PORKSICLES!!!!

Brrrrrrrr!  Talk about a frigid holiday season!   Thanksgiving went off without a hitch, but was decidedly void of pork, given it's going to be the centerpiece to our Christmas dinner.  We had the usual Sage Roasted Turkey... but then also had a Fig Glazed Turkey and a Brined Turkey.  I was hesitant about the brined turkey as everyone had said they had tried it, and were not impressed.  Well, the trick apparently is not to brine it for 8 hours... but for 4 days.  It made all the difference in the world, and of the turkey recipes, that is one we'll be repeating.   Got it out of the November Food Network Magazine. 

Now, I'm sure you're thinking, "Three turkeys!?? What do have, a huge family?"  Nope.  Normal size.  7 of us.  But, you have 3 men in that 7, which means 3 heavy desirers of dark meat.  This way, everyone got ample gobble gobble. 

For sides, we had glazed roasted carrots, corn from the garden, garlic and cream cheese mashed red potatoes, green beans and pearl onions, cranberry sauce, rolls, and something new that I had never made before.  I was anxious to try it, and was pleasantly surprised.   Asparagus Forced in a French Roll.  The recipe came from Jas. Townsend and Sons blog titled Savoring the Past.  It's a great read on 18th century cuisine. 

For dessert, we had Pumpkin Roll that I did not make, but bought.  That's right.  I BOUGHT IT.  Why, you might ask?  Because I was too daggum tired to make dessert after I cooked multiple turkeys!  That, and the fact that anything that I have ever tried to make in rolled form has turned out looking more like a squished peanut butter and jelly sandwich than a roll.  I just don't have the roll gene in me.  I CAN roll.  I as a person rotund in shape roll very well.  I just lack the dexterity to take layered foods and roll them neatly. 

I've tried seran wraps and bamboo mats.
I've tried various homogenized oils and natural fats. 
I've tried tying them to the tail of my cats...

I just cannot make a pumpkin roll, simple as that.

*cough* *ahem*  Pardon the rhyme.  I don't know what came over me.  After dinner was all said and done, we were hit with some seriously cold temperatures in the following weeks.  We bedded all of the livestock extra well with straw.  The chickens got shavings and straw.  It was just bitterly cold, with snow and sleet, and all that those come with.

The pigs probably were the most uncomfortable.  I thought I was going to have frozen pork for sale much sooner than I had anticipated with this swine venture. 

Kevin almost tried to slap me when he caught me looking for a measuring tape to get their sizes for piggy coats.  I'm still considering making them at night, with my sewing machine set on slow so as to be nice and quiet, hidden away in my closet while he snores.  I mean, come on.  They're cold!!!

If they make sweaters for chickens, why not jackets for pigs?  DON'T ANY OF YOU SUGGEST BLANKETS!

Schnicklefritz went to a new home last weekend, as he sadly just couldn't seem to get the job done with our girls.  I don't think it was any fault of his, so much as maybe just an old injury that resulted in an unfortunate outcome.  I like to think of him as Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner) from the film Rumor Has It, who had an unfortunate soccer accident.  *snicker*

Oh well... moving on.  We still managed to get some Uterine Hitch Hikers through other methods and have some pretty exciting babies due in January.  Can't tell you any more than that.  It's a secret! 

Levi's chickens are laying like mad, and we have some eggs in the incubator after we saw that his roosters are doing they're jobs!  We're going to be doing some fun little eggspiraments on egg preservation, and will be posting the results online!

Tiffany's chickens are doing very well.  Have some pictures, and will try to upload in the next week.  They're 5 weeks old and fully feathered.  If I could just get them to learn their names, we'd be all set!