Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Hubby was approached by a co-worker that raises (egg) laying hens. They are free-range, not given hormones or antibiotics ... fed a vegetarian diet. I can now get fresh eggs each week for $2.00 a dozen. A very good thrifty find!

I am eagerly waiting for spring to get here so I can gather some dandelion greens to make some tea. For some reason ... I'm craving it and probably need to detox.

This week I've been tweaking recipes to make them healthier. It's not that hard to substitute whole grain flour for some of the white flour .. add frozen huckleberries to freshly poured waffle batter, use sunflower oil instead of butter, etc. Tonight I peeled a large yam, cut it into French fry sized pieces, drizzled just a bit of EVOO on top with a sprinkle of seasoned sea salt ... roasted at 400F on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes ... Nathan thought they were carrots (because I told him to eat his carrots ... he's now a fan).

I just finished up my last few sprays of 'non-stick' cooking oil last week. That is a product I will not purchase again. In its place I will use just a tiny bit of cooking oil and apply it to a pan or hot waffle iron with the use of my silicone pastry brush. I tried it this morning and it works great.

4 comments:

Maria Stahl said...

Yay for eggs that come from chickens you actually know personally! That's a good price for free-range, very fresh eggs.

Mr. H. said...

You will love the free-range eggs. Even the "organic" ones from the grocery store will pale in comparison....good for you.

Dandelion tea sounds interesting, we might have to try that.

Kathryn said...

You're making me hungry!

My neighbor directly across the street has hens. I was excited by the idea of buying eggs from him . . . until he informed me they are "safe" because he gives the hens antibiotics in their water. :( I don't think they are free range, either.

I love sweet potatoes, tho my hubby does not. I still make them for me, tho. I'm not a big fan of any of the vegetable oils, i'd prefer butter. ;)

Cindy said...

It also works to put olive oil in a spray bottle and use it like the commercial kind.