Minnie Ruth, the mis-named rooster, has a new name. It seems that most people think he is best re-named Johnny Cash.
Johnny Cash at two weeks—when we thought he was a she—and now.
Frankly, old habits die hard. I still find myself calling him Minnie Ruth. He doesn’t seem to mind as long as I have a can of corn in my hand.
The winner of the Extraordinary Chickens calendar is Daniel from Your Home Kitchen Garden.
Thanks to all who gave suggestions and comments about the chicken-naming dilemma. I am already thinking of names for the new chickens I plan to order in the spring.
Robin
Family dinners have always been an important part of my life. Family dinners with cake, especially, have always been an important part of my life. And the best dinners are those featuring oatmeal cake with coconut topping.
I remember as a kid my parents, brothers and I used to head over to my grandparents’ house for Sunday dinner after church. All my aunts, uncles and numerous cousins would gather to tell outrageous stories, build and fix things (my family is always building and fixing things) while my grandmother cooked a traditional Southern dinner and my grandfather escaped to the garden to tend his roses.
My grandmother’s dinners never had fewer than, say, 15 bowls and heaping plates on the table—fried chicken, collard greens, mashed potatoes and gravy, oniony cole slaw, lima beans, angel biscuits, salty Virginia ham, green beans. And the desserts. Oh, the desserts!
We would eat in shifts because there wasn’t enough room at the table for everyone. Afterwords, the women (no, never the men) would pitch in and clean the kitchen.
I remember one Sunday my Aunt Margaret had finished up in the kitchen and decided to mop and wax my grandmother’s floor. I watched on, chatting, as she put the finishing touches and finally managed to wax her way into a corner.
“Oh no! Here I am in this corner and the floor’s all wet. I guess I’ll just stand here until it’s dry,” she declared.
“No! You can just walk out and wax over your footsteps,” I said, my five-year-old self proud of coming up with the solution.
Of course, my Aunt Margaret was always the kidder and had let me come up with the solution. Still, it’s a fond memory—well, that and the cake.
My husband loves this cake so much he nearly dances when he realizes that I have made one. And he keeps saying—over and over again—”Have I mentioned how much I love this cake?”
Now, if this chocolate-loving gal says that she loves an oatmeal cake, you can take it to the bank that this is a good cake. And it’s one of those amazing cakes that only get better with time.
So make it now and make someone happy.
Oatmeal Cake with Coconut Topping
1 1/4 cup boiling water
1 cup old fashioned oats
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/3 cups flour
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour boiling water over oats and let stand for 15 minutes. In a mixer, cream together butter, white and brown sugars. Add eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda, cinnamon, flour and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar, butter and egg mixture until well blended. Stir in the oatmeal/water mixture until well combined. Pour into a 9 x 13″ baking pan. (I use a Pyrex baking pan.) Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Top with topping after the cake cools for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Coconut Topping
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter (brought to room temperature)
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh grated coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 to 1/4 cup milk
Blend all the ingredients together until well mixed. Pour over warm (but not hot) cake and spread evenly.
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By the way, if you haven’t voted on a chicken name for The Chicken Formerly Known as Minnie Ruth, please do so now. I really don’t want to name this chicken Johnny.
Robin
There is dissension in our happy home and it has come to this. We must hold a vote to decide the new name for The Chicken Formerly Known as Minnie Ruth.
In case you haven’t been following the chicken drama Chez Bumblebee, let me catch you up.
Back in August I purchased three baby chicks for $2 each from the Amish market in Hughesville, about 45 minutes from our home. The fellow who sold me the chickens—who was not Amish, I should add—assured me that the baby chicks had been sexed and that all of them would grow up to be fine laying hens. He explained that the chicks were a white Plymouth Rock, an Arucauna and a Polish chicken. I named these baby chicks after my grandmothers and great aunt: Olive (Olivia), Minnie Ruth and Maxine.
Sadly, Maxine passed away after a few days. But Olive and Minnie Ruth have thrived.
But they also presented a surprise after a few weeks. They are, in fact, roosters. Unmistakably roosters. In fact, they are now in the full flush or their rooster-ness, although the hens, Myrtle and Maude, still boss them around.
Now, it came to me out of the blue one day that I should rename Olive T. Boone Chickens in honor of T. Boone Pickens, who is generally a good guy and whose wife, Madeleine, is working to rescue all those wild horses. My son, Ben, prefers to call the chicken T. Rex because he is so enormously huge and has an audible footstep.
But Minnie Ruth has presented more of a dilemma. No name immediately came to mind, which is why I need your help.
But I believe that the name should fit the chicken. So first, a little background.
As you may be able to see from the photos, The Chicken Formerly Known as Minnie Ruth is a beautiful black, with blue-green hues to his long, luxurious feathers. He is growing some manly facial hair that is sticking out to the sides and will probably grow into a more prominent chicken beard.
He isn’t as large as T. Boone Chickens, although he is much larger than the hens. He is skittish, even though I raised him by hand and have always been a kind and loving chicken mamma. Oh, and he is apparently in love with Maude. He follows her everywhere and, uhm, adores her, shall we say. They currently sleep together at night on the roost bar near the ceiling in the Palazzo di Pollo. He is quite the romancer, although Maude is playing hard-to-get.
In the Twitterverse, I had several suggestions for a new name. So now I’m asking for your help.
Name that chicken!
The choices are (in alphabetical order, so as not to indicate my preferences):
- Al Harris
- Don King
- Elvis
- Fabio
- James Brown
- Johnny Cash
- The Chicken Formerly Known as Minnie Ruth
For your vote to count, you must participate in the poll. It’s to your right at the top of this page. Vote now!
And if you want the chance to win a special prize, leave me a comment about why you advocate for one name or another. If your name is the winner—and I pick your name out of a hat among others who chose the same name—you can win a copy of the 2009 Extraordinary Chickens Calendar. It’s like a pin-up calendar for gorgeous chickens! I got one for myself!
For practical purposes, voting closes on Sunday, December 28. But vote now! And check in to see how the votes are going.
And happy holidays to all!
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Robin
