Moving on Up...

The chickens have moved out of the garage and into the coop (thanks to some dad/son teamwork on Saturday morning). I have to say, things were getting a little crazy in the brooder. With limited space and growing bigger everyday, the ladies were NOT happy. Feathers were being thrown, eyes pecked at, trash chirping, pooping on the water can....good times.

But all is well now. They are all hen'd up and loving every minute. I'm already thinking of getting another coop and setting up a Koresh style compound. So normal.


The guard Cock.


Chillin' in the digs.


Plotting revenge on Greta for barking at them.


Nesting box


Where the magic happens.


Dallas. Chicken Coop. Normal.

The Best Bolognese

This sauce has become my boys favorite. They start circling the kitchen when the garlic hits the pan and don't leave me alone until they are stuffing their faces. It's crazy easy and once you've made this, you WON'T go back to Prego. So throw on your apron and open a bottle of red....after all, nothing says 'safe' like alcohol and sharp knives!

Enjoy!

Amazing Bolognese

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 celery stalk, minced

2 carrots, peeled and minced

1 lb. ground beef....but I used bison tonight and it was gooooood!

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped

10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

salt/pepper to taste

1/2 cup of grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Heat the oil over a medium flame. When you can smell the oil, throw in the onion and garlic. Saute. Add celery and carrots. Saute some more. (My directions are so clear aren't they) Pump up the heat and add the beef. Saute until meat isn't pink and you aren't going to poison anyone.

Add tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, simmering, for about 30 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the cheese. Feel free to pile on even more cheese when dishing it up.

Serve over 1 pound of your favorite pasta.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When boiling your pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water to thin the sauce if it's too thick for your liking. I never pour out all my pasta water for this reason:)

xxoo
The Fowl Housewife

Duggarlicious!

I love Anthropologie. It pretty much consumes my closet. With summer approaching, I of course needed a few dresses. Need not want. I should clarify that. After all, I can't run around nude can I?

I was just about to step into the dressing room yesterday when I stopped in my tracks to see this dress. (see above)

Did I miss something, or is Anthropologie now designing for the Duggars?

I mean, where on earth would you wear this? Wait, wait, I know. This is the perfect outfit for the Little House on the Prairie convention I was going to attend. And, I'll get even more mileage out of this when I start my own Big Love compound in Utah. Now, if I can just get that Mormon hairstyle down.......

So, if any buyers from Anthro are reading this...and I know you must be:)...PLEASE make this the last Warren Jeff's approved dress you stock. It scared me.

Are the lambs still screaming?

The boys are home sick today. Lucky me.

About an hour ago I was cleaning Curry's shelf, and I look over to find the biggest flippin' moth/bat/mouse/spider I've ever seen. I screamed like a little school girl and wet my pants.

After changing my pants, I grabbed my camera. I downloaded the photos and hit google. I actually googled "Type of mouse/moth/spider". It took me a while, but I found it.

The following pics are of a Silk Moth.


Largest Moth in America. Scariest Moth on Graystone Drive.


The stuff nightmares are made of.

Now, I think I'll have some fava beans and a nice Chianti.

Chicken Fried Goodness

My oven has been out of commission since April 2. This was ohhh so convenient trying to cook Easter lunch. My friend T graciously let me borrow her oven to bake and braise our delicious feast.

That being said, without an oven, I'm being forced to cook a la skillet style. I could be making stir fry...pasta primavera...and other healthy cuisines...but NOOOO, not this Fowl Housewife...I'm cooking up chicken fried steak ya'll!




Prepping in pie plates...just like mom.


3 lbs. of cube steak. Period.


Heatin' up the grease.


Lawrys. It's a good thing.


Apron. Get one. Use one. Love one.


Mmmm. I can smell the calories!


Not bad if I do say so myself.


Gravy. Salty perfection.


The way to my boys heart.

Beauty in red.

It's been a long, cold, wet winter. But Spring has arrived...and it's showing it's beauty in this Japanese Maple. I mean, could it be prettier? It makes me smile...but I'm pretty simple like that.

Sustainable Living!

Strawberries

Cilantro

Composter

Onion

Snap Peas

Beets that Dwight Schrute would be proud of.


Soy beans

Squash

I can't believe how fast the garden is growing! It won't be long until we will be having the squash de jour!

Losing that fluff!

Daffodil getting her graze on.


Curious Face. Smart eyes.


Check out my feathers!

With the girls still living in the brood, each day they have to be let out to range. This was much easier when they were only a week old....timid, slower, sweeter. Now they are a little bigger and a little faster....make that A LOT faster. I bet you didn't know that a chicken can run up to 9mph. Seriously. It took me 20 minutes to catch them. I'm ready for them to move out of my garage and into the coop. Only two more weeks.......

High on Life?

Most days, I catch myself watching the boys and wondering where time has gone. I remember holding them close, changing diapers and spending endless hours playing with the little people school bus.

That has vanished.

Curry is sniffing markers.

What the hell happened?

The boys elementary school had a book fair last week. Carstens stocked up on the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid, while Curry spent his time purchasing Rock Band posters and scented markers. Nice.

Curry is already NOT my morning kid. He HATES getting up and lays in bed as long as humanly possible. The other morning was no exception. I kept hollering at him to get dressed. He would yell back "5 more minutes!" While I was cooking breakfast, I peeked around the corner to see if his clothes has moved off the floor and onto his body. They had not. I walked in to find him in bed....undressed...sniffing markers.

He will either cure cancer, or be in Huntsville doing life without parole. No in between for this one.

How do I explain to his teacher why we are running late? I'm sorry Ms. Langin, Curry couldn't make it on time today. He was high on Very Vanilla.

God Help me.

Barefoot and Beautiful?

If you've read any of my earlier posts, then you'll know I 'run' marathons. Ok, ok, HALF Marathons. That being said, I have runners knee...and it HURTS! So, what's a gal to do? Run barefoot of course...kind of.

Yes, Barefoot.

If you followed the NY Marathon this past year, the Today Show featured a runner who actually ran completely barefoot. Gross. Can you say H.E.B. feet? There has to be a better way than sans shoes. Answer: Vibrum Five Fingers. aka...creepy monkey toe shoes. Yea baby!

So what is runners knee, and how can monkey shoes help?

Basically, runners knee is when the femur is putting pressure on the patella due to 'heel strike'. It can sometimes be helped from strengthening the quads, but in most cases you have to decrease mileage and sometime stop running all together. It feels like someone is stabbing your kneecap with an icepick. Nice.

Why barefoot?

When you run in socks, shoes, mid soles and out soles, your body's proprioceptive system loses a lot of input. This has been called 'the perceptual illusion' of running shoes. With shoes, your body switches and your reaction time decreases. For heel strikers like me, it's similar to to running in 4 inch pumps. Natural instinct will kick in. The body is pretty amazing that way. You really don't need those cushy shoes at all. The only purpose of the monkey shoes, is to keep you from getting black nasty street feet or cutting your feet on rocks, glass, ect.

But running barefoot isn't easy. It take some transition time. In fact, I'm having to completely re-train the way I run. You basically run on your toes. And let me tell you, it will be the biggest calf work out you'll ever do.

That being said, I hit the trail 'barefoot' today. I threw on my Vibrum five fingers (see photo above) and knocked out three miles. Not bad. In fact, it felt amazing. I did feel a little silly with my new stride...and definitely received a few stares from onlookers, but NO KNEE PAIN. My calves are a different story. I'm sure in the middle of the night I'll wake up with a killer leg cramp, but that will subside as the muscle builds.

Between chickens, solar, composting, veggie gardens and now running barefoot, I'm becoming quite the granola girl.....and lovin' every minute of it. Off the grid baby. Sustainable lifestyle here I come!

Run on my barefoot peeps. Run on!

For more information on the Vibrum five finger shoes, go check 'em out at:

www.rei.com