Summer has come in with a vengance bringing all that sticky humidity, yuck, even the animals are panting..ever see a chicken pant, it's quite amusing really!  So enough about the weather..I get it it's summer and it is suppossed to be hot, as I've said before I'm a spring and fall kind of person but work must get done in all kinds of weather.

 


First bit of news.....OUR FARM STAND IS OPEN!!!!  Please stop by and say hello check out our meat selection as well as FRESH LOCAL PRODUCE.  That's right we are into the produce as well as meat business here at Open Meadow Farm. 
Our backyard has blossomed into a banquet of green, reds and purples.  All that nasty spring rain played havoc with our planting so we were off to a late start but we are well under way now.  We are selling local produce from other farms until our own products become available, and hopefully soon you'll be able to try our own homegrown produce.  We have tomatoes, zucchini, radishes, beets. kale, spinach, lettuce, scallions, cherries, strawberries and local corn on the cob!  Quite the variety and it is only July, we will have blueberries in August and cucumbers and peppers are right around the corner.

Below I've attached a few photos of the chickens and cows so you can see where they reside.  These newly designed for 2013 chicken tractors are working out fantastic.  They give plenty of room for the chickens to move around while allowing us to get into them without crouching...this new design compliments of Farmer Chuck himself, he's very creative.  Check out the plush green pasture they get to explore too compliments of mother nature.

 Here are some additional photos of the cattle in their lush green pasture.  I assume they are not remembering much of the rain from last month but have instead benefited from it.

Well that is all for now but please come stop by the farm stand for local produce and our own beef, pork and chicken located at our home 5 Leominster Shirley Rd Lunenburg.  You can also still find us at the Marblehead farmer's market on Saturday mornings....we'll keep you updated as to where else our travels take us.

Eat local and support our farmers!
Robin

Spring has Sprung

It has certainly been a long cold winter this year but with the arrival of spring, actually it feels a little like summer, business is getting busy. We've started some progress on those lists I mentioned before.  One such plan is the opening of our new Farm Stand located right here in Lunenburg in front of our home at 5 Leominster Shirley Rd.  It is expected to be up and running late May or early June.  We'll also be adding to our line of meat products with fresh produce.....fill the bag with one stop shopping!

We decided this year to stay a little closer to home and so we will not be going to the Middleton or Billerica Farmers Market this year...so if you were one of our regulars there please check out our Meat Buyers Club where you can get all of our products delivered strait to your door once a month.  You will still find us in Marblehead on Saturday mornings from June 15th through November.

When I said we were busy so were some of our cows...here are a few photos of our newest arrivals:

 

And the newest arrival at home is a border collie named Cora whom we hope when she gets a little bigger will help us out with herding. She first looked at the cows like "what the heck it that" but once she got over her initial barking she simply looked like "whatever". Hopefully with some training she will roll into her position of pig, cow and chicken herder.
 

I like most of you find cooking in the summer a challenge with a business to run, kids to transport places and a household to try and keep together it can be a lot of work.  I'd like to offer a couple suggestions from our extensive list of products.  

Starting with beef kabobs that are already cut into pieces to marinate and then skewer with some locally raised veggies for an easy meal on the grill.  If you are little more adventurous then try taking one of our small chickens and grilling it "spatchcock" style.  Never heard of it well it is simple once you get that technique down: you have to cut the backbone out along the spine with a sharp knife or kitchen shears and then make a small slit inside the breastbone to remove it and the chicken flattens out nicely to grill.  If you go to utube you can find some great videos demonstrating the process which is quite easy after you have done it once.

Until next time remember to buy local and eat fresh.

Wintery Work

Okay so the winter it appears is no less busy than the summer months around here just for different reasons.  In the summer we are contending with feeding more animals, pigs, chickens and cows but now in the winter with only cows it seems we are contending with the weather.  As yet today is another snowy day and the future forecast for the week doesn't look much better, cloudy with chances of snow for at least 3 other days this week.

Although there is snow in the air, and on the ground, the animals still need tending and the help (by help I mean the kids and I) are again weary of venturing out to shovel and get to the fields.  I've added a few photos of the snow we dug out with the Blizzard of 2013!  The animals go with it and the people well they deal with it.  With the anticipated arrival of all that snow we battened down the hatches and added a little more feed to make the cows comfortable and help with cold.
 After all they do have fur and leather coats to keep warm and we had our hats, gloves and snow pants, but that did not make it any easier for my husband on the seat of the tractor with all that wind blowing.



It seems there is light at the end of the tunnel with the arrival of March very soon, which hopefully leaves the snow behind and the greening of pastures for the animals.  Now we will begin the windup and countdown until market seasons begin.  As soon as the grass is visible there will be fences to mend, cleanup to be completed and preparations for pigs and chickens...oh and did I mention that currently we are awaiting the arrival of 7 Black Angus calves.  It is going to be a busy spring!

My mother always used to harp on the coming of spring and the arrival of housework, the old "spring cleaning" theory, and the ultimate lists for my father of things that needed to be done.  So here at Open Meadow Farm we have begun compiling our "to do" lists and boy are they long.  I must admit I am a fair weather person, mind you I will go snow blow the driveway or shovel when needed, but I would much rather sit by a cozy fire with a cup of tea and contemplate what I should make for dinner.  So as for today since I am not needed in the cold outdoors I chose to update you all on our family farm....the rest of the family is clearing the drive and heading out to tend the animals.  Please don't forget to keep us in mind when you cannot decide to make for dinner this week, we are available year round, rain, snow or sleet (just like the mailman) and have fabulous products for the whole family.

Until next time when I have a few minutes to sit down...remember to choose local and support your local farms.

So I sit here today looking out at the lousy winter like day and have to wonder how will it get into the 60's this weekend.  Well I know the kids and my farmer will be happy for a few more nice days because there is still tons to do before the winter truly sets in. 

Although I an not planning a homemade dinner for this evening I thought I'd put out another recipe for all of you.  I know the title of Meatloaf will throw off some of you because you all remember your mom's meatloaf, that at least in my house had to be covered in ketchup just to eat it.  The recipe I use is moist and delicious and above all easy!  I admit I cannot take full credit for it because the base of it came from the Kraft company, but I have adapted a few things to make it my own.

Open Meadow Farm Meatloaf

1 lb. ground Black Angus or Beefalo
1 lb. ground sweet Italian sausage (you can use links and squeeze out the meat)
2 eggs
1/2 c. water
1 package pork stuffing mix- 6 oz.
1/8 c. favorite BBQ sauce
1 tsp garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together well and separate into 2 parts, form into 2 loaves in a 13 x 9 pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.  Spread another 1/4-1/2 c. BBQ sauce over tops of loaves and bake for another 5-10 minutes.  Let rest for 10 minutes, slice and serve with mashed potatoes or rice and local in season vegetables.

We hope you will enjoy one of the recipes I post and remember to buy local.
The farmers wife

Picture this..it is a cool fall day (much like today), sweatshirt weather, and you want to feed the family something warm, homey and delicious for dinner.  Hmmm...the question is what to have?  I have the answer...

A delicious, juicy Roast Chicken from Open Meadow Farm.  I do not know about you but there are very few things in this world I like better than the smell of roasting chicken wafting through the house, the best part is that the smell permeates very quickly, filling the house with the wonderful aroma.  So I am presenting to you my recipe for Roast Chicken:

1. Rinse your whole pasture raised Open Meadow Farm chicken and then pat dry. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
 
2. Place your chicken on a rack in a roasting pan and smear with olive oil all over, then rub with either your favorite spices or a prepared rub (make sure to get the bottom, under the wings and into the legs as well as under the skin a bit if you dare to reach up there).

3. Cut up some carrots (no need to peel them), celery, 1/2 medium onion (again no need to peel), slice across the cloves of a head of garlic; fill the cavity of the chicken alternately with the vegetables as well as salt and pepper or your rub mixture.

4. If you have a thermometer be sure to place firmly into the thigh of the chicken for the most accurate reading ( I strongly advocate the use of a meat thermometer that has a cord connected to the device outside of the oven [well worth the $20 at Target] so there is no need to open the oven which can alter the temperature of an oven by as much as 25 degrees every time you open it).

5. Place your fabulously prepared chicken into the oven for 15 minutes, when the timer goes off DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN, turn the temperature down to 350 degrees until your meat thermometer registers 165 degrees in the thigh.  Note: If you do not have a thermometer like me you can estimate a time of approximately 15-20 minutes per pound before checking on your roasted chicken.

6. After removing the most spectacular roast chicken from the oven let rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.  Discard all the vegetables from the cavity; carve and serve.

Let's just say that the only thing left on my cutting board after our dinner was the carcass of that beautiful bird that was grown with care, tended to daily, spending its days in the pastures here at Open Meadow Farm becoming a mouth watering, juicy tasty dinner for my family and yours!

Okay, so I thought I'd share a few photos of our current chicken population, and as you can see it is pretty large.  The chickens are feasting in their new enclosure and enjoying the fruits of our labor growing bigger everyday.  As you can see we have also answered the question of is the grass really greener on the other side?  Yes it is....at least here on our fields.

So enough about chickens, oh and by the way they are also truly tasty!! 

Okay next are the pigs, all 24 of them.  We have the big guys weighing in at about 200 lbs and the "little" pigs, who are not so little anymore.  They have really been chowing lately on some great local produce like corn, tomatoes, peaches and corn.  We have been working really hard lately keeping them satisfied, you would not believe how much a pig can eat!?! 

Hard to believe that these are the "little" pigs, they are growing like weeds or like pigs that NEVER stop eating.  Getting their fill of some local sweet corn, it is pretty fun to watch how they tear into the husks to get to the sweet yellow kernels.

Alright so here are the last few photos I have to share with you...the cows.  They are so happy that some of the summer heat has gone and we have some cool days, but our fields are really needing some more rain. 

We recently got a little press in the Sentinel & Enterprise within an article on caging livestock (which as you can see we do not) and yours truly was even quoted, how 'bout that I'm famous.  Well signing off for now and reminding you to choose local.

Well as you can tell I am not a very good blogger at this point but I do have legitimate excuses, too numerous to mention here but I will elaborate a little by just saying the word WORK. 

Yes we are in the full swing of market season around here, Mondays in Billerica, Wednesdays in Middleton, Fridays are Groton and in Marblehead on Saturday mornings.  Now it would seem that markets might be my husband "the farmer's" job..but not this year, we've swapped things up a bit from last season, now I attend all except Marblehead.  So 3 times a week I climb into our market truck, kinda looks like an ice cream truck, and head off to the markets to attend to our valued customers.  This of course leaves the rest of the family to tend to everything else like feeding and watering animals, collecting vegetable for the pigs, moving chicken tractors and everything else that goes along with daily duties. 

Also don't forget we have monthly deliveries to make as well as our monthly Mass Local Food Co-op orders to fill so there is not a day that goes by without the whole family pitching in somewhere.  Not sure what is going to happen in a few weeks when the kids go back to school, they are troopers getting into work clothes and grabbing their work gloves and boots to head out the door with either dad or mom.  Every market I attend I usually take someone with me, its nice company and their learning a little more about the business end of things.

 Cows chowing to their hearts content on the freshest of feed!

 Here is our newest little piggies....

 These are two of our "employees"- keeping it in the family!

 These chicks were just a few days old, they will grow really fast....

 Above enjoying a feast of fresh greens and below showing their wooded retreat.

Until next time when I have few hours to myself....remember to buy local!