Wednesday 2 September 2015

Spinach ... and Sadness



I decided yesterday to try freezing some of my Spinach so that it is completely uncooked and ready to be added to my morning Nutriblast.  To be honest I have never frozen spinach this way.  Any bags of fresh spinach in the freezer have always been bargain buys from the supermarket.  I find Monday morning in M&S brilliant for picking up bags of salad leaves or greens usually at 50p. and once home the spinach or kale was always popped straight into the freezer and it always worked.

So .... it should work for me right.


Well you know me I'll give most things a try.  So I picked some spinach, washed it in salt water and then rinsed it, spun it in the salad spinner and then patted the leaves very dry and then bagged it up, being careful for once to trap as much air in the bag as I could so I could keep the leaves free flowing.

It worked a treat.

When I took the bag out of the freezer late last night to exclude the excess air the leaves were frozen and free flowing.  I'll be doing lots more over the next few days.


Of course I don't just use the kitchen paper once for this kind of job, ten minutes on top of the Aga saw it dry and ready to use for the same job next time .... or it would have been if Ginger hadn't knocked over my half empty glass of water and I grabbed the first thing close to hand to mop up the mess.

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In some sad news, my glorious Caldwell II died on Sunday.  

I found his sad little body lying sheltered from the rain under a bush in Chicken World.  He had obviously decided to meet his maker away from his flock of girls and chosen the solitude of the bush in the corner, I didn't spot him until I was walking round after cleaning out the henhouse.  We were worried about him a couple of weeks ago (see HERE), but he really rallied round and seemed almost back tp his normal self, the only thing that had me a bit perplexed was that he never attacked Lovely Hubby again, and that really was his thing.

He was a very special member of the family.  Bought for just £5 for us by my Mum at a Smallholders Auction we took her to.  She wanted the thrill of bidding, but unfortunately no one bid against her, so she got him with her first bid.  Cockerels are notoriously difficult to sell on their own, hence the usual habit of selling two hens with one cockerel,  but we thought he was magnificent and we had not long since lost our original Caldwell, who died with his five sons saving the flock from a fox attack.  (Hence the name being passed to our main cockerel in remembrance of true bravery.)

Caldwell II lived up to the bestowed name and showed his true fighting spirit when it was needed, his tale was told HERE.  Now he is at rest.  We were so lucky that he survived when he did and although he never reached his full glory again, he ruled his ladies with a gallant and gentlemanly spirit.  He was his own bird, a real character and he lit up our lives wonderfully in the time he spent with us.

RIP Caldwell, you were loved.

Sue xx





18 comments:

  1. I am going to try freezing some shop bought spinach as I have a bag in the fridge which has only had a few leaves used - we have it on top of a jacket potatoe with cheese - and there is nearly a full bag left.

    Sad news re. Caldwell. He looked to be a very handsome chap! I know very little about chickens but your chicken world stories are very interesting to read. I would love 2 or 3 hens for eggs but to be honest would have to read up a lot about keeping them and looking after them first - in the meantime I shall keep buying my eggs from a local gent who keeps chickens so at least I know they're happy birds. (Mrs LH)

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  2. I'm so sorry for your loss. *hugs*

    Before I got my chickens I had no idea just how attached I would get to them, nor did I know how much personality they have and how individual they are. :) Next time we want to raise them from chicks, so that might create even more of a bond.

    I might try freezing some spinach for them in summer.. :) I would not have thought of doing it that way, so FYI I am loving your freezing posts.

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  3. Poor Caldwell, it sounds like he had a lovely life with you, I'm sure he will be much missed by you and his ladies. x

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  4. Sorry to hear about Caldwell II, sounds like he had a wonderful home with you and his girls xx

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  5. Sorry to hear about Caldwell.

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  6. Sue, I always thought the air had to be squeezed out of the bag, so I guess I got that all wrong. Hope this all works out for you. Sorry for the loss of Caldwell II....do we have a III?

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    1. No you're completely right, I wanted the air in at first so the leaves would freeze without sticking to each other, but once frozen I opened the bag and got all the air out. Yes, the less air in any freezer container the better it is for the food.

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  7. Poor old cockerel! Animals always prefer to die away from the nest / warren / den to avoid attracting predators with their bodies, I think

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    1. Yes, nature is very sensible in making animals so very instinctive to the survival of their species. And I find that most creatures prefer to be on their own at the end.

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  8. Poor Caldwell, it's hard to lose them when they've got real character.

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  9. I held my breath for a minute then, oh no, please don't let it be Mavis. Thankfully not, but still very sad, poor Caldwell.

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  10. I am sorry Caldwell has passed. You gave him a lovely life.
    Thank you for the info on freezing spinach. I am off to put this to good use.

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  11. Poor old Caldwell, he seemed to pick up so well after his 'episode' of a couple of weeks ago.
    I think it's safe to say that he was probably the best five quid your mum ever spent.
    He was much loved and loved you in return (even LH), it's just time for him to rest now.
    Be at peace Caldwell. X

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  12. Am so sorry to read about Caldwell Sue..he was a lovely cockerel..looked after his women good and proper.
    I was hoping he would be ok after his scare..bless his soul and may he rest in peace.
    sara,fern,iris

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  13. Roosters are so special, even though its the hens that lay the eggs, I always name the roosters and get to know them more than the individual hens, so its especially difficult when they go :( so sorry for your loss.

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