Rosemary for Me ... and Fat Treats for the Birds

The Rosemary plants in the old tin bath  have gone rampant.  One in particular was about to go over so I went out armed with strong scissors and gave it a good 'haircut'.

It looks so much better now and hopefully won't go to seed, and it meant that I had some lovely big branches to process in the kitchen, ready for use in the next few weeks recipes.  I love rosemary and use it in all sorts of things, it goes wonderfully on roasting vegetables or salmon fillets for Alan.  The smell alone in the kitchen is simply wonderful.

First I pulled off all the little leaves that would have sat below the water line in the jug.  I simply checked for bugs and then put them on a tray in the bottom oven of the Aga until they were fully dried out.  It took about 30 minutes, with me giving the tray a shake every few minutes to make sure they all dried out evenly.

After that time this is how they looked.  I then chopped them up very finely and tipped them into a clean jam jar.  Now they are ready for use in any soups, stews or breadcrumb mixtures that I make over the next few months.

The large branches are now in one of my old jugs on the worktop.  

They are better than a vase of flowers in my opinion and every time I'm close by I can't resist a stroke of the leaves to get that lovely aroma onto my fingers.  The good news is that even after just a couple of days, two of the branches are already showing signs of  getting little roots, which means I will be able to pot them up and perhaps take a couple of pots to the Van next month.

And the fat of the title?

Well, I was sorting through the fridge and found a block of coconut fat, so far past it's use by date that even I decided against using it.  Although it did still smell fresh!!   Not one to waste food though I immediately thought of all the little wild birds that are currently pinching our chickens layers pellets and corn each day and so thought I would give all our feathery friends a treat. 

I just left the fat to melt near the Aga and then tipped into it a mixture of finely chopped nuts, seeds, some leftover cooked pasta and a couple of handfuls of oats.  Once I had filled the fat with as many tasty treats as it would hold I popped it into the fridge and left it overnight to set.

The next day I chopped it into 'brownie' sized chunks and scattered them around Chicken World.  The birds loved them, both the chickens, the now resident Pheasants and all the little birds that have made our property their home.

And listening to the cacophony of birdsong I caught on my phone the other day, it sounds like they are all happy little birdies!

Sue xx