In your share

• Chicken
• Ribs or Pork Roast
• Bacon
• Ground Lamb
• Ground Beef
• Ground Pork

On the Farm

I want to first share a semi-farm-related success story that is more closely tied to my elected role on the Board of Directors at the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District. Those board positions are a little tricky to run for, because of this arcane and, one could argue, racist, requirement that to qualify as a candidate, one must own or manage at least 10 or more acres of land. For the entirety of my time on the board (11 years and counting) I’ve been advocating for a change to the state law to repeal that land requirement, but the statewide organization of conservation districts has not been supportive, as many of the rural districts don’t see a problem with the status quo. But besides the obvious discrimination against people of color who were not allowed to own land for a big chunk of Oregon’s history and don’t have that generational equity that many white farmers have, there is also the issue that heavily urbanized districts like ours have only a tiny pool of people that can meet that 10 acre requirement.

But we were fortunate in this year’s session that our Executive Director, Nancy Hamilton, caught the ear of Senator Lew Frederick, who she knows from her time when she worked for Gov. Kulongoski, and he was the chief sponsor for Senate Bill 775 which would do away with the land requirement in districts above a population of 250,000. Ideally, that population stipulation wouldn’t be there and it would apply statewide, but it was clear that without that in the language, there would be too much opposition and the bill would go nowhere. We had a quick win in that the bill got a hearing early in the session, but when the walkout by 11 senators happened, which brought just about everything in Salem to a halt for several weeks, we realized that this bill probably wouldn’t rise to the level of importance to move forward in the few remaining days after the senate was re-convened.

But, to my astonishment, it did, and ultimately passed to a successful floor vote in the senate and then the same in the house. It is currently awaiting the governor’s signature and will soon become the new law of the land. My seat is not up for re-election until 2026, but we will have 3 of our 5 positions on the ballot in 2024 and with our new, wide open playing field, I would love to chat with anyone who cares about soil, water, equity, climate change, and rewarding public service who might be interested in running for office.

Outside of that, the farm is now fully in its summertime routine, and the next big burst of activity will be getting our hay fields cut and baled, then gathering all those bales out of the fields and stacked in the barn. If anyone wants to get a good workout in, we would gladly take any help (and could reward you with some additional farm products).

It’s grilling season, and with three different types of ground meat, you can have a burger bonanza this month! You could keep them all separate, or you could combine some of the meats for some new taste sensations (beef/pork burgers are fantastic!). But here’s a super delicious recipe for lamb burgers.

Recipe

Best Lamb Burger from “tastingtable.com”

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground lamb
• 2 red onions, 1 grated and 1 cut into rings
• 5 garlic cloves, finely crushed, divided
• 5 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped, divided
• 3 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 8 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 pinch paprika
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon cooking oil
• 4 burger buns
• ¼ cup salad leaves

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix together the ground lamb with the grated onion, 3 minced garlic cloves, 4 tablespoons of chopped mint, ground coriander, and Dijon mustard.
2. Form the mixture into 4 burger patties and then chill them in the fridge until they are ready to cook.
3. In a clean bowl, mix together the mayonnaise with the lemon juice, the two remaining minced garlic cloves, a pinch of paprika, the remaining tablespoon of chopped mint, parsley, and dill. Refrigerate this sauce until ready to use.
4. Preheat the grill on high, lightly oil the lamb patties, and then cook for about 4 minutes each side.
5. Place the halved burger buns under the grill for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until they are lightly toasted.
6. Spread a little of the mayonnaise sauce on the burger bun, top with a burger patty, a few slices of red onion, some more of the mayonnaise sauce, and some salad leaves.
7. Serve and enjoy.

Read More: https://www.tastingtable.com/743937/best-lamb-burger-recipe/