Month without stores starts Monday!

I'm ready! Are you? I'm looking forward to it as a matter of fact!
I've loaded up on necessities and the rest will have to wait! The garden is going great guns and the farmers market is calling to me!
  Many of you have been around for a while now and have watched me shrink! I'm very proud of that and really owe a lot of my success to my friends Erika and George for all the support. I adopted the paleo lifestyle a little over a year ago and never looked back. It fits with my philosophy about raising livestock.
  Back in the day (some not too long ago) we supplemented with grains to get that bloom on our show stock. Now, with management and selection, we have winners in the show pen that have never tasted grain. Imagine that! Fit healthy stock that appeals to both the eye and the palate without Corn, Soy, wheat or Oats. No fillers, no Funky Foods. Amazing right? Wrong! It's the way we always should do it! Naturally and carefully, paying attention to rate of gain, Pasture nutrition, exercise, and body condition scores. If they eat what they are designed to eat, shouldn't we do the same? Yes! What do you think? What did the meat You are eating eat? Do you Know? Have you asked? What about the animals that supplies the milk you drink? I think it is VITALLY important to know these answers.

Wood fire BBQ Goat recipe

This recipe is for larger groups of 10 or more people. You can adjust it down and just stuff a leg for the family!
1 Whole goat kid dressed (25lb or so)
5lb whole apples cored
10lb Yams or Sweet Potatoes quartered
3lb onion Diced
20 whole garlic cloves
Spice rub of choice (We Like Bandiola #13 or Pete's Firehouse Bold)
Prep
Stuff the apples, Sweet potatoes, onions and garlic into the cavity of the goat,
Rub the entire outside with your favorite Spices, Wrap Rib area of the goat in Foil Place on Center of BBq grill and let cook 3-5 hours Turning goat every hour.
Remove from grill and let rest 20 min remove foil and slice meat from shoulders and legs. Let your gurasts fight it out for the ribs and backstrap! DEEEEELICIOUS!

To be PC or Not PC.

Well that IS a question! In the interest of transparency and keeping folks connected to the agricultultural process we have decided to drop our political correctness. In order for you to enjoy that Grass Fed and Finished Steak or Lamb Chop, Killer Bacon or bird an animal must give up its life. Dr. T said it very clearly, "We Harvest and Process Crops, We Slaughter animals". Another friend said that the words Harvest and Process sounded more Factory than the actual Kill and cut. Ok Ya'll win! If the USDA uses the term slaughter, and the custom guy calls it a Kill then we're goin' to quit candy coating things. I always thought that the term Harvest clouded the facts but went along with it because thats what everyone wanted to hear and the image of the bucolic setting is more appealing than the fact that we go out in the field and put a bullet in that steers brain to bring dinner to your table. My friend Meg Brown caught some heat for showing photos of a Field Kill on her blog and It wasn't from consumers! Cargill opened their Slaughter Facility to Oprah and the industry actually benefitted from the experience. I rant and rave all the time about transparency, yet sit right here and candy coat the facts. No more my friends! It is what it is and you NEED to know where your food comes from and how it gets to your plate.
On that note, Our next Field Kill will be in about 3 weeks weather permitting and anyone that wants to attend is welcome. Email me or message via facebook for date, time and directions. Cameras are encouraged. We will not be killing if the temperature is above 80 degrees so it will be EARLY in the day. Animals slaughtered in high teperatures are under undue stress and this has a negative impact on the carcass and the quality of the meat that comes from that animal. If you've ever experienced meat from a 'dark cutter" or PSE pork you know all too well what stress can do to an animal. Many of us don't kill during the extreme heat of summer for just this reason. Cattle, Sheep and especially hogs are very sensitive to heat and literally stop gaining. They spend that energy staying cool. Cattle and sheep will "brush up" during the day, finding shade and conserving energy, Pigs like a shady mud hole. Hauling any livestock in high temperatures is a hazard and we personally move everything at night or before 8am to keep the stress levels low. If animals have to be transported long distances the potential for trouble multiplies exponentially. This is another reason that we don't raise hogs commercially here. Mr Phillips does a better job than we could ever hope to do and is only 30 miles from the USDA kill plant. for us it's a 300 mile haul. Remember to ask your farmer or rancher who does their work for them. If the slaughter facility is more than an hour away ask how EXACTLY the transport is done. 90 percent of custom butchers come directly to the farm or ranch to dispatch that animal. If it is "processed" more than 100 miles from the place it was supposed to be raised ask why and make sure that the answer is truthful. We are lucky to be able to lease grazing lands close to us, some others aren't so lucky and their stock ranges far from their home location. This is not a bad thing at all, but that farmer or rancher needs to tell you where and how your meat was raised. Another thing to consider is the FACT that all grass based meats are NOT created equal, but that's a rant best left for another day!

Bacon Jam as Promised!

Here's the recipe for Bacon Jam adapted from"dinner with Julie"
1lb bacon
1 med onion
5cloves garlic
1C crushed pineapple (fresh or canned in is own juice)
1/2 C brewed coffee
1/4 C maple syrup
1T balsamic vinegar (optional)
1T whole grain mustard (optional)
Roughly chop bacon and cook in heavy pot until browned
remove bacon from pt and set aside
remove all but 1C bacon drippings and save for later!
chop onions and garlic saute in bacon fat until translucent, return bacon to the pot and add all other ingredients, simmer oer med. low heat until thickend about 30 min.
remove from heat allow to cool slightly and enjoy! This jam is great hot or cold.

Let's get this Party Started!

Ok how do you guys feel about the 3rd Saturday in August for our Farm Night? Everyone seems to have chosen July for Vacation Month! Chicken Keeping, Curing, Barrel Gardens, and best of all BBQ! Bring a friend and introduce them to the Farm Family! I will post the costs for each class if you are going to be taking your "projects" home with you. Otherwise it's a free night of fun! Bring a side dish to share and the recipe!

Prep list for August Month Without Stores

Here is a short list of the things you may need next month that you can't get at a Local Farmer's Market, Farm, produce stand or CSA. I'm sure I've missed some so feel free to add on anything you think shold be here.
Paper Products
Medications
Charcoal
Propane
Spices (Bandiola spice ships and is one of my favorites, so does Real Salt)
Soft Drinks (IF YOU MUST)
Coffee(I know I need it!)
Dry goods (For those non Paleo peeps Flour, Sugar, Baking Soda, Baking Powder)
For the Paleo Peeps Coconut oil, Coconut milk, nut flours, olive oil,
Stable Dairy and Cooking Fats butter, lard, Cheeses,  both hard and soft if you use them.
cleaning products, cooking aids like foil and plastic wrap, freezer bags etc.
If you use milk and don't have a dairy or farmers market that offers milk near by Milk can be frozen and you just need to shake it up well when you defrost it.
Veggies and fruits are always available at the farmers markets and man also have honey, meats, and other wonderful things. Get Creative! and remember to put those dollars that you save away and see just how much you have at the ensd of the month. You are going to be AMAZED!

Wow! Thats a Lot of Beef!

Here are the weights for this "harvest". (Dr. T. says that I should quit being so P.C. and call it what it is but I know that some of you are sensitive.)
Beef Steers for cuts. Hot hanging weight. 917, 955, and 927lbs respectively.
all 3 graded at choice plus! Whoo Hoo! Yield Grade 2, again WHoo Hoo! that is GREAT for Summer grass fed and finished beef! Each of these 3 should yield roughly 600lb finished cuts per carcass. Remember you MUST let me know if you want trim and or bones as these are not included in your share price and are first come first serve.
Cull cows for ground beef and sausage 1500, 1200, 1171, and 1210 respectively. Conservatively thats 2500lbs of ground beef. We have decided that we are going to offer sausages as well out of these culls just for fun, you MUST pre order or it won't get made. Bulk(uncased) is a dollar more a lb and cased add another 50 cents a pound. Dried and smoked sausages add another buck a pound.
All Raw sausage can be put up in bulk form or links:
Italian, Sweet, hot, or mild
Polish
Cajun
Chorizo
Breakfast blend
Bangers
Jalapeno Cheddar
Boerwaars
Bockwurst
Garlic
Garlic, Onion
Mushroom, Onion
Philly
Cured and or Dried: LINK ONLY
Lanjaeger
Summer
Ring Bologna
Calabrese
Pepperoni
All Sausages are Nitrate and Nitrite free with no Gluten or extenders.
Please get your orders in ASAP,

Grass Fed Ground Beef Special For August.

We are culling this week and will be harvesting 4 head for ground beef. After 30 months of age cattle are not able to be federally inspected for anything other than ground beef and we stick to that with the custom harevested animals as well. Each animal will be processed individually so that there is no mixing. We will have 2 different grinds(standard and course) and patties done. We will still dry age 21 days prior to processing to ensure consistant flavor. Those of you that were lucky enough to get in on Henry burgers will be just as pleased with with this years culls. We are going to offer this in bulk orders of 10lb or more. Individually wrapped in one pound units. The burgers will be 3 or 4 to a package. $5.00 per lb. your choice. Ian is working on some beef sausage recipes too! This is a great way to introduce your family and friends to grass fed beef at an affordable price point. Get your orders in early as this is an extremely limited offering.

Can you say HOT!

Man, Has it been a hot one! We've put up more misters and adjusted our work schedule so we don't end up with heat stroke! We're looking at the last Sat. in July for Farm Night. I'm thinking we should start around 6 and go for it! We decided to set up stations and that way you can move from demo to demo as you choose.  Big Mo the new Ram Lamb is adjusting well to his new Harem. Dorper Crosses this Fall! Randy needs some time off! My Sis is sending over some VERY NICE Dorper cross ewe lambs so the farm flock is slowly shifting to hair sheep. We'll still bring home girls from the commercial flock but I really like the Dorper cross and am going to stick with it here at home.
 More of the Cattle will be moving back down to the Winchester Pastures this next week and most have calves along side. It's going to take a couple of long nights to get them moved without stressing them. I wish the weather was better! but we have to rotate them and KEEP those pastures healthy. We've found a great alternative to alfalfa to plant in the finishing pastures this fall (I'm Just paranoid about the GM Alfalfa) and the pasture that burned last year is coming back really nicely.
MONTH WITHOUT STORES PARTICIPANTS> post your findings here and on FB! I got a Grip load of Zucchini coming on so we'll be dehydrating and canning this month. Tomatos are ripening and the peppers are ready to go. Onions and Garlic are ready to harvest and Sergio has lots of fruit for us! EVOO from Petrou Foods is available by the half gallon and he has infused oils and some great Olives as well. Bandiola Spice is sending us some samples and we will have our own CLEAN rubs and seasoning mixes soon! YAY US! If you're out an about today stop by RIB FEST at EUHS and sample some great food! after all it is International Day of Bacon and Ribs! We aren't competing but stop in and show our friends some love! Have a Great Weekend!