Delicious Baked Lasagna

The Secret's in the Sauce

The basis of a good lasagna casserole is the Marinara sauce. It's important to let the sauce simmer long enough to develop a good flavor while finding the proper balance of spices, type of sausage, meat and other ingredients. The sauce can be used for spaghetti, manicotti, ziti, rotini, rigatoni or even on French bread.

If you watched The Godfather, you saw Clemenza cooking spaghetti for twenty guys. His secret ingredient was a little sugar and a splash of wine while it simmered.

Prepare Ahead of Time, Bake Later

Making lasagna at home can take a little time, but the end result is worth the effort. Usually, I make lasagna to serve on Christmas Eve or on the day before Thanksgiving, since that's when most guests visit our house. The casserole can be made ahead of time, refrigerated, and baked on the day it's to be served, making it the ideal meal for a family gathering.

It can also be frozen for later use; however, I would recommend using a metal baking pan rather than a glass pan when freezing the casserole. It's possible to line the pan completely with aluminum foil so that the foil package can be taken out of the pan to conserve freezer space and free up the use of your baking pan.

Marinara Sauce Ingredients

        • 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon onion, minced, fresh or dried
• 4 cans tomato sauce, 16 ounce
• 1 can tomato paste, 12 ounce
• 1 pound ground sirloin, or ground chuck
• 1 pound mild Italian sausage, ground or links cut up
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Instructions for Making the Sauce

1. Start with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot.
2. Add the garlic and minced onions and cook until they become transparent.
3. Add the ground beef and cook until it's brown. Spoon the cooked beef onto a separate dish and drain off any excess grease.
4. Using the same pan, cook the mild Italian sausage until browned and drain off excess fat.
5. Return the cooked ground beef to the pan.
6. Add the four cans of tomato sauce.
7. Add the tomato paste.
8. Add one or two teaspoons of granulated sugar along with the remaining spices.
9. Cover the mixture and simmer over low heat stirring occasionally for one hour or longer.

While this is simmering, prepare the other ingredients that will be layered in a casserole dish.

Ingredients for the Three Cheese Mixture

1. 1/2 pound (8-ounce) whole milk mozzarella or use pre-shredded mozzarella cheese
2. 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
3. 2 eggs, scrambled
4. 1 (15-ounce) carton of ricotta cheese
5. 1 tablespoon dried parsley (optional)

Instructions for Making the Cheese Mixture

Stir together the ingredients for the three-cheese mixture while the sauce is simmering.
1. Shred the block mozzarella cheese or use ready-prepared shredded cheese.
2. Scramble two eggs in a medium sized bowl.
3. Add the ricotta cheese.
4. Stir in the Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
5. Add the parsley if desired.
6. Cover the mixture with cellophane wrap and refrigerate it while you cook the lasagna noodles.

. Fill a large pan with water.
2. Bring to a boil and add 1 teaspoon salt.
3. Add the noodles slowly to keep the water boiling.
4. Cook the noodles until tender, following the package directions.
5. To make handling the cooked noodles easier, cook them 3 minutes less than the instructions say.
6. Drain the pan and arrange the noodles on a lightly greased cookie sheet for ease in layering.
If you prefer, you can use ready-to-bake lasagna noodles that don't require boiling before use.

Instructions for Preparing the Casserole

1. Start by spooning a thin layer of sauce into an oven-proof casserole dish. Make sure there's enough sauce to cover the bottom of the dish.
2. Place a layer of noodles across the top of the sauce slightly overlapping the edges.
3. Next, spoon a layer of the cheese mixture over the noodles. Smooth the cheese to evenly cover the noodles.
4. Repeat from step one by putting sauce on top of the noodles and continue to layer the noodles, cheese, and sauce ending with a layer of sauce.

Instructions for Baking the Casserole

1. Cover the casserole with a layer of aluminum foil with small holes poked in the top to allow steam to escape.
2. Place the casserole on a foil-lined cookie sheet to keep the oven clean in case it spills over.
3. Bake the casserole in a 350 degree (f) oven for around 45 to 55 minutes until it starts to bubble all the way through.
4. Remove the casserole from the oven.
5. After baking, remove the dish from the oven and allow the lasagna to rest for about 10 minutes before cutting to serve. Use a serrated knife and a spatula to dish out individual servings.
This dish can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated for cooking later.

Before baking, cover the lasagna tightly with a cellophane wrap and refrigerate overnight. Cooking time is slightly longer if the lasagna has been refrigerated.

Leftovers are great warmed up the next day.

Quick Meals in Less Than 20 Minutes

Making a large batch of sauce takes care of several pasta-based meals. Freeze any remaining sauce in family-sized portions, usually about two cups per container. After the sauce cools, ladle it into the containers, remove the excess air and store them in the freezer until needed.

A homemade meal can be prepared as quickly as you can boil the water and cook any type of pasta you like such as spaghetti, rotini, elbows, or shells. Turn the frozen sauce out into a microwave-safe dish and cover the dish with wax paper.

While the pasta is boiling, microwave the sauce one minute at a time, stirring between times until it reaches the temperature desired. Served with a side vegetable or salad and garlic bread and you have an easy, delicious meal.

Broccoli Ham Quiche - Great for Any Meal

Making a quiche is simple even for novice bakers. In a matter of minutes, you can put together this hearty meal that turns out great whether you use a ready made pie crust or make one from scratch. 

Most people believe that quiche is a French creation but the dish actually originated in Germany. The word quiche (pronounced keesch) comes from the word kuchen which means cake. According to the French Training Site, quiche is "a delicious egg pie with a nice buttery crust."

The beauty of this dish is that you can alter the ingredients to suit your personal tastes and dietary needs. Quiche can be enjoyed as an appetizer or as an entree for a meal. It can be made with different types of cheese using either whole milk, reduced fat milk or cream. Adding meat is optional. They're really delicious when made with cooked shrimp, chopped turkey, leftover chicken, spicy sausage or served plain made with only eggs and cheese.

Ingredients for a Homemade Crust:

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1/3 cup of solid shortening or butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 - 3 Tablespoons of water

Making a pie crust is the first step. A fresh crust has only four minimal ingredients: flour, butter, salt and water.

For a one crust pie combine one cup of sifted flour and one quarter teaspoon salt with one third cup of butter or shortening in a medium sized bowl.

Using two knives in a crisscross fashion cut the shortening into the flour until the mixture looks like cornmeal. Add the cold water a little at a time to form a dough ball.

Refrigerating the dough for a few minutes makes it easier to roll out.

On a floured surface, carefully roll out the dough until it is large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a nine inch pie pan.

A clean, dry, well-floured surface works best.

If the dough starts to stick, sprinkle a little more flour on both the surface and the rolling pin.

Transferring the rolled out dough to a pie pan can be tricky.

Start by rolling up one side and fold it over on itself. If it tries to stick to the surface, run a spatula underneath to free the edge. A little sprinkle of flour helps to loosen the edges.

Move the crust and position it in the ovenproof pie dish and begin to unroll it. Center the dough so that all edges have a bit of an overlap.

Trim off the excess from around the edge with a knife or kitchen shears. Fold under the excess and you're ready to flute the rim of the crust.

The fluted edge of the pie crust edge is formed by using two fingers of one hand and pushing a finger from the other hand between those two fingers, pressing gently to form a ridge between the first two fingers.

• One cup of shredded cheese.

Almost all types of cheese will work in a quiche. For this pie, I used a ready-made shredded blend of four kinds: Monterey Jack, cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero natural cheeses.

• One cup of milk

This time I was out of milk so I used evaporated milk. You can use half and half or 2% milk or skim if you're counting calories.

• Broccoli Florets

I trimmed these really small so they would submerge in the liquid as I didn't pre-cook them.

• 3 Large eggs - lightly scrambled
• 1 - 2 cups of cubed ham chunks

You can substitute diced deli ham, leftover baked ham, cooked sausage, shrimp, shredded pork roast, etc. or leave out the meat entirely if you wish. Just add a bit more cheese.

• 1 tsp. dry mustard (optional) and salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour

Assembling the Pie:

1. Arrange the trimmed broccoli florets around with the stems down if possible for an attractive finish.
2. Distribute the ham chunks over the bottom of the crust
3. Cover with a layer of cheese.

Scramble the eggs, add the flour and seasonings and mix it all together. Add the cup of milk and pour the mix over the ingredients in the crust.

Taking care not to overfill the dish, pour in the liquid until the bottom edge of the fluting on the crust is reached. Carefully transfer the filled pie crust to a cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil.

Place the cookie sheet and pie dish into a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 50 minutes to an hour. Jiggling the cookie sheet will let you know if the center is set and ready to take out of the oven.

Allow the baked quiche to cool for at least ten minutes during which the top will settle down a bit. Cutting too soon will result in the slices being too loose and mushy.

The leftovers can be refrigerated and warmed up for another meal.

Wrapping the outer crust with a strip of aluminum foil keeps the crust from getting burned during the long cooking time. I make a long two-inch wide strip of aluminum foil and wrap it around the edge of the pie crust before filling it.

This pie is ready to slice and serve with your favorite side dish like salad or fruit. It stands alone as a meal for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or late-night snack or can be used in smaller portions as an appetizer.

Here's hoping you'll give this recipe a try. Let me know how you liked your own version of ingredients. Thanks for stopping in to take a look.

Easy Breadsticks from Canned Biscuits

Winter days call for steamy bowls of hot soup or chili. Top those hearty dishes with breadsticks made from canned biscuits. Easy to do. Goes from the oven to the table in minutes.

Canned biscuits were a staple for a family meal when I was a child. They came packaged in cardboard with a blue wrapper and were economical for a family with three children.

The label peeled off to reveal a solid black line on the inner cardboard. We would draw straws to see who would give it a good whack on the edge of the countertop. The can would pop open and compressed dough would spill from the tube.

We'd separate the little orbs and arrange them on a cookie sheet. Into the oven they'd go, and after a few minutes, we'd have ready-made biscuits to go with our meal. Not as good as from scratch, but much quicker. We saved them for the end of our meal, topped off with syrup or honey.

To make the breadsticks pictured here, roll each raw biscuit between your palms like a rope of clay. Then, twist them slightly and stretch them across the baking sheet. Pressing the ends of the dough to the pan helps to hold them in place while they bake.

These bake in just a few minutes, turning  canned biscuits into delicious breadsticks. 

The aroma of baking bread is an enticing smell that brings family members or guests into your kitchen. When they spot these fluffy breadsticks rising in the oven, they'll rush to the dinner table. Tell the kids to set the table—these breadsticks will be golden-brown in moments.

What goes better with a hot bowl of chicken noodle soup or tomato soup than a couple of soft, warm breadsticks? With a little help from the refrigerated biscuit makers, you'll have these magic wands of dough stretched out on a tray and ready to pop in the oven in a little time. It really doesn't matter which brand you choose, whether it's the store brand or the most expensive kind, they turn out fine.

Once you've baked these, you'll see how simple it is to make them. And almost like magic, they disappear just as quickly.

• Separate the biscuits into individual pieces and roll each piece between your palms until they form an elongated shape.

For variety, sprinkle the raw biscuits with different seasonings before baking. For soup or chili, a light coating of flaked parsley or onion salt makes them tasty. Or brush a bit of melted butter over each and then sprinkle them with sesame seeds.

To make these for breakfast, sprinkle the unbaked elongated shapes with cinnamon and granulated sugar and add a variety of chopped nuts on top. The nuts can be rolled into the dough while they're being shaped.

How to Prepare the Biscuits for Baking

1. Preheat the oven to the recommended temperature on the package. Peel off the outside wrapper and pop open the can.
2. Separate the biscuits and shape them into an elongated form by rolling them between your palms.
3. They can also be rolled out on a lightly floured surface like a pastry board or a countertop.
4. Secure the ends of the rope by pressing firmly down after placing the dough strips crosswise on a non-greased cookie sheet.
5. Sprinkle a light dusting of garlic salt or onion salt, then, brush on a light coating of melted butter.
6. Optional: Top them off with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, Italian seasoning, or parsley flakes.

Use a spatula or kitchen tongs to move the baked breadsticks to a napkin-lined serving basket or bowl. Serve with a prepared vegetable or pasta dish. These go great with homemade chili or spaghetti.

The breadsticks in the video below are another way to prepare fresh breadsticks. Those are made with ready-made self-rising rolls, which have been thawed before they're rolled out and twisted into shape. The chef demonstrates an interesting method of twisting the dough to form pretzel-like shapes with little work. A little more time is needed for this type of dough to rise again after being formed into the desired shape before baking.

Spice up your everyday meals with a little help from the refrigerated biscuits or self-rising rolls in the dairy case. Or if you have the time, make a batch from scratch.

You'll love the home-baked aroma that fills your kitchen every time you make them.

A Small Christmas Miracle

A few months ago, I looked down at my hand, and in horror, saw that my wedding band was missing a diamond. The band was a gift from my wonderful husband, an upgrade from the tiny diamond band we'd purchased on time payments 25 years earlier.

My heart sank as I reviewed the places I'd been, wondering where the diamond could have fallen out. I knew that my chances of finding it were slim to none. It was just a speck, less than a quarter of a carat, but to me, it represented the continuity of our shared lives together, soon to be 37 years as husband and wife.

I tearfully told my husband, showing him the gap in the band where the diamond was once secured. Of course, he was gracious about it, trying to reassure me that it was no big deal. But to me, it was.

We took the ring to the jewelry store where it was purchased. They had a lifetime guarantee that loose and missing stones would be replaced for the duration, but there was a catch. The patron had to go to the jewelry store every six months to check on the integrity of the settings.

Having owned the ring for 11 years, that would had meant 22 visits to a store across town, about a 40 minute drive from our house out in the country. I hadn't fulfilled that requirement.

Yes, they could fix the ring. The sales associate assured me they could find a diamond of similar quality and their repair would only cost a few hundred dollars. Ouch. We reluctantly left the ring in their expert hands. A few weeks later I picked it up. It looked as good as new.

Months passed. I was in the kitchen yesterday, cleaning under the kitchen trash can which we keep on a step-stool to discourage our over-sized dogs from raiding the trash. Underneath, I saw something sparkle in the grout of the tile floor. The day before, I'd received a Christmas card from an old friend who loves all things that glitter. I dismissed the sparkle as some of that errant glitter from her card.

I picked up the tiny object. I ran to get my jeweler's loupe and examined the sparkling piece of what had looked like debris. It was my missing diamond!

What are the chances that it would ever turn up? It might have fallen out in the grocery store, or while showering or walking the gravel driveway. Maybe while I was pulling weeds. But, to my amazement, I had found the lost diamond.

The repair had already been made and paid for. The feeling of personal loss had diminished. 

I had no idea the missing stone would turn up on my kitchen tile floor. I probably swept the floor a jillion times since the stone was lost. Despite having swept, mopped, Swiffer-cleaned dog hair and coffee spills many times over the past few months, right there in plain sight was my missing diamond. A one in a million chance it would ever show up.

It was an amazing Christmas gift I never expected to get. A true Christmas miracle.

Gift Ideas for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents 2

Finding the perfect gift for a senior or loved one confined to a nursing home can be hard. 

Peg served as a caregiver to family members for over a decade. Here are some useful tips and things she learned in the process.

What nursing home residents want more than anything else is a visit from you. Your visit makes them feel special and valued.

If you live far away or your schedule keeps you from visiting, a useful gift is the next best thing.

What do they want? You could ask them, but their answer is usually, "I don't need anything."

In that case, here are some tried and true gift ideas they'll love.

Residents like board games to stimulate their minds and help them remember things.

Dominos, Scrabble, crossword puzzles, coloring books, card games and jigsaw puzzles are popular with seniors. 

A wreath or colorful door decoration helps residents find their room in a hallway of doors that look exactly alike. 

For mom's 90th birthday, all her children and grandchildren came from around the world to celebrate.

The pictures from that dinner made a great photo book. Everyone's names were printed below their pictures to help with remembering everyone. Photos help ease the loneliness of isolation.

Space in a resident's room is limited. Countertops are often filled with medical equipment, cosmetics, books, and other things, leaving little room for framed photos or other keepsakes.

Using wall space to display photos of loved ones, pennants from favorite teams and other familiar items can help stimulate memories.

When the days become a blur as time passes, residents enjoy having a visible way to help them keep up with the day and date. 

This changeable calendar comes with removable wood planks with writing on both sides. There are additional planks for special events like holidays and birthdays.

This could be a self-made project for a student or crafty person to make or it can be purchased online.

Finding suitable clothing can be difficult. When Aunt Louise entered the home, she was wearing pull-on tops with elastic pants. Once she became wheelchair-bound, she couldn't stand up without holding onto the handrail. Pants made life difficult.

We found dresses with a modest neckline that slips on over the head. She likes her dresses to have side pockets. They need to be machine washable and hold up to frequent washings.

A lightweight jacket with a zipper makes a great gift that can be worn year around. This machine washable jacket is a favorite that Aunt Louise wears often. Temperature can be adjusted in a private room, but the common rooms and hallways can be uncomfortably cold for seniors. While everyone else may be wearing shorts, Grandma is usually wearing a jacket.

Drawer space is limited in most facilities. The built-in dresser only had five drawers for clothing and personal items. The nightstand had two small drawers for personal items.

A set of plastic drawers for the bathroom gives extra room for personal wipes, hand towels, toothpaste, denture cups, shampoo and cosmetics.

If you play an instrument or like to sing, the residents will always gather to listen. Songs from their favorite era engage them and encourage participation.

You can also volunteer to read stories to the residents individually or in a group.

Seniors benefit from daily exercise to boost morale, increase muscle mass and improve circulation. This video shows how the residents keep the seniors actively engaged in using their hand and eye coordination as well as their upper bodies.

Here's a clip of Aunt Louise playing balloon volleyball.

Time and distance permitting, it's nice to drop in and share a meal with your senior. Stop by their favorite fast-food place and pick up take-out to enjoy with them in the lunchroom.

A visit during meal time and your company is one of the best investments you can make. For the small price, your presence will let them know they are loved and cherished.

Wishing you the best as you keep your loved ones close.

Italian Cream Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Enjoy the rich flavor of pecans and coconut in this moist cake topped with real homemade cream cheese icing. This step by step recipe with photos shows you how to make this yourself.

The smell of burning leaves always reminds me of my pecan-picking days in Georgia and my grandmother, Big Mom. She paid us kids a nickel for every  paper grocery bag of pecans we picked off the ground of their grove.

The work tired us out, burning off youthful energy Big Mom called "Rambunctious". And, it helped her gather the crop which she shelled and wrapped up in foil-wrapped portions for gifts. 

She also made baked goods, served after dinner at the dining room table. This recipe makes me think of her cakes and the days of the pecan harvest.

The recipe calls for chopped pecans, flaked coconut, 5 eggs, sugar, butter, vegetable shortening, all-purpose flour and baking soda. The coconut and pecans grow more flavorful when the cake sits overnight.

For buttermilk, I substitute regular milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice. Two percent milk works as well and cuts off more calories. Two cups of sugar can be reduced to 1 1/2 cups using sugar substitute.

How to Grease and Flour the Cake Pans

You'll need three eight or nine inch cake pans for this three layer cake.

1. Use a paper towel to spread about a tablespoon of solid vegetable shortening around the bottom and sides of the cake pan.
2. Lightly wipe off any excess shortening.
3. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of flour into the pan and shake it around to all parts including the sides.
4. Tap the bottom of the pan to remove any excess flour and set the pans aside while preparing the cake batter.

Cook Time - Oven at 350°

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 30 min

Ready in: 1 hour

Yields: Cake serves 16 slices

Ingredients

• 5 Fresh eggs, separated
• 2 cups sugar, granulated
• 1/2 cup butter, unsalted
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, Crisco
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup regular milk or 2% milk, instead of buttermilk
• 1 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cups flour, All purpose
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup chopped pecan pieces
• 1 cups shredded coconut
• Substitutions 12 packs of Splenda if desired, to replace half a cup of sugar

Instructions

1. Separate the eggs, placing the whites into a chilled mixing bowl. Reserve the egg yolks to use later.
2. Beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside.
3. Add 1 TBSP lemon juice to the cup of milk and set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, cut the butter into pieces and beat with the electric mixer until it's light and fluffy.
5. Add the Crisco or vegetable shortening and blend together with the creamed butter.
6. Add the sugar and blend it in thoroughly.
7. Add the egg yolks a little at a time, beating on medium speed for about a minute between additions.
8. Sift the flour and baking soda together. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time, alternating with the liquid milk mixture.
9. Using a spatula, fold in the pecan pieces, the coconut and the egg whites until mixed.
10. Pour into 3 greased and floured cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Only two of the pans fit in my oven without touching one another. So, I baked the first two layers, then baked the third one by itself for 28 minutes. When the cake comes out of the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes. 

How to Get the Cake Out of the Pans

1. Tear off a sheet of waxed paper slightly wider than a dinner plate.
2. Place the waxed paper on top of one layer of the cake. 
3. Turn the dinner plate upside down and place it on top of the waxed paper.
4. Holding the sides of the cake pan and plate with pot holders, turn the pan and plate over.
5. Lightly drop the plate right side up on the counter.
6. Thump gently on the bottom of the cake pan to loosen the cake.
7. Remove the pan carefully.
8. Place another cooling rack upside down on the bottom of the cake that's upside down. We're going to turn this right side up.
9. Flip the entire stack over (cake rack, cake, waxed paper and plate) like a sandwich to set the cake upright.
10. Remove the plate and the waxed paper from the top of the cake immediately. Work quickly, to keep the waxed paper from sticking to the cake top.

Repeat this process for the other layers, allowing each to cool upright on a cake rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 8 ounce package of Cream Cheese
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 4 Cups of Confectioner's Sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp. Milk

Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions

Cut 1/2 cup butter (one stick) into tablespoon sized pieces.

Using a hand mixer, cream the butter until it's light and fluffy.

Add one 8 oz. package of Philadelphia cream cheese (softened) and blend together with the butter.

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Add 4 cups of confectioner's sugar a little at a time until the frosting reaches a good consistency for spreading.

If the mixture seems too stiff, add a few drops of milk and blend it in. If it seems too loose, add a little more powdered sugar.

Refrigerate any leftover cake if the temperature is warm indoors. The cake grows more moist on the second and third day.

I like to cut individual slices and place in covered containers for an easy serving to enjoy with a nice bag lunch.

Pros and Cons of Emu Farming

The business of raising emu wasn't quite what we'd hoped for in our quest for financial independence. We learned some important lessons about emu farming, though.

Getting Started 

A couple of our friends were interested in raising ostrich. They invited us to join them at a seminar on raising big birds. After learning the basics about emu farming, we decided to invest in this fast-growing business.

Our house was still under construction out in North Texas. We both worked full-time office jobs. Weekends we tried to make progress on finishing construction on our house. With our limited experience, we added a new adventure, buying some birds and get started on our future.

This was the late nineties. The industry was booming with breeder pairs selling for $40,000 to $50,000 for mated pairs. Birds with a track record of egg production were in high demand with prices rising.

The end market was anticipated as a healthy source of red meat along with eggs, feathers, emu skin products like purses and belts and other uses from the versatile birds. It all sounded quite promising, but there were some drawbacks.

We were not farmers nor had we ever raised livestock. Hoping to learn more, we joined the Emu Association and met other farmers willing to mentor us.

Emu are soft feathered, flightless birds, second largest to the ostrich. Their origins date back to 1696 when spotted in Australia by Dutch merchants.

We visited an emu ranch that had paired breeders laying 11 to 20 eggs per season. We studied tracking methods for egg production, learn about incubators, hatching time, and how to assign bird identification numbers.

With the cost of a breeder pair out of our financial reach, we decided to buy six hatchlings. While we worked on building our pens, the breeders housed our young stock until they were nearly six months old.

How Much Space Does an Emu Require?

Emu require sufficient space to run as they are quite active birds. A minimum of thirty by one hundred-foot (30 x 100') pen is recommended per pair. The fencing needs to be six-feet tall so they can't jump over the top. They are energetic jumpers. They also need shade for their feed pens, around eight foot-square for the food shelter, although, they don't stay inside the shelters at night.

Building the Pens - Farm Work Is 24/7

We bought an auger to drill holes to set the fence posts in the ground around 18 inches deep, filling the base with pebbles, then, leveling the poles and setting them in quick-set concrete. We rented a trench-digger and dug two-hundred feet of water lines from the main line to the new pens to get water to the drinking troughs. Then, we started building the feed shelters. We soon discovered what farmers have known for years; farming is hard work.

Thankfully, we were used to hard work. After working our day jobs, we'd come home and drill holes in the clay-based soil to set fence poles and build the sheds. After that, we brought in truckloads of sandy loam and shoveled the dirt around the pens. Our office-worker muscles grew strong with the effort.

"The largest individuals can reach up to 150 to 190 cm (59 to 75 in) in height. Measured from the bill to the tail, emu range in length from 139 to 164 cm (55 to 65 in), with males averaging 148.5 cm (58.5 in) and females averaging 156.8 cm (61.7 in)." 

Little is wasted of the harvested bird with 95% of the end product being put to use.

• Emu skin is used in making leather products like boots, belts, wallets, and handbags.
• Feathers are used in the automotive paint process for dusting.
• The meat is lean and a healthy replacement for red meat, high in iron and protein and low in cholesterol.
• Medical uses include parts of the bird-like veins for arterial replacement and corneas for surgical replacement.
• Emu oil is used to treat arthritis, burns and stretch marks, eczema, and leg cramps.

Finally, the day arrived when we brought the birds to their new home. One thing became clear almost immediately. They need to eat every day whether it's Christmas or the Fourth of July, whether there's a winter blizzard howling and a layer of ice covers their water troughs or if it's blistering hot.

Every day, without fail they need food in their feed pens, clean water in their troughs, and a watchful eye to make sure they're healthy and safe.

Disaster in the Pens

One day shortly after I got to work, my neighbor called.

"The birds are fighting," he told me. Emus become aggressive during mating season as they compete for a partner. Hicks and Popeye were fighting over Olive Oyl. Once a bird is down, the rest of the birds jump in, kicking and plucking the injured bird. Hicks was badly injured and the neighbor was trying to keep the other birds off him. Without intervention, the birds would continue to attack a downed bird.

I had an hour's drive home over my boss's objections. When I arrived, Hicks was on the ground bleeding with the feathers plucked completely bare on one side of his torso. For the first time, Hicks let me guide him as he slowly made his way to the isolation pen. The vet gave me instructions on how to treat the wound.

That day changed my thoughts on staying in the emu business.

This taxing and constant job began to affect my animal sensibilities as the thought of harvesting the birds became a reality. I had become attached to the birds with their individual personalities and quirks. They had become pets.

The cost of veterinary bills, the rising cost of their food, and the energy we were expending was nothing compared to the ominous idea of the harvesting. Getting fond of the birds and giving them names is not a good thing when they're destined to become food. Raised in a city with supermarkets, we had no true concept of where animal products came from and how they ended up on the grocer's shelf. Dealing with this was just not for us.

The market for breeder pairs was beginning to decline. There were more breeders and a surplus of birds which lowered the price. Potential sales of red meat faltered without a viable marketplace. The price of breeder pairs plummeted to an all-time low.

When we'd finally had enough of the losses, we sold our birds at a fraction of what we originally paid and wrote off our expenses as a lesson in what not to do.

Our experience with emu - on YouTube.

 

Splash of Colors, The Self-Destruction of Braniff International - Book Review

John J. Nance, a former Braniff pilot and author of the documentary Splash of Colors, details a compelling story about the failure of a long-standing, multi-billion dollar airline that once held a position as the eighth largest carrier of the time.

Take trip back in time to 1928 when Braniff's first president, Tom Braniff, established this mail carrier. The 5-passenger single-engine prop aircraft flying out of Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Wichita Falls would become a major passenger carrier with international routes and a fleet of jets.

The story reveals the tremendous effects unions have on business with demands that drove higher salaries for pilots, ground crews and in-flight personnel. This, added to the pressure of funds already stretched to the maximum, would eventually seal Braniff International's fate and crash the business into bankruptcy.

Harding Lawrence, President from 1965 through December 31, 1980, with the rapid expansion of the company found himself fraught with under-qualified executives of junior and senior rank." Referred to as "empty suits" he blamed his "calcified, uncommunicative senior officers in operational, sales and service areas". . . whom he believed "were at least two levels above their maximum level of competence." He attempted to infuse "new, more qualified executive management talent" into the company using headhunters and personnel agencies.

The inner workings of corporate America are exemplified in this story which serves as both an example and a warning of what can happen when power and greed take the reins. The story also details the importance of hiring and training qualified corporate management candidates who have the aptitude and skill level required.

At a time when air travel remained glamorous, Braniff excelled at providing extraordinary meals and flight service in the air. Extravagant paint schemes, designer uniforms, two-for one fares, non-profitable routes, overhead and service contracts in foreign countries, interest on collateral loans, and lack of communication, all played a role in the demise of the airline.

The multi-million dollar expansion of its worldwide headquarters added to the burden of debt and steep overhead. Combined with the number of successors in the role of President and CEO with guaranteed hiring packages and golden parachute deals, the soaring cost thwarted any return to profitability.

Nance writes a compelling account of conversations in board rooms, at interviews, and in management circles which lend the intimacy of practically being in the room. He explains the pitfalls of corporate decisions leading to diminished job enthusiasm and details how fierce competition for recognition led to disregard for employee initiative.

He shares insight into the deadly Jericho memorandums that dramatically tainted employee morale and inspired internal uprisings. He addresses the silos and isolated nature of organizational communication along with the size of the airline and its operation which had increased over 30 percent in a few short months as being key to failure.

He explains the effect of the deregulation of the airlines which brought fierce competition for the same routes spreading the passenger count between different carriers. Planes operating below capacity resulted in lowered profitability. During the same time, fuel costs rose exponentially with fares failing to keep up with the costs of operation. The bottom line suffered the red ink of diminishing revenue paired with inflationary costs of operation.

The book details the inner workings of a corporate board of directors and their role in debt restructuring of capital equipment, the expansion of Braniff into new unproven routes, the purchase of multi-million dollar jets, employee demands for competitive salaries and other factors like dirty tricks played by competitors and reservation agencies.

Traveling deep beyond the newspaper headlines into the realms of corporate sabotage, fierce competition with other airlines, dirty tricks and politics, of multi-million dollar deals gone sour, the story takes the reader on a voyage into the minds and workings of the people who both loved and hated the airline. This true story, in four-hundred plus pages travels into oxygen-thin altitudes, shares white knuckle take-offs and landings, and conveys the devastation that thousands of workers felt when learning their jobs and income vanished overnight.

Despite continued efforts of its dedicated employees and workaholic leaders, the company eventually spiraled out of control into a fatal tailspin in May 1982 after multiple attempts at restructuring failed.

The Braniff tradition of loyalty and family camaraderie continues with former employees posting on its many online social groups with memories, photos and experiences they had while working for this peerless and incomparable airline.

About the Author

Vietnam and Desert Storm Veteran, Dallas born John J. Nance is the author of multiple fiction and non-fiction books with 19 on the New York Times best seller's list. He is a professional speaker, licensed attorney, former pilot and a familiar face on ABC World News and Good Morning America.

This first edition copy of the book, published in 1984, was purchased on eBay with hard-back copies also available on Amazon through third-party vendors.

My personal experience as a Braniff employee: My Former Life as a Flight Attendant