PRACTICAL PARSIMONY: murder

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Major cooking today

Whew! Being parsimonious has its ups and downs. I benefit from the "ups" and get over the "downs."
~~24 meals of meat in the oven for about $8~~

Frugally exhausted,
Linda--parsimonious and practical

Yes, it is true. I like the economy of cooking bursts. You must know that by now. For at least 2 weeks I won't need to cook meat. I might decide to open a can of tuna or make salmon croquettes. But, I don't have to use the oven if I don't want to.

In the oven--4 chicken thigh-leg quarters and 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. This will make 12 meals from the thigh/legs and about 12 meals from the breasts. So, that's 24 meals of meat in the oven, all cooking at once. I store the quarters in freezer and feed to friend when he comes to help me and send the rest home with him. He reports at least three and maybe four meals from each quarter. The breasts are for me...I am picky.

My seasoning is a celery rib, slice of bell pepper, free onions (red, chopped, from freezer) and a bit of salt, pepper, and a whisper of sage. The sage won't be so evident that it tastes or smells like Thanksgiving.

The quarters were free and boneless, skinless breast were less than $1/lb, on sale for half price. Corn and apple were both free.

Happily, the chickens will get all the skin and be in chicken seventh heaven for about a week. Then, my friend brings back ALL the bones, more skin, and gristle that he freezes for the chickens. They are delirious when they get chicken.

My only ear of corn resides in foil to bake for me. Plus, the only baking apple is cooking in a little dish. I only had one of each.

Broth--chickens get the fat and I freeze the rest.

Oh, I am going out to eat tonight--free dinner where I bring home loads of scraps from the plates for the hens.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Murder Update!

Chapter three

For those late to the blog, read the previous report for the details.
I think it was a raccoon that killed my hen. A guy at the service station said that the manner of her murder sounded like a possum.

The live trap is in their pen, baited with raw meat!

Right now, the three hens are in a hamster cage right inside the back door, safe and sound.

Did you know hens snore?

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The Cast

Fancy is my favorite hen. She is one of the three youngest hens I adopted. Because she is so gentle and friendly, she may be the one I rescued when she was being pecked to death after she could no longer stand. She got to live in the house in a box. Sometimes, I let her sit in my lap while she was convalescing. Now, she comes to sit in the swing with me, cuddling up to my body like a cat or dog. She died in February 2012.

Fancy follows me begging, complaining, needing me to do for her. She talks to me in various voices. She allows me to pick her up and carry her. When she became an adult, her head was a darker red and her body was light brown. Around her neck were tips of black feathers. It appeared she had a necklace of jet around her neck. When I showed this characteristic to a friend, he said, "Oh, you have fancy chickens and plain chickens."

Chessie has a broken toe. I broke it! She had a habit of jumping really high and almost sticking. A raccoon ate her in October 2009.

Thelma is the blonde. She is also the largest hen and the alpha hen. I suspect the gigantic eggs are from her. She often squats and presents herself to me. She is top hen, but I suspect she knows she had better be deferent to top feeder of the flock--me.

Louise is the auburn-feathered hen. She looks like the true Rhode Island Reds in pictures. She is almost as large as Thelma. Some days I suspect she is trying to be top chicken. When I got Pepper, I found out Louise is the Alpha hen.

Pepper came here from the same home as the first four. We were discussing putting red pepper on their food, wondering if it really would increase egg production. Pepper is the only name we agreed on. She is terrorized each day by Louise. Even after the worst was over, she was and is still filled with terror and very wary.

Linda is owned by four hens. They allow her to fetch for them. She loves them dearly, so she allows them to boss her around. Linda comes out in the rain to perform chores for them and make sure they have food and water. She begs scraps from all sorts of places to make sure they have fresh fruits and vegetables.

Parsimony is not a vegetable

Parsimony is extreme care in spending money. Stick around and learn about my random thoughts on accomplishing goals economically--dumpster diving aka safari, gleaning, do-it-yourself, sewing tips, recipes, and whatever is happening in my life.

Okay so maybe "parsimony" is not your thing. How about thrift, frugality or just plain saving money? I try not to go the tightwad route as that seems to imply others will suffer from my habits.

Some of my not-spending habits have very much been a part of my lifelong habits. Other habits are newly acquired and are an extension of my lifelong not-spending habits.

I am very imaginative when it comes to substituting or making instead of buying. I will tell you about making a heater for the chickens' water. Not one dime was spent since I had everything I needed right in my basement.

Practicality must rear its head alongside parsimony. For example, I will use the dryer in bad weather or because of allergies in the spring. But, I will not wash clothes in a tub as long as I have a washing machine or can find one.

You may hear more about my four Rhode Island Red hens than you care to hear. They lay delicious brown eggs.

Contact Me

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Major cooking today

Monday, October 18, 2010

Murder Update!