Best Brussels sprouts EVER!

True confessions time: I hate Brussels sprouts; they've never tasted right, and always seemed bitter and a bit slimey.

However, about three years ago, a friend encouraged me to try the Brussels sprouts on the chef's menu at Roy's Restaurant, Orlando, and they were DELICIOUS! Thanks to that friend, I got a very, very basic idea of the ingredients, messed around with it at home, and came up with this recipe, which has received rave reviews from my whole family 😁😁😁

First, the ingredients (and this recipe can be halved, but once you try it, I don't think you'll want to do that):

• 2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts, cleaned and trimmed. Small ones can be left whole, "regular" sized should be halved, and big ones should be quartered. Make sure you cut them stem to tip, and not on their equator; we don't want them to fall apart.
• 1/2 pound of bacon, cut into pieces
• not-quite-a-cup of good mayonnaise (do NOT use Miracle Whip or low-fat/soy; it's gotta be REAL mayo) 
• not-quite-a-half-cup of Sriracha sauce (ratio is 2:1 mayo:Sriracha) 
• salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

You can actually omit the red pepper flakes if you don't do much spice, but I love a nice glow 😊

Okay, now it's time to get out your 10" cast iron skillet. Stainless steel will work, but not as well; you will likely have to add more bacon fat. Oh, and non stick won't brown the sprouts properly 😢

Heat your skillet over a medium flame; we're going to cook the bacon. Make sure you cook it to crisp, because we want to render all the fat out. If you cook bacon regularly and save the fat (and if you don't, why not?) you could certainly use it if you don't have bacon in the fridge (although that would be a tragedy).

Once the bacon is done, scoop it out and pour off half of the remaining fat; this recipe is done in two batches, so you'll use the reserved fat for the second batch.

Now it's time to work with the Brussels sprouts. Pour half of them  into your hot pan with the first half of the bacon grease. Make sure you are careful; it may splatter hot grease, especially if the sprouts are damp. Do your best to arrange as many of the sprouts cut side down as you can, and season with the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Then cover the pan, and let cook over medium to med-high heat for 5 minutes. 

What we're doing here is making sure the sprouts cook through, but aren't overcooked, and getting the first layer of deep browning on them. 

While the sprouts are cooking, mix the mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce in your serving bowl.

After 5 minutes of cooking, uncover, rearrange to brown all sides, then cover again to cook for 3-4 minutes. Your time will vary depending on sprouts; you may be able to skip the second covered cook. You want the sprouts to have a bit of resistance when a knife is inserted, because squishy sprouts are not good eats. Now leave the cover off and continue to cook the sprouts until they have a generous char all over them.

When the sprouts are done, dump them over the mayo and Sriracha in the serving bowl, and repeat the process with the second half of the sprouts. 

You will look at them and think, "Oh, my goodness, I've burned them!" No, you haven't! Trust me, the deep char will bring out the sweetness in the sprouts, which will be enhanced by the mayo and the bacon. 

When all the sprouts are done, add the cooked bacon to the bowl and mix well. 

Now comes the hard part: wait. Leave this out on the counter to cool for about an hour, and then serve. If you cooked this ahead of time and refrigerated it, make sure you warm it to room temperature before serving. 

This should serve 6 as a side, but if I have six people who like this, I would DOUBLE the recipe! After all, even though it's best warm, raiding the refrigerator at 3am for cold Brussels sprouts is now a happy thing for me ❤️❤️❤️

I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it as much as we do! 

A simple, cheap, and FAST hay feeder for goats

Well, here I am again after a long absence! Our goat house isn't yet built, so we're making do with a movable shed my husband made to brood turkey poults.

Of course, a turkey brooder doesn't have a hay rack, so we were putting the hay on the ground under cover (or under a tree if it wasn't going to rain).

And, also of course, the goats spread it all around and pooped and peed in it, and there was a LOT of waste! These pics were *after* I'd cleaned out about 4 times more wasted hay...

So, I was poking around on Google, looking for a "covered goat hat feeder," and saw this idea; it's fast, cheap, and easy! 

We just got an inexpensive plastic storage tub with a latching top, and cut some holes for the goats to eat out of. I chose a latching top so the goats would find it difficult to knock the top off, and we mounted the feeder at a slightly angle so rain wouldn't pool on the cover.

It's working wonderfully!

New, new, new changes at the Fowl Fortress!

And I apologize for not blogging regularly; I need to do much, much better.

The Beloved Husband and I have been talking off and on over the past year-and-a-half as to whether we wanted to get goats and pigs. This past 10 days we have made the moves to purchase many more animals for the farm.

Yesterday, we purchased three young Nubian goat does and brought them home, and they are currently sharing a portion of the Emu pen.

Apparently, the emus are quite scary, so the goats are staying as far away as possible! Their shelter is nearer to the emus, so I think we'll have to drive the goats inside tonight and close them in. They need to know it's a warm, dry, and safe spot.

I am HOPING that I can game the breeding season and have one or two of the does bred in early spring, and then the rest in the fall. Gestation is 5 months, and lactating does need to dry out 2 months prior to birth. I'm aiming for always having milk available. Of course, it might be wiser to try for early fall and mid-winter matings - aiiiiiigggghhhh, so many considerations! Ah, well, it will get figured out.

We're not raising meat chickens...

... We're growing VELOCIRAPTORS! ;-)

Synchronized sleeping

I am just going to DIE of Teh Cuuuuute®!!!!

No, she wasn't actually broody

But for one afternoon, it sure seemed like she WANTED to be!

Meet Blondie

Blondie is our first hatchling this year, and as you can see, s/he doesn't look like a Narragansett - unless s/he's an albino! We think that the two hens we purchased earlier this year may have been bred by a Royal Palm tom, so Blondie might be (probably is) a "Palmagansett" *grinz*

S/he (oh, heck, I'll just use "he") is about three weeks old now, and had been out in the brooder with our other poults. We brought him into the house yesterday, because I pretty much want to make him a pet, so we needed to get him socialized.

From our limited experience, turkeys seem to be pretty mellow, but I am surprised at how quickly Blondie has taken to being gently snuggled (and he seems to like it, because he's out in the living room peeping for company as I type!). Last night, the Beloved Husband had taken him downstairs for a cuddle puddle, and when I came down about an hour later, Beloved was asleep in the La-Z-Boy recliner, and Blondie was snuggled up to his left ear, quite content to snooze with DaddyBird!

Today, Blondie has had two snuggles with his MommyBird, and seems to be well on his way to being a spoiled and coddled pet ;-)

Fester and his (her?) chair

Fester is the first baby of our original flock. We found one clutch of eggs last fall, and Fester was the only one to hatch. He (well, maybe "she") doesn't hang out with the main group, preferring to stay close to the house...  And his chair! (edited 09May2016 because video didn't embed)

Emus enjoying sunshine

Dinnertime for emus

Polka,  Tango, and Salsa gathered around their dinner bowl, sitting up straight like Miss Manners prefers. What good emus! And notice the elegant drape of a claw over the food bowl - our emus are stylin'! LOLOLOLOL