More Good News For Those in Dallas

Let's be honest, meat from animals raised in a pasture without the use of hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified grains is expensive. Have you seen the prices at whole Foods and Sprouts (I'm talking to the city folk, not us locals :)? As some of you know, purchasing the whole animal has saved this frugal housewife a ton of money!

Going directly to the farmer is an option for you guys in Dallas and Fort Worth as well. Many of you have asked about purchasing a whole animal and transporting it back to the city. I looked into it and here is the deal.

I spoke with Jerica from True Fields and she explained a few options you guys have. First of all you can purchase a whole animal from her with the perk of a price break. You can then have it processed at the place they use out here which puts a road trip in you near future. For some of you that might be a bonus. After all, fall is beautiful in these piney woods and you might have a dietitian who is an old friend that you want to see that lives near by;). Transporting the meat in an ice chest on dry ice will be sufficient for food safety.

Another option is to pay to have the animal transported to a facility near you and have it butchered there.

All this effort is worth it though. Not only do you have the advantage of speaking directly to the farmer and learning all about how the animal was raised but you also have the choice of how it is processed. What cuts of meat would you like? How do you want it cut? Are there any specialty items you want?

And the convenience of having high quality meat in your freezer cannot go unmentioned!

True Field's contact information is on their website, truefields.com. They will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Texas Daily Harvest

You may have heard me talk about this dairy in my nutrition class or read about them on my blog. Now you can check them out for yourself. Their website is up and running now so pop on over, texasdailyharvest.com. You might be surprised to find that a store or farmer's market near you is carrying their delicious products. Archer's personal favorite is their Greek yogurt. My new favorite is their Gouda cheese that I tried for the first time last night. I made a cheese soup with the organic Gouda, fresh raw cream, homemade broth, and veggies. You can't do better than nourishing and amazingly tasty food! Don't forget, if you don't see your local store listed on Texas Daily Harvest's website, you can always ask your store to carry their products. Sprouts, Whole Foods, and small health food stores are always looking for high quality local products.

Click here to receive the Texas Daily Harvest newsletter. A certain dietitian that you know is writing articles for their newsletters ;).

Enjoy the harvest!

Real Milk For Everyone

A new bill is in the works that would allow raw milk to be sold at farmer's markets, farm stands, and to be delivered. Under current law raw milk can only be sold at the farm. I know for us that means driving at least 1 hour there and 1 hour back. And in my book that's a little difficult to add to our weekly excursions to say the least. That's why we have set up a milk co-op where we take turns driving out to the farm.

This law will help support local farms and in effect the local economy. And as an added bonus it allows the consumer easier access to real unprocessed food. Why do they make it so hard in the first place to get food that doesn't say General Mills or Nabisco on it?

For more details and to find out how you can help click here.

Butter 'Em Up!

I don't know about you but I have not had much luck making butter in a food processor. Maybe I'm just not patient enough or perhaps I just can't take that loud noise long enough for the butter to actually form. But the benefits of homemade butter made from farm fresh cream are worth my effort. Omega 3's from grass fed cows, fat soluble vitamins, and brain building cholesterol linger in the heavy cream awaiting transformation. Note to dairy friends: there are several of us that are willing to pay for farm fresh butter made from the raw cream of grass fed cows! Please fill this niche.

Until a dairy takes on this endeavor I must endure. Or put the children to work. Last week I set my cream out for 8 hours to sour (Think probiotics. Cultured dairy products are awesome, not scary. I promise). I then placed the cream in a clean glass jar and screwed the lid on tight. Very tight.

After that, I handed it over to the kids. They rolled it back and forth, took turns shaking the jar, and even fought over it. Did you know that making butter actually encourages crawling? Archer would play with the jar and as it rolled away from him he would go after it. Yet another great thing about butter! We even took it outside and rolled it around the yard. We had butter in no time at all!











I guess I should have taken a picture of the butter when we were finished, huh?

For the sake of food science I must tell you that the constant shaking and moving of the cream causes the fat globules to stick together and form butter. After your butter has clumped together place it in a clean glass dish. Pour a little water over the butter to wash it and then press the butter with a spatula, paddle, or wooden spoon to remove excess water. We store our cultured butter on the counter so it's ready to spread.