17 and counting

in reference to the turducken post, here are the 17 birds the french crammed inside one another. i needed a mental picture.

a bustard:

a turkey:

a goose:

a pheasant:

a chicken:

a duck:

a guinea fowl:

a teal:

a woodcock:

a partridge:

a plover:

a lapwing:

a quail:

thrush:

a lark:

an ortolan bunting:

and a garden warbler:

now that's fowl. har, har.

take your pick!

i know this isn't exactly a diagram, but i came across this picture and thought it was pretty great.

1. Turkey, 2. Goose, 3. Barbary duck, 4. Guinea fowl, 5. Mallard, 6. Poussin, 7. Quail, 8. Partridge, 9. Pigeon squab, 10. Pheasant, 11. Chicken, 12. Aylesbury duck.

i think the idea behind this was "cook a bird for each of the 12 days of christmas."

gosh, that's a lot of birds! who wants to attempt it and have me for dinner for 12 nights?

(source: www.chow.com)

heirloom livestock?

the american livestock breeds conservatory has opened me up to a lovely world of farm animals that are facing extinction because of all of the fun breeding and genetic engineering factory farmers are doing. i suppose most people wouldn't think about this, but can you imagine if eventually only one breed of dog existed? and what would that look like? probably a 20-pound hairless hypoallergenic sad looking creature, right? well, that's pretty much what we've done to chickens!
i was reading yesterday that beef can be as complex as wine-- everything from the breed, what the animal is fed, its living condition, and its treatment factors into the taste of the meat. are there fancy groups of people who have beef-tastings like wine tastings? and how can i get in on that? it is just sad that we've limited ourselves to the most generic foods we can manufacture, so we can feel warm and fuzzy, blindly wandering into familiar restaurants to taste the same double cheeseburger in new york, tokyo, or sydney...

and i think i found a new purse book!


also, do i need one of these? seems kind of absurd, but am i just inappropriately refusing to jump the new technology bandwagon to be quickly left in the dust?

always keep one in your purse!

just a preview of the goodness that the man got me for valentine's day...

this perfect pocket-sized guide is an excellent reference for all things meat. the chapters include beef, veal, pork, lamb, poultry and other game birds, game and other domesticated meats, and sausage and cured meats. each cut is detailed with a general description, recommended amount to buy, how to store, preperation instruction, and flavor pairing ideas. fantastic resource!!
i think it will be a great help in my next project... (a girl's gotta have some secrets!)

poultry stats.

my intro to the world of poultry, beginning with chicken. barely meat, but worth considering.

-there are more chickens in the world than any other bird-- over 24 million!

-chickens naturally have a lifespan of five to eleven years, but commercial chickens are often slaughtered at six weeks; free range at fourteen; egg-laying at twelve months (for use in heavily processed food, like pet food and... baby food?!)

-before 1910, chicken was mostly a "special occasion" food in the U.S.

-whole, ready to cook chickens were not commonplace until the 1950s; most chickens were cleaned by the local butcher or at home!

-until 1960, chickens were primarily raised on family farms, with eggs being the priority

-chicken and their eggs used to be "seasonal," but through the use of vitamin D, they can be kept inside, ready to produce, year-round; therefore, in 1900, average egg production was 83 eggs per hen per year and in 2000, it was well over 300

-there is no federal law that regulates the humane treatment of chickens, meaning chickens are routinely debeaked, live their lives in complete darkness, are "selectively bread" to essentially create fatter birds, and fed heaps of antibiotics and hormones

and this is just for my dad, whose childhood pet chickens mysteriously disappeared one day--

-chickens are omnivores, so why not let them roam around your kitchen? they can eat anything from leftover baked goods to stray lizards and insects, but are probably best left to feast on your lawn

-the "urban hen movement" (check it out! fun blog.)

-eggs of pastured chickens contained 34% less cholesterol, 10% less fat, 40% more vitamin A, twice as much omega-6 fatty acid, and four times as much omega-3 fatty acid as the USDA standard

and just some fun articles about chickens as pets:

la times feature
la times blog

and if you're really ambitious, here's some (quite graphic) information on raising chickens for meat.

and maybe later, sheep.

squak!