First Day on the Blog

Welcome one and all.

This is a new blog intended to share, educate and inform all those interested in the worlds of gardening, farming, animal raising, cooking, etc. The twist here is that I am a punk living in the country going through the fun of learning about how to do many of these tasks. My wife and mother-in-law are both amazingly helpful in helping to show me the right way and hopefully I can get them both to help with some of the stuff that is written here.

Currently on our little property we are raising chickens, planting our garden, prepping an area for herb gardening, working on keeping our dog (the biggest garden pest of all) out of our flowers and tending to the fruit trees. This is a lot to do even in such a small area but we love it and thoroughly enjoy doing so.

I am also open to and question/suggestions that anyone may have. you can email me at theruralpunkblog@hotmail.com

Now as for cooking, I love cooking. One thing I will be doing here is posting new recipes from time to time because when I cook I like to make it up as I go. Some things come out great and others, well.... That's why we have a dog.

So to kick things off today I will be sharing a recipe:

Beer Baked Chicken
3 slices of bacon, cut in half
2 pieces of chicken, leg and thigh quarters are best
2 shallots, diced
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground marjoram
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
12 oz. (1 bottle) beer. Room temperature. (I recommend Moosehead Lager)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Mix shallots, flour, marjoram, pepper, thyme, garlic, beer and vinegar in mixing bowl. Set aside.

Place chicken in roasting pan and pour mixture over chicken. Place slices of bacon over the chicken.

Place roasting pan in oven and bake for 50-55 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender. Serve over fresh pasta and spoon the gravy from the roasting pan over the top. Trust me, its delicious.

Well that is all for today! I look forward to the next time!

Stuart Smith