Chicken & CoQ10

It was a family affair.  Savanah dawned her red and white polka dotted rain boots and the boys ran around in their football shirts, except Eli and Nathaniel, who, without coaching wore their red scout shirts, maybe the red theme was subconscious, or maybe we've sat for enough Christmas photos we are just a color coordinated family!  I doubt it, I chuckle every time we enter public together, we are a virtual rainbow every time, yellow, orange, red, blue, green, and even purples, which just makes me smile because I have 5 boys, and rainbows normally adorn girls...  But they have my colorful blood coursing through their veins.  Now, back to Saturday morning.

We woke up to our alarm clocks and chill in the air for the first time this fall.  Our plan was to de-commission (that sounds nice, right) 12 broilers this Saturday and 12 next Saturday, so we'd be finished before Thanksgiving.  But once our family butchering machine got going we just took care of all 24 before we had to get Zach to his baseball game at 10:30am and Andrew & Ryon to their flag football game at 10:30am, also.

Ryon takes care of the coning, that means putting them upside down in a cone and beheading them.  Zach & Nathaniel were at the whiz-bang-chicken-plucker de-feathering station.  Leaving Savanah, Eli, and I to clean out everything undesirable from the inside.  Savanah was extremely helpful this time.  She seems to have lost her squeamishness and dug right in with a fillet knife, asking questions as she went, admiring living bone, and healthy hearts, she's a girl after my own heart.  Life & death is so miraculous!  Savanah was captivated by the look of white chickens resting headless hanging from their feet on fence, our little yard looked so much like a little farm, actually capable of producing our own food.

I kept livers and hearts this time!  I just discovered the much sought after CoQ10 is prolific in these rather detestable organs (which I have only eaten once as an adult-on accident of course in "foie gras" and as I almost threw up in the nice little establishment the observant server quickly removed the plate and replaced it with fried squash blossom salad (which was delicious and much more desirable than duck liver!).  But I'm going to give it a whirl now that I'm...I don't know what I am, but I think it's a shame to throw them away...they look so healthy.  Although, the filter for all bad in the little chicken body?  Still baffles me how it can be healthy to eat!  But I'm going to try it out.

So, we just had enough time to butcher and disinfect everything when we had to fly out the door in different directions to sporting events, so here it is Tuesday and I'm just getting all the birds parted out and CANNED, yes it's my first experience canning in a pressure canner as a grown-up.  It's been fun!  But time consuming!

I haven't caused any explosions or 3rd degree burns, so I count it as a success!  Plus the garden is looking beautiful!  I'll have to take some photos to post in the near future.  Happy Thanksgiving month!  I AM GRATEFUL!!!

Questions:  Any great egg plant recipes?  I have 4 egg plants in my garden that are ready to eat.  Also, I'm looking for chicken liver and heart recipes...please no liver and onions, I gag just thinking about it, sorry, Dad!