Recent statistics show that just 1% of the U.S. population considers farming their primary occupation. Since John & I fall into that 1% group, I believe it is important to share about our work in food production. Since 100% of American’s eat, every Friday I write to those who may wonder: Where does my steak come from? What does a farm look like? Who are the farmers and ranchers? What do they do?

This week…

I discovered this neat website called Meat Myth Crushers. They address meat myths that commonly float around in the news media. Here’s one that I enjoyed seeing corrected. It is short and sweet. (Turns out, cows don’t “fart” more than cars.) 

Canning & Cooking

This week on the farm, I did quite a bit of cooking & I froze some peaches!   These days, Ball makes jars that are “tempered” for freezing. This is pretty convenient for those who:

• Don’t have a pressure cooker
• Are scared of a pressure cooker
• Have a pressure cooker but don’t want to use it

I fall into the teensy-bit-scared-of-pressure-cooking category. So, freezing is a great starter option for me. Canning is a staple of rural life. But, it is also becoming trendy in the urban world, too.

In this article, Renee Sweers says, “The art of canning, freezing and preserving fruits and vegetables is making a comeback. Food preservation is part of the trend to know where your food comes from and what is in it.”

This article from Portland calls the renewed interest, “A Pickling Revolution.”  

I am thrilled that more people are enjoying the canning revolution (sounds soooo dramatic!). With 100 years of urbanization, the majority of people in the U.S. have become increasingly disconnected from their food supply. I think it took awhile (as in two generations) for urbanites to miss this connection with producing their own food.

Canning (or freezing) is a simple way anyone, city or rural, can reconnect with food production. Canning, just like farm life, is hard work but incredibly rewarding. At the very least, freezing peaches reminds me to be grateful for the grocery store!

Ice Cream, you scream…too much cream! 

For some reason I seem to be purchasing pint after pint of half-and-half and heavy whipping cream lately. It all started with the ice cream maker! I am hooked on making homemade ice cream (in small batches)! This weekend I am going to try Ree’s vanilla recipe. 

Cow Crossing

Last week, I helped John move some cows to fresh pasture. We set up a temporary fence & ushered them across the road. Good thing not one single car went by while the cows went across. Moving cows to fresh grass is my #1 favorite part of having cows. You have never seen a happier cow than one that stepped into fresh pasture.  This “thunderhead” was too beautiful not to photograph. Sadly, it didn’t bring us any rain, but it sure did look promising! 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!