Chaos in the Backyard

Sometimes I look back at a week or two and wonder how we managed to fit so much into such a short amount of time.

The past two weeks have been jam packed, but they’re also a reminder of why we signed up for this adventure in the first place.

Camping Through the Heat

We kicked things off with a beginning of summer camping trip. Not a dirtbike race camping weekend, but a campfire and smore’s, fishing tackle and bait, and golfcart rides to to the pool or lake. Despite the heat dome trying its best to melt all of us, we had an absolute great time. The boys, the big especially, spent their days fishing, making new friends, and enjoying making the kind of summer memories that only need a fishing pole, a bike, and a campground with new friends to be made.

Would I have preferred temperatures about twenty degrees cooler? Absolutely, 100% without a doubt. Especially since I had two runs to get in (shout out to the bike and running trail right behind the campground). But sometimes the best family trips don’t happen with perfect weather.

Enter into the chat: Bubbles

Because I have the most impeccable timing, I also decided this was also the perfect week to wake my sourdough starter/discard from her very long nap in the refrigerator. As a teacher and sports mom, sourdough is not for the school year…so a yogurt container of discard has been in the back of the fridge since last summer.

Everyone, meet Bubbles. Bubbles, meet everyone.

After taking a break for the school year, I was ready to get back into sourdough baking. I’ve only been mildly successful with it. My cheddar jalapeño loaves = chef’s kiss. My basic boule can sometimes come out a little chewy/gummy. I also don’t ever get the texture and proofing anywhere close to perfect, and I am also a perfectionist with baking. But, there’s something relaxing about the everyday rhythm of feeding a starter, stretching and folding dough, and waiting while nature does her thing. It’s slower than traditional yeast bread. I can give you a gourmet yeast bread in three hours start to finish. I feel like it’s a three day process for sourdough. Shoot, it’s slower than the more boring day of my chaotic life, but maybe that’s part of why I enjoy it. After baking my first loaf, everyone enjoyed it. My big calls it “sour bread” and my picky little even willingly ate a bit.

I have a feeling Bubbles is going to become a regular around these parts this summer.

Our First Meat Chicken Processing Day

Not long after we unpacked the camper from the trip **pretty sure the clean clothes, because I try not to leave a campground without hitting up the laundrymat, were still in the camper**, it was time for something we’d been preparing for since May…processing our first batch of meat chickens.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure how the day would go and it was weighing on me a lot. I’d spent weeks researching, asking questions in groups, and watching videos. You can read every article out there, but eventually, you just have to jump in and do it.

Honestly? It went far better than I expected.

Everyone had a role, and everyone stepped up to complete their role.

• Little was our chicken catcher.
• Hubs handled dispatching.
• Big took care of scalding and plucking.
• I worked at the processing table and got each bird onto ice.

Before we knew it, the first stage of the process was finished. After spending all day on ice (we enjoyed a quick fishing trip to a local lake while they iced), we came back later that evening to part the chickens, vacuum seal everything, and stock the freezer.

By the end of the day, we had processed 23 chickens (we lost two on the first day of the heat wave), producing over 100 pounds of packaged homegrown pasture-raised chicken. I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished together as a family.

***Thank you, Jess, for letting us borrow the plucker!! I can’t imagine what the day would have looked like without it!

The First Loaf of Summer

As if the day wasn’t busy enough, my first sourdough boule of the summer went into and came out of the oven that same morning.

There is something incredibly satisfying about pulling a loaf of bread from the oven after a period away from baking. The smell filled the house while we were out processing chickens, making the kitchen and house feel a whole lot homier.

That evening, I toasted a thick slice and enjoyed it with butter and a scoop of cottage cheese. The next night, we served the rest along with one of our freshly roasted chickens.

The hubby asked the boys if they knew where the chicken came from, and they were excited to say it was one of ours. While there was a ton of chaos happening before sitting down to eat, it was one of those meals that quietly reminds you why all the work is worth it.

Can We Can Some Stock?

To bring everything somewhat full circle, I saved four of the chicken carcasses after parting them out to turn into homemade chicken stock. I was super excited to finally break out the pressure canner and preserve something we made almost 100% start to finish ourselves.

I tossed two carcasses into the crockpot with an onion, carrots, celery, and a handful of herbs from the garden, then let everything simmer on low for about 18 hours. This afternoon I washed and sanitized the jars, prepped the canner, and processed two quarts and two pints of homemade chicken stock. About two hours later, I pulled out four perfectly sealed jars. Seeing those golden jars with perfect seals was so satisfying.

Of course, I wasn’t done yet. I immediately threw the last two carcasses into the crockpot and started another batch. I think this time I’ll can everything in pint jars since we barely ever use an entire quart of broth at once.

Every one of these little projects makes me even more excited for what’s next. Pretty soon the tomatoes should be producing like crazy, and I can’t wait to spend a weekend pumping out homemade spaghetti sauce. After that, it will be pickles. And on and on.

Why We Keep Doing This

None of these projects happens because they’re the easiest option. I mean, my amazing husband makes them all feel so much easier. Hands down, I would NOT be able to do any of this without his help and support.

Camping in the heat isn’t easy.

Raising and processing your own meat isn’t easy.

Learning sourdough certainly isn’t always easy.

But each thing teaches us something. It slows us down. It brings our family together. They help our boys learn skills they’ll be able to carry with them for years. I can say, without a doubt, that my boys have been lucky enough to be exposed to and have done so much that so many adults I know haven’t ever had the chance to try. It reminds Ryan and me that a meaningful life is built in ordinary everyday moments and not the big and dramatic ones.

When I started Chaos in the Backyard, I hoped it would become a place to document this journey…the successes, mistakes, and everything in between.

These past couple of weeks have been exactly that.

A lot of chaos.

A lot of work.

And completely worth it.