Pandemic and butchers

I usually am an obsessive planner about somethings. I hate doing a meal plan for the week but I do schedule our animals with our butcher way ahead of time. Many years ago there was a surge in need for butchers in the area, i think another had shut down so put many farmers in a bind. We had luckily scheduled our animals that year already but were locked into those dates with NO chance of any change for MONTHS. We had pigs that were so big because we had to keep them 2 months past the time we would have normall butchered them. I learned a serious lesson then.

Most years I schedule our beef to be processed 6-12 months ahead of time. If i get lucky I can adjust those dates but not usually. It means sometimes our animals could have been grazing longer and getting larger but we have no choice. It’s a lot of guess work and stress.

What if some pigs aren’t big enough or too big- doesn’t matter we can’t change our dates.

In 2020 I called our butcher in February to schedule ever beef we planned to butcher this year.

I also scheduled 3 groups of pigs, some we didn’t even HAVE on the farm or even born yet.

Good thing I did because by mid March our butcher was swamped with calls from farmers all over to get animals in to be butchered ASAP or during the year. A large beef butcher in the area also shut down last summer so there is a serious need.

THEN as those huge processors to the west of NY started shutting down and meat supply was dropping in stores those animals were often killed and burried or burned. Some were shipped east and either the farmers or the companies bought up or bribed there way into USDA processors all over the east coast. We know farmers who have had their scheduled dates cancelled until 2021 leaving them with NO WAY to process their animals or make a living. This is FACT and what you don’t hear on any news program.

Some farmers found non-usda butchers and some found those were also booked up or not answering their phones.

It gets worse and this makes me so mad and disgusted.

Typically a farm/ranch/Feeding operation/contractor raises the animals by the hundreds or thousands for a processor (think of any big meat selling label at the grocery store). Those contractors raise X amount of animals each week to be X size. Anything outside that size is a loss of income to them. So much of meat processing is automated or based on size that they can’t deal with outside those parameters.

So they are butchering/processing THOUSANDS of animals A DAY. Pandemic hits and they are not protecting their employees for a virus spread in the air, hundreds of workers per plant are now sick or spreading it to other unknowingly or knowingly but they dont’ have options. Plants are forced to shut down. Animals are now in limbo. Farmers literally have no room for them since as some leave more take up that space. Some are just killed and destroyed. Some enterprising people ship them east and screw up our farmers by taking up butcher slots. Some ship truckloads of younger animals to auction houses all over and sell them at rock bottom prices. We saw so many pink pigs being sold all over for so little and farmers buying them like crazy. Now those farmers have found out they can’t get them butchered any time in 2020. Imagine that.

BUT it’s another sick twisted thing too……….. All over socila media in livestock groups were people who bought those animals so cheap are now having them die or so sick they are put down. Most with respiratory diseases from the stress of travel or just not in climate controlled barns they came from.

I know farmers locally who usually call the butcher in July to have animal butchered in a few weeks or a month, now they can’t. One guy had 50 pigs he needed butchered and not one butcher available in 4 states. Some are resorting to processing their own animals if they have the equipment some are just left with no idea what to do. That meat is their income and now they can’t make money and risk losing their farm.

Is there a shortage of USDA butchers in the area, maybe there is. Right now there is. There are so many regulations that stop anyone from building a USDA butcher facility that few want to open one.

It’s a mess and no end in sight.

Yes our animals have dates and our butcher thankfully is honoring it’s committment to us and we now need to find a way to say thank you to them. Got an idea?

Summer heat

160 round bales are put up in the barn. It was a super first cutting considering we only got in 175 last year total. So we are way ahead of the game. Kind nice when something in this world is going okay.

We had a hot dry spell, then some recent rain and now more hot dry days.

Our shelling peans are getting ready to pick and now i’m adding irrigation to them so the peas stay sweet and tender. This means more juggling of time to irrigate everything that needs it. Lettuce is always a priority then carrots and peas.

We finished up harvesting the greenhouse carrots and next week should be able to start on the outdoor first planting for sweet carrots.

Peas and bean and zucchini are coming on. Cucumbers are never my best crop and this year they are just slackers taking their time putting on fruit.

Cam is getting in the last planting of sweet corn. Silver King. That should be ready in September but it' looks good for our first harvest to be in early August.

the beef herd is done having calves 5 girls and 5 boys for the year.

The piggies are now divided into 3 groups. One group is the last born on the farm and we will be retaining 2 of the femailes to restart the breeding program here. The other groups were purchased and grow so differently than our genetics. All look good but some are lazy some are escapees and some are just busy digging holes all over like pigs are prone to do.

May 7th, update

Our beef is sold out for 2020. All of it is spoken for. If you are regular customer of ours and looking for beef email us to be put on the waiting list.

Pork- we can still take orders for whole, half and 30 pound packs of pork for September and October.

You have to pay a deposit to hold your order and deposits are not refundable in any way for any reason.

We won’t have more beef until July 2021 and Pork until April 2021.

VEGGIES: Our farmstand is opening in a day or two. It will have maple syrup, fresh lettuce mix, power greens (spinach, chard, kale), spinach and wild harvested ramps (wild leeks).

FARMSTAND- will be open Wed-Saturday OR when we have product available. See our FB page for latest updates on what’s ready. We can also take pre-orders for those items- just call/text/email.

We do have small amounts of breakfast sausage, sweet italan sausage, chorizo, butt roasts and country ribs for retail cuts. Those can be ordered next week for pickup the following weekend (May 16th). We needed a break from orders this weekend due to busy farm work.

Slow cold spring but busy

Right now it’s wet and cold. We are getting things ready to get the cows on pasture in a 1-2 weeks. We need some warm dry weather to get the grass growing and to dry out. We can’t let the cows damage soggy pastures.

The piggies will be moving out to grazing areas soon also. It all just depends on the weather.

We had some trespassers on the farm who stole a tree stand that we use for deer hunting. This means more game cameras on the farm to catch violatores and give proof to the police. It sure would be nice to have humans respect our property that we have worked decades to have.

Farm offerings:

We pivoted the farm offerings for 2020 because of people wanting to buy things in bulk.

instead of selling at farmers markets we opened all our meats for sale as 30 pound packs, 1/4 and 1/2 and wholes.

Then, we started offering no contact pickup at the farm on Saturdays. You simply order online and we set a time for your pickup. This past weekend we were booked solid with 5-6 orders every hour for 3 hours straight.

Beef: There are still some 30 pound packs and 1/4’s left for fall dates- all earlier are booked.

Pork: WE have some retail cuts available now. There are some openings for 30 pound packs and 1/2 or whole pork for fall dates.

I fixed the Purchasing page as the pork info had disappeared at some point. It’s been a little crazy and i’m not sure what I did to cause that. Well I fixed it now (I hope!!!!).

Things are changing daily and it’s 1 person doing that part. Everybody else is working the farm while I sit inside updating things before the farm work.

Cold wet spring means not much growing outside even with some covers on things. EArly pea plantings rotted in the ground and I’ve never had that problem ever before!. Other things are coming up but just so slow growing.

So that’s all I’ve got. Thank you for caring about small farms and your food security.

Don’t wait to get an order in or it may not be available later on. No hype there . It’s just what’s happening.

Our butcher cares about their employees and the farmers they serve. This is in stark contranst to the Nation’s massive corporate plants who have hundreds of infections in their employees and forced to close. Is our food supply in jeopardy? Yes it is for many.

Farms like ours are flexible and we can pivot our plans fast. We were trained for this and it’s why this farm has survived the economy crashing a decade ago, we then moved and grew the farm 5 times larger in land and production. We don’t rely on any one revenue source. We rely on PEOPLE who care about their food source and buy directly from us and those like us.

Farmers have forgotten how to be resillient but some of us embrace it .

It’s a tough time but with a good plan and support we can do it and do it well.

Thank you.

Sad times but Wow so many of you really want to have food security.

If the stress of the the virus and high toll on human life isn’t enough. Our economy and food system is severely impacted.

Our local Farmers Market in Cazenovia will likely not open for a time this summer. We have faced so many roadblocks, obstacles and just the simple thing of having no value has taken it’s toll on me.

I personally can’t keep fighting to open the market when I need to be here on the farm raising food.

Managing this little market should have been simple and not all that complicated. But its become a quagmire of red tape and underlying power plays.

I am encouraging our Farmers to band together and instead offer a curbside pickup that is all done by pre-orders with each farm. That way our farmers are protected and shoppers can get food safely without the walls and air of a grocery store closing in on them.

Some day maybe the market will re-open but there will be a need for a new manager. I am a farmer first and foremost. Well okay wife and mom first, farming is the other part of me.

Overwhelming demand. A few weeks ago we started getting so many emails and phone calls from people wanting to order so much meat from us. For years we have focussed on selling at the farmers market in Cazenovia that we went lighter on the bulk orders like 1/2 an animal. So I quickly redesigned the online store and got it launched. In 2 weeks we have sold over half of all our meat for the year.

So we have all our beef are born on the farm. When they are 2 to 2 1/2 years old they become meat. We schedule their dates with our butcher 6-12 months ahead of schedule because they get so busy and booked up.

Our piglets usually are born on the farm but one sow hasn’t retained a litter in a year and the other had complications so we have started culling our breeding stock. We purchase many piglets from farmer friends nearby.

All of them are on the farm and that’s are the meat for the year for sale.

We can’t even add anymore because usda butchers are often already book for the WHOLE YEAR. Add it another USDA butcher closed last fall so there is a log jam.

We can add more piglets to raised later this year for spring pork but our beef is totally grassfed and we don’t purchase animals from off the farm anymore.

Once we are sold out we can’t “get anymore” We don’t call up Cargill or jBS or Smithfield and order more. Oh that’s right those big companies that are procesing the meat and offering it so cheaply they have hundreds of workers infected because the plant owners do not value their workers health or lives.

We do value lives. Our butcher we use values their employees many of them are their family members. They know if they shut down it will devistate hundreds of small farms. They are taking extraordinary measures (is that the right word??) to protect their workers.

Cost: Our prices are directly linked to our costs. As our costs have gone up we have to adjust price accordingly. Our costs to operate safely have gone up. Our butcher fees have gone up. Fuel prices have gone down but our farm insurance has gone up. Farmers don’t get breaks we get to feed people.

So for all of you who value food security and have turned to us as your local food source…..

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

You make this work worth it and drives us to do more and do it better.

We are a small farm and it’s US doing the work. No employees No volunteers Always 100% American

(plus a veteran writing this!).

Take care and one day we can chat face to face. Not going to hug anyone soon though.

Tricia, farmer, veteran, wife, mom and outstanding in her field.

so

Another update

Oh boy. I spent lots of time working on a new online order system that has more options for pickup.

Check it out. Order now and pickup every saturday at the farm from 10am til noon.

yes our selection is dwindling but we have opened up ordering for bulk orders. We had outstanding sales before all this pandemic so our product inventory is low. But we raise livestock all year. One thing is our beef is grassfed and really needs good grass to “finish” so we need to wait until summer for more beef. There is a chance we may process one earlier than our June processing date just so we can supply ground beef to everyone.

Pork in April and June

Beef in July, August, September.

Plus veggies this summer.

We had an outstanding maple season that wrapped up for us last week. All sizes in light amber and medium amber are available. Gallons to 1/2 pints. glass and plastic.

3/22/20

We are closed to visitors of ANY kind. Do not stop at the farm, call us intead 315-720- twentyone fortyone.

Meat orders. I am working on a new online store to make things easier and clearer.

The plan is to open online ordering every week around Thursday and ALL orders are pickup at the farm on Saturday. We will have supervised pickup OUTSIDE. You pull up, find the cooler with your name on it, open it and put items in your own bags. We are disinfecting coolers before filling and disinfecting when we close them.

We have opened up pre-orders for 1/2 and whole pork and 1/4 and 1/2 beef. We are keeping our prices the same as last year. We will offer payment plans to make it as easy as we can.

Consider splitting some with a neighbor or friend. Our first pork orders are due by 4/3/20

Hang in there.

COOKING A CHUCK ROAST

Many people purchased a chuck roast recently and no idea how to cook one.

It’s one the easiest things to cook and almost fool proof.

Get out your slow cooker or roasting pan with tight lid.

Add the roast, add about 2 cups of water or broth. spinkle a teastpoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper- or eyeball it. Add 1 -5 cloves of peeled garlic. Slow cook it on low for 6-8 hours until fall apart tender. or Roast in the oven at 300 for 4-5 hours till fall apart tender. Ovens might take a little longer than that but it depends on your oven and the size of the roast. Once it’s done it can be held on warm until are ready.

You can also add an onion, a celery stalk and a few carrots to this too. Add potatoes later on. Chuck roasts go really well with mushrooms too.

Key is a low slow roast with plenty of liquid. I cook these earlier in the day, cut into pieces and make up quick stew then freeze it for later meals.

Chuck roasts are often referred to as Pot Roasts. Super easy and tender but remember low, slow cooking until fall apart tender.

Makes awesome bbq beef too. Cook like above then shred and add bbq sauce or cook with a dry bbq rub rubbed in, don’t forget plenty of liquid to keep it moist and aid in the breakdown of the meat.

Latest update

3/21/20,

We are closed to visitors. Customers can call ahead to place an order, our supply is limited.

DO NOT COME TO THE FARM- call ahead.

Please consider investing in the farm and purchasing our meats in bulk this year. See the purchasing page for details or purchase an e-gift card to use later this summer.

We do NOT deliver. We need to concentrate on the farm, staying healthy and raising our animals and vegetables for our customers.

online ordering

You can order and pickup at the farm now.

Here is the web address: https://squareup.com/store/creekside-meadows-farm-2

Orders are to be picked up 3-6pm Wednesday, thursday or Friday only.

Call 315-720-2141 for any other assistance.

Thank you

Your farmers

How to cook our Thick Cut Smoked Bacon Perfect every time.

A few years ago we changed how we cook bacon forever!

It’s simple. Lay out the thawed bacon slice on a rimmed baking sheet. No need line it with anything. It also works if you use a broiler pan so the fat drips down or even some wire cookie cooler things (gosh I can’t remember what they are called!)

Bake at 325-350 until how you like it. It’s usually about 15 minutes but check it often until you figure out the perfect time for you.

This is the best way to cook good quality bacon from your local farm. it cooks evenly, no splattering and clean up is easy. Let it cool and wipe out the pan.

Baking bacon makes sure it doesn’t get to crisp or burn, well as long as you keep an eye on it and take it out of the oven early enough.

We do think you should save the bacon grease and cook with it later on. Keep it in the fridge or use that day.

Fat from well raised pastured pigs is actually a healthy fat and packed with flavor. A little goes a long long way. We like to cook pancakes with it or homefries or saute any vegetable.

If you have chickens they LOVE this especially in winter when they need some extra fat and protein.

If you buy a pack of bacon but know there is too much there for you to eat at once well….. cook it all but remove it before crisp and done. It’s still very pliable Then cool and freeze in ziploc type of bag. Then when you need a slice or two just pull it out and place in a pre-warmed cast iron pan or in the oven to finish cooking a minute or two.

Celebrate Madison County Farms & Cazenovia Winter Farmers Market

Cazenovia Winter Farmers Market Update:

If you hadn’t heard I am not just farmer but now the Winter and Summer Cazenovia Farmers Market Manager. I get to change hats often but always focussed on our farm and promoting our local food community in Cazenovia.

The market is held once a month in the winter from November until March. The 3rd Saturday from 10 am til 1pm. The next one is December 21st and it will be PACKED with farmers and vendors on TWO floors.

Join us or miss out. It will be a great place to buy local anything for gifts, holiday meals or just because you need to eat good food and support the local economy one dollar at a time. We have LIVE awesome music too.

We should have over 25 vendors and 4 will be Veteran owned businesses.

Beef, Pork, Chicken, eggs, bison, veggies galore, soaps, maple syrup, honey, sourdough breads, baked goodies, gluten free baked goodies too, jewelry, hand knit items, wood creations from cutting boards to birdhouses and lamps, mushroom logs, fresh roasted coffee, cheeses, small batch vinegars and seasoning mixes, dried herbs, herbal room sprays, jams, skin care items, organic grains and flours, and soooooo MUCH MORE. Please stop in.

Market Dates are: Dec 21, Jan 18, Feb 15, Mar 21 10 am til 1pm.

26 Chenango Street, Cazenovia The American Legion Hall next to the ball diamond.

Celebrate Madison County

December 14th 4-7pm in Morrisville at the CCE building at 100 Eaton Street, just past the school.

Another great way to SHOP where you live and support all local small farms and businesses. We’ll be there.

Making Meat Stock with the InstantPot

I call it meat stock. I make with beef bones, chicken bones, pork bones, sometimes a mix of all 3, sometimes its beef and pork. I was pretty happy when someone actually called it meat stock in her cookbook- I wasn’t alone and I wasn’t all that weird either.

I cook a lot with stock, maybe you call it broth…….

I could cook it all day on the stove or in a slow cooker. I now use an InstantPot. I usually use the Instantpot just for stock sometimes I may do a roast in it or a stew or a soup or some dried beans. But really it’s stock.

DIRECTIONS

I have an 8 quart Instant pot so it makes a bit more than the average 6 quart. So that might need a little less bones. See how it works for you.

INGREDIENTS

2-3 pounds of bones. Often it’s a mix of beef bones and pork bones with some chicken bones. Or do just one. Or a mix of whatever you have. We don’t eat lamb but they would work well too. Just use the bones and extract great flavor and extra vitamins. Stop buying the unknown crap at the store!

I do like using the beef marrow bones but I also save all the beef steak bones, pork chops bones, pork spare rib bones, and pork neck bones. Each batch I make is different and unique.

I often will roast the bones if they are raw. Just put them on baking sheet that has a rim- I call them cookie trays. The bones will produce some liquid so a flat sheet will make a mess…….

I roast at 350-375 about 30-45 minutes until they get a dark brown color. That color is creating more flavor. Of course you can skip it if you want a milder liquid or the bones were already cooked like from steak…. Do what makes you happy.

Then they go in the instant pot, with 3-4 carrots, 2 or so stalks of celery, 1 medium-large onion and whatever else I want to toss in. Apple and peach peels add something a little different. I’ve added in wilting lettuce, limp kale, blah swiss chard, spinach, tomatoes. The more diverse ingredients the more depth of flavor. I freeze a lot of parsley so a small handful often finds its way into the pot too.

I then fill the pot to just below the full line, and set it for 90 minutes. I use the soup button and the + button to adjust the minutes. But that’s my model, yours might be different.

I let it do it’s stuff then just let the pressure release on it’s own. After it’s all done, I release any leftover pressure and let it cool a bit. Then remove the pot, pour into a large collander inside a large pot.

Once that’s done I will restrain through a finer mesh if I want anything else out of it. Usually once is enough as what’s left is small pieces of herbs. I refrigerate overnight, skim off the firmed up fat the next day then freeze in containers or use it up in a few days. I like to freeze in 1 cup amounts and in 1 quart amounts as that’s what we use the most. Ice cube trays work well for small amounts.

You can also simmer this liquid down so it’s more concentrated flavor and you can use or dilute a bit as needed for whatever dish. I do this sometimes when I think it’s kind of weak for whatever reason.

Seasoning to taste. Did you notice I didn’t add salt or any herbs? Of course use any herbs you like. I do like thyme, oregano, parsley and will add them sometimes. I usually don’t add salt until I use it in cooking.

It’s up to you how you season it. Mine are never quite the same and well my cooking isn’t the same every time either.

So save those bones or stop in and get some more and make some stock or broth.

NEVER EVER GIVE THE COOKED BONES to your pets. Once they’ve been cooked in anyway they become brittle and dangerous. Once they have been under pressure in the pot they are even more brittle. They go in the garbage (or really deep pet proof compost pile).

BEING HONEST: Yes i’ve purchased it at the store before, no shame in it. I’m working hard to put a homecooked from the farm, meal on the table and sometimes it’s just too much to do everything. My supply was out in the freezer and I didn’t get to making more. So sure convenience wins out sometimes. I just try to find that balance because I can so easily overload myself, stress out and feel like a failure. Now I just do what I can and enjoy the life I have.

So make some stock, freeze it for later or use it up this week. It makes a pretty different and filling breakfast on the go too………. Then relax.

What is Grassfed and why carefully managed grazing takes carbon out of the air.

Not all Grassfed is the same. We all do things differently but here are some points that we practice.

It’s not the cow that causes problems it’s the management of the human farmers that makes or breaks their hoof impact.

For us grass fed means that our herd is grazing on grasses, weeds, legumes all the warm season in this part of the country. We mange how the cows graze, how they impact the land and always with the future in mind.

We don’t feed them grain or fermented feeds or grain waste from the plentiful small breweries. They graze from about the end of April to mid November. Depending on the year it can be more than that but that’s an average. It all depends on mother nature.. Too cold or wet of a spring and the pasture could not be growing well or could just be too wet where hooves could damage the plants themselves. Same thing in the fall. Lately the cows are moving to the barn yard to be fed hay around Thanksgiving time. It’s usually cold and wet then, the ground isn’t frozen and those hooves can easily damage the plants.

We don’t want to damage the plants or the root structure because doing that now is bad news for grazing in the next couple of years. It’s true.

Our cows are moved around the pastures often. Often moved to fresh ground 2x a day depending on where they are. Currently they are finishing grazing our hillside and we are getting another round of hay done plus have a big event on Saturday. So the cows were given a larger area than usual with some brush and trees that will keep them busy until we move the to the main pastures Friday before our event.

THEN they begin the usual 2 times a day moving, those areas they graze then rest for 30-60 days before they are grazed or hay taken off. we make 90% of our own hay for our beef herd. We do buy in some for our pigs to munch on at the moment but that’s 15-20 round bales a year. Yes pigs like hay too.

Key thing we do is to always have plenty of grass for the cows all the grazing months and this take some planning, lots and lots of planning and lots of previous data how the land is performing.

If you hear a farmer who grazes cows say that their pastures aren’t performing you can bet we are shaking our heads knowing that farm has a lack of holistic grazing knowledge. They’ve fallen into the trap of most humans that think they control how things grow. Sure we can to a point but it’s fine line between managing how we and our animals and our machinery impact the land and just plain old “it will grow this way or I will just plow it, spray it, fertilize and and replant it so it does what I want it to do.

We observe, make changes to where the animals go, how long they are there, what they ate and how they ate then make changes based on that observation and our goals. Our goal is lots of grass for a long time.

So what is Grassfed? Simply no grain of any sort ever, well that’s how we see it.

When a farmer makes a claim of grassfed, go for a tour, ask them how they manage things, and do they feed hay in the summer. If they do then why aren’t they grazing grass instead of feeding hay.

Often they have too many animals for the amount of land they have. A very very basic number is 1 acre per adult animal in a well managed grazing system. Now some have a better climate and probably have improved their land so they can do with less acreage but those are few and far between.

We usually have 2 acres per head- adult or young stock because half of that accounts for us making hay for winter feed off those same pastures. Some farmers don’t do that and buy in hay. It’s whatever works for them financially. If be bought hay it could cost us $15,000 or more to feed our herd but then we could graze more animals and have more meat to sell but then our cost of hay could double to $30,000 a year. Then hay could be of dubious quality and nutritional value.

We instead carefully graze a small herd and always are careful of how much the land can easily handle with out a negative impact.

The opposite is cows and other livestock in barns their entire lives. Where farmers are always working to feed those cows every meal using machinery run on fossil fuels, powering the lights and fans to control the barn climate for the animals, where disease and illness is more prevalent because of close quarters and closed environment making it necessary for more and more medications. Where manure from these concentrated feeding wharehouses are toxic and dangerous to YOU, ME, THE AIR and the WATER.

Farms like ours have a careful balance where the manure breaks down naturally to create more dirt and does'n’t cause environmental crisis. Farms like hours are also not polluting the air with the disgusting smell of liquid manure so many communities are plagued by.

Make a choice and make a difference.

Every time one of our cows munches on grass, that grass then grows through photosynthesis and then it gets even better…… it pulls carbon out of the air and back into the ground. That’s call carbon sequestering and that’s why it’s the how the cows are grazed that can actually negate greenhouse gases.

So if you want to buy green credits and balance out how much your car or traveling by plane uses up fossil fuels, you can pay us to graze cows. Better yet, just buy meats and veggies from us and invest in the farm growth so we can feed more families safely.

OPEN FARM DAY MADISON COUNTY

EVERY YEAR Madison County has OPEN FARM DAY.

This year 38 farms are participating. IT’s free to visit any farm who is participating.

We have passports at our Farmstand, and they are often found at local businesses. Some of you might have gotten one in the mail.

You can also check out :
https://openfarmdaymadisoncounty.com for the online version.

At Creekside Meadows we have:

self guided walking tours around the farm. We have moved our beef herd and some of the pigs closer to our barn so it’s really easy to see them up close. It’s 150 acre farm and we know most of you really don’t want to hike it all and our animals are usually in different further parts of the farm. So we make it easier.

Us 3 farmers will be on hand too.

PLUS, we will have some antique and old machinery plus more current equipment on display.

Sugar Shack is open so you can see what we do in the spring. Blacksmith shop is open and you might get lucky and Cam will be doing some demonstrations.

Our farmstore will be open so you can shop from our big freezers for our grassfed beef and pasture raised pork plus maple syrup and farmstead soaps AND woodworking items. We have some special sales and Meat packs for this day only so bring a cooler! We also take credit cards!

LIVE MUSIC by Johnny Shoes.

PLUS PLUS PLUS

Our circa 1905 Detroit Engine Works SANDOW stationary engine will be running (we hope!) the 1905-1910 Ireland Iron Works Drag Saw (made in Norwich). Both are extremely rare- we haven’t found others and only out for 1 day a year- for OPEN FARM DAY. This is the coolest engine that has 3 moving parts and runs on kerosene, gasoline, alcohol and even… moonshine.

The drag saw was used to cut logs for firewood length instead of a 2 person saw and way before chainsaws. We’ll cut wood slices and they are for sale too.

We are NOT serving lunch but bring your own for a picnic here or try one of the many other farms offering it.

This is our only OPEN TO THE PUBLIC farm event this year so come see us

SATURDAY JULY 27th 10 am til 4pm

(not open Sunday but our farmstand is open self serve)

Our booth at the Cazenovia Farmers Market will also be open with LOTS OF MEATS TOO! 9 am til 2pm

YOUTUBE Chanel is here!!

Want to know more about how we farm? We have a YouTube Channel now.

https://youtu.be/HBX4PqCi1KU

Click on the link, SUBSCRIBE TO IT and enjoy. Videos are being posted as we edit old ones and film new ones!

Copy of Apple Maple Roasted Ham

 Bringing this back for 2019 with updates. Enjoy.

The best way to have  the perfect ham is to start with high quality Pasture Raised Pork.   We’ve been raising our pork at our farm for over 15 years now and how it is raised makes a world of difference for a delicious meal.  

I know you are might find a Ham a bit daunting to roast but it's really just a few steps to perfection.

First you need a ham.    Creekside Meadows Farm Pasture Raised Hams are smoked and flash frozen because they aren’t held in a saline solution like store hams.  It can take 2-4 days to thaw in your refrigerator depending on the size so plan ahead. 

Quick Thaw:   If you are running late you can still make it happen the day before as follows: You need a large pot or container to hold the entire ham still in the plastic wrapping fill the container with cold water and replace the water every 30 minutes with more cold water.  Thawing will take 5-6 hours and maybe longer for a larger ham.  Then just refrigerate until ready for roasting.

Preheat the oven to 325F.  

Skin off:  Trim all the skin off the ham and trim fat to about 1/4 to 1/2 thick.

 Skin on:  If your ham doesn't have much of a fat layer or is very thin, leaving the skin might be a better choice.  You will need to score all the skin in a crisscross patter deep to the meat.  You want a lot of the crisscross so later on the glaze can penetrate.

Place ham in a roasting pan preferably on a rack so it doesn't stick to the pan.  If you plan to glaze it line the pan with foil for easier clean up.  Add about ½ cup of f water to the pan depending on the pan size, a larger roasting pan could use 1 cup of water.  Roast at 325F until internal temperature reaches a minimum of 130F.   This can take 15 minutes per pound.   Add more water to the pan if it evaporates.

Once the ham is the proper temperature which on a larger ham may take  a little extra time, remove ham from the oven.  Increase oven temperature to 425F.   Prepare the glaze.

APPLE MAPLE GLAZE  (or try the tangy orange one at the bottom)

2 cups apple cider 

     heat in a saucepan on medium high, stirring often until reduced to 1/2 cup

add 1/2 cup apple jelly 

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 cup whole grain brown mustard

   Stir well and simmer until warmed thoroughly

Once ham has reached 130F internal temperature.   Increase the oven to 425 and spread the glaze generously over the entire ham.   Roast for 20 minutes and baste a few times during that time with the pan juices.  

Remove from oven, place on a platter and let it rest about 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.  Drizzle a little of the remaining pan juices over ham before serving.

UPDATE IN 2019

This winter I’ve cooked up a few hams in my slow cooker and played with other ingredients.

it takes about 6 or so hours on low in my slow cooker for a 5 pound boneless ham. Every slow cooker is different so be prepared for times a little different.

1 thawed smoked boneless ham from a good local farmer

1-2 cups cup apple cider (not juice)

1/2 cup maple syrup

Optional: a couple big spoon fulls of orange marmalade.

do you need cider and maple? Nope, but we like the flavors. You could instead just add some water instead. Hams like ours have tons of flavor so anything you add can be subtle to enhance that built in flavor.

That’s it. SLow cook on low for 6 -8 hours.

Remove ham, let rest a bit, remove the tie or net, and slice.

The remaining juices can be poured over the ham or reduce it down by simmering until it’s thicker works nice too.

I find that I will cook the ham the day before and slice it the next day then rewarm with the juices just before a big family meal.

Disclosure: I can get stressed and forget things like plugging in the slow cooker, or setting it on warm not low…….. so I try to do somethings ahead of time. Then who cares if my old oven dies the day of the meal (that happened one year….).

TANGY ORANGE GLAZE

6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed well and finely diced

8 ounces orange marmalade

1/2 cup dijon mustard

1 cup light brown sugar (or maple sugar or turbinado or sucanat)

1 orange zested

1 /4 cup fresh orange juice.

Heat all ingredients in pan on medium until mixed well.    When ham has reached 130F, increase oven temp to 425F, glaze the ham all over.   Roast another 20 minutes and baste with any extra pan juices a few times.  

This glaze works well in the slow cooker too but add about a cup of water then pour glaze over top of ham so it can soak in while it cooks.

Happenings March 2019

It’s finally March and spring is on the way. The sun was out Friday and Saturday so we tapped our Maple trees on the hillside. I think it’s 175 taps which is not huge compared to many but is respectable and will keep us very busy making maple syrup.

As we collect enough we’ll be boiling. We’ll post videos on social media and let everyone know via email or social media when they can swing by to observe and get a taste of the liquid gold.

We had piglets born to Momma Red a few weeks ago. There are 11 little bundles of muscle and energy having fun in the snow and ripping up hay bales. We now only have piglets 2x a year and have 2 sows. We used to have 4 litters from 2 sows and briefly had 3 sows with a total of 6 litters. We’ve found our sweet spot so to speak where we produce the right amount of pork for our customers balanced with our farm life and also what this land can environmentally handle safely. Pigs are really hard on land so we have to be careful how we manage them and their impact. Plus pigs consume a lot of grain and we prefer to concentrate on grass eating cows and chemical free vegetables. Those both use low inputs from outside the farm and work the best for our farm business and the land. Plus keep in mind it’s only 2 of us here full time and 1 off the farm weekdays- we do not have employees or low paid interns. We keep it simple and in that “sweet spot”.

oh wow, the post office just delivered the first of the seed orders from Johnny’s seeds. I ordered on Thursday and here they are on Saturday. I love that fast turn around.

Probably next weekend I’ll start seeding in the greenhouse right now I’m starting some peppers inside as they can be finicky and like more heat.

I’ve got some good plans for the summer gardens. More concentration on good lettuce, and salad fixings. I’m not doing much of those crazy veggies many have no idea what to do with.

I will have a kale, spinach, swiss chard mix for early spring salads and cooked greens, then move on to summer lettuces, radishes, zucchini then of course tomatoes and sweet corn.

I’m being careful of too many tomatoes so doing many different colors of cherry and grape tomatoes as farmstand customers love those the most. A few good sized slicers for sandwiches- red and ORANGE because color is good.

I going to try like crazy to have early carrots and carrots all summer. Last year I had some problems and no carrots until August. I’m on top of it this year (I hope).

We had awesome sweet corn last year but lost late plantings to ear worms. We could spray chemicals an we could get some genetically modified seed but those go completely against our beliefs. Most sweet corn in our area is sprayed with something either for weed control or insects. Some have the treatment built into the genetics of the seed. We don’t like it and we hear from our customers all the time how ours taste the best. So, Instead we will be trying a few new things- one of them is an organic treatment that is labor intensive. It involves applying mineral oil drops to every ear of corn at an early stage. I’m still researching and determined to come out ahead of those gross worms. Lots of reading and asking questions from me. Many organic farmers told me they just don’t raise it anymore or just raise 1 or 2 plantings for August and stop. I think we can win or at least come out ahead.

I’m off now I have some long awaited and long time saved for new appliances coming to the farm kitchen and need to get things moved around for that. I haven’t had a new stove or dishwasher in almost 20 years and what we have came with the house. They both are giving up so time to upgrade so my life is a little easier.

See you soon.

Tricia

Make Corned Beef

Corned beef is a super cheap of meat in the grocery store. It comes in those vacuum packs making you think it’s “fresh”. It’s in that brine solution for months which has me wondering how tough is that cut of meat that it needs to brined that long AND THEN boiled for hours.

You can make your own and over the years I’ve tried a few different ones. Some use a ginger beer (non alcoholic like root beer), some use a beer, some have sodium nitrate (pink salt) some koshers salt. All use salt as that’s just how it’s done.

Here’s my latest recipe that I like and comes from the Compete Meat Cookbook by Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly.

8 cups of water

1 1/4 cups kosher salt

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons pickling spices

1 6-8 pound brisket. Seriously I use a 1/2 a brisket around 2-3 pounds because I rarely have whole briskets left by March.

****

1 medium onion spiked with 3 cloves

3 garlic cloves

1 carrot coarsely chopped

1 celery rib coarsely chopped

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoons pepper corns

Bring water to boil, add salt and sugar, stir until dissolved. Add the pickling spices and let cool until room temperatures, the refrigerate until cool to 45F

Pour brine into large bowl or container (not metal), or large ziploc bag. submerge the meat. Putting a plate on the meat will help it stay under the water. Refrigerate 8- 12 days. Stir or shake every day and turn the beef.

When ready to cook, remove from brine, to large pot, cover with water and add the onion, cloves, garlic, celery, carrot, bay and pepper. Simmer on low 2-3 hours and until tender. Thinly slice against grain, serve hot or cold.

Note that because this recipe doesn’t use sodium nitrate the meat won’t be the nice pink color inside much.

Making Stock

I’m big on making our own meat stock since we have so many bones from our livestock.

I also appreciate that it’s a nice drink in the morning or even lunch, fills me up and it just makes me feel good. It’s a key ingredient in so many meals here at the farm in the winter and even in the summer.

I don’t measure much and anything goes. It always turns out delicious and since I started doing this my joints feel so much better. I’m told it’s the gelatin and minerals from the bones.

How to do make meat stock. I make a beef pork mix and also a chicken stock.

The mix stock I use for stews, beef soup and cottage pie. The chicken one I use for squash soup, when cooking up wild rice, chicken pot pie, chicken soup, mashed potatoes and just to sip on a bad day.

What’s stock vs. Broth? I think of broth as made with just bones and a little lacking in over all flavor. Stock is heartier, includes vegetable and way more flavor. Most of the time I want the extra flavor so I make stock.

1. Save bones from all meats. Preferably from Grassfed and Pasture Raised meats but do what you can. Bones from roasts, steaks, chops, marrow bones, chicken carcass (feet to if you can get some).

2. If they aren’t already cooked I will roast them in the oven until they smell wonderful and have a nice browned color. You can sprinkle with salt and pepper if you like.

3. The veggies. Okay sure you can make a broth with just bones and I find it a little blah for me. So I add in onions- skin and all, celery, carrots, parsley. If I have some leftover green beans, a soft apple, peach peel… leeks. I’ll toss them in also. How much? keep reading.

Instant Pot is the fastest way to make stock (or broth). But slow cooker and stove top are just fine.

So many Instant Pot recipes call for stock or broth, why bother buying store bought with extra stuff you don’t want and iffy processes? Make your own.

I have the 8 quart version because I cook in larger volumes. 6 quart is just fine.

I put in a bunch of bones. The last batch I had 4 small beef marrow bones and a dozen pork chops bones. I roasted them in the oven at 350 for about an hour until they were a deep brown and smelled wonderful. Put those in the pot but not the grease leftover- I tossed that in the compost.

Then I added 3 stalks of celery chopped in 2 inch or so lengths, 3 carrots- not peeled and cut into about 1 inch long pieces. I also added 1/2 a large onion, coarsely chopped plus the skin. Then some parsley from the garden that I had frozen. About 1/2 a cup full- not needed. Then 1/2 tablespoon of coarse pepper and 1/2 tablespoon salt. You don’t have to add the pepper and salt- I did because I like how it comes out.

I also add in 1-2 teaspoons of dried thyme and oregano.- completely optional.

Vinegar- okay should you add some vinegar to this to help minerals to be drawn from the bones. I’ve done it that way and also read that it’s a myth. I do like the flavor of some balsamic vinegar about 1/4 cup when I do the beef/pork stock. I’ll use Apple Cider Vinegar with Chicken bones. But honestly, I forget sometimes and have not noticed. It’s up to you and do what makes you feel good!

All this goes in the instant pot, then covered with water, usually about 3-4 quarts of water. Be sure to not to over fill and follow the line on the pot.

If you don’t have as many bones, you can cut back on the veggies a little if you want. Adjust the amount of water as needed.

Use the Soup setting and reset it to 90 minutes. Once done I just let it naturally release. Take pot out of cooker and strain the solids. I then let it cool so I can skim off any fat. Freeze in ice cube trays and any containers you want. Or refrigerate and use within a week. I freeze in 1 cup amounts and 1 quart amounts then some in ice cube trays so it’s easy to have an assortment of amounts on hand for whatever dish I need it for.

I do the same veggies when I do chicken stock too. The chicken bones if from a cooked chicken just get put into the stock if I have a raw chicken carcass I will roast them like the other bones to develop the color and improve the flavor.

SLOW COOKER

Ingredients and water is the same, just cook on low for 8-10 hours.

STOVE TOP

Ingredients the same just bring to a boil then simmer all day.

I’ve been known to simmer things in a really big pot for 2 days and making a few gallons of stock at a time. Now that I have the Instant Pot I can start it in the morning and all cleaned up before lunch. Or do some after dinner and let it chill overnight. Easy and Delicious.

Other things to add: An apple or some peach peels, soft onions, wilted celery, those carrots that are getting soft so aren’t so great to eat fresh. Leftover veggies from the veggie drawer- lettuce, kale, green beans, a little fennel, basil, zucchini, winter squash- even the rind! … Somethings I did not care for was cauliflower and broccoli.

I’ve heard chef’s say the vegetables should be roasted to improve the flavor and color of the stock. So….. I don’t bother to do it. I did once and really didn’t notice a difference since the bones were roasted. I’m happy I’m making time for what I’m doing so I don’t stress about the perfect flavor. Probably why I’m not a chef!

**do you need to roast the bones? No you don’t. I’ve done it for years without roasting and things were fine. Chicken bones with out roasting or cooking before turn out pretty good. Beef and pork bones I find that the flavor is soooooo much better if I roast them quick first. Do what you can fit into your time. Making stock is a big step for our meals when it’s so easy to buy that sealed carton on the grocery store shelf.

Small steps people. Make some small changes. Buy better meat, use leftovers, save the bones for stock…… Your body will thank you and you are taking one more step to improve your food. Nice job.