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The “other half” of the team….
….completing our “Sylvie Report” we want to acknowledge her husband Keith Rowand, who not only keeps the home fires burning while she is away amazing diners, but who builds a mean fire of his own in a monster grill. Keith is available for cookouts, etc since the grill is big enough to be towed. And if you want to know about “Laughing Duck”, the Rowands are on Facebook and the web. http://www.laughingduckgardens.com/
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Preparing the pork and beef….
At my request (from others too), Sylvie sends along her preparation tips from our dinner (see “Every kitchen needs one…” below). Pork: score the fat, generously salt & pepper, sprinkle thyme leaves all over. Mash fresh garlic, salt, pepper & thyme into a paste. Insert here and there in the roast. 400F for 15 minutes, then 325 to 300 F until it’s done – well done and tender. Baste occasionally with accumulated fat and some lemon juice and/or white wine. Not too much lemon juice as it can burn. Lower oven more if needed. Better long and slow than hot and fast. Brisket: sear both sides in a hot skillet.…
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Houston, we have a problem….
….it doesn’t happen often, but a Devon heifer can get in trouble with its’ first calf. That’s when good friends like Glenn Covington come to our rescue. He’s our “go-to guy” and that’s where we went when WW1 clearly had a calf hung up…one leg and nose out…one leg bent back. Glenn abandoned his Co-Op manager duties to come to our aid…with Rose Hill vet Tom Massie not far behind. Glenn had the calf out within minutes….used a blade of grass in its nose to get it breathing…just as Tom roared up. The doctor pronounced the bouncing baby boy healthy and recommended we all get out of the way to…
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Every kitchen needs one….
….a Sylvie Rowand! Particularly when you’re having a large dinner party. Here Sylvie squeezes out cheese puffs to be served with the “Autumn Gold Soup Demitasse (rutabaga). You may scroll down for the full menu. Sylvie, a French chef by way of Reunion Island, is also a gardener and our dinner depended heavily on her garden and produce from Sunnyside Farm. Featured, of course, was Thistle Hill meat, though our freezers are pretty empty. There was a pork shoulder that had escaped our customers; slow cooked with my “special” sauerkraut and kielbasa. The final presentation was artfully arranged on a platter with the kraut and sausage around the meat. Those who preferred beef, could choose…
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What’s in your beef….
…..add to the list: Zilmax. It’s a growth promoter that’s being used right up to slaughter in the industrial beef business. I hadn’t heard of it before but in addition to adding weight in the feedlot it messes with the cow’s heart (and yours?). There are two things particularly interesting about this report from Dr. Joseph Mercola. Note first, that the guy at the USDA who is in charge of monitoring this drug….is also a paid consultant for Eli Lilly, which manufactures the supplement. Even in this incestuous world, that’s going pretty far. Second, scroll down to the comments. A pretty good discussion of grass fed beef; this time some farmers…
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Every so often….
….our plan works out. For instance, this heifer calf. When we brought back THF Reality from John and Terry Guevremont farm on “temporary assignment” we were looking to couple his genetics (Rotokawa 667) to some of our best cows, particularly THF 6 (Hope). And it came to fruition this morning. “Hope”, who is a 688 daughter, has produced more calves (19) than any other cow at Thistle Hill and, in fact, this is her 10th heifer! Of course, many of the earlier calves were thanks to embryo transplants. In recent years, we’ve kept her to natural breeding.
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And then there were two….
….the first of two calves born today at Thistle Hill. The first, a bull calf, was delivered in our “nursery”…a small area near the house where we keep an eye on “first calvers”. It was no problem for W64….she found a safe area and delivered before we could come out and monitor the event. The sire is Thistle Hill Reality. It was a breeze as well for Q48 this morning. She was in the eastern pasture and strolled away from the herd for a few minutes for another non-fuss delivery, her fourth calf. This one a heifer, again by Reality. I mentioned earlier that the mamas here tend to keep a…
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Which one’s my mom???
….Enlarge the picture to see a pony volunteering. Not likely. I seem to look like the one in the center. But the one on the right? Yep! A Devon-Angus cross bull calf born this morning to the heifer on the right. Actually, she’s half Devon…hence the red color of the baby. Sire was Jackpot. The calf was born on an adjacent pasture still under development and we’d begun to put up a temporary pen to bring the heifer home for calving. Too late! Take down the pen.
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You have only a few days….
….to access an excellent roundup (sorry, bad choice of word) of the threat posed by the GMO industry. Normally, this video is behind a paywall but you can access it now and through November 9th at no charge. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/11/02/genetic-roulette.aspx
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Singing in the rain…
….what’s a little rain when you can welcome a new baby first thing in the morning? Even when you get clean jeans muddy tagging her? This heifer is by 256 out of Thistle Hill Jackpot. So far the bull/heifer ration is just about even. Old hat now for “R3“….her bull calf is by Thistle Hill Reality. Just a guess but it was almost as though both cows (standing about 50 feet apart, which is unusual) delivered between two cloud bursts at just about the same time. “3” is one of those cows who leans right over you talking to her calf while you tag her. I’ve learned to speak some mama…