I was not always on board with processing my own animals. Not that I ever felt that somewhere other than home or someone else other than us would be better for the job. Not that at all. But I didn’t always have the heart. You see, growing up, my most favorite pets on the planet […]
Many animals have come and gone on this farm, but none leave behind their abundance quite like the pig. Hands down, pigs give us more diversity than any other animal. Sure, some of it takes work on our part. The belly, for example, needs some help to become bacon. But that is precisely the beauty […]
Winter officially arrived in northern Minnesota this weekend, and with it the inevitable desire to stay indoors. It’s the time of year when all I can think about is sleep and food. And because I have 3 small children, sleep is limited. So why not focus on the other option? Which is exactly what I […]
It’s pig butchering season here on the farm, and with it comes so much excitement, emotion, and inevitably, exhaustion. Those of you who have raised and butchered your own animal, you know that reverent feeling that comes over you during this time. When you hold in your hands a part of that animal, you don’t […]
Quite possibly the greatest service that you can offer an animal that is to be eaten- outside of seeing to it that they are well-fed, watered, sheltered, and cared for- is to let as little of it as possible go to waste. That isn’t always easy, especially in modern society where the meat we find […]
Do you ever have conversations with yourself…about yourself? Tell me I’m not the only one. Not that I’m so self-involved…or even that I’m crazy. I’m not. Really. But because we’re in the upswing of gardening season, when there is so much prep work to do, and every single naptime (in fact, every free moment) is […]
“There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in his hard work…” – Ecclesiastes 2:24 It was almost dark and we were still outside tossing large hunks of the rotten Mountain Ash tree that my husband finally cut down for me. It laid the foundation for the final […]
If I’ve learned anything over the years of feeding, growing, and harvesting the variety of animals that we raise to feed the family, it’s that I have a much greater respect for the food we eat. When you’ve put in the work all on your own, start to finish, the desire grows inside of you […]
Bacon. Few words get as much of a reaction as bacon. It’s a universal language that we all speak. And it’ll cure what ails you. Having a rough day? Forget the wine. Here, have some bacon. Don’t know what to make for supper? Who needs supper? Let’s just have bacon. Pondering what makes the world […]
I’m a casserole-type of gal. What can I say? I’m from Minnesota. We love our casseroles…probably because we spend 9 months out of the year trying to stay warm and what better way to warm up than a nice, hot, deep dish casserole? And we like them not only for supper, but breakfast and lunch […]
