Hubby and I have always loved the idea of being more self-sufficient and saving money where we can. We have occasionally considered livestock animals, but only recently have we lived somewhere that it was feasible to have them.
Unfortunately, the land has covenants that prevent having any sort of large livestock animals (other than horses). Chickens and other birds have not been viable options because my father (we live together with my parents) absolutely loathes them.
So, that has pretty much put a damper on our desire to have more control (and better prices) for the meat that we eat. That is, until recently!
Friends of ours live on property that is partially covered by an incredibly thick mass of
blackberry canes. Last year, they raised a piglet for the freezer in a movable pen. The pig feasted on blackberry leaves and rooted up the canes, leaving clear, fertilized land that can be utilized for garden space. This year, they sought to double their clearings by raising two piglets.
But, they didn’t really need two sows worth of meat in their freezer, so they were putting the word out that they wanted someone to split the responsibility, the work, the expense, and the meat.
Long story short, we jumped at the chance and became kinda, sorta pig farmers. We have the benefit of someone else’s land and forage for them, as well as expertise in knowing how to successfully raise them. This greatly increases our chances for success by shortening our learning curve!
We chip in for food (which can include kitchen scraps as well as commercial feed), help with labor, and watch over them when the other family wants to travel. Plus, we are learning a new skill set that we enjoy dabbling in. It’s completely a win-win for us (we hope it proves worthwhile to the other family as well!).
Have you ever cared for livestock animals?
Till next time,
Another day of repetition around here. Today, I began putting up the second large stock pot of turkey bone broth and some leftover turkey meat. It feels good to put a bit of quality food back in the pantry for use later. I like that I know what goes into my jars, where I might not be entirely certain when I purchase products.
load, more or less. But, it will wait on low heat overnight until it is time to get started.
One thing that I don’t have on my little homestead is a chicken coop full of hens and chicks. We are in an agrarian area, but covenants that came with our property specify no large livestock. We can have horses, but no cows, pigs, etc. However, a neighbor once cleared land with goats and nobody batted an eye (so I am assuming that goats aren’t considered large livestock) and a couple of others down the road raise chickens, so I am pretty sure that would be okay here.
The secret to a superior chicken soup is really all in the broth. If you can avoid it, try not to use chicken stock. Stock is made from the meat and isn’t cooked very long. Stock will be straw colored and not nearly as rich and tasty as a good bone broth. Broth is made by cooking bones and some meat with or without veggies and salt. I always put onion and garlic in mine (you can even put the skins in as it will all be filtered out later), but there is no rule that says you have to. If I have carrots, a celery heart (or the end pieces that have leaves on them), a piece of cauliflower that has seen better days, broccoli stems, onion peels, etc. then I will throw ’em in. Basically, it’s a good way to take iffy looking produce and use it rather than throw it out. I would throw in just about anything except collard (with or without stems) because the only catch is to keep delicate leafy things like herbs out until the last 30 minutes or so, so they don’t get cooked to death! Oh, and I usually throw about 5 whole peppercorns in at the beginning, too. To learn more about preparing broths, 
But, back to the soup. In my large crockpot (I think it is a 6 quart model), I will chop up a fresh onion, add 4-5 cloves of minced garlic (we love garlic, if you don’t then cut it in half), a stem or two of finely chopped celery, and 2-3 peeled carrots cut into small rounds. I toss in a couple of cups or so of chopped or shredded chicken (can be cooked or uncooked), a Tablespoon of salt, a few grinds of fresh, black pepper, and 2-3 quarts of homemade turkey or chicken bone broth. If I add 2 quarts of broth, I will add 1 quart of water and two bullion cubes or the equivalent in granules. You can always add more water or broth if you want a fuller crock of soup, just remember to add 2 bullion cubes for every quart of water you add.
wonderful start. I added one frozen breast from a bag in the freezer and thawed it just enough to be able to run a knife through them. I diced them fine and added to the crockpot along with 1 medium yellow onion, 5 cloves of garlic (minced), two carrots cut into thin rounds, 3 quarts of chicken bone broth, 2 bullion cubes and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of salt. I let it cook on high for about 4 hours before stirring and adding about 3/4 cups of uncooked orzo to the mix. Normally, I would have added celery and used brown rice (wild rice, too, if I have some), but it was more important to use what we had on hand. Any noodles would have worked fine also.
Another Hatchett Job.... 