WARNING: This post has a lot of graphic butchering-related pictures. If images of butchering a chicken offend you, you should stop reading. (You might also consider becoming a vegetarian.) Continue reading How to Butcher a Chicken in Your Garage, From a First Timer’s Perspective
Earlier this year, my husband got to watch one of our backyard hens laying an egg in the coop. Continue reading Backyard Hen Laying an Egg, Caught on Tape
After harvesting my first vegetable garden this fall, I was excited to create a hearty recipe that incorporated as much of my organic produce as possible. Continue reading Hearty Seafood Chowder Recipe (with Alaska salmon)
I only have female chickens, so I was immediately confused what was going on in the hen house when I saw this… Continue reading Two Hens Wrestling for the Same Nesting Spot
After the first few snowfalls of the season, what was once a harmless blanket of white fluff quickly gets packed down on your staircase and outside entryways, making patches of high foot traffic areas slippery & dangerous. Continue reading Winter Hippie Hack: How to Make Slippery Steps Safe Without Ice Melt or Sand
This fall, my husband Brian and a fine group of other manly men got a moose on their annual hunting trip in interior Alaska.
Brian took home the shank bones with meat (front legs, from the knee to the ankle). He froze them solid, then found a wild game processor in Anchorage with an excellent meat band saw (= bone cutting machine). Continue reading Moose Shank Osso Buco
This weekend, my husband, Brian, mixed up a big ‘ol batch of moose sausage, then we tag-teamed stuffing it into casing and getting it in the freezer. Continue reading Making Bacon Moose & Cheddar Brats + Recipe
I have a potted indoor Bearss lime tree, happily purchased last year from Mile 5.2 Greenhouse in Eagle River, Alaska. It’s just a few feet high, and it offers plenty of flowers, but hasn’t produced full-sized limes yet.
I’ve noticed the lime tree leaves smell great when you rub them or scratch them. They don’t give off much of an odor right away, but treat those lime leaves like a scratch ‘n’ sniff sticker, and they hold an incredible aroma that actually smells just like limes. Continue reading Making hot tea from Bearss Lime tree leaves
There were thumping and scraping noises coming from my front porch in residential Anchorage, Alaska. It was dark out, and I was getting nervous, wondering who was creeping around my home at night. I finally built up the courage to peek out my window, and… Continue reading Some cities have raccoon problems, some have deer or bugs. But Anchorage, Alaska? Well…
Out of my 5 backyard hens, only one is laying regularly. This lady’s name is Owl. She’s 5 months old, and has been laying eggs for a full month now (she started laying at 4 months). Continue reading Same Chicken, Many Colors of Eggs