Posts Tagged green
Fried Green Tomatoes & Rainy Chickens
It is fall in Portland, which means one bad thing: my garden is dying! It is too cloudy to ripen the dozens of plump green tomatoes still left on the vine, so tonight I decided to make fried green tomatoes! I used a fabulous recipe from VeganYumYum.com.
Chopped up green tomatoes, fresh from my garden.
Frying one side…
Then the other!
Completed!
The full meal: drizzle balsamic vinegar and place on a bed of greens (fresh from the garden, of course!), and chopped black olives.
Today it stormed….
The chickens don’t mind the rain too much. However, the do become quite muddy in their chicken run. And poor Little Miss, with her head full of feathers, gets muddy dreads from the rain!
4 comments October 18, 2009
Garden Flowers
My beautiful flowers that I planted by seed (gift from my mom, thanks Mom!) have bloomed!
3 comments July 17, 2009
Why I Have Pet Chickens
The most frequent question asked about my raising three chickens is, “Well, what are you going to do with them?” People are confused—what is the purpose of having chickens? Understandably, it does seem odd in the 21st century to have three chickens roaming the backyard for no other reason than for the pleasure of their company. When a chicken is nothing but a commodity, to be used for flesh, for eggs, could there possibly be any other purpose?
Chickens are curious, adorable, social creatures. They are inquisitive, unique, and full of life. They have unique personalities. They enjoy open space, sunshine, dust baths, good food, and lazy afternoons. They are also creatures who can experience suffering, just like the family dog or cat. And my chickens are my pet chickens, just like your dog or cat. They exist to exist, and for nothing else. I do not plan on raising them for their meat, and being a vegan, I do not even plan to use their eggs. They are my pets, and they bring me joy every day.
9 billion chickens are slaughtered every year in the United States. From hatchery to slaughterhouse, chickens are most likely one of the most abused animals on the planet. From birth, they are pumped full of antibiotics to grow fat and full of meat by the target slaughter age of 45 days old. They grow heavy so fast that they become unable to support their own weight, and are unable to walk. Chickens are crammed into tiny cages, their beaks are cut off to prevent cannibalism which is brought about by their confinement and their inability to establish a pecking order. They live a short life full of suffering–they don’t even get to see the light of day.
My three chickens have no idea how lucky they are. They are the very rare and lucky few of their species that will get to live out their lives to the fullest and die a natural death. Factory farming causes myriad damage to our environment, our health, and unneeded suffering in millions of creatures. By raising pet chickens, I am making a statement against the hegemonic culture that accepts chickens for nothing more than consumer products. By raising pet chickens, I am putting into action my belief that sentient beings like chickens have the right to live without excessive turmoil by the cruel and brutal suffering we impose on them for our selfish appetite.
So to answer your question, what am I going to do with my chickens? I am going to let them live a long and happy life.
1 comment June 29, 2009
Baby Chicks!
When I was a kid, I remember discovering that my neighbors down the street had a couple of chickens living in their backyard. I thought that was the coolest thing ever, and from that day on, dreamed of having pet chickens one day. Well, dreams come true in Portland, OR, where it has become the fashionable (and eco-conscious) thing to do–have 3 pet chickens kickin’ it in your backyard and garden.
Today we got two chicks, from a really awesome new store that just opened: Urban Farm. It is owned by a couple who loved their chickens so much they decided to open up a shop and spread their knowledge. They really know their stuff, and offer free workshops on chicken-raising.
We decided to get a Speckled Sussex, which is a very pretty variety:
And an Ameraucana, which lay “Easter Eggs” (green and blue).
We plan on getting one more chick, but we are going to wait for a specific bread which comes in next week.
The baby chicks will live indoors for the next two months, keeping warm under a heat lamp. Once they have all their feathers, they will be relocated outside to their new home. With three chickens, we should expect to have about 14 eggs a week. They begin to lay 5 months after they are born.
They are good friends already:
Here is a short video of the chicks, shortly after they arrived at their new home. Enjoy!
3 comments April 17, 2009
Green Porno
“Green Porno” is a series about the reproductive habits of insects acted out by Isabella Rossellini.
It is sexy, hilarious, educational, and a tad bit disturbing—a lovely combination of my favorite four things! Check out youtube.com for more.
1 comment April 10, 2009
Mark Bittman Visits Portland
Portlanders love books. We are a town of bookies.
Portlanders love food. We are a town of foodies.
If there is anything that Portland loves more than books and food, it is a book about food. But wait! Toss in the slow-food movement, and some polemics from a New York Times author and you’ve got a delicious recipe for success!
I am disappointed to say that I was completed out-nerded by most of Portland last Thursday. I thought arriving to Powell’s ½ an hour before Mark Bittman was to speak would suffice (Remember, this guy?). But the second I stepped into The City of Books I hear over the intercom, “If you are here to see Mark Bittman, you better hurry your ass to the fourth floor because most of Portland has already taken their seats!”
I rush up the stairs, whereupon by complete surprise I run into Karen and Bob from work (everyone really is here!), and we push our way through a crowd of enthusiastic foodies. And low-and-behold there is not a free seat in sight. I lean up against the travel books bookcase with a copy of Food Matters, and read until 7:30 when he arrives to applause clad in his iconic blue striped sweater.
Bittman explains that he is an “incriminatalist.” He advocates for Americans to take an incremental approach to improving their diet and thereby their health and environmental impact. Eat 30 meals a week with meat in it? Try cutting it down to 27 meat-meals a week. Also, did you know that the #1 source of calories in the American diet, weighing in at 17%, is soda? And the #1 food group we eat from is that of the “pastry, donuts, sweets” group? Truly astonishing!
I see Bittman as embracing the middle way in terms of food philosophies. He is not a vegetarian, but practices more or less “vegan ‘till 6.” He is pushing for us to more conscious of our food choices. Home cooking has become an activity of the past, with most Americans eating out for the majority of their meals. The only way to become one with your food, to know it and therefore know what exactly is in it is to cook for yourself. But with our ever shortening leisure time, where do we find the time to cook, or to even learn how to cook?
Food in this country, and in the world, is a perplexing and difficult issue. How is it that our country is the wealthiest, fattest, yet most diet-obsessed country in the world?
Oh, and just as a side note: the meat industry sure has done a superb job at brainwashing our entire nation into making us equate “protein” with “meat” when in reality ounce for ounce spinach has 10x more protein than meat! And spinach won’t give you cancer! And don’t even get me started on the dairy industry….
Happy eatin’!
Add comment January 19, 2009
