The Farm Shoppe

Stock up on spring butter

2011-03-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Once the cows begin eating all the fresh spring grasses, we will make a huge batch of butter and we suggest you all stock up! While we can make butter year round, early spring is the only time there is this much beta carotene in the cream.

Why does beta carotene matter? Beta carotene is another term for Vitamin A. As a fat soluble vitamin, Vitamin A is not very well absorbed when ingested in plant forms alone. In BUTTER however, the Vitamin A is ideally absorbed by your body.

Vitamin A is helpful for bone health, thyroid function, and is a powerful antioxidant. To maximize your intake, stock up on spring butter from our grass fed cows!

Sources: Various articles on the Weston A. Price foundation website

Now is the time to plant peas!

2011-03-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Note: This post was originally published last year, but it bears repeating!

When it comes to fresh-from-the-garden vegetables that cause you swear off grocery store knock-offs, peas are at the top of the list. Fresh from the pod, peas are exquisite! They are easy to grow, easy to pick and if you have never eaten a fresh pea still in the pod, you are in for a great treat. Now is the time to plant peas.

Peas don't require much in the way of fussiness. Good, well drained soil and a good sturdy trellis or fence to climb on are the components of good pea-keeping. Well rotted compost will ensure loads of thick pods but don't fertilize much more than that or you will get more vines and less pods.

Here is a bed that begged to be a pea bed; long, straight and thin. I opened up the soil with a U-bar so no tilling was necessary and set a good straight trench in the middle of the bed. I plant my peas in single rows on each side of the proposed space for the fence. I have tried the double rows in the past with less than desirable results each time so I stick with the tried and true single row.

I filled the trench with compost and planted the peas 4" apart with my two rows a mere 8 inches apart. Once the peas were spaced in the row I covered with the loosened dirt and began the work of putting up the trellis.

Peas can and will climb so be sure to set up a fence or trellis. In the past I have tried fence posts with string - don't try it - it doesn't work. I have tried utilizing coral panels from the co-op and they were great for shorter beds. They come in 16 foot lengths and they are inexpensive and last forever. For a longer bed though I felt that I had to use actual fencing. We strung it tight with two t-posts which is very important for picking time. You don't want the weight of the peas to pull the trellis over.

Once that hard work was over we transplanted spinach on one side and planted lettuce seeds on the other. As long as you keep the peas twining up the trellis you can keep weeds out of the bed by planting another crop on each side. Remember that mother nature will try to cover the soil if you don't. Also the lettuce and spinach will shade the soil and I will need much less water to maintain the growth of peas. As we get closer to picking I will post several recipes for fresh peas!

For your own garden we still have few different varieties of pea seeds for sale in the store. You will even find some varieties that thrive in pots for those who want the delicious taste of fresh peas but lack the space. So, there's a pea for everyone.

Have Fun!

Highland Babies

2011-03-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Highland babies are being born almost on a daily basis on the farm and oh, they are the cutest things. Since our herd of Highlands are all different colors, we have a full array of shades of babies on the ground already. This is the perfect time for babies since the mamas are just starting to fresh grass which will help with their milk production. If they calve much later the babies grow too large and then we have big problems. We found that once the cows were allowed to act like cows, breeding when they are ready, eating what come natural - grass only - we haven't had any birthing problems. In 13 years we have only pulled 4 calves and all were twins. That is stress free farming! Stress free for the farmers and the cows.

Cut of the Week: Rack of Lamb

2011-03-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

There is not much that rivals the look of a rack of lamb plated, just waiting to be cut up and served barely drizzled with a succulent sauce. This impressive looking cut can also be very intimidating to those unfamiliar with how to prepare this wonderful cut of lamb. I once had the wife of a chef purchase 5 racks for a dinner party and she had never cooked lamb - ever! In fact she had never cooked for her husband before this evening. She was incredibly brave and the birthday party for her husband was a huge success due mainly to a few simple pointers that kept the meat tender and juicy.

The rack of lamb comes from the rib section and is usually cut into sections containing 8 ribs. This cut of meat is so tender that it takes well to grilling or roasting.

The term "Frenching" refers to the technique of trimming the fat from all eight bones up to the first section of meat. This gives the cut its distinctive look.

The rack always comes with a thick layer of fat cover which helps to keep the meat tender and juicy during roasting. The problem with this fat when grilling is that it tends to ignite and char the rack, so trim off any thick layers of fat but don't trim too closely, always leave a small layer that will render throughout the meat during grilling.

Only cook the meat to an internal temperature of 120F and then tent the meat with foil for 15 minutes to allow the protein in the meat to uncurl and relax. This is a big secret to cooking all meats.

When using a marinade don't apply it at the beginning of the cooking period or it will burn and char. Keep the lid on for the first bit of cooking and then grill directly above the coals with the lid removed to get a nice brown crust on the rack. Brush on the marinade before this final phase.

Don't miss this week's recipe - Grilled Rack of Lamb

Grilled Rack of Lamb

2011-03-14T15:33:00.001-07:00

Grilled Rack of Lamb - Charcoal Grill

INGREDIENTS

Large disposable aluminum baking pan (12 by 8 inches)

4 teaspoons olive oil

4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)

2 grass fed racks of lamb (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds each), rib bones frenched, meat trimmed of all excess fat

INSTRUCTIONS

· 1. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal (6 quarts, or about 100 briquettes) and allow to burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Place aluminum pan in center of grill. Empty coals into grill, creating equal-sized piles on each side of pan. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat until grate is hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grate clean with grill brush. Grill is ready when coals are medium-hot.

· 2. Combine 3 teaspoons oil, rosemary, thyme, and garlic in small bowl; set aside. Rub lamb with remaining teaspoon oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place racks bone-side up on cooler center of grill over aluminum pan with meaty side of racks very close to, but not quite over, hot coals. Cover and grill until meat is lightly browned, faint grill marks appear, and fat has begun to render, 8 to 10 minutes.

· 3. Flip racks over, bone-side down, and move to hotter parts of grill. Grill, without moving, until well-browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Brush racks with herb-garlic mixture. Flip racks so bone-side is up and continue to grill over hotter parts of grill until well browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Stand racks up and lean them against each other; continue to grill over one hotter side of grill until bottom is well-browned and instant-read thermometer inserted from side of rack into center, but away from any bone, registers 120 degrees for medium-rare or 125 degrees for medium, 3 to 8 minutes longer.

· 4. Remove lamb from grill and allow to rest, tented with foil, 15 minutes (racks will continue to cook while resting). Cut between ribs to separate chops and serve immediately.

Simple Living: How Connected Do You Want To Be?

2011-03-03T12:52:00.001-08:00

In pursuing a simple, thoughtful life, have you given much consideration to how connected you want to be?

Our culture currently places premium value on being connected to everyone everywhere all the time. You have an internet connection, an email account, a Facebook profile, a cell phone, a BlackBerry...is there, in fact, any time when you are NOT accessible to the world at large in one way or another?

Connectivity is not all bad. We want to be deeply connected to our families, our friends, and our local communities, and we need those relationships. But does your technology use foster those deep and meaningful connections or does it in fact detract from them?

I recently read the fabulously titled Hamlet's BlackBerry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age and found it a helpful framework for examining my own use of technology. The author examines thinkers and innovators from history who lived during similar times of technological change in order to consider ways we might use our technological connectedness as an advance rather than becoming enslaved to it.

On this blog we have long advocated for simple and deliberate living. For most of us, pulling the plug entirely is not really an option, so it behooves us to give careful thought to how we might best navigate our hyper-connected society. If you've considered these things for yourself or your own family, how have you found ways to take the best of technology while still maintaining space for depth and reflection?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Baby Calf News!

2011-03-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Well after waiting for 3 months longer than expected, Sweet Pea finally had her baby, a RED baby boy. So it turns out that she wasn't bred by a dairy bull but instead by our Devon. Oops! When Debbie gets her camera out of the shop she will send out baby pictures.

A Note About Spring Milk:

As the grass start to come in and the cows change their diet there will be some change in the taste of milk. Don't be alarmed, it will be a bit sweeter than usual. Also, with the higher beta carotene in the grass you will notice the color changing back to a yellower tint. Again, no need to be concerned, it's just higher levels of vitamins.

Recipe of the Week: Pan Seared NY Strip with Mushroom and Red Wine Sauce

2011-02-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

From Debbie's Kitchen:

INGREDIENTS

2 boneless Grass-fed strip, rib eye, or filet steaks (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches thick)
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Pat steaks dry with paper towel. Cut each steak in half vertically to create four 8-ounce steaks. Season entire surface of steaks liberally with salt and pepper; gently press sides of steaks until uniform 1 1/2 inches thick. Place steaks on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet; transfer baking sheet to oven. Cook until instant-read thermometer inserted in center of steak registers 90 to 95 degrees for rare to medium-rare, 20 to 25 minutes, or 100 to 105 degrees for medium, 25 to 30 minutes.
Heat oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat until smoking. Place steaks in skillet and sear steaks until well-browned and crusty, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, lifting once halfway through to redistribute fat underneath each steak. (Reduce heat if fond begins to burn.) Using tongs, turn steaks and cook until well browned on second side, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer all steaks to wire cooling rack and reduce heat under pan to medium. Use tongs to stand 2 steaks on their sides. Holding steaks together, return to skillet and sear on all sides until browned, about 1 1/2 minutes. Repeat with remaining 2 steaks.
Transfer steaks to wire cooling rack and let rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10 minutes while preparing pan sauce. Arrange steaks on individual plates and spoon sauce over steaks; serve immediately.

Prepare all ingredients for the pan sauce while the steaks are in the oven. Once the steaks are done, tent with foil and prepare the sauce.

SAUCE INGREDIENTS

1tablespoon vegetable oil
8ounces button mushrooms , trimmed and sliced thin (about 3 cups)
1small shallot , minced (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
1cup dry red wine
1/2cup low-sodium chicken broth
1tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1teaspoon Dijon mustard
2tablespoons cold unsalted butter , cut into 4 pieces
1teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour off any fat from skillet in which steaks were cooked. Heat oil over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown and liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to soften, about 1 minute. Increase heat to high; add red wine and broth, scraping bottom of skillet with wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Simmer rapidly until liquid and mushrooms are reduced to 1 cup, about 6 minutes. Add vinegar, mustard, and any juices from resting steaks; cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Off heat, whisk in butter and thyme; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over steaks and serve immediately.
Adapted from Saveur Magazine

Tips for Cooking a Great Steak

2011-02-23T16:46:00.000-08:00

From Debbie's Kitchen:

Decide before you start cooking on how you want the steak done. A few people like "blue" steaks but most tend to prefer their steaks from medium rare to well-done. If you decide in advance, you're more likely to pay attention to it and remove the meat in time. A meat thermometer is one of the best kitchen tools for us omnivores.
Give your meat time to come to room temp. When the meat hits the pan you don't what it to have cook longer to overcome the cold from the fridge.
Dry the surface of the meat well with paper towels. Again, you don't want the oil in the pan to cool down from the moisture on the surface of the meat.
Try to avoid turning the meat too many times. Ideally, you should have one flip — two at most. Resist the temptation to touch the meat too much.
Use a set of tongs to turn the steak. Poking it with a fork puts holes in it and allows the juice to seep out — and then you're just asking for dry beef.
Don't mash on the steak with your tongs. That's just as bad as poking it with a fork, and presses out all the juices. If you're testing for doneness, just gently press with the flat part of your tongs. The harder the meat is, the drier it will be.
Give your steak at least 10 minutes rest before cutting. Put it on a plate or rack, tent it with foil and let it rest for a few minutes. You'll notice that a lovely juice oozes out as it settles which I like to use in my pan sauces.

Cut of the Week: Thick Cut Steaks

2011-02-22T16:45:00.000-08:00

From Debbie's Kitchen:

Whether you are trying to pan fry filets, rib eyes, NY Strips or chops of any variety it is important to know how to cook your steaks to retain all of the moistness and tenderness. The bane of all pan frying is the thick gray band of meat that is tough and chewy and depending on how much you overcook your steak determines how wide a band you end up with. You can't imagine how desperately I want to explain expanding and contracting proteins, retention of enzymes etc. but I will save that for another time. Suffice it to say that if you cut open your steak and find that treacherous gray band you can be certain that you are going to have to chew a little harder and you will certainly need to add a dollop or two of butter to replace some of the lost moisture.

Recipe of the Week: Chicken Piccata

2011-02-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

From Debbie's Kitchen:

This recipe is a real confidence builder; almost foolproof and very impressive. I have made it with both chicken and veal and it is absolutely delicious. I like to pound the meat with my French rolling pin to keep it nice and even. Keep tasting the sauce if you use organic lemons because the flavor tends to be stronger and deeper so you don't need as much.

This Italian dish illustrates the cooking technique known as pan frying. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are pounded into tender cutlets for even cooking and quickly pan fried. Then a flavorful sauce is prepared in the same pan.

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, each 8 to 9 oz., cut in half horizontally and pounded 1/4 inch thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. olive oil
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. minced shallot
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbs. capers, drained
2 Tbs. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow bowl and dredge the chicken in it. Shake off the excess.

In the nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Place 2 pieces of chicken in the pan and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter or individual plates. Warm the remaining 1 Tbs. oil in the pan and repeat to brown the remaining chicken.

Reduce the heat to medium and melt 1 Tbs. of the butter in the pan. Add the shallot and cook until softened and golden brown, about 30 seconds. Add the wine, lemon juice and broth, increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the remaining 2 Tbs. butter, the capers and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and pass any remaining sauce alongside. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Cut of the Week: Skinless, boneless chicken breast

2011-02-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

Our customers tend to fall into two very distinct and separate groups of chicken lovers. They either cook chicken breast only and are intimidated by the idea of a whole chicken or, like Debbie, aren't excited at the thought of dry, tough chicken breast smothered in some sauce for flavor.

Debbie's thoughts on chicken:

And then Chicken Piccata! A chef in Indiana made it for me and I left with a new determination to conquer this fear of frying - pan frying that is. All my favorite things in one dish - chicken, wine, lemon and capers!! Need I say more?

What I needed to find out was how to keep my chicken from drying out and becoming tough. Most people tend to look to poaching or brining but I like the idea of pounding chicken breast to a thickness of 1/4" and very quickly pan frying.

While poaching works for some recipes I love the bits of caramelized crust left stuck to the pan that make your sauce or gravy have a depth of flavor that you just can't get any other way.

The trick to pan frying success is the thickness of the meat, making sure that the oil in the pan is very hot and only turning the chicken once. Also, using a heavy bottomed pan will keep the burning to a minimum.

It is also important not to crowd the pan or the flour coating will come off due to the steaming rather than frying of the meat.

Recipe of the Week: Grass Fed Lamb Chops

2011-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

The honey does not sweeten the chops-it just helps them brown. For an authentic accompaniment, uncork a bottle of the pungent Greek wine called retsina, or simply opt for a favorite Sauvignon Blanc.

You can make these year round by just throwing them under the broiler in bad weather.

3/4 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 1- to 1 1/4-inch-thick loin lamb chops (about 2 1/2 pounds total), fat well trimmed

2 tablespoons honey

Mix first 7 ingredients in large glass baking dish. Arrange lamb chops in single layer in dish; turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, turning and basting often. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.) Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Transfer lamb to plate. Mix honey into marinade. Grill lamb to desired doneness, turning and basting with marinade often, about 10 minutes for medium-rare.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Transfer lamb to plate.

Cut of the Week: Grass Fed Lamb Chops

2011-01-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

I am amazed at how many people are intimidated by this succulent piece of meat but that may be a by-product of the confusion that surrounds all the cuts of lamb that can tout the name of chop. There are leg chops and shoulder shoulder chops which do best with some marinating and then there are the juicy, beyond tender loin chop and rib chop.

The loin chops have the very distinctive T-Bone that separates the filet from the NY Strip. While these are a bit more work to remove all the meat from the bone, it is definitely worth the work. The Rib Chops on the other hand are best known as the chops you will see in an 8 bone Frenched Rack of Lamb. The "Frenching" removes the meat, cartilage and fat from the long bone for a neater presentation.

Here is a rule of thumb for feeding your crowd lamb chops.

Loin Chops:
2 chops per person (6 oz. chops for small appetite)
10 x 6 oz. = approx. 5 people with small appetites
8 x 10 oz. = approx. 4-5 people with large appetites Rib Chops:
2 chops per person (6 oz. chops for small appetite)
8 x 6 oz. = approx. 4 people with small appetites
16 x 6 oz. = approx. 8 people with small appetites

Dairy News

2011-01-20T11:29:00.000-08:00

Well Dara had her baby. A wee baby boy that looks more like Daddy than Mommy. One major thing that separates us from the big dairy guys is that we keep babies and mommas together for as long as possible. If the baby isn't too rough on mommas udder he can stay as long as they want. Once they start to hurt the udder we keep them in a separate area but they still get momma's milk until they can get all they need from grass. This little boy is a cute but he's already keeping Brayden hopping. He escaped through the fence when only hours old and of course, Dara had to follow and since she can't quite fit under the fence, she goes through it!

Recipe of the Week: Grass Fed Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese Topping

2011-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

When a magazine asked Debbie to cook for a grilling article this is the recipe that she contributed. She has made this recipe so many times that she might be able to make it in her sleep! This recipe can be used with all of the more tender cuts, including lamb chops.

Ingredients:
2 grass fed beef tenderloin steaks, cut 1.25 - 1.5 inch thick (about 1 pound)
1 large clove garlic, halved
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

Topping:
2 tablespoons cream cheese
4 teaspoons crumbled blue cheese
4 teaspoons plain yogurt
2 teaspoons minced onion
Dash ground white pepper

Instructions:
1. Combine topping ingredients in small bowl. Rub
beef steaks with garlic.
2. Place steaks on rack in broiler pan so surface of beef is 2 to 3 inches from heat. Broil 13 to 16 minutes
for medium rare to medium doneness, turning once. One to two minutes before steaks are done, top evenly with topping.
3. Season with salt; sprinkle with parsley.

Makes 4 servings.

Cut of the Week: Filet

2011-01-11T08:00:00.001-08:00

Usually when Debbie needs to know something about cooking she grabs Larousse Gastronomique
or Escoffier: The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery but the information found there regarding the grand tenderloin is a bit outdated and can be slightly confusing. Those true cooking geeks out there can email the farm for a detailed explanation of the cuts and their specific uses.

A lesson in vocabulary is where we should begin. What we in the United States call the tenderloin — the lower portion of the sirloin — the British call the fillet, and the French call le filet. You will usually find it either whole, cut into small round medallions or as part of the famous Porterhouse or T-bone steak divided by the t-bone from the NY Strip.

The broad end of the tenderloin yields fairly large steaks, which are generally cut thin. The French call these le bifteck, while some people in this country call them châteaubriand. In the United States, filet mignon is a well-known and well-loved term, and is used for any and all cuts regardless of where they come from within the tenderloin. At the Farm Shoppe we have always cut out medallions 1.25" thick. This helps to keep the center of the medallion nice and rosy pink.

When cooking the whole tenderloin we prefer to sear the tenderloin in butter until a good crust is formed. Then put it into a 250F oven until it reaches an internal temperature of around 115-120F and finally crank up the temperature to 500F until the desired internal temperature is reached. ALWAYS tent the tenderloin and let it sit for at least 15 minutes to set.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Farm News: An update on the cows

2011-01-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

We are purchasing some very expensive silage for the girls and they seem to be responding very well to the change in their diet. Silage bales are baled wet and wrapped in plastic to keep the moisture in and to allow for some fermentation of the grass. These bales usually weigh somewhere around 900lb and approximately 55% is water.

No babies from Sweet Pea yet but she is getting bigger and bigger so it shouldn't be long now!

Happy New Year From the Farm

2011-01-04T12:20:00.000-08:00

As this farming year comes to a close there is pure amazement and thankfulness that so many Tennessee farmers are still standing. Too much rain in the spring and no rain in the summer is a recipe for disaster in the agricultural world and that was our weather pattern last year. Indeed we lost several good farmers who just couldn't find their way past the flood and our new local food economy will surely suffer for our loss.

We have certainly had our ups and downs this year but the things that really matter, family and friends remain steady and strong. We were all very healthy and haven’t even been plagued with so much as the flu this year.

Our animals are healthy and happy in their new surroundings and with Rocky as the new boss of the herd all the girls are pregnant and expected to calve between August and October.

The sheep are sheared and bred and we expect lambs to start hitting the ground sometime in May. Next spring we will start to milk our dairy sheep and my mouth is already watering just thinking about sheep's milk quark and yogurt.

Thank you for your friendship and support in 2010 and we wish you all a happy and healthy new year!

Wendell Berry Quote - The Art of the Commonplace

2010-12-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

"If we apply our minds directly and competently to the needs of the earth, then we will have begun to make fundamental and necessary changes in our minds. We will begin to understand and to mistrust and to change our wasteful economy, which markets not just the produce of the earth, but also the earth's ability to produce. We will see that beauty and utility are alike dependent upon the health of the world. But we will also see through the fads and the fashions of protest. We will see that war and oppression and pollution are not separate issues, but are aspects of the same issue. Amid the outcries for the liberation of this group or that, we will know that no person is free except in the freedom of other persons, and that man's only real freedom is to know and faithfully occupy his place - a much humbler place than we have been taught to think - in the order of creation.
(pg.89, "Think Little")"
— Wendell Berry (The Art of the Commonplace)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Recipe of the Week: Slow Roasted Beef

2010-12-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

It you have time, thaw the roast and set it on a rack over a plate in the fridge for 3 days. Trim away any leathery, dry bits. This gives the best flavor with the most tenderness.

1 Grass-Fed roast - Sirloin, Rolled Rump or Round- around 3 lbs
salt and pepper
1 tbs olive oil

Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 250F. Season the roast liberally with salt and pepper to taste. Heat the oil in an ovenproof Dutch oven or heavy-duty roasting pan over medium-high heat until just smoking. Sear the roast until well browned, about 2 minutes on each side.

Transfer the pot to the oven and cook, uncovered, until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reaches 120F for rare, 125F for medium-rare, or 130F for medium, 10-20 minutes longer. Remove the roast from the pot and transfer to a cutting board. Tent the roast loosely with foil and let stand for 20 minutes. Cut crosswise into thin slices and serve.

Cut of the Week: Roast

2010-12-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Over the many years we have been butchering grass fed beef we have made several different types of roasts available for our customers. These different cuts can be confusing especially when some names differ even between butchers.

For simplicity's sake I will divide all roasts into three categories:

sirloin - coming from the lower back

round - coming from the back leg

chuck - coming from the shoulder

Meat becomes tougher the more it is used and that makes the cuts cheaper but much more flavorful. This toughness however, dictates different cooking methods.

I have found that all roasts from the sirloin and the round are best roasted in a slow oven (250F) with liquid filled to the halfway mark on the roast. Too little water causes the meat to dry out and too much liquid makes more of a stew, which is not what we're going for here.

For the quintessential sliced roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy, I like the tri-tip sirloin, round roast or the rolled rump. If I am looking for the break apart, impossible to slice, melt in your mouth roast with tons of flavor I go for the chuck.

Raw Milk News

2010-12-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Those interested in raw milk issues may need to learn some of the goings on in Washington this week which will certainly affect us all.

A new Food Safety bill was passed last week with new wording and an amendment that would exempt small farmers who sell directly to customers within a 275 mile radius. Hopefully the bill will reach the President with the new amendments intact.

There have been rumblings in the recent months regarding changes to Tennessee's stance on raw milk and raw milk products. As many of you know, we fought the state of Indiana for the right to make raw milk products available through cowshare programs and it looks like that fight may be coming to a state near you! Tennessee plans to change wording in the present code and require inspections for all raw milk dairies. While we support inspection of dairies and required testing we are always concerned that the new rules will be aimed at closing the diaries rather than working towards true food safety issues. Kentucky has also laid down the gauntlet and has begun to harass farmers producing raw milk. Keep your ear to the ground and we will be sure to keep you all informed on the happenings.

Farm News: Sheep

2010-12-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

A Visiting Ram

One of our most urgent jobs last week was the introduction of the new sire into the sheep flock. Due to our extensive losses from neighborhood dog attacks last year, we lost our precious rams. In keeping with the amazing camaraderie within the farming community a fellow farmer loaned us her beautiful Romney ram for the season. We are so excited about this new fellow. I think he will throw some beautiful babies and you can bet that plenty of lamb pictures will ensue five and a half months from now.

The Sheep Are Shorn

Another job for this month was the shearing of the girls for breeding. Don't worry, the girls are kept in the barn until the fleece grows back enough for warmth. We are thrilled with the fleeces this season and will have yarn and roving available as well as raw fleeces for the spinners among us.

Mini Meatballs in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

2010-11-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

This week's recipe is perfect with grass fed ground beef from the Farm Shop!

MINI-MEATBALLS IN ROASTED RED PEPPER SAUCE

Ingredients
· 2 pounds Grass Fed Ground Beef
· 1 cup soft bread crumbs
· 2 eggs
· 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
· 2 garlic cloves, crushed
· Dash salt and pepper

Preparation
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl combine Ground Beef, bread crumbs, eggs, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape mixture into 64 one-inch meatballs and place on broiler pan. Bake in 350 degree F oven for 18-20 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices are clear.

ROASTED RED PEPPER SAUCE

Ingredients
· 1 tablespoon olive oil
· 1 medium onion, finely chopped
· 3 garlic cloves, crushed
· 1 cup beef broth
· 2 teaspoons cornstarch
· 2 jars (7 ounces each) roasted red peppers, rinsed, drained, finely chopped
· 1 cup dry white wine
· 4 ounce can of tomato paste
· 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Preparation
In large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Combine broth and cornstarch. Add red peppers, wine, tomato paste and thyme to skillet. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer 10 to 12 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Add meatballs to skillet and cook until meatballs are heated through.

Makes: 64 appetizer size meatballs
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Cut of the Week: Grass Fed Ground Beef

2010-11-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

Every so often we see a huge surge in ground beef sales. Whenever this happens we find someone with a TV and inevitably there has been a ground beef recall. In his brilliant book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser reveals that the typical fast food burger contains ground beef from as many as 100 different cows. Farm Shop ground meat comes from one grass fed animal and we never add back fat from other animals.

Since all of our animals are 100% grass fed the fat content of our meat is lower than the average supermarket ground beef and comes in at around 90% lean which ensures a tender, great tasting burger for your recipes.

Remember, you can always try our ground beef and lamb in the Local Burger at Fido's in Green Hills.

Organic Cooking: Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary

2010-11-18T07:11:00.000-08:00

Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary

1 (7-pound) grass fed, butterflied leg of lamb, and lamb tied
8 garlic cloves
1.5 tablespoon fine sea salt
4 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine or beef broth

Pat lamb dry and score fat by making shallow cuts all over with tip of a sharp small knife.
Pound garlic to a paste with sea salt using a mortar and pestle (or mince and mash with a heavy knife) and stir together with rosemary and pepper. Put lamb in a lightly oiled roasting pan, then rub paste all over lamb. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325°F.

Roast lamb in middle of oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted 2 inches into thickest part of meat (do not touch bone) registers 130°F, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 15 to 25 minutes (internal temperature will rise to about 140°F for medium-rare).

Add wine to pan and deglaze by boiling over moderately high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Season pan juices with salt and pepper and serve with lamb.

Cut of the Week: Leg of Lamb

2010-11-16T07:10:00.000-08:00

The leg of lamb is the most versatile cut of lamb. We sell our grass fed lamb legs whole or butterflied. To butterfly a leg of lamb, it is deboned and rolled and tied, this is a tough job and is better left to the professionals. Butterflied leg of lamb is perfect for roasting, stuffing or grilling. I like to cut kabobs or stew from the butterflied leg since I don't have to deal with cutting around the bone and can cut the meat in cubes easily.

A whole leg of lamb can weigh up to 9 lbs which tends to be more than a family can eat in several sittings so butchers have invented many new and exciting cuts but they can also be a bit confusing.

One way that we like to cut our whole legs is to take several steaks from the top end of the leg with gives what is called a "half leg sirloin end". Sirloin steaks (also called leg steaks) are perfect for grilling or pan frying when you want a nice tender piece of leg without having to cook up 5-6 lbs of meat. The half leg also takes off the shank which is best stewed since it is the most used portion of the leg. Osso Bucco is the recipe that made the shank famous.

The most important thing to remember about cooking a lamb roast is to not over-cook it. Lamb has such wonderful flavor on its own, and is so naturally tender, that it is bound to turn out well, as long as it is still a little pink inside. There is some debate over which method yields the best results - slow cooking at low heat the entire time, or searing first on high heat and then slow cooking. James Beard in his American Cookery prefers the slow-cook-low-heat method (he rubs the roast with salt and pepper and cooks it at 325°F the whole time.)

Another point where there are wildly varying opinions is the internal temperature that constitutes "medium rare". I've seen references that range from 120° to 145°F. I pulled my lamb roast out at 130°F. As it rests the internal temperature continues to rise a few points as the meat continued to cook. We like lamb on the rare side of medium rare, and this roast was perfectly done to our taste. Clearly an accurate meat thermometer is essential and is one of the tools I can not be without in my kitchen.

Grass fed lamb cooks faster than grain fed lamb so keep checking the temperature to avoid over cooking.

Remember that any meat with a bone will cook more quickly than a boneless piece of meat so adjust the recipe accordingly.

Amount to Buy: For bone-in leg of lamb, allow about 3/4 pound per person; for boneless leg of lamb allow about 1/2 pound per person.

Comfort Food: Home Style Pot Roast

2010-11-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

I love chuck and arm roasts since they come from the most used muscles on a cow. Remember the equation:

heavily used muscles = tougher meat = more flavor = cheaper cut
less used muscles = more tender meat = less flavor = expensive cut

Home Style Pot Roast

Ingredients:
3 yellow onions
grass fed beef chuck roast, about 2 1/2 lb.
3/4 tsp. kosher salt, plus more, to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper, plus more, to taste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. rendered bacon fat or olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp. sweet paprika, preferably Hungarian or Spanish
1 1/2 cups beef stock or broth
1 1/2 cups canned plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish

Directions:
Halve the onions through the stem and cut the halves into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons. Set aside.

Season the chuck roast with the 3/4 tsp. salt and the 1/2 tsp. pepper. Spread the flour on a plate. Coat the roast with the flour, shaking off the excess.

In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the bacon fat. Add the roast and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 1 Tbs. bacon fat to the pot and heat over medium-high heat. Add the onions, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and paprika and cook until the garlic is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, tomatoes and the 2 Tbs. parsley. Return the beef to the pot, nestling it in the onions. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the beef is fork-tender, about 2 hours.

Transfer the pot roast to a deep serving platter. Season the onion mixture with salt and pepper. Skim off any fat from the surface. Spoon the onion mixture around the roast and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

To make beef paprikash, simply add sour cream to the sauce: Transfer the pot roast to a platter and skim the fat from the sauce as directed. Stir 1 cup sour cream into the sauce and cook just until it is heated through; do not allow it to boil. Season with salt and pepper. Pot roast also makes excellent hot sandwiches. Slice the roast and serve it along with plenty of the saucy onions on crusty rolls.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Comfort Food, by Rick Rodgers (Oxmoor House, 2009)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

News from the Cows

2010-11-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

The girls are trying to work their way back up in production but this is bad time to try. With the winter coming on and the grass gone, everything in nature says to cut back. We have found some wonderful hay from a farmer in Kentucky (Brayden is so pleased with it that he drives to Franklin, KY once a week to pick it up) and the girls really seem to be doing well on it. The production has increased slightly but we have hopes for more as the babies start to come.

Spinning Yarns: Fiber Arts for the Fall

2010-11-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

As the temperatures drop our sheep look more and more in their element. The winter is a happy, happy time for the sheep. They work all year to grow a great fleece and it comes in mighty handy as the temperatures dip. I am looking forward to a great fleece harvest next year as I spin up the final wraps of last year's fleeces. The cooler weather keeps me inside spinning and knitting; it just seems like the right natural rhythm.

When people learn that I spin and knit the wool from our own farm they seem shocked that spinning wheels are still available for purchase. Thankfully the art of spinning, weaving and knitting are on the upsurge. My theory is that as our societies grow more chaotic, our hearts and souls search for things that are timeless, repetitious and quiet. Fiber Arts certainly fit the bill. I can't count how many time my children fell asleep to the whirl of my wheel and no matter how ADD a child is, they stand almost breathless and completely amazed watching the wheel spin, and spin.

This winter we will have yarn from our own sheep as well as hand dyed yarns from several talented artists from Tennessee for sale at the Franklin Farmers Market. We have a wide range of fleece products available from raw fleeces for spinners to hand spun yarns for those who prefer knitting and crocheting.

"Plenty - Eating Locally on the 100 Mile Diet"

2010-10-17T11:04:00.001-07:00

If you're determined to eat locally, you might enjoy Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon. The couple embarked on an experiment to spend a year eating only what they could grow, gather, or purchase from a 100 mile radius around their home in Canada.

I found the memoir interesting and thought-provoking in parts, although at times the authors' tones were a bit strident for my taste and I could have stood less gratuitous profanity. However, if you're attempting to eat locally yourself, especially from an urban environment, this book may be helpful to you.

If you only have time for one local eating memoir, we would more highly recommend Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, but if you're a fan of this genre and have the time, you might also enjoy "Plenty."

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

"The Cook and the Gardener"

2010-09-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

Although set in the French Countryside, Amanda Hesser's book The Cook and the Gardener holds many lessons and much encouragement for Americans seeking to tie their living more closely to the land. Over the year she served as a cook in a chateau in Burgundy, Hesser developed a friendship with the chateau's gardener and documented the garden and its impact on her cooking throughout the months. I enjoyed the descriptions of what was happening on the land during each month and also the interesting descriptions of heirloom foods and how to cook them. In each section, Hesser covers one month, with additional chapters devoted to the seasons in general, and includes many recipes and shorter essays on particular foods and how to select and prepare them. The recipes are adapted for American cooks, and Hesser notes, where possible, how to find and select the foods she mentions from American sources.

The book's emphasis on cooking with fresh in season foods, preserving for the colder months, and adapting the kitchen to the rhythyms of the seasons makes this a great read for those who would like to incorporate more local seasonal foods into their diets, but also invites the reader to consider the passing of seasons in our own backyard gardens and homes.

It is difficult to say if this book is a cookbook that also includes interesting reading, or if it is a memoir/treatise that also includes recipes. Either way I think you'd find something to interest you and I'd recommend it.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

2010-07-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

Angel, our beautiful Great Pyrenees, is pregnant. She seems to be about 35-40 days into the pregnancy and we are so excited about the coming puppies. Many of the puppies are already spoken for and that helps us to plan for puppy sales. We will train several of the pups to guard chickens from an early age. Most likely Angel will whelp in the barn with the chickens so that the puppies will come to think of the chickens as litter mates. We’ll have some great picture ops once that takes place. We are guessing that she will have between 6 and 10 pups. For those of you who have been, or are pregnant through sweltering summer weather here is a picture you can appreciate!

If you're interested in one of Angel's puppies, please let us know!

"Good to the Grain"

2010-07-01T10:34:00.001-07:00

If you enjoy baking with whole grains and enjoying fresh seasonal food like we do, you will love Kim Boyce's excellent cookbook Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours. Boyce is a trained pastry chef with experience at famous restaurants like Spago and Campanile, but her recipes are accessible for the average cook and I guarantee you will be inspired by what you find in this book.

The book covers flours including whole wheat, amaranth, barley, buckwheat, corn, kamut, oat, quinoa, rye, spelt, and teff. I appreciated how Boyce explained the characteristics of each flour and how to use it without getting a dense or tough product. I've been frustrated in my past efforts to translate white flour recipes to whole grain, but Boyce takes the guess work out of it.

If nothing else, you'll certainly enjoy the beautiful food photography in this book and the author's reflection on different grains. I love books that make it easier to eat healthy, beautiful and delicious food, and this book certainly advances those three goals.

If you decide to read the book and try any of the recipes, please let us know! You can get a variety of whole grains (including, at the time of this writing, white wheat, kamut, oat groats, and spelt) as well as various natural sweeteners and baking needs at the Farm Shop. Happy baking!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

"The Animal is the Product of the Soil"

2010-06-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

Published on behalf of Debbie via the Farm newsletter. To subscribe to the letter, please contact us! It's a great way to stay up to date on farm news and product information.

Well, the heat is on. Temperatures are soaring and things just seem to naturally slow down on the farm. Chickens stop laying eggs, we need more breaks, and the pace of life mimics the pace of nature and becomes slower and quieter.

I sometimes wonder about our running around and hurrying from one emergency to the next. Chaos seems to find a crack in the door and pries and pulls until it finally enters into our lives, fully and with force, almost without our knowledge. And then come the storms or the heat or the snow and life takes on a whole new look. We remember that things can be set aside and the truly important always get done if we look through the eyes of peace.

And that is where we find ourselves this week. We are sitting more, talking more, reading more and allowing ourselves more rest once all the needs of the animals are tended to. I have picked up a book I read years and years ago by Andre Voisin called Soil, Grass and Cancer that fascinated me 13 years ago and continues to do so each time I slow down enough for a reread.

Andre begins by reminding us that the famous quote “Man, remember that you are dust and that you will return to dust” is not just a religious or philosophic statement but that it should be engraved above the door to every faculty of medicine. I would add that every farmer should have it engraved above the barn door to remind us of the direct link between the “dust” that grows the grass consumed by our animals and the “dust” that makes us what we are. The fact that our farming ancestors understood this connection is obvious when you read old farming manuals that repeat the mantra “the animal is the product of the soil”.It would do us well to remember this also. There was a time when serious detective work could be done to determine where a problem was stemming from since most of the food and water consumed came from a small circle around the home. Now, with our foods coming from all parts of the world it is much more difficult to pinpoint insufficient “dirt” in order to fix a problem due to missing nutrients.

Carlo Petrini of Slow Food coined the phrase “co-producers” to explain the relationship between farmers and consumers. Indeed we could not do what we do without your support. Thank you for your patience as we learn the ways of this “dirt” beneath our feet and as we continue to understand the relationship between, soil, animals and man.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Meet the Buckeye Chickens

2010-06-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

After some heavy casualties from hawks, we are moving the chickens and the dogs to the farm by they shop. We are looking forward to having them here for visitors to see. We also have some wonderfully adorable baby chicks chirping and doing their best to be cute.

We are going to experiment with several different breeds this year. At the top of the list are Buckeyes. Famous for being the only breed in this country to be developed by a woman breeder, these birds have plenty to boast about. Bred in the mid 1800 they have beautiful deep red feathers and yellow legs. They lay large, dark brown eggs and they are wonderful foragers. Another reason we have looked into this breed is that they are the top of the American Livestock Conservancy Critical List. This means that they are on the verge of becoming extinct. Being placed on the Critical list means that there are fewer than 200 annual registrations in the United States and the estimated global population is less than 2,000. These birds are definitely worth saving and we are proud to participate in that effort.

To receive updates like this on the animals, please subscribe to the Farm Newsletter!

Store Update

2010-06-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

Due to heavy workload on the farm this season, the Farm Store will be closed Monday through Wednesday until further notice, but will continue to be open Thursday through Saturday from 9 to 4. Thank you for your understanding!

More CSA Shares Available

2010-05-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

If you haven't signed up for a CSA share yet, or if you love your share so much that you'd like another whole or half share, there are more available! As you might know, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and is a great way to support local farms and enjoy locally grown produce - both family favorites and new things to try.

The following shares are still open at a variety of pickup times and locations:

Mondays (On-Farm & Centerville Delivery) – 6.5 shares (or 13 half shares)
Wednesdays (Riverwalk & Asurion Deliveries) – 9 shares (or 18 half shares)
Saturdays (Franklin Farmers Market & Windy Acres Deliveries) – 9 shares (or 18 half shares)

If you're interested or know someone who might be, let us know and we'll put you in touch with the right people.

If you're participating in a CSA, what has been your favorite vegetable so far?

A smoothie for your garden

2010-05-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

Compost, as you are doubtless aware, is both excellent for your garden and a responsible thing to do with kitchen scraps and other biodegradable garbage. If you have the time and space to compost the traditional way, you should do that by all means. However, sometimes your garden needs a boost and your compost pile is far from ready, and sometimes (as is the case in my neighborhood) traditional compost piles are illegal. I know, it's insane.

A friend told me that during a busy season in her life she used to grind up her compost in the blender and pour it directly on her garden. I figured it could not hurt to try. I will admit to a moment's hesitation at putting garbage in my Vitamix, but I overcame my reluctance for the sake of vegetable production.

Compost in the blender.

My kids thought we were having a smoothie for lunch. I said, "Not directly."

I brought the blender full of compost smoothie out to the garden and fed it to the dirt and worms for lunch. Hopefully we'll see good results in a few weeks!

Some notes on blender composting:

It's best to blend every day or two so the stuff doesn't get moldy.
Use a trowel to dig the compost smoothie into the dirt so you don't attract bugs or bees.
You may not want to blend paper and some other things that are normally compostable. I stick with coffee grounds, tea leaves, fruit and vegetable peels and trimmings, and washed eggshells.
Add plenty of water to the blender so you don't burn out your motor.
And, last but certainly not least:

Wash the blender well when you're finished!

It's not too late!

2010-05-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

It's not too late to start your garden or plant a few containers on your porch or patio. The farm store is offering seeds of a variety of heirloom vegetables and plants for purchase this year. Heirloom plants are hardier and often more flavorful than their conventional cousins and we think you'll be glad you tried them!

For more information about specific seed varieties and availability, please visit the store or contact us.

Good news for CSA members!

2010-05-06T12:10:00.001-07:00

Due to unexpected progress in the Beaverdam Creek fields, CSA produce shares will start THIS weekend rather than next. If you are a member, please come pick up your first basket this Saturday, May 8, at the Farm Shop between 3:00 and 4:00 pm.

Enjoy your fresh, local produce!

Break Out the Grill!

2010-04-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

...or not. Just when we thought Spring had really arrived, we got hit with another cold snap. Hopefully it's warmer where you are! Still, I had summer food on my mind and so I used a grill pan to cook up some delicious Korean Barbecue Burgers.

If you're a fan of Korean food, these burgers really taste like bulgogi. If you're not familiar with Korean food, just be assured the burgers taste fantastic. I served ours on wheat buns (it's pretty simple to cobble together a hamburger bun recipe from whatever recipe you use for pizza dough) with some of our homemade kimchi on top. They would be great without the kimchi too, but I think it added a nice zip. Did you know you can get kimchi in the farm store? Or you can get whey at the farm store and try making your own. Don't forget that you can get grass fed ground beef at the farm too!

Korean Barbecue Burgers
recipe taken from Cooking Light

1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds grass fed ground sirloin

Mix all ingredients together, shape into patties, grill and enjoy! This recipe is easily doubled if you want to make extras to freeze for another time.

An Easy Summer Bread

2010-04-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Debbie did an excellent post on bread baking last fall, and we've also talked about how baking bread fits in to the rhythm of the seasons, but when spring rolls around I'm much more likely to want to spend time in the garden than in the kitchen.

And yet, curiously enough, my family still requests regular meals.

I find that my cooking style becomes more streamlined and simple in the warmer months, and now I've found a way to still enjoy fresh homemade bread without requiring a huge time investment.

In their book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day Jeff Hertzberg (a scientist) and Zoe Francois (a chef) outline a method for mixing and storing dough in the refrigerator, taking out portions as needed, that eliminates the need for kneading, long rise times, or additives. I'll admit that I was initially skeptical, but since getting this book I've made several of the dough variations and have achieved uniformly excellent results. The bread is well shaped, has a great crusty outside with a good texture and crumb inside. The taste is comparable to artisan bread from a bakery, just as the authors claim.

In addition to the basic recipe, which makes a boule loaf or baguette, the book contains a wealth of other breads ranging from Limpa (a Swedish bread made with cardamom, orange zest and honey), to za'atar flat bread, to na'an. Breads from all over the world are well represented in this book. The book also contains recipes using bread, such as Aubergine Tartine, Panzanella, Red Pepper Fougasse, and Fattoush. Many of the bread-containing recipes make use of fresh seasonal produce, which also makes the cookbook handy for the summer months.

I found the authors' section on alternative flours particularly helpful since they note that the different weights and compositions of flours, including how they are ground, influences the outcome of their recipes, and their instructions for substituting flours are clear and easy to implement.

Although there are few things as comfortable as making bread the old fashioned way in the fall and winter, if you're in need of a simpler method for spring and summer I would highly recommend this book.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Unconventional (for our times anyway) Lawn Mowing

2010-04-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Even though the weather has been dry my lawn has been growing at an astounding rate and of course, my Craftsman lawnmower is on the blink. Well, when that happens on a farm all you need is a little thought and a few well positioned fences and you can have your lawn mowed for free. No gas, no fuss. Well, O.K. just a little fuss.

Let me introduce you to my new lawn mowers, Domino is slacking in the back, Suzie is up front with Cordelia Grey and Peanut in the back. Elvira II and her two boys are lounging. For the past two weeks they have been more than happy to keep our lawn looking good, one small spot at a time. Our girls here at the farmhouse are Icelandic sheep and although they have horns they are surely enough girls.

Even as I sit here in the comfort of my living room with the windows slung open and the lace curtains flapping in the breeze I can hear chomping, wonderful grass removing chomping. In a section of fencing 150’ long it will take the girls and their babies two days to get the lawn looking good and evenly mowed.

Unfortunately there are always some slackers in the bunch. Elvira and her two babies decide to let the others mow while they rest.
Elvira’s one boy thinks he is getting away with it by hiding behind a basket of tools while the other one couldn’t care less if I see him laying down on the job.

If you'd like to read more stories of life on The Farm and get updates about products available in the shop, be sure to sign up for the email newsletter by clicking the "email us" button in the top left sidebar of the blog.

Posted by Catherine on behalf of The Farm, written and photographed by Debbie

Milk Consumption Tied to Lower Risk of Breast Cancer

2010-04-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

A study published in the International Journal of Cancer has shown that childhood and adult milk consumption can protect against breast cancer.

Women who drank more than 3 glasses of milk per day had half the risk of breast cancer compared to women not drinking milk according to a study of 48,844 women in Norway. The results of this study are in line with earlier research results showing the protective effect of milk on breast cancer. A study published in the British Journal of Cancer showed that the women who consumed the most milk had less than half the risk of breast cancer compared to women consuming the least milk.

Milk's protective effect can be attributed to the cancer fighting substance conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) found in milk fat. Numerous studies indicated that CLA had a protective effect against breast cancer.

A recent Finnish study has shown that postmenopausal women with the lowest levels of CLA in their diet and in their blood had, respectively, a 3.3-fold and five-fold greater risk of breast cancer than those with the highest levels of CLA.

Milk from grass fed cows contains over 5 times the levels of CLA than grain fed cows!!
So drink up!

Here is a great way to get more milk into your diet without high levels of sugar. Brayden made this last night and we all went wild!

Brayden's Late Night Shake

2 cups Trader's Point Chocolate milk
2 scoops vanilla ice cream - homemade at best, Breyers at worst (check their ingredients, some contain high fructose corn syrup and other nasties)

Add all to blender and blend. Absolutely the best shake we have ever had!

How to Hang a Clothesline - the Technical Part

2010-04-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Clothes and linens dried in the sunshine smell fresh and feel crisp. A clothesline is a wonderful addition to any back yard. Here are two ways to install one:

The first method is for a simple, single line that is easy to take down and put back up. The second is for a line that is a loop strung between two pulleys. Both are easy to tighten if they sag.For either version, you can use a cotton or plastic clothesline rope. I prefer the look and feel of cotton.

The height of the line depends on how tall you are -- make sure the line is comfortable for you to reach, and high enough that your laundry won't touch the ground. If you use the pulley system one end can be sent high in the air to catch every drop of breeze.

The length of the line depends on the size of your back yard, but 20 to 25 feet is average. You'll need two strong supports, such as trees or a post of your porch. Choose an area of the yard where the clothesline won't get in anyone's way.

For the single line, you'll need a heavy-duty hook, a metal eye hook, a cleat, a small metal fitting that you'll wrap the rope around to anchor it (imagine the device you use to secure a rope on a flagpole), and a metal ring.

Start by marking the height you want the line to be on each support. On one support, screw in the hook at the point you marked; start the hole with a drill. On the other, screw in the eye hook. Twelve inches below the eye hook, install a cleat. Using a tight knot, tie one end of the rope to the ring. Loop the ring over the hook, and walk the rope over to the other support. Thread the other end through the eye hook, pull it tight, and wind it around the cleat to secure.

For the double-strung line, you'll need two heavy-duty hooks, two pulleys, a line tightener, to allow you to take up the slack in the line, and a line separator to keep the top and bottom lines separate but parallel.

Screw the hooks into the supports at the height you want the line to be. Tie one end of the rope securely to the ring on the end of the line tightener. Thread the other end of the rope through the pulley, the line separator, the other pulley and the line tightener. Hang the pulleys from the hooks on your supports, pull the end of the rope through the tightener until taut and cut away the excess rope. Hook the line separator around the bottom rope.

If this is a little to technical for you, come out to the farm and I can walk you through my system so you can get a good idea of what works.

Happy Hanging!

Laundry on the Line

2010-04-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

I have been a die hard clothesline fan since I purchased a kit from Martha Stewart and set up a proper line. Sure you can use a couple of hooks and a plastic line from Home Depot in a pinch but if you intend on committing to forgoing the dryer whenever possible you really need to respect the line, especially if you want to enjoy the process.

The first thing to think about is how you do laundry now. Do you like to do a load a day or do you save it all up for one day a week, put your head down and plow through? The answer to this question will determine how much space should be dedicated to your line. I have some Amish friends who have a 300 foot line from the back door to the top of their barn. My line is about 75 ft and with my Ecosmart washer that does me just fine. I have a Fisher & Paykel Ecosmart and with its 1000 rpm spin cycle I can get 5 loads done and folded in an afternoon.

Here is what you need for a great line.

1. Clothes line, I like cotton it runs through the pulley system easily

2. Line tightener - keeps the line good and tight - you tie one end and feed the other through

3. Spacers - to keep the clothes off the ground by pulling the lines together

4. Clothes pins - I like wooden but many like the plastic because they come in pretty colors

5. 2 pulleys - Rust proof is a must

I like to put one end of my line near my back door and the other I will put way up in the air somewhere like a tree or a tall post. The higher the clothes the more wind you can catch and the quicker they dry.

There is truly nothing like clothes fresh off the line for a sense of well being. Guests at our farm ALWAYS get bedding fresh off the line if the weather is co-operating and fresh linens off the line are a gift to my children of wonderful memories they will always cherish.

Time to Plant Beets

2010-04-09T06:00:00.001-07:00

Most people will tell you they hate beets but that's only because they have only tasted the horrid red imposters sliced and jammed into tin cans. For shame!!! Beets are one of my favorite vegetables and dressed in Celtic Sea Salt and Kerry Gold butter, you just can't beet it!

I planted my beets in one long row along the edge of my peas. I planted three varieties, Chioggia (my personal favorite) stiped in red and white rings it is a sure kid pleaser, Detroit Red and Burpee's Golden.

Beets grow well near bush beans but don't like pole beans - go figure! They do very well near lettuce and most members of the cabbage family. I like to plant my beets very close together and then throughout the season I will thin, first for the tops in salads and then for baby beets. By then I have made enough room for the full grown beets. I will plant beets all summer since they can take a good frost and still come out fine. As long as you can get into the soil you can harvest beets so be sure to have plenty of seed on hand.

Remember we have Seed Savers Exchange seeds in the store and will keep a good supply of all the seeds you need for planting and replanting.

Happy Easter

2010-04-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter from The Farm!

Maple Syrup Restocked in the Store!

2010-03-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

This season's REAL maple syrup is in stock now at the Farm Store. If you've never tried real maple syrup on your pancakes or as a sweetener in recipes you are in for a treat.

Don't miss these posts on maple syrup from the archives:

A discussion of maple syrup versus store-bought fake syrup

How maple syrup is made

The difference between Grade A and Grade B maple syrup

Recipes for Maple Syrup Viniagarette and Maple Syrup Ice Cream

Health benefits from maple syrup

What is your favorite way to use maple syrup? If you don't use maple syrup now, what is holding you back?

Small Changes Matter

2010-03-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

They say that it's important to always be learning and growing as you go about your life. Sometimes this takes the form of huge leaps forward, but more often people take small incremental steps. You may not be able to make a comprehensive shift to a completely local, natural, sustainable lifestyle all in one fell swoop, but the small changes are no less important. Even little things like planting a new vegetable in your garden can give you momentum and be an encouragement.

Now that we're about a quarter of the way through 2010 (that was fast, wasn't it?), what have you learned about health? How have you changed your lifestyle to be simpler, more natural, or more in tune with the seasons? Do you have any plans to take other steps this spring and summer?

Planting Peas

2010-03-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Have Fun!

Traders Point Dairy Products

2010-03-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

When I was in the throes of starting a new farm I met a couple from Indiana, Fritz and Jane Kunz, who had an idea to start an organic dairy on inherited land in Zionsville, Indiana. They planned to bottle their own milk and yogurt for sale from the farm. For those of us who were lucky enough to watch the growth of this company it was a sight to behold. The lessons we learned from this adventurous couple will remain with me and guide my farming principles for years to come.

Trader's Point Creamery bottles their own 100% grass fed, certified organic whole milk, chocolate milk and yogurt. We now have their award winning chocolate milk and yogurt available in the store.

Only the highest quality organic ingredients are used and the awards received speak volumes for the small company. All of their yogurt products are flavored and colored with 100% certified organic fruit puree even though only 6% is the industry standard. Try Traders Point wild berry or raspberry yogurt poured over granola for a quick, nutrition breakfast. Yummy.

The Fine Art of Letter Writing

2010-03-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Most of those closest to me know of my utter and vehement dislike for Facebook. Unless you have nothing planned for the afternoon you shouldn't ask me if I have a Facebook page.
I have many, many good reasons for shunning this newest form of "socializing" but at the top of that list is the fact that it has changed the face of true, deep and honest friendship and the form of communication that occurs between friends and acquaintances. For that matter Facebook doesn't even differentiate between true friends and acquaintances, oops, you almost got me started!

I am a true lover of the letter and the written word (on paper, can you guess where this is going?). When a good friend came to spend a few days at the farm she mentioned a poem called Elegy for the Personal letter. After reading this mournful poem I felt that it conveyed all of my passion for the letter with my soapboxing.

To help you make the transition from half-hearted, half-sentence, virtual "friend"-rich, relationship-poor, non-conversations back to the elegant, thoughtful art of letter writing we are proud to announce our newest section in the The Farm Shop, The tools of Writing. We now carry many beautiful card sets with fountains pens and a wide selection of scented inks on the way.

Elegy for the Personal Letter

by Allison Joseph
I miss the rumpled corners of correspondence,
the ink blots and crossouts that show

someone lives on the other end, a person
whose hands make errors, leave traces.
I miss fine stationary, its raised elegant
lettering prominent on creamy shades of ivory
or pearl grey. I even miss hasty notes
dashed off on notebook paper, edges
ragged as their scribbled messages—
can’t much write now—thinking of you.

When letters come now, they are formatted
by some distant computer, addressed
to Occupant or To the family living at—
meager greetings at best,
salutations made by committee.
Among the glossy catalogs
and one time only offers
the bills and invoices,
letters arrive so rarely now that I drop
all other mail to the floor when
an envelope arrives and the handwriting

is actual handwriting, the return address
somewhere I can locate on any map.
So seldom is it that letters come
That I stop everything else
to identify the scrawl that has come this far—
the twist and the whirl of the letters,
the loops of the numerals. I open
those envelopes first, forgetting
the claim of any other mail,
hoping for news I could not read in any other way but this.

PS Teach your children to write before they can type. It will serve them well. These three letters came in the mail for my daughter when she was under the weather.

→

Beaverdam Creek Farm CSA Comes to Windy Acres Farm Shop

2010-03-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

At my advanced age I have finally realized that I can only do so much! Beef, lamb, chicken, dairy, homeschooling, opening and running a farm shop, running a household, gardening, canning, spinning, knitting, etc., etc. It makes me tired just listing it all. Well I have finally drawn the line at trying to grow all of the produce my family consumes. I decided that I will still grow a garden but I want it to be fun and I need to take a bit of pressure off this year. So after searching high and low for a farm we could trust, with the strong values and purist tendencies of all of us at Windy Acres we have turned to our friends, the Lingos at Beaverdam Creek Farm to provide us with the bulk of our vegetables. In the course of our conversations we realized that this would be the perfect situation for many of our customers looking for a CSA for themselves.

What is CSA?

CSA stands for “Community Supported Agriculture”. It’s simply an agreement in which you purchase a ‘share’ in our garden. Your share provides a portion of the farm expenses, including labor and the purchase of seeds and supplies (soil amendments, equipment, etc.). In return, as a “shareholder”, you receive a basket of whatever produce is harvested from our garden each week along with our newsletter updating you about farm happenings and giving you storage hints and recipes for cooking our delicious veggies and herbs. Think of it as owning a garden, but not having to pull the weeds!

General Share Info

CSA Shares will be distributed for approximately 26 weeks May-October. A share is a half-bushel basket containing enough produce for approximately 4 people, depending on your eating and cooking habits. Half shares are also available. Along with your produce, you will receive a weekly newsletter with recipes, farm news and tips on how to use and store your produce. You can pick up your share at our farm after 2:30 pm on your scheduled day. We also deliver to the Franklin Farmer’s Market on Saturdays 8:00am until noon. Other delivery locations may be scheduled as we receive sufficient requests.

Benefits

You’ll receive a basket of fresh, tasty produce every week of the growing season.
You will be buying from us, a family that you know and trust.
Your veggies will be chemical–free and clean; no worries about salmonella-contaminated tomatoes!
You will have a say in what your farmer grows.
You will be helping to boost your local economy.
You will have the fun and anticipation of seeing what new and different treats are in your basket each week.
You will be motivated to try some new and different meals using your seasonal produce and the recipes we provide.

Risks

Weather-All farming endeavors are at the mercy of the weather. There might be an early frost that kills the strawberry blossoms, so we have to wait until next year to enjoy them.
Pests/Disease-There’s always a chance that pests or blight might do damage to a certain crop. What happens then? We just do as our grandparents would have done. For example, if Colorado Potato Beetles destroy our potato harvest, then we eat more sweet potatoes instead! If we lose some summer squash to powdery mildew, then we add more zucchini to the menu!

What We Grow

Early season baskets include spinach, lettuce, radishes, scallions, kale, broccoli, sugar snap peas, bunched beets, salad greens, and more…

Mid season baskets include zucchini, garlic, yellow squash, cucumbers, carrots, sweet onions, beans, corn, potatoes, herbs, flowers and more...

Late season baskets include salad greens, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, leeks, peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, broccoli, kale, spinach, pumpkins, turnips and more…

All produce, freshly picked, will be delivered to Windy Acres Farm Shop every Saturday by 3:00pm.

So if you are a customer of Windy Acres Farm Shop and are interested in participating with us in the Beaverdam Creek CSA please contact us as soon as possible to reserve a basket with your family's name on it!

Soaked Grain Pancakes

2010-03-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Pancake breakfasts are a solid staple in our home and have been for years. I think that of all the meals I love to share, breakfast is the fast winner. I just love to invite people over for breakfast. I will squeeze fresh orange juice, make toast from homemade bread, roast a great blend of coffee beans, make pancakes, homemade veal sausage and fried eggs fresh from the henhouse and we will sit in the garden and talk for hours.

Ever since we gave up boxed cereals breakfasts have fascinated me. What a difference between tearing open a cardboard box and pouring hard, lifeless flakes into a bowl and getting the family together to make a wholesome, delicious breakfast together. In our house, Brayden was always the orange juice squeezer and Rhayna learned to get the pancakes ready at the age of 8.

Most people believe that a made from scratch breakfast is impossible on the weekends let alone every day of the week. Thanks to Sue Gregg, this is no longer the case, even in our frenzied world.

Sue discovered the secret to soaking grains in the blender many, many years ago. I remember purchasing her extensive collection of cookbooks over 15 years ago but at that time she, along with many others, were promoting the use of soy, fructose and a few other unhealthy foods. Then one year at a homeschool convention in Indianapolis Sue's husband approached me and we struck up a conversation. He proceeded to tell me a tale of a woman who wrote cookbooks for 25 years and then read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration and it turned her cooking on its head. "After 25 years and finally thinking we were finished writing cookbooks, she wants to start all over and switch the recipes to fall in line with Weston A. Price's recommendations."

This conversation caused me to take another look at Sue's work and indeed she was on a new road. Her work with soaking grains is the best anywhere. She is truly an innovator and her website is full of wonderful lessons in cooking with whole grains.

Make sure you try the pancakes!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

A Shear Surprise

2010-03-09T12:26:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday a surprise call at 6:00 am changed my plans for the rest of the week. A shepherdess friend was on the other end of the line with an unusual question, "How would you like your sheep sheared today?" Her shearer had made the trek down from Missouri but her sheep were wet from rain and snow so the shearer was sitting around with nothing to do (waiting for wet sheep to get dry is like watching paint dry!). A quick glance outside assured me that the precipitation had not yet reached my sheep so all I needed was a truck, a trailer, some hired help, a barn to shear in and some co-operative sheep! Most days those things don't align at once, but on Tuesday they did!

Thanks to Brayden, Rhayna, Sam, Dennis, Alfred, Jose and Molly (our sheep herding border collie) everything fell into place.

The girls waited patiently in line for a new 'do. We sheared 39 sheep for almost 6 hours, but the results were well worth the hard work. Despite the burrs in some fleeces from dog attacks and neighborhood roaming, we were able to save 20 of the fleeces and have great hopes for even better numbers in the fall.
Don't laugh! They will look beautiful again in a week!
Since they don't have mirrors, the sheep just know they can scratch their backs again!
Now the real work begins. We will go through each fleece to pick out burrs and other unpleasant things, then wash the fleeces. Once they are sparkling clean we will card and spin the fleeces to make them available for sale as roving (wool for spinning), yarn, and knitted garments. Each skein has a picture attached of the sheep responsible for the wool so you can put a face with a fleece!

Over all the years of farming, I have learned that I am merely the helper. Just as I help my chickens get their eggs in the cartons and my cows get their milk in the jugs, I help my sheep get their wool to you, their friends and fans!

Soaking Grains

2010-03-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a cereal I could eat everyday. It is quick, nutritious, filling and a very healthy alternative to boxed cereals. I first tried this super granola in Italy and then feasted on it again in Switzerland and I have been hooked ever since.

It is always so interesting to me when I learn a concept, such as that all grains should be soaked to remove phytic acid before eating, then I open a German cookbook and viola! a cereal that is soaked. The concept behind this healthy breakfast is best described by Sally Fallon in her wonderful cookbook/ traditional eating encyclopedia Nourishing Traditions:

Phosphorus in the bran of whole grains is tied up in a substance called phytic acid. Phytic acid combines with iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc in the intestinal tract, clocking their absorption. Whole grains also contain enzyme inhibitors that can interfere with digestion. Traditional societies usually soak or ferment their grains before eating them, processes that neutralize phytates and enzyme inhibitors and in effect, predigest grains so that all their nutrients are more available. Sprouting, overnight soaking, and old-fashioned sour leavening can accomplish this important predigestive process in our own kitchens. Many people who are allergic to grains will tolerate them well when they are prepared according to these procedures. Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon, Pg 25

I learned about the benefit of soaking grains when I began to develop symptoms of diabetes, which runs in my family. I realized that each time I ate grain, even my own milled grains, I steadily began to feel sluggish and tired. I finally came to the point when after eating grains I needed to lie down and rest. After a bit of research I found that certain people (especially those predisposed to diabetes) can be affected by the insulin inhibitors that are released from the pancreas after eating grains. Once I began to soak my grains the symptoms went away.

Wonderful Soaked Grain Breakfast Cereal

1 2/3 cup Windy Acres Farm Shop Muesli Mix (try some from the Farm Shop!)

1 2/3 cup your choice of grains

2-4 apples
2 tb buckwheat
2 tb sesame seeds
2 tb sunflower seeds
4 tb raw honey or maple syrup
2 ts vanilla
2 ts cinnamon
2 tb raisins or dried cranberries
Seasonal fruit

Grind the grains and oats coursely the night before and the barley and barely cover with water (and two tablespoons cultured dairy product or whey if available). Leave overnight.

The next morning grate the apples and but the fruit into small pieces and mix with the grain mixture. Lightly toast the buckwheat and sesame seeds and sunflower seeds and mix into grains. Season with honey or maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour cream or milk over cereal and garnish with raisins and nuts.

Serves 6

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

March Chores - Pruning

2010-03-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Before the month of March is over I plan to get all of my pruning finished. February is usually just too darn cold to get out with my pruners and my handy dandy folding saw so I have made a deal with myself that I can feel good about: March is pruning month. Once we see the longer warmer days of April the trees and shrubs have started to send out new shoots and the sap begins to flow making it harder to heal the cuts.

Before you head out to your unsuspecting trees and shrubs armed with saws and pruners you need to know what you are pruning and when it flowers to understand how it responds to pruning. The reason we go to all the trouble of pruning is to keep our trees and shrubs healthy by removing dead and diseased limbs, opening the plant for better circulation or just plain old shaping to keep it looking great.

Hardwood trees and shrubs without flowers: if you prune these trees and shrubs while they are dormant it is easier to see the main structure and it makes it easier to see how the tree wants to be pruned. Usually, the best time to prune in this case is during the late fall through early spring since leaving wounds here can cause severe problems with insects that are actually attracted to the scent put out by these trees and shrubs.

Trees and shrubs that flower in early spring (redbud, dogwood, etc.) should be pruned immediately after flowering (flower buds arise the year before they flush, and will form on the new growth). I learned the hard way that lilacs need to be pruned right after they flower to give the plant time to rest otherwise they put all of their energy into the seeds and you will have no flowers the following year.

Here are some examples of trees and shrubs to prune in late spring/summer, after they bloom:

Azalea
Bridal Wreath Spirea
Forsythia
Hydrangea
Magnolia
Mockorange
Rhododendron
Weigela

Trees and shrubs that flower in the summer or fall always should be pruned during the dormant season (flower buds will form on new twigs during the next growing season, and the flowers will flush normally).

Here are some examples of trees and shrubs to prune in the dormant periods between winter and early spring:

Bradford Pear
Butterfly Bush
Crape Myrtle
Flowering Dogwood
Flowering Plum
Honeysuckle
Hydrangea
Redbud
Spirea
Wisteria

Prune dead branches any time of the year. This ensures safety year round. I take out a bucket with chlorine and water to dip my pruners between cuts on anything that looks diseased. I don’t want o spread anything nasty. In order to keep disease to a minimum in the tree or shrub I take out any branches that are crossed or toughing. Just cut these back to a bud that is facing outward. Once that is done I can look at the tree objectively and see what else it needs. I never take out more than 1/3 of a plant at a time so as not to put undue stress on it.

So, take a look at what you have in the yard and start to make a pruning guide for the yard. Document the type of plant and how it should be treated. Mark the dates on a planting calendar so that you can start to make your own garden guide. It really helps to keep it all in one notebook.

Reduce Breast Cancer Risk With Grass-Fed Meat and Milk

2010-03-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

A little over 10 years ago while traveling in Europe I came across a study that found that women who consumed 100% grass fed animal products could lower their chance of developing breast cancer by 74%.

Why do 100% grass fed animal products protect women from breast cancer? Grass fed meat, milk and eggs contain a much higher concentration of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) than do products from grain fed animals. Studies show that CLA offers many health benefits, including reducing the risk of breast cancer and tumor reduction. You can read more about the benefits of CLA from Eat Wild, The Townsend Letter, and The California Breast Cancer Research Project.

Reading the European study a decade ago changed the way I farmed and made me a purist when it comes to grass versus grain for my animals. For me, this means no grain fed to ruminants at all: not to get them to love me, not to get them to come into the barn or to stand still while milking or any of the other excuses I have heard for feeding grain. None of these reasons seem very important when I weigh them against the faces of friends who suffer with cancer, or women I know who have predispositions toward breast cancer. How can I imagine feeding grain if there is even the slightest possibility that my food could help them to avoid this horrible disease? Even the slightest chance is worth not having a little more milk to sell or an animal that goes to the butcher a few months sooner. The possibility is just too great to cut any corners here.

So please, if you purchase meat or milk from a farmer that you can actually speak with, ask them to stop feeding grain and let them know that you are willing to pay more to help them with the extra expenses. And if you don't buy milk or meat from someone you can persuade to go grass fed - you should.

Keeping a Gardening Journal

2010-02-26T06:00:00.001-08:00

I have kept a gardening journal for about 19 years and I believe it is an indispensable tool for the home gardener as much as for the market gardener. I started keeping a journal for my garden the first year I set my foot on a spade in my tiny flower garden on Shelby street in East Nashville. I grew pink primrose, iris, lavender and hostas. I started from seed pink caterberry bells and bells of Ireland. My roses included Charles De Mills, Sarah Van Fleet and plenty of Fairy roses. Once I started to add fruit, in the form of Alpine strawberries I added square foot maps of the garden to remember what was planted where especially when it came to planting over the hundreds of bulbs planted in the fall. When we moved to the farm and began homesteading, gardening became more of a necessity and less of a hobby and my journal never left my gardening bag as I jotted varieties, location, problems, notes and yields. Some suggestions for the kinds of information you may want to include are:

planting dates for seeds and plants

transplanting dates

source and cost for plants and seeds

any guarantees and location of bills (if needed)

weather particulars such as rainfall, frost dates and results

plant characteristics, date of germination, date they emerge in spring, appearance of blooms

date of harvest (for vegetables) or cut flowers taken

date and type of fertilizer or other chemicals applied, and to which plants

observations

schematics for garden rotation

great color combinations for both veggies and flowers

My journals have been everything from 3 ring binders to beautiful, preprinted garden journals. They don't have to be expensive, just lovely. Try to find something that makes you feel good, something beautiful to keep track of all the beauty that happens by your hand. Be inspired.

Do you keep a garden journal?

A New Baby at Windy Acres Farm

2010-02-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning we awoke to a wonderful surprise, a brand new perfect little calf. Although we are always happy to have a new baby on the farm, the thought of more milk is really what we all had in mind as we cheered the good news.

Thankfully Mom was able to have her during a very beautiful weekend when the temperatures were nice and mild.

For all you patient soon-to-be cowshare owners, we will milk Beauty while her calf is still nursing, thereby sharing the milk for about 10-12 days. Once the colostrum period is over we will contact you to come in and start getting your milk from your cow.

Organic Gardening: What would you like to know?

2010-02-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by Ian Britton at FreeFoto

What have you always wanted to know about gardening?

What scares you about organic gardening?

What aspects of building and maintaining a garden confuse you or keep you from getting started?

Have you always wanted to try growing a particular type of crop but weren't sure how to get started?

Please give us your gardening questions in the comments and we'll try to answer them in future posts. Thanks!

Tomato Sauce, Fresh from the Freezer

2010-02-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

This past summer was crazy. I started a new life in Tennessee, moved my farm, opened a shop while continuing to homeschool and trying hard not to disrupt life for the kiddos as much as possible. Maintaining our normal lifestyle meant I still baked bread, made all of our dairy products, fixed three meals from scratch every day and tried to make a few of those meals somewhat gourmet, among other things.

When life comes at you that fast something has to give and for me it was canning. So, without the least bit of guilt I just packed up the produce from the garden into Ziploc bags and threw them into the freezer without any further ado.

Well, here we are now and things are slowing down a bit and we are getting ready to enter a long fast period with our church which means plenty of pasta and here I am without a can of tomato sauce in the house. Never fear, I thought, the garden is in the freezer! So here is my recipe for a delicious pasta sauce, fresh from the freezer.

This recipe is not for the faint at heart. There is no measuring or timing but this will help you to learn to cook from the hip.
I took several bags of frozen tomatoes, maybe 5 or 6 quarts and a quart of frozen green and red peppers. As you can tell from the photo I grew and froze several different types of tomatoes which gives the sauce a very rich flavor. To this mixture I added two very large onions, chopped, along with 1 head of garlic, minced, one bottle of wine (Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck), oregano, basil and thyme, and a good amount of Celtic Sea Salt.

I let this thaw slightly and put it on the stove for several hours to cook down. Keep tasting the sauce and adjust spices as needed. Trust yourself. Once you are happy with the results use a hand blender to mix it all up and blend in the skins. Once smooth, eat, can or freeze.

Voila! Thanks to the freezer you can eat fresh from the garden all year 'round.

Peace Of Yarn Fibers

2010-02-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Yak Merino Roving ready to spin

Once in a while a company comes along that you know you just have to support. It usually includes great products, a wonderful story and someone behind it that is the kind of person you just want to know. Peace of Yarn is one of the those companies for me.

From the first time I saw the quality of her fibers I knew I wanted to sell them in my store. Well, the wait is over. I have received my first order of Peace of Yarn products and I have been spinning away happily since the moment they arrived.

Peace of Yarn is a company that makes fibers available from around the world such as silk from worms that feed on mulberry trees in China, Alpaca from South America, Mongolian cashmere, baby camel and yak plus some of the softest Merino fibers available. All of these fibers are available alone or in blends. Baby Camel/Tussah Silk blend

Melissa's tag line for her company is "The world is spinning" which it is indeed. Hand spinning is on the rise and I don't foresee a slowdown in it's appeal.

Whether you spin, knit, crochet or just love the feel of luxurious fibers come on in to the shop to see what is available from around the world, around the block and around the farm in top quality fibers.

How To Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Thought Possible

2010-02-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine is the one absolutely positively indispensable gardening book in my library. It is ripped, filthy, filled with notes and jottings and in desperate need of replacing but that's because this is not the type of book you sit in your overstuffed chair reading whilst sipping a cup of Lady Grey tea (although I have done that quite a bit), this is the kind of book that you take out into the garden with you while you plant. This book is hands-on, filled with charts and fill-in-the-blank sections to determine how many plants you need and when you will plant them in our area. If you plan on gardening - at all - you need this book.

John Jeavons does such a masterful job of guiding us through the process of really, truly gardening. He explains soil prep, watering techniques, intensive planting, harvesting, rotating crops and much more.

There are two things in this book that separate it from all other gardening books. The first is the complete list of page upon page of fruits, vegetables, grains, trees and cover crops with information on each entry as to planting requirements (depth, and spacing), possible harvest amounts, and any other notes. The second noteworthy section contains garden plans for everything from a mini garden to a full Feed a Family of Four garden that teaches you how to succession plant for continuous harvest. All you need is the first and last frost date for your area and a pen to fill in the blanks and you will end up with a complete gardening plan for your own garden. What more you ask, except so for someone else to do the double digging for you - and don't look at me I done enough for a lifetime!

How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine is now available in the Farm Shop.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Where in the World is Debbie

2010-02-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

For the first time since losing my right hand gal in the store, I took last weekend off and attended a spinning retreat in Indiana. This was my 3rd year attending the retreat and now I am determined that I would not miss it for the world.

Every year around 30 of the most wonderful, fascinating and creative women gather from all parts to spin, knit, crochet and get reacquainted. Since moving away from Indiana this was a very much needed reconnection as well as a time of quiet renewal.

Each year when I attend I do so with some spinning need, a project or problem that needs fixing. The first year it was figuring out why my wheel wouldn't do what I wanted it to do. I wanted to learn how to spin thinner yarns and took some lessons in the fine art of fine spinning. After a year of frustration with my polwarth top ( a glorious Rookie Gift) I brought it back the second year to learn how to spin it. I also wanted to learn to knit socks from memory without a pattern and I can't tell you what a challenge that is after Bailey's in a chocolate cup at 2:30 in the morning. Rhayna's sweater - hand painted, hand spun yarn

This year I was able to show off the polwarth sweater that I finally finished from my spun yarn but I hoped to learn to spin more evenly and to learn the fine art of hand carding my fibers for more professional looking yarn. Thank you to all of you who have helped me over the years without making me or anyone else feel like we were a bother and for sharing your knowledge without reserve.

In a day when we seem to have forgotten the art of asking for help we must make time for getting together in an environment here you are expected to ask for help. I had a friend tell me that she didn't want to come to the knitting circle on Saturday because she needed too much help. Where did we get this idea? I think we lost it around the time we sent our children off to expensive colleges instead of apprenticeships. In this self-sufficient culture, buck the system and ask someone for help and revel in the fact that knowledge was passed from one friend - a real friend - to another.See you on Saturday!! Bring your wheels, needles, yarn, questions and fiber needs. Also, feel free to bring along project to inspire others. The Knitting Circle will meet from 9am to close on Saturdays.

Growing Seedlings Indoors

2010-02-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

For the adventurous and the thrifty minded among us growing your plants from seed is the way to go those plants that require a longer growing period or are harder to raise outdoors from seed. In the Nashville area those plants include, but are not limited to, tomatoes, peppers, onions, leeks, celery, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and some herbs and flowers. The information on the back of the seed packet will always include very basic information on growing that plant. This week I will start tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, and thyme, lavender.

You will need a plastic flat or recycled plastic jugs (with holes in the bottom to allow water to drain) to hold your potting medium and a spot with plenty of light. Don't use any potting mixture with added fertilizers as they do more harm than good.

It is always best to start with just a couple of new plants each year to that you can learn about their likes and dislikes. So maybe start with tomatoes this year which are fairly easy to grow inside and you won't have to settle for the same old, same old plants available at your local big box store.

Just plant in moistened plant medium and keep moist, not too dry or too wet and keep in a well lighted place. In about 5-10 days you will see the seedling emerge from the soil. For more information on starting tomatoes from seed go to Garden Web where you can find some great pictures to help you.

I will plant these seeds between the 13th and 22nd of February, when the moon is right to get them off on the right foot.

If this seems a little to much for some of you, worry not!! Windy Acres Farm Shop will have plenty of started plants available at the correct planting times.

Getting Ready for Planting

2010-02-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

One of the most frustrating things that kept me out of the garden when I first got the gardening bug was missing the planting dates of my favorite foods. It always seemed that I would buy pea seeds and then find that the pea planting time had passed me and no one told me.In thinking about all the new gardeners this year who have contacted me I have decided to post a schedule, with reminders, for planting in the Nashville, TN area. For those outside this area I will be posting a review of my favorite gardening book later this week that includes a fill-in-the-blank schedule.

The last date we can expect a frost in our planting area is April 5 and the first frost will hit us somewhere around the 29th of October. This is the window that we need to use in conjunction with our knowledge of the plants we want grow to determine what we will direct seed and what will be transplanted into the garden as plants.

So here in the Nashville area we need to be thinking about getting seeds into pots for those plants that will not be direct seeded into the garden, those that require a longer growing period to set fruit. In my garden those veggies include tomatoes, peppers, onions, broccoli, cabbage, melons, pumpkins and celery.

So get yourself a note book and list all of the plants you want to grow in your garden and the next blog will list dates for planting in our area. Have fun.

Where to find heirloom seed potatoes

2010-02-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

One year, many moons ago, I found some Russian Fingerlings, Yellow Rose and Blue Fin potatoes at Smith and Hawken (when they were a great store with great tools and no Scott "Organic" fertilizers - please, don't get me started!!) Well, the harvest was really spectacular and the difference in the flavors were out of this world. The range of flavors and uses for heirloom potatoes go far beyond the usual types you find in the grocery store.

Last year Rhayna, Brittany, Nicole and I harvested 700 pounds of potatoes that we are still eating daily. Eating your own organic potatoes is wonderful and a serious money saver, but one of the things I tend to leave too late every year is the purchase of my seed potatoes. If you don't have a local source, you must order seed potatoes from the internet (using potatoes you get from a store won't work very well because they are treated to prevent eyes from developing - ask Catherine how she knows!).

This year I am making it my gardening goal to have plenty of different varieties of heirloom potatoes available at the farm store for my customers because I know first hand that the best laid plans of mice and men...and women... get set aside if you need to order on the Internet. So, my gift to my customers will be to make these potatoes, prized for outstanding taste, available without the hassle.

If you want to order your own seed potatoes please visit the Seed Savers Exchange for more information about this pioneering organization and to peruse the many amazing heirloom varieties of potatoes available.

Please stop by the store or leave a comment if you have any further questions about getting started with potatoes in your garden or what types of heirloom potatoes to try. We'd love to help! Happy gardening!

How to plant and harvest heirloom potatoes

2010-02-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Many people think of growing potatoes as a laborious undertaking but I have a simple, easy way to grow potatoes. I have planted my potatoes this way for about 10 years so I know it works, and works well whether you are planting five pounds or 50 pounds ( or 150 pounds as we did last year) and you can start getting ready right now.

First, I use the lasagna gardening method and lay down several inches of cardboard and newspaper on the sunniest part of the yard usually where I have fought weeds last year since this is great for weed suppression. Then I open a few bags of peat moss and spread it in an even layer over the newspaper. For the next lasagna layer I bring in bags of leaves or bales of straw and pile that on the peat moss. Now, just leave the garden undisturbed until the temperatures outside are around 55-60 degrees and won't be dropping much below that. The potatoes can handle a light frost but nothing too heavy.

Around the beginning of March I take out my seed potatoes and put them out in the sunny place to start to sprout. After a week or two when I see several "eyes" sprouting I cut the potatoes into several 2" square pieces. Be sure they have one or two good "eyes". Leave the cut potatoes out in the sun for a couple of days to develop a good callous to discourage rot.

Here you have a couple of options. If you have a good organic fertilizer or kelp just spread some around for extra nutrients for the potato's root system. Obviously don't use chemical fertilizers (poisons in - poisons out) or fresh manure which can cause scab and ruin your harvest. Place the cut potatoes cut side down with the eyes pointing up, on the straw, compost or just on the ground (although that is not as good of a "bed") approximately 15" apart in rows 2.5-3 ft apart. Next, cover the potatoes with mulch, composted leaves or straw until they are covered about 2-3 ft deep. Water well.

As the potatoes grow stems upward and roots downward the potatoes form on the stem. As the vines grow continue to cover the potatoes with mulch material leaving only 2-3 sets of leaves showing. The more stem is covered, the more potatoes you will be able to harvest since there is more of a growing space. Keep the entire pile well watered.

Here is a good picture of a pile of potatoes that are well mulched.

Open flowers on the vine let you know that immature "baby" potatoes are ready for harvest. Once the vines start to turn yellow and die the potatoes are ready to harvest. Just move the mulch aside and harvest. The potatoes are clean and your your back remains unscathed.

As the season goes on I will take pictures of my planting to give a clearer picture of the process. So start dreaming of red, white and blue potato salad or just fun and fluffy blue mashed potatoes and get out the newspaper!

Heirloom Varieties of Potatoes

2010-02-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Imagine running out to the garden and digging up some Rose Fin Apple potatoes or German Butterballs or some Purple Vikings with their deep purple skin and their creamy white insides. Or think about your picnic potato salad on the 4th of July with red, white and blue potatoes. Come on, even a Canadian would be envious of your patriotic culinary and gardening expertise!

Did you know that years ago housewives planted certain potatoes for different uses? Some are best for storage, some for baking and mashing. Some give up the ghost (and the starch) if you try to bake them like an Idaho-style while others lend their hearty flavor to stews and hold their shape all the way to the bowl. This is the kind of information that we are missing today and deep down, we know it and it worries us. Now is the time to change that. Start planning now for an exciting potato harvest in 2010! This week we will show you how to plant potatoes (it's much easier than you thing) and talk about where to get potatoes for seed.

Have you planted potatoes before? What did you think of the experience?

Photo courtesy of www.SeedSavers.com

Michael Pollan's latest book, "Food Rules"

2010-01-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

If you have 30 minutes to spare and a passing interest in natural foods you might enjoy Michael Pollan's latest book, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. This is probably the shortest book you've read since you were a first grader, but it does have interesting ways to remember how to eat in a healthy way. If you need or want to read the research Pollan did to arrive at these rules, you would be better off reading In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. Although there is quite a bit of overlap between Food Rules and Pollan's previous two books, there is some new food for thought. Some of my favorite rules are:

Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.
It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it (this would be impossible for me with restless toddlers, as I am a slow cook, but it's a good thought!)
Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.

I also thought Pollan did a good job pointing out that an organic diet is not necessarily a healthy diet. Organic corn syrup is still corn syrup, organic sugary cereal is still sugary cereal, and organic processed convenience food is still processed convenience food. Fresh, locally grown organic food with as little processing as possible is the best way to go.

Because this book is short and easy to read, it would be a good one to have on hand for people who are just getting started thinking about a healthier lifestyle or who are wondering why you choose to each meat, milk and produce from a local farm.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

The Fragrance of God

2010-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

People recommend books to me on a daily basis as I am known as some what of a book buff. And as an avid collector of books I check into almost all recommendation, never wanting to let one good book escape my library. Every once in awhile though, someone doesn't just recommend a book, they insist that I buy it and that I can't live without it. Such is the book by Vigen Guroian , The Fragrance of God. This book is unlike any other gardening book I have read. It is the kind of book that I will re read every year as I find myself out of the garden due to inclement weather and on the verge of spring. Beautiful, inspiring and heart stirring, The Fragrance of God reminds us, or shows us for the first time, why we really garden.

What is it that causes us to toil and sweat over weeds we know will just return, probably stronger than ever? Why plan and dig and plant and weed when we can just load into an air conditioned car, drive to the air conditioned supermarket and buy perfectly clean versions of what comes out of the ground? Vigen knows. This is his personal journey through the seasons of his life, moving and staying, losing and finding, all relating to the garden. In The Fragrance of God Vigen takes us with him on a journey through the year’s

changing seasons as he reflects on the great biblical themes of the sublimity of God’s creation, on seeing the senses as “paths” to experiencing God and “the garden as a place of birth, death and renewal."

This is not a how-to gardening book but a look throughout the ages into why we garden and how gardening relates to our spiritual state. Vigen summons the words of Christian mystics from as far back as the first century who warned us of our tendencies to leave behind the senses and remind us that there was a time when beauty was the trademark of Christianity, when all of the senses were employed in the the worship of God and a true understanding of His Creation.

I remember reading of a discourse between Plato and some of his followers regarding the question of what happens when we forget true beauty. I was immediately reminded of that conversation when I passed a garden in a front yard that was planted entirely with plastic flowers. The haunting words of Plato came rushing back and continues to echo each time I witness such an abuse of the senses. What happens when we forget the beautiful scent of a rose - Glad Air Wicks. What happens when we forget the taste of strawberries from the garden still warm from the sun? We are assaulted with "strawberry" jello. Pockets that taste like - you name it - are the inheritance of our children if we are not careful to wade through the products that lie to our senses. Every once in a while we need an awakening and this book will certainly fill the bill.

This book is half gardening guide, half spiritual guide. Read it at your own risk. It will change the way you see, smell, taste, touch and hear.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

The Knitting Circle

2010-01-25T06:00:00.001-08:00

As beautiful as this painting is, knitting alone can be, well, lonely. I have been privileged to be a small part of a wonderful knitting/spinning/felting group in Indiana and I truly miss the camaraderie, the friendships, tutoring and the accountability.

In an attempt to stop putting off the things I really want to do and start living well I am opening up the store and my home (depending on how many participate) for an old fashioned knitting circle.

Beginning Saturday, February 13 we will have coffee and scones available for all who wish to join in. Just because the term "knitting circle" seemed the catchiest phrase doesn't mean that crocheters, tatters, weavers, spinners, felters and any other interested parties need not attend. We will join in handwork and conversation from 9:00am until 12:00 noon. All are welcome.

Spring is Coming and so are the Lambs

2010-01-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

This past week, in temperatures in the teens, we had several new arrivals to The Farm. Our Katahdin ewes have begun to lamb.

Katahdin sheep are best know for their mild flavored, delectable meat and we can certainly attest to that attribution. One characteristic that surprises many of our customers when they drive out to visit the sheep is that they seem to have little or no wool. Even more concerning is that they can sometimes look like something the cat dragged in, dishevelled looking with clumps of hair hanging by a thread.

Katahdins are referred to as hair sheep and throughout the spring and summer, all that hair is continually falling out. We will find clumps of hair strewn around the farm wherever the sheep have ventured. It can actually give away a slip under the fence and trot around the farm when no one was looking.

So on your next trip to the farm take a look at the new babies and don't be dismayed by the dangling locks of hair, that's just a Katahdin.

Cow Sharing Opportunity

2010-01-19T06:00:00.001-08:00

At Windy Acres Farm our standards are high, very high. When we bring a dairy cow into our cowsharing program she must have been raised organically for her entire life and been 100% grass fed since birth. Obviously these standards make it very difficult to increase our herd quickly and so we maintain a lengthy waiting list with many people waiting patiently for a chance to own their own cow and receive it's fresh, raw milk.

After almost a year of searching we have found five cows that fit the bill. They are in Illinois on a Certified Organic farm that has been committed to 100% grass feeding for many years. Three of the girls are due to calve at the end of this month and the rest will calve in March. We plan to make the trip to pick them up in the next two weeks.

If you have an interest in purchasing a share in one of these cows please contact us to be sure we bring home enough girls to supply milk for everyone interested. If you need more information regarding our cowsharing program please contact us.

Living Well

2010-01-16T03:55:00.000-08:00

I don't believe a day that goes by when I don't hear about the need to "get well" or "eat well" or even to "marry well". We are encouraged to "be well" and certainly to "stay well" but how many times do we learn of someone who truly "lives well"?

Today I spoke with a woman who lives part time in Atlanta, Georgia and spends the rest of her time in

France

working at a B&B and she actually knows a man who "lives well". "He'll never make a lot of money" she told me, "but he really lives well."

Living well is such an important concept to me that when she told me of Jean Paul my heart skipped a beat. It was almost like hearing a secret code word. She told of his farm and work and for the rest of the day it is all I could dream about.

What exactly does living well mean? Does it entail a boat in a slip or yearly vacations to the South of France? Is it really something acquired with money? We seem to understand the concept early in life and begin to lose it sometime around the teenage years. From my vantage point I believe that to "live well, really well" is something that eludes almost everyone I know but is the one true desire of the seeking heart.

I have come to believe that advertisers, of all people, are the ones who really know what "living well" entails. Almost every advertisement depicts families spending time together, having the spare time to read in a hammock with a cold glass of ice tea or the extra time in the day to garden or just getting together with friends for a great meal with plenty of laughter. If we buy a certain washing machine we will laugh with our family again, sit around the table playing games, loving each other. If we could just afford that stainless 6 burner oven we would cook more with our spouse while happy, well adjusted children sit and watch, all conversing happily. The goal of the advertiser is to take the deepest desires of our hearts and exploit them. Just possibly, if we were already living well as a society these advertisers would not be as effective in separating us from our hard earned 500 billion dollars every year.

SOOOOOO, what does this mean for me? After a full day of thinking over my conversation with Anne about Jean Paul and her life in France I realized that all the things that don't get crossed off my to-do list are the very things that would allow me to live well. The easiest things to put off are the very things that would transform my life into the life I want, where I am in control of the quality of my life and my schedule and the other things of this world can take a back seat.

Here are some examples of the items that get pushed from day to day, month to month....

Have friends over for dinner - often
Read with the children - more often
Spend time in the garden
Invite friends for a knitting circle
Bake more pies
Make a cup of tea before bed and just read
Take more walks - not for exercise
Visit friends
Read Wendell Berry to remind me of the "why's" of farming and not just the "how's".

Today, I encourage you to pull out your Day-Timer and look for the things that are easily put off and rearrange your priorities. Come to see those activities not as the expendable but as the keys to truly living well and just maybe you'll find the answer to teaching your children to live well before they fall into the same trap of busyness and disenchantment with this gift of a life.

Local Pecans - Oh Yeah!!

2010-01-13T16:18:00.000-08:00

Ever since I read the lovely book, French Women Don't Get Fat by Mereille Guiliano I have been nuts about nuts. The way she described the difference between shelled nuts and their stale, overly salted, roasted impostors set me on the hunt for fresh, and hopefully local, nuts.

Many people think of nuts as being too high in calories to be a health food but the truth is that higher calories also come with higher vital nutrients and as long as you keep them in the shell, you have to work for your food and surely that will work off some of the extra calories.

Pecans are a great source of protein, unsaturated fats and are rich in omega 6 fatty acids. A diet rich in nuts can lower the risk of gallstones in women and the antioxidants and plant sterols in pecans can lower cholesterol by reducing LDL levels. Clinical research has shown that eating a handful of pecans daily can reduce cholesterol levels as much as cholesterol reducing medication and without the nasty side effects. Pecans are a good source of folate vitamin E, potassium, magnesium and zinc, all essential for good health.

Most of what we buy in stores is old and already rancid and this is especially true of anything roasted and salted, which is usually employed to mask rancidity. But a fresh, Tennessee pecan, straight from the shell is another thing altogether.

We purchase our pecans from a local grower in Tuft, Tennessee who tends 13 mature pecan trees. This definitely falls within our "small batch, artisan" criterion and we couldn't be happier to have found Ray and Wynna. We will carry fresh pecans until supplies run out and then wait patiently for next year's harvest.

Fresh nuts should be stored in an airtight container away from the light and according to Mereille "please, never stored in the refrigerator".

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Seed Savers Exchange Seed at Windy Acres Farm Shop

2010-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have had organic gardens in 5 different locations over a 17 year haul and other than keeping the garden organic, doing my part to keep heirloom varieties of seed available has been my biggest gardening goal. My first step, way back then, was to find a company that had heirloom seeds available. Thankfully my search led me a company committed to saving seed that has been passed down from generation to generation.

Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit, member supported organization that saves and shares the heirloom seeds of our garden heritage, forming a living legacy that can be passed down through generations. SSE members have distributed an estimated 1 million samples of rare garden seeds since their founding nearly 35 years ago. Those seeds now are widely used by seed companies, small farmers supplying local and regional markets, chefs and home gardeners and cooks, alike.

Seed Savers Exchange was founded in 1975 by Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy to honor this tradition of preserving and sharing. Their collection started when Diane's terminally-ill grandfather gave them the seeds of two garden plants, Grandpa Ott's Morning Glory and German Pink Tomato, that his parents brought from Bavaria when they immigrated to St. Lucas, Iowa in the 1870s.

Today Seed Savers Exchange is the largest non-governmental seed bank in the United States. They permanently maintain more than 25,000 endangered vegetable varieties, most having been brought to North America by members' ancestors who immigrated from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and other parts of the world.

Growing heirloom seeds took organic gardening to a whole new level for me. Finding varieties like the Cherokee Purple tomato and the French Charantais melon took me on a journey that lasted 17 years and I feel like I have only just begun to traverse this vast land of saving my own seeds.

Windy Acres Farm Shop is very proud to be the first location in Tennessee to make SSE seeds available. We will carry 56 varieties of seeds but will be happy to take requests for seed varieties. We will also carry started plants, all grown organically, of several varieties of tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, onions, leeks and herbs. We will carry flower seeds as well as herbs and vegetables. If you would like us to start certain varieties for you please let us know before February 15th.

Coming Soon: We plan to place a large order of fruit trees and berry plants for anyone interested.

Farm Happenings - Winter

2010-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

"So things must be slowing down for you guys on the farm now that the winter has set in."

This is question asked of us almost every day and it made me realize that it is been some time since I wrote about our farm activities.

As was written by Sir Albert Howard in his awe-inspiring book, The Soil and Health: A Study of Organic Agriculture, no soil can be truly healthy unless animals graze upon it. This was a concept that Alfred and Carney Farris took to heart and plans were made to remedy this situation on their farm. Thus the long process began to switch the farm from all grain to a grain and livestock farm which entailed fencing the entire farm and installing a watering system that could water the stock anywhere on the farm, a task of monumental effort and resources.

Anyone who has been to The Farm Shop since the summer has seen the trenches stretching across and throughout the fields. These trenches house an intricate labyrinth of pipes all feeding several watering troughs over approximately 260 acres.

Our new solar panel harnesses energy from the sun to run a pump which fills the blue tank that has found its way to the back of my garden. All the troughs are filled utilizing gravity power. So, next summer when you come to the farm shop you will be able to see all of the animals trying out the new system.

Now that most of the trenches are filled we go back to the everyday workings of the farm, feeding, moving, milking, collecting eggs and caring for our stock which knows no seasons. So, unlike a produce farm that tucks the garden in for winter, livestock farming, with the exception of smashing ice in the water troughs, continues on virtually the same throughout the year.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Organic Cooking: Stew, French Style - Part 2

2010-01-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

This dish comes from the the Carmargue, French cowboy country, and is traditionally made with bull's meat which is somewhat tough but extremely flavorful. In the US, we can only dream of the day when the palette of the people, even only a handful of people, will demand a search for meat based on flavor and utility rather than just going to the shop for MEAT. Imagine knowing instinctively that a good hearty stew requires bull's meat.... oh, well, out of la la land and back to earth. At The Farm Shop we cut our stew meat into large pieces of 2-2.5 oz but for this recipe our Kabobs work best since we cut them in nice 4oz pieces. All of our stew meat is cut from the chuck or the round rather than scrap meat for a more consistent end result. As I mentioned in my last blog, please, please search out good quality black olives. I am not sure what is really in those cans of "black olives" but they don't belong in this stew.

This stew is exquisite served over fresh pasta but is also great spooned over rice or potatoes.

Gardiane La Camargue (La Camargue's Beef Stew with Black Olives)

4.5lbs grass fed stewing beef
5 garlic cloves
2-3 medium onions, Cut into rounds
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds
1 bottle full-bodied red wine such as Cotes-du-Rhone
2 tbs olive oil
2 sprigs thyme or 1/2 ts dried
3 imported bay leaves
1 cup oil-cured black olives, preferably from Nyons
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. One day before serving, combine the meat, garlic, onions, carrots and wine in a large non reactive bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, stirring once or twice.
2. Three hours before cooking, remove the meat from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Remove the meat from the marinade, drain well.
3. In a very large, heavy bottomed, non reactive casserole, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the meat and brown on all sides, working in several batches if necessary. Do not crowd the meat. Add the thyme, bay leaves and olives and season with salt and pepper. Pour the marinade ingredients over the meat. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and barely simmer, half covered, for 2 hours.
4. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Transfer the stew to a deep serving platter. Serve with rice, pasta or potatoes.
Serves 6

Organic Cooking: Stew, French Style

2009-12-30T06:19:00.000-08:00

Once winter sets in for long haul I head to the bookshelf for Patricia Wells' Bistro Cooking. It stays with me until the first of my veggies come out of the garden and I tend to let the garden dictate my meals. I first learned of this treasury of savory dishes from Chef Michelle Cook during one of her memorable Slow Food dinners. Several of us had, as usual, gathered at the beautiful home of Halsey and Michelle Cook for a night of conviviality in the truest sense: a night filled with the best food, wine and conversation. As was often the case at the Cooks', Michelle brought out the pasta press and made fresh pasta to accompany the two stew recipes from Bistro Cooking.

The first stew is Estouffade Provencale. The wonderful thing about this stew is that is so easy to make. It takes two - three days but the time involved is minimal. The second recipe is Gardiane La Camargue (La Camargue's Beef Stew with Black Olives).

Both recipes utilize the technique of letting the ingredients "stew" in red wine overnight which tenderizes the beef and blends all the flavors of the veggies. These recipes were likely made using bull's beef which would be tough but very flavorful and so the overnight treatment would leave the flavor intact but the beef would still be melt in your mouth tender.

Definitely try Michelle's treatment of the stew by spooning over fresh pasta and served with a good, full bodied wine. Also, please, try to find some good black olives as the recipe just doesn't have the same taste when canned olives are used.

Estouffade Provencale

2.5 lbs grass fed stew beef(cut in large pieces)
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
1 celery rib, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 bottle, 3 cups, hearty red wine
1 bunch fresh thyme
3 imported Turkish bay leaves (available at The Farm Shop)
1 strip of orange zest, about 2 inches, chopped

1. Two days before serving the stew, combine all of the ingredients, except the orange zest, in a large enameled casserole. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. The next day, bring the mixture to a simmer over low heat. Simmer gently, until the meat is very tender, 3-4 hours.
3. Allow the stew to cool down. Refrigerate at least 12 hours.
4. At serving time, reheat until the meat is heated through, 10-15 minutes. Adjust the seasonings. To serve, remove the bay leaves and the thyme, stir in orange zest.
Yield 8 servings when served over pasta

(Next post, Gardiane La Camargue)
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

A Warming Soup

2009-12-28T16:42:00.000-08:00

As the weather is colder and I have a freezer full of pumpkin puree (having roasted six already and two more in the cupboard!), I find myself making this delicious warm pumpkin soup weekly. Paired with a loaf of fresh bread and some cheese, it makes a good simple supper, or served with muffins and fruit it forms a hearty lunch.

Using spices like those in curry powder (cumin, turmeric, etc) is helpful in winter, as those tend to keep the sinuses clear! Many reports also suggest that these warming spices aid the immune system and promote good circulation. In any case, the soup itself is versatile and healthful and perfect for a frosty winter night!

Curried Pumpkin Soup

2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
2 Tablespoons curry powder
4 cups bone broth
4 cups pureed pumpkin or other squash puree
1 1/2 cups fresh milk
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sugar (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in large saucepan or soup pot. Whisk in flour and curry powder until blended and bubbly. Gradually whisk in broth until mixed and somewhat thickened. Add pumpkin and milk, stirring to warm. Add rest of ingredients and heat to desired warmth, serve.

Recipe modified from several sources, including recipes on AllRecipes.com, several cookbooks, and my mother's recollection of a soup she ate in Korea!

The Naturally Sick Child

2009-12-20T11:46:00.000-08:00

My family suffered waves of illness last week, and I found it difficult to maintain a natural/healthy approach. I had some turkey bone broth on hand which, when cooked up with spinach and barley, made a healthy and healing soup for upset tummies. I attempted to make my own saltine crackers from scratch, but that was a colossal fail. They turned out more like thin and tasteless wheaten biscuits. The kids still nibbled at them, and perhaps that is the point of saltines when sick anyway. I attempted to give my 2 year old and almost 4 year old mineral water, but they said it was "too spicy" so I did wind up getting some sprite instead even though it was loaded with sugar and who knows what else.

As this is cold and flu season, I hope I can keep lots of bone broth on hand in my freezer and maybe we can beat the next bug more quickly! In the meantime, I hope you have been staying healthy and enjoying the holidays!

Book Review - Roast Figs, Sugar Snow: Winter Food to Warm the Soul

2009-12-11T11:27:00.000-08:00

Roast Figs Sugar Snow: Winter Food to Warm the Soul is a beautiful cookbook full of warm and comforting recipes inspired by seasonal foods and the author's travels around Europe and America.

I most enjoyed the author's essays at the beginning of each section. Her ode to cheese is outstanding. The book also boasts wonderful food photography and a sprinkling of quotes from literature about winter food.

I appreciated the author's interpretation of traditional winter foods using interesting flavor combinations I would not have thought to try on my own. For example, I have never paired red cabbage with cranberries, nor have I thought of using parsnips as a mashed potato substitute. The recipes are all hearty and warming - this can in no way be construed as a dieting book - but a variety of ingredients and foods in season is a healthful way to eat and I think if you're willing to exercise moderation and portion control this cookbook would add a great variety to your winter cooking repretoire.

If you enjoy eating seasonal foods and trying new combinations of flavors, or even if you just like to read pretty cookbooks, I would highly recommend Roast Figs Sugar Snow.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Living a Thankful Life

2009-11-30T10:03:00.000-08:00

Last Friday my mother and I took my daughters to the mall to pick up a Christmas present. My three year old, who has only been to a mall a handful of times in her short life, was mesmerized by the Christmas decorations ("Mama! They have snow here and it's NOT REAL!!!") but I was more struck by how quickly my own attitude changed in the atmosphere of acquisition. The day before we had celebrated Thanksgiving together and yet as we walked through the mall I found my sense of gratitude slipping. As I looked at things I had not previously even wanted, I found myself thinking, "Wow, wouldn't life be great if I had...."

There is of course nothing inherently wrong with having nice things or buying Christmas presents, but I think spending too much time longing for more and more things can be the enemy of contentment and simple living. What do we really need? Where should our focus be during the holidays? Can we be thankful for the myriad blessings we have received without constantly coveting more?

We did have fun at the mall and I enjoyed observing my daughter's sense of wonder at the decorations, but most of all I'm glad for the little reminder that I need to cultivate an ongoing attitude of thanksgiving, not merely put it on the shelf until next year.

Book Review: Not So Fast

2009-11-25T06:15:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for tips and ideas on how to slow life down for your family, you might find Ann Kroeker's new book Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families
helpful. Even if your family has a fairly good handle on your pace and activity level, I think this book would be thought-provoking and useful in clarifying your vision and commitment to simple living. The end of every chapter includes a list of things you might consider or try to slow down and simplify in a given area, as well as testimonials from parents who have decided to live counter-culturally in terms of slowing down and cutting back on activities.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Thoughts for Monday

2009-11-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

"The hurried life loses its rhythm. It just pushes and pushes with no pauses, leaving barren souls, cluttered with activity but emptied of meaning."

-Ann Kroeker, in Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Another resource for seasonal eating

2009-11-20T18:57:00.000-08:00

If you don't already read it, may I recommend The Cooks Next Door? The authors (friends of mine) do a great job of highlighting what is in season and how to use it, reviewing cookbooks, talking about preserving foods, and offering fantastic recipes using fresh and natural ingredients.

I have tried several recipes from the website, including pumpkin butter that I made yesterday from another roasted pumpkin. Scrumptious.

What other resources do you use for eating what's in season?

The Early Turkey

2009-11-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

I cooked a turkey for the first time yesterday (I'm not sure what's going on with the wings, they are askew and it makes the turkey look like a cross between a bird and a crab!) and it was not terribly difficult, just time consuming! I used sage and rosemary from my mother-in-law's garden and we were quite pleased with the results. We are traveling for Thanksgiving this year so I wanted to cook a turkey just for my family in order to have meat and broth for the freezer.

If you get sick of turkey turkey turkey next weekend, remember you can freeze the cooked leftover meat in small pieces to use in soups and casseroles and the like later on. Pretty much any recipe that calls for chicken can be made with turkey instead.

Also don't forget to save the bones for bone broth! I have some simmering on my stove right now and it makes the whole house smell marvelous!

Organic Cooking: What's for breakfast?

2009-11-13T11:20:00.000-08:00

Looking for a way to use your pumpkin puree, raw milk yogurt, fresh ground flour, homemade vanilla, cage free eggs and real maple syrup? Try these delicious Pumpkin Yogurt Pancakes!

Pumpkin Yogurt Pancakes

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs from free range chickens
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons sugar or honey
2 cups pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plain yogurt made from raw milk

1. Sift or whisk flour, powder, soda, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, butter, and sugar, then add in pumpkin, vanilla and yogurt. Mix wet and dry ingredients together gently (don't overmix).

2. Pour or spoon batter onto a hot buttered griddle or pan, making circles or shapes as you prefer. After the top is bubbly, flip the pancake over and cook another minute or two.

Note: I mixed several recipes from different sources to come up with this one. I used homemade pumpkin puree, which is not as dense as canned, so if you use canned pumpkin, you might not get exactly the same results!

Bread in a pinch

2009-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Ideally we would always move with the rhythm of regular bread baking. Ideally we plan in advance and let our sponge rise properly and knead until we get the windowpane effect as Debbie so beautifully demonstrated. Ideally we get this accomplished in time to pack lunches.

Life is not always ideal.

My goal is to stay on top of baking so that we always have bread but never so much that it goes stale. Usually this works. Sometimes it doesn't.

If you're like me, every now and then you get up and pad down to your kitchen only to discover with horror that you don't have enough bread and your husband has to leave for work in 45 minutes. If you're like me, those are always the days when there aren't any good leftovers in the refrigerator and you were counting on packing him a sandwich.

Enter the no frills, cut all possible corners loaf of bread. It's not artisanal and it doesn't have the same excellent taste and texture as proper bread, but it is crazy fast and makes decent sandwiches or french toast in a pinch.

Easy Bread in a Pinch

(Note: this makes two loaves, you can half the recipe if you only need one.)

1. Dissolve 2 Tablespoons of yeast in 3 cups of warm water in your mixer bowl.
2. Add 1 Tablespoon of honey (or brown sugar, or sugar, etc) and 1 Tablespoon of salt, no need to mix in, just dump
3. Add 6 Tablespoons of oil
4. Add 6-7 cups of wheat flour (start low, then if the dough seems to sticky while mixing, add more)
5. Using your mixer's dough hook, mix and knead the bread for a few minutes until it seems like a smooth ball of dough
6. Divide the dough, shape into two loaves, and each loaf in a greased or buttered loaf pan. Cover with a tea towel and set on the counter someplace while you turn your oven to 400 degrees. The dough will rise a bit while the oven preheats. Trust me, this works.
7. Bake the bread for about 20-25 minutes or until it looks goldenish on top like bread looks when it's done.
8. Take the loaves out of the pans and cool on a wire rack with a tea towel draped over them to keep them from getting hard and dry.

Debbie is probably about to pass out from all the rules I broke making this bread, and PLEASE don't think I mean you should do this every day! I just figure if the choice is between my husband getting a homemade lunch or going out to eat, or me packing a picnic for the kids so we can go on an impromptu playdate without getting Happy Meals, this bread is healthier than the alternative.

Ideally y'all are too together to have those scrambling days like I do sometimes, but just in case it happens to you, now you know you can still bake homemade bread!

Eating the Decorations

2009-11-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about Autumn is that the seasonal food is excellent for decorating! I love to find interesting looking edible squash and use it to make my home look seasonal until I'm ready to use it to make my dinner taste seasonal. This year I found some really pretty little orange and yellow striped squash (pictured), and acorn squash in an unusual yellow and green pattern that mixed nicely with yellow spaghetti squash. I also procured a gigantic pumpkin that reigned autumnally on my kitchen island for a week or two before I finally got up the nerve to roast it.

Initially I planned to put the whole pumpkin in the oven, but it was nearly too heavy to lift and then I couldn't get the thing wedged into my oven all of a piece, so I resorted to cutting it in half and roasting it in shifts. After about an hour of roasting the pumpkin halves at 350 degrees, I let them cool and then peeled the skin off and pureed the pumpkin. I got FORTY cups of pumpkin puree from the effort! I've been told that puree from large pumpkins doesn't taste as "pumpkiny" as that from a can or from smaller pie pumpkins, however I found the puree I made did just fine in the pumpkin streusel muffins and savory pumpkin soup I have made from it so far. I haven't tried a pie, but pumpkin pie is not my favorite. I know, I'm weird.

If you have pumpkins or squash as part of your seasonal decor, don't forget to incorporate it into your menus before you move on to Christmas decorations! Of course, make sure it was EDIBLE squash that you purchased, not display gourds!

Book Review: Chez Panisse Cookbooks

2009-11-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

Cookbooks are always interesting to read because they spark the culinary imagination and give new recipes to try, but some go far beyond simple cookery and offer a wealth of information on food history, living by the seasons, eating locally, and natural health. The Chez Panisse series of cookbooks falls squarely into the latter category. Each book offers fantastic and useful information as well as recipes that range from simple to gourmet, all using fresh and flavorful ingredients in combinations that work seasonally. Available titles include Chez Panisse Vegetables, Chez Panisse Fruit, Chez Panisse Cooking, Chez Panisse Desserts, and many others.

These cookbooks are wonderful to have on hand if you're supporting local sustainable farming, because you'll be able to craft delicious recipes with foods and herbs that are in season at the same time. It's helpful to be able to structure menus around whole food in season and to pursue a goal of organic cooking with local foods.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Being Still

2009-10-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

I am the kind of person who always has to be doing something. I find it very difficult to just sit. Yet sometimes I think the simplest restorative measure to take in a life that is busy and full is just to be still. Today I sat with my children and we listened to the autumn rain falling on the leaves. We watched the raindrops trickle down the glass of our patio door in interesting patterns. It was peaceful.

What helps you to slow down and savor the world around you?

Organic Cooking: Making Bone Broth

2009-10-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

I try to keep four types of broth in the freezer so that no matter what I want to make I have the right stock. For the less nerdy of us, beef and veal broth are great to have on hand because veal broth can be used for chicken and lamb. Veal broth is the most nutritious of all stocks because of the higher amounts of collagen which add tons of gelatin and makes the most wonderfully rich stock. If you don't believe me check out this blog for a humorous take on veal stock (also the pictures of stock making are great).

Well back to stock making. Here is the basic recipe:

Organic Cooking: Bone Broth

1. Bones -- raw bones, with or without skin and meat, from poultry, beef, lamb or veal - use a whole carcass or just parts (good choices include feet, ribs, necks and knuckles)

2. Water -- start with enough cold water to just cover the bones or 2 cups water per 1 pound bones

3. Vinegar -- 2 tablespoons apple cider, red or white wine, rice or balsamic vinegar per 1 quart water or 2 pounds bones - lemon juice may be substituted for vinegar (citric acid instead of acetic acid)

4. Vegetables (optional) -- peelings and scraps like ends, tops and skins or entire vegetable
celery, carrots, onions, garlic and parsley are the most traditionally used, but any will do

(if added towards the end of cooking, mineral content will be higher)

Recipe

Combine bones, water and vinegar in a pot, let stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour, bring to a simmer, remove any scum that has risen to the top, reduce heat and simmer (6-48 hrs for chicken, 12-72 hrs for beef). To reduce cooking time, you may smash or cut bones into small pieces first. If desired, add vegetables in last 1/2 hour of cooking (or at any point as convenience dictates).

Strain through a colander or sieve, lined with cheesecloth for a clearer broth. Discard the bones. If uncooked meat was used to start with, reserve the meat for soup or salads.

An easy way to cook broth is to use a crockpot on low setting. After putting the ingredients into the pot and turning it on, you can just walk away. If you forget to skim the impurities off, it's ok, it just tastes better if you do. If you wish to remove the fat for use in gravy, use a gravy separator while the broth is warm, or skim the fat off the top once refrigerated. Cold broth will gel when sufficient gelatin is present. Broth may be frozen for months or kept in the refrigerator for about 5 days.

Traditional Bone Broth - Food or Medicine?

2009-10-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

When the cold weather creeps in it is time for me to make broth. The warmth and nourishment seem to fit well with my quest toward natural and seasonal living. I used my last quart of beef broth last week for the sensational, crowd pleasing Shepherds Pie (recipe forthcoming). Something in me just doesn't feel right when there is no stock in the freezer. I have had the severe misfortune some years ago of depleting my stock of stock and being forced to resort to store bought "stock". What an ordeal! What salty, tasteless, flat squalor!

I normally put up at least 52 quarts of bone both broth throughout the winter, one for each week but after reading the article by Traditional bone broth in modern health and disease by Allison Siebecker I may have to double that amount. Her article describes in detail the benefits of bone broth as well as explaining each component of bone broth and its benefits. Here is her list of ailments that are benefited by broth: aging skin, allergies, anemia, anxiety, asthma, atherosclerosis, attention deficit, bean maldigestion, brittle nails, carbohydrate maldigestion, Celiac Disease, colic, confusion, constipation, dairy maldigestion, delusions, dental degeneration, depression, detoxification, Diabetes, diarrhea, fatigue, food sensitivities, fractures, Gastritis, grain maldigestion, heart attack, high cholesterol, hyperactivity, hyperchlorhydria (reflux, ulcer), hyperparathyroidism (primary), hypertension, hypochlorhydria, hypoglycemia, immunodepression, increased urination, infectious disease, inflammation, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis), insomnia, intestinal bacterial infections, irritability, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Jaundice, joint injury, Kidney stones, leaky gut, loss of appetite, meat maldigestion, memory, muscle cramps, muscle spasms, muscle wasting, muscle weakness, Muscular Dystrophy, nausea, nervousness, Osteoarthritis, Osteomalacia, Osteoporosis, pain, palpitations, Periodontal Disease, pregnancy, rapid growth, restlessness, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Rickets, seizure, shallow breathing, stupor, virility, vomiting, weakness, weight loss due to illness, wound healing.

Broth is one of those foods that have been around for centuries and due to our overly busy schedules we have let fall by the wayside, imagining hours of straining and stirring. Nothing could be further from the truth. Stock making can be an easy and enjoyable part of natural and seasonal living, if you remember a few key tips.

1. Always use bones from healthy animals
2. The longer you simmer, the more you will pull from the bones
3. Don't boil the stock - just let it gently simmer - don't let it go over 200-220 F
4. Don't leave the lid on the pot
5. Use only organic vegetables
6. Try to use a variety of bones for their different properties

Homemade Bread Baking 101

2009-10-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

I have been grinding grain and making whole wheat bread for 15 years and throughout the years I have learned many, many lessons. I believe these tips will work for bread no matter whether you use freshly ground flour or store bought flour but the comment I get over and over is "how do I make my whole wheat bread less of a brick" so the emphasis will be on helping with whole wheat breads.

A few beginning pointers to help you no matter which recipe you use:

1. Allow the yeast to grow with 1/3 - 1/2 of the flour before adding other ingredients

2. Don't add the other ingredients until the sponge has fallen

3. Don't add the oil, honey and salt directly to the yeast mixture - buffer with more flour

4. Use the window test to determine if the dough has been kneaded sufficiently

5. Use the log method to shape the loaf

6. Use a thermometer to test for doneness

4 Loaves of Whole Wheat Bread

(Note: If you are using anything other than a Bosch Universal to knead your bread cut the amounts in half to make 2 loaves instead of 4.)

Put 6 cups of flour, 5 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of instant yeast in a mixing bowl. Mix for a couple of minutes to incorporate. Shut the mixer off and let the yeast grow in the flour and water mixture (sponge) for at least 30 minutes but I have found that if you leave it until it begins to "fall" then the yeast is ready to jump into action and you will get a lighter loaf. Here you can see the dough at full rise in the bowl

In the second picture, hopefully you can see that once the yeast has expired the sponge will deflate.

Once this occurs I add another 6 cups of flour and make sure that all the sponge is covered by the flour to buffer the yeast from the rest of the ingredients. Salt, oil and honey mixed directly with the yeast can cause the barrier of the yeast cells to break and the yeast dehydrates and dies.

I then add 2/3 up honey, 2/3 cup olive oil and 4 ts Celtic sea salt and mix just to incorporate. Add more flour and mix very briefly until you can see that the sides of the bowl are being cleaned up. I usually use around 14 cups of flour total but that will change with the weather. If it is raining I use more. Also the type of flour you use will make a big difference. This takes practice to know just when the dough had had enough flour added but the more you make bread, the keener your intuition will become.

Once I have the correct amount of flour in the mix I knead on med for a full 10 minutes. I then take out a small amount of dough, about the size of walnut, and work it a bit to stretch it out. This is called "making a window" and you should be able to see the strands of gluten developed and the dough will not break. This is your sign that the bread has been sufficiently kneaded. If you try to stretch the dough and it breaks, continue to knead for a couple minutes and try again.Oil a straight sided container with oil and place your dough into the container to rise. A container with marking is best so that you can tell when it has doubled in size. When the dough has doubled punch it down a let it rest for approximately 10 minutes. This makes shaping the dough easier. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and cover with a towel.

When shaping a bread loaf I like to flatten the dough with my hand into a long rectangle and roll the dough into a log. I think this makes for the lightest loaf. It is important to seal the edges by pinching the seams. Place seam side down in an oiled pan.

Allow the bread to rise to about 1 1/2 times its size or until the top of the bread is even with the top of the pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for about 30 minutes. The best way to know if your bread is done is to insert a thermometer. The bread is ready when you get a reading of 190-200 F.

Turn the loaf out onto a rack and allow to cool. Cutting the bread while it is hot is not recommended as it ruins the texture of the bread and is not good for the tummy either!