8  O’ c l o c k  R a n c h  CSA  N e w s l e t t e r:    October 3rd 2013

Fall just keeps giving!  
Our newest calf born a couple of weeks ago.

I’ve yet to hear of anyone who has complained from sunny days, colorful trees, light breezes and cool evenings. We are sincerely hoping that this weather will hold till the end of October, it would let us get the trusses up and roofing on, more fence for pigs up, the wood shed fully filled and tons of odds and ends finish before we can truly ( and comfortably) welcome winter. Hope you are enjoying the enjoying the meat from your first share, at the end of this month is the deadline for the Winter CSA season. Would love to see you again!

Your first share of the Fall season *should* be shipped October 7th.
Contact us if you would like an alternate delivery day or to let us know which share you would prefer!  Also, place an order for any extra cuts or which share you prefer as soon as you can. It will come in a nice little insulated box and you should get a FedEx tracking number sent via email. Chicken and lamb are available!

Just a note, if you would like chicken/chicken parts in your share – we can do this! Currently, we only have whole cut up chickens and boneless breasts. If you are thinking of trying it, do so now! We probably won’t have nearly as much/or for as long this year.

– – Kassandra

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Delivery Dates for the CSA season ahead are the first MONDAY of the month. Please call or emails us if you will not be home. We are happy to ship your share a week or two later. We can also skip this months share and double your next months share.

Fall CSA Season

Oct. 6th:

Nov. 3rd:

Winter CSA Season

Dec. 2nd:

Jan. 6th:

Feb. 3rd:

September was full of building….and apple picking!

All those ICF blocks were put together, much like a giant Lego building. Bracing was purchased ( SO not apart of the budget ) but was critical and not available to rent locally. We are so happy we purchased now; 1) The cost to rent would have been higher than the purchase price. 2) They are not available for the next building project, even if sold we would make out very well. We poured the walls on Monday and trusses were delivered today. So exciting to see this go up and we get closer to the next step. Will try to add more videos now that I figured out how to do it! Also, let us know what you are looking for. We would love to show you some of the stuff we do.

Apples have been prolific this year, with over 100 trees on the ranch the animals enjoy every apple that we don’t pick ourselves. We have been taking quite a few bushels to Little Grasse farm in Canton, they press them and we get raw cider back! We have turned it into vinegar and our next batch are looking to save some to drink. Eathon shot some video of us up in the tree picking, some nosy cows decided to stop by and snack on our drops.

We have tried to be include enough of each cut to feed a family of 3-4, please let us know if this works better for you or if you would like even larger amounts of just one cut, thanks!

Option #1 for Half Mixed shares is;

BL or BI Chuck Roast
Ground Beef
Bacon OR Country Style Ribs
Mild Pork Links OR Sausage
Ribeye, T-bone or Rib steak
Cube OR Sirloin Tip Steak
Boneless Pork Chops
Pork Shoulder OR Fresh Ham Steak
and a few misc. cuts!

OR

Option #2 for Half Mixed shares is;

BI Pork Shoulder OR Fresh Ham Roast
Ground Beef
Beef Stew
Kielbasa Loops/Cased or Hot dogs OR Stew
Bone-in Pork Chops
Top Round OR Sandwich Steak
Rib, T-bone or Filet Mignon
and a few misc. cuts!

{ Grilled Apple Brined Pork Chops }

One more grilling recipe before we put the grill away?

Ingredients;

2 cups apple cider
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 head garlic, cut in half
2 shallots, quartered
3 bay leaves
2 dozen peppercorns
6 cups chicken stock
Sea salt (To taste, depends upon the saltiness of your stock.)
White pepper (I used a very tiny pinch)

Directions;

Set a heavy saucepan (preferably non-stick) over high heat. Add the apple cider and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook until the cider is reduced by half. Add the apple cider vinegar to the pan and simmer until the mixture is reduced by one-third. Next add the garlic, shallots, bay leaves, peppercorns, and the chicken stock. Bring the liquid to a controlled boil and cook until the sauce is reduced by about two thirds. When approximately 1 cup of liquid remains, take the pan off the heat and pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl. Press down on any solids with a spoon, extracting as much liquid as possible. Return the strained liquid to the pan, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until the demi glace resembles the consistency of honey (it will be reduced to about 4 Tablespoons). Carefully scrape the demi glace into a heatproof bowl, stir in a tiny pinch of white pepper and taste to see if salt is needed. Set aside until ready to use for the pork. The demi glace can be made ahead and kept up to one week in the fridge. Bring it to room temperature before using (otherwise it will be very thick and hard to spread).
Credit to Food Network for this lovely recipe!

I found this recipe here and she also offers a Fennel braised pork chop to go with the demi glace. My only problem with is…the demi glace sounds good enough just to lick from the spoon. How will it ever last long enough to top my pork chops?

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