The Friday photo: clucking chickens, fresh bread, golden yolks…
I suppose I’m a bit odd (well if you’re a regular reader you’ll know that already) in that most of the best moments in my life seem inextricably linked to food. My very happy childhood full of roast dinners, Christmas Snowballs, rice pudding and jammy dodgers, warm strawberries straight off my Grandad’s garden and plums off the tree (‘oy gerrof them you kids!’). Then it was puréed baby food (#2 liked banana and courgette – he won’t believe it now), making cupcakes with the boys as toddlers, a pea and prawn risotto when Hubby and I got a rare New Year’s Eve together while Grandma babysat… holiday food… Christmas food… family food… every lovely memory seems to be accompanied by the warm scent of baking, the zing of lemon or the fizz of champagne bubbles up the nose.
The other day was no different. We met fellow blogger Maxi Cane and his other half, the adorable Jelly Monster to arrange collection of Maxi’s Ma’s unwanted chicken coop, which he’d kindly agreed to give us. A friend was picking it up, but I needed to meet them anyways, just to say hi and to make payment in the form of chocolate brownies, carrots and spring onions, all freshly picked. Now if you know Maxi’s blog you’ll know he’s a bit naughty, but in real life he was sweet and funny, and the lovely Jelly – wow. You know those people who are just so sexy they practically crackle with it? She’s curvy and gorgeous with the prettiest face – not a single man walked past without sneaking a look, I swear.
Anyhoo, so we got the coop and later on, David, our garden chappy, dropped off its occupants (in a sack! Only in Ireland). The first disappointment (well, the second – the first was the sack) was that the coop was condemned as unsatisfactory – no separate nesting box, no perch and too small, so much to Hubby’s disgust, we had to go out and buy a new one.
€180 lighter (it’s a hell of a pad, it’s got an upstairs with removable poo trays, a perch, a separate nestbox…you name it), but very excited nontheless, we got to check out our new arrivals:
We got a bossy little ginger madam who was quickly adopted by #2 and given the name Minnie Dean (named after a serial killer - don’t ask) and a taller, darker red one – adopted by #1 and called Chilli – bit feisty this one – she gave #1 the slip as she was being transferred and sparked a ridiculous 15 minute family chicken chase round the garden (cue the Benny Hill music) where we all hurled ourselves at her, unsuccessfully, shouted at each other, got zapped by the electric fence (#1) and basically made fools of ourselves until she was rugby tackled by Hubby and taken, squawking loudly in protest, to join the others. Here’s Chilli (top) and Minnie in their new pad (that hangy thing is an apple, by the way):
And as a freebie, we got a cute little black and white cockerel, who got nicknamed The Stig.
Trouble is, Minnie and Chilli don’t like Stig and keep attacking him, so there’s a possibility that if they don’t settle, Stig will have to go back. The chicken man is coming over later to check on stuff.
Anyhoo, they’re obviously settling in well, because the next morning we got – an egg! And then this morning another one! Well, there was nothing for it, this called for fresh brown bread and a perfectly fried egg. And so, our first ever chickens will be inextricably linked in my mind to the smell of freshly baked brown bread dipped in a golden, runny yolk:
I am a happy, happy chicken owner and no mistake.
Wednesday’s stuff, but no nonsense
Congrats to fellow Irish blogger, K8 the GR8 and new hubby TAT on their big day - pop over to K8′s blog and have a look at the kids in their wedding outfits. Adorable.
Stuff to see and do:
Check out Disney 7 member Linda’s fabulous new blog, havealovelytime.com All about travelling with kids, there’s hotel reviews and day trips and a certain guest blogger might even have an Irish hotel review on there soon *cough*
The kids’ vitamin company, Haliborange, has launched a great new website. There’s tons of arty and cooking stuff to do over half term (remember, National Family Week is 25-31st May). I loved the video ’cook-along’ with celebrity chef, Lesley Waters. And for your budding High School Musical stars there’s going to be tutorials from performing arts guru, Sylvia Young! Log on to: www.shinyschool.com .
The All Ireland Food & Drinks Skills Conference is on in Cromleach Lodge, Sligo on Wednesday 20th May 2009, organised by Taste4Success – a day long event on facing challenges and opportunities, promoting products and where to cut costs and differentiate in the Food & Drinks business. If you would like more information click on www.taste4success.ie.
Disney stuff:
After your very own pair of Mickey ears? Don’t miss the My Mickey ears auction - celebrity ears up for grabs – organised by Disney and benefiting Great Ormond Street Hospital. Daisy Lowe’s ones are seriously cute.
Disney scoop: TOY STORY 3 is coming!!!! And it’s in 3D!!!
Recommended:
Thanks to Fairy Non Bio Gel for sending me stuff to test (I’ve had their website running in the background and found the sound of bubbles popping strangely addictive). It came top in my smell test, with Bold 2 in 1 Pomegranate and Orange Blossom a passable runner up, although sometimes I find the tablets don’t dissolve. I’m well on the way to using it up and have to stop myself from sniffing my children as they walk past – they smell gooooood. Oh and I’m loving all that squeezing gel into the lid too – muchos fun.
Other stuff I’m loving:
I’m still after a couple of these:
and one of these (thanks to lovely commenter, Hockeysticks, for the reminder. Thanks also to the very patient Diane at Crann Dair Chicken Rescue for her answers to my exhaustive questioning. In the UK, contact the Battery Hen Welfare Trust.
Elave Hand Wash for my seriously dry, itchy and very gnarly old hands (no wonder I suffered from ‘claw hand’ in all the Disney shots.
Benefit’s Hoola: fab bronzer without the ‘I’ve been tangoed’ effect, and their ‘fake’ foundation Some Kinda Gorgeous - a cream-to-powder type thingy. The lady at the airport put it on me with a brush and I’ve never looked so polished (I usually look like Aunt Sally off Worzel Gummidge).
Coming soon:
Step by step vanilla muffins, news of a brand new cookbook, Lego Duplo sets to giveaway and more stuff from our trip to Disney (altogether now… oooooooh!) x
EDIT: Ooh and just had to add: has anyone seen Peaches Geldof modelling the new ‘Miss Ultimo‘ range? I’m loving the underwear, but check out the serious tattoo action on that girl – she has more body art than the clientele of half Britain’s greasy spoon cafés!
No battery required: well done, Sainsbury’s
Of all the things I really miss about home, it’s being close to a really nice, big supermarket: being able to choose from tons of lovely stuff rather than having to make do with whatever the smaller shops can squeeze onto their limited shelves. And although our closest was Tesco, there was a really nice Sainsbury’s not too far away (do you know what, I can’t even remember the name of the town, and I’ve only been gone two years. It’ll come to me, I’m sure). I really like Sainsbury’s (and no, it’s not just the Jamie Oliver connection), I like the stuff they sell and their values too (I love Waitrose, too, but seriously – who can afford to shop there?). And true to form, their latest press release is a sign that they’re way ahead of the competition.
From the 5th February, Sainsbury’s have announced that it will sell only eggs from uncaged birds. I think, to be fair, that M&S or maybe Waitrose were the first to do this, but still, Sainsbury’s is the first of the big four to ban battery eggs and hopefully it will force the other big hitters to do the same. Compassion in World Farming have called the move ‘breathtaking‘ and praised Sainsbury’s ‘genuine commitment to continuously improving life for all farm animals in their supply chain‘.
Still on the subject of welfare, there’s some cracking TV coming up over the next few weeks. I’m gutted I missed Jay Rayner’s ‘True Cost of Cheap Food’, but Channel 4′s ‘Great British Food Fight’ continues with the return of the chicken’s champion, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, as he continues to badger the hell out of poor Tesco (26 January, 9pm), and Jamie moves from chickens to pigs in Jamie Saves Our Bacon (29th January 9pm). Bring it on, I say.
Chicken Out!!
Not sure that I’ve mentioned this, but I’ve been badgering Hubby for a while now about chickens. I want some. Okay, I know I’m not exactly Farmer bloody Giles (don’t think pink Hunters count here) or Hugh Fearnley Whatsisface, but can’t a girl have just a couple of chickens in her life? It’s not much to ask. My big brother, a (sometimes) serious, important, often besuited managing directory sort of chap has chickens in his garden, and they’re entertaining and surprisingly intelligent little fellas, so why not? After all, we live in the country and as long as we sort out the initial problems (Bert springs to mind – we don’t want any midnight expeditions ending in feathery hiccups now, do we), I think we’d make perfect chicken owners.
Talking of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, me Mam emailed me a link to his delightful ‘Chicken Out’ website. I like Hugh, he has values and he’s not afraid to eat the odd placenta, making him an innovator in my book. This latest campaign (apparently there’s a TV programme too: ‘Hugh’s Chicken Run’, but we don’t get Channel 4) is aimed at one of my particular pet hates, the flaccid £2.00 (or €3.99, whatever) supermarket chicken.
I know we’re very lucky here in Ireland to have decent butchers that not only sell good free range chickens but can also tell me where they’ve been brought up and how, but our supermarket chickens are a disgrace as well. Most ‘value’ chickens lead a miserable, often painful life in horrendously overcrowded conditions and, honestly, when you look at the value chickens huddled under plastic in our supermarkets and selling for a ridiculously cheap price it’s just plain sad. As Hugh so rightly says, ‘is that all the life an animal, born and raised to feed us, is worth?’? Let’s face it, the supermarkets make enough money from us. Isn’t it time we put our money where our mouth is and demand that they pack in these ridiculous price wars and pay decent farmers, decent money for decently reared chicken?
I love my family, and as you know I take pride in producing good food for our table. I’m perfectly aware that money doesn’t grow on trees and that free-range chicken costs more. But frankly I’d rather have an excellent free-range chicken once a week, than three meals made from cheap crappy chicken intensively bred to go from egg to slaughter in under 40 days.
So here’s the thing. I don’t often ask much of you, but I’ll ask you this. Log on to the website, add your voice to the throng, and next time you’re shopping, ask your supermarket manager, nay, badger your supermarket manager, about the quality of the chicken he sells. Now if I can just convince Hubby about those chickens….
