|
Thursday, January 24, 2013
January Newsletter
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Chicken For the Week
Chicken Foil Packs
One of our most frequently asked questions about cooking the meat in the share is "What should I do with the chicken?" I was having that conversation with a new member recently when another member offered a GREAT idea! Rachel very generously took the time to write her method up, so I can share it with all of you...enjoy!
This works well with a half chicken on the bone. If I only have a whole I'll cut it in half. I'll do up to three at a time and season them all differently. May need to cook a bit longer if oven is really full. I'll do this on a Sunday afternoon or evening since I'm generally puttering around the kitchen anyway.
Place chicken on large square of tinfoil. Season as desired then wrap the foil up around the chicken with a small vent at the top. As if it were a crab rangoon or purse dumpling. Bake in the oven at about 375 for 45mins to 1hr depending on size of chicken. I pierce with a knife at the joint and make sure juices run clear to check it's done. All the juice is staying in that foil pouch anyway so you're not loosing moisture. Allow chicken to cool in foil pouch. Close foil over top so it's sealed and store in fridge until you want to eat it. Shred off the bone and you're done. Great for pastas, stir fry or fry rice, salads, soup, tacos - anything in a South American vein works well.
Notes- You will never get crispy skin doing this. But you will get fat and moisture. I just peel the skin off before I shred the meat. Also, the juices and fat will congeal at the bottom of the foil packet. I'll heat that gel up in a pan and use that instead of oil or butter if I'm reheating the chicken. That gel adds yummy flavor to pasta sauces, too. You can leave seasoning large - whole garlic cloves, a whole chipotle pepper etc because they are in such cozy quarters with the chicken so the flavor will permeate and be lovely. A lot of those larger seasonings can be added to the end dish.
These are my favorite seasonings for the pouches...all plus salt, pepper and a little rub of oil.
Half a lemon, big sprigs of rosemary and/or thyme or a good TBSP of dry herbs, and whole, peeled garlic cloves.
Lots of grated ginger, sesame oil, Chinese 5 spice and a big squirt of Sriracha.
Packet of taco seasoning, a halved lime, and a TSP of adobo sauce.
Olives, sun dried tomatoes (fresh tomatoes do not do well!), and a TSP of dried tarragon. Reconstitute it all with some white wine and add the shredded chicken for a very yummy pasta sauce.
Hope you like it! I was finding myself putting off making the chicken because I didn't have time in the evenings. This makes life so much easier.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Looking Ahead to 2013
CVSF 2013 Living,
Learning, and Leading
What’s going on…on
and off the farm?
In 2013, we are refocusing on our core – Family, Community,
and CVSF.
As many of you know we are trying to purchase this farm…that
process is ongoing. We’re finding that this entails MANY moving parts. To
borrow a relationship term, it’s complicated. We’re persevering while staying
open to other paths to securing our farming future. Long-term land tenure is a
HUGE issue across agriculture and an area of common ground between conventional
and sustainable producers. Through his position on the Illinois Local, Food,
Farms, and Jobs Council, Jody hopes to influence policy that addresses the
whole while learning ways to solve our very small piece. We’ll keep you posted.
On the 19th, CVSF will partner with our hosts at
Wine Styles in Naperville for a tasting. We hope to have additional tasting
events at our other sites throughout the year. On the 28th we’ll headline
the North Center neighborhood CSA
Night at Begyle Brewing –
a new brewer that offers a beer CSA. March 2nd takes us back to the Hideout for a Farmer Talent Show and
CSA Fair. On March 16th will be at UIC for the Good Food Festival. Along with
Peasants Plot and Radical Root farms, we’ll staff the CSA Info – Ask a Farmer
Booth.
We are working on our presentation materials for the
education events we have next month, and we’re excited to be taking the whole
family to the Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference at the end of February;
and presenting there for the first time. It’s so nice to fill our heads with
new ideas while connecting with so many friends who are working so hard to
change the world. Plus, the boys get to hang out with friends and play in the
indoor pool!
All this activity is to grow the farm and the CVSF business.
To that end, we will add a delivery site in the NW Suburbs. Look for details in
our February newsletter. We hope to have a site up and going by the time we do
our March CSA events. Last fall we made the decision to either add a farmers
market or a delivery site to grow. It seemed saner to add a site than another
farmers market, so that’s what we’re doing. We’ll continue our June through
October schedule at the Logan Square Farmers Market.
In the past few months, Beth has lost two cousins -men whom
we wish we’d known better. We've decided that funerals should not be the sole
event that reconnects a family. A reunion is being planned. In March, we’ll be sending Duncan to Texas to
stay with Jody’s parents for a couple of weeks. Richard did this a couple of
years ago, and it continues a tradition of a grandchild (Duncan will be the
sixth of seven) getting to spend special time with them.
Richard continues to play club soccer for the Chicago Magic.
He and Duncan are teaming up for an entry in the Destination Imagination
competition this spring. Beth is their coach mentor. Jack starts basketball at the YMCA this week;
and Jody is looking forward to coaching all three boys in a spring soccer
league. Richard and Duncan will be on the same team for the first time!
The family is making good use of their winter Y membership
and staying active. Jody is training for a half-marathon in April and will
return to the Spartan Race in July. Several 5k races (in delivery
neighborhoods) are planned as well.
In the office/at the computer Beth is working on redesign of
our website and is creating our new blog site, Opinionated Peasants. Look for
news of its debut next month. Jody is working hard at getting some great
content written for that venture. Don’t be surprised if he sends out a request
for a guest post now and again!
On the farm we’re increasing our pig herd, we may add a
couple of cows, and we’ll be training a new set of livestock guardian dogs (to
back fill our current pack) and adopt out a working pair to another farm. One of our females, Sasha, had pups a few
weeks ago. Also, we’ll continue our regular chicken and egg production. That
has, happily, has become routine – as long as we keep getting good help, of
course.
Whew! Here’s to a productive 2013 for all of us!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
2012 Highlights
2012 Highlights
Throughout the year, an ongoing highlight was bringing great meat to you, our wonderful members. We could not do any of this without you and we want to say thanks, as always for making what we do possible. We didn't become farmers because we were activists, but we've become activists because we see the need for more farmers, more infrastructure and more consumers w
ho have access to good clean and fair food.
Winter 2012
In January we added 3 new delivery locations, at the Lakeview and Edgewater locations of Uncommon Ground Restaurant and in south suburban Frankfort.
Jody and Duncan attended the MOSES conference in Feb. and had a great time hanging out with friends (and I think Jody went to some workshops too :-) Jody accepted a leadership position on the board of the IL Food Farms & Jobs Council.
Spring 2012
The whole family had a great time at the InHome (homeschool) conference in March. And later that month Beth traveled to Memphis to speak at the National Women in Agriculture Education conference. While she was gone Jody & the boys went to Springfield to participate in Illinois Stewardship Council's annual Local Food Lobby Day.
In April our meat chickens began arriving, launching us into the annual busyness that is know here as "Chicken Season"
In May Jody helped select grant recipients for the first annual FACT Fund-a-Farmer grants. (Deciding among worthy projects to give money to is tough work, but fun!)
Summer 2012
June brought more of the usual...more deliveries, more chickens, more soccer, more heat...repeat.
Then July - Inn Serendipity Reunion *YEAH*! Our annual 4th of July trip to spend a few days visiting friends, camping, and generally relaxing. Thanks to our FANTASTIC staffer Justin, we were able to be away and know that the animals were well cared for, even in the extreme heat. July was also notable for Richard's week in Chicago, interning at the Field Museum (made possible by members Barbara & Neal).
August saw Duncan go to his first sleep away camp (Mom was more worried about it then he was.), LOTS more heat, and very little rain. The drought's impact on our farm was mitigated by a great deal of extra work keeping chickens supplied with cool water. It was a tough summer, but overall we did OK.
Fall 2012
September brought the VERY EXCITING news that Beth would get to attend Terra Madre as a delegate.
In November the family spent a day at the Chicago Toy & Game Show, where Duncan participated in the Young Inventor's Challenge. We had a great time, and got a jump on Christmas shopping!
Finally, December found us presenting to the State-line Farm Beginnings class and participating in Illinois Stewardship Alliance's annual meeting.
As always, a busy, hectic, fun filled, fulfilling year!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Dear reader: what do you want to know about sustainable farming?
.......and more specifically, what would you like to know as it pertains to meat?
Please post your questions as a comment.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Terra Madre.. Why a donate button?
In my last post, I spoke of Beth's impending trip to Terra Madre and included a "Donate Now" PayPal button to help raise some money to defray some of the costs of the trip.
Some readers may ask "Why ask for money?" "It's your choice to go, shouldn't you pay for it?" Indeed, these are questions that Beth wrestled with in making the decision on whether or not to go to Terra Madre. The fact that Slow Food Chicago is already footing a good part of the bill made Beth hesitate to pass the hat herself.
But... the funds from Slow Food Chicago exist because of their fundraising. They raise money to send local food leaders to Terra Madre because it is important that their community is represented by articulate, knowledgeable, and passionate food producers that understand the issues of our region, AND because those leaders will use what they learn in Italy to further the Slow Food cause when they get home. Beth is such a leader...and why she was chosen as a delegate.
Beth will represent the Slow Food community at Terra Madre. She will, also, represent the Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm community. Although there are definitely intersections of the two, we decided it was appropriate to allow the CVSF community to be able to support Beth's efforts as well. After all, isn't that what our agriculture is all about?
Monday, September 17, 2012
Terra Madre Redux
Okay... So back in the spring Beth and I each applied to be delegates to Slow Food's biennial conference in Torino, Italy. Beth was selected as an alternate - I unfortunately didn't make the cut at all.
Beth viewed her "alternate" status as a pretty firm "no" as who would give up a trip to northern Italy? As the busyness of spring and summer on the farm and at the farmers market and at soccer practices and various points in between, we pretty much forgot about Terra Madre.
Well.......
.... about a month ago, Beth received word that spaces for alternates had opened up, and we had to make a decision about whether or not she would take one and go.
For me it was a no-brainer, "You're going!"
Beth went back and forth for about 24 hours weighing the pros and cons of going. With overwhelming support of family, friends, and farming colleagues the pros soon outweighed the cons - by a long shot.
Never the less, learning about an international trip with just 8 weeks notice adds some logistical and scheduling challenges -farm chores still need to get done, kids need to be fed, clothed, etc, and markets attended - as well as some financial decisions..,.
Although the Chicago Slow Food chapter is very generously providing much of the funding for the trip there will undoubtedly be additional costs. A rough estimate is that the trip will cost about $600 above the support from Slow Food Chicago. We've been saving for a family trip this fall and can reallocate those funds to Terra Madre and just delay our family trip until spring.
Another thought is to raise some of the money from our community of farm supporters, hence the Pay Pal donate button below. For everyone who donates and provides a mailing address, Beth will send a postcard from Torino. Beth will blog about her trip; and we are brainstorming ideas of how she can share her story with supporters when she returns. A "farm dinner" is one of the primary ideas at this point; of course we are open to suggestions!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Crock Pot Packs
A couple of weeks ago I saw an idea going around Pinterest that looked interesting, make ahead crock pot meals. I liked it! I love using the crock pot, it's almost like someone else made dinner, and I often cook things like spaghetti sauce and soup in big batches to put some in the freezer. So I decided to give it a go.
First stop, gather the ingredients. I started with recipes from a couple of different sites (although I never follow recipes exactly, these are pretty close to what I did).
I made a total of 5 different recipes from these two sites:
http://www.ringaroundtherosies.net/2012/02/freezer-cooking.html
http://mamaandbabylove.com/2011/04/05/freezer-cooking-with-slow-cooker-recipes/
I made Teriyaki Chicken, Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken, Peppers & Sausage, Beef Fajita, and Cilantro Lime Chicken. (These all link to the blogs where the recipes are, you'll have to scroll down each page to the right spot.)
Next it was time to do the prep. This is the step that makes this worthwhile. It took me about an hour and a half to wash, peel and chop everything, which is quite a while, but now I don't have to do that each time I want to start a meal in the slow cooker.
It took about another hour to make sauces and assemble the bags. Regardless of the recipes (told you I didn't follow them exactly!) I did not add any of the meat. I just put in the veggies, sauces and seasonings for each meal into a ziplock freezer bag and labeled each.
I use our meat, of course, so that means no boneless, tasteless chicken breasts, but the recipes work great with whole or half chickens in the crock pot. It just means that when you serve them you're pulling the meat off the bones. (We usually just do it as we eat, but you could bone the chicken and put the meat back in the pot before you serve.)
Finally, the clean up. It looked bad, but really only took about half an hour. All together I prepared 10 meals in about 3 hours. That works out to about 18 minutes per home-made, veggie-filled, processed-food-free meal! It takes just a few minutes to put the meal in the slow cooker and dinner time clean up is easy too, just one pot.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
U is for Uncommon Ground
Uncommon Ground (locations in Lakeview and Edgewater) is the creation of Helen and Mike Cameron.
I met Helen at the Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) roll-out party for their Healthy and Humane Farms Funds grant project, and found that Helen is just about as passionate about local foods and sustainable farming as we are at CVSF.
Uncommon Ground now hosts a monthly meat CSA drop off at each location. In May, CVSF will provide meat for a Slow Food dinner that will raise money to send delegates to Terra Madre this fall - hopefully Beth and I will be two of thos delegates.
As you can see our community continues to grow!
T is for Tokarz
Andrew Tozarz in tradtional shepherd attire.
Just a couple of years into our farming experience, Beth and I were nearly burnt out, and we considered throwing in the towel and going back to our more conventional careers. Starting any business is stressful and time-consuming. Starting a diverse, sustainable, farm in a sea of corn and soybeans is that, plus it's lonely and isolating.
An early frost, ended our second season of vegetable CSA a couple of weeks early. To be perfectly honest, we were glad of it. That's how exhausted and discouraged we were. Fortunately, we didn't quit. Rather we regrouped and registered for our first farming conference - a CSA conference in Michigan. Although we'd beeen growing a Community Supported Agriculture business for two years and had cultivated a community of eaters, we hadn't tapped into a community of farmers.
Still, in our part of Illinois, sustainable farms are few and far between and staying connected in our busyness is not always easy - but it's the connections that keep us going. Over beers one night during the winter of 2008, Larry O'Toole and I concieved the North Central Illinois Farmer Network (aka greenfarmers) to make it easy for farmer like us to connect and support one another.
So, we started a Yahoo group and invited all the sustainable farmers within a 1 1/2 hour drive to meet at a independent coffee shop in Joliet, IL, which was a central location. We asked everyone to share the invite as widely as they could. One of the farmers that came to that first meeting was Andrew Tokarz.
Andrew lives in Chicago, but he and a group of entrepreneurial Poles operate a cooperative sheep farm in Lemont, Illinois. The members of the group take turns at the farm caring for everyone's sheep (most have other jobs in the city). Andrew's enterprise is dairy sheep (& amazing sheep-milk cheeses) and Polish Tatras (a rare breed of livestock guardian dogs).
Jody with our guardian dogs - Sasha, Sophie, & Harry
Beth with Sasha.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
S is for SOCCER!
At Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm our farm revolves around food and soccer.
Richard in goal.
Sometimes I'm sure which one takes precedence. If you ask our boys, soccer wins hands down. It started a few years ago with Richard in a six week long YMCA indoor league (Jody coached). Since it's grown into a nearly year round endeavor. Last fall Richard joined a travel soccer club that trains 11 months out of the year - he gets July off.
Duncan (with his game face on).
Of course, Richards brother, Duncan, followed in his footsteps and started playing two years ago. Last Spring I coached Richard's junior high spring league team - CVSF sponsored the team as well.
Mendota team picture.
Earlville team picture
Duncan at practice.
Jack's first practice.
Monday, April 23, 2012
R is for Richard
Richard starting the 2nd half of a 3-0 Magic victory.
Richard is our oldest, and the only child that remembers our lives before moving to the farm. Fortunately, Richard doesn't pine for the the suburbs having become a true farm-kid. Although not as much for an impromptu hike in the woods as his brothers, Richard loves the wide-open spaces of the farm.
And, although a committed carnivore/omnivore, Richard has deep empathy for our farm animals. If one is hurt or sick, Richard is the first to help. One of our new feeder pigs recently suffered from a rectal prolapse (a very rare occurance where part of the intestine comes outside due to a genetically linked weakness). Richard was the one to help catch it and get it to "hospital" quarters for treatment and recovery. I'm happy to report that the pig has recovered and is back with his mates. When an animal dies (a rarity), Richard grieves the most.
The farm is not Richard's first priority - that would be soccer (see picture above). About a year ago, he asked if he could play soccer in college. When Beth and I had confirmed that Richard was serious and committed, we researched area Richard tried out for and was accepted by the Chicago Magic. We, also, learned that travel soccer is not cheap. Since last summer, Richard has worked in our meat chicken operation and at farmers markets and deliveries for about 150 hours above his normal chores as his contribution to his club dues. He will do so again this season as well. We are ernormously proud of Richard's commitment to his soccer dreams as well as being an integral part of our farm.
Richard getting some well earned lounge-time.
Indoor surfing
Self-portrait.
Q is for (Pat) Quinn
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn
I've mentioned in previous posts that I am a member of the Illinois Local, Food, Farms, and Jobs Council. Council members are appointed by the governor, so I've got a big official certificate signed by the governor.
In reality, I've had more contact with Lt. Governor Sheila Simon as she chairs the Governor's Rural Affairs Council and as such has taken an interest in the Food Council's work.
Lt. Governor Sheila Simon meeting with local food advocates.
Last spring, she hosted a group of local food advocates, after the Illinois Stewardship Alliance sponsored Local Food Awareness Day in Springfield which the whole Osmund family attended.
Lt. Governor with Beth and Jack
Thursday, April 19, 2012
P is for picking up chicks
Our first group of chicks of the season arrive at the farm today!
(Beth is off to pick them up at the post office and will post pics of the process of introducing them to their new home.)
Our chicken season begins with a pre-dawn (5:15 a.m.) call from the local post office letting us know that our chicks have arrived. Yes, just-hatched chicks are sent through the U.S. mail (this practice began in the early part of the 20th century). Security concerns following the 9-11 attacks threatened this practice, but small farmers, backyard chicken keepers, and hatcheries across the country made thousands of calls to their representatives to preserve this tradition - not to mention a lot of jobs.
Our van backed in to the loading dock at the post office.
The chicken boxes on the post office cart.
Because we pick up hundreds of chicks at a time, we just go to the back of the post office and collect the chicks from the loading dock. We've done this for a number of years, so the post office employees know us well. When Beth picked up this morning they asked, "Where are your helpers?" One or two of our boys usually ride along when we pick up the chicks. They were at grandma and granpa's house this morning.
Beth taking a couple boxes of chicks from the van.
Today's order was for 800 meat birds. That's eight boxes (100 chicks each)! As it gets hotter, the number of chicks per box will decrease. Day old chicks need to be at about 90 degrees. Hatcheries gauge packing density by predicted temperatures during shipping and are amazingly good at keeping chicks healthy. In nearly ten years of getting chicks in the mail, we've only had one bad experience - this happened when there was a sudden spring cold snap during transport.
Beth taking chicks into the brooder.
Since we've been brooding our chicks in six sided steel boxes four years ago, we've not lost any chicks to predation during brooding! Thanks Frontera Farmer Foundation for funding this project, it has certainly been successful.
A box of chicks ready to get out.
Jody showing the chicks their waterer.
When chicks arrive it is critical that they get water. We hand-dip each chick's beak into the water bowl, so they get a drink and know where the water is.
Jody demonstrating how to hold a chick safely.
Chicks at the water bowl.
A box of chicks is almost as cute as a box of kittens!
Here are chicks discovering the feeder.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)