Updated Turkey Info

Online turkey reservations are NOW available! Click here to reserve your holiday turkey today.

We just updated our info on the original turkey blog posting. We now have all of the winter market locations for each of the Indoor Farmers Markets. Please check to make sure you know where and when to pick up your turkey! You can continue to order your turkeys at the farmers market, by giving us a call at 815.256.2202 or now online.

What's on Sale This Week at Market (10-24 and 10-25)

Sale Items: All items 15% Off
Rack of Lamb
Loin Medallions
Bone-in Lamb Loin Roast
Boneless Lamb Loin Roast

This is the last official outdoor farmers market weekend and we wanted to offer up a little something special, rack of lamb and loin roasts. So pour yourself a glass of wine and prepare to wow yourself with one of these simple and spectacular recipes.

Roasted Lamb Loin with Cabernet Sauce
Lamb Loin with Pomegranate Orange Compote
Medallions of Lamb with Leeks and Tarragon Sauce
Pistachio-crusted Rack of Lamb

Bon Appetit!

Winter CSA Pick Up Schedule

It's official, the Logan Square farmers market is moving indoors to the Congress Theater. Now we can move full steam ahead with our Winter CSA program. Besides having a complete pick up schedule with locations and dates, we can now extend our program to the Logan Square community for all 6 months! Originally we were only able to offer the first 3 months to the Logan Square community, now we can offer all 6 months to you because your indoor market is going to occur from November through March instead of just November and December!

Please note that plans have not changed for the Green City community. You will continue to have all 6 months delivered to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Center.

Pick up Location: Logan Square/Wicker Park
Congress Theater 2135 N. Milwaukee Avenue 773.276.1235
Sunday November 8th 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Sunday December 13th 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Sunday January 17th 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Sunday February 14th 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Sunday March 14th 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Sunday April 11th* 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (only 2 hours)
*Pick up location for April will either take place outside the Congress Theater or at the location of the Logan Square outdoor farmers market (corner or Logan Blvd. and Milwaukee Ave.)

Pick up Location: Green City
Peggy Notebaert Nature Center 2430 N. Cannon Drive 773.755.5100
Saturday November 14th 8:00 am to 1:00 pm
Saturday December 12th 8:00 am to 1:00 pm
Saturday January 16th 8:00 am to 1:00 pm
Saturday February 13th 8:00 am to 1:00 pm
Saturday March 13th 8:00 am to 1:00 pm
Saturday April 10th 8:00 am to 1:00 pm

Turkey Time

That's right, time to think about the holidays. If you are the lucky one that gets to serve all your family members a giant roasted turkey, then search no more for that special bird! We have White Broad-breasted Turkeys that will be ready in time for your meal. Our birds are raised on 100% organically grown pastures and supplemented with a complete organic/non-gmo poultry feed. When they are ready to be harvested they will be averaging 12-15 pounds, the perfect size for your recipe. All birds are $5.25/lb and can be reserved at the farmers market.

This year we are offering 2 different types of turkeys: flash-frozen and fresh! We will be dropping off all frozen birds at our winter markets and all fresh birds will be delivered to your home the week of Thanksgiving.

Dates and Locations for FROZEN turkey pick up:
Logan Square- Sunday Nov. 22nd at Logan Square
Wicker Park- Sunday Nov. 22nd at Logan Square
(The Logan Square Indoor Market is located at the Congress Theater)
Green City- Wednesday Nov. 18th and Saturday Nov. 21st at Green City
(The Green City Indoor Market is located at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Center)
61st Street- Saturday Nov. 21st at 61st Street
(The 61st Street Indoor Market is located at the Experimental Station)

Dates for FRESH turkey home delivery: (A $10 fee applies to all home deliveries)
Sunday Nov. 22nd, Monday Nov. 23rd or Tuesday Nov. 24th

If you have any questions please email us at hcarr@mintcreekfarm.com or call us at 815.256.2202

Taking DIY Farming to a Vertical Level

In August I had posted a blog entry about Vertical Farms from the NY Times Op-Ed Column. Today I came upon another vertical growing initiative that is taking place in New York City, Window Farming! This form of farming does not require tower-like structures like the Vertical Farms form does, but instead it utilizes flat vertical structures, like windows. This is also a form of farming that any urbanite interested in growing their own food can do themselves.



More cities need to look into alternative methods for growing food and utilizing hydroponics and vertical space is critical to the success of these endeavors. Using these creative soil-less growing mediums is also necessary for sustainable roof-top growing. If you have never seen a successful roof top vegetable garden, you have to check out the Gary Comer Youth Center's amazing urban vegetable garden/farm. (Their website does not fully express the uniqueness of their garden- go there for a visit and be prepared to be inspired!)

Stock up on Grass-fed Beef and Rose Veal

We are offering up select cuts of our 100% organic grass-fed Beef and Rose Veal this weekend at 10% off! Turn one of our Beef Chuck Roasts into the perfect pot roast for a family Sunday dinner. Sink your teeth into one of our Filet Mignon Steaks during a romantic dinner for two. Or cook up a hearty stew with winter squash and meaty chunks of Rose Veal.

Sale Items:
All Beef 10% Off
All Rose Veal 10% Off
(based on what is in stock at time of market)

Potential Inventory:
Beef Chuck Roast (great for a Pot Roast)
Ground Beef and Beef Patties
Beef Stew
Beef Rump Roast (excellent for Beef Bourguignon)
Beef Sirloin Tip Roast (wrap in bacon and roast to perfection)
Assorted Beef Steaks
Ground Rose Veal
Rose Veal Stew
Rose Veal Rack Chops (stuff with prosciutto, fontina cheese and fresh sage for Saltimbocca)
Assorted Rose Veal Steaks

Enjoy!

Cold Winter Nights

There is no better way to embrace a cold winter night then with a hearty dinner focused on meat! Whether it is a beef rump roast or a braised lamb shoulder, there is no better way to warm up with friends and loved ones. To give you comfort throughout the winter, we wanted to let you know all of the options that you will have to purchase your favorite grass-fed meat products from Mint Creek.

Here's how:
At one of the Winter Farmers Markets (locations and dates will be posted soon)
Online at our website
Through our Winter CSA Program
By purchasing a whole or half animal or
(contact us for more information at hcarr@mintcreekfarm.com)
Dining at one of the many restaurants that serves our products
(this is a short list of the many places that you will find our products)

• Birchwood Kitchen
• Terragusto on Armitage Avenue
• Vie
• Brown Trout
• Prairie Grass Cafe
• Columbia Yacht Club
• Sunday Dinner
• Carnivale

We hope that you will enjoy this winter season by sharing a meal with us!

October Meat CSA

This month we let our members select one of the items in their bags- a roast! They chose from the following roasts: Lamb or Goat Shoulder, Rack of Lamb, Rose Veal Rump Roast, Beef Chuck Roast or a Beef Rump Roast. The default roast for the share was the Beef Chuck Roast, which is perfect for a classic pot roast.

Half Share:
Roast of Choice
Rack of Lamb
Lamb Leg Steak (depending on weight of roast)
Ground Veal or Lamb

Whole Share:
Roast of Choice
Rack of Lamb
Lamb Leg Steak (depending on weight of roast)
Ground Veal or Lamb
Goat Loin Chops
Lamb Bratwurst Links
Beef Flank Steak
Veal Stew Meat

Besides giving our members their share of tasty meats, we tucked in some nutritional info on grass-fed meats in our member newsletter:

Because meat from grass-fed animals is lower in fat than meat from grain-fed animals, it is also lower in calories. (Fat has 9 calories per gram, compared with only 4 calories for protein and carbohydrates. The greater the fat content, the greater the number of calories.) As an example, a 6-ounce steak from a grass-finished steer can have 100 fewer calories than a 6-ounce steak from a grain-fed steer. If you eat a typical amount of beef (66.5 pounds a year), switching to lean grass-fed beef will save you 17,733 calories a year— without requiring any willpower or change in your eating habits. If everything else in your diet remains constant, you’ll lose about six pounds a year.
-Eat Wild, www.eatwild.com

Winter CSA is Here!

As the cold weather blows in from the North, it is finally time to release information about Mint Creek Farm's first Winter CSA program.

Since not every farmers market has an indoor winter market we had to figure out where and when we could have CSA pick-ups for our members. Green City Market is going to continue their year-round indoor market at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Center, so we will definitely be dropping off at that location. If everything goes as planned for the Logan Square community, we should have another drop off location for the next 2 months (November-December) at their indoor winter market. (We will post more details about the Logan Square market as we learn more about the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce's plans.)

We will continue to offer the whole share (~10 lbs.) and the half share (~5 lbs.) for either 3 months or 6 months at a time. The first 3 months will take place from November-January and the next 3 months will take place from February-April. These time frames will take us through to the start of the summer farmers market season in May and the start of next year's Summer CSA!

Each month we will continue to offer our members a diverse selection of all organic pasture raised meats. The bags will contain an array of lamb, goat, beef, rose veal and more in a variety of cuts.
Please note: If you would rather have one type of meat (eg. all lamb) we recommend that you purchase a whole or half animal of your liking. This way you can customize what cuts you get at an affordable price. (Please email us at hcarr@mintcreekfarm.com, for more information on purchasing whole or half animals.)

Winter CSA Pricing:

3-month (November-January)
Whole Share $255
Half Share $150

3-month (February-April)
Whole Share $255
Half Share $150

Due to the incredible response we've received, we anticipate that shares for the first 3-month and the second 3-month period will sell-out quickly. The CSA requires careful preparation on our part, so unfortunately we won't be able to accommodate anyone once the shares sell-out. So if you are interested in both, buy them together now and save.

6-month (November-April)
Whole Share $510
Half Share $285

Dates and Location for first 3-month Pick-up:
Saturday November 14th (8 am to 1 pm) Green City/Nature Center
Saturday December 12th (8 am to 1 pm) Green City/Nature Center
Saturday January 16th (8 am to 1 pm) Green City/Nature Center
As dates and a location become available for Logan Square we will post that information. We hope to provide a pickup in Logan Square for all 3 months even though the market will only run for the first 2 months of the CSA.

Dates and Location for second 3-month Pick-up:
Saturday February 13th (8 am to 1 pm) Green City/Nature Center
Saturday March 13th (8 am to 1 pm) Green City/Nature Center
Saturday April 10th (8 am to 1 pm) Green City/Nature Center
Please note that there will be NO Logan Square pick up for the second 3-month pick up session. Pick-up will only be at Green City during that time.

You can sign up online at www.mintcreekfarm.com or at the Green City Market or the Logan Square Farmers Market until October 23rd.

Spaces are limited so sign up today!