The Chicks Have Arrived - OR - All The Ladies in the House (the ladies...the ladies...the ladies!!!!)

(THis post can also be read at Bonappetit.com)

I got a voicemail from the post office first thing Monday

morning.

"Uhh, hi, Mr. Knauer, uhh... [long pause] ...your chicks are

here..."

Great, I thought, just in time for Easter.

A few months ago I was cleaning out a section of the barn

that no one had set foot in for generations. Digging around,

I found a wooden cage tucked in the corner. The cage was

wrapped with chicken wire and was clearly designed to

raise baby chicks. I was inspired. Fortunately, there is

also an old chicken coop on the farm--a building built

precisely for raising chickens, something that no one in

my family has done for 50 years.

It also happens that I eat a lot of eggs. I have them most

mornings for breakfast. I eat them for lunch, which this

time of year means hard-boiled and crumbled over

asparagus. I fry them and place them on top of pizza

for dinner.

Given these facts, raising hens seemed like an easy thing

to justify. I went online and ordered 20 laying hen

chicks of various breeds for about $2 each. And when I

picked up the box at the post office, I almost giggled.

They were the cutest things, maybe ever.

At the moment they are camped out near the heater

in the living room of the farmhouse. In a few weeks

they'll be able to wander around outside. (It will take

2-3 months before I see any eggs from them.) And

that will bring on its own set of challenges. One of

those challenges, perhaps the biggest, will be the fox.



There is a fox that lives in the old hay field, just above

the grape vines. She's raising four cubs. Every morning,

she and I stare at each other from a distance as her cubs

frolic and tumble in the spring grass. And, because I

know I can't out-smart the fox, I'm trying to make friends

with her. Just after sunrise, I bring her and her cubs some

food. It might be a leftover burger or some pork. So far,

I haven't fed her any chicken with the hopes that I might

foster a mutual understanding.

I am hopeful that she won't eat my chickens, and to that

end I'm fixing up the coop to give them a safe place to

roost at night. During the day, they'll be protected by

my dogs. Again, I am hopeful. I am also naive. If I'm

lucky, I'll be able to stave her off long enough to eat

some of my chicken's eggs this summer.



In the meantime, here's a recipe for my take on

asparagus vinaigrette, using purchased eggs:

Asparagus Vinaigrette
Active time: 15 minutes Total time: 25 minutes

Serves 4

1 1/2 lb. asparagus, trimmed
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt plus more for seasoning
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. capers
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
1 hard-boiled egg

Blanch asparagus in a large pot of boiling salted water

until bright green and crisp-tender, 4-6 minutes

(depending on the thickness of the asparagus).

Transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking;

let cool completely. Drain and pat dry.

Place shallot in a small saucepan with vinegar, sugar,

and 1 tsp. salt. Bring to a simmer, then remove from

heat and let stand 5 minutes. Reserve 1 Tbsp. of vinegar

mixture, then drain shallot.

Whisk together oil, capers, Dijon mustard, reserved

vinegar mixture, and shallot in a small bowl. Season to

taste with salt and pepper. Toss asparagus with the

dressing, then transfer to serving platter. Force egg

through a sieve and sprinkle over the asparagus.