Food & Family: The Kolps Get Chickens!

By Karen Kolp

Recently, five little bundles of joy arrived at our home: day-old chicks, little balls of downy fuzz that you just could not look at without saying awwww! As my soon-to-be sister-in-law put it, “there ought to be a law against that kind of cute!”

Despite my profound fear of chickens – and the resemblance they're getting as they grow to their velociraptor ancestors - I have grown to enjoy watching them; I sometimes even let them eat food out of my hand. The chicks need very little care - a warm place to grow, constant access to food and water, and they pretty well take care of the rest. Even better, when they move outside to the Chicken Palace that my husband is building for them, they'll wander the yard and chow down on the many varieties of bugs we have out there. But the best news? Come fall, they'll start laying eggs. (To read about raising chickens, go to www.mypetchicken.com, where we got our girls.)

My eight-year-old has been begging for a pet since he was a preschooler, and we've always had to refuse; family allergies ruled out a dog or cat for us. Now, at long last, he's got five pets, and they suit our needs well. The chickens will live outside, are especially gentle and cold-hardy, and will reportedly give us 25 or more eggs a week, in pleasing hues of blue, green, and brown.

Could pet-ownership get any better than this? We sure don't think so!

Next month: Preserve your fall produce – it's easier than you think

Pasta Carbonara

Quick to make and a favorite dish in our family, we seldom have leftovers – but if we do, they taste great when gently reheated in the microwave, stirring once during the cook time.

1 lb. Spagetti, Fettucine, or other long pasta

4 eggs, well-beaten

1/3 cup cream or whole milk

pinch paprika

¼ cup shredded Romano cheese, plus more for the table

Salt and Pepper to taste

½ lb. Bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

1. Cook pasta until al dente, according to the package directions; while it cooks, combine, eggs, cream, papika, cheese, and salt and pepper.

2. Drain pasta, then return it to the pot. Toss with bacon until thoroughly combined; add egg mixture and stir over low heat until the egg mixture becomes a creamy sauce, and pasta is well-coated.

3. Serve hot, garnishing with Romano cheese and pepper.

Mom's Chopped Egg Salad

My mother's delicious, extremely easy-to-make egg salad is a summer must-have on picnics or at the beach. It is even easier to chop the egg finely if you have one of those egg-choppers with the metal tines.

6 eggs

2-4 Tbsp mayonnaise, or more to taste

¼ cup grated or finely chopped onion

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. To hard-boil the eggs, place them into a pan of cold water; heat to boiling over high heat, turn heat down to medium, and cook eggs for exactly 10 minutes. Then, place pan in sink and allow cold water to run into it for 30-60 seconds (note: do not drain the boiling water out before running the cold water in, or the eggs will crack... I know this from bitter experience). Then, let the eggs sit in cold water for at least half an hour.  Then peel them, making sure to get off even the tiniest bits of shell.

2. Chop eggs finely and combine with other ingredients; refrigerate for at least an hour for best flavor. We love this egg salad on white bread alongside a crisp, green salad and fresh-from-the-farmer's market fruit.

 Read about Karen's adventures in homeschooling at http://stoneagetechie.blogspot.com/