We had traditional turkey dinner this year. I had other plans but I was asked for this. It was my gift to my family that I haul back on my plans to debone and stuff a pork loin roast.
I am going “to flex”(as the young ones say )-every single thing on this plate was raised/grown/made on this farm. It was alot of work, it was long and slow food at its finest on our 1 acre farmstead on a rocky, cold and very windy island. There was a moment when after saying Grace, I felt such a wave of gratefulness for the skill to gift this to my family, it brought tears to my eyes.
So you shouldn’t be surprised when I tell you I saved every bit of veggie scrap from preparing dinner in a pan in the bathtub (small kitchen probs ) to boil up for the chickens for their breakfast this morning.
When you grow it all, you know the weight of the work. You don’t waste a drop.
However this chicken slop doesn’t smell even a quarter as good as ours did cooking yesterday but I know to the chickens it will be just a feast after a chilly night.
PS raw potato skins should never be given to pigs, chickens, sheep (the potato plant especially should be avoided for them), dogs or cats as sprouted or green potatoes contain a compound which can be toxic to them so we always cook them to share with pigs and chickens. Fun fact: cows are the ultimate recyclers and can break down the starch and Glycoalkaloids ( found in the peel) of potatoes.
Some farmers even substitute 4.5 lbs of cull potatoes for 1 kg of corn and barley to make up 30% of their cows diet. We don’t grow enough potatoes to do it, but I always find it interesting to see the benefits of not letting any food go to waste.
Love Jenn xx