“To expect life to treat you good is foolish as hoping a bull won’t hit you because you are vegetarian.” -Roseanne Barr
Farm News: We’ve had another interesting week. Our project for the week was to fix the gates at our home farm, and toughen up our fences a little bit, as they are wearing out. Curtis brought the post driver home from Circle S South – and we got to work.
We moved our cows into a back pasture to let them clean up some grass, and started working on the gate going into their field. Well, Lucky (our bull, who we keep in a different paddock) decided it was time for him to go back in with the cows. He walked over the top of one of our fences and started making his way to the cows. Heavens, only one more fence between him and the cows.
Curtis and I went to get our horses. Luckily, when we got back he was still on the right side of the fence. We started working to push him and the steer that is his friend (who also walked over the fence) back toward our corral. It was cold and our horses were fresh – we both had a bit of a rodeo. I wish I had pictures of that part!!
We heaved a sigh of relief when we got him back into the corral, and went to put our horses up.
By the time we got back, he had busted out of the corral and was back to walking the fence. Curtis and I went back to get our horses again…. Lucky busted out 3 (almost 4) times before we finally got a hot wire around our corral. He folded one of our gates half in two. Needless to say, my horse wasn’t so fresh by the third go round.
So long story short – we will be fencing again this week!!
What’s in the bucket? Napa cabbage and/or lettuce, collards and/or kale, carrots, beets, purple potatoes, parsley or cilantro, blueberry lime jam.
If you are out of ideas for Napa cabbage, asian slaw is always a crowd pleaser!! You can search back through the blog to find my recipe – or there are lots of good recipes online.
Following, a recipe for a warm kale and beet dish for this cold weather we are having!!
Kale with bacon and beets
Ingredients
2 beets (about 14 ounces)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
6 thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon slices (8 ounces), diced
1 large bunch kale (about 1 1/2 pounds), washed, stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken stock
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Wash and trim the beets, removing both ends. Place them on a 12-inch square sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Drizzle with the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Seal up the foil packet and roast until the beets are fork-tender, about 1 hour.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until medium-crisp (or however you prefer your bacon). Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Increase the heat to high and add the kale, stirring to coat in the rendered bacon grease. Cover and cook for a few minutes, and then add the chicken stock and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar. Stir to combine, cover and allow to wilt for 6 to 8 minutes.
Peel and cut the beets into chunks and add them to the kale. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar. Add the bacon, stir to combine and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Happy Eating and thanks for buying local food from our farm!!