cook the egg until the whites have cooked thoroughly. If you want a fully cooked egg (meaning the yolk is cooked through – much like a hard fired egg)  you can always turn the bread and egg over as one and let cook for 40 seconds or so longer.
6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste
7. Place the rounded portion which were removed on top of the yolk – hence “The Hat” – Enjoy!

Now that your coop is built the next question would be what type of chickens would you need (or want) to include in your organic free-range chicken farm.

Rhode Island Reds - Perfect Eggs Everytime

For our farm we decided to get Rhode Island Reds. The eggs from these birds last longer as well we discovered that the shells are a bit stronger and can take much more abuse. Then again we also discovered that what you feed a chicken also helps in the creation of its egg. But that is for another post.

We were actually fortunate enough to find a farmer growing free-range birds only 30 miles from our home. We were adamant that the birds be free-range and organically fed becuase we wanted only pure, country style eggs.

Thankfully the farmer who sold us the birds also had trimmed their wings prior to us picking them up. Trimming a chickens wings is important as it keeps them from flying up or attempting to fly.

So we get our birds home and as soon as we had them out of the crate they were off inspecting their new home. It was truly amazing to wathc as they took to this new home like they had lived there their entire lives.

The pecked around a bit, managed to find their way intot the coop and started to walk the yard.  After a small feeding we left them alone to discover their new surroundings.

The Next Morning

Early to rise! The next morning I went out to feed and water my new birds – lo and behold – 2 EGGS! I was ecstatic. Almost as good as Christmas, having those two eggs sitting there re-assured me that this was going to be the best opportunity for fresh produce and better for my health.

I called my partner and she came right over – we enjoyed those eggs with a little toast – we call it “Toad In The Hole” – you can find it in our recipes section!

Till Next Week!

Prices for pre-built and pre-fabricated chicken houses are shockingly high. This is most likely the reason why most people are happy to take the DIY approach to chicken coops. In fact, you can make your own chicken house for under half the price of a construction “kit”. This article discusses your options, and gets you off to a flying start!

Chicken Coop Designs

The term “chicken house” can be misleading. It can be something as small as an a-frame coop, or as large as a complete hen house with attached chicken run. Below is a list of designs that you may possibly be interested in building.

• The a-frame chicken coop
• The chicken arch
• The box-shaped coop.
• The hen house.

Building Equipment And Materials

The next step is deciding what your chicken house is going to be made from. You also need to work out what tools you need. Small chicken coops generally only require a few lengths of wood, some chicken wire, and some nails. Still, think about the following:

• Treated pine is generally the best all-round lumber. However, for a high class finish, go with cedar. It’s naturally resistant against water and rotting.
• Chicken wire is your best friend. In fact, you can build a small, portable a-frame coop with just 12 bits of timber and a heap of chicken wire!
• Plywood and chipboard are fine to use, especially for enclosing nesting areas. Be careful which glue you choose. It can be toxic to chickens!
• Don’t forget to ask your neighbors about any scrap wood they might have. Normally you’ll be able to find at least one person with some bits and pieces you can use.

So I chose a plan that allowed for me to use my limited budget, limited tools and of course limited knowledge in building and carpentry. So I found a site that I just knew would help me build. It not only came with a manual I could print and take into the yard but it also had online videos to watch when I got stuck. Yes, I got stuck but not due to the manuals, basically due to my limited expertise. So it was really nice that I could simply go to the membership portion of the site and click on a video and see what I had missed in the manual.

It was also helpful that I could have my laptop on my deck and review everything without having to go in the house. Going in the house meant having to remove my shoes and try to get comfy while I read or watched the video. This was no time to get comfy!

Looking through all of the major plans some really stuck out more than others. You could easily tell which applications were BS (excuse my French). But some of these sites were simply garbage and really only tried to push a product. Not like MakeACoopOnline.com, they really went the extra mile to help novices like me and Margaret. Once we paid we got access to the manual (lots to print!) and also access to all the great instructional videos on building our chicken coop.

So, there you have it. We looked at 10 different sites and then narrowed it down to 2 or 3. When it came time to finmalize our purchase we based it on:

1. Ease of use
2. Amount $$
3. What it came with
4. Assistance if we got stuck (didn’t even need this!)

In the next article I am going to write about how we picked our chickens and the ensuing chase down the street to reclaim them after they got loose.

Helen.

www.chickensking.com