Chickens, Eggs and Asparagus!

I’m thinking about chickens. Why? You may well ask.

Whilst we’re sorting out the dietary requirements of the delegates for the BBC conference or printing out attendance lists for the Redditch and the Bromsgrove breakfast clubs, I quite like the idea that I may be able to hear some gentle clucking noises from the garden!

I’ve got this real yearning to have hens laying fresh eggs and have this romantic idea of rescuing some battery hens and watching them grow back their feathers. I’ve looked into it and had a really friendly e-mail chat with someone called John who rescues them. It seems it’s just a question of turning up to some car park somewhere where the newly rescued chickens are chosen by people with the same idea as me, all fighting to rescue the one that looks the most bald.

The other challenge is finding the right coop.

This may sound easy but I have to tell you that hen houses are as varied as the human property market. There are bungalows, town houses, rustic properties, others of mansion size proportions, on wheels, slide off rooves (like the centre court at Wimbledon or the Millennium Stadium at Cardiff). In fact, there are so many different types available they almost need to appoint a chicken estate agent. It could be called Cluck and Feathers perhaps.

Fortunately my choice is limited because most of them are far too big for our postage stamp sized garden. Cost is a factor too, and like human abodes, the prices vary dramatically. The only good thing is, it isn’t so much about location, location, location as wherever you live the chickens have to live with you. There’s none of this ‘moving closer to a good school’ or ‘within walking distance of the station’ nonsense and they can’t really fly the nest and leave home either!

Anyway, back to price. Unfortunately I haven’t yet found one for around £50.00 which is what I’d like to pay! There are some fancy plastic ones called Eglus which come in an array of colours and which are supposed to keep the chickens warm in winter and cool in summer – a type of technicolour double glazing I guess. Anyway they are quite expensive, so I thought I’d look on e-Bay to see if I could grab a bargain.

Now I’m not exactly an e-Bay expert so I started ‘watching’ some (I was told this is the best way of finding out how much they sell for). Well, e-Bay virgin I may be, but I think some people must be barmy! These Eglus seem to sell for almost as much at second-hand as if you buy them brand new. You also have to pick them up from the vendor because, presumably the Royal Mail can’t manage parcels that size so they have to be collected. You could end up going miles to fetch them. Honestly, by the time you’ve paid for the petrol you could have had a new one delivered and a nice man who apparently helps you put it together and gives you advice on how to look after your chickens, but – and this is the burning question – do I want to pay around £350.00 for a brand new one? I think not.

Bethany reckons the hens will ask to go back to the battery anyway, once they’ve encountered the Edge household. What with Doris and Daisy (the cats), and Guinness, the part-time tenant and resident office dog, she thinks the trauma will be too much for them and she could well be right. My theory is at least they’ll have the chance to breathe some fresh air and see what the big wide world of the Edge garden looks like, even if they do drop dead with shock when they meet the animals!

Anyway, I’ve found a coop now which is all wood and which has the accommodation upstairs and the run underneath, like a mews. It also has handles so a two man team can pick it up and move it around. It doesn’t have any felt on it, which means it’s less likely to attract red spider mite but it costs about £150.00 so I’m still thinking. Watch this space.

Anyway with fresh, free range eggs in mind, I thought I’d go for another recipe. Asparagus Quiche. English asparagus is one of the best foods on the planet in my opinion, and it’s a very short season so you have to eat as much as you can when it’s available.

Now it’s said that ‘real men don’t eat quiche’ which I think is bunkem. Miles loves home-made quiche and I can assure you, he is a real man. I know because I’ve seen him in the shower and the hot water didn’t make him melt so he certainly isn’t a waxwork!

Also I’m giving you a very good tip. When you blind bake a pastry case you prick the bottom, line with paper and fill with baking beans so it doesn’t rise. When you take the paper out to finish it off brush some of the beaten egg you’ll be using for the filling all over the inside of the pastry case. It forms a sort of waterproof layer and then it stays nice and crisp. Try it – it really works.

Asparagus Quiche
12oz ( 340g ) short crust pastry, homemade or ready made (all butter is best)
1 lb ( 450 g ) asparagus
3 large eggs
½ pt double cream
2 oz of freshly grated hard cheese, parmesan or cheddar (or both)
salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 190c (375f - gas 5)
1. Grease a 10” (26cm) flan dish and dust with flour
2. Roll out the pastry and line the flan dish
3. Place in refrigerator and chill for 1/2 hour to rest (if you don’t have time it doesn’t matter, but you may find the pastry shrinks a bit).
4. Break the woody ends off the asparagus (just the last centimetre usually), they just snap off easily leaving all the rest tender and edible.
5. Steam for 5 minutes over salted water and put aside
6. Bake pastry blind (line raw pastry greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans to prevent the pastry from rising for 10 minutes , remove paper, brush with beaten egg and finish for approx 5 minutes)
7. Whisk eggs till frothy and add cream and mix together well, season with salt and pepper (remember the cheese is salty, particularly parmesan if you use it so don’t go too mad!)
8. Turn oven temperature to 180c (350F - gas 4)
9. Cut asparagus into pieces (reserving some spears to create wheel spokes if you like depending on whether you have thick or thin asparagus), spread round the pastry base, sprinkle most of the cheese over and pour on the mixture. NB. If using, put your reserved ‘wheel spokes’ radiating out from the centre into the mixture, and sprinkle the rest of cheese on top
10. Bake in the middle of the oven for 40-45 minutes, until well risen and golden brown.
11. Serve with side salad, delicious