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  Suzanne McMinn
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The Slanted Little House

"It was a cold wintry day when I brought my children to live in rural West Virginia. The farmhouse was one hundred years old, there was already snow on the ground, and the heat was sparse-—as was the insulation. The floors weren’t even, either. My then-twelve-year-old son walked in the door and said, “You’ve brought us to this slanted little house to die." Keep reading our story....

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I Love Your Comments

• So glad to see how you do this! We butchered one time many years ago and it was a pain on so many levels. I love seeing the tools you use and your process. Thank you!
  rurification on Morning, with Meat Chickens
• A few people have asked me about that, so I added a paragraph to the post about it. The time to gut is after the plucking and right after removing the feet, before you start cutting up the chicken--if quartering. If keeping whole chicken, you cut then you're done, no further cutting up. So you don't have to go back to find out, here is what I added: If you plan to keep whole chicken, you're going to get up close and personal now with some chicken butts and pull the guts out and remove organs you may want to keep. We decided to just quarter this batch--cutting out thigh/leg pieces and breasts--so we didn't even gut them. (You can quarter, carefully, without gutting.) Next batch, we'll keep a few whole chickens. I like a few to roast whole through the year. When we do that, I like to seal...
  Suzanne McMinn on Late Summer in the Shop
• Good for You! I like spunky people who will not be deterred by someone else's idea of what's best. I am glad to see your posts again! I really enjoyed the chicken slaughter even though I am a city girl and will probably never do that. I was wondering about when in the process you remove the innards and what happens to them. My grandmother raised chickens, and I remember her going out in the morning to kill a chicken for dinner (lunch). Because I was visiting from the city, I was never privy to the process - the farm folks were afraid it would upset me! lol
  carla anne on Late Summer in the Shop
• Thanks! I love to eat chicken and it is good to see how to properly dispatch them after a happy life with out undue trauma or mess.
  mgwolson on Morning, with Meat Chickens
• You made fast work of that. I remember going to my grandmother's and it was a very slow process to scald and pluck just one chicken for our Sunday dinner.
  Louise on Morning, with Meat Chickens
• Thank you for the wonderful update. When I hear West Virginia, I always think of your and your family. I’m glad all the kids are doing so well and seem happy. Best wishes to you all from Eastern NC.
  Pat on Catching Up with the Kids
• Thank you for this post. I love fresh Basil and never know just what to do when I get more than I can use.
  Joell on What To Do with Lots of Basil
• I'm so happy to see that you're posting again. I happened to see your feed on IG and was delighted to see more cows and cooking. Big hugs to you from Indiana! - Robin
  rurification on Catching Up with the Kids
• I happen to know what she did with the ball of dough, or at least I'm fairly confident this is what she did. Like the pioneers and the 49'ers before her, they put the ball of dough into the flour sack. It kept it in stasis and from drying out. That's how the sourdough was carried across the plains to settle the west and to San Francisco with the gold miners. When ready to use, they'd add some water to it to liquefy it then add more flour and made the breadstuffs from it. Used fairly quickly, you could make biscuits, left longer to ferment and you had rolls and breads. And the dough can be either "fresh" or "sour dough" I have a start of "fresh" yeast - aka everlasting yeast. I've had it in stasis for a while. I just smeared some on a plate and let it...
  Darlene in North GA on Pre-Fermented Doughs, and Mark's Question
• Oh Suzanne, I am so sorry about Glory Bee. She may have been a farm animal, but she was one of your babies. My heart goes out to you.
  Marigene on My Cow
• Hmmm haven't heard of icing on biscuits, but that does sound good for a sweet tooth. I love my biscuits slathered in butter and honey.
  beforethedawn on Biscuits with Icing

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