Mad chicken woman....and chicken bore!

One of the biggest delights of last year.....and there have been a few....must be the acquisition of my darling girls.
I have never had chickens before and like most people have always really wanted them. It was one of the reasons for moving to a new house to have a big enough garden to accomodate them.

Our four girls were bought as point of lay from a local market. Primarily wanting the chickens for their eggs I was advised to go for the common garden brown french hen!!! I dont have 2 turtle doves or a partridge in a pear tree...but I do have 4 french hens!!!
My OH and I have  4 children between us gave them task of naming them.. Each were to choose names that were chicken related ...so we have

Yoko
Princess Leah (Layer)
Sunny (as in sunny side up)
Drumstick

Leah was the largest and had the most beautiful dark brown and black colouring... she even laid an egg the first day. What a star! Yoko and Sunny were very similar and colour and it was difficult to tell them apart at first....and they were most certainly top of the pecking order amongst this crowd.
Drunstick....welll ...what can I say....runt of the litter, ugly duckling...you name it. Poor girl was definitely the odd one out. Within days all the chickens except her were laying...their wattles and combs were getting bigger and redder. Drumstick wasnt producing and was starting to look more like a turkey than a chicken.
We then had problems when 2 nights in a row she disappeared. Despite the run being closed, wings clipped and no chance of escape...she was not in the hen house! It was obvious she was being picked on by the others but I couldnt work out how in the evening she was missing from the coop and by morning had miracuously reappeared.
A little spying was necessary .....so as it was getting dusk I laid in hiding to watch what was going to happen. There was Drumstick...despite clipped wing,,,,flying to the  top of the coop and then up to the top of the hedge of next doors garden where she proceeded to sleep for the night!!!
Next day I took action.
1..more wing clipping. I obviously hadnt done  it short enough
2 Keep the biggest bully to one side whilst Drumstick got the feed first

That night when she tried to fly on to the hedge it was a bit of a crash landing back into  the run. She didnt try again.
After a few days the pecking order was reversed and calm prevailed. No problems at all since then.

I am happy to say all the girls are very happy, as we are also, as eggs have been in full  production every day even despite the dark days and early nights. I keep them in the run in the morning until the eggs have been laid and then they are allowed to free range round the garden ( and until we managed to block the holes in the fence they free ranged in all the neighbours gardens too!!!)

 Thia is our very posh chicken house...its called a DOODLE HOUSE. We purchased it second hand...its easy to keep clean and mite free as it comes to bits and can easily be washed down and dried in a couple of hours. Despite having 4 nesting boxes there seems to be a preference for them all to lay in one!!!

BE WARNED!!!!
KEEPING CHICKENS IS NOT COST EFFECTIVE IF YOU ARE BEING SELF SUFFICIENT

Unless you are not looking after them very well.....the cost of the chickens far outweighs any gains that you  make in eggs. Hen house, fencing, bedding, mite powder, feed...treats!!! ( they will come running when they hear the rattle of the sweetcorn tin!)

However the pleasure of keeping the chickens and the guarantee of fresh organic eggs is what makes it all worthwhile.

Please dont start to talking to me about chickens!!!!! It drives the OH crazy and he says I am becoming a chicken bore!!!!

If we were being self sufficinet in 2014 we would have starved..bring on 2015!

2015 came into our household with more of a SNORE than a bang!!! I think it must be the first year that we have slept through the bells...and my... was it agood sleep. The wine from La Regie in Verteuil certainly went down well and it was far too relaxing sitting in front of the massive log fire chatting with the host Sebastian. So relaxing that, after eating on our return ,we were so zenned out we slept till 8 the following morning!

So New Year...New start.

I love the start of a New Year...the idea of that first crisp clean page of the diary and calender waiting to be filled with all new adventures. Its like when it snows heavily for the first time and you look out the window at all the clean and white pureness...before cars and pedestrians turn it to a mucky sludge.

New years eve sees me frantically cleaning everything in sight, new bed linen and cupboards replenished. This year was no different and after our hectic year of DIY it was a pleasure to be able to have a kitchen with cupboards to replenish and even a pantry cupboard in order to set up my rows of "just in case" foods and supplies of home made goodies.

My blog this year along with all plans of being "self sufficient" somewhat went down the tube mixed in with tubs of cement, tiles and paint!! I have to admit to giving up a bit on the garden in order to concentrate on the house. Had we been reliant on what we grew to eat then I have to admit we would have been starving.
We dug the garden far too quickly thinking it would be a good idea just to get something growing! Big mistake...the soil was so neglected that very little grew. Along with the massive shadow from an overgrown apple tree the potager was looking very sorry for itself.
The only success was the beetroot..so plenty of chutney....but didnt do enough of it.
Some potatoes but not enough enough to last more than 2 months. Tomatoes were virtually non existant...so no sauces for the next year. Even the courgette plants that usually grow like Triffids faded and died with no fruit on!
The squirrel took every single hazlenut from the trees.

What we did have was lots and lots of apples!!!! There are 6 apple trees in the garden. I was really looking forward to going out every morning to collect fresh apples to make juice. Unfortunately only one of the trees is an eating variety...the rest are cider apples!

I DONT LIKE CIDER

The cows in the pasture behind us profited well from my apple crop and were waiting daily for their afternoon feed.
Next year...although I dont like cider...I will attempt to make some. So..my mission this year is to collect some demijohns and bottles in preparation. Watch this space next year for that.

Cherries Galore!!! Recipes and what to make with them

In our new garden we have lots of fruit trees, We had no idea what they were...they all looked the same to me so its going to be an interesting summer of discovery!!! The trees are quite old and neglected and there isn't a lot that we can do at this time of year in terms of pruning so we have just been removing the ivy which has been making itself at home on most of the trees.

The first tree to produce has been this one...
This is Madonna. -  .as in 'Allo Allo...the fallen one with the big.........well you know that one..



anyway....it is producing the most amazing amount of sweet cherries which has prompted me to explore the various uses.

I have come up with the following which I feel will be the most useful

If you are going to have a lot of cherries it may be wise to invest in a "denoyeur"....a little machine that takes the stones out!!! They range in price...mine was only 5 euros....but its good to get one that collects the stones. Some people freeze the cherries with the stone in but I have heard that they can be poisonous and also its much easier for use afterwards if you take them out first!!

JUST FREEZE FOR LATER USE

Open freeze immediately after picking and de-stoning and box up in the freezer to use for puddings,crumbles.scones or for popping into drinks

CHERRY VINEGAR

Mash up two cupfuls of destoned cherries and cover in a bowl with 1 bottle of cheap balsamic vinegar.

Leave for about 10 days then strain and bottle up.

CHERRY VODKA

In a large kilner jar add 360g of cherries, 1 litre of cheap vodka (no need to use anything expensive as it would be a waste) 160g sugar. Shake well to beginning the dissolving process for the sugar.

It is a bit of a labour of love as you need to shake every day for the first couple of weeks and then now and again until it is ready. This will take about 3 months so if you are making it for Christmas presents it will be ready in good time.

CHERRY CHUTNEY

There always has to be a chutney recipe on my blog!!! This is great with cooked meats and cheeses especially if you want to add a little sweet touch.

Put all these ingredients together in one big cooking pot.

325g cherries

1 apple,peeled,cored and grated

70 ml cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

1 small chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

100g sugar

Bring the ingredients to the boil then simmer on a medium heat for about 45 mins

Pour into warm sterilized jars and seal.

CHERRY DROP SCONES

This recipe is great if you have unexpected visitors...as we did today...

125g sr flour

2 teaspoons sugar

100 ml milk

handful of fresh chopped cherries

1 beaten egg

mix flour,sugar and cherries together then make a well in mixture to add the egg/milk mix

Just add a little at a time and stop before it gets too sticky. If you have added too much just put in a bit more flour to bind it together,

In a large frying pan add just enough oil so that the scones do not stick....if the heat is too high they will cook too quickly and burn...drop in a tablespoon full of mixture and.cook just enough to brown on each side. Fit in a many as you can in your pan and keep flipping the scones so they don't burn!

Serve while hot and if you are feeling a bit decadent....or more like if you have any in...you can add a blob of creme fraiche and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

JUST A LITTLE NOTE ON FRESHNESS.....CHERRIES NOT YOU!!!

You will lose 50% of the food value of cherries if they are left at room temperature for only 1 hour. If you put them straight in the fridge it would take a day to lose the same food value. Of course..like vegetables...it is best if you can freeze them straight away.

Another good solution I find is if you JUST EAT THEM STRAIGHT FROM THE TREE!!

YUM YUM....BONNE APPETITE





Planting in the mud!

Week 2 in our new home in the Charente is proving to be very busy and very interesting.
Not known to hang around when it comes to renovating the house we have been working like whirling dervishes!
All the living areas are plastered and painting has commenced. We have managed to purchase flooring for the bedroom, a shower cubicle, 2 toilets, and a sink. Also a chain saw, hedge trimmers,strimmer and a trailer! We have organised and ordered all new windows and doors.
Researched for the new kitchen,cooker , fridge and wood burner.
Our temporary kitchen has now moved into the kitchen.....which isn't temporary but the contents are...if that makes sense. The old living room door is coping very well as being the work top.....just hope it can stay the course!

I am really surprised at some of the extras that have been included in our house......in particular the monitor at the door which registers every time you go out gardening. This amazing monitor takes about 10 minutes to note  you have started gardening and then triggers a huge downpour of rain.
We are trying really hard to get the potager going....it's already late for a lot of the veg.....but the weather isn't on our side.  However we now have the next set of potatoes in, the courgettes, cucumbers, peppers and carrots. We are waiting for the ground to dry out....so that we can plant the beetroot and lettuce.
I am not expecting wonders from this years crop!..We have been assured that this rain is unusual.....I hope so!!


The cherry tree is laden with fruit and a lot are ready for picking. It's a little bit of a competition as to who will get to  the ripe fruit first....this morning the two red squirrels beat us to it.

I was very excited to discover a hazelnut tree in the garden.......well not quite discover as its so large you can't miss it.....what I mean is in my ignorance I mistook it for some wild tree that would need cutting down! Thank goodness I visited the garden of a friend  ( who was very kindly giving away lots of plants) and noticed a similar tree. Hazelnuts.....whoopee....however I expect that will be competition number 2 with Monsieur et Madame red squirrel.

All work and no play........you know the saying.....so check out this website...

www.underthelimetree.com

This is where we where we went this week for a body and soul pampering day. Even better is that it is right on our doorstep!!
Our host Nikki was a very inspiring person and we came away not only relaxed and pampered but full of new ideas for our own place.

And so.....back to the grind!!!!!

New adventures in the Charente

We have the start of a new adventure here in Verteuil sur Charente in France.

Having lived in a rustic wine growing village for almost 5 years we felt the time was right to seek new pastures.

Within 6 months our beautiful home was sold and we landed in what I would call  "Suburban" living.

We purchased a house......well.....walls and roof . The inside left a lot to be desired.......what some may call a blank canvas.

The garden and situation of said house is.........location location location!

Beautiful historic village, large enough garden to accommodate all veg growing and chickens ,mature fruit trees, quiet, river views, walking distance to local boulangerie and boucherie, good cycling roads that don't involve gasping  for breath hills and near enough to towns to buy items for the renovation on the "blank canvas"

I have to say it was hubby who chose the house....I took a bit of convincing. I still had the dream of living out in the sticks and being lost  in your hectare of land whilst living in the beautifully renovated Longere. Back in the land of the real world Hubby did inform me that I was no longer young or fit enough to take on such a mammoth task . As usual he was right and so the compromise was made.

After leaving our old renovated house in near perfect condition with wine and glasses on table  for the new owner, we arrived to our rubble strewn new home.
The builder, who was kindly fitting us in, was still plastering the walls in the lounge ........feeling very tired from all the preparations, packing and emotional parting I felt entitled to a little breakdown!
After a little weep, glass of wine and then a good nights sleep ( at least we had a bed) I was up for the new challenge.

Now....one week on....we have almost got all the electrics completed. Our open plan toilet now has a room of its own. The French plumber Vincent, who is like a whirling dervish, has almost completed the plumbing work so said open plan toilet can be replaced with one that doesn't need filled by hand and doesn't need lid lifted off to pull up the flush inside. New windows and doors are ordered.
We are camping in the lounge.....our kitchen is laid out on a trestle made with the door we took off  to join it to the kitchen. The kitchen is .....well....just a room with a sink in it...and still has all the builders materials lying around ...so is ..to be continued.....

As for the garden......that is the where the work needs to be. As we can't afford a rotovator ..even to hire one is 50 euros a day....it's digging the old fashioned way!  Years of weeds and roots are finding it hard to relinquish their comfy home....so it's slow hard work.
However if we want to carry on with our attempt at  self sufficient cheap living we must get the veg planted as soon as possible...especially as we are already late,
So....rather than digging it all ...we are digging and planting bit by bit. We brought some raspberry canes and strawberry plants from our old house and they have already settled in well. The blueberry and black currant bushes are in and one set of potatoes.
I think we have to accept that this year may not reap the crops we have had in the past but at least we will have something.
The garden being a little bit wild is at least giving us lots of dandelion leaves for salads.
Here's to what week two will bring.

Our house for sale in Montbrun des Corbieres

So we are about to start 2014..... And we have made the momentous decision to sell our beautiful home here in Montbrun.

We have spent the last 4 years here lovingly restoring our village house and enjoying the country life. However, now we feel its time to move on to new adventures. It has been a difficult decision as we love our village and the people we have met here. We have had so many lovely times with family and friends here also.

BUT.....

I have always wanted to have a small holding and live as self sufficiently as possible. We have achieved some of that here with our vegetable garden...but....I've always  wanted some animals.
Unfortunately we cannot do that in our veggie garden. It's too far from the house.....it's not practical and not safe. We just wouldn't be able to look after them well enough from a distance.

Realistically.....we are not of an age to take on a small holding so the search began for a house with a big enough garden to grow lots of veg and keep some chickens but not so big to be unmanageable.
We made a list of everything that we were looking for....decided we would not buy anywhere till we sold this house....and gave ourselves a couple of years to find the ideal thing.

THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS.......WE ARE FAR TOO IMPULSIVE TO STICK TO PLANS.

Our present house was purchased when we were on a weekend trip visiting a friend.....it was raining......so why not go and look at a couple of houses for sale in the village......oh and why not just buy one of them!

The say buy in haste and repent at leisure..........NEVER!   Always go with your heart and you can't go far wrong!

Ok...you guessed it.......we did the same again!

To be honest we did look around a LITTLE  bit. The problem was I was looking at all the old farmhouses with far too much land and in hamlets too far away from civilisation. Hubby was looking at things much more conservative.

The house just sort of jumped out at us.....

Small village...well twice the size of our present one...700 people!
Picturesque....river,chateau,water-mill
Restaurants,boulangerie,boucherie
House is a little too modern for me...not as rustic as our present one......and a little too big...but...

I LOVE THE GARDEN

Lots if room for my little chickies.

So compromises had to be made....so rustic is out and sort of french suburban style is in.


Anyway.......watch this space. We sign for the new house at the end of Jan  but can't move  until we sell this one.

Anyone looking for a french holiday house.......we are on green-acres.com.......village house Montbrun des Corbieres.

Unless we win the lottery and then  we can keep both...ha ha!

HOME MADE CHRISTMAS GIFTS ....IRISH CREAM WHISKY RECIPE

ITS A SAD DAY WHEN YOU DISCOVER THERE REALLY IS NO SANTA CLAUS. (THERE ISN'T IS THERE????) ALL THOSE FEELINGS OF ANTICIPATION AND EXCITEMENT AT OPENING YOUR PRESENTS ON CHRISTMAS MORNING...ITS SOMETHING YOU CAN NEVER FEEL IN THE SAME WAY EVER AGAIN!

THE BIGGEST JOY FOR ME NOW AT CHRISTMAS IS TO BE ABLE TO GIVE..... NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL THE GIFT..AS LONG AS IT IS SOMETHING GIVEN WITH THOUGHT.

WE ARE AT THE STAGE WHERE WE GIVE OUR CHILDREN MONEY SO THAT THEY CHOOSE WHATEVER IT IS THEY NEED/WANT  AND WHEN THEY NEED/WANT IT.
AS FOR OURSELVES WE NO LONGER GIVE EACH OTHER GIFTS JUST BECAUSE ITS CHRISTMAS.....IF WE SEE SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD LIKE OR A TREAT WE MAY LIKE TO HAVE...WELL...WE JUST GET IT AT THE TIME!!!

ITS REALLY NICE TO KNOW SOMEONE WELL ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO GIVE SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW WILL BE APPRECIATED. UNFORTUNATELY FOR MOST PEOPLE  ITS A CASE OF SEARCHING TO FIND SOMETHING AND USUALLY AT THE LAST MINUTE.

APPARENTLY THE FOLLOWING ARE THE TOP 5 MOST UNWANTED GIFTS.

1 UNATTRACTIVE SOCKS!!!!
2 CHEAP PERFUME/BOXED GIFT SETS THAT ARE OVERPRICED FOR THE CONTENTS.
3 PERSONALISED HANKIES. FOR HYGIENE REASONS PEOPLE RARELY USE THESE NOW.
4 EXECUTIVE STRESS TOYS....YES THERE REALLY WAS A BANANA SHAPED STRESS SPONGE!!!
5 HOUSEHOLD GADGETS....THOSE TIME SAVING THINGS THAT NEVER REALLY DO AND JUST FILL UP YOUR KITCHEN CUPBOARDS GATHERING DUST!

ALONG WITH.... XMAS TREE EARRINGS (ACTUALLY THEY ARE USEFUL ONE DAY A YEAR)...AND THE ANNUAL DANIEL O DONNELL CD!


ITS A REAL SHAME THAT SO MUCH MONEY IS WASTED ...BUT AT LEAST E BAY  DOES SOME ROARING TRADE ON BOXING DAY!!

ANYWAY..TO MAKING YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS PRESENTS......

ITS NOT ONLY A GOOD WAY OF SAVING MONEY..ITS ALSO A GOOD WAY OF MAKING SOMETHING TO SUIT THE PERSON THAT YOU ARE GIVING IT TO YOU.

LAST YEAR, HERE IN FRANCE, OUR NEIGHBOURS CALLED ON CHRISTMAS EVE BRINGING GIFTS OF HOME MADE SWEETS AND HOME GROWN PLANTS. IT WAS REALLY LOVELY THAT THEY HAD TAKEN TIME AND EFFORT TO MAKE SOMETHING FOR US. WE IN TURN MADE SHORTBREAD AND CHOCOLATE FUDGE FOR OUR NEIGHBOURS, THE MAIRIES OFFICE AND MARTINE WHO WORKS IN THE POST OFFICE.

WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE SOMETHING PERFECTLY CRAFTED BUT I DO THINK IT IS MUCH MORE APPRECIATED WHEN YOU HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO DO IT YOURSELF.
THE FOLLOWING IS MY START OF GIFTS FOR THIS YEAR....

OF COURSE I COULDN'T POSSIBLY REVEAL AT THIS STAGE WHO THEY ARE FOR!!!!!

I HAVE MADE A TRIO OF HEARTS FILLED WITH LAVENDER,(LAVENDER HAND PICKED IN THE SUMMER) COTTON NAPKINS WHICH I DECORATED USING DYLON FABRIC PENS, RASPBERRY RUM,  BLACKBERRY VODKA AND LAVENDER MASSAGE OIL.

I ALSO INTEND MAKING SOME IRISH CREAM WHISKY.....A HOME MADE VERSION OF BAILEYS. THIS ONLY KEEPS FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS IN THE FRIDGE SO IT IS BEST TO MAKE IT JUST BEFORE GIVING.

THE RECIPE IS AS FOLLOWS...

LARGE TIN OF EVAPORATED MILK
LARGE TIN OF CONDENSED MILK
GLASS OF WHISKY...LESS IF YOU DO NOT WANT IT TOO STRONG
TEASPOON OF GLYCERIN
1 TABLESPOON OF INSTANT COFFEE DISSOLVED IN 2 TEASPOONS OF WATER.

MIX ALL IN A JUG THEN TRANSFER INTO BOTTLES.

IT IS BEST TO USE SMALLER BOTTLES BECAUSE IT WILL NEED TO BE USED UP IN THE 2 WEEKS AND NOT MANY PEOPLE WANT TO DRINK IT EVERY NIGHT FOR 2 WEEKS!!!!! ITS GREAT TO GIVE TO PEOPLE WHO YOU KNOW WILL BE ENTERTAINING A LOT OVER CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR!



I HOPE YOU ENJOY MAKING AND GIVING YOUR CHRISTMAS GIFTS.