2016 Begins on the Farm
Things are picking up on the farm… So far we have two hogs, 30+/- layers, and a few eager helpers – we are excited for all the Lord has in store for HHF in 2016! We are planning to sell whole and half hogs again this year, as well as chickens. Let us know if you’re interested in either – last year the hogs were claimed quickly! We will be accepting initial deposits soon, so keep up with us on Facebook and here on the blog for the latest info. We look forward to supplying your family with pasture-raised pork and poultry this...
Read MoreSpring 2015 and what’s new on the Farm
Spring 2015 arrived quietly on a grey 45 degree day here in Kentucky. I only knew it had arrived when in exasperation I asked my wife “when does spring get here?” As to a simpleton, she responded, “to-day.” I should have known however, that spring was upon us as the signs were everywhere. Thankfully we haven’t had a hard freeze, or really a mild frost since much earlier in the month and the earth has subtly begun to awaken. The boar (male hog) and gilt (unbred female) are “dancing,” and not, as they say at Catholic High School dances, “leaving enough room for the Holy Spirit.” The hens are broody; they are trying to sit on their eggs to hatch chicks rather than just depositing their daily egg and moving on. Where the chicken tractor made tracks last year the grass is already growing and lushly green unlike the rest of the yellow splotchy grass around the same field. There is one other place where the grass is deeply green, last year’s pig paddock. That grass never lost its color over the winter, its almost as though the pigs aeration and fertilization made the grass an evergreen. With these small reminders it is apparent that the earth was made for stock and the stock made for the earth. Our plans this year include adding a family cow for milk and meat. Taking a cow bred for milk and breeding her to our neighbor’s angus (beef) bull will keep us in milk and in the fall fill the freezer with young milk fed beef. (This is not my idea, credit to the Contrary Farmer, Gene Logsdon). Furthering bio-diversity, we hope to add guinea fowl as well. They’re beautiful birds and prodigious layers. They also are kown to keep tick populations down – ticks are menacing to all of us on the farm. Last year, I pulled a small tick off of my chest and soon found myself broken out in hives after every serving of red meat, including pork. This is not a good place for a pork producer but with prayer and time the sensitivity to red meat has subsided. We are committed to being more diligent with the garden this year. You feel truly deficient when people naturally wonder, “wow pigs and chickens – you must have a great garden…?” Confession time, up until last year we hadn’t gardened much at all and last year we only grew tomatoes and potatoes – our garden had a nightshade theme (both potatoes and tomatoes are of the nightshade family, once considered poisonous). This year we’ve already planned out the garden and put in our early plants – peas, onions and cabbage The farm goes on. We have become more involved in spreading the “good news” of slow alternatives to our fast food society. We emphasize that confidence and indulgence accompanies most every meal when it’s farm fresh and from a trusted source. In our Christian tradition, Adam’s first calling was to keep the garden. With that in mind it could be inferred that we were made for this life. If we all tried to keep our part of the garden and kept responsible dominion over the creation the world would be a cleaner and safer place. Thankfully that notion is catching on. Many in this oncoming generation vote everyday with their fork and it’s not going unnoticed. We’re grateful to our friends, who buy pork and chicken from us that they are some of those who vote for better, safer and ethically raised pastured meats. We’re excited for 2015 and look...
Read MoreRendering Lard
Our last slaughtered pig brought us more lard to render than we ever could have imagined. With plenty to play with, we experimented with different ways of rendering. Our favorite was in a slow cooker – lid off on low for about 2 days. Make sure to cut the fat into 1″ pieces or smaller. The trick to chopping up large amounts of lard is to make sure it is not too frozen, not too thawed. The first batches will make snow white lard, which is perfect for pastries. Later batches of golden lard are still very useful for sauteing or deep frying.
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