Tag Archives: #nongmo

Prepared

Posted on by under chicken, Farm, pork

Now’s the time to start planning what seasonal goods you’ll need for the year. In MN that’s almost everything, including chicken.

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In this picture we have some zucchini brownies and some spaghetti ready to be quickly made. We have grown to love okra in our tomato sauce. I freeze it whole (super easy) and then blend it into cold sauce when making a recipe. It adds a touch of flavor and makes a thicker, less watery sauce. Our okra has started to produce already and we hope to have plenty to bring to market this year.

You’ll also see our Italian sausage links. Having meat in the freezer and available has put my mind at ease and helped me to avoid shopping, a task I do not enjoy. I always have something available for a quick meal. That’s especially helpful in the busy or overwhelming seasons of the year which for us coincides with planting, weeding and preparing for markets throughout the summer.

We hope you will be able to stop by one of our markets to say hi. We plan to be at the Aitkin Historical Society’s Depot Museum (right next to the Holiday gas station) on Fridays throughout the summer. This Friday we will be there from 9:30 am – 12:30 pm.  Hope to see you there.

Here’s one last reminder. This week is the week to order chicken and turkey for the year! Also, if you’re wanting pork, we have it available by the pound now or halves and whole in the fall. Give us a call this week and we’ll get you all set up for convenient meals all year long.

You can also still order beef and pork to be processed closer to November and December. Send us an email at righteousoaksfarm@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you.

Printable order form: Click here!

Valentine Eggs

Posted on by under Farm, Recipes

Eggs! Our chickens are producing so many right now and we have very few customers. Our boys take good care of Chubb, Goldie, Floppy, Featherfoot, Nightshade, Featherina, Grouchy, Lanky, Bossy and all the rest that look too similar to name. We give our boys non-gmo and soy-free feed for their chickens and, in return, we receive all the eggs we would like.

img_1436The Nix boys would like to offer a dozen eggs for $3.50 to anyone interested. They range in size from large to jumbo. Most of the yolks are dark yellow, providing a high omega 3 ratio for a quality egg. The chickens are kept warm and run throughout our large high tunnel all winter and play among the grass and bugs the rest of the year.

Since we have dozens of eggs in our fridge, I found a fun recipe and an idea for our Valentine’s day celebration. Hope you have fun trying them out for yourselves!

First, my little guy and I made a delicious andimg_1614 flour-less (great for those who are gluten-free) chocolate cherry cake. I am not in the habit of creating baking recipes, but this woman sure knows her stuff:
Flourless Chocolate Cherry Cake
We sure enjoyed mixing this up together.

Second, I had fun making a simple, but surprisingly tasty lunch item for my men (little and big).img_16191 Basically, all you need is a hot dog or sausage cut almost to the end in two , a toothpick to cinch it together, and an egg for the center. Place the heart-shaped hot dog in a heated pan, drop an egg in each heart, cover and cook until they are done to your liking. It went well with an english muffin. Also, a little ketchup on the side is great for those of us who can’t eat a hot dog without it.

Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Eating!

Encouraging Thoughtfulness About Our Food Choices

Posted on by under Creation, Farm

 

Warning: The following contains information that may change your food habits. Please don’t hate me if you disagree.

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Ever since watching the documentary Food, Inc. we continually see stories of injustice in the world food system. Further research on GMOs has also gotten me more concerned about the future of our food and how it will affect future generations (see study on molecular difference in corn). For us this is a concern because of what we see in the Bible and how we are called to care for creation. Start in Genesis and you will see God makes all things, makes man in his image, then brings all things under man’s dominion. We have a responsibility to care for God’s creation. Shouldn’t we delight in all that He has made and care for it so that our fields and our guts are not depleted?

We also come to the injustice factor in our food systems. There are many large companies that are not hoping to build up our soil’s health and productivity resulting in healthier plants and animals, but are out to kill off the inconvenient weeds for a short term, yet quite large, profit. Spraying weed killer on my food is not what I would call healthy. The fact that the amount of weed killer only needs to be increased with time also exacerbates the situation, yet further increases the large company’s profit. As we can see in Food, Inc. and other documentaries, farmers have been sued rather than compensated when their field is cross-contaminated with GMO seeds. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is not played out in these situations and many others around the world.

And so I urge you to think more about this whatever your worldview. Read up on different opinions, watch documentaries from your library or there are many free with amazon prime right now or engage those who are interested in the topic.

Another very important factor in food choices is to know your farmer, how they raise their food and if it’s up to your standards. There are so many quality farmers around the state of Minnesota that we have come to know through the Sustainable Farmer’s Association and through the MN Organic Conference. Seek them out. Show them where your support lies.

Reputable reading:

Other reading: