Celebrate the harvest

We decided that we would try one of our July born chicks for Thanksgiving dinner. We ended up with over 30 that have survived. This is after we traded 8 and had some who didn't make it home some days this fall. With 10 black chickens and fewer of each of the others, the brown, white and barred chickens were going to be spared.

I recently read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, so I followed their formula for the plucking, a form of harvesting we hadn't done in the past. We usually wring a neck and then skin them with the feathers attached to the skin. When you approach the skinless version, there are a few things lost besides the skin and feathers, a thin layer of yellowish fat that can help the roasting bird stay moist. Phil wanted to grill this year so the skin was needed to keep from drying the bird out.

Okay, so the book suggests that they "sequester" the bird without food for 24 hours. Phil lured with his pecan snack to grab one. The others won't trust him for a week or so. The greenhouse was a nice final location overnight. The moment of truth was announced with an apron, cutting board and recently sharpened knife to make the going quick and painless. The chicken went relatively painlessly (I hope). We hung her up on a tree to drain and start plucking. We also started some water boiling for a quick dip, supposed to make the plucking go easier. Don't know if it was as hard as it has been reported, but it did take some time. If there is a machine that plucks, I want to make one before the next time we do this. There are some areas that might have hidden quills, but the bird is still around 5 lbs, pretty big and featherless. He's ready to be redressed with some stuffing of bread, raisins, the last of the dried apples, jalapeno peppers and chicken soup. Phil would also like a bit of sausage in there, so will likely do that too.

Our other dinner items will include the last of the tomato with some fresh onion and lettuce drizzled with OM balsamic vinegar, sweet potato and pecan pie. Pretty light fare. Pecan pie at David and Susan's. Wes, Katie and the kids are all there.

"Our harvest being gotten in , our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice togehter." Edward Winslow

This holiday is about giving thanks and celebrating a year of harvest.