The Chickens Are Molting!

January was an especially bad month around here – not because of the pandemic or because of drought or fires or power shut-offs – or even because of the lingering political malaise.

It’s because we didn’t have eggs from Sandy and Stacey’s backyard hens.

Being in a pandemic-induced foul (fowl?) mood, I was inclined to march over to these normally-sweet hens and reprimand them. How could they possibly do this to us?! Don’t they know that everyone is feeling pretty grumpy at the moment – and we don’t need unexpected food shortages? Don’t they know that we don’t like to buy eggs at the grocery store? Don’t they know that we can barely get through breakfast without an egg – or two?

I guess creatures are behaving more normally than we humans are at the moment. Molting is a natural yearly occurrence for hens. And – in Andy’s Corner today – you’ll learn that hens aren’t the only ones enduring this yucky “clucky” experience. And, just so you know, I’m pretty sure my beloved Pecker never molted.

When the days grow shorter and chillier, chickens need to replace their old, scruffy feathers with new, tight, shiny ones to protect them from winter’s cold and rain and snow. Doing this requires lots of protein from their body; producing eggs also requires lots of protein. During a molt the hen’s body directs all the protein toward feather production, so egg production ceases. Interesting, huh?

HA!

Learning about that made me wonder why we can buy eggs in the grocery store all year long. Do commercially-raised hens not molt? The answer is a little complex and not all that appetizing. Here’s a good article from the University of Kentucky about it. Suffice it to say that commercial egg producers carefully regulate the light and temperature and food to control and shorten their hens’ molting.

According to the blog found on Nature.org, bird owners know that the “mood” or “personality” of their bird — whether it be a chicken, parrot or darling starling — can change dramatically during molt. The birds often retreat to quiet spaces, reduce their activity and just want to be left alone.

Maybe the pandemic is bringing out a molt in us!

The pandemic – and vaccines – also have an interesting tie-in to eggs. Apparently 82% of flu vaccines are egg based – and are produced from hens kept in highly secure – even secret – locations. According to CNN, every day hundreds of thousands of eggs are transported to vaccine-makers where the virus is then grown in the eggs.

Rest assured, COVID vaccines are not egg-based. At least a shortage of eggs due to molting is not something that will interrupt our COVID vaccinations! Thank goodness for little things.

Just as I was immersed in my research about molting, my friend Susan sent me a favorite recipe which came from her Granny. Susan promised me that everyone she’d ever served this cake to loved it. Now Susan and I go way WAY back, having grown up together on little South Shields Street acreages in Fort Collins, Colorado, back when South Shields Street was still country. I know she raised Jersey cows (Susan reports she milked four cows twice a day!) but maybe Susan and her mom and Granny didn’t raise chickens, because her cake recipe has no eggs. I was sure Susan had just left out that seemingly-crucial cake ingredient, but when I did some checking I found those egg-less cakes used to be called “Depression” or “War” cakes, since they were baked a lot during times when eggs were either expensive or hard to find (or maybe it was November in Colorado and – like all smart hens – they were molting!).

The cake is delicious as is – and also perfect for anyone who is vegan, but it’s February and Sandy and Stacey’s hens are back on my good side. I may even try Granny’s cake with an egg added and do a taste test.

If your local hens are molting and breakfast is looking grim, we suggest Overnight Steel Cut Oats, Ginger Scones, Andy’s Biscuits, and Deb’s Granola. But if you’re craving dessert – and have no eggs – well, Granny’s Applesauce Cake will be your go-to.

Granny’s Applesauce Cake

Granny's Applesauce Cake

The recipe can easily be doubled.  If doubling, use a greased and floured bundt pan and bake for about 1 hour +  or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  If you want to be fancier, put whole pecans in the bottom of the bundt pan so that when the cake is removed from the pan, the top is decorated with pecans.  And, yes, there are no eggs in it.

  • 1/3 c butter, softened (I used 1/2 c to keep it simple) (to make this vegan, simply substitute oil for the butter)
  • 1 c sugar
  • 1 c sweetened (or unsweetened) applesauce; use unsweetened if you’re keeping sugar at a minimum
  • 1 tsp vanilla (optional)
  • 1 1/2 c flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cloves (I used 1/4 tsp, since I’m not a big fan of cloves)
  • 1/4 tsp salt (optional)
  • 2 c chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts work well)
  • 1 c raisins
  • whipped cream or ice cream for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter and flour an 8″ cake pan.

Beat the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer.  Stir in the applesauce and vanilla.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.  Stir that into the applesauce mix and then stir in the nuts and raisins.

Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Recipe brought to you by Susan in Fort Collins, BigLittleMeals.com and Andy and Ann.

The Age of Aquarius

Astrology and its zodiac signs are not something I’ve studied. But I do know that when Andy and I saw the musical Hair in San Francisco in 1970, I decided Aquarius, the Water Bearer, was pretty groovy – and I was stoked to think I was born under that sign. Or maybe I just inhaled too much of the smoke from the weed that was passed around to the theater audience after the performance.

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius

Rather than thinking about how outa sight it was to be an Aquarian, I probably should have been bummed to realize that Andy, a Taurus, and I might be looking forward to a pretty gnarly relationship, based upon the Zodiac. After all, we’d only been married for three years at that point – and had been apart half of those years because of the Army and Vietnam. Andy’s got that Aquarius/Taurus thing all figured out in today’s Andy’s Corner. Frankly, I think it’s bullpucky.

Are we leaving the age of Pisces and entering the age of Aquarius? There’s no clear-cut answer among astrologers. According to a December post on the Well + Good blog (wellandgood.com): on the upcoming winter solstice (December 21, 2020), Jupiter and Saturn conjoin in the sign of Aquarius with the great Conjunction; and also, seven celestial bodies move into Aquarius in February of 2021. Suffice to say, we’re leaving the Age of Pisces, which has been a ride.

According to Wikipedia, this age of Aquarius is associated with electricity, computers, flight, democracy, freedom, humanitarianism, idealism, modernization, astrology, nervous disorder, rebellion, nonconformity, philanthropy, veracity, perseverance, humanity, and irresolution. Mmmm, does that adequately describe this complex day and time?

One of the more exciting analyses about the coming of the Age of Aquarius was penned in an article about feminism in the French newspaper La Fronde from February 26, 1890. August Vandekerkhove stated: “About March, 21st this year the cycle of Aquarius will start. Aquarius is the house of the woman.” He adds that in this age the woman will be equal to the man. What a dear-sounding man, but possibly not so great as a prophet.

Artists seem to be a little confused as to whether the Zodiac symbol for Aquarius is a man or a woman, or maybe he was a man before he became a woman? After all, it’s a new age.

a 6th century zodiac – found in an Israeli synagogue
A depiction of Aquarius from a 1475 Italian book. Is that a girl – or young boy?
A 1690 depiction of Aquarius. Nice. 🙂
Salvador Dali’s 1967 representation of a female Aquarius
Modern depictions of Aquarius are quite different than the early ones.
Perfect for your next tattoo!

Whether or not we’re officially in the Age of Aquarius or whether or not the Age of Aquarius is a great time – or even whether or not Aquarius is male or female – is beside the point for this blog. We’re interested in Aquarius as the water bearer. After all, water is life. Water is cool.

And thinking about cool water, I want to share an oldie but goodie. I might be accused of always emoting about music from the ’60’s and ’70’s, so I wanted to diversify. I don’t know why I remember this Sons of the Pioneers song, but I do. Maybe my folks listened to it? It was first recorded in 1941…before I was born.

Sons of the Pioneers – Singing “Cool Water” And FYI Roy Rogers was once a member of the Sons of the Pioneers.

Speaking about cool water, how about an agua fresca?

You know that Andy and I are great lovers of all things Mexican, so it seems appropriate to share our favorite agua fresca recipes with you on this Aqua-rias blog (and, yes, “aqua” is Latin for water and the Spanish language tweeked that to “agua”). Fresca is – you guessed it – “fresh” or “cool.” Agua fresca is simply fresh drinking water with fruit blended or squeezed into it. The result is light and refreshing – and mostly agua. Water.

We’ve been known to make a run to a popular local Mexican restaurant, El Molino Central, just to have a glass of their Jamaica Agua Fresca (pronounced ha-my-ka) – fresh Hibiscus water. When things got iffy during this pandemic, we decided we’d have to learn to fix our own.

Note the jar of Tamarind Paste in the center. The Jamaica flowers in the package should feel soft and be colorful.
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Biden Thyme

From Rye Bar in San Francisco – “Biden Thyme” – thyme-infused gin, citrus shrub, lemon and lime

Need I say more? Yes, it is time. It’s Biden Time.

This fabulous in-oh-so-many-ways cocktail was brought to us by our daughter, Sara, for a post-election treat. In addition to the Biden Thyme, we got a Jamaican rum-based cocktail which was labelled “I’m Speaking.” Guess whose face was on that! That spoke to Andy. Check out today’s Andy’s Corner.

Well, this is a food blog (of sorts), so let’s talk first about thyme. Clearly, there are lots of food bloggers out there who like the thyme/time idea. To name a few, there’s AheadOfThyme.com, MotherThyme.com, Tummy-Thyme.com, MyDarlingLemonThyme.com (ahhhh, cute!), SavoringTheThyme.com, ThymeToChange.com, – and maybe my favorite – NeverEnoughThyme.com (which, should you be interested, is a domaine name that’s for sale – for about $3400).

I thought it would be fun to try to replicate the Rye Bar’s thyme cocktail, but I decided to infuse the shrub with thyme, rather than the gin. Shrubs were already on my radar, since we find them a nice alternative to wine in the evening – topped with soda water or tonic water, rather than mixed with alcohol. And if you’re wondering what a shrub is – other than a big leafy bush – it’s “drinking vinegar” – best made by mixing equal parts sugar, fruit and vinegar – and then allowing the mixture to sit for several weeks. Once mellowed, you can make whatever cocktails or mocktails suits your fancy. And you can use it to create an easy vinaigrette just by adding a little oil.

The other kind of shrub

About the time I was mixing up my thyme and lime (a rhyme) shrub, our 15-year-old grandson, Moss (of blogging fame), sent me a photo of a chocolate cake he had just made. And it said, “BYE!” (explanation point is mine). Perfect. Though Moss was saying goodbye to a friend off to Chicago for college, I had other thoughts. It was BYE to Trump. BYE TRUMP!!!!!!!

from Moss in San Francisco “Bye” Coffee and Chocolate Cake

Moss is a way fancier baker than I am; I’ve never made little frosting rosettes in my life. For that matter, I never make layered and frosted cakes any more. But I do make snacking cakes, which I define as a single layer unfrosted cake that is easy to make and keeps well. The kind you snack on.

I suggest you make Moss’s lovely masterpiece for a special occasion (like the end of the pandemic or to celebrate the first week of Biden and Harris in office). He used 3 6″ cake pans and filled the layers and frosted it with Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Then he drizzled over a homemade Salted Caramel Sauce.

For my snacking cake, I took the same coffee and chocolate cake recipe that Moss uses (which comes from Ina Garten) but I downsized it from 3 layers to a one layer cake. And I just used powdered sugar to top it. I’d put my cake’s photo next to Moss’s, but I don’t need to be embarrassed by having mine compared mmmm…unfavorably…with my grandson’s.

As we look forward to “A Better Thyme” (not to suggest that the current thyme varieties are lacking), there’s a line from Amanda Gorman’s inspiring inaugural poem that seems to be the perfect conclusion; the first line references both the Hebrew Bible and the musical Hamilton; the second is all Gorman:

Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid.
If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made.

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It’s All Rice.

Whoops. Damn autocorrect! I meant it’s all RIGHT, not it’s all RICE. But now that I think of it – all rice isn’t such a bad idea. I wouldn’t want all rice every day, but I do like the thought of a container full of left-over rice in the fridge to help get us through the week food-wise. And speaking of fridges, Andy has developed a fridge fetish. It’s a little weird. See today’s Andys Corner.

Leftover rice is in our blue-lidded Oxo glass container; note also the Black Elderberry syrup – my immune system support 🙂 – plus, lots connected to our blog: dog and cat food, bourbon sauce, strawberry sauce, feta cheese, lots of wine, buttermilk, fresh noodles, red and green cabbage, iced tea, and more butter and nuts than any normal couple could ever eat.

“It’s all right...doin’ the best you can.” A motto for this day and time – or a line straight out of my-favorite-song-video-ever from The Traveling Wilburys? Both! If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that the 1988 album by Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Tom Petty can pretty much always make me smile (and maybe dance and sing)…even in the midst of a pandemic. As Petty croons, “I’m just glad to be here, happy to be alive.”

(Another pandemic-worthy album suggestion is 2000’s O Brother Where Art Thou. I’m enjoying exercising – daily to the music of “You Are My Sunshine” written by one-time governor of Louisiana, Jimmy Davis, and sung by Norman Blake and, on a bit more joyful note, “Keep on the Sunny Side, Always on the Sunny Side” sung by The Whites. It’s kind of interesting to think that a star in that 2000 film was George Clooney – and Clooney is in the news right now for his new production – in which he also stars and which is getting mixed reviews – Midnight Sky. )

As for “all rice,” I grew up eating Uncle Ben’s Converted Long Grain Rice – and, admittedly, never thought about the implications of the picture of the black man pictured on the box. Now – about 70+ years later – Mars, the parent company, announced that they intend to rebrand the rice, acknowledging that the company “understands the inequities that were associated with the name and face of the previous brand.” Aunt Jemima is being rebranded as well. Neither image was all right.

Of course, today, being a bit of a food snob, I wouldn’t even think of eating par-boiled rice. I’m even so uppity that our well-known Mahatma extra-long grain rice from Texas has been replaced in our cupboard by Basmati and Jasmine rice. And organic is preferred. As for brown rice, I know all the pros and I recommend it highly for health reasons – and I’ve made countless meals using my grandmother’s Brown Rice Casserole (with Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup), but I still prefer white rice when push comes to shove.

The Zojirushi 3-cup rice cooker is perfect for the two of us.

As for cooking rice, I’ve given up on my mother’s method – which – in addition to most likely being “converted” – had no rinsing (unheard of back then!), lots of water, stove top, covered pan, maybe some butter. Today we use either our Zojirushi rice cooker – or bake the rice in the oven (see recipe below). And, to be absolutely fair, I have to admit that Andy cooks more rice around here than I do. He should be writing this,

I picked out just a few of our BigLittleMeals’ recipes that work great with leftover rice. You can pick and choose from Mexican to Vietnamese to Israeli to Chinese to add some cultural excitement to your stay-at-home life.

Mystery Mix Rice Salad

Cazuela-de-arroz-con-hongos (mushroom and rice casserole)

Bo Kho (Vietnamese beef stew – served over rice)

Bob’s (Deconstructed) Pastel – Israeli Meat Pie – if deconstructed as Bob recommends, it would be great over rice with a little broth added

Breakfast Lunch and Dinner Fried Rice

Rice Pudding

AND, if you want rice and Louisiana flavors (how can you not?), here’s a recipe which comes from Marcus Samuelsson’s new cookbook, The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food , which is dedicated to Leah Chase, who was considered the grande dame of New Orleans restaurateurs until her death in 2019. Though not a gumbo in the traditional “first you make a roux” sense of the word, Samuelsson’s gumbo is a great recipe inspired by this legendary woman.

Leah Chase and Obama at her restaurant, Dooky Chase
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A Westerner with Lagniappe

Eleven years ago – December of 2009 – I wrote a little essay for a now-defunct online publication entitled The Urban Campfire. When a friend send me the motivation for the publication, I was inspired. We are a creative cooperative made up of real people living real stories. We are fighting the wars, making the movies, traveling the globe, cooking the food, singing the songs, paying the mortgages. Chances are, you are too. Your story has a home here. Join the fire.

Today’s Urban Campfire

Though my title was changed by the editors from “A Westerner with Lagniappe” to “A Moveable Feast,” it was my first attempt at writing something for others and online. I never dreamed that eleven years later Andy and I would be happily blogging every other week about our lives and about food.

I’m re-posting this now because I just made the turkey gumbo recipe and I think you’ll love it. If you didn’t think to make broth with your turkey bones, simply substitute chicken and chicken broth. The chocolate bread pudding recipe is a timeless hit, too.

And an aside: seeing that plate of boiled crawfish makes me want to pack my bag and hightail it back to Louisiana for a spring visit. There’s nothing I miss more – except, of course, my Baton Rouge friend, Katie. Let the vaccinating begin!

A final aside: while I am re-posting this partly to simplify my post-holiday blogging, Andy is simplifying things too. But in his case, it’s simplifying recipes. Be sure to read today’s Andy’s Corner.

And now to my Urban Campfire contribution:

For a born and bred Coloradoan, the move to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 35 years ago (footnote: now it’s 45 1/2 years ago) was nothing short of terrifying. The summer nights with 90+ degree temperatures, the clothes-drenching humidity, the stinging caterpillars, the frequent typhoon-like downpours, the 2″sized cockroaches scurrying through the house, and the incredible cultural differences made me want nothing more than a return ticket to the West.

Was I Annie Oakley?
Or Scarlet O’Hara?

But time changes all things, and it wasn’t long before I was enjoying our new Southern life, with our close ties to the LSU community, including dear friends, theater performances at the Union Theater and later at the fun and funky Swine Palace, basketball games with the iconic Dale Brown at the helm, and the LSU Newcomers Gourmet Club. Though we didn’t often do Cajun/Creole food at those dinners, we developed a great fondness for cooking, good meals…and nice wine.

As my interest in Louisiana food expanded, I started collecting recipes and cookbooks, including the must-have River Road Recipes put out by the Junior League of Baton Rouge and Cane River Cuisine from the Service League of Natchitoches, LA, and The New Orleans Cookbook by Rima and Richard Collin.  

And I started collecting recipes from all the born and bred Southerners who knew so much more about crawfish etouffee, and red beans and rice, and pralines, and roux than I did.

In 2001 we left Baton Rouge to return to the West and our roots. But as the holiday season approaches each year, I find myself practically waxing poetic about all things Southern – well, all things about Southern food. I’ve sent a shopping list to my good Baton Rouge friend Katie begging for her to restock my larder with those Southern necessities. I need Bergeron pecans from New Roads, cayenne pepper from Zatarains, LSU Beauregard yams, file powder, Tony Chachere’s Creole seasonings, and some real andouille sausage, preferably from LaPlace, Louisiana. (culinary note: the Beauregard yam is actually a sweet potato)

With all that in hand I’m ready to do my holiday cooking, which will include a left-over turkey gumbo, simple baked yams (or sweet potatoes – unless you’re from Louisiana; if you’re now thoroughly confused, a great read is You Say Potato, I Say Yam from the NYTimes) slathered with butter, and a bread pudding, sometimes with chocolate and sometimes with a whiskey sauce. I may still be a born and bred Westerner, but I’m a Westerner with lagniappe.

the unofficial urban campfire glossary

Andouille – a spicy smoked pork sausage (pronounced ahn DOO ee)

Atchafalaya: the Atchafalaya River (pronounced A-CHA-fa-LIE-a)

bayou:   a creek or small river that is a tributary of a larger body of water; or a  sluggish stream that meanders through lowlands, marshes, or plantation grounds.

beignet: a square doughnut with no hole (pronounced BEN-yay)

boudin:  Cajun blood sausage (pronounced BOO-dan)

café au lait:  coffee served with an equal part hot milk (delicious with a beignet)

crawfish:  also “mudbug” (No one in Louisiana would EVER EVER refer to them as crayfish), a small cousin of a lobster living in the mud of  streams or lakes; called a crawdad in other parts of the country

etouffee:   a Creole dish typically served with crawfish over rice (pronounced AY too Fay)

file: a Cajun/Creole powdered seasoning made from dried and ground sassafras leaves, not the root (pronounced FEE lay)

lagniappe:  a little something extra, as a gift a store or restaurant owner might offer with a purchase (pronounced LAN yap)

“suckin’ the heads”: eating crawfish (update: it’s actually sucking the head of the crawfish to enjoy the spicy juices; are you non-Louisianans grossed out?)

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