Preparing the Chickens for Winter

I should have posted this a few months ago, but towards the end of fall we started to winterize the chicken coop.  Our birds are pretty much out in the open so we needed to give them protection from the elements.  We tend to just work with what we have, which luckily is a lot of gardening equipment left from the previous owner.  So a few tarps, some PVC, recycling and lots of hay has gotten our chickens through the winter!

We covered the roof and two sides of the coop in a large tarp.  The back of our coop is also almost all covered, except for a 2 foot strip of chicken wire which has been left open for air flow.  The front side of the coop is also left open, and we have a large board that we can place in front of the coop for extremely cold or snowy nights.  Air flow is important because too much moisture in the coop can lead to frostbitten chickens!

 

We had issues in the beginning with water pooling up in the tarp flat across the roof.  So we rigged up a mini hoop house by feeding PVC pipe through the lattice roofing.  The rain and snow just slides right off and keeps the coop relatively dry.

The chickens sleep in this box, which has a wire floor.   Throughout the winter we keep the bottom layer full of hay.   I have to clean it almost daily, or every other day just to help keep the moisture out.  I just use a small shovel and clean it like a litter box, changing the hay out every week or as needed.  We put another tarp over the little house on extra cold nights, below 20° F.

We have also made few additions to the coop since they started laying eggs.  The nesting box is simply an old dog cage with 2 milk crates full of hay.  Works perfectly!

We hung their food bin from the roof which has kept it much cleaner.  I want to hang the water but I’m a little afraid of the weight. 

This is where the grit and oyster shells are.  Simply an old plastic sugar jug cut in half and stapled to the wall.

So far so good, all the chickens are healthy and happy.  And hopefully only another month or so of cold nights to get through!

Stuffed Tofurkey

 

I’ve been vegetarian for over 10 years now and I’ve never made a tofurkey!  So I figured it was about time.  I looked at a bunch of different recipes, combining several but mostly followed this one; it has great pictures of each step.  It’s also an easy recipe to adapt depending on what herbs you have available.

This is a bit of a process, but after tasting the results I may be making it every year!

Basically you are making 3 parts; the “turkey”, stuffing and a marinade.  I started 2 days before Thanksgiving, because I had to drive to Columbus this morning, but you can make it work starting the day before.  And if you’re already out of time, there is always this fabulous beer can tofurkey idea!

 

 

TOFURKEY

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 14 oz containers of extra firm tofu
1-2 TBSP of each of the following herbs:
   Oregano
   Sage
   Rosemary
   Thyme
   Garlic Scapes (/Chives/Green Onions)
Salt and Pepper to taste

 

 
Let the tofu sit out overnight or at least a few hours so it’s at room temperature. 

 

With your hands, squeeze all the liquid you can get out of the tofu.  Then mix in the remaining ingredients.

 

 

Take a clean, wet piece of cheesecloth and drape it over a strainer.  I sprinkled some rosemary and chopped sage leaves down first.  Then scoop the tofu mix into the covered strainer.  Use the excess cheesecloth to wrap the top of the tofu and press any liquid out.  Put a bowl under the strainer and a plate on top of the cloth.  Sit in the fridge overnight and place something heavy (I used a juice bottle) on top of the plate so that the presser will continue to squeeze liquid out of the tofurkey. 

 

 

 

STUFFING

You can make this the day of your meal or before and refrigerate.

INGREDIENTS:

3 CUPS bread cubes
1 TSP or so olive oil
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
1 small apple, diced
3 TBSP herbs (I used sage, cilantro, rosemary and thyme)
Pinch of cayenne (crushed red pepper)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 TBSP maple syrup
1 TSP balsamic vinegar
½ CUP sunflower seeds or other nut/seed
¼ CUP dried fruit (I used dried goji berries from the garden but you can use cherries, cranberries, etc.)
½ CUP vegetable broth

 

First cut the bread into cubes and dry in the over for 20 minutes or so at 250°F.

 

Heat a pan with a little olive oil and sauté the onion for a few minutes until soft.

 

Add celery, cook another 2 minutes

 

Add apple, herbs and spices and cook 5 more minutes.

 

Add syrup and balsamic vinegar, mix and remove from heat.

 

Combine this mixture with the dried bread cubes, seeds and dried fruit.

 

Put the stuffing into a greased pan and pour the vegetable broth over the top.

 

Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes at 300°F.

 

MARINADE

I also made the marinade the day before and let it soak in all the flavors.

 

INGREDIENTS:

¼ CUP Braggs (/soy sauce/tamari)
¼ CUP olive oil
½ CUP chopped herbs (I used sage, chives, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and parsley)
1 TSP sesame seeds, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

 

 

 

 

Just mix everything together and keep in the refrigerator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ASSEMBLY….

 

Scoop out the center of the tofurkey, leaving an inch or so on the sides.

 

Fill hole with stuffing, and recover with scooped out tofu.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then very carefully flip the whole tofurkey into a cooking pan (I just sort of picked up the whole cheesecloth, placed the baking pan on top of the tofu and flipped).

 

Baste with the marinade, and cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours at 350°F.  Baste the tofurkey as much as you want throughout the baking.

 

I had some extra stuffing, so I reheated it separately and added it in around my tofurkey!

 

Beautiful and tastes amazing!  Much better than eating something this cute…..