Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Did you hear there was a Riot in the Pasture?

http://www.salisburypost.com/Lifestyle/052811-Riot-in-pasture-qcd


By Glenn Hudson
For The Salisbury Post


A glass of sweet ice tea does taste better when sipped beneath a mammoth pin oak on a warm spring afternoon. In fact, in the shade of three of these magnificent trees, approximately 200 fans of local food enjoyed some of the best vegetables, meats and other produce that Rowan County farms have to offer. It tasted better because it was farm fresh from our own backyard.
The “Riot in the Pasture,” held at beautiful Correll Farms on the outskirts of Salisbury near Woodleaf Road, included live bluegrass music, hayrides and sheep-shearing. But quite frankly, the collard greens and sweet onion casserole, prepared by The Sweetest Thing, demanded as much attention as the surroundings. The pulled pork was prepared by Wild Turkey Farms and Bame Farms, and T & D Charolais prepared the beef brisket. “What was most exciting to us was to see so many people come out in support of local food,” said Christine Wilson, president of the board of directors for the Bread Riot. “We had a lot of people here that are just learning about the Winter Harvest program. That is exciting for our local farmers.”



The band No. 9 Coal brought the children onto the dance floor for some improvised dancing lessons while adults enjoyed whole-wheat strawberry shortcake that the bakers from The Sweetest Thing created using locally ground flour from Hoffner Organic Farms. It made for an impressive culinary feast fit for a celebration.



“I liked hanging out with all my friends and listening to the music,” said Ian Walser, 9, who enjoyed the expansive setting of Correll Farms. “It’s not like your own backyard where you are crowded by neighbors. It is unlimited space. You have a lot more room to play around.”



Regardless, a tree close to the stage attracted a lot of attention from the children despite the fact they had acres of room to roam and explore. It gave the event the feel of a huge family picnic.



“I climbed this magnolia tree. And there were a lot of other kids climbing it also,” said Autumn Walser, 7, Ian’s sister. “There were six long branches. And we could walk to the end of them and peer out of the tree and spy on the other kids. Everybody was chasing each other around.”



While the children played, the parents enjoyed the food and the fellowship. “The setting, to me, it felt like a homecoming,” said Tracy Walser, Ian and Autumn’s mother. “There were so many different people from around town. And everyone was gathering around the tables for a home-grown meal. Everything was just comfortable. It was fun to see as many people from the community get together and support our farmers. And the food was outstanding.”



The Bread Riot hosted the event to educate citizens about the benefits of local food and local farms and to celebrate the fact that the group recently obtained its non-profit status. The Bread Riot facilitates the supply of locally produced food through the Winter Harvest program, which fills the gap during the time when the farmer’s market is closed.



Some of the benefits of local food include low transportation costs for the farmer, which means a better price for the consumer and lower impact on the environment. Moreover, the Bread Riot teams with farms that use organic farming methods that are free from hormones, medications and pesticides.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Interesting reads




USDA Lowers Minimum Safe Cooking Temperature For Pork


A bit of pre-Memorial Day culinary news from the United States Department of Agriculture's website - the federal agency is dropping their baseline metric for safe pork cooking from 160°F to 145°F.



USDA is lowering the recommended safe cooking temperature for whole cuts of pork from 160°F to 145°F and adding a three-minute rest time. The safe temperature for cuts of beef, veal, and lamb remains unchanged at 145°F, but the department is adding a three-minute rest time as part of its cooking recommendations.



Cooking raw pork, steaks, roasts, and chops to 145°F with the addition of a three-minute rest time will result in a product that is both microbiologically safe and at its best quality.




Check out these links too:


Check out the minimum cooking temperatures on FoodSafety.gov.


Using a meat thermometer





Monday, May 23, 2011

Holy Smoke!

Congratulations to the Holy Smoke Team!


Wild Turkey Farms is proud to say that our pork was used by the Holy Smoke Team at the 2011 Salisbury Rowan BBQ Festival in Spencer (see below story).





Wrong names announced at NC BBQ Festival



SPENCER — The wrong winners were inadvertently announced last weekend at the 2011 Salisbury Rowan BBQ Festival in Spencer.


The correct winners are:
First place — Patterson Porkery, Chase Overcash


Second place — Team Smoky Lane, Keith Lane


Third place — Holy Smoke Team, Jeff Swicegood


People’s Choice — Blowin’ Smoke, Jack Moore (first) and Holy Smoke, Jeff Swicegood (second)


Pitmaster’s Award — Holy Smoke, Jeff Swicegood


“It is to the embarrassment of the SCA Foundation, the sponsors and the competitors that it happened,” said George Busby, coordinator for the festival and director of the Salisbury Cultural Arts Foundation.


Busby said it’s taken him all week to find, correlate and correct the paper trail to determine the exact winners.


“I must personally take ultimate responsibility for the error and promise to put in effect proper safeguards for 2012,” he said in a press release.


All competitors have been notified by phone or email, and the winners are

posted on the BBQ Festival website, he said.


“Although there is no cash prize attached to any award, the integrity of the competition awards is paramount in importance to all,” Busby said.


Next year, the event will be even better, he said.


Friday, May 20, 2011

WTF News- May 20

Wild Turkey Farms News- May 20


Pepperoni chubs are back!!!! We've got a batch of Sweet Sopressata Salami chubs to go with them. If you like the pepperoni then you'll love the salami. We'll be sampling some at the markets this weekend so come give them a try.



Mecklenburg Farmers Market (Sat 10-noon) WTF will be back at the Mecklenburg Farmers Market at CMC this Saturday. Many of you have met our newest helper, Joe Andry at the Davidson Farmers Market and this weekend he'll be handling this market for us. Email us to place an order and Joe will have it ready to pick up.



Davidson Farmers Market (8am-noon)- Come find us in the town hall parking lot and stock up on our delicious pork, beef, chicken, and eggs.

Domisty will be back at the Salisbury Farmers Market tomorrow. 7am-noon So come stock up. To make sure you get what you want, send us an email & she'll have it ready to pick up.




We hope that you'll support some of the chefs & businesses that support us & other local farmers.
Customshop Restaurant- Charlotte
Chef Charles Catering - Charlotte/ DFM
Black Mountain Farmers Market- Black Mountain
Know Your Farms Buying Club- Davidson/Charlotte
Bread Riot Coop- Salisbury


Thanks for your support, have a great weekend, and we'll see you at the market.

Lee, Domisty, Rosty, & Charlie
Wild Turkey Farms
China Grove, NC

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Eating seasonally

This is a bird's eye view of 1 of our gardens (taken from the top of the grain bin) & that is my husbands lovely finger in the picture!
We try every year to have a nice plentiful garden. Not only do we want to have fresh fruits & vegetables available for ourselves & family but we want to preserve for the fall & winter also.

As much as eating local is important to us eating seasonally is also. As mentioned in past posts my kids are getting tired of kohlrabi. Last weeks kohlrabi adventures were adding shredded kohlrabi to slaw (used for hot dogs and which I later used on fish tacos) & pickled kohlrabi. The pickled kohlrabi needed to sit a few days but hopefully we will try it tonight.


I have also made weekly batched of kale chips. I even brought some to work & made the guys I work with try them. They either liked them or just humored me by saying they were good.


We've also had lots of lettuce but I like a salad loaded with things like tomatoes & cucumbers and we all know the grocery store tomatoes aren't the best this time of year.


One of Lee's favorites is broccoli. We have had raw broccoli with homemade dip & added to stir fry. We will definitely have broccoli later this fall & winter because we put 30 bags (approx. 1-lb. bags) in the freezer this week.

So what's next you may ask ask? What fruit & vegetables can we expect to see in our gardens or at Farmer's Markets in the next few weeks.


Check out this link to find out What's in Season? in North Carolina.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Farm Visitor

For several years this fellow has been a resident of WTF. I don't remember exactly when we first saw him but he has been around the farm for awhile.



My first encounter with him I was walking into the garage and I saw him slithering into the flower bed. I went to find Lee and he decided that the snake needed to be relocated to the pasture- which I agreed with.



The part I did not agree with was that he needed my help to relocate him. Let me take just a moment to say that I am not a snake fan- enough said!


Lee got a feed sack to put the snake in & my job was to hold the sack open. If you can imagine me trying to hold the sack open while standing just as far away as I could from the sack, the whole time saying "quick, quick, get him in there."



The snake was in the bag & ready to be relocated. We put the sack down for about 5 minutes while we rounded the kids back up to head down to the creek. When Lee picked up the sack it felt light. Guess what! There was a hole in the feed sack........


But he never went far.


We would find him in the barn eating eggs & he would be relocated. We would find him in the garden & he would be relocated.



There are a couple reasons that it has been nice to have the snake around. He eats mice in the barn (since our barn cat hasn't gotten lazy) & it has given Lee the opportunity to teach the boys about good snakes versus venomous snakes and how to properly handle snakes.




Friday, May 13, 2011

Wild Turkey Farms News- May 13

Wild Turkey Farms News- May 13

Better late than never. Come find us at the markets this weekend.

WTF at the Salisbury BBQ Festival being cooked up by Team Holy Smoke BBQ Pit Masters- Jeff & Kevin Swicegood- of Salisbury. Go by and check them out and vote for them in the people's choice award. http://bbqfest2011.eventbrite.com/

Pepperoni chubs are back!!!! We've got a batch of Sweet Sopressata Salami chubs to go with them. If you like the pepperoni then you'll love the salami.


Davidson Farmers Market (8am-noon)- Come find us in the town hall parking lot and stock up on our delicious pork, beef, chicken, and eggs.

Salisbury Farmers Market (7am-noon ) To make sure you get what you want, send us an email & she'll have it ready to pick up.


We will NOT be at the Mecklenburg County Farm Market this weekend.


We hope that you'll support some of the chefs & businesses that support us & other local farmers.
Customshop Restaurant- Charlotte
Chef Charles Catering - Charlotte/ DFM
Black Mountain Farmers Market- Black Mountain
Know Your Farms Buying Club- Davidson/Charlotte
Bread Riot Coop- Salisbury


Thanks for your support, have a great weekend, and we'll see you at the market.

Lee, Domisty, Rosty, & Charlie
Wild Turkey Farms
China Grove, NC

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Happy Mother's Day from Wild Turkey Farms

WHY GOD MADE MOMS


Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:




Why did God make mothers?


1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.


2. Mostly to clean the house.


3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.



How did God make mothers?


1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.


2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.


3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.



What ingredients are mothers made of?


1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.


2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.



Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?


1. We're related..


2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.



What kind of a little girl was your mom?


1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.


2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.


3. They say she used to be nice.



What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?


1. His last name.


2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?


3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?



Why did your mom marry your dad?


1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.


2. She got too old to do anything else with him.


3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.



Who's the boss at your house?


1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.


2. Mom.. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.


3. I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.



What's the difference between moms and dads?


1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.


2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.


3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends..


4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.



What does your mom do in her spare time?


1. Mothers don't do spare time.


2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.



What would it take to make your mom perfect?


1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.


2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.



If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?


1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.


2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it not me.


3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.










Happy Mother's Day from Wild Turkey Farms.




Lee, Domisty, Rosty & Charlie

Wild Turkey Farms News- May 6

Wild Turkey Farms News- May 6

Have you ever felt like you've been caught up in a whirlwind? That's the way the week started out but quickly ended up being more like Pacos Bill riding a tornado.

Tuesday I spent some quality time with Charlie (age 4) (about 14 hours worth, in the truck delivering animals to the processors). For those of you that have met Charlie you know that he has a love for the art of continuous verbal communication. It doesn't matter how loud you turn up the radio he still will be heard. He did manage to sleep about an hour & half down & the same back so I did get a little quality time with the radio. Both he & Rosty love to go with me to take animals to the processors. It's hard to believe that the same younguns that won't wake up for school at 7am will bounce out of bed at 5am to get in a truck to ride 14 hours. We have alot of fun filling the time with games of I Spy, punch-bug, and looking at farms. If all else fails to entertain I can just give them my cell phone and let them listen to music and play Angry Birds.

Give your mother a Happy Mother's Day breakfast of WTF sausage & eggs. Not up for cooking? Make here the envy of the neighbor hood with a cool WTF t-shirt or a WTF sticker for her car. Available exclusively from Wild Turkey Farms- "The Original WTF"


Pepperoni chubs are back!!!! We've got a batch of Sweet Sopressata Salami chubs to go with them. If you like the pepperoni then you'll love the salami. We'll be sampling some at the markets this weekend so come give them a try.


China Grove Farmers Market at the Mill (Friday 4-7pm) The market at the mill starts up today. We won't be able to make it but stay tuned for our schedule there. We'll be around the farm Friday evening & we're only a couple miles from the CGFM so come see us if you need to stock up.


Davidson Farmers Market (8am-noon)- Come find us in the town hall parking lot and stock up on our delicious pork, beef, chicken, and eggs.

Domisty will be back at the Salisbury Farmers Market tomorrow. 7am-noon So come stock up. To make sure you get what you want, send us an email & she'll have it ready to pick up.

We will NOT be at the Mecklenburg County Farm Market this weekend.



We hope that you'll support some of the chefs & businesses that support us & other local farmers.
Customshop Restaurant- Charlotte
Chef Charles Catering - Charlotte/ DFM
Black Mountain Farmers Market- Black Mountain
Know Your Farms Buying Club- Davidson/Charlotte
Bread Riot Coop- Salisbury


Thanks for your support, have a great weekend, and we'll see you at the market.

Lee, Domisty, Rosty, & Charlie
Wild Turkey Farms
China Grove, NC

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

CSA Week 3

Another week at WTF & another tasty CSA box!






This weeks box includes:


Spinach

Kale

Swiss Chard

Kohlrabi

Broccoli

Onion



One of my favorite parts of the CSA has been how excited everyone is pick up their boxes & see what is in them. And like I have stated in the other posts sometimes you have NO CLUE what the vegetable is or what to do with it. So that is why I am trying to offer small tidbits of info every week.






I know you can do the same thing that I have done which is to Google whatever the vegetable is & find your own info but it's been fun for me to broaden my culinary experience as well.





One of my favorite recipe finds has been kale chips.


I have found various recipes with different cooking temps & cooking times. This is what has worked for me though.



Rinse & pat dry kale. Line baking sheet with parchment paper & lay kale in a single layer. Then drizzle olive oil & salt over the kale. Like a lot of cooks I don't really measure.....but do remember that the kale will shrink up so don't over salt. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.



Can you say yummy!!


Fun Link