Before I tell you what really happened to the turkeys that fell victim to a predator attack a few weeks ago, I wanted to share a bit of farm turkey history for your entertainment and education. Our very first batch of turkeys was actually a bit accidental. Sure, we planned to get into turkeys eventually, but that first year we landed in Jefferson, we were focused on getting the cattle operation… ... Continue reading | 1 Comment
You probably read the little article that circulated social media about how Europeans never store their eggs in the fridge. How convenient, right? More space for leftovers, potential for edible kitchen decor, and all those recipes that call for a room-temperature egg, you are now totally ready for!
But is room-temperature storage of eggs right for Americans, even those Americans that… ... Continue reading | 6 Comments
An interesting little story came out last week about the day-to-day practices of a major brand of organic eggs. The article subtly criticized the confined quarters that offered no apparent access to outdoors, and gave readers some insight into how the actually-quite-deplorable practices still meet organic standards.
There will always be your occasional outbreaks of over-and-above corruption, like the CEOs who got caught repacking and selling expired eggs
I was just chatting with someone about whether or not one could “harvest” the fat that floats to the top of broth while it’s cooking, and use it just like lard. I told her you could, but that it’s not as straightforward to use as regular old rendered lard, that it might tend to explode if heated for frying, and I thought this might be a great topic to share… ... Continue reading | 3 Comments
Just for fun, I thought I’d post some cute springtime farm pictures of babies from the farm. Because seeing baby anything makes people happy. 🙂
There is an interesting thing happening in our culture. Advertising. Advertising wins. If you can come up with the prettiest ad, the cleverest motto, the most touching video clip, you can sell anything. But what if you can’t…
Farmers aren’t usually very tech-savvy, at least not compared to the big-wig corporations out there nowadays. And we’re definitely not very up to speed on large-scale advertising trends. We are busy… ... Continue reading | 7 Comments
If you’re into real ingredients, you probably spend a lot of time cooking and have accumulated your own set of kitchen tips. When we started working through the healing process for Matt’s autoimmune disease (ulcerative colitis), we had to make everything from scratch to avoid the ickies like preservatives, GMOs, vegetable oils, trans fats, artificial flavors and colors, etc. A bonus feature of cooking at home is that you get… ... Continue reading | 2 Comments
Most of our cows don’t have real names anymore–truly, there are over 100 cows out there in the pasture, and most of them have a new baby every year, so it would be pretty tough to keep track of every single one! Matt knows a lot of them by number and will report in sometimes, “Boy, A07 is looking really good!” But the handful of cows that we started with… ... Continue reading | 2 Comments
I have noticed this really interesting phenomenon that happens when people come out to the farm to pick up orders. They get out of their cars, stretch their legs (since most of them having driven a little distance to get here), take a deep breath as they take in the quiet, fresh scenery, and ask, “Where are the chickens/cows/pigs?”
And I look around with them, and if it’s not… ... Continue reading
Someone is trying to trick you.
They have started using this marketing word, and it’s working. What’s the word?
“Local” is the new “healthy.”
But my, oh, my, how the falsehoods abound.
(Quick disclaimer: I don’t think “local” is the only criteria for good food. I think rearing practices trump nearness of raising critters or veggies. Every crop-duster and chicken CAFO is local to somewhere. But… ... Continue reading | 3 Comments
