Category Archives: Chickens + Gardening
It happens even to the best of us...Sometimes backyard chickens die. But usually, it's not the whole flock. Occasionally, one will get egg-bound or will die from random causes. Some chickens can be victimized by a rogue crow, raven, or hawk. Even worse, raccoons or bobcats can terrorize flocks. Yet I have to admit, it is even worse when the source of the tragedy is closer to home.
This is Barley. She looks sweet, doesn't she?
But one day when I came home after being out for a few...
Many thanks to Raffaella for today's guest post about Valley Verde, a non-profit in San Jose dedicated to helping low-income families grow organic gardens.
When I moved to California four years ago from Italy, I was excited to move to the birthplace of the organic food movement, and to raise my child in a place that is considered the fruit basket of the world. I was not expecting to see such imbalance and injustice in access to fresh vegetables and fruit. Low-income communities are drastically...
Thank goodness there were no speed traps on the highway when I was on my way to pick up our daughter from camp at Full Belly Farm. I missed her and couldn't wait to hug her and hear about her adventures.
Of course, it came as no surprise when she wanted to show me all of her favorite animals, including a calf, some goats, and the chickens. We climbed over the fencing that surrounded the mobile chicken tractors and looked inside to see if the eggs had been collected yet. We found nearly...
Our daughter came home from a week away of summer camp at Full Belly Farm, in Guinda, California. We adore this farm. I buy their produce nearly every week at the farmer's market, and we have attended their Hoe's Down festival for the past several years. I have even lead cooking workshops for kids there...on top of hay bales.
This year, Amelia came home from camp with a bounty of fresh veggies, including a bag bursting with multi-colored beets for her daddy, who adores them. It was...
Several years ago, my daughter joined 4H. I did a happy dance because that meant that we finally had a legitimate excuse to get chickens. I have always been an animal girl, but when I was growing up, my mom never allowed me to get any pets beyond the family dog. It was sort of traumatic, actually. In 3rd grade, my class raised crayfish to learn about their life cycle. Many of the other children were allowed to keep theirs, but I had to release "Pokey" into the stream instead. When I was 13...
I opened the refrigerator door over the weekend, closed it again, and went to the phone. I called our neighbor and told her that it was time for her to start saving her empty egg cartons. Ever since we adopted 3 new hens recently, we have been getting fresh eggs faster than we can use them.
I love hard boiled eggs, but I hate to peel them. In fact, I might actually have an egg-peeling disfunction. I end up creating craters and losing up to 1/3 of my egg when all is said and done. ...
When you think of "processed foods" the center aisles of the grocery store probably come to mind. I imagine rows and rows of brightly colored packages filled with chemical concoctions disguised as foods.
But I have news for you. Some "real" foods have to be processed before they can be sold in the stores. Does that make them "processed foods?" I don't think so.
On my recent trip to Sacramento to learn more about the walnut industry, we visited a walnut orchard and then saw how...
I have been getting a really nice response from my recent articles about the beef industry and how to read (and understand) meat labels. Several people have asked if I could talk about Eggs next. So, here we are...
Let's get some vocabulary out of the way first. As usual, many of the labeling terms don't mean what you think they mean.
“Free Range” chickens have access to a door leading outside. But that doesn't mean that they can reach it or that they are brave enough...
After 5 years of teaching high school and 7 years of teaching kids to cook, you could say that I am a big believer in what kids can do. They can, indeed, make an impact on the world. When I met Orren via Twitter, I loved that he was passionate enough about his chickens to start a blog about them. Happy Chickens Lay Healthy Eggs is amazing - and my daughter loves to visit, to see what Orren has been up to and to browse through the recent photos of his animals. We are considering...
I am an emotional person; a passionate person, and I wear my heart on my sleeve. Truth, inspiration and authenticity mean the world to me. Food Inc. spoke to me (and I cried my way through it)... and I am on the edge of my seat, waiting for Food Forward, a new show on PBS, our local public television station.
Who do you think is changing the way we eat? If you were the producer, who would you include in this documentary?
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