The Tale of Five Chickens

Yesterday, I had 3 chickens to give their weekly thorough clean out to and 2 chickens to roast.  Two worlds collided and I blame Doc for this.  He said we had not had chicken for a while.  Organic birds were on Special Offer at the supermarket and why don’t we make Chicken Fricassee for the troops next weekend?  It was a good idea, in theory.  Cooking the chicken in advance, making the stock and freezing it, would save time and dinner could be prepared in a jiffy.  In any case, Doc said, Chicken Fricassee used to be one of our family favourites....

That was until the girls arrived last year.  Since then, eating chicken has a slightly uncomfortable association for me.  It is hard to care for Ginger, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, get to know their individual little personalities and then cook one of their ‘colleagues’ for dinner.

I am not vegetarian - I do like sausages and bacon- but I think I have leanings in that direction.  I don’t like rare meat full stop and would never order a steak.  Having so much produce in the garden also means the veggies have increasingly taken’ centre plate’ and of course, our eggs are simply wonderful.

Anyway, I told myself to get a grip of the two carcasses in front of me on the chopping board.  They were not our birds, they were strangers, with a good provenance and hopefully had lived a contented life. If I was starving, I would be grateful.  We have to get real and connect with our food, from field to plate.

All the same, I was pleased when the preparations for Chicken Fricassee were complete.  I must remember to chop the chicken meat quite small so it does not cause a lump in my throat next weekend.  I will also make plenty of mushroom veloute sauce to go with it.