tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12997259.post6855151705750389232..comments2024-03-14T05:55:13.709-05:00Comments on Farmgirl Fare: Recipe: Arugula or Spinach Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Black Olives, Pecorino Romano, Sliced Chicken Sausage, and Homemade Buttermilk Ranch DressingFarmgirl Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04851855517852917202noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12997259.post-26969700448531575302010-11-08T13:11:30.322-06:002010-11-08T13:11:30.322-06:00I just whipped this up for lunch, and what a treat...I just whipped this up for lunch, and what a treat! Chicken sausage is on sale at our natural food grocery, and I'll be going back for more so we can have this again. It's my favorite new recipe of yours!<br />Cheers, AndreaAndrea at Opulent Cottagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00047846276519608281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12997259.post-90620737736399161632010-10-16T18:53:38.652-05:002010-10-16T18:53:38.652-05:00Your salad looks delish -- I had to laugh because ...Your salad looks delish -- I had to laugh because with our variable New England summers I have learned to hedge my bets and always grow some cherry tomatoes along with my larger favorites, because some years -- too cold and wet or too hot and dry -- they are the only plants to produce. It's not really summer until you have that first bacon-and-tomato sandwich with tomatoes straight from the garden!Julia Gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12997259.post-9646179769604910312010-10-14T15:37:12.915-05:002010-10-14T15:37:12.915-05:00We raise pastured chickens and your picture makes ...We raise pastured chickens and your picture makes me want to learn to make chicken sausage. Delicious!tabithahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088836007624150734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12997259.post-21144316678729491492010-10-13T14:18:19.770-05:002010-10-13T14:18:19.770-05:00Anyway, I'm glad that some of this kind of inf...Anyway, I'm glad that some of this kind of information has gotten out into the public and that conscious producers are going out of their way to use 100% vegetarian feed (although I was shocked to learn about what is still going on.) And like I said, I think what may be partly happening is that it's just carrying over to chickens. People are associating any food animal being fed a vegetarian diet as safe.<br /><br />I know just from things I've posted here about the laying hens we raise, that many people have no idea chickens can, do, and probably should eat animal protein. When allowed to forage on their own, they spend all day looking for bugs.<br /><br />But if you're raising chickens in a confined space (even if it's 'free range' with access to outdoors), in order to feed them meat, you would have to buy some sort of available feed - and what would that be? Most likely, something that's made of meat byproducts, like nearly all dry cat and dog foods are, which isn't a very pleasant choice. And you definitely don't want chickens being fed chicken by products.<br /><br />I just wish there were more readily available grain options for chickens (and other livestock) besides corn and soy. We avoid feeding both here on the farm, and it's not easy - or cheap. But we have such a small operation, at least it's doable for us.<br /><br /><b> Hey JR,</b><br />Thanks! The salad really was good - if you couldn't tell by my four night repeat of it, LOL. I'm usually a pork and beef sausage kind of girl, but the chicken sausage had a really nice flavor.Farmgirl Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04851855517852917202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12997259.post-74633263167617366362010-10-13T14:13:55.608-05:002010-10-13T14:13:55.608-05:00Hey Kalyn,
We definitely have similar taste in foo...<b>Hey Kalyn,</b><br />We definitely have similar taste in food. I'm really looking forward to trying your two arugula salads I linked to - along with a couple of others you've posted, too!<br /><br /><b>Hi Melody,</b><br />Oh my gosh, that sounds so good! That is definitely my kind of meal. Thank you! It's funny, too, because just the other day I bookmarked <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/roasted-chicken-sausage-and-potatoes?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/quick-chicken-recipes#slide_19" rel="nofollow"><b>this recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food</b></a> for Roasted Chicken Sausage and Potatoes. I thought it sounded really good - until I read your trumped up version!<br /><br />I love the idea of adding the greens - and I just happen to have a beautiful 4'x8' raised bed of <a href="http://inmykitchengarden.blogspot.com/2010/09/garden-journal-91410-how-to-grow-asian.html" rel="nofollow"><b>baby Asian greens</b></a> (well, the bed itself is falling apart, LOL, but the greens are beautiful) that is ready to be thinned. :)<br /><br /><b>Hey Kristin,</b><br />Your butcher sounds great. And so does homemade sauerkraut! Joe is crazy about sauerkraut, so one of these days I really should try and make some. Of course if it comes out really good, he'll probably start refusing to eat the storebought stuff. ;)<br /><br />As for the big deal about giving chickens 100% vegetarian feed - I think part of it is simply a carryover from the (good) hype over feeding other meat animals a 100% vegetarian diet.<br /><br />Chickens can safely eat meat - in fact, they love it (bugs are meat!), and you know I feed my chickens all kinds of stuff, from meat scraps and dairy products to even <a href="http://www.farmgirlfare.com/2009/06/monday-dose-of-cute-pizza-party.html" rel="nofollow"><b>pizza.</b></a><br /><br />The big problems arise when you feed meat or animal products to ruminants (like cows and sheep), because their systems are NOT set up to digest meat products. For example, mad cow disease (talk about a big scary problem) was caused by cattle being fed animal products.<br /><br />What's really sad is that there is at least one very well known, huge feed company that is still (or was as of just a few years ago when I was told this firsthand information) selling cattle feed that contains animal products.<br /><br />Our organic fertilizer supplier, who keeps up on all of this scary stuff, was telling me about how these cows were being fed this special food that was full of animal fat.<br /><br />Sure, it caused them to gain weight extra fast (which is all many commercial producers want to do, because the more the animals grow, the more money you make - and the faster they gain, the sooner you make it), but it was also killing them. And when they cut open the insides of the cows, their stomachs were literally lined with a thick layer of grease - I want to say it was like an inch or two thick. That is just so wrong, not to mention disgusting and sad.<br /><br /><b><i>Continued in the next comment. Blogger doesn't like me rambling on so much. :)</i></b>Farmgirl Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04851855517852917202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12997259.post-70562569845042807272010-10-11T08:51:36.734-05:002010-10-11T08:51:36.734-05:00That's a beautiful and tasty lookin salad. Ch...That's a beautiful and tasty lookin salad. Chicken sausage, huh.<br /><br />Good idea.The JRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10860982258621823529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12997259.post-10553895054727531562010-10-11T07:09:02.930-05:002010-10-11T07:09:02.930-05:00We're lucky enough to still have a real butche...We're lucky enough to still have a real butcher in the Small City that makes their own sausages. Whenever I get a chance, I stock up, especially on kielbasa. Kielbasa from the freezer and a jar of the sauerkraut or German red cabbage I can in the fall is as close as I get to convenience food.<br /><br />Why do companies keep harping on vegetarian feed for chickens? And why do consumers persist in believing that all the animals we eat must be herbivores and therefore better off with a vegetarian diet? It bugs me.Kristin @ Going Countryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00221544641416039741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12997259.post-62405679895330565732010-10-10T19:32:56.136-05:002010-10-10T19:32:56.136-05:00Or, try roasting hunks (400 degrees for about 30 m...Or, try roasting hunks (400 degrees for about 30 minutes) of the sausage with chunks of new red potatoes drizzled with EVOO, chopped fresh garlic, and chopped fresh rosemary. When potatoes and sausage have cooked through, toss with chopped raw, fresh arugula or spinach, or tat soi, or bok choy, (you get the idea), the heat of the potatoes and sausage wilts the greens, no further cooking needed. You can also add onion and/or green/red/anaheim peppers to the roasting mixture. Add a salad or sliced tomatoes and a nice glass of chardonnay and try to keep me from the table!Melodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12207785271047798897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12997259.post-17574558488534492712010-10-10T14:16:01.072-05:002010-10-10T14:16:01.072-05:00Oh yes! This is my kind of salad! Just saved the...Oh yes! This is my kind of salad! Just saved the recipe, although I'll have to get tomatoes at Costco, sigh.Kalyn Dennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02499065771517548587noreply@blogger.com