I love your pig stories. When they have personalities and names it sure would be hard to eat them. They sound like they really like to ride in the van....who would have thunk it??? LOL!!! After finding a gold mine of food in the van, they will really try to go for a ride!! Thanks for sharing your story and hope you continue to feel better! I included a link of a pig that would not walk on the dirt unless they put it boots on it. It even has pictures. Thought you might enjoy it. Joyce Here is a link that might be useful: Pig in Boots

My sis hosted this year but last year I had 2 birds: a 14 lb (maple brine, grilled) and a 27 lb (herb brine, roasted in oven.) (In case you're wondering about all that turkey, the butcher made a mistake; I had ordered a 12-14 lb and a 16-18 lb.) I followed a couple recipes closely and used remote thermometers, but both birds got done VERY early -- before guests even arrived! So I put the small bird into a cooler and shut the lid; the big bird I wrapped in foil and then beach towels. Both birds sat for a couple hours just steaming in their wrappings... and both were incredibly tender and moist. So if you're ever in a situation where the bird is done too early, see if you have a cooler big enough to set the bird into. It turned out great! runninginplace: how fun to have a culinary student doing your meal! Any tips to share?

emerogork, I have a couple dozen chickens in the freezer that I raised myself. They weren't egg layers, and there are differences. If your friend tried to roast an old laying hen I'm surprised it even tasted as good as crow. Actually the process, though, isn't as bad as people think. You can make it as difficult as you like, of course, just like everything else in life. I have stainless steel cones, stick a chicken in it upside down, blood rushes to their head and they kind of pass out. Nick the jugular and they bleed out before they ever come to. No flopping, no mess, no fuss. Dunk the bird into 150F water, swish it up and down a couple of times, toss it into the plucker. 30 seconds later, clean as a whistle. I used to pluck by hand, it took me 4 or 5 minutes, then my lovely husband bought me a chicken plucker for my birthday. Best present ever! Anyway, my stepson timed me. If I take my time and don't hurry, I can clean a chicken in 50 seconds. So, 2 minutes for killing, another two minutes for scalding, 30 seconds in the plucker, a minute for cleaning, 5 or 6 minutes and I have a bird ready for the table. Oh, and I raise broilers and slaughter at 8 weeks. Even a heritage bird goes in the freezer in 6 months, which is barely enough time for them to even be old enough to lay eggs. Now comes another "hitch". Like other muscle meats, chicken is better after it ages. Not for days or weeks, like beef, but 24 hours. Leave that bird on ice for 24 hours and it's ready to cook. Cook without that resting period and it's stringy and tough. You can slaughter a bird my way, quick, easy, apparently relatively painless, little mess or fuss. If you prefer you can catch an old tough bird, lop its head off, let it flop around the yard spreading blood and feathers everywhere and traumatizing the kids and the neighbors, pluck and clean it, then roast it immediately. It will be virtually inedible and send you directly to your local supermarket for chicken from there on in. The heritage turkeys we raised were, without exception, the best turkey I've ever eaten in my life. The problem was that it took hours of time, $45 per bird before labor considerations and they all got infectious sinusitis which caused me to have to give them antibiotics to just keep them upright, which kind of messed with my "organic heritage turkey" plans, LOL. Annie

LOL yes, Molly wouldn't sit on the chair but I didn't want her left out! I got a picture of her on a different sofa where she was more comfortable and she was added in.