In your share

• Whole chicken
• Pork chops
• Chuck steak
• Ground beef
•  Ground pork
• French garlic sausage

On the Farm

We have been experiencing a refreshingly quiet period of late, with the benign weather this month coupled with our farm chores at their lowest level of the year. This year is especially quiet as we have wound down our milking program, putting it on hiatus for the time being as there are no longer any insurance providers that will offer liability insurance for small farms like ours that sell raw milk. We know of multiple farms in the area whose policies were canceled about the same time as ours, even though there have been no illnesses or claims in Oregon in many years. There is a ray of hope, though. The Oregon non-profit group, Friends of Family Farmers is introducing a bill in Salem this year to clarify the language in the existing raw milk law in the hopes that it might encourage insurers to come back to the marketplace.  It is House Bill 2616 if you are interested in digging in further or contacting your state representative to encourage support for it, or you can go to friendsofsamilyfarmers.org to sign their petition supporting increased access for consumers to purchase raw milk.

Outside of that, all the puppies have found new homes, though we did agree to hang on to one of them until February so his new family can move into their property out here in Corbett.

This is also the season when we start planning all the baby chick orders and processing dates for the year, and we think this will finally be the year we can plan for some special events exclusively for CSA members. We are currently mulling over some ideas, but we would also love to hear from you if there are experiences you would like to have on the farm.

Recipe

Chocolate Chili from “Well Fed” by Melissa Joulwan

This dish is a staple meal for our early and late season chicken processing days, when it might be cold and rainy, and we have a handful of people who are ready for a hearty lunch once the processing is complete. It is delicious when paired with some cornbread or biscuits.

It makes 6-8 servings, so you could easily halve the recipe, but it also freezes well so you could freeze half of it for a future quick meal. This is also from a paleo recipe book, so there are no beans or grains, but you can substitute beans for half the meat if you prefer.

Ingredients

• 2 T coconut oil
• 2 medium onions, diced (about 2 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds ground beef and/or pork
• 1 t dried oregano
• 2 T chili powder
• 2 T ground cumin
• 1.5 T unsweetened cocoa
• 1.5 T ground allspice
• 1 t salt
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
• 1 can (14.5 oz) fire roasted, chopped tomatoes
• 1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth
• 1 C water

Directions

Heat a large pot over medium high heat, then add the coconut oil. When the oil is melted, add the onions, and stir with a wooden spoon until they are translucent. Add the garlic, and as soon as it is fragrant, about 30 seconds, crumble the ground meat into the pot, mixing with the wooden spoon to combine. Continue to cook the meat, stirring often, until the meat is no longer pink.

In a small bowl, crush the oregano between your palms to release its flavor, then add the chili powder, cumin, cocoa, allspice, and salt. Combine with a fork, then add to the pot, stirring like you mean it. Add the tomato paste and stir until combined, about two minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juice, beef broth, and water to the pot, stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer for at least 2 hours – do not skimp on the simmer!

Serve!