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Happy hens & fresh eggs : keeping chickens in the kitchen garden with 100 recipes / Signe Langford ; with photographs by Donna Griffith.

by Langford, Signe, 1964-

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Douglas & McIntyre, [2015]

Kitchen gardens.

Urban agriculture.

9781771620970 (pbk.)

1771620978 (pbk.)

ix, 200 pages : colour illustrations ; 26 cm

Includes indexes.

"Adding a few hens to the garden cuts down on pests, enriches the soil and supplies the kitchen with fresh eggs. This engaging book will lead readers down the garden path -- to the coop and back to the kitchen. Todays renaissance of the backyard flock is driven by a growing desire for healthy organic ingredients, food security and animal welfare -- and while hunger might be "the best sauce," a dash of self-sufficiency is remarkably satisfying too. As communities from Victoria to St. John's amend urban bylaws to allow backyard flocks, more and more Canadians are enjoying the pleasures and rewards of keeping hens in the garden. In addition to tending her family's flock as a child, Signe Langford has kept chickens in her urban Toronto yard for almost a decade. Her book is stuffed full of practical advice on keeping the garden both gorgeous and productive and hens happy and healthy. In addition to answering questions about coop construction, year-round egg production and whether or not a rooster is really needed, she covers the best breeds for backyards -- from the Canadian winter-tough Chanticlear to peewee bantams to blue-egg producing Ameraucana. Langford explains how hens are the happiest garden helpers anyone could ever have. Give them kitchen scraps and let them visit the compost pile: they'll enrich and aerate the soil, all while eating as many bugs as they can get their beaks on. Langford shares what plants are best to support the flock -- from edible flowers and foliage to a hens' herbal healing bed. In the kitchen, Langford tells why coddling can be a good thing when it comes to eggs; how to salt-cure yolks and how to dash off a classic French omelette baveuse. From Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Tart to Vanilla Coeur a la Crème with Blueberry Compote, she includes dozens of simple and elegant recipes from her own kitchen, as well as from celebrated contributors like Vikram Vij, Laura Calder, Ted Reader and John Higgins. Illustrated with beautiful photographs, illustrations and garden plans, this book is sure to be a favourite of avid and aspiring backyard farmers. Signe Langford is a chef, Toronto food writer and backyard chicken fanatic"--Provided by publisher.

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