November Newsletter

All Around the Farm:

As I mulched strawberries with one of the girls yesterday I realized just how blessed and thankful I am.  Yes, it's Thanksgiving, and this is the time where we share what we are grateful for.  I am grateful for many things, but none of our farming dreams would be a reality right now if it were not for customers like you that buy the sustainable products that we raise and thereby sustaining our family.  What a win-win! Thank you for your business and we are grateful to call many of you friends. Harvest time is always a very exciting time!  It is so satisfying to reap the fruits of not only our spring & summer labor, but also our winter planning, budgeting, learning and dreaming. As much as I love seeing the new life emerge in the spring, it is fulfilling to see the crops and many of the animals finish the season.  We are looking forward to the slightly slower pace of winter planning, although along with the cold comes frozen fingers at chore time!

Kissing a goat through the front door window.

Pedro our new donkey! He protects the calves in the pasture from predators.

Bryce putting the turkeys "to bed" in their pasture pen. They are now in the freezer;)

Beef Availability:

We have sampler boxes and custom orders available for early December deliveries/pick up. If you need meat for your holiday parties, now is the time! Please let me know ASAP if you would like to claim one of these quarters.  If you are looking for a box or custom order please let me know by December 7th, but depending on demand our inventories may get low again, so the sooner you can order your Christmas party beef the better. 

Place your order now for early January pick up or delivery.  At this time we have sides, quarters, samplers and custom orders available for January.  Based on the size of our steers right now it looks like we will have limited availability until early spring. If you will need some quality beef before March/April think about placing an order for our December or January deliveries. 

Enjoy a Couple of our Favorite Holiday Recipes:

Swedish Meatballs (Kottbullar):

OK, so this family has strong Norwegian ties not Swedish...sorry!...but, we are gluten free these days and have found some recipes to be even better than the original gluten filled versions.  This is a great party appetizer (I double this recipe and make the meatballs fairly small) just put some cute party toothpick next to the dish and everyone is happy!

Christmas Prime Rib Roast:

I'm not classy enough (nor am I French) to have known what Herbes De Provence was, so here's the recipe for that as well!

• Your cooking times will vary depending on the size of your prime rib roast. To calculate your cooking time, multiply the exact weight of the roast by 5. Round the resulting number to the nearest whole number. The rib is cooked at 500 degrees F for exactly that many minutes. For example, for a 6 pound roast: 6x5=30, so cooking time is 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and wait 2 hours before opening the oven door. Remove the prime rib and slice into the most perfectly medium-rare meat you've ever seen. ~tip taken from Chef John at the Food Wishes Blog

Rib Eye Steak with Sun-Dried Tomato:

Make a marinade of:

1 Cup Olive Oil

Juice from 1 lemon

1 T dried basil

1 T dried oregano

ground pepper and salt to taste

Marinade 4 large rib eye steaks and refrigerate for at least an hour. 

Cook steaks:

Pre-heat skillet (I love to use an iron skillet) with a generous bit of olive oil

Cook steaks for 5-9 minutes each side depending on size of steaks and your preference.  I always have a meat thermometer available to make sure meat is at least 140 f.

Top steaks:

Mix a topping of 1 jar sun dried tomato in olive oil, 1 cup canned artichoke hearts, add 1/2 cup green olives if you enjoy them. 

Don't stop enjoying steak just because grilling season is over...get out a skillet and treat your family to a great steak dinner!

Thanksgiving wishes from our family to yours!

Jen & Bryce and kids

Kissing Goats

Someone once said "If you throw a bucket of water at a fence and the water gets through so will a goat."  I believe it! We have had Misty and Princess pretty well contained with the cattle...after all, they think they are cows now.  When the guys sort cattle though our little goat friends turn into opportunists and sneak out to their favorite spot on the farm...our porch!  I just thought this picture was to cute not to share!