Mint Creek Farm

Ameeta's Brisket

2010-04-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

I love brisket. And since I love brisket, I tend to cook a ton of it. So, I am always on the lookout for an awesome brisket recipe and one of our CSA members, Ameeta, shared this one with me. I have to admit it was pretty spectacular! Thanks, Ame!

Brisket Braised in Porter
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Shared by CSA Member Ameeta

Brisket always tastes better if prepared ahead and chilled. So, plan to make this 1-2 days before you actually want to serve it. Chilling it also makes it easier to slice thinly. Rewarm the brisket in the sauce and serve it with your favorite full-flavored dark beer.

Ingredients:
Serves 12

1T kosher salt
2t fresh ground black pepper
2t dry mustard (such as Colman's)
2t chopped fresh sage (I used dried)
2t chopped fresh thyme (I used 2 sprigs)
1 6-lb flat-cut brisket
2T rendered bacon fat or olive oil
4c (or more) poultry broth (I used homemade turkey broth, but chicken broth works well)
1 12-oz bottle of porter or stout (I used an oatmeal stout)
6 whole pitted prunes (I omitted)
4 bay leaves (I used 2 fresh bay leaves- cracked)
2t (packed) dark brown sugar
3 large onions, thinly sliced
8 whole garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 lb medium carrots, sliced into 1 and 1/2 inch lengths
2T whole grain Dijon mustard
1T (or more) malt vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar and Ameeta used lemon juice)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first 5 ingredients in a bowl and rub all over the brisket. Heat bacon fat/olive oil in a heavy extra-large oven-proof pot on the stove to medium-high heat. Add the brisket and sear on all sides until a deep brown, about 5 minutes per a side. Remove brisket from pot and set aside. Add half the broth and deglaze the pot, making sure to scrap up any browned bits from the brisket. Stir in the beer, the prunes, bay leaves and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Return the brisket to the pot and scatter the sliced onions and garlic cloves over top. Add the remaining broth and cover the pot. Put the brisket in the oven and cook (braise) for 4-7 hours. Ameeta cooked hers for 7 hours, but the original recipe calls for at least 4 hours of cooking time. Halfway through cooking add the carrots and mushrooms. When the meat is tender but NOT falling apart, take it out of the oven and let it cool slightly.

Once it cools a little, refrigerate it until you are ready to serve it (1-2 days). The day you are serving it, preheat the oven back to 350 degrees. Skim off any fat that accumulated at the surface of the sauce and remove the brisket. Place it on a cutting board and slice it thinly, across the grain. Place brisket slices in a roasting pan. Bring pan juices and vegetables to a boil in a pot. Whisk in the Dijon mustard and vinegar. Adjust seasonings (salt and pepper) and add more vinegar (or lemon juice) until desired acidity is reached. Pour the sauce and vegetables back over the brisket and cover with foil. Place in oven and cook until reheated thoroughly, about 1 hr and 15 minutes. Serve meat with vegetables and sauce. I also added either polenta or mashed potatoes as a side dish.

Note: I cooked my brisket in the slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours, turning it over every 2-3 hours (my brisket was folded in half since it was larger than the crockpot insert.) Turning helped to make sure that the sauce remained concentrated and the brisket cooked completely on all sides.

CSA Member Recipes

2010-04-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

As we transition from our Winter CSA into our Summer CSA, I would like to share some of our member contributed recipes. These recipes were an important part of our last winter newsletter. I was honored to have our members share with me some of the recipes that they have used to prepare the cuts of meat from their CSA shares. I hope you too enjoy these recipes!

Miso-Rubbed Rack of Lamb

Daily Herald

New American Table by Marcus Samuelsson

Submitted by CSA Member Sarah H.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

2 tablespoons dark miso (Sarah used white miso)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature (may be omitted)

1 tablespoon mild chili powder

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

2 tablespoons olive oil (Sarah used 1 Tbsp)

2 frenched racks of lamb (1½ pounds each)

Salt and ground black pepper

¼ cup panko (Japanese-style) bread crumbs (may be omitted)

Method:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the miso, butter, chili powder, egg yolk and sage. Set aside. In a large saute pan, heat the oil. Season the lamb with salt and pepper, then add it to the pan and sear until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. (You can skip the searing step, if preferred.) Let the lamb cool slightly, then smear the miso-butter/oil mixture over both sides. Firmly press the panko into the miso-butter/oil mixture on the rounded side of each rack.

Place the racks, rounded fat sides up, in a roasting pan. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted at the center of the rack reads 125 degrees, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.

Korean Braised Short Ribs

About.com Recipe

Submitted by CSA Member Sarah B.

These Korean braised short ribs are slow simmered over low heat to a tender and sweet finish. It's hard to have leftovers with Galbi Jim because it's such a crowd-pleaser, whether it's served at a fancy gathering or just as a comforting homestyle meal. To stretch the recipe, you can cut up pieces of brisket or other roasting beef cuts to stew size and cook with the short ribs. But you should always try to make it with bone-in ribs, because like Italian osso bucco or Irish stew, Galbi Jim relies on the stewed bone marrow for its rich flavor.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

5 Tbsp sugar

6 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp Japanese rice wine (mirin) OR 1 Tbsp honey

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 onion, grated

3 scallions, finely chopped

1 Tbsp sesame seeds, crushed or whole

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1/2 Asian pear, peeled and finely chopped

3 lbs English-cut short ribs (sometimes called thick-cut), rinsed in cold water

(This is excellent with either the beef or the veal short ribs)

2 small potatoes, cut up into large chunks

2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths or ½ cup baby carrots

Method:

Score the ribs so that they absorb more of the braising liquid. Mix all the marinade ingredients (spices and liquids) together. In a large pot over high heat, put in the ribs and pour the braising liquid over them. Mix well, making sure all the ribs are covered. The liquid should come to about half the 1/3 to ½ the level of the ribs in the pot. Cover pot with a tight-fitting lid. When it begins to boil, turn to a low simmer. Cook for at least 1 hour (90 minutes – 2 hours is better), adding in potatoes and carrots 30 minutes before end of cooking time.*

* If you are adding in brisket or stew meat for more quantity, then it's best to braise for at least 2 hours. The goal is for meltingly tender meat that is falling off the bone. This recipe is also very good prepared in a crockpot!

Sauce Bolognese

Dean & DeLuca Cookbook

Submitted by CSA Members Rod and Shannon

My wife and I were having company over and, in the interest of time, decided to make lasagna. My wife found this recipe for sauce bolognese in the Dean and DeLuca cookbook and saw that it used FOUR of our CSA meat products! We substituted lamb liver for chicken liver and we don’t think it affected the final product. We used this sauce for lasagna, but it can be thinned out with water and/or splashed with some cream for a wonderfully hearty pasta sauce.

Ingredients:

Serves 6 (if used as pasta sauce)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups mined yellow onions

1/2 cup diced carrot

1/2 cup diced celery

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pound ground beef (preferably ground chuck)

1/2 pound ground veal

1/2 pound ground pork

1/4 pound chicken or lamb livers, finely chopped

2 cups tomato sauce

1 3/4 cups beef stock

1 cup dry white wine

freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Method:

Heat olive oil over moderate heat in large saucepan. Add onions, stir, and cover. Cook, Stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, until onions are wilted and light golden. Uncover and continue cooking for another 15 minutes, until onions are golden and lightly caramelized (watch carefully, so the onions don’t burn). Add carrot, celery, kosher salt, and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes. Add ground beef, veal, and pork and crumble with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook until meat is no longer pink, and add chicken/lamb livers. Cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato sauce, 1 cup beef stock, and white wine. Stir well and simmer, uncovered, over low heat for 1 1/2 hours (the sauce should barely bubble). Add remaining beef stock, stir, and continue simmering for another 1 1/2 hours. Add nutmeg, and adjust seasoning.

Summer CSA Program

2010-04-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

The wait is over! We have finally launched our Summer CSA program for the 2010 Farmers Market Season. You can NOW sign up online at our website or you can visit us at the Green City Indoor Market on Saturday April 24th to fill out an application.

Each month as a member you will get an all grass-fed meat share weighing either 5 lbs or 10 lbs. Each share (bag) will contain an assortment of lamb, mutton, goat, beef, rose veal, pork and more. If you do not wish to have pastured pork put in your share, you may request to have it omitted.

Please note: At this time we are NOT offering an additional egg share. This is something that we may offer in the future. However, we are striving to increase our egg production and hope to offer our organic soy-free pastured chicken eggs to more of our market customers.

Each month we try to put some familiar cuts and some more adventurous cuts into each share. Our goal is to encourage our members to have fun in the kitchen and try new foods. We aim to provide all our members with healthy grass-fed meat that is flavorful and easy to prepare. If you ever have doubts or questions about how to prepare a certain cut, just ask! We love to talk food with you. We have an extensive library of recipes and we try to make eating "nose to tail" more accessible for all sustainable eaters.

Sample Share Contents:

Half Share: (~5 lbs)
1# ground goat
1# beef kabob meat
1# lamb loin chops
.75# veal sirloin steak
1.25# pork chops

Whole Share: (~10lbs)
1# ground goat
1# beef kabob meat
1# lamb loin chops
.75# veal sirloin steak
1.25# pork chops
1.5# mutton leg steak
.5# beef ny strip steak
1.5# frenched rack of lamb
1.5# veal short ribs

Locations and Dates for Summer CSA Pick-ups:

Green City (Saturdays 7 am to 1 pm)- Saturday May 15th, June 12th, July 10th, August 14th, Sept. 11th and Oct. 9th
Logan Square (Sundays 10 am to 3 pm) - Home Delivery for May, Sunday June 13th, July 11th, August 15th, Sept. 12th and Oct. 10th
Andersonville (Wednesdays 3 pm to 8 pm)- Home Delivery for May, Wednesday June 23rd, July 14th, August 18th, Sept. 15th (3 pm to 7 pm) and Oct. 6th (3 pm to 7 pm)
NW Suburbs*- Wednesday May 19th, June 16th, July 14th, August 18th, Sept. 15th and Oct. 13th

*This location is a scheduled delivery to a Buying Club location and may be subject to date changes.

Half Shares: (~5 lbs.)

3 months: May-July or August-October

$150.00

6 months: May-October

$285.00

Save $15 by purchasing a 6 month membership!

Whole Shares: (~10 lbs.)

3 months: May-July or August-October

$270.00

6 months: May-October

$510.00

Save $30 by purchasing a 6 month membership!

April CSA Share

2010-04-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

April brings warm weather, wild turkeys and roasts that are perfect for a family-style Sunday dinner.

Half Share:
2.5# Choice of Boneless Roast (Pork Shoulder, Veal Rump, Veal Shoulder or Beef Rump)
1# Pork Sausage (Polish or Andouille) and/or Mutton Stew Meat
1.5# Beef Porterhouse/T-Bone Steak
Bonus: Lamb Soup Bones, Suet or Organ Meats

Whole Share:
2.5# Choice of Boneless Roast
1# Pork Sausage
1# Mutton Stew Meat
1.5# Beef Porterhouse/T-Bone Steak
1# Goat Loin Chops
1# Pork Tenderloin
1# Boneless Veal Neck Filets (Stew Meat)
1# Beef NY Strip Steak or Veal Scallops
Bonus: Lamb Soup Bones, Suet or Organ Meats

Besides making the perfect roast, perfecting and utilizing a nourishing broth/stock in one's cooking will greatly enhance any dish that you put on your table. Here is our favorite version of lamb stock. A basic ingredient that I use in my mashed potatoes, rice dishes, soups/stews, and more. I hope that you give it a try and realize just how rich and deep in flavor your favorite dish can be!

Basic Lamb Stock

Adapted from the Nourishing Gourmet and French Onion Soups

Ingredients:

Makes 8-10 cups

1-2 lbs of Lamb Bones (may be raw or already cooked)

1-2 Tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar (helps to draw out calcium from the bones)

2 Carrots, cut into thirds

2 Celery stalks, cut into thirds

1 Onion, peeled and quartered

1 Bay leaf (dried or fresh-crack the leaf a couple of times if fresh)

4 cloves of Garlic, peeled and smashed

½ tsp dried Rosemary or 1 sprig of fresh

couple of dried Peppercorns (~1 Tbsp)

Salt, to taste (I use kosher salt)

Method:

Preheat oven to 425° F. Roast the bones, onions and carrots in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring them a couple of times. Be careful not to burn anything. You just want to brown the ingredients. (If the bones are already cooked, you can skip this part if you want.) Drain away the fat and then put the vegetables and bones in a large stockpot. (It will be helpful to put the bones on top of the vegetables- they will weigh down the vegetables making it easier to skim off fat as the stock cooks.) Add a little water to the roasting pan and deglaze the pan to get all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add these juices and the cider vinegar to the stockpot. Add just enough cold water to the stockpot to cover the bones. (Adding more water will only make the stock less concentrated in flavor.) Bring the stockpot to a simmer on the stove. (Don’t let it boil- it will turn cloudy and bitter.) Once it starts to simmer, skim off any foamy scum or fat that floats to the surface. Add the rest of the ingredients (celery, garlic, bay leaf, rosemary and peppercorns.) Season with salt and cover loosely. (Leave a steam vent.) Simmer stock for at least 4 hours over low heat. Skim off any fat that surfaces to prevent cloudiness. (Add more water to cover bones, if needed.) Strain out all solids with a cheesecloth lined mesh strainer. Adjust salt and other seasonings (pepper and rosemary-may add another touch of dried rosemary.) Let cool to room temperature and then store in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for a few months. I usually portion out my stock into 2 and 4 cup containers, since these are the quantities that I use the most.

For more information on how to make various stocks, their nutritional value and a little history lesson- check out the article Broth is Beautiful from Sally Fallon Morell, the founder of the Weston A Price Foundation.

Lamb Ham

2010-03-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

That's right, I said Lamb Ham! We have just started smoking and curing legs of lamb and selling them as whole legs, halved legs or as sandwich slices. All lamb ham products are $10/lb and available at the farmers market or online.

Since this is a new product, I wanted to give it a try. Well, I have to admit it- this actually tastes just like real ham made from a pig! Similar spices and seasonings are used in the curing process so it should not have surprised me as much as it did. However, this is made from lamb and not pork, so it still was a little strange to me that it tasted so similar.

I did like it though. And it really was quite easy to prepare, since it is already cooked. All I did was place the lamb ham on a bed of baby potatoes and pour a little broth into the pan to cover the potatoes and to give the lamb ham a little moisture during cooking. Since these legs are smoked, most of the fat has already cooked off leaving the lamb ham very lean. That is why it is important to give your lamb ham some liquid or it will dry out. I then covered the pan with parchment paper and foil and baked it in a 350 oven until the potatoes were soft, about 45 min. to 1 hour. The lamb ham itself really doesn't need to cook that long, just the potatoes. But as long as there is some liquid in the pan, the lamb ham won't dry out. When it came out of the oven, smelling amazing from the sweet spices of cinnamon and cloves, we devoured it instantly! This meal was smokey and aromatic and the flavor was pure ham. I am excited to fry up the leftovers for tomorrow's breakfast or pile it up on a sandwich with some horseradish mayo. Yum!

March Meat CSA

2010-03-23T10:05:00.001-07:00

This month we introduced a brand new meat product-
Pastured Pork!
We are excited to give this product a whirl and look forward to the next couple of weeks as we build our pork inventory for the upcoming summer market season.

Half Share:
1-1.25# Pork Chops
1-2# Veal Short Ribs (Spareribs)
.75-1# Lamb Loin Roast/Tenderloin
.75-1# Beef Ribeye Steak(s)
1# Ground Beef Patties
(dependent on weight of short ribs)

Whole Share:
1-1.25# Pork Chops
1-2# Veal Short Ribs (Spareribs)
.75-1# Lamb Loin Roast/Tenderloin
.75-1# Beef Ribeye Steak(s)
.75# Beef Filet Mignon (2 pkg.)
1# Pork Bacon
1# Goat Stew Meat
.75# Lamb Rack Chops
1.5# Veal Osso Bucco
1# Ground Beef Patties
(dependent on weight of short ribs)

In honor of our NEW pork:

Pork Chops with a Curried Apple-Onion Sauce

Courtesy of Epicurious

Ingredients:

Serves 4

4 8-ounce pork chops (each 1 inch thick)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large apple, peeled, cored, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons honey mustard

1 teaspoon curry powder

Method:

Sprinkle pork with 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon marjoram, salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook until no longer pink inside, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer pork to plate; tent with foil to keep warm. Reserve drippings in skillet. Add apple, onion and garlic to drippings in skillet and sauté over medium-high heat 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, wine, cream, mustard, curry powder and remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme and 1/2 teaspoon marjoram. Boil until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Divide pork among plates. Pour sauce over and serve.

And because you are probably wondering, now where do I get a farm fresh apple for this recipe? Look no further, because we have the answer! Local apples that were harvested this past fall are still available at the farmers markets. Both Green City and Logan Square host Hillside Orchards of Berrien Springs, MI. Hillside Orchards have been storing these apples in cold storage (temperature and atmosphere controlled) so that we can continue to have fresh fruit available through the winter. Apples are a traditional storage crop, being kept for several months in cool, humid root cellars. If you plan it just right, you can also store apples in a plastic bag (with a splash of water) in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. I have had some apples last me from September through March! Some of my favorites are Jonathan, Northern Spy, Winesap and Golden Delicious. All of these varieties would be wonderful in this Curried Apple-Onion Sauce.

Spring Holidays

2010-03-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

Passover and Easter are right around the corner. Passover starts at sundown on Monday March 29th and Easter Sunday is on April 4th. Both of these holidays are traditionally celebrated with a meal that has lamb as the main course. A beautiful leg of lamb symbolizes Spring and the "Christian Paschal Lamb" or Jesus Christ and is often the main dish for Easter dinner. Lamb shanks are always found on the Jewish table at Passover or Pesach, since a shank bone is an important part of the seder plate. The shank bone also known as the Zeroa or Z'roa, symbolizes the Korban Pesach or Paschal Lamb which was the sacrificial offering in the Temple of Jerusalem.

Both Leg of Lamb and Lamb Shanks will be available for pick up at the Farmers Market or for Fresh Home Delivery.* We will also have both Pork Hams and Lamb Hams available for Easter! And if you want something different to grace your holiday table, try a Smoked Turkey. We are offering our smoked turkeys, halved and weighing around 10 lbs. Both the smoked turkey halves and the lamb hams are NEW this season, so give one a try and make your holiday table extra special!

*Fresh Home Delivery for the Easter holiday will take place on Wednesday March 31st and Thursday April 1st. If Home Delivery is needed for Passover, special arrangements will be made. Please place your Fresh Home Delivery (an additional $10 delivery fee applies to all orders) orders with Harry by emailing him at hcarr@mintcreekfarm.com.

Bone-in Leg of Lamb $7/lb
Boneless Leg of Lamb $8.75/lb
Smoked and Cured Lamb Ham $10/lb
Lamb Shanks $5.75/lb
Smoked and Cured Pork Ham $4/lb
Smoked Turkey Halves $6/lb

And don't forget your Beitzah or Easter Eggs! We will have our free-range pastured Chicken Eggs at the Green City Farmers Market for $5/dz. No need to dye these eggs, they come already colored for you in shades of brown, white and even the occasional blue-green!*
* Most of our eggs being laid recently have been brown, there are the occasional white and blue-green eggs laid. We cannot take orders for the colored eggs. What you get in your carton is what we get when we pull the eggs from the nest! Enjoy mother nature at work. All eggs are beautiful.

Happy Spring Holidays!

Soup and Bread

2010-03-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

A fellow sheep farmer, Vera Videnovich sold me a cookbook at the Logan Square Farmers Market. It is called Soup and Bread, and it is the culmination of the first annual winter Wednesday night Soup and Bread events at the Hideout. Now, this sounded interesting to me. I personally love soup and bread so I had to have this cookbook and I wanted to learn more about the inspiration behind this cookbook!

She explained that every Wednesday evening from 5:30 to 8 pm (January-March/April) the Hideout on Wabansia Ave. hosts this free event for the community. All are welcome and encouraged to donate what they can to that evening's worthy charity. Every Wednesday, there is a different local charity that is selected to be the recipient of that evening's donations. And the proceeds from the lovely, spiral bound paperback cookbook go to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. And at $20 a book, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to give the the GCFD and score a new cookbook!

The cookbook is collection of all the recipes that were contributed to the first winter's worth of Soup and Bread events. Besides being filled with yummy sounding recipes, the cookbook has a lovely vintage design, created by Sheila Sachs. Sheila and Martha Bayne are the two ladies behind the idea of Soup and Bread. They have taken on the soup kitchen idea and turned it into an opportunity to inspire professional and amateur chefs/bakers to donate their talents and time back to their community. Besides all the great food and the worthy cause, Soup and Bread has become a regular happening on many folks social calenders! When you walk into the Hideout to experience your first Soup and Bread, you are greeted by a warm and friendly group of folks ready to spend some quality time together.

When I went to my first Soup and Bread, I was greeted at the door by a friendly man and a neighborhood dog. I thought the man was there to check id's, but he laughed and said that this was a family friendly event and that all were welcome. Somehow, he still managed to ask my age...sneaky man! And when I walked into the back room where the event is held, I found a table lined with delicious smelling crockpots ready to be emptied by a hungry crowd of supporters. Standing behind each crockpot was the chef of the soup and they were there to serve you once you decided which amazing soup your were going to eat. If you were lucky, you were able to sneak in a couple trips up to the table to taste a couple of the soups. However, you had to beat out everyone else who had the same idea! There was bread and some lovely desserts in one corner, along with the donation jar. If you wanted a drink, you just went to the bar for one. It was low key and relaxing, and a great way to unwind with friends.

I invite you all to go check it out and experience a Soup and Bread for yourself. I am sure you will be back for a second helping! And if you are interested in trying a Mutton/Lamb Stew topped with Rosemary Suet Dumplings, please come to the March 10th Soup and Bread. I will be cooking up this meaty winter stew and looking forward to serving it to all of you. I hope to see you there!

Winter Market Update

2010-02-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

We are in the throws of winter these days, but that doesn't mean that we don't have access to locally grown/produced food. There are more and more winter farmers markets popping up around the city. All we need is more folks to know that these opportunities are available to them. If you check out the Local Beet you can find a market almost every weekend and in neighborhoods all around the city! A few that we are participating in are:

Green City at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Center (Saturdays 8am to 1pm)
February 27th
March 13th
March 27th
April 10th
April 24th

Logan Square at the Congress Theater (Sundays 10am to 2pm)
February 21th
February 28th
March 7th
March 14th
March 21st
March 28th

The Empty Bottle
Saturday February 27th from 12pm to 5pm

We will be selling our pasture raised lamb, mutton, goat, beef and veal. In addition to all these great meat products we will be selling our chicken and duck eggs at the Green City market. We will also be selling our farmstead honey at the Green City and the Empty Bottle markets!

We hope to see you at one of these markets. Please help to spread the word to others- bring a friend! Chicago needs more support for its winter farmers markets. We want them to succeed and we need your help.

February Meat CSA

2010-02-16T14:33:00.000-08:00

Love is in the air and this month's selection of meat is all about cuts that we love and can't live without!

Half Share:
1# Ground Lamb
2# Veal Shoulder Chops
1# Beef Skirt Steak
1# Mutton Loin Chops

Whole Share:
1# Ground Lamb
2# Veal or Lamb Shoulder Chops
1# Beef Flat Iron Steak
1# Mutton Loin Chops
2# Lamb or Veal Top Round Roast
1# Beef Kabob Meat
1# Lamb Bratwurst Links
1# Veal Sirloin Steak

This month we offered a new meat to our members, mutton. Mutton has been around for a long time, but it is not a popular meat in America and we rarely ever see it available at market. This is unfortunate because we love mutton and we hope to spread its wonders to Chicago!

As I was doing research for this month's newsletter, I discovered that the Prince of Wales started in 2004 the Mutton Renaissance in Britain. He started the campaign to support British sheep farmers in selling their older animals and to get delicious mutton back on his nation's plates.

Here in America, we are still in the dark about mutton even with the growing interest in lamb products. In the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, I discovered that our country's interest in mutton and lamb has been tied to our war history and the wool market.

In this month's share, we gave each member a package of Mutton Loin Chops and a recipe for Honey and Dry Cider Marinaded Mutton Loin Chops. This recipe comes from a sheep farm in Britain, Elan Valley Mutton.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

4 Mutton Loin Chops

3-4 tsp of locally raised Honey*

fresh Rosemary Sprigs

1 tsp ground Ginger

¼ pint of Dry “hard” Cider

Salt and Pepper

*Mint Creek Farm Honey is now available at the Green City Indoor farmers market.

Method:

Season the mutton loin chops with salt and pepper. Put chops in a shallow roasting pan and sprinkle the ground ginger on the chops. Drizzle the honey over them and lightly rub the honey and spices into the chops. Lay fresh rosemary sprigs on top of the chops, then pour the dry cider over the meat leaving it to marinade for a couple of hours or overnight if possible. Be sure to cover pan with a double layer of foil (honey is inclined to burn) and braise in a 325-350° oven for approximately 2 hours. Remove the meat from the pan and reduce the pan drippings on the stovetop until slightly thickened. Plate the loin chops, and drizzle the cider sauce over top. Garnish your meat platter with more fresh rosemary sprigs.

And since we mentioned the local honey, we are proud to announce that we have released our 2009 farmstead honey at the Green City Farmers Market! It will be available now at every market, until supplies last. We are retailing it at 1lb for $8, 2lbs for $15 and 5lbs for $35.

January Meat CSA

2010-01-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

January was a cold and snowy month, one that is perfect for tough cuts of meat that require long slow cooking methods to render fork tender meals! We gave our members just that for this month's CSA share.

Half Share:
1# Lamb Italian Sausage
1# Ground Veal
1.5-2# Beef Short Ribs
1-1.5# Lamb Leg Steaks

Whole Share:
1# Lamb Italian Sausage
1# Ground Veal
2# Beef Round Steak
1# Lamb Leg Steak
1# Lamb Stew Meat or Boneless Neck Filets
1# Goat Rack Chops
1.5# Veal Rack Chops (pkg. of 2 chops)
1.5# Beef Marrow/Soup Bones (2 pkg.)

One of my favorite beef cuts is short ribs. These meaty bones scream to be braised for a long time in a flavorful sauce. The meat just falls of the bone and shreds perfectly. Cook up a mushroom risotto, black beans or a cheesy polenta and you have the ultimate comfort food to warm you heart and soul.

Here is one of my favorite recipes from Smitten Kitchen:

Braised Short Ribs with Horseradish Cream

Serves 4 (generously) to 6

6 beef short ribs, about 14 to 16 ounces each
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, and 4 whole sprigs thyme
1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced carrot
1/3 cup diced celery
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups port
2 1/2 cups hearty red wine
6 cups beef or veal stock
4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Horseradish Cream (recipe follows)

Season the short ribs with 1 tablespoon of thyme and the cracked black pepper. Use your hands to coat the meat well. Cover, and refrigerate overnight. Take the short ribs out of the refrigerator an hour before cooking, to come to room temperature. After 30 minutes, season them generously on all sides with salt. When you take the ribs out of the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. When it’s time to cook the short ribs, heat a large Dutch oven over high heat for 3 minutes. Pour in 3 tablespoons olive oil, and wait a minute or two, until the pan is very hot and almost smoking. Place the short ribs in the pan, and sear until they are nicely browned on all three meaty sides. Depending on the size of your pan, you might have to sear the meat in batches. Do not crowd the meat or get lazy or rushed at this step; it will take at least 15 minutes. [I find this takes closer to 45 minutes if you're really thorough. Be thorough!] When the ribs are nicely browned, transfer them to a plate to rest. Turn the heat down to medium, and add the onion, carrot, celery, thyme springs, and bay leaves. Stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up all the crusty bits in the pan. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, until the vegetables just begin to caramelize. Add the balsamic vinegar, port, and red wine. Turn the heat up to high, and reduce the liquid by half. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Arrange ribs in the pot, lying flat, bones standing up, in one layer. Scrape any vegetables that have fallen on the ribs back into the liquid. The stock mixture should almost cover the ribs. Tuck the parsley sprigs in and around the meat. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and a tight-fitting lid if you have one. Braise in the oven for about 3 hours. To check the meat for doneness, remove the lid and foil, being careful of the escaping steam, and piece a short rib with a paring knife. When the meat is done, it will yield easily to a knife. Taste a piece if you are not sure. [If you would like to cook these a day ahead, this is where you can pause. The next day, you can remove the fat easily from the pot -- it will have solidified at the top -- bring these back to a simmer on the stove or in an oven, and continue.] Let the ribs rest 10 minutes in their juices, and then transfer them to a baking sheet. Turn the oven up to 400 degrees F. Place the short ribs in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes to brown. Strain the broth into a saucepan, pressing down on the vegetables with a ladle to extract all the juices. Skim the fat from the sauce (if you made these the day before, you will have already skimmed them) and, if the broth seems thin, reduce it over medium-high heat to thicken slightly. Taste for seasoning. Serve with horseradish cream (recipes below) on the side.

Horseradish Cream:

3/4 cup créme fraîche
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the créme fraîche and horseradish in a small bowl. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Taste for balance and seasoning.

And if you have never tried Marrow Bones, you have to give them a whirl. We have some that are incredibly meaty and would be perfect as an elegant Osso Bucco entree with the marrow being utilized as an appetizer.

Here is a recipe for Roasted Marrow Bones from Fergus Henderson:

8-12 center cut beef or veal marrow bones

1 c roughly chopped fresh parsley

2 shallots, thinly sliced

2 t capers

1 ½ T extra virgin olive oil

2 t fresh lemon juice

course sea salt to taste

toasted baguette slices

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put bones, cut side up, on foil-lined baking sheet or in ovenproof skillet. Cook until marrow is soft and has begun to separate from the bone, about 15 minutes. (Stop before marrow begins to drizzle out.) Meanwhile, combine parsley, shallots and capers in small bowl. Just before bones are ready, whisk together olive oil and lemon juice and drizzle dressing over parsley mixture until leaves are just coated. Put roasted bones, parsley salad, salt and toast on a large plate. To serve, scoop out marrow, spread on toast, sprinkle with salt and top with parsley salad.

Check out this video with Fergus Henderson as he prepares this unique and delicious dish:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2007/10/18/dining/1194817116711/bone-marrow-by-fergus-henderson.html

A New Look for Mint Creek Farm

2010-01-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

We are proud to share with you our brand new logo. This logo was designed for us by one of our very own CSA Members, Sarah Becan. Sarah spent an afternoon with us at the farm and has been a CSA Member since we first started the program. We could not have found a better candidate to create an image as important as this one for us. She worked hard on this design and we appreciate her patience (in dealing with us changing our mind constantly) and talent. We think she created the perfect design to characterize our little haven at Mint Creek Farm. Thank you Sarah!

December Meat CSA

2009-12-27T11:35:00.000-08:00

For the month of December we are excited to offer a limited seasonal product, our Heritage Stew Hens! These flavorful stewing hens are the perfect main ingredient in chicken broth or for an elegant Coq au Vin. We also celebrated the holidays with our members by giving everyone a lovely Rack of Lamb for their holiday table. And as a stocking stuffer, we tucked into everyone's bag either Lamb Suet or Lamb Liver and Kidneys. These novel morsels are very healthy and tasty and are becoming quite popular among top chefs!

Half share:
2-3# Heritage Stew Hen

1-2# French Rack of Lamb or Lamb Loin Roast

1# Beef Stew

Bonus: Lamb Suet or Assorted Lamb Organ Meats

Whole share:
2-3# Heritage Stew Hen

1-2# French Rack of Lamb or Lamb Loin Roast

1# Veal Stew

2-3# Beef Rump Roast or Chuck Roast

1# Lamb Breakfast Sausage Links

1# Ground Goat

Bonus: Lamb Suet or Assorted Lamb Organ Meats

Rosemary Suet Dumplings
Adapted from BBC recipes
These are a perfect addition to your favorite beef or lamb stew recipe. Just add them on top of the stew for the last 20 minutes of cooking and you will have perfectly steamed stew dumplings. A yummy winter comfort food like no other!

Ingredients:
· 2/3 c / 5 oz of flour
· 1/4 c / 2 1/4 oz of shredded suet
· 1/2 t of baking powder
· pinch of salt
· 1 T of finely chopped fresh rosemary
· 3-5 T cold water
· 2 c / 500 ml of stock or water
(only necessary if you are not adding them directly to a stew)

Method:
Mix together the flour, suet, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Stir in the fresh rosemary. Add enough of the water to form a sticky dough. With floured hands, divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place the balls on a plate and chill in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. Bring the stock or water to a simmer then add the dumplings and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve with your favorite stew meat and enjoy!

Holiday Specials

2009-12-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

We love the holidays here at Mint Creek Farm and we are very excited to share with all of you some of our "Best Specials of the Year" for the holiday season. These specials will run NOW through the 22nd of December (one week only), so hurry and get your order in while supplies last!

1. We have drastically dropped the price on ALL Racks of Lamb, Lamb Loin Chops and Lamb Rack Chops to $14/lb! And for this week only- Get an additional 10% OFF when you purchase at least 5 lbs. of Racks, Loin Chops OR Rack Chops. Offer good for 5 lbs of any 1 of these items, but we will offer 10% OFF of each of these items! So, go ahead and purchase 5 lbs. of Racks (Get 10% OFF), 5 lbs. of Loin Chops (Get 10% OFF) and 5 lbs. of Rack Chops (Get 10% OFF)! That adds up to a ton of savings for you and some tasty presents for your family and friends too.

2. Save 25% OFF ALL Ground Beef and Ground Veal! Buy 1lb of Ground Beef or Ground Veal and Get the second one 1/2 OFF.

3. FREE Shipping on ALL online orders over $100! Please order by Friday December 18th, so we can get your present to its recipient in time for Christmas.

4. Gift Certificates are NOW available for $25, $50, $75 or $100 increments. Get an additional $5 FREE gift certificate for every $50 purchased in Mint Creek Farm Gift Certificates! These make great stocking stuffers!

5. Fresh Christmas Turkeys delivered to your home in time for your holiday meal! Each turkey is $5.25/lb plus $10 for delivery. The average weight for our turkeys this time of year is around 15 lbs.- perfect for a large holiday crowd. All turkeys will be processed on December 22nd and will be delivered Fresh to your door on either Wednesday December 23rd or Thursday December 24th. Turkeys are limited to a first come first serve basis, so place your order Today! Call 815.256.2202 for reservations.

6. Winter CSA Shares for February-April are still available! Get 3 months of organically raised grass-fed meat for only $150! This includes 5 lbs. of meat/month (15 lbs total). Each share will contain an assortment of cuts from our lamb, goat, beef and rose veal. For more information please email us at hcarr@mintcreekfarm.com. Shares may be purchased on our website at www.mintcreekfarm.com.

We hope that there is something here for everyone's last minute shopping list.

Enjoy and We Wish You a Warm and Wonderful Holiday Season!

Stew Hens

2009-12-11T09:49:00.000-08:00

What exactly is a stew hen? Well, it is a laying hen that is past her prime. So, you turn that hen into a rich flavorful broth that can be used in many different recipes! In my last posting I have my go-to recipe for making broth with either a stew hen or a leftover roasting carcass. If you want a thinner liquid always use a whole hen to create a higher meat to bone ratio. If you want a thicker stock rich in collagen, always use a leftover carcass that has a lower meat to bone ratio. Either are perfect for soups and stews but if you want to make a sauce with this liquid always use a collagen-rich chicken stock instead of a broth! The stock helps to bind the fat from pan drippings (au jus) so you have a completely coagulated sauce. Broth would not bind the fat and just give you a "broken" sauce. It is kind of like making a salad dressing. You add enough fat (oil) until everything binds or emulsifies. Stock can also be used as an alternative to cream or butter when deglazing your roasting pans. And I might add here, that you should always roast your meats in a "flame-proof" roasting pan, that you can place over your stove burners to deglaze all those flavorful fatty drippings! Never waste your pan drippings. They will create a dimension to any sauce that will elevate your dish and make you everyone's favorite chef. Now where do you get your hands on a stew hen? Ask around at the farmers market. We had processed a few with our Thanksgiving turkeys, but they went to our CSA Members. We may do some more, but it depends on the hens. And remember to always use your turkey carcasses for stock too!

Now if you make some homemade broth or stock, here is an excellent soup that my family loves!

Turkey/Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted from the Rebar Cookbook

Ingredients:
8 cups of homemade broth
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1/2 head of garlic, peeled and chopped
dried oregano
2 hot peppers, fined diced (I used poblanos, but if you want more heat use jalapenos)
3 cups of frozen corn kernels (try to find fire-roasted corn- it gives the soup a slightly smoky-sweet flavor)
1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 large orange bell pepper, finely chopped
2 cups of shredded meat (I used up the rest of our turkey leftovers)
store bought corn tortilla chips
2 avocados, diced
shredded Mexican cheese

Method:
Cook the onion in a little olive oil until it is translucent and starting to caramelize. Add the garlic and season to taste with salt, pepper, paprika (sweet or smoky) and the oregano. Cook until garlic is fragrant and lightly golden. Add the hot peppers, be careful not to "smell" the pot at this point. Hot peppers will burn your nasal passage once they get a little hot in a pan! Cook the peppers until soft. Add the sweet bell peppers and corn to the pot and give a good stir to make sure all the seasonings are well mixed. Add a little more oil to coat and adjust seasonings to taste. Add the shredded meat and pour the broth over everything. Stir to incorporate all of the flavors. Cover loosely, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all the vegetables are cooked and the soup has had a chance to let all the flavors meld together, at least 20 minutes. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and top with shredded cheese, diced avocados and crushed tortilla chips. Enjoy the soup as everything slowly melts into it creating many different flavor sensations!

Post Turkey Wrap Up

2009-12-03T14:53:00.000-08:00

We wanted to thank everyone who got their Thanksgiving turkey from us this November. We sold over 200 turkeys this year! Many more than we had sold the previous year, so thank you. We hope that you all enjoyed them as much as we enjoyed raising them for you. Right before the holiday, Channel 7 news can out to the farm to film the turkeys and to interview Harry. Here is the clip for you to enjoy:

I prepared my turkey this year as simply as possible. I made an aromatic lemon-herb rub that I spread under the skin and over the meat. This salty-herb mixture is given a boost of flavor by fresh lemon juice, which also acts as a binder to give the dry salt-herb mixture the structure of a spreadable paste. Works wonders and the turkey was scented with the fresh and light flavor of fresh lemon juice! I even smelled the lemon when I made up a batch of my homemade stock and I didn't even add any additional lemon juice.

Now if you did not make a batch of turkey stock from your turkey this Thanksgiving, shame on you. It is so easy and wonderful to use in just about anything. We froze most of our stock but we also used it in making Turkey Tortilla Soup when we were trying to be creative with our leftovers. We loved this soup so much we ate it for 4 days straight! It will definately be making another appearance in our household next year. (We are always looking for good ways to use up turkey leftovers, so if you have suggestions-please share!)

Homemade Turkey/Chicken Stock:
Ingredients:
1 turkey or chicken carcass or 1 stew hen
enough water to cover the carcass or stew hen
1 onion (quartered)
(may use the green parts of 1-2 leeks)
1/2 head of garlic (cloves peeled and smashed)
4-6 carrots (cut into thirds)
(may use 1-2 quartered apples or 1-2 roughly chopped sweet potatoes- something sweet)
4-6 celery stalks (cut into thirds)
(may use 1-2 roughly chopped celeriac- something earthy)
2-3 parsnips (cut into thirds)
(may use 2-3 quartered turnips- something peppery or spicy)
1 bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley or parsley stems
4 whole bay leaves (preferably fresh- crack the leaf to release the oils)
1 T of whole black peppercorns
1 T of course kosher or sea salt

Method:
Put everything into a large stock pot and cover with water. Make sure that the carcass or hen is completely covered. The rest of the ingredients will either sink or float, so gauge the water level on the bird. Cover the pot, but leave the lid ajar to let out steam. Bring the pot to a boil and then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer the stock for at least 2 hours. Check occasionally to make sure it does not boil over and to monitor how rapid it simmers. The stock is done when you can push on the carcass or hen and it collapses with a little force. The bones should just fall apart to ensure that all the connective tissue has been broken down thoroughly. Turn off heat and let cool to room temperature. Strain out all the solids and let the rich broth cool before you package it up in freezer containers. Once the bones are cool enough to handle, you may pick off all the meat and use it for another use. Stock can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for 2 months. Once you make stock you will never want to use store-bought broth again. It is also a great way to use up vegetable odds and ends without wasting them! Homemade stock is both tasty and economical. Enjoy!

November Meat CSA

2009-11-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

The Winter CSA is finally here and we have distributed our first month's worth of shares to all our new and returning members! This month is an exciting one, because everyone got a little taste of all the different types of meat products that we have. This includes our lamb, goat, beef and rose veal.

Half Share:
1# of ground beef
1# of goat or lamb loin medallions
1.5# of rose veal scallops
1.5# of lamb or goat shanks

Whole Share:
1# of ground beef
1# of goat or lamb loin medallions
1.5# of rose veal scallops
1.5# of lamb or goat shanks
1# of beef cube steak
2# of goat spareribs
.5# of rose veal porterhouse steak
1.5# of lamb top round roast

Besides a great assortment of grass-fed meat, our members received an exclusive member newsletter full of recipes, wine pairings, farm happenings and more!

They also receive a Member Discount Card good for any farmers market purchases made during the duration of their membership. This card saves them 10% off all their purchases, including their Thanksgiving Turkey!

And if you are looking for a delicious and easy way to prepare your pasture-raised turkey this year, check out my favorite recipe on Bon Appetit. It is for a Salted Roast Turkey with Herbs and a Shallot-Dijon Gravy. Yum!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Trials and Tribulations of Turkeys

2009-11-12T17:31:00.000-08:00

There is still time to order your Thanksgiving Turkey. However, due to the extremely cold weather that we had in October our turkeys have not gained the weight that we were hoping that they would. They are still plump and delicious, just a pound or two lighter than we would have liked. It looks like 16 lbs is going to be our maximum weight this holiday season. However, we still have plenty of birds in the 9-12 lb range. This size is great for dinner parties of 6-8 guests. If you would like a larger bird in the 13-16 lb range then we ask that you reserve your bird for pick up at the Logan Square Market (frozen) on Sunday November 22nd or for Home Delivery (fresh w/ $10 delivery fee). All turkeys are $5.25/lb and raised on organic pastures supplemented with non-gmo feed. If you have any questions, please call us at 815.256.2202.

Indoor Farmers Market Schedule

2009-11-02T11:06:00.000-08:00

This is it. Fall is upon us and we are at the end of the outdoor Farmers Market season. Never fear, there are more Indoor Farmers Market opportunities then ever before. What is even more exciting is that Mint Creek Farm is going to be participating in these markets, so you can have your grass-fed lamb, goat, beef and rose veal all year long!!!!! Eating local has never been easier.

Sundays: Logan Square/Wicker Park
At the Congress Theater 2135 N Milwaukee Avenue
November 1st, 8th, 15th and the 22nd
December 6th, 13th and the 20th
January 10th, 17th, 24th and the 31st
February 7th, 14th, 21st and the 28th
March 7th, 14th, 21st and the 28th

Wednesdays: Green City
At the Peggy Notebaert Nature Center 2430 N Cannon Drive
November 11th, 18th and the 25th

Saturdays: 61st Street
At the Experimental Station 6100 S Blackstone Avenue
November 7th, 14th and the 21st
December 5th, 12th and the 19th

Saturdays: Green City
At the Peggy Notebaert Nature Center 2430 N Cannon Drive
November 7th, 14th and the 21st
December 5th, 12th and the 19th
January 16th
February 13th and the 27th
March 13th and the 27th
April 10th and the 24th

We look forward to seeing you at market this winter!

Updated Turkey Info

2009-10-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

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)

2009-10-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-14T14:08:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-14T12:32:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-14T11:33:00.001-07:00

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)

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

October Meat CSA

2009-10-14T11:28:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-10-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

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!

The Real Thing

2009-09-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

Honey. It is not what you think it is. At least the stuff you buy in the grocery store, is not what you think it is. Actually, no one knows what it is. We do know one thing, it is not real honey.

Earlier this year, Andrew Schneider, of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, investigated and wrote about imported honey and the lack of federal regulations placed on this imported good. This is a real cause for concern, since Americans consume over a pound of honey per a person each year and about 1/3 of the honey on store shelves is imported from places like China. Andrew interviewed with Bruce Gellerman of public radio's Living on Earth and some interesting facts came to light during that show. Here is a snippet of that interview:

GELLERMAN: Well we've been talking about honey, and one of the things you write about in your article is that actually, there is no legal definition of what honey is in this country. I mean, you could put another in a jar and call it honey?
SCHNEIDER: That's correct. You can call it anything you want and you can put anything you want in the jar. And you can call it honey. Neither the FDA nor the USDA has a legal definition of honey. Which means that enforcing the quality of honey becomes extremely difficult and problematic. If it has a recognized hazardous or illegal substance like the antibiotics the Chinese use, then you can pull it off the market. But if it has any number of other things – like if it's mixed with sugar water or corn syrup or something, there's really nothing there in the regulations that say that "Thou shalt not do this."

Now if you are like me, this is pretty frightening news considering just how much I love honey. I have been getting my honey from local sources for years, but this tidbit of info is news to me! I started buying my honey locally to help ease my allergies. Now I buy my honey locally to support my local beekeepers, including the neighbor that cares for Mint Creek Farm's hives (pictured above). Who figured I would need yet another reason to buy local honey! Thankfully, there are a ton of sources for the Chicago area to purchase local honey, mainly all of them are at our farmers markets.

And speaking of how much I love honey, now is the time to stock up on local honey and enjoy a spoonful in a cup of mint tea. You can also cook with honey (try tossing some with your favorite root vegetables or squash and roasting them in the oven) and it makes a lovely addition to a cheese plate. Honey is a wonderful food product created by nature and if you become as smitten with it as me, you will find it to be as complex and exhilarating as a glass of wine!

If you are feeling adventurous, you too can also tend to your own hive, even in the city. More and more urban beekeepers are popping up on roof tops and in gardens. Check out the following sites to learn more about keeping bees:

Chicago Beekeeping Meetup Group

Chicago Honey Co-Op

BeeSource for Beekeeping

Here a Chick, There a Chick, Everywhere a Chick Chick

2009-09-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

As you can see our girls are curious creatures that live a good life on our farm. Our heritage chickens feed on insects and weed seeds in our organic pastures and even in the straw that I was trying to put in their nest boxes! They get excited when we change their water, when they get new feed, clean straw, treats (they love apples) and anything else that we do to make they happy and healthy. Working with chickens is alot of fun, they make you laugh with their silly schoolgirl noises and they follow you around. I even dance with them occasionally! They like dusting themselves in whatever you put down, whether it is a dust bath or even their grit (we use oyster shell for added calcium). They are pretty happy creatures living a simple and carefree life.

Raising chickens for eggs is pretty simple and it is gaining popularity across the country. More and more city folk are keeping chickens in their backyards too! There is even a documentary traveling around called "Mad City Chickens" and it shows us all how chickens are making a comeback as one of the most popular pets for people to keep.

If you are interested in learning more about how to raise your own backyard chickens here are a few resources for you:
Backyard Chickens Forum
Chicago Backyard Poultry Meetup Group
Angelic Organics Learning Center
Chicago Chicken Owner
Faith's Farm Poultry Parlor (complete set-up to get you started)

Everything is Coming up Roses

2009-09-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

We don't have roses on the farm, but we do have milk-fed beef cattle, which is also known around the world as Rose Veal. This lovely sweet and tender meat is a rosey pink color which indicates a healthy iron sufficiency. Traditional veal meat is a pastey white color indicating a lack of iron levels in the young steer's muscle. Why would this matter to someone who wants to eat veal? Well, it matters because it indicates how the young animals are being raised. We raise our rose veal calves on open prairie pastures with their mothers and the rest of the cattle herd. They enjoy a life eating sweet grasses and their mother's own milk. This is the way it was meant to be for a young meat animal's life.

Unfortunately, traditional veal calves are not raised this way. They are raised in extreme confinement (crates that are not big enough for the calves to turn around in), alone and without their mother's milk or even cow's milk for that matter. They are fed a man-made formula that lacks the necessary iron that a young animal needs to grow strong and healthy. These animals are raised for meat that is so tender it can be "cut with a fork." Traditional veal is also practically tasteless. It is a shame that our meat/dairy industry has allowed and encouraged such practices. As conscious meat eaters, we can take back the meat/dairy industry and only support farms that humanely raise rose veal calves that live with their mothers in open pastures. We hope that you will say NO to traditional veal and enjoy veal that not only is tender but flavorful too.

We hope that you will share this information with others and encourage them to support healthier and more humane meat options. Please shop at your local farmers markets and get to know your farmer and their farming practices. It is important to become an informed shopper. You can then be confident in your decisions about what you feed your family.

This weekend we are releasing our Rose Veal products to our farmers market customers. We will have Ground Veal (excellent for meat sauces, like bolognese), Veal Stew Meat (perfect for all your cool weather stews) and Veal Rack Chops (they make an amazing saltimbocca*). We hope that you will give our rose veal a chance and enjoy meat the way it was meant to taste.

*This recipe is for a pork chop but I also love it with a veal chop because it calls for you to stuff the thick chop with all the classic saltimbocca ingredients instead of pounding the meat thin and layering the other ingredients on top. It holds together very well and makes for a lovely clean presentation.

What's on Sale This Week at Market (9-19 to 9-20)

2009-09-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

Sale Item:
Frenched Rack of Lamb $17.00/lb
Rack Chops $17.00/lb

What better way to celebrate the start of the Autumnal Season (September 22nd) than with a cozy and elegant meal for two.

May we suggest the following menu to warm your belly and lift your spirits:

Appetizer
Rogue River Blue (cow milk cheese that has been wrapped in grape leaves soaked in pear brandy) serve w/Mission figs or local Concord grapes

Garrotxa (a semi-firm goat cheese) serve w/local Jonathan or Cortland apples

Pecorino (firm sheep milk cheese) serve with warm lemon-scented Mediterranean olives

Warm Crusty Baguette

*All of these cheeses and more can be found at one of my favorite cheese shops in Chicago, Pastoral Artisan Cheese Bread and Wine

Soup
Cream of Mushroom or Butternut Squash

Entree
Rack of Lamb with Caramelized Shallot and Thyme Crust

Wild Rice with French Green Lentils

Roasted Beet Salad with Beet Greens and Feta

Dessert
Balsamic Roasted Bosc Pears with Pepper and Honey

What's on Sale This Week at Market (9-12 to 9-13)

2009-09-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

Sale item:
Lamb Loin Cuts 20% Off

Includes:
All Loin Roasts (bone-in and boneless)
Tenderloins
Loin Medallions

These cuts are the creme de la creme of lamb. Tender, full-flavored and they cook quickly. Always be careful not to overcook these delicate cuts especially the tenderloins and medallions. The loin roasts are wonderful and very versatile for almost any recipe. If I want to impress dinner guests and serve something that didn't take me all day to prepare, these loin sections are my go-to cuts for ease and elegance. After trying one of these recipes we are sure you will fall in love with lamb loins and find yourself using them at your next dinner party!

Here are some great recipe ideas for the loin cuts:
Boneless Roast Lamb Loin Persillade

Bone-in Lamb Loin Roast with Apricot Glaze

Lamb Tenderloin with Crimini Mushrooms and a Red Wine Sauce

Grilled Eggplant and Lamb Medallion Sandwich with a Rosemary Aioli

2 Guys and Whole Lotta Gals

2009-09-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

These handsome fellas are our farms' latest additions. We are proud to introduce you to Helios (the multi-colored lad in the top photo) and Zeus (the black rooster in the bottom photo). They are our attempt to appease the ladies' demands. The ladies insisted on roosters as part of union negotiations and if we keep our fingers crossed these 2 young lads will encourage more consistent egg production from our layers.

We can say that after the roosters were introduced to the ladies, it appears that Helios (still a tad too young) will need some time to grow into his own and find a way to work with his ladies. However, Zeus is quite the ladies man and is already working with his group quite nicely. His girls accepted him immediately and were excited to have him be a part of their flock! We are hopeful that he can successfully increase their egg supply before too long.

2009 Farmers Market Season Updates

2009-09-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

The regular Farmers Market season is rounding the bend and heading into the last 2 months before we head into the Winter Market season. This is good for everyone, lots more time to shop and there are tons of great products to purchase with this time of year being celebrated as the "Peak of Harvest." However, this time of year does bring some changes to the market schedule for many, including us. So, we wanted to give everyone an update on where and when we will be in the city to sell all of our great pasture raised meat products!

Sundays:
Logan Square 10am-3pm (until October 25th) *
Wicker Park 7am-2pm (until October 25th)

Wednesdays:
Green City 7am-1pm (until October 28th) *
Andersonville 3pm-7pm (until October 7th)
(please note the time change for Andersonville)

Fridays:
We are no longer participating in our Friday markets.

Saturdays:
Green City 7am-1pm (until October 31st) *
61st Street 9am-2pm (until October 31st) *

* There is a potential Winter Farmers Market in these communities. We will post our Winter Market schedule soon.

A Gobble Gobble Here and a Gobble Gobble There

2009-09-10T08:15:00.001-07:00

Here's a peek inside our new turkey brooder...these young birds are growing fast and will be ready to go outside any day now. We have over 300 of these White Broad-breasted Turkeys and they will be pasture raised and ready to harvest just in time for Thanksgiving!

September Meat CSA Share

2009-09-07T10:16:00.001-07:00

Half Share:
1# ground goat
1# of lamb chorizo sausages
1.25# of lamb spareribs
.75# of milk-fed beef sirloin scallops
1# of beef stew meat
Bonus: sampling of lamb organ meats

Whole Share:
1# of ground goat
1# of lamb chorizo sausages
1.75# of lamb spareribs
.75# of milk-fed beef sirloin scallops
1# of beef stew meat
1# of lamb kabob meat
1# of milk-fed beef rack chops
.75# of beef ribeye steak
1.75# of milk-fed lamb shanks
Bonus: sampling of lamb organ meats

This month's meat shares have a little of everything, including organ meats! We also released another brand new meat product, our milk-fed beef. This sweet, pink-colored and mild beef is from our young steers that were born this past spring. These young meat animals lived the perfect life nursing from their mothers and grazing in the sweet prairie pastures. We hope you will love this humane and non-traditional take on veal, as much as we do. There is no other way to raise a young animal than to let it free-range with other animals and live a serene life as it was intended to.

To learn more about why it is so important to only eat milk-fed beef that have been raised with their mothers in open pastures (also known as rose veal), please visit the following site to learn more about the unfortunate practices of raising traditional veal calves: Veal Fact Sheet *Please be warned that this information in unsettling for some individuals.

* It is very important for us to educate our customers about the horrific practices of conventional farming. We hope that you will help us share this information and let people know that there are alternatives and that they should seek them out.

We also wanted to give our CSA members some great recipe ideas for this month's shares:
Ground Goat- great in Kefta Kabobs or in a Shepherd's Pie
Lamb Spareribs- another way to prepare the Spareribs is to roast them with rosemary
Beef Stew meat- Beef and Bean Chili is always a winner on a cool evening
Milk-fed Beef Scallops- Piccata (if you are feeling Italian) or Wienerschnitzel (if you are feeling German)
Lamb Shanks- One of my personal favorites is simply to Braise them in wine and serve them with a fresh herb and lemon gremolata
Milk-fed Beef Rack Chops- Make a fancy meal for 2 with an elegant Saltimbocca (this recipe calls for a pork chop, but use the rack chop instead and it will be perfect!)
Lamb Organ meats- check out our website for a great list of recipes perfect for the elusive organ meats!

We hope you all enjoy!

Ode to Julia

2009-09-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

Boeuf Bourguignon. Beef Bourguignon. No, Boeuf Bourguignon is the only way to spell, pronounce and present a dish as grand as this hearty meat stew. Julia Child knew just how to do it, so in honor of all things Julia (her 97th birthday would have been this past August and we loved the fun summer movie Julie & Julia) we are cooking up her version of this spectacular meal! Actually, I am letting the creator of Sugar and Spice by Celeste cook up this elaborate meal for you.

Here is a snippet of what to expect on Sugar and Spice by Celeste:

Boeuf Bourguignon is basically beef that has been slowly cooked in red wine, with bacon, onions and mushrooms. I've heard so much about this dish lately. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Julie Powell made it in the new movie Julie & Julia. This was also the very first dish that Julia Child prepared on The French Chef! It's such a classically French meal. The beautifully complex flavors...especially of the sauce...really makes this dish amazing.

I would give you the recipe's ingredient list, but Celeste makes it fun by scanning the original pages of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook. By reading her original recipe, your experience is enriched and gives you the feeling of cooking with Julia. However, I will tell you that where there is beef, bacon and wine, your taste buds will thank you.

Side note: Julia Child highly recommends using Beef Rump Roast for this dish, so we are bringing up to market, what else, but Beef Rump Roast!

We are also bringing regular beef stew meat to market. Both the rump roast and the stew meat are $7.00/lb. If you are still in the mood to grill this weekend, we will also have ground beef for $7.00/lb and ribeye steaks for $19.00/lb.

Bon Appetit!

What's on Sale This Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

Sale Item:
Lamb Shoulder Chops $6.00/lb

For those of us who want more meat on our lamb chops, shoulder chops will fill the bill or should I say stomach! Shoulder chops are a tougher cut of meat, but they pack quite a punch of flavor and at $6.00/lb you cannot pass up this inexpensive and tasty cut. They could benefit from a little olive oil and lemon juice as a marinade before being put on the grill or roasted. Shoulder chops are also known to be a great braising cut, making a delicious and tender chop once cooked in broth to keep them juicy. Here is a quick recipe from The Splendid Table that is perfect for grilling this holiday weekend.

Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops Greek Style

Four 10- to 12-ounce lamb shoulder blade chops, 1/2 inch to 1/4 inch thick
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 lemon

1. Build a fire in your grill.

2. Dry the chops with paper towels and sprinkle them generously with salt and pepper. When the fire has died down and the coals are hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above the grill surface for 1 to 2 seconds), place the chops on the grill and cook until well seared, 3 to 4 minutes per side. To check for doneness, nick, peek, and cheat: Make a 1/4-inch cut in the thickest part of the meat; it should be slightly less done than you like it. When the chops are done, remove them from the grill, cover them loosely with foil, and let them rest for 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the olive oil, oregano, and garlic and mix well.

4. Spoon the garlic mixture over the lamb chops, squeeze the lemon on top of them, and serve hot.

A Little Mado and alot of Food, Inc.

2009-08-31T14:03:00.000-07:00

This past June, my daughter Raya and I, had the opportunity of catching a late night showing of the new movie Food, Inc. by Robert Kenner. We had just attended a family dinner at Rob and Allie Levitt's Wicker Park restaurant Mado, which was just voted as one of the Top Ten Best New Restaurants in America by Bon Appetit magazine. For this particular family dinner they teamed up with Andrew Zimmerman of Sepia to create a stellar menu:

charcuterie

lamb summer sausage
lamb brain terrine
lamb liver paté

antipasti

lamb neck pastilla
lamb loin carpaccio
pickled lamb’s tongue
with potatoes and spring onions

salad

wood-grilled lamb heart
with watercress and pickled ramp vinaigrette

entrée

mixed roast:
lamb shoulder baked in hay with herbs de la garrigue
spit-roasted leg

market sides

dessert

sheep’s milk ricotta with strawberries

I have long been an advocate of organ meats as being the most nutritious part of the animal, but this meal shouted to us diners that they are the most flavorful part as well. Bon Appetito!

Afterwards, we headed over to the Renaissance Place Cinema on Clark Avenue to watch Food, Inc.

I must say upon leaving the movie theater an hour and a half later, I felt that this movie had the potential to nudge forward the food revolution that is embracing our nation. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening anytime soon in my narrow circle of populace. This movie has been surprisingly well received by critics, so I will keep my fingers crossed that as a country we will learn to speak up before our next forkful of "food" enters our mouths.

As an organic grass farmer, residing in the corn and soybean patch of east central Illinois, many of the details of this movie were already well known to me. Especially, how most of our supermarkets are made up of a variety of repackaged corn and soy products including; the boxes we find our food in, the colorful ink advertising to us on those boxes, and the very drywall used to construct the grocery store itself. The pernicious company, Monsanto, and their strong armed techniques to convert the world to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's) was well represented in this film. Food, Inc. also focused much of its energy on the controversial system of using Confinement Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO's) and the increasing risk of pathogenic e coli bacteria entering our food system. Much of the risk of e coli would be eliminated if we turned away from using these CAFO's and feeding corn to ruminants, which is something that their bodies are not designed to digest. Finally, the movie showed how Wal-Mart, Inc. cooperated after two years of hand wringing to show the power of the consumer and how Wal-Mart's decisions are shaped by their consumers' wants.

In telling the industrial food system story, this movie is a piece of the larger agricultural crisis puzzle joined by the books Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Hopefully, the public will respond louder to moving pictures than to the written word.

To watch the trailer of Food, Inc. please click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0

-Harry Carr

Summer Grillin' at its Best

2009-08-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

Mint Creek has Grass-fed Organic Beef!!!!

We are bringing a variety of beautiful steaks this weekend to market, including: T-bone steaks, NY Strip steaks, Sirloin steaks and Flat Iron steaks. We will also have ground beef for sale too. Supply is limited so please come early for the best selection. We promise to bring more as we build up our supply over the next couple of weeks.

What's on Sale This Week at Market (8-28 to 8-30)

2009-08-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

Sale Item:
Lamb Spareribs $6.00/lb

This over looked, under appreciated cut of lamb is a secret favorite among lamb farmers. At this weekend's price we should all be taking a second look and I hope after reading Farmgirl Susan's Farmgirl Fare blog entry about Onion and Herb Crusted Lamb Spareribs, you will be clamoring to market to get some before the secret is out!

Here is a little excerpt from Farmgirl Fare:

This is the same way I prepare a whole leg of lamb for roasting. You simply slather on a thick layer of the onion and herb mixture and pop it in the oven. Both the leg and ribs will taste even better if you allow the meat sit for several hours once you've spread the topping on (set it in the fridge if it's going to be more than two hours). You can cook the ribs for as little as an hour, but two hours makes the topping nice and crisp and the meat more tender. You could probably slow cook them at a lower temperature for even longer.

I never measure out quantities when I make this; I just start with at least a couple of big handfuls of onion flakes and go from there. As long as there's enough olive oil to hold everything together and enough paste to make a thick layer, you really can't go wrong with this combination of ingredients, especially if your herbs are freshly picked. Simply adjust the amounts of everything to suit your tastes.

Its Never Too Late for Change

2009-08-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

The Omnivore's Dilemma may have been released in 2006, but it is still relevant to what is happening to our food system in 2009. If you have not picked up a copy, do so and be prepared to change not only the way you eat but what you eat.

This book review of Michael Pollen's The Omnivore's Dilemma is courtesy of Mint Creek's own Harry Carr. Previously published in the Family Farmers Meats newsletter Vol.1, Issue 1, Fall 2006.

Exactly 100 years ago Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle. He gained particular fame for this work, which dealt with conditions in the U.S. meat-packing industry and caused a public uproar that partly contributed to the passage of the Pure-Food and Drug Act in 1906.

Sinclair lamented the effect of his book and the public uproar that resulted: "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident, I hit it in the stomach." I believe Michael Pollen's work to be aimed not so much for the heart or the stomach, but for our reasoning faculty. We shall see if it scores a direct hit.

This book has the capacity to initiate change, similar to Sinclair's work. The beginning of the end of the industrial food system is probably not that close at hand, but after reading this; your diet can't help but change for the better.

Pollen starts out with two questions: What are we eating? and Where does it come from? He answers this by researching four food systems: industrial, industrial organic, organic pastoral, and the hunter-gatherer. Taking us through the history and development of each, he eleborately culminates by hosting and/or preparing a meal from each food system.

In his work, Pollen states, "As different as the journeys of these food systems are, a few themes keep cropping up. One is that there exists a fundamental tension between the logic of nature and the logic of human industry." We seek to maximize efficiency by planting crops or raising animals in vast monocultures. This is something that nature never does, always and for good reasons, practicing diversity instead. A great many of the health and environmental problems created by our food systems are owed to our attempts to oversimplify nature's complexities, at both the growing and eating end of our food chain.

At either end of any food chain, you find a biological system- a patch of soil, a human body. The health of one is connected- literally- to the health of the other. Many of the problems of health and nutrition that we face today trace back to things that happen on the farm. Behind those things, stand specific government policies.

A New Way to Farm

2009-08-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

Everyone is interested in urban agriculture these days. More and more we are seeing and experiencing the creation of community gardens, apiaries, edible landscapes, backyard chicken coops and more. These are all exciting endeavors, but I have something new to share with you. So new it has not even been done yet! We have all heard of vertical gardening, well what would our world be like if every major city in the world had Vertical Farms? Yesterday's New York Times Op-Ed column had a story about urban farms growing vertical in every sense. A brilliant theory and design that I hope comes to fruition very soon. There are many cities that have limited land available for farming, but these vertical farms would be housed in towers to utilize space more creatively. These farms would use water and other natural resources more efficiently and reduce not only waste but the cost of using these limited and dwindling resources. This takes roof-top gardens to the next level and makes it a real possibility for every city to grow enough food to feed its own inhabitants. Now that is a real green initiative that every city should try to swallow.

Mint Creek's Meat CSA News for August

2009-08-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

All our Meat CSA members have gotten their shares for the month of August so I wanted to give everyone else a glimpse of what our members are getting in their boxes:

Half Share (5 lbs.)

1 lb grass-fed ground beef

2 lbs grass-fed angus beef sirloin steak

1 lb pastured lamb loin chops

1 lb pastured goat kabob meat

Whole Share (10 lbs.)

1 lb grass-fed ground beef

1 lb grass-fed angus beef flat iron steak

2 lbs grass-fed angus beef short ribs

1 lb pastured lamb loin chops

1 lb pastured goat kabob meat

1 lb pastured lamb breakfast sausage

2 lbs milk-fed french rack of lamb

1 lb milk-fed lamb leg steak

This particular membership is 3 months long and will run through October. Starting in November we will have another CSA available to our customers. All boxes are hand packed and we strive to give our members a diverse selection of meat varieties with ways to prepare these healthy grass-fed cuts. Each box also comes with an informative farm newsletter full of recipes, helpful tips, articles and health news. Our members also get a market discount card that entitles them to an additional 10% off of all their market purchases. Now this is smart shopping for the meat hungry in lean times! We will be sure to keep everyone updated on the blog with all future CSA info.

Mint Creek's Pastured Beef

2009-08-13T16:08:00.001-07:00

Breaking News:
Mint Creek Farm is releasing their Grass-fed Ground Beef this week at market!!!!

Our 100% grass-fed angus beef is lean and full flavored with a slight earthiness that makes it one of a kind. You will never look at beef the same way again. This is how beef is supposed to taste, clean and pure. What better way to celebrate summer than with a classic burger. One of my favorite food magazines (Saveur) is highlighting the Burger this month. Here is a link to the article and a list of inspiring ways to top your perfect burger: http://www.saveur.com/article/Techniques/The-Tastiest-Toppings?cmpid=enews073009

What's on Sale This Week at Market (8-14 to 8-16)

2009-08-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

Sale Item:

Milk-fed Lamb Loin Chops $16/lb

One of my personal favorites is on sale at market this week, lamb loin chops. These little "t-bone" shaped chops are perfect for the grill, on the stove top or even in the oven. However you want to cook them, they will cook up quickly and keep their tender sweet flavor. Just like our lovely rack chops and french racks, we strongly encourage you to err on the side of under-cooking verse over-cooking these precious morsels. I love topping my grilled chops with a quick pan sauce of dried fruit poached in a ruby port. Here is a quick recipe for a similar decadent chop from Epicurious.com: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lamb-Chops-with-Dried-Cherries-and-Port-241854

We also shared our lamb loin chops with our Meat CSA this August. In our member newsletter we included a farm favorite recipe from Cooking Light: Honey, Cumin and Mint Marinated Lamb Chops http://www.cookinglight.com/food/in-season/scb-entrees-00400000028109/page7.html These caramelized meaty grilled bites are so yummy, they even impressed my Israeli in-laws! Now that is a feat, since they eat mostly lamb in Israel and are used to most preparations of this meat staple. Using fresh herbs, honey and a little spice makes for a unique and impressive original dish. Trust me and make this dish at your next "hard-to-impress" family gathering.

Blue Kitchen Cooks up Mint Creek Meat

2009-08-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

Terry and Marion came to the Logan Square farmers market one Sunday and we talked food. Good food. They told me that they write a food blog called Blue Kitchen and that they have prepared some of Mint Creek's pastured meats. I was thrilled to learn that and when I got home that day, I promptly checked out their blog. Terry does such a wonderful job creating dishes and photographing them that I signed up to get their blog feed through my google reader account. Now I follow Blue Kitchen's adventures along the culinary road to create, share and enjoy good food. One of my favorite entries of theirs is about our goat kabob meat: http://www.blue-kitchen.com/2009/06/10/cumin-and-cinnamon-add-middle-eastern-flavor-to-grilled-goat-kebabs/. Cumin and cinnamon grilled goat kabobs with a pomegranate molasses, yum! Terry also gives a nice little introduction to the world of goat meat for anyone that may be hesitant to sink their teeth into a hunk of goat.

Note: If you would like to follow Mint Creek's new blog just click on the "Follow" button and you can follow our every mouth watering moment through Google Connect!

What's on Sale This Week at Market (8-7 thru 8-9)

2009-08-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

Sale Item: Milk-fed Rack of Lamb $22/lb
Regularly $32/lb

Our milk-fed racks are tender morsels of lamb perfect for a lovely dinner for two or an elegant summer barbecue. Each rack has been frenched and the bones are pre-cut for easy slicing. All you have to do is grill it up and serve it along side a lentil salad and some crusty bread smeared with goat cheese and you have a perfect quick meal. Oh, and don't forget the chilled rose in the frig! Everyone will remember this meal and you will be the star of the party.

Here is a great recipe for Rack of Lamb with Garlic and Herbs: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rack-of-Lamb-with-Garlic-and-Herbs-1222178

Note:
You can also grill the racks over medium hot coals (in foil) for about 20 minutes, then remove the foil and place the rack directly on the grate for an additional 5-10 minutes checking the internal temperature to desired doneness. I like my rack at medium rare to medium and that takes about 30 minutes. Remember to let the meat rest, loosely covered for about 5 minutes after removing it from the grill. The internal temperature will continue to rise 5-10 degrees so take that into consideration when you remove the rack from the grill.

Summertime Lamb Feast

2009-08-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

I cooked up my first milk-fed rack of lamb today and it was so succulent and delicious that I nearly swooned! I created a recipe for it, since I felt it was something special and should be treated with careful attention. So, I decided to grill it with a subtle and sweet rosemary infused white nectarine glaze. Decadent, yes! Worth it, oh my yes!

Rack of Lamb with a Rosemary Infused Nectarine Glaze
One could use any stone fruit in this recipe (peaches, apricots, plums, etc.) and besides rosemary one could use lavender or even thyme.

1-2# rack of lamb
a drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2-3# of ripe nectarines (I used a white nectarine that is not only sweet and juicy but has a nice floral aroma to it)

Special Equipment:
Food mill
Meat Thermometer

Split nectarines in half and remove pits. If unable to remove pits, just cut off as much flesh as possible. Roughly chop the nectarines (including the skins) and cook the pulp, along with 2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, in a sauce pan until thick and bubbly (30-45 min.). Let cool to room temperature. Remove the rosemary sprigs once sauce is cool. Strain the infused sauce through a food mill to remove the nectarine skins and to finely puree the sauce. This is the glaze that you will coat the rack of lamb with while grilling.

Place the rack of lamb on a piece of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Thoroughly coat the rack with the nectarine glaze on all sides. Place the remaining sprigs of fresh rosemary under and on top of the rack. Fold the foil up and around the rack to create a packet. Place the packet on a prepared grill or in a 350°oven and roast to desired degree of doneness. Brush on more glaze near the end of the cooking time to give the rack one last burst of sweetness. (If grilling, you can remove the foil and place the rack directly on the grill near the end of cooking. This will caramelize the glaze on the meat and give you a crispy exterior.) When trying to decide if the meat is cooked to the desired doneness, it is a great idea to have a meat thermometer to help with this process. For medium rare to medium the meat should take 20-25 minutes to cook. It is very important to remember to remove the meat before it reaches the correct temperature and let it stand for about 5-10 minutes, loosely covered. The temperature will continue to rise 5-10° more while resting. Slice the rack into single rib portions. Serve the rib chops topped with remaining nectarine glaze and a sliced baguette with roasted garlic and a lovely goat brie cheese.

Helpful Hint on Checking for Internal Temperatures:
Make sure to insert thermometer in the thickest portion of the meat and do not touch the bone.
Medium rare: 145° Medium: 160° Well done: 170°

It Tastes Nothing Like Chicken

2009-08-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

I met Pete at the Logan Square Farmers Market this Sunday and he told me he loved our lamb hearts! He shared with me how he prepared them and it sounded so divine that I asked him to share with all of our blog readers. So here is Pete's recipe in all its glory:

Lamb Hearts with Summer Squash

This recipe is based on one I found in 'Variety Meats', a 1982 cookbook I bought at the Salvation Army because the pictures grossed me out (I ate but didn't cook meat at the time). Little did I know. ;-)

*2 lamb hearts
* a cast iron skillet with lid
* 2 or 3 average sized summer squash
* 1/2 cup dry red wine (I used marsala, a cooking wine, since we're beer drinkers).
* 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
* 1 average onion, chopped small

Seed and slice the squash in to sticks (1-2 inches long).

Trim the valves, tubes, membranes off the hearts and anything else that doesn't look like you should it eat. Remove most of the fat too. I used a boning knife and was pleasantly surprised at how easy this was (and how little waste). Cut in to one inch cubes.

Brown the heart pieces in a tablespoon of olive oil. They didn't really turn brown for me (more like grey), despite several minutes of sauteing. Add the onion and garlic, and cook/stir until the onions are soft and starting to brown. Add 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper, and the 1/2 cup wine. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or so, occasionally lifting the lid to stir/smell/check for doneness - the heart was slightly chewy (in a good way) when done. If things get to dry, add a little water.

Meanwhile, steam the squash. This takes about 5 minutes.

I served the hearts (with juices) over Israeli couscous (aka 'pearl pasta'), sauteed in a little bacon fat for 3 minutes, then simmered like normal with a bay leaf thrown in. The cooked hearts tasted really meaty - they're quite dark colored and have a rich flavor, without being heavy. It's hard to describe, but they made us feel invigorated and energized after eating them.

The beer we paired with them was Great Lakes' Eliot Ness (an amber lager). I was planning to pair it with Bell's Pilsner, but we drank it all earlier in the week. Follow with a refreshing salad and a night of dancing (my salad had apples, but raw turnips would work too).

-Pete

Where are the Eggs?

2009-07-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

We realize that there have been some questions, concerns and complaints about the lack of eggs at market. Well, we wanted to take the opportunity to apologize for any inconvenience or confusion to our loyal customers concerning our fabulous pastured eggs. We would love to provide all the markets with eggs, but right now we do not have the supply to meet the demand! We are only bringing eggs to the Saturday Green City Market, but even that supply is very limited. We ask that everyone be patient as we work with our egg-layers union in negotiating their new contract. We hope to have more eggs in the near future, but since we do not force our egg layers to lay, we will have to wait and see what happens. Hopefully we can convince them that we need them and their delicious eggs. We will be sure to keep all of you posted on the negotiations!

What's on Sale This Week at Market (7-29 to 8-2)

2009-07-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

Sale Item:
Mutton Kabob Meat $8/lb

Mutton. That's right I said mutton. Now what exactly is this mutton that we speak of? Well, it is an adult sheep, plain and simple. Mutton gets a bad rap, because no one knows what it is and lets face it, it does not have the best sounding name-mutton (hum...). That being said, our mutton is pastured on the same fields as our lamb and goat and it tastes just as great. Don't believe me, well try some and see for yourself. We are offering our Mutton Kabob meat for $8/lb! An excellent value and a very flavorful addition to tonight's dinner menu. There are a great number of recipes online utilizing mutton. Here is one to try: http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/online_recipes/indiapakistan/mutton-kebab.php
Enjoy!

Chicago Farmers Market Season 2009

2009-07-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

Summer is in full swing and we are busy at Mint Creek Farm working hard to supply Chicagoans with all their pastured meat needs. Stop by and shop with us at one of the many farmers markets around town.

Here is a look at our market schedule for 2009:

Sundays: Logan Square 10am-3pm and Wicker Park 7am-1pm

Wednesdays: Green City Market 7am-1pm and Andersonville 4pm-8pm

Fridays: Olympia Fields (every other week) 9am-1pm and
Uncommon Grounds 4pm-8pm

Saturdays: Green City Market 7am-1pm and 61st Street Market 9am-2pm

We have a great rotating selection of milk-fed lamb, pastured lamb, goat and mutton and we will soon have pastured angus beef. Check our new blog out weekly for specials and summer deals that are only available at the farmers market!

Mint Creek Farm's New Meat CSA starts in August

2009-07-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

We are excited to launch our very first Meat CSA starting on August 2nd! Only available for 3 months and pick ups are either at the Logan Square Farmers market the first Sunday of the month or the Green City Market the first Wednesday of the month. We will be sharing with our new members our tasty lamb and goat products. The most exciting news is that we are also unveiling a brand new product to our members- pastured angus beef! We are excited to try out this new product with our loyal customers and hope to expand our offerings soon to all our market followers. We are going to keep you posted on when, where and what grass-fed beef we will have available very soon. If you missed out on signing up for our CSA, don't fret. We will be offering a winter version starting in November. Sign ups will start in October, so keep shopping at the farmers markets and we will keep you posted on all the details.