Green Goat comes to Cooking Schmooking

Frozen with fear.
Don't jump!
Hiding in fridge...trying to blend in.
Luckily the plug didn't work!
Water-logged!
Just relax...
Green Goat is so happy with Kevin.


I decided to participate in Nanny Goats in Panties white elephant exchange. I gave Margaret my name and other info and she paired everyone up.. not sure how she did it. I bet she put our names into the toilet bowl and then fished em out..two at a time! Or maybe not. Anyway, I got my white elephant gift from Kate. I love the name of her blog.....on a chicken wing and a prayer. She lives in West Texas and loves chicken wings and clean teeth!

She sent me a green goat and it was love at first sight. I named her/him Creamer... she/he is clearly a transgendered cat-hating goat. Cream (for short) kept hiding from me at first, got sick once, and even tried to jump off the fridge...but after a bit of "meditation" with my pig guru, Kevin Bacon, he/she is right at home now. Whew! They slept together the first night.

Thanks Kate!! I'll keep you posted on Creamer's progress.

[this is what I sent to Pam in Rochester, NY)

How To Spell Relief... at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco

Mondays with Marcia Lowry-Butcher Day the Kind Way

In April we set fertile eggs from both our meat and egg hens in the incubator to hatch 21 days later in May. Out of these we typically get 10-15 butcher birds and 5 or so replacement layers. This year we had a bad hatch and only ended up with 3 roosters to butcher and 5 laying hens. Today was THE DAY for the boys. They have lived a healthy, stress-free life up to now and the killing process was swift and I hope, merciful.

Pict. #1 - hanging to bleed out
Pict. #2 - headless in scalding water to loosen the feathers for plucking ease
Pict. #3 - evisceration - gizzard and liver among intestines (Mel - you would have LOVED all the fat!)
Pict. #4 - the finished product - two 5 pounders and one 4 pounder. It took me about 1 hour from start to freezer.

(My friend Marcia is living the sustainable lifestyle...off the grid, in Wyoming)

Sundays with Marlena Spieler-A Sof! :(

"Jewish Menu" for Oak Cafe at American River College....that was fun! Thanks Teresa Urkofsky for asking me to do it!
It was great to spend the day with Marlena and her aunt Estelle at our house...and the matzo ball soup was fantastic! Thanks to Chris Macias and Heather (photographer) from The Bee.
Going to Shankari's the following week was fantastic....she and Raj were super host and hostess!!
We had fun wagging our tongues...and I had fun making one of Marlena's recipes with beef tongue...probably my biggest challenge from her book. We loved it!
Kibbutzing in our lovely Sari's...thanks Shankari!!!
Cooking from Jewish Cooking on tv was da bomb. Seems like a long time ago!

So..it is finished. Came in like a Lion, went out like a Lamb...speaking of lamb, it sounds good. Think I'll make some!

Thanks to my co-blogger buddies, Shankari and Eileen. It's been quite a ride! :) Our first post was Sunday November 8th, 2009. Cooking and blogging our way through her book was fun most of the time, challenging at times, and a wonderful learning experience! Getting to know you two better was priceless.

Thanks to Marlena Spieler for being gracious and encouraging during this project. It was appreciated more than you will ever know. I learned soooo much. A sheynen dank.

Thanks to Greg Sabin for his support and to Ann Martin Rolke for hers as well. To my blog maker and editor, Lori Hahn. Without her, I would have been up shit creek often. Last but certainly not least, thanks to my husband Dave for making all of her wonderful bread recipes.

Some things I'll keep making: Zchug, Harissa, Brik a'leouf, Matzo Ball Soup, Latkes, Fragrant Beet Soup with Lamb Kubbeh, Marinated Herrings, Whitefish Salad....well, so many really.

Mazel Tov to us!

**[Monday with Marica will be posted later on this week....but will be back on schedule next Monday....I want to leave this post up a few more days. It deserves to be left up a bit longer]