Just Another Day on the Farm…Sort Of

A very blurry, rainy picture of Michael with a rifle.

*The following is my experience with the death of a pig. Although I purposely didn’t include graphic detail (as I don’t think it’s completely necessary) it still might be upsetting to some.

Last Friday I was out on the farm, like usual this time of year. Around 3, the time I’d normally be getting ready to pack up and head home, Michael said they would need to go out and slaughter one of the pigs. Joel would be coming back in about an hour to assist.

This pig had a hernia and it had doubled in size overnight. The vet didn’t seem very optimistic. So, that was that.

Right away I asked if I could come. As soon as the words left my mouth I was worried I’d made a big mistake. What if I was super scared, or nauseous, or sad? What if I just started crying right there in front of Michael and Joel?

Then I just told myself that no matter what, I had to do it. If Chris wants to raise pigs for charcuterie I need to be aware of what I’m getting into. I need to know that if need be I could participate and not have a meltdown. I was going to go out into that field and watch the whole thing, eyes open.

In the field it was pouring rain. The pig went down with one shot, thankfully. Everything went how it should, and it was pretty quick. I actually watched the whole thing and I was completely fine. I was actually very surprised by the fact that I was so calm.

They had to move the pig to a different field to gut it. I stayed back so I wouldn’t be in the way, but at one point Michael said I could come closer and look. It just reminded me of high school science class. It was interesting and informative and I was glad I was there.

As someone who didn’t eat meat for a very long time, this was a huge step for me. Ever since I started eating meat again I’ve been very aware of what I’m eating when I’m eating meat. I think about it every single time. I remind myself to be appreciative.

When it was all over I thanked the pig. I’m glad she lived a good life and although it’s unfortunate that she was having health problems, I’m glad she went easily. If you can ever get the chance to get this close to your food source (assuming you eat meat) I suggest it.

 

~eats this week~

The Summertime Picnic Quilt in action at the pool.

Some weeks just work well when it comes to dinner. I’d love to say that every week I make an awesome meal plan on Sunday for the week ahead but that rarely happens.

I wish it could happen, but Chris and I often just bat around different ideas and sometimes, on crazy days, it comes down to take out food. I wish it wasn’t like that, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

However we’ve been putting together some pretty tasty stuff this week.

Dairy facts sign at Willow Marsh. How cute is it that we have a dairy princess?

I got lots of eggs at Willow Marsh the other day so I came right home and made dough for challah bread. I also made 22 whole wheat hamburger buns. Go big or go home, right? Actually I just prefer to make large batches of things when I can to alleviate excess kitchen time in the future.

My sweet southern belle....what a ham!

Chris is now working the mid shift for this next week so while he was switching his body clock over he made bacon jam (that’ll have a post of its own!) and tomato basil chicken sausage (with tomatoes and basil from the garden). He made the sausage into patties that we had tonight on my buns with homemade slaw. I think we are going to turn the rest of it into meatballs to have with pasta.

Chris also ground up pork last night which we cooked up with garlic, onion, and jalepenos after dinner tonight. I put it into a crock pot with crushed tomatoes, chopped green peppers, and black beans. Tomorrow morning Jack and I are going to make tortillas and let the chili cook all day.

I’m not really sure what the weekend will bring but it certainly has been nice having all this delicious food this week!

Summer Eats are the Best Eats

Strawberries with balsamic vinegar and brown sugar.

Lately I’ve been making proper meals. Meals that are different and really thought out, not just the usual go-to dinners. I’ve also been really good about not ordering food, even when I’m tired.

The summer makes this easy though. There’s so much to choose from! Plus winter veg are all so starchy and that can get real old, real fast. Even though there are still many summer foods that aren’t ready yet, I’ve already been enjoying a wide variety.

Planning also helps me avoid wasting food, which drives me bonkers. I have a small chalk board in the kitchen (idea inspired by Mama Jillian) where I write down all the produce we currently have. This really helps with planning.

It’s nice to have full-fledged salads again, as opposed to just greens with dressing, which I was eating all winter. I’ve been making all sorts of combinations in the past few weeks.

Tonight I started the process for making Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream. Tomorrow night we finish it up and I’m so incredibly excited to try it!

Vanilla bean cooking in milk, cream, and brown sugar for the ice cream.

Some recent meals we’ve enjoyed are:

• Rainbow Chard Quiche (made with this crust, but this time used vegan shortening instead of lard, since we don’t have a ton of lard left) with our maple bacon served alongside arugula with balsamic vinaigrette, radishes, apples, candied walnuts, and black pepper chevre
• Pulled pork cooked in a slow cooker with Dinosaur Bar-B-Que sauce and fresh peaches served alongside fresh lettuce, strawberries, maple vinaigrette, hydroponic tomatoes, and toasted pecans
• Chicken (cooked whole in a slow cooker) with homemade gravy and couscous served alongside cold beet salad with pecans and goat cheese
• Whole wheat linguine with butternut squash (frozen, in my CSA this week), fresh basil, dried sage, and cream topped with toasted pumpkin seeds served alongside red oak leaf lettuce, thinly sliced summer squash, and balsamic vinaigrette

So, what’s on your summer plate?

Days 8-12: Market Work, Camping Time, & Derby

Jason has been getting to work in lieu of me at the market. Michael needed him Wednesday since I couldn’t work. He got to sell the 500 pints of strawberries the crew had just picked, plus earn some spending money.

Thursday we went camping at Moreau Lake with HMF and her brood. We had a crazy good time.

As we were driving up there it was hailing and I was really hoping the storm would blow over. For the most part it did, but we did have to set up our tents in the rain and with a million mosquitos biting us.

We cooked up our own skillet baked beans, Lewis Waite hot dogs, corn, and s’mores. For the most part we just sat around and ate all that awesome camp food and drank beer. Really you don’t need much more than that when it comes to camping.

Saturday Jason got to work at the market again and then we took him to his first derby bout. It was amazing and we won by just 2 points! I love watching those ladies skate.

Today we took it easy since it was raining and Jason was a little hungover. I had plans to pick strawberries but I think we’ll aim for tomorrow as long as it isn’t raining.

Also, I’m going to show him how to make yogurt, hummus, whole wheat sandwich bread and granola. Mmmmmmmm.

Days 6 & 7-Gardening, Running, Tacos & Whiskey

Yesterday Jason and I went crazy on the garden. He weeded the outer perimeter (which was amazing and long overdue) while I moved over some of the peppers and tomatoes I grew from seed. They were big enough now to be transplanted.

I also harvested up all the radishes and arugula and a bunch of the mesclun so I made us a salad before driving up to Congress Park to run. To be fair, Jason did most of the running; I ran for a bit and then just tried not to die.

Last night we made tacos all from scratch. I showed him how to make tortillas from this recipe (which I used in place of the usual one and I actually like it better, but used 2 cups AP flour & 3 cups whole wheat plus Spectrum shortening instead of Crisco). Jason mixed up taco seasoning from this recipe but we omitted the dried onions and just cooked up some red onion with the ground beef.

Today we were a bit more lazy during the day but we both went running again, but separate routes at different times.

Tonight I made breakfast burritos for dinner with some of the extra tortillas. I also got to use some romaine from my garden.

Now Chris and Jason are both at the last whiskey tasting of the season at 9 Maple. Lucky ducks. Tomorrow Jason and I need to make graham crackers for s’mores for camping and at night Chris is going to show him how to cook up the bacon they made, which is curing in the fridge right now.

Days 3 & 4 – Jam Completion & The Pig Roast

Just as a warning, this post contains pictures of a deceased pig after the jump.

Rhubarb Blueberry Orange Jam

Friday we finished up the jam and I actually haven’t even had a chance to try it out yet. We actually ended up with 4 jars of jam and 2 small ones that were more like compote.

The mix before it got cooked down.

The part where I discuss the pig roast (with photos) is after the jump.