Chicken and Omega 3

I was just watching River Cottage on SBS and heard from a scientist that not all chickens are alike.

Apparently chicken once supplied Omega 3 for healthy brain function; but nowadays they just supply heaps of fat ... and not much else!

They did a test and regular chickens that are intensively farmed are basically unhealthy! Honestly. It makes you wonder about diets based on chicken!

Anyway, the main point was that they tested several types of chickens and the organic free range chicken had 25% less fat than the cheap intensively farmed chicken, and 10x more Omega 3.

It is the brown meat that holds the Omega 3 and this develops when they are raised on grass and insects, allowed to exercise and roam free, as well as allowing them to age sufficiently to develop muscle before they make their way to the table.

Apparently this is what it takes to make chickens a more healthy option.

It's nice to know that the better their life is, the better they are for us too.

Frost Damage

Frost on Strawberry

As a garden writer I have regularly mentioned frosts, but last week was the first time I have really felt the effects. 

I have been sowing winter vegetables every four weeks and while I have noticed the odd frosty morning, it has had little impact on the garden. Maybe it’s the mulch, maybe the seaweed supplement I applied to the garden, but I have noticed little, if any frost damage. That was until last week when the kids told me it had been snowing.  

Frost on Lettuce

To read the full story go to garden drum by clicking here. 

Frost on Parsley

Long time, No blog!

Hi, I am writing my first Blog for quite some time and I must apologise!
I have not been lazy, but I have been rather preoccupied ...

My husband and I bought a farm and have been busy establishing a potager, growing our own food and looking after our ever growing menagerie of farm animals!

I have also written a new book about the entire experience which will be release in November 2012!!! Very exciting. More to come about the book closer to the release date.

So what has brought me back to the computer? I have to share the absolute thrill of gathering my first dozen duck eggs! And WOW - they really are so different to chicken or even guinea fowl eggs. They are rich and completely delicious!

We purchased the ducks in summer and have been nurturing them all this time with absolutely no eggs in return. We accepted this because they were so young; however after six months, I was beginning to regret buying such young ducks. And now, all of a sudden, we are finally reaping the rewards. Did I mention that the eggs are yum?

We selected one of each of the best egg layers (khaki campbell, indian runner & peking), according to our friendly poultry expert from Longwarry, but I can't tell who is laying and who is not because all the eggs look the same!

I do know one thing ... if you like eggs, you need to get yourself a duck or three!