November 4, 2009 | Chickens in the Road

Archive for November 4th, 2009

Nov
4

I have half a cow in my freezer.

We went in on a cow (actually a 750-pound calf) with a friend and our half arrived at its final destination this weekend, which is this lovely retro chic 70s disco gold upright freezer. We bought it used for a really good deal. It sits in the basement beside another used upright freezer found at another awesome price. It looks like somebody needs to clean that one. (I hope you’ll be right over! I’ll give you a cookie.)

Behold, half a cow. (There’s a shelf missing in the door. It’s a used freezer.)

Actually, that’s half a cow and a whole ewe and half a lamb. Two shelves are devoted to the lamb. The rest of the shelves and the storage in the door is for the beef. Have you ever seen so much ground beef in your life?

There is every cut of meat imaginable–sirloin tips, porterhouse steaks, ribs, etc. And lots and lots of ground beef. Wondering what’s inside these big plastic bags?

This is your lucky day because I’m not going to show you, but I’ll tell you. It’s giant bones. Like dinosaur bones. Okay, actually there are some cow leg bones in there. They just look like dinosaur bones. I think they would probably make Coco very happy. There are also some normal-looking bones that aren’t so huge, and some fat. The bones will be used to make stock. Except for the giant bones. I’ve never seen a pot big enough to hold the giant bones. They might be bigger than Coco. As for the fat, it will be used to make tallow for soap and candles. IS THAT NOT EXCITING? I can hardly wait!

I’d better be doing that soon because in a few months, the pigs will be coming to visit their friends in the freezer and we’ll need the space. Right now, the pigs are still in the meadow bottom. My pantry is full of canning. Two freezers are filled with meat, fruit, and vegetables. There is something very secure about being stocked up. I’m not eager for winter, but I’m ready for it. The other upright freezer holds some store-bought meat and all the fruits and vegetables that I froze over the summer and am continuing to work on. (STILL working on pears here! Pumpkins waiting on the tarmac to go next.)

No one will go hungry here, that’s for sure.