Pages

Monday, December 7

U is for ...Update!

My World is very much based around the everyday goings on in the Nesbitt household, a very important part of this is our hens.


Our hens back in July!





Posted by Picasa



Here they are going to bed a few nights ago. From the left, Olwyn,(Dark Brown) Eva, May,(Beige) Margie,(White) Bev, (Black) Mabel, (Dark Brown)

They now have a regular routine and go to bed independently when the darkness is approaching, usually around 5pm.

By watching their movements I am now confident that all 6 hens are laying eggs on a regular basis. We are getting between 4 and 6 eggs every day,


Top left Bev
Top Right Margie
Bottom left Olwyn & Mabel
Bottom right Eva & May


The taste of the eggs is outstanding and we have eggs for breakfast every day and I am discovering new recipes evry day. One recipe I am going to try is this one:-

Indulgent spinach, bacon, cheese and potato frittata recipe

Ingredients:

* 100g of lardons (we used home cured ones, chopped streaky bacon slices will do at a pinch)
* 2-3 medium potatoes, peeled, sliced and cooked until soft
* 2-3 tblsps of chopped parsley
* 6 large eggs
* 200g of spinach
* 50g of mature cheddar cheese (cut into squares)
* 15g of grated mature cheddar (topping)
* 2 tblsp of olive oil
* 1 fat garlic clove (chopped very fine)
* Good twist of ground black pepper

Method:

1. Fry the bacon lardons in the olive oil until crispish (soft on the inside, browned on the outside). Peel and cook the potatoes. When the bacon slices are ready, set them aside. Meanwhile prepare the other ingredients.
2. Wash and wilt your spinach (the wash water will cling to the leaves.) Pop into a large saucepan (lid on) for 2-3 minutes until they wilt. Remove, wash with cold water and strain in a colander.
3. Chop your cheese, whisk the 6 eggs with a fork and chop your herbs and add them to the eggs along with the other ingredients.
4. Heat the bacon infused olive oil gently in a large pan. Add the finely chopped garlic. When the oil is hot and the garlic golden pour the beaten egg (with the chopped cheese, bacon, spinach and herbs) into pan. Immediately turn the heat down to the lowest setting. After a mnute or so arrange the cooked potato slices over the top, sprinkle the grated cheddar and leave for 15 minutes. Do nothing. Set the timer for 12 minutes!
5. When the timer goes off set your grill to the highest setting so that it will be sizzling when you transfer the frittata from stove top. Finish under the high grill for 30 – 60 seconds.
6. Serve immediately with a green salad.

“The codfish lays ten thousand eggs,
The homely hen lays one;
The codfish never cackles,
To tell you when she's done;
And so we scorn the codfish,
While the humble hen we prize;
Which only goes to show you,
That it pays to advertise”



34 comments:

  1. Great photos of your hens, the recipe look good. i am going to have to copy it, thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful to have a good supply of fresh eggs. That recipe looks yummy. Will give that a try one of these mornings.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That poem gave me a chuckle...and what a prize to have such great layers! Lorne makes a great frittata, too, but without a recipe...just throws in whatever is at hand. It always turns out fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love recipes! Thank you. Nothing beats fresh eggs. Had laying hens for a couple of years myself.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice posting, makes me hungry :-) Different colours of eggs, nice to have them daily.

    ReplyDelete
  6. How wonderful to have hens and fresh eggs every day. Your fritatta sounds delicious too.
    Routines are good for all of us.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good girls..!
    I love spinach, but don't eat eggs. The recipe sound delish though. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, the fritatta does indeed sound delicious! I remember when I was a child at my grandparents and how exciting for a "city" child to be able to gather the eggs every day!

    Enjoy!

    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mmmm - that recipe sounds rather delicious and quick to cook as well. What a great looking bunch of chucks.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great pics and recipe. I can see a definite pecking order there :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. We had chickens when I was growing up. My daddy always said that brown eggs taste best : )

    ReplyDelete
  12. OMG!! Your hen on the second photo does looks like my ester (chicken pet). Now I missed her...I missed the taste of a homegrown chicken eggs too. They taste way different from the eggs that we bought in the supermarket. Thanks for sharing!


    My ABC Wednesday Here

    ReplyDelete
  13. What great hens, and beautiful eggs. The recipe sounds wonderful. I am going to be making that. I love eggs!

    My ABC Wed

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love the different colors of the eggs. Your hens are just looking beautiful, you have really been doing a fine job of caring for them. I think it would be wonderful to have eggs that fresh, and colorful...I love it. Wish I could do it here.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great update. I know firsthand what it is to raise layers! They can be mean =especially when you are taking egs from underneath them! We rasied them for several years from day olds - cute then! We also had ducks for a while and they were very interesting!
    Love the photos of the hens and eggs. (and I agree - nothing better than fresh eggs!)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I never knew that there were different colors in eggs. I have never had a fresh egg but sounds like they are the best. How nice to have your own hens and fresh eggs each morning. And the receipe sounds very good.

    ReplyDelete
  17. There's an incredible difference between fresh eggs and those purchased at the store. And your frittata sounds sublime.

    ReplyDelete
  18. OK, that recipe made me hungry!! Don't you think it's hard to get really good photos of the hens? They always seem to move around a bit too much to get a good snap in. Lovely hens that you have and fresh eggs! How delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm going totry that recipe! The colour of the eggs is amazing, especially Olwyn's

    ReplyDelete
  20. Yummy, that looks very delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  21. you healthy girl !!Hi Freida Sandy

    ReplyDelete
  22. Never thought an update could make me so hungry...!!

    U is for unoccupied

    ReplyDelete
  23. I do so miss the flavour of home-produced eggs. Nothing can touch the taste, or the appearance of those deep orange-gold yolks.
    I love that rhyme!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Look at the color of those eggs! How great! And, the recipe will sure be tried out in this house! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I've just had my tea but I feel hungry again now!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Pretty eggs, and hens. I've had a recipe for Huevos rancheros stuck on my fridge door for weeks and I haven't got round to making it yet. Guess if I was having 4 eggs a day delivered I might make it, LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  27. The varied colors of the eggs forms a delightful palette. Do they taste any different from one hen to another? Your recipe sounds delicious. Ma

    ReplyDelete
  28. Good thing we're having dinner soon!

    ReplyDelete
  29. If only I wasn't allergic to eggs (AND chicken feathers) I'd love to keep hens. I bought a pack of six eggs today and I think that's maybe the third or fourth this year - and I know I gave one of those unopened to my son. LOL!

    Your ladies are lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  30. The recipe sounds easy, will try it soon but using store bought eggs of course!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love eggs for breakfast. Your recipe sounds really good ... I'll have to try it out for a change from my plain ol' omelet. :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments, always nice to know somebody has taken the time to let me know what they think.