—
—
You qualify for home delivery!
Pantry
A customer reached out to me this week. She referred a friend who, in turn, checked out the website. The friend’s response was “Yikes!”
That’s right, yikes. And that yikes was specifically directed at the price of our chicken breasts. She couldn’t understand how it could cost $20+ per pound when Trader Joe’s is selling free range chicken breasts for $5.99 per pound.
How in the world could chicken breasts cost $20 per pound!? Well, let’s see if we can peck this apart a bit.
The first thing I did was call Trader Joe’s. Then, I called the farmer. Below are the answers I got to my questions.
Are the chickens fed soy?
Trader Joe’s didn’t know.
Our farmer said that the chickens are not fed soy. They are fed a specially formulated blend of corn, peas, wheat, flax meal, fish meal, seashell flour, and a nutri-balancer which has kelp, probiotics, vitamins, and minerals. They are fed two times each day.
Our farmer said that his feed is expensive. This is due to the quality of ingredients used. To make a soy-free feed, you need to replace the soy with something so the chickens get enough protein. Sustainably sourced fish meal and flax meal is expensive. However, other feed suppliers may use cheap replacements that are manufacturing byproducts like palm kernel meal, cottonseed meal, or dried distiller’s grains.
Are the chickens fed GMOs?
Trader Joe’s said they could not verify that due to the high prevalence of GMOs in the commodity market.
Our farmer said no GMOs are used - ever.
What farm are the chickens from?
Trader Joe’s didn’t know.
Our farmer said, “Well, my farm.”
What does “free range” mean?
Trader Joe’s didn’t know (you can read more here about the “free range” label).
Our farmer gave a long explanation of the chicken’s lifestyle. Here’s a summary of what he said.
The farmer houses his chickens in mobile coops that are about 12’x12’. The coops have a cover that provide the chickens much needed shade. It has chicken wire sides that provide plenty of air flow. And, the coops have no bottom, which gives them access to grass, bugs, and seeds.
The coops are moved daily to give the chickens access to fresh pasture. They get so excited when the coops are moved, because it means they get a feast of fresh crickets!
Each coop houses an average of 50 chickens. So, that’s about 2.88 ft2 per chicken.
It seems that, when it comes to food, a “great deal” may not actually exist. It seems that quality and price go hand in hand.
When you buy from Trader Joe’s (or almost any supermarket), you’ll never really know what you’re getting.
If the price is low, you can be almost certain that the farmers are cutting corners. The animals may not go outside, they are fed the cheapest feed that gets animals to full size the fastest, and there is minimal human interaction.
When you buy from a small farmer, you should get transparency, knowledge, and the best products possible. You should have a clear understanding of why the food costs more.
In our case, our chicken breasts cost $20+ per pound because they are fed a high quality feed, and it takes time to give them a happy life with fresh pasture every day. Our farmer’s goal is to produce the highest quality, most nutrient-dense food possible.
So, what do you think? Is it worth it to spend $20+ on chicken breasts? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
This past weekend we hosted our annual Farm Day event. It was a day full of excellent food, good old fashioned fun, and some unexpected epiphanies.
In the farm’s packing room (where lunch was served), the farmer has signs posted. One sign says:
One minute of anger ~ weakens the immune system for 4-5 minutes!
One minute of laughing ~ boosts your immune system for 24 hours!
This really got me thinking about the correlation between stress, happiness, and health.
Last week, my 7-year-old son was stressed about reading in school. On Thursday, he had a 102F fever and was sent home by the nurse.
Judge me if you want, but we went to Farm Day anyway. I figured the worst case scenario is that he rested at our rental home with my husband.
We arrived on the farm on Friday, and my kids loved seeing the chickens, playing in the sandbox, and just being kids. They were free in nature. Free to roam, free to play, and free of stress. My son was feeling much better.
On Saturday, he had a blast at Farm Day. His face filled with pure joy while the farmer’s son John gave him a ride on a buggy pulled by a pony. Again, the face of joy when hand milking cows and reviewing milks from different cows. Again, the face of joy when giving hay to the horses. And so on and so on.
On Sunday morning, my son was 100% healthy.
Listen, it could be coincidence. But, my mama instincts tell me that it had something to do with the joy and laughter he experienced on the farm. His stress-free body was able to heal (and, I’m sure the amazing nutrient-dense food didn’t hurt, either).
A cow on the farm had a similar experience with stress at Farm Day, except it was the opposite.
I need to first note that cows do not like change. Anything out of the ordinary is stressful. So, Farm Day makes the herd a bit uneasy.
When the cows were in the barn to be milked, a customer (who’s a birth doula) noticed that a cow’s water may have broken.
The farmer came over and said it’s possible that the cow might give birth soon, but it’s hard to tell. After Farm Day ended, the cows were moved back up to pasture.
Low and behold, the cow gave birth around 10pm that night!
There’s no way to know 100%, but it seems to me that the cow was ready to give birth in the barn. However, due to the stress of strangers, she didn’t. Her body waited until she felt safe and calm at pasture.
I believe my son and that cow had something big in common on Farm Day. They needed to de-stress for their bodies to function their best.
Our bodies and our minds are so beautiful and complex. And, they are so completely affected by stress.
The farmer’s vision is to promote wellness. And a big part of this is reducing stress.
The farmer hopes that, by eating his nutrient-dense food, you are not stressed about the quality ingredients you feed your family. He hopes that you can be calm knowing exactly where and how your food is produced. He hopes that his pickup locations and mail shipping options are convenient and hassle free. And, he hopes that our excellent customer service reduces your stress, knowing you’ll always be taken care of.
How do you reduce stress in your life? Is it by the foods or lifestyle you choose? Do you have any regular practices for de-stressing? I’d love to hear from you!
I got a question from a customer last week - what is the fat content in your ground beef? She wanted to make sure it was lean enough to feed to cats. This really got me thinking.
Why and how do we even know the fat content of ground beef, and should we care? Let’s dive a little deeper.
First, let’s make sure we all know what ground beef is.
Ground beef is typically made from the trimmings or leftover bits when a cow is (or many cows are) butchered. It’s put through a grinder and - voila - ground beef!
Pretty simple, right? Oh, but modern consumerism can make this so much more complicated.
I’m sure you’ve noticed the “types” of ground beef found on supermarket labels.
There’s source ground meat. “Ground chuck” is only made with chuck trimmings, “ground round” is only made with trimmings from the round section of the cow, and “ground sirloin”... well, you get the point.
Then there’s general ground meat. “Ground beef” is made from trimmings of the whole cow. And “hamburger” is the trimmings with added fat.
And, I’m sure you’ve also noticed the “% lean / % fat” descriptor sometimes included on the label.
The USDA does not require this. It is 100% voluntary. However, customers have gotten so accustomed to this label since its introduction about 25 years ago.
But, here’s the catch. There is no regulatory requirement that defines how the company needs to support its label. There’s no standard process for this.
From what I’ve read, there are a few ways to figure out the fat content of meat:
Well, here’s another catch. There’s also no requirement to test each batch for fat content.
If they have a consistent process, they could write into their plan that they periodically verify compliance with the label standard. A consistent process would mean the same farm, same breed of cows, same lifestyle, and same processing flow.
This is kind of crazy. Just like humans, cows are genetically inclined to be fatter or leaner. Even with the same diet and lifestyle, you can have different animals of the same breed with different fat contents.
And here’s yet another catch. If a processor is not sure of the lean/fat percentage of a ground or chopped product, the USDA allows processors to label it with a “worse” lean and fat percentage.
So for, example, a processor could label ground beef that is actually 80% lean and 20% fat with a “70% lean / 30% fat” label.
Is it just me? It seems that this whole “% lean / % fat” labeling is a hoax. Why even put the fat content on anyway?
I think companies do it for marketing and price scaling purposes. No surprises there. It’s so companies can get people to pay more by thinking they’re choosing a superior ground beef.
If you believe in the mainstream low-fat diet, a “ground sirloin” that’s “90% lean / 10 % fat” sounds good for $4 more per pound. The company makes more profit on basically the same product. And price hunting customers think they’re getting a deal on “ground beef” that’s “70% lean / 30% fat” that’s $4 less per pound. The company makes money by selling more ground beef.
I spoke with the farmer about this. He does not put the lean/fat percentage on his ground beef and does not make source ground meat. It’s just not necessary and, honestly, it’s inaccurate. It’s just ground beef.
What makes the farmer’s ground beef superior is the way the cows are raised. They are 100% grass-fed (no grain, ever). They live an active lifestyle at pasture. They are never fed GMOs or given antibiotics, hormones, or anything synthetic. And, they are slaughtered as humanely as possible, with minimal time spent alive at the processor.
So, what do you think? Do you need to know the fat content of your meat? What do you look for when buying ground beef?
There are an array of confusing and subjective food labels in stores - Prime, Choice or Select beef, Grade A or Grade B maple syrup, free range or pastured eggs, etc. These labels are all based on a human making a subjective assessment of the product. The lines that divide each are blurry.
A2/A2 milk is milk that contains 100% A2 beta-casein protein. It’s a genetic thing. The farmer takes a cow’s hair sample and sends it to a lab. The labs sends back results that show whether the cow produces 100% A2/A2 milk, a mix of A1/A2 milk, or 100% A1/A1 milk. It’s objective. The line is clear.
It took a couple of years and was expensive for our farmer to convert his herd to 100% A2/A2 cows. It’s a pretty special farm with a pretty special farmer.
All mammals - humans, sheep, goats, dogs, camels, mice, whales, lions, platypuses, etc - produce milk that contains 100% A2 beta-casein protein. As mammals, it’s what we’re born to digest. It’s natural.
However, the situation with cows is unique. A few thousand years ago, there was a genetic mutation in cows in Europe (this was probably due to the stress of farming becoming industrialized). This mutation made cows produce a new type of beta-casein protein - A1.
Those European cows made their way to the United States. Now, any milk you buy in an American supermarket will be A1/A2 - organic or not.
Evolution is a long term process. A few thousand years in not enough time for humans or cows to evolve to digest A1 protein. We’d need a million years for that.
Every body is different. It seems that some bodies can handle the A1 beta-casein protein, some cannot tolerate it at all, and some don’t have obvious allergy-like symptoms but A1 is the underlying cause of chronic issues.
Cows in Asia - the ones with the hump on their back - were not affected by a genetic mutation. They all produce 100% A2/A2 milk. I’ve heard many stories of people moving from Asia to the United States and developing really chronic issues that, after many doctors hypotheses were debunked, were resolved by switching to A2/A2 milk.
Your body needs protein. Enzymes break protein down into amino acids, which are then absorbed into your bloodstream and used to build and repair things in your body like your skin and muscles. Super important.
The A1 beta-casein protein breaks down into a peptide called BCM7. As stated in an article in the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, “BCM7 is suggested to be associated as a risk factor for human health hazards as it can potentially affect numerous opioid receptors in the nervous, endocrine and immune system.”
The list of chronic health issues related to BCM7 is very long and very varied. It includes type-1 diabetes, heart disease, SIDS, autism, schizophrenia, and gastrointestinal problems.
Lactose intolerance is when the body either does not produce or does not produce enough lactase. Lactase is the enzyme the body uses to breakdown lactose, the sugar in milk. Raw milk naturally has beneficial microbes that help your body produce lactase, so that may be the solution for folks whose bodies produce little lactase. But A2/A2 milk will not help.
That being said, if you have a general intolerance to milk, A2/A2 could be the solution.
Compared to other medical topics, the research on A2/A2 milk is scant. We need more! We need large scale, blinded and controlled studies.
What we do have is lots of anecdotal stories of people who cannot tolerate A1/A2 milk but do just fine with 100% A2/A2 milk.
When I tell people that I work for an Amish farmer, they sometimes respond, “They make the best food!” Then, they usually go on to tell a story of how they ate an amazing whoopie pie from an Amish market, how they visited Lancaster County and ate at a yummy restaurant, or how they only order food from Amish farmers.
There seems to be a mentality that, since the Amish are more connected to nature, they would automatically make food that’s more natural and better for you. However, that’s simply not the case. Let me explain.
The Amish are bound together in tight knit communities. They are unified by their religion, their refusal of vanity, and their lack of technology use.
Beyond that, they are regular people susceptible to the same personality flaws like every other American is. Yes, you can have a lazy or arrogant or forgetful or selfish Amish person. And, just like you “English” folks reading this email on a screen, they have their own passions and choose their own careers.
Buying food from the Amish does not make it automatically better.
Someone told the farmer a rumor that, because the Amish do not use the Internet, they can be quite susceptible to salespeople. They don’t use a quick and easy Google search to fact check and access the latest research.
A salesman could come to a farm and promise better yield by using x, y, and z. And, the struggling Amish farmer will simply believe it and say yes. Little do they know, they are signing on to using GMOs, pesticides, and so on.
Now, this could actually be said about any American farmer, whether they have access to Google or not. A lazy farmer is a lazy farmer. If a farmer a fastidious, Amish or not, they will not fall prey to this type of sales pitch. They will utilize all of informational resources available to them, online or not.
So again, it’s not about being Amish. Being Amish does not make you uneducated and without resources.
However, farmers falling prey to salespeople is a serious issue. The ill effects of these coaxed decisions may not be known for generations.
For example, our farmer Aaron’s father is a conventional dairy farmer. He raises his cows on conventional grain feed and gives conventionally recommended hormones and antibiotics and his cows are conventionally inactive.
He was sold on making a good living this way. And, in turn, this is the way Aaron was taught to farm by his family.
However, from a young age, our farmer saw problems with the conventional method of farming. Aaron knew he wanted to do things differently. Luckily, he had a more naturally-minded neighbor who was happy to share his knowledge. And this is what sparked Aaron’s will to start Miller’s Biodiversity Farm.
Our farmer is an excellent farmer. But, it really has little to do with being Amish. It’s because he is outstanding in his field.
He is a regenerative grass farmer who raises animals humanely. He feeds them a natural diet and lets them live an active lifestyle. He aims to produce the most nutrient dense foods possible while improving the environment. He’s not afraid to call for expert advice or do some research. He is a resourceful go getter. He strives to be the best farmer he can.
So this is just another reason that, if you want high quality food and transparency, you need an excellent farmer. You need to know your farmer. Ask questions, get detailed answers, and make sure your farmer is doing what they say. Our health, our climate, and the next generation depends on it.
It’s that time of year when we start to plan for Thanksgiving. Where will you be? Who will be coming? And, most importantly, what will you be cooking?
Of course you’ll be eating turkey. Yum! You can preorder one now!
Our traditional “white” breed turkeys are free roaming, forage for lots of bugs, and are fed a soy-free feed.
They are all-natural - no antibiotics, no hormones, no artificial flavors, no colors, no synthetic ingredients, no preservatives.... nothing added (and, woah, can you believe that much stuff goes into other turkeys?).
They come fresh and vacuum sealed, processed within a week of delivery.
This year, we will also be selling fresh pumpkin pies from Walnut Run Farm Bakery.
The pies are made with an Einkorn crust and wholesome nutrient-dense ingredients for the pumpkin custard filling. Thrilled to offer these this year.
The pies are 8”. They will be baked a day or two before you receive them and will last about 5 days in the fridge.
And, lastly, we will also be selling gift baskets for those who aren’t cooking the turkey but would like to thank those who are.
Everything will be beautifully packed in a pretty cardboard box, filled with farm items like cheese, honey, pumpkin bread, granola bars, almonds, and beef jerky. What a fantastic gift for a Thanksgiving host!
You need to preorder these items before November 14.
There will be a 50% deposit charged to your card, and then the final amount will be charged just before you receive your Thanksgiving goodies.
Learn more, view the Thanksgiving delivery schedule, and preorder your items here:
https://millersbiodiversityfarm.grazecart.com/thanksgiving-preorder
Being in the dairy business, we hear a lot of rumors about milk on the farm.
One particular rumor really got us curious: You can live on only milk.
So, is this true? We had to look into it more.
We found that some people go on periodic milk only diets to lose weight. We also found that many toddlers go on food strikes, refusing food but gulping down milk. We found a bodybuilder who attempted this to gain weight with no success. We also heard a very strange story about a man who damaged his digestive system as a toddler and drank raw milk only his whole life and was very healthy.
There wasn’t much definitive info out there. So, the only “logical” thing to do was to try it ourselves.
Three of the ladies who work on the farm and myself did a milk diet experiment. We consumed milk only for 7-10 days.
It’s important to note that we are all in good health and eat wholesome omnivorous diets that include dairy and fermented foods. None of us take any medications, just some natural supplements like cod liver oil and elderberry syrup.
We all had similar experiences. Here’s how it went.
On the first day, it felt weird, like we should be eating. Food is so very psychological.
I personally struggled a lot in the middle of the first day. I was tired and started to get a headache. This was strictly due to not having caffeine. I caved and drank a cup of coffee, which I thought was acceptable. So for me it ended up being a milk and coffee diet. Food is psychological, but caffeine dependency is very physically real.
On the second and third day, the smells of food really got to me. I so wanted to eat the salty buttery popcorn my kids were eating. I so wanted to take a bite of braised short ribs, smoked cheddar cheese, and fermented pickles.
All of us reported the biggest struggle of the milk diet being restraining from eating what others were. It felt unsociable, and solid food is yummy.
By day 3, it was simply normal. There was no hunger, no thirst, the same level (or slightly more) energy. It was the same all the way through.
Hmmm. This really gets me thinking. Does milk actually have everything you need to survive?
In case you’re wondering, a gallon of conventional whole milk is about 2,400 calories. Conventional whole milk is 88% water and has 7.7 grams of protein, 11.7 grams of carbs, 12.3 grams of sugar, 0 grams of fiber, and 8 grams of fat. It’s also a good source of Vitamin B12, calcium, riboflavin, phosphorous, and other vitamins and minerals.
And, I assume that, if you’re sourcing from a small farmer that’s monitoring soil quality and producing 100% grass fed milk, many of those numbers will be boosted.
During the milk diet experiment, each of us drank between ½-1 gallon of milk per day.
Over the course of 10 days, everyone, including myself, reported losing weight. Nothing significant, anywhere from 1-8 lbs.
For me, I think it was due to the lack of empty calories. My body was using everything it took in.
Also, when you take the psychology out of eating, you eat what you need, nothing more and nothing less.
So, what did we learn?
We learned that milk satisfies hunger completely. We learned that we consume more food than we need to. The ladies on the farm all reported the biggest success was practicing self discipline.
My biggest takeaway from the milk only experiment is that milk is a great and wholesome snack.
My kids seem to always be hungry. Ten minutes after a meal, they want a snack. So now, I offer them a glass of milk! It’s filling. It’s nutritious. And, it will certainly tide you over before the next meal.
Would I do the milk diet again? Probably not. But, I am glad I did it once. The ladies on the farm all gave an emphatic yes to doing the milk diet again, especially if they’re dealing with a chronic disease or are struggling with gut/digestive issues.
What do you think? Would you do the milk diet?
If you’re reading this email, then you likely know the importance of food and its effects on your health. However, eating well by sourcing food from small farms can be expensive and consume a good portion of your budget.
Many customers have reported to me the desire to buy more small farm food but are held back by the prices. I’m hoping I can help this week.
It is possible. It is possible to eat delicious nutrient dense food and stay in budget. Even if you don’t incorporate these foods every day in every meal, you could start with stocking one real ingredient or one real meal per week.
Here are 4 simple farm meals to make your budget happy. I provided the cost breakdown to help you plan.
It would cost $22.03 per person to have this complete real food breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And, if you’re feeling special, splurge on an extra special dessert for an additional $2.66 per person.
An easy nourishing breakfast. Our oats are pre-soaked - no need to soak the oats overnight. However, if you are using regular (non-soaked) oats, we recommend soaking the oats in the milk in the fridge for about 12 hours. This dish can be prepped the night before or made the morning of. Once baked, it can be stored in the fridge. Cut off a piece, reheat, and top with yogurt, milk, or maple syrup.
A great sandwich is something to cherish, and good unprocessed lunch meat is hard to find. This is a pleaser for all ages. A little sweet, a little spicy, a little smooth, and a little crunchy. Great for packed lunches.
This is a classic dinner with tried and true basically fail-proof recipes. It makes a complete wholesome dinner. Prep the chicken for 10 minutes and stick it in the oven in the morning. Then, spend 10 minutes prepping the veggies about an hour before dinner. Easy, fast, delicious.
A classic cookie made with heritage Einkorn flour. A special treat for you to share.
How do you budget for small farm food? Do you have any great budget friendly farm food meals? I’d love to hear from you!
First, let’s get this straight. Bone broth is not a regular stock or broth. It’s the superhero of stocks. Some call is liquid gold.
Where stock and broth are boiled for a few hours, bone broth is simmered for up to 24 hours. Bone broth should also contain vinegar, which draws additional nutrients from the bones.
Collagen is a protein that contains specific amino acids that are essential for rebuilding bone, connective tissue, and skin. These little amino acids do so much for your overall wellness.
According to ConsumerLab’s reviews, 1 cup of store bought bone broth contains anywhere from 2.5 to 11.5 grams of collagen. I assume that a homemade bone broth made from quality pasture raised bones (you know, the kind that’s like jello at room temperature) would have 11.5 grams of collagen or more per serving.
There are many nutritionists, health coaches, and practitioners that recommend collagen supplements anywhere from 10-15 grams per day. So 1 cup of bone broth per day would cover it. And, since the only side effect of too much collagen (if that’s even possible) is a tummy ache, feel free to have as much as your body says it needs.
Collagen helps repair a leaky gut.
Your intestinal walls are made up of microscopic folds or “villi”. The villi are built from amino acids in collagen. The collagen literally seals the leaks.
Collagen improves the appearance of your hair, skin, and nails.
Starting at about age 35, you naturally start to produce less collagen. This is one reason why your hair may get brittle, your skin becomes less elastic and starts to form wrinkles, and your nails may be weaker. Adding more collagen to your diet is a great way to make your hair, skin, and nails smoother, firmer, and silkier.
Collagen impacts your joint health.
Like oil in a car, collagen allows your joints to move smoothly. As you age and collagen depletes, adding more collagen to your diet will help ease any pain or stiffness when your body moves.
Collagen supports bone formation, growth, and repair.
Your bones are made of ⅓ collagen. This is what allows them to be flexible. Adding collagen to your diet may support bone health by increasing the mineral density. There are studies that show collagen can also help with osteoporosis.
Collagen also supports your heart and liver function.
Specific amino acids in collagen can help your liver and heart repair itself from the damage caused by normal function.
It’s important to note that the quality and source of your bones will significantly impact the quality and amount of collagen in your broth. Please make sure you are sourcing from farms like ours that raise truly pastured animals.
Miller’s has a bunch of bone options for making an excellent bone broth: beef marrow bones, beef bones, pork bones, chicken neck and back, stewing hens, and more!
To make things a bit easier for you, we created a bone broth collection where you can buy bone broth as well as ingredients to make it yourself.
And please remember to not throw away the leftover bones from your steaks, roasts, and other cuts. Those can be made into bone broth within a few days, or stick them in the freezer (along with your veggie scraps) for making bone broth later.
---
*Photo by Jules
We have some really exciting news! Our first ever When Pigs Fly Pork Sale opens this Monday, November 22 and will close 7 days later on Sunday, December 1 at 11:59 PM EST. Sign up and get more info.
We’ll have small to large bundles filled with individually sealed cuts that offer you deep discounts on forest-raised pork. The more you buy, the more you save.
Our customers LOVE our pork because it’s simply UNIQUE. It’s packed with flavor, and our processor uses real ingredients. Our sugar-free salt cured bacon is a best seller!
Pastured pork is really hard to find.
I mean, it’s basically non-existent in supermarkets. Where else can you find pigs who live in the forest, rooting around and consuming thousands of acorns per year!?
No need to look further. We’re here for you.
And next week is a great time to buy some forest-dwelling pork at discount prices. Again, this has never happened before, and the sale will only be open for 7 days. Super exciting!
Oh, and did I mention that the pigs will be processed this week or in early December? That means it will last the longest time possible in your freezer.
If you’d like to be notified when the When Pigs Fly Pork Sale opens and receive some stellar content about our all-natural pork farming practices, pork nutrition, and recipes, click below NOW!
Marie
PS: Miller’s has a goal of transparency. We want you to know everything about where your food comes from, how it was raised, how it was processed, anything you want to know. By signing up for our launch, we’ll give you all the info you need to make informed choices about your food… and in this particular case, your pork.
When your freezer is filled with a variety of pork from our When Pigs Fly Pork Sale, there’s so many dishes you can make. Here are some recipes to inspire your cooking:
Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
Short ribs are a cut taken from the blade end of the loin close to the pork shoulder. The meat is typically thick on both sides of the bone. They tend to have a good amount of fat and connective tissue, which makes braising a great choice for cooking.
Apple Raisin Pork Chops
This recipe is unbelievably tasty and only takes 10 minutes to prepare! A tried and true family pleaser. A comfort food at its best.
Crispy Pork Belly
Since pork belly is mostly fat, technique is important with cooking it. You want to end up with a crispy outside and a juicy, tender, melt-on-your-tongue inside. Pork belly is surprisingly easy to make. Here’s a simple recipe that will give you excellent results.
Pig Feet Recipe
Pig feet? You can eat those? Yes, you can! In honor of nose to tail eating, here’s a pig feet recipe. Although pig feet aren’t the most popular in the modern home kitchen, they should be. They are tasty and juicy and once you try them, they’re irresistible!
Brown Sugar Glazed Baked Ham
When I think of Christmas, I think of glazed ham. It’s a longstanding tradition. The brown sugar glaze is made with pineapple juice and makes a tasty sauce. This recipe can be used with a ½ ham or altered for smaller ham slices.
Italian Minestrone Soup with Amish sausage
Minestrone is a hearty Italian soup made with beans, vegetables, and a tomato-y broth and is served with pasta or rice. It’s versatile, as you can use any seasonal veggies you have in your home. A great addition to a good Minestrone is sausage, adding a deep flavor and some healthy animal fat.
We held a major pork sale last week. I was surprised by the amount of people who reported that, although they would like to participate and get a great deal on our amazing pork, they simply didn’t have room in their freezer.
This really got me thinking. Why do so many people have no space in their freezer?
I mean, even a standard freezer has at least 10 cubic feet of space. Since about 25 pounds of food can leisurely fit in one cubic foot, that means people are stockpiling at least 250 pounds of food! And, if you pack your freezer like you play Tetris, you can fit way, way more.
This led me to one conclusion:
The freezer is like the blackhole of the kitchen. You put stuff in, but it rarely comes out.
So, this week I am offering you some simple freezer organization tips. I hope this will help you better utilize your freezer.
1. Keep a freezer inventory list.
This list should go in a visible location. I keep mine on my freezer door. But, if you prefer to have a clean fridge, you could put your freezer list inside a pantry door or basically any place in the kitchen that you would see it frequently.
You want to be reminded that you have so much wonderful food in your freezer. And, more importantly, you want to eat your freezer food! Although foods in the freezer technically stay “good” indefinitely, they do start to degrade after a year.
I’m sharing a no frills freezer inventory sheet with you. You can download it here, print, and use!
Simply write down all the items currently in your freezer. When you add food to the freezer, add it to the list. When you’re thinking of your meal plan, check the list. When you take an item out, cross it off!
2. Organize your freezer.
This seems logical, but we all know that life happens. You get a 5 lb butter bundle and squeeze it in the cracks. Yes, this saves time in the present. But, keeping an organized freezer will save you so much time and stress in the long run.
The fact that you’re reading this means it’s time. It’s time to just do it.
Go ahead. Take everything out of your freezer. Separate it into categories - meat, veggies, fruit, prepared meals, and other. Then, place it back in an organized way.
3. Use baskets.
I have 3 plastic rectangular baskets in my freezer (like these ones). This is how I divide my freezer space.
One basket for meat, one for veggies, one for fruit. Then the rest of my freezer is for prepared meals and other yummy things like butter or bone broth.
4. Freeze food and prepared meals in the same shape, as flat as possible.
Have you ever made a humongous pot of chili and had lots of leftovers? Have you ever had a stellar green bean harvest and couldn’t eat them all? Ever prepped ahead to make freezer meals? Use your freezer!
If you use odd size containers and bags, these foods can take up a ton of space and also be hard to find.
If you use all the same shape of rectangular container, you will save a lot of space. Or, even easier, freeze in one gallon ziplock bags. Lay the bags flat and spread the contents evenly. Once frozen, you’ll have neat bricks of food that can be stored like books on a shelf.
I hope these tips are helpful. I also hope that, if you’re freezer is packed, you can start to use some of your wonderful food. Best wishes for your freezer!
In honor of the farmer sending some beef cattle to the processor and re-upping our beef inventory this week, I’d like to dispel some myths about beef farming.
These days, so many people have beef with beef. The general consensus is that by eating beef you are killing the planet. However, that blanket statement is simply not true.
It’s not about what a farmer’s raising but rather about how the farmer’s raising it.
Listen, conventional beef farming in feedlots is awful - for the animals, for the workers, and for the planet. There’s no arguing that.
But not all beef farmers are alike. When raising beef cattle sustainably, farmers are actually improving the earth. Dare I say saving the planet.
Let’s take a look at some common myths about beef farming. I’m not going to go into a terrible amount of detail, but I will give you some handy links where you can learn more.
Beef farming produces too much CO2.
Not true. Well managed cattle are a net carbon sink. That means that sustainable cattle farming practices absorb more carbon than they release.
Keep in mind that this is only true if the cattle are grazing on perennial pasture and moved to fresh pasture often.
Beef cattle produce too much methane.
OK I can’t take this one on too strongly. I mean, cows fart. And burp. A lot. We can’t stop it. Their belches are exceptionally powerful. And, cows burp and fart more if they are eating grass.
But, let’s put things into perspective here. Beef produces 3.3% of total greenhouse gas emissions, and methane is just one of those gasses. Transportation and electricity account for 56%. Is it fair to say that the methane argument is overstated by plant-based diet advocates?
Beef farming consumes too much water.
Not true. Listen, cows drink a lot of water. That’s a fact. Their feed also requires water to grow. And water is needed for processing, too.
Grass fed and finished beef use 97% green water, 2% blue water, and 1% grey water. That means that 97% of the water used is naturally occurring rainfall. And, if your cattle are raised sustainably and chemical-free, all water used can return to our water cycle pretty quickly.
Water is needed to produce all food. Beef requires 280 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. A pound of rice requires 410 gallons. Avocados, walnuts, sugar, and many other foods all require more per pound than beef, too.
Beef needs too much input. We should grow veggies on the land instead.
Let’s get this straight. Not all land can be cropped.
More than 60% of the land globally and 40% of the land in the US is too rocky, steep, or arid to grow crops. However, it can raise pastured beef!
Moreover, on land that can be used for plants (like our farmer’s), raising 100% grass-fed pastured beef with care increases the fertility and vitality of the soil and ecosystem.
By contrast, conventional (and conventional organic) methods of growing crops like soy or corn or wheat or basically anything can deplete the land. It can create dead soil, erosion, chemical contamination, minimizes wildlife, and so on.
So, will beef save the world? Well, maybe some beef farmers can. Can beef kill the world? Well, maybe some beef farmers can.
The ideal way to raise beef cattle needs to be on a farm by farm basis. What works in some areas may not work in others. But we know that farming needs to change to create a better food system and a better environment.
And I’m not even going to mention the health benefits from eating beef. That’s a whole series of news articles!
It’s that magical time of year when we think a lot about giving and getting to know your family and friends a bit better. Yet, you may not think about all you give and learn the whole year long. It happens every day and every time you buy and eat real food from our farm. In this honor, I wrote a poem for you.
The gifts you give with Miller’s all year
Horse drawn plows
Soy-free feed
Grass fed cows
GMO-free seed
Long bales of hay
Hardworking farm staff
Children who play
A suckling calf
Love for yourself
Regenerated soil
Improve your health
Bone broth at a boil
Enzymes that are intact
Bacteria alive
An improved digestive tract
Bees buzzing in a hive
A variety of probiotics
A food system improved
Farms without robotics
Dirt paths that are hooved
A kitchen that’s used
Pastured active animals
Tea that’s infused
A2 that’s bio compatible
Active healthy lifestyle
Small families supported
A well balanced soil profile
Food that’s not imported
Diets based on nature
High nutrient density
A valley formed by a glacier
Work done with intensity
Transparent food relationships
Fields that are green
Farm and consumer fellowships
Milk that is clean
A body in good health
Piles of manure
Informational wealth
Good food for sure
Thank you for the gifts you give to the farm, the animals, the earth, and yourself throughout the year. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I wish you and your family all the best this holiday season :)
Here we are. Heading into the new year. As most of us do, the farmer finds himself reflecting upon 2019.
Where did I focus my energy?
The farmer spent the first half of the year focusing on becoming certified for raw milk production by the State of Pennsylvania and switching to USDA certified meat processors.
In the second half of the year, the farmer focused on making sure his business is financially stable and sustainable. He wants to continue doing what he loves - regenerative farming - indefinitely.
What experiences brought me the most happiness?
Customers rallied together to raise over $15,000 so the farm could purchase a milk bottling machine. This was an immense act of generosity and gratitude and support.
Customers also poured their hearts into more than 100 stellar Google reviews. The feedback was overwhelming and much appreciated. Keep them coming!
What were my biggest challenges?
The farmer’s biggest challenge this year was hands down the RB51 situation. This was scary for the farm in many ways. The farmer is glad to have this in his past.
What do I want to keep doing or stop doing in 2020?
Well, the farmer certainly wants to keep producing the highest quality, most natural food possible. That’s for sure!
One thing he’s like to stop doing is using unsustainable packing materials. You can look forward to these changes in 2020 :)
So, what are you reflecting on? What changes are you looking to make in 2020?
The most popular New Year’s resolutions involve improving your health. From my standpoint, increasing your small farm food intake would certainly accomplish that.
Let’s say you just order milk only from the farm. How about adding one more thing like eggs or bread to your order?
Or, let’s say there’s some processed foods that are staples in your home - cereal, granola bars, squeezy yogurt, bread, hot dogs, etc. Try replacing one of those foods with something unprocessed and made by a small farmer.
Or, let’s say you order 50% of your food from small farms. How about upping that to 60%?
We would really love to hear from you. What’s in your plans for 2020?
This address must match the selected delivery ZIP.
Select when this item should be added.
Select which order should receive this item.
A2/A2 Dairy
Meat & Seafood
