The Chicken Chronicles

SO...  are you sick of turkey yet ?

A NORMAN ROCKWELL THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving has been an established tradition in the United States since President Lincoln proclaimed it a national holiday at the end of the Civil War .

It's a good time to think about how much we have to be grateful for.  Remember  heroes past and present who have made it possible for us to live in freedom in this glorious country.

Wild turkey feathers we have collected on our property

The Declaration of Independence was signed with  a turkey quill.

Antique Documents framed in simple black frames
 make a stunningly graphic display

A receipt for family silver signed - Paul Revere

                           

 "I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country... the turkey is a much more respectable bird... a true original native of America."

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

 The national bird of the

United States of America

A protected bird used as a 

decorative symbol to perch on everything

from flagpoles to mirrors.

With the turkeys in Washington today a gobbler would
be so much more appropriate on that pole.

The Federalist Era - 1790 - 1820 
Patriotism was running high in the new republic .
Eagles were a  very popular decorative motif 

Antique Bull's Eye Mirror  @ 1810

 ELMQUIST INTERIOR DESIGN

INTERIOR by SUZANNE RHEINSTEIN

45 million turkeys were consumed over this past Thanksgiving.
Would statistics have been the same if Mr. Franklin's vote had carried the day ?

Spare a turkey- eat chicken !

I fear this POULE is going au POT

We have had a flock of hens
 for the past 12 years.

They live at the  Motel Chix 
free to roam in their enclosed garden safe from predators.

The Motel Chix

None of our  'girls' will ever see a pot.    

They are farm pets   that happen to lay 

delicious fresh eggs in a gorgeous array of colors.

   

HOMESPUN LINEN from Summer Hill ltd.

All the girls were chosen based on looks and personality
 MACMURRAY HATCHERY

 BUFF BRAHMAS

BUFF ORPINGTONS

GOLDEN LACED WYANDOTTES
AURACANAS

The Auracanas lay blue eggs.
The color was the inspiration for the foils on our wine and olive oil bottles

"birds of a feather..."  Cabarnet Sauvignons from the Calistoga Appelation
The Auracana blue capsule stands out on the GLEASON


Feathers don't appear often as motifs in textile designs even though the  colorations, textures, and patterns are amazing-  actually reminds me of the always popular leopard motif.

CHICKEN FACTS

A chicken will lay an average of one egg every 36 hours  for about 3 years but they can live to the ripe old age of 25 if kept safe and healthy.

When their egg laying days are over,  our girls continue to live out their lives on guaranteed social security. 

By the way-   you do not need a rooster for hens to lay eggs.

You only need a rooster if you want  fertilized  eggs - hence... to make more chics- but frankly the thought of eating a fertilized egg grosses me out.

The color of an eggshell does not effect the taste of the egg.  Egg flavor and yolk color are influenced only by what the chickens are fed.  Orange peels, corn and marigolds make for bright yellow yolks.

When I order a new batch of  chics I specify them sexed-all female.  It's not easy to determine gender at that young age so there is no guarantee you won't occasionally get a future rooster.

The dynamics in our  coop changed dramatically when a gorgeous young cockerel emerged strutting his stuff -- a relatively peaceful sorority became a competitive henpecking mayhem.

 

VIN-cent  (aka Vin-E) - had to go.  I gave Vin-E up for adoption and subscribed to a " DON'T ASK - DON'T TELL" policy.

NO RECIPE HERE FOR COQ AU VIN

Chickens and Roosters are popular icons

A cheerful way to wake up the morning
When you keep chickens you become the recipient of almost anything 'Chicken'

BECKY DOODLE TOILE from Summer Hill Ltd

Gift wrap a small space in a Toile and it 'expands' the space

The beloved Chanticleer is as much a national symbol of France as the Fleur de Lys.

Brave- Bold- Vigilant and Virile 

An antique French weathervane
Le Coq has graced steeples from churches to dovecotes for many centuries

The Gallo Nero on the neck of a chianti bottle certifies that it is a true Chianti Classico made of at least 80% Sangiovese grapes

Traditional  Chianti bottle with straw carrier

A Lamp made from an antique wine bottle is amazingly  modern
from  Drum & Company Antiques San Francisco

Our  one and only  rooster is a bronze one sculpted by Miri Margolin, the Israeli sculptress

In the studio

Perched on the entry wall crowing welcome

acclaimed  for her bust of Raoul Wollenberg,  installed in the capital building in Washington, D.C.

Raoul Wallenberg is  the Swedish diplomat who saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II by issuing them protective  passports and sheltering them in buildings in Budapest that were designated as Swedish territory.  He was detained by the Soviets in 1945 and mysteriously dissappeared, never to be seen again. There is much speculation about what happened to him,  and speculation that he may have had ties to US intelligence.

His bust stands as a continuous reminder that one man with the courage to care and the conviction to know right from wrong- can make a  difference.  Nothing "chicken" about that kind of hero.

This solitary and moving image from Lars Sjoberg's CLASSIC SWEDISH INTERIORS
photography by INGALILL SNITT  

'Inspiring images of rough-edged but strangely regal
18th-century farms, country houses and city mansions.
Poetic, accessible juxtapositions abound.'
New York Times

Speaking of heros and World War II, I  am reminded of  Leslie Howard, the British actor best known for his role as Ashley Wilkes in GONE WITH THE WIND, starring with Vivien Leigh (curiously also a Brit) and Clark Gable

The Pulitzer Prize winning epic novel about the
 Civil War and the Restoration

Clark Gable

Vivien Leigh

 The film classic was being filmed in the United States as Hitler was marching into Czechoslovakia.

LESLIE HOWARD

This 16th century house outside London was the home of Leslie Howard.  It is now owned by our friends Alex and Terry.  They have restored the grounds and the house.  The screening room now quite derelict is a future project

During World War II Leslie was active in anti-Nazi propaganda, and it is widely believed he too was connected to British and US intelligence.  His death in a plane crash in 1943 is not mysterious but certainly suspicious in light of  his espionage activities.

My parents met and married when they were stationed in Italy at the end of World War II

                                       

During their Italian stint my dad learned to make eggs BURRO NERO ( black butter) now the  traditional way our family prepares eggs.  With the fresh eggs from our girls the recipe is perpetuated better then ever.

Scrambled Eggs Burro Nero

serves 2

4 large eggs 

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 TBLS butter

8" skillet

Beat the eggs and salt hard until fully blended.  ( I do  eggs in a Cuisinart)

Place skillet on a high heat and allow pan  to heat up for 30 seconds.

Add the butter; 

allow foam to subside and butter to turn a dark brown. This is the BURRO NERO

Pour the egg mixture into the skillet in a slow stream using a FORK to drag the egg and swirl it around incorporating the brown butter . DO NOT REDUCE HEAT

Keep dragging with the fork until eggs reach the dryness you prefer.

DON'T EVEN THINK OF USING A SPOON OR A SPATULA  and don't make more then 4 eggs at a time in this size pan.  They need to be able to cook FAST.