Meat Inventory Update

Here's What's Left as of Nov. 7th

For those of you picking up at River Market: Your meat will arrive at 10:00 a.m. pick it up like any other CSA box. They will put it in the cooler but it's still a good idea to pick it up as soon as you can.

For those of you picking up at Hampden Park: I'll be at the co-op at 1:00 p.m. since Hampden does not have cooler/freezer space, I'll stay there until you come to get it.


Lamb Meat:
Lamb Shanks: a.k.a. hocks (good for soup) $5.00 - six left in stock
Lamb Shoulder: Two left, one is $20 (a little over 4#) and the other is $10 (a little over 2#), bone in
Lamb Chops: Ten packs left, they are small and also include bones, as a result I’ve decided to sell 4 chops for $5.00 instead of my original price of 2 for $5.00 (one person could very easily eat two lamb chops in one sitting).

Goat Meat
Goat Shanks: a.k.a. hocks (good for soup) $4.00
Leg of Goat: One left, $20 (nearly 5 and a half pounds)
Goat Shoulder: One left, $20 (nearly 5 and a half pounds)
Goat Chops: Five left, 2 per pack, $4.00/pack

Eener's Meat Sampler Pack: Now includes a mix of goat and lamb meat. Two packs of lamb chops, two packs of goat chops, one pound ground goat, two shanks (one lamb and one goat). $23.00

Meat Prices

So we’ve had two lambs, a ewe and a goat butchered and are interested in selling some meat to CSA members or anyone who is interested. Here is some information about the animals we had butchered:

The Two Lambs: These were both boys born here this past spring. The reason we had them butchered is because we don’t have a use for any more rams (we couldn’t use these guys for breeding anyway since they are related to the girl lambs). Their mothers raised them out in the pasture so the only things they ate were milk and grass. They were never given any ground feed and were never weaned. Since they didn’t get sick or appear to have any health problems whatsoever they were never given any antibiotics or any other kind of medicine, hormones, ect. They are both Icelandic which is a meat breed that is said to be less greasy than other meat breeds.

The Goat: This goat lived at my place for a year and a half. I decided to butcher her because she is not a good mother. While she was here she spent the majority of her time grazing in the pasture. During the winter she was fed hay that was grown without chemical herbicides or pesticides. Occasionally she was given ground feed as a special treat. She was dewormed (this is standard procedure) with Diatomaceous earth which is a type of sedimentary rock that contains fossilized algae. She never had any health problems (unless you count mental ones) and thus wasn’t given any meds. When I bought her she was a young goat I would estimate her age at two or three years. She is a Boer which is a breed that is known for producing meat.

The Ewe: The ewe also lived at my place for a year and a half and was on the same feeding routines as the goat. She was butchered because she did not lamb last spring; because of this I believe she was pretty old. Even though she was older she was still a very nice looking, slick sheep. She is a hair sheep meaning she grew fur instead of wool. Hair sheep are a somewhat rare meat breed. She was dewormed in the same manner as the goat and also did not have any health problems and so was never given any meds.

Prices:
Lamb Chops- 2 per pack, cuts are 11/4 in. thick - $5.00/pack
Ground Lamb- 1 lbs. packs - $5.00/pack
Leg of Lamb – between 3 and 5 lbs., bone in - $5.00/lbs.
Lamb Shoulder – between 1 and 3 lbs., bone in - $5.00/lbs.
Lamb Hocks- good for stew- $5.00

Goat Chops- 2 per pack, cuts are 1in. thick - $4.00/pack
Ground Goat- 1 lbs. packs - $4.00/pack
Goat Roasts-between 3 and 5 lbs.- $4.00/lbs.
Goat Hocks-a.k.a. stew meat- $4.00

Mutton pricing is the same as goat pricing.

Eener’s Meat Sampler Pack- a good idea if you’d like to try a little of each, 1 pound each of ground lamb, goat and mutton, 2 packs of chops (one goat and one mutton) and a lamb hock - $23.00

The Butcher: We had our meat done up by a family owned butcher shop located in Elmwood, WI. They have a pretty cool meat market if you ever are in town. To learn more about their shop here is the web site: http://www.piercecountywi.com/Sailers.htm. Cass and I have been known to do our own butchering. However, we decided to contract this job out because there are two major advantages to sending animals to a professional butcher. For one, they have professional grade equipment that ensures the meat is weighed and wrapped to perfection. Secondly, all the animals are inspected by a veterinarian to ensure they are healthy and of good eating quality before they are slaughtered.

Deliveries: I’m nearly certain we’ll be able to put meat in the CSA boxes next week. The butcher said the meat should be ready this week, though we haven’t heard from just yet. Another good delivery day would be Sat. Nov. 7. We’re going to stop by both co-ops (River Market Co-op in downtown Stillwater and Hampden Park Co-op in St. Paul on Raymond Ave.) to pick up our last round of boxes. Other delivery dates are very possible since we get into Stillwater and St. Paul quite often to shop and visit family and friends.

How To Order: Just e-mail me eenermachine@gmail.com or call me (715)643-2803 and let me know what you would like, when you would like it and where you would be picking it up at.

Where is Eener's Farm??

It's been brought to my attention that the web site Google Maps thinks we live north of 64 when in fact we actually live south of it. Map Quest on the other hand seems to have a better handle on where we are. Another important detail is that there was a misprint in the newsletter and Connorsville is actually west of our house and not east like I had orginally claimed.

Here are directions to the farm (free of misprints):

From Stillwater: This is the obvious way for Stillwater folks but may also be good for St. Paul people too. Cross the lift bridge and head into WI on Hwy. 64. Follow 64 for about 40 miles, turn right onto 220th St. Please note that there is another 220th St. that intersects with Hwy. 64 about 20 miles from Stillwater, this is not our road. In order to get to our 220th St. you have to go through Connorsville which is a little town about three miles west of our house. Once you are on the correct 220th St. we are the first place on the right.

From I-94: Go east on I-94 until you hit the Glenwood City exit (the exit number is 28). Take a left off the exit ramp onto Hwy. 128. Follow 128 for about 10 miles until you get into Glenwood City at which point 128 becomes the main drag also known as Oak Street. A few blocks into town 128 turns off, ignore this and proceed to Third Street and hang a left. Just outside of town Third Street becomes County Road X. Follow Co. Rd. X for a few miles until you come to a stop sign, turn left onto County Road Q (I know, us crazy Wisconsinites and our lettered road names). Follow Co. Rd. Q a short ways to Hwy 64 and take a right. About four miles down 64 you will find 220th St., take a right. We are the first place on the right.

Amenities:
Gas: Gas stations are scarce around here (so is cell phone reception). If you are coming from Stillwater your last chance for gas is at an intersection we call four corners about 7 or 8 miles outside of New Richmond. There are 2 stations here right off 64. If you are coming from I-94 your last gas will be found in Glenwood City.
Food: We’ll feed you around 5:30 or 6 p.m. If you were thinking of stopping somewhere for lunch most of the countryside taverns serve food. You’ll find mostly burgers and pizza.

Maynerd: Our dog, Maynerd may bark at you in greeting. He's very friendly and has been trained not to jump on people, though he gets pretty excited at parties. He's a smaller dog (about 40 pounds) and not intimidating.

Box #18

It froze very hard here on Tuesday night. Before that happened, Cass and I covered the peppers and eggplant. Even with the covers, most of the plants still received frost damage. We’ll see what happens with these. I think we’ll still get some produce out of them but maybe not as much. The basil, summer squash and tommatillos all succumbed to the frigidness. Since those plants haven’t been producing much lately and were all dying back anyway, I let them go. Everything else in the garden doesn’t mind being frozen. Although, I noticed the Swiss Chard seemed kind of limp as I was picking it on Wednesday morning. I think maybe it was still trying to thaw out as it looked more crisp that evening.

Four More Weeks to Go
We still have four more weeks left. If anyone is wondering, the last delivery to Stillwater will be Oct. 26, the last for St. Paul will be Oct. 28. Here’s what’s left: lots more spuds, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, winter squash, pie pumpkins, rutabagas, turnips, pasta squash, swiss chard, hopefully peppers and eggplant, some broccoli, beets, carrots, popcorn, sunflower seeds and horseradish. We also have lots of gourds, ornamental corn and jack o’lanterns which we hope to get rid of mostly at the big party here on Oct. 17.

Farm Pictures

My dad and Cass enjoying the scenery. The gourd patch is behind them.


My nephew working with Rose, one of our young goats.


A couple of our pumpkins.


Here we are next to the sweet corn. Did you know that you can get 11-year-olds to pick corn quite speedily if you fill them in on some of the gory details from the horror movie Children Of The Corn?


The hired help checking on/sitting on our prize Jack O'Lantern.

Box #13

Hurray for sweet corn! Corn is one of my favorite things to pick. I go along with a gunny sack snapping off cobs left and right no bending or kneeling required. Additionally, it’s nice and shady since the plants are quite a bit taller than me. I planted corn three different times so that it wouldn’t all be ready at once. Some plants have defied this system and are riper than others planted later. To determine whether or not certain cobs were ready this week we peeled back parts of the husk. So if you have cobs that are somewhat dehusked that was just us taking a peek and not some corn-seeking critter nibbling on your dinner.

Stinky Broccoli Our broccoli plants are mostly producing flowerets right now which are cute little mini heads that form after the main larger head is harvested. These little guys are tasty but also can get quite stinky. The reason broccoli (also brussel sprouts, cabbage and other members of the brassica or cruciferous family of veggies) gets smelly is because it contains sulfur compounds. These compounds help protect the plants from insects and animals. There has been quite a lot of research stating that these very same compounds help prevent cancer. The smell gets stronger when broccoli is cut. Since flowerets require many cuts rather than just the one for big heads they tend to smell more.

Tomatoes
I continue to be disturbed by the amount of mold in the tomato patch. To make matters worse, we got about three more inches of rain yesterday, I’m sure this will not help our situation. Never thought I’d say this but I think I’ve had enough rain…at least for awhile.

Melons
Last year we had a ton of melons in September right at the exact moment that everyone was sick of them. As a result I tried a few new things this year to try and get them earlier. These new ideas didn’t work out and it appears as though we will either have melons next month or not at all. Looks like it’s back to the drawing board on the whole melon front.

Starting to go the Other Way
The cucumbers and beans are starting to show their age and are beginning to die back. We will probably still run these next week and maybe the week after but to a pretty limited degree. On the upside, this will give me more time to start digging spuds again.

Another Round
We'll be pulling beets, turnips and carrots again soon. I'm thinking I may have over planted turnips and under planted carrots...sorry.

Box #11

The garden is exploding! We really had to move to get everything picked and packed in time this week. Here is a run down:

Green Tomatoes: One of my tomato plants looks as though it may be dead or at least in the process of dying. I think I nicked it with the tiller some weeks ago and ever since it’s been a weak plant. Apparently it couldn’t stand up to the torrential downpour we received here last weekend. Anyway, rather than toss the tomatoes out I put some in the CSA boxes this week. I think something like five or six of you got them. For those of you who didn’t get these, keep the following recipe ideas (from The Encyclopedia of Country Living) in mind. After the frosts start everyone will probably get some.

Fried Green Tomatoes: Slice tomatoes into about ½ inch slices. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a pie tin. Dip slices in the mix to get both sides coated. Fry in hot shortening (or butter or olive oil) on one side then the other. Serve hot and right away.

Baked Green Tomatoes: Cut tomatoes into ½ inch slices and arrange half of then in the bottom of a greased baking dish. Over that make a layer of small toasted bread cubed, salt, pepper and bitted dots. Add a second layer of green tomatoes and than a second layer of everything else. Finally, sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees until tender.

Pasta Squash: These are coming along nicely. If you didn’t get one of these this week, don’t worry, you’ll definitely see probably more of these than you would like by the end of the growing season as they are incredibly prolific. Pasta squash (a.k.a. spaghetti squash or vegetable spaghetti) is a relative of summer squash. It’s a pretty cool type of squash because you actually can make spaghetti out of it. Instead of producing a solid flesh they’re insides are all noodley.
To prepare: snap the stem off and toss the whole thing in a pot of boiling water for about half an hour or poke with a fork and bake for about 90 minutes; slice in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and central pulp; using a fork, rake out the shreds of spaghetti. Once they’re cooked use them like any other noodle (hot, cold, stir fried). Uncooked it’s pretty unpalatable. Also if you want to make stir fry with it, cook it first using one of the methods above.