Author Archives: Katie Nix

“Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.”

Posted on by under Homeschooling, Keeping the Home, Musings
If there’s a way we can help out, let us know. Maybe it’s a meal, resource sources, help starting seeds for a garden, canning know-how, meal plan ideas, how to handle having kids home 24/7, borrowing a book or two, swapping board games, food delivery, home school ideas, or just an ear to hear what you have to say.
Those of you working from home or not working at all, I’m sorry. Maybe you’re loving it. Maybe you are fretting. There is hope and God provides. We may not have all we used to have, but God provides. We’ve seen it many, many times in our lives. I have no doubt about it. I hope you can trust in him too even when things are unclear to our view.
Our pastor stated, “How many gods of this world did God take down this week? NBA, NFL… March madness… financial institutions, stocks… health… how many people have put hope in their education? AND OUR GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL DESPITE WHATEVER MAY COME!” (source)
Though we do not always see it, we are in a battle. May you war against the gods of this world and trust in the one who has all things in His hands. Though we may not see an end to this, we also know it’s nothing new (ever read Ecclesiastes?). Also, though this world has more than enough trouble, we’re still alive and there is always hope.
“Ecclesiastes 11:7 asserts, “Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.” In Ecclesiastes, to be “under the sun” is to be identified with the realm of human breath and toil and all the results of the curse. “Under the sun” is the sphere of what is universally true of all humanity, believer and non-believer alike, throughout all time since the fall of mankind (Ecclesiastes 1:3, 9, 14; 2:11, 17–20; 3:16; 4:1; etc.).” By Jason DeRouchie From DesiringGod.org.
For all you moms jumping into homeschooling or the feeling of homeschooling for the next few weeks, it takes time. For us, it takes at least a month at the beginning of each school year to feel like we have things running smoothly and even then we have our bad days. Also, this is all my kids know and want to know for school at this point. With their commitment to it as well as mine, it’s not a daunting task. It’s not easy, I’ll never say it is. Three meals a day, instruction, crabby kids, “bored” kids… Here’s a tip: give your bored kids a chore when they say they’re bored, they won’t be bored much after that one. Also, a daily schedule can really help (maybe the article below will be helpful to you). There are so many resources, but it takes time to look for them. Again, let me know if I can help point you in the right direction.
Give yourself and those around you grace. Go on a nature walk, look up science and art videos on youtube, youtube also has great zoo channels, “visit” a museum online, plant some seeds in containers (maybe even homemade containers), read through a book with your teen that would help him build character and trust in God, learn coding at code.org, take an advanced course through Ed X or Khan Academy, learn a language with Muzzy or Duolingo, check out a free concert, write a story or letter, get outside and learn to run or kick a ball around, borrow a book from us or others, play a board game, build a fort, have a mock election, be silly and have a dance party or impromptu play, teach them to cook or sew, build something, fix something, do something you never have time for, seize the day and don’t get lazy (okay, it’s okay to be lazy sometimes).
Let’s keep the conversation going. Tell us how you plan to spend the next two weeks. Any tips? Are you doing okay? Are you overwhelmed? Are you excited? Can you see past the events happening around you? We hope to hear from you.
On the farm, maple syrup season has started and we continue on with our pigs, cattle, dogs and chickens:

Did you get our recent newsletter plus a recipe idea…

Posted on by under Email List

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted on our website, but all is still moving along as usual at Righteous Oaks Farm. We’ve still got our excellent meat for sale and I’m always trying new recipes to enjoy. Thinking about ordering pork or even a hog for spring? Send us an email and we’ll set it up.

My recent favorite was a quick one I whipped up for a big group since the boys wanted to have a sledding party. I used a bunch of yakisoba noodles, warmed them up in boiling water for three minutes and stuck them in a crockpot with a little sesame oil. After that I fried up some chopped cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic and mixed veggies like broccoli and snap peas with some sliced and salted side pork from our last half hog order. I mixed it all together and used the NY Times website as a guide for the sauce. It was excellent. Here’s the link for the sauce: NY Times Yakisoba.

Have you been getting our emails? Many have found that since we mail it through mailchimp that our newsletters get sent to their spam folder. Check your spam folder for “An Important Announcement from Righteous Oaks Farm”. Here is a link to the most recent news:
https://mailchi.mp/08764f9f4d5e/anotherseason-3085981

And our most recent family picture…

small family picture

Time to order

Posted on by under Email List, Farm, Urban connect

Just a quick note to let you know it is TIME TO ORDER for fall 2019:

Get your orders in before we’re all sold out for the season. We’d love to raise the nutrient dense food you want to serve to your family!

Here a link to our ordering information so you can contact us in the way that’s most convenient for you:  Order soon!

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Weekly Specials

Posted on by under Email List

If you haven’t been getting our weekly emails lately from our mailing list, I wanted to let you know we’ve been sending out a new deal each week. This Saturday will be our final deal week before our delivery to the Twin Cities on Sunday, March 24th. Let us know if you want more info. Click “Contact Information” for your preferred way to contact us.

Starting Saturday we’ll put up new deals. Here’s a quick peak at this week’s specials: Weekly deals email newsletter!

Deal 1:

Italian Sausage (great for spaghetti or pizza toppings) – you’ll receive 12 packages for $60.  (exp. 1/24) – 2 available

Deal 2:

Breakfast special – 3 pounds bacon, 2 pounds cottage bacon, 4 packs of Italian sausage, and 5 pounds ground pork for $95. A $105.50 value – 1 available

For those wanting to get in on the delivery, we have lots of other meat in stock as well. Check out our order form for current availability: ORDER FORM.

Pizza Crust

Posted on by under pork, Recipes

pizza

Pizza. I once heard it is the perfect pregnancy food. All the food groups can be added and it’s hard to despise the taste. For us, it satisfies every child too. A favorite pastime for us is to ask ultimate questions like, “If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?” 99% of the time, we settle on pizza. The toppings are so versatile and now, with cauliflower crust, almond flour crust, coconut flour crust or even zucchini crust (yes, I’ve made this), the crust can be versatile too.

Hopefully, with the recipe I have for you today, you have some tomatoes you’ve preserved from last year’s harvest, because you’ll want to make tomato sauce and pick up some mozzarella. As for extra toppings, think Italian sausage or brats. My boys love these thin sliced and placed on top.

We currently have a sale on for some tasty, local meat too. Check out our recent email newsletter: Click here! Or browse what we currently have available: Click here!

Today I want to share our favorite crust. We’ve been using this for years. You can substitute some or all of the flour for freshly ground or whole wheat too and it still works great. Add some extra olive oil to a bar pan with raised sides and it makes great deep dish. Roll it thin and it also makes an excellent thin crust. I’ve even used this for calzones.

Best part? Mix it up and, after getting all the toppings ready, it’s ready to be put in the oven just twenty minutes later. If you don’t have a favorite pizza crust, give it a try. I think you’ll like this one!

Favorite Pizza Crust

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups flour, additional if needed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon yeast
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 teaspoon or more olive oil, to seal finished dough
  1. In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar and yeast.
  2. Add the water and knead for about ten-fifteen minutes or eight minutes in a mixer. Use the stretch test to see if the dough is ready to rest. Simply stretch the dough and if it can become thin without breaking, it has been kneaded enough.
  3. Pour a bit of olive oil over the dough, sealing it, cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 450 Fahrenheit.
  5. After the dough has risen, knead it a bit and place it on a pizza pan. Roll it as thin or as thick as you like.
  6. Add all the seasonings, toppings, and cheese you prefer.
  7. Bake for 11 – 15 minutes at 450 Fahrenheit.

Enjoy!

“Nix Pork Quiche”

Posted on by under Recipes, Urban connect

Egg season is coming up and the chickens will soon be laying overtime.

A dear friend of ours sent us this message awhile back and I wanted to share it with you all: “I’ve accidentally created a delicious quiche! Thought I’d share!” – Laura.

Thank you Laura, I look forward to enjoying this in the coming months.

Nix Pork Quiche

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print

Pie crust
1 lb ground pork
1/2 TBSP butter
1/2 yellow onion
1 tsp sage
1 TBSP brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Havarti cheese slices
5 eggs
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper

1. Sauté onions about 10 minutes in butter.
2. Add pork, sage, brown sugar, and salt and pepper.
3. Put pie crust in pie pan, and put the sausage onion mixture on the bottom.
4. Top with havarti cheese.
5. Mix together eggs, milk, and a dash of salt and pepper in a bowl and pour over the cheese and sausage.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Enjoy!

Side Pork Ideas

Posted on by under Farm, pork

As promised, I’m continuing on with the series on how to use a whole hog with emphasis on side pork today.side pork

If you don’t get all your side pork made into bacon, then side pork has been one of the more challenging cuts to use up. Many people like to do this to cut out the extras that bacon adds (like nitrates or nitrates and excess salt).

Unless your family grew up using side pork, it takes a bit of experimenting to see how you prefer eating it. The excess fat on side pork is the main reason for this. Either you cut the fat off and render it into lard and lardons (a.k.a. cracklin’s) or you cook it up and enjoy the rich fat along with the juicy meat. The following are some of the tastiest ways we’ve experimented with side pork.

Side Pork ideas we love:

  • Homemade Bacon! – There are numerous recipes out there. Most of them include way too much salt. If you find a recipe to use and it turns out too salty, just soak the finished product.
    • We’ve tried about five different recipes and my favorite includes maple sugar. It’s from the book Beyond Bacon by Matthew McCarry and Stacy Toth. This book also includes excellent paleo apple fritters made with lard and almond flour and their “Perfect Pork Chop” is spot on. It’s a great book for those who would like to learn how to use all the cuts from a whole hog.
    • I will not include ideas for using bacon. There are about a million and I think most people do not have trouble using it up.
  • Roasted Side Pork – This was rich and filling, super easy, and fun to try.
  • Side Pork Cabbage Soup – My belly loved this soup. It was warm and nourishing, filling and fuel.

Side Pork ideas we’d love to try:

My problem currently is not the lack of side pork, but the lack of time to try new recipes. Over the next few months, maybe once a month for sanity’s sake, I plan to try out a few new recipes from a cookbook I found last fall.

  • From the cook book Pure Pork Awesomeness by Kevin Gillespie and David Joachim:
    • “Ban Mi”
    • “Sichuan-Style Twice-Cooked Pork Belly”
    • “Braised Pork Belly” with apple cider vinegar
    • “Black Vinegar-Glazed Pork Belly Buns”
    • “White Cooked Pork with Garlic Sauce”
  • “Oven Baked Pork Belly Strips” – this recipe has a large amount of 5 star reviews
  • Olive Magazine has a lot of fun looking, but maybe too spicy for my kids, ideas. If you like pizzazz in your food, check out their recipe ideas for pork belly.

Though I only gave you three of my own proven options, I hope you found some inspiration for future cooking. Let me know your favorites and give us a call if your recipes don’t turn out, maybe we can help turn it for the better.

My first try with side pork was not anyone’s favorite, I cooked it like I would bacon without much seasoning. Instead of feeding it to the dog, I spiced it up a bit and added it to a chicken bacon ranch hot-dish that I like to make. It turned out great.

However, if you’re doing something crazy and new, I would recommend just using a small amount the first time. It’s easy to cut a slab of side pork in half or thirds. It’s also quite easy to trim the fat and render it to lard if you’re not a fan of eating so much in one bite. Lard is a healthy fat and great for frying or sauteing!

We hope you enjoy experimenting with this sought after ingredient!