Celebrations where you do not expect it

As I was driving down our little dirt road yesterday, I came upon a lovely surprise (no man - it was not a treasure chest full of money!) It was 3 girls celebrating the abundance of field flowers and expressing the joy of free play (note - no computers, no TV games, no expensive toys)

I think from now on I will be looking for more little celebrations happening all around me. Maybe it is not just the big celebrations worthy of our attention, but also the small ones that string our lives together like little pearls on the frayed rope of day-to-day monotony.

To inspire you on your search for patients for the "gift hospital" I asked one of the families if she would mind us assisting them over this festive period, and she thankfully accepted. I have learned from years of misplaced good intentions, that not everyone appreciates or welcomes - even if they are in need. So just like Reiki - I never push either healing energy or donations onto people without their permission.

And just another insight (I know this is DEEEEP!!!) Helping others actually make me feel better. So although it seems like such a nice thing to do for other people/animals; deep down in the murky waters of my ego it is all about making myself feel good for making someone else happy. I do not think this should stop anyone from these type of activities, but self-awareness might be the biggest donation you make to your own happiness.


Yesterday was also super-exciting, as we collected our first bunch of day-old broiler chicks.  What would be the correct collective word to describe 50 little chicks? A fluff of chicks, a chirp of chicks? I guess the people selling them just call them a box of chicks.

They are Grade 1 chicks, which does not mean they are more clever than their counterparts. It just means they are stronger, fluffier, chirpier than the others. We chose to pay a bit more so we have less mortalities and faster growing chickens. Thank you to Lida for giving us the pecking directions to procure these bundles of protein.

So welcome little potential Sunday Roasts, we look forward to sharing 6 weeks of your life with you. And it will be a better life than the majority of broilers get before ending up in Spar or Pick & Pay all wrapped up nicely and clean and with no sign of trauma. It would be a privilege to share their journey (6 weeks average for broilers) with all of you reading the blog.

We are on a 5 year mission to be self-sufficient, off the grid, debt-free and making a living from the land. Since December is basically a celebration month, with lots of turkeys offering up their bodies and souls to assist people around the world with celebrating, I dedicate this month and all our efforts to our chicken farming. CHICKENS RULE!!! On Maplotter place anyway.

Talking about chickens - we tackled our second economic chicken dish - and this was an extreme success with the whole family, and dare I say it, the chicken as well. I really think this dish celebrates chicken in a wonderful and tasty way. (Between R40 - R45, depending on honey price)

The recipe comes from one of those You magazine best recipe magazines. It is a peanutbutter chicken dish, and was submitted by a lady from Westville in Durban - Sandhaya Maharaj. .

Step 1:   Using the same cheap-cheap chicken from the Day Break farm, slice them a few times (this is a good exercise if you feel a bit angry or on the edge and do not have some wine to help you relax). Pack them in an oven dish. (I am not stating the obvious here - you need to season food!)

Step 2: Mix half a cup peanut butter (smooth/chunky/oily - anything you have handy or was on a special at your local shop); as well as 1 cup of plain yogurt; third cup of honey (look for some local bee farmers in the local newspapers/Farmer's Weekly - shop honey is hellish expensive); some coriander (fresh if you can grow it/dried from a bottle) and enough chili flakes to suit your family's taste buds.

Step 3: Pour and rub it on/over/into the chicken and put in fridge for marinating (from half-an-hour to a few hours)

Step 4:  Cook covered for 1-2 hours (I added a bit more yogurt towards the end as the sauce looked so yummie I wanted to stretch it)

Step 5:  Cook rice (I prefer Jasmin/Basmati) and eat!!!! (Sorry, no picture as we ate it so quickly there was no time to take photo's)

Yumminess:  10/10
Cheap:  7/10
Easy:   10/10

We are trying to decorate a tree for the festive season with only recycled plastic bottles - should be done soon so will show you the results, be they good or bad.

Lovies
Lizette