Archives for July 2017

One of the craziest weeks that I have seen around here. Actually has been very helpful hang out and look at a simple basil plant growing that has no care in the world. Well, other than water and sunshine of course.

Anyway, some really great stuff coming your way as the summer abundance continues. Fire up those grills and enjoy some time with family and amigos.

The Dinner Bag for the Week
Fresh Sage Pasta and SKRS Green Chile Links with Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes
Slow Cooked Green Chile Chicken Burritos with Zucchini, Onions, and Potatoes
uh, yes please!

Take Me To Your Web Site

The food world is an interesting place to hang out. I feel like you see some of the most incredible things that literally can build your faith in humanity. Then, sometimes as you flip that coin over you can see some of the most depressing things imaginable. Many of those sad things come from the treatment of animals I have to say. The industrial treatment of animals is one of the biggest black eyes that we as human beings allow to happen on this earth.

Seeing this and reading stories about the treatment of animals made me passionate about finding another way to raise animals. A better way. And I am happy to say that we have.

You may not know this about me but I used to be a Vegetarian. When I was in school, I was so appalled by the practice of industrial animal production, that I ran away from it. As I got older and began to work like a horse in the fields, my body began craving meats. Some folks don’t, but my body was not happy with me any more being a Vegetarian.

So instead of running away from it, I embraced the challenge and began working to fix the situation instead of ignore it. At that time (around the turn of the century), I was feeling very positive about all of the work that we had done (were doing) with fresh healthy vegetables and fruits. Why not expand that mission into the realm of pasture-raised meats?

And this is where a lot of Vegetarians and Vegans get ticked at me. “Farmer M., don’t try and fix meat. Just don’t support it.” I get that logic, but for me, I need a broader solution. Folks are going to eat meat. That is just a fact. Expecting the entire world to be vegetarian is just not a realistic option.

Through my perspective, I want to bring insane fruits and veggies to those who choose to be meat-free. But I also want to bring an alternative to the industrial animal complex. For those of you who need/want/crave meat, I want to offer you something amazing. I want to offer you a flavor that you love, while being raised (and sacrificed) in a manner that you can be proud of and stand behind. (Don’t end a sentence with a preposition at home kids. I am a trained professional)

The beef and pork that we have now are the poster child for sustainable animal management. Animals born on the land, raised with their moms until they naturally wean, live their lives with their hooves in the soil, graze freely, and are sacrificed with minimal transport and stress. You honestly could not design a more natural and healthy system for animals to live.

And it was in finally working out this piece in our food puzzle that we brought so much depth to our offering folks. It helps complete the picture of what a sustainable healthy diet looks like. I tell you this not to try and break my arm patting myself on the back, but to educate our members. You need to know that the support you give to us (and our ranchers) changes the way food is grown and raised. We have options like we have never had before in this state.

If I were to distill down my entire mission to one word it would be Options. I am not here (nor do I want) to force feed you or be a jerk and make you feel guilty about your food choices. What I love to do and what I see as my directive from our members, is just provide incredible options to the mass marketplace of food options that are in front of us.

You choose what you want to eat. That is the free will that we have as human beings. If you want to eat fast-food 7 days a week, go for it. You are an adult and can obviously make your own choices. But if your body is calling for something more than fast-food, well we will have your food options for you.

So if you are looking for some tasty experiences on your grill this summer, I suggest you jump online and try some of our meats out if you haven’t already. We will always have our roots in our fruits and veggies, but you will be hard-pressed to find better meats than we are bringing you right now.

Farmer Monte

One of the craziest weeks that I have seen around here. Actually has been very helpful hang out and look at a simple basil plant growing that has no care in the world. Well, other than water and sunshine of course.

Anyway, some really great stuff coming your way as the summer abundance continues. Fire up those grills and enjoy some time with family and amigos.

The Dinner Bag for the Week
Fresh Sage Pasta and SKRS Green Chile Links with Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes
Slow Cooked Green Chile Chicken Burritos with Zucchini, Onions, and Potatoes
uh, yes please!

Take Me To Your Web Site

The food world is an interesting place to hang out. I feel like you see some of the most incredible things that literally can build your faith in humanity. Then, sometimes as you flip that coin over you can see some of the most depressing things imaginable. Many of those sad things come from the treatment of animals I have to say. The industrial treatment of animals is one of the biggest black eyes that we as human beings allow to happen on this earth.

Seeing this and reading stories about the treatment of animals made me passionate about finding another way to raise animals. A better way. And I am happy to say that we have.

You may not know this about me but I used to be a Vegetarian. When I was in school, I was so appalled by the practice of industrial animal production, that I ran away from it. As I got older and began to work like a horse in the fields, my body began craving meats. Some folks don’t, but my body was not happy with me any more being a Vegetarian.

So instead of running away from it, I embraced the challenge and began working to fix the situation instead of ignore it. At that time (around the turn of the century), I was feeling very positive about all of the work that we had done (were doing) with fresh healthy vegetables and fruits. Why not expand that mission into the realm of pasture-raised meats?

And this is where a lot of Vegetarians and Vegans get ticked at me. “Farmer M., don’t try and fix meat. Just don’t support it.” I get that logic, but for me, I need a broader solution. Folks are going to eat meat. That is just a fact. Expecting the entire world to be vegetarian is just not a realistic option.

Through my perspective, I want to bring insane fruits and veggies to those who choose to be meat-free. But I also want to bring an alternative to the industrial animal complex. For those of you who need/want/crave meat, I want to offer you something amazing. I want to offer you a flavor that you love, while being raised (and sacrificed) in a manner that you can be proud of and stand behind. (Don’t end a sentence with a preposition at home kids. I am a trained professional)

The beef and pork that we have now are the poster child for sustainable animal management. Animals born on the land, raised with their moms until they naturally wean, live their lives with their hooves in the soil, graze freely, and are sacrificed with minimal transport and stress. You honestly could not design a more natural and healthy system for animals to live.

And it was in finally working out this piece in our food puzzle that we brought so much depth to our offering folks. It helps complete the picture of what a sustainable healthy diet looks like. I tell you this not to try and break my arm patting myself on the back, but to educate our members. You need to know that the support you give to us (and our ranchers) changes the way food is grown and raised. We have options like we have never had before in this state.

If I were to distill down my entire mission to one word it would be Options. I am not here (nor do I want) to force feed you or be a jerk and make you feel guilty about your food choices. What I love to do and what I see as my directive from our members, is just provide incredible options to the mass marketplace of food options that are in front of us.

You choose what you want to eat. That is the free will that we have as human beings. If you want to eat fast-food 7 days a week, go for it. You are an adult and can obviously make your own choices. But if your body is calling for something more than fast-food, well we will have your food options for you.

So if you are looking for some tasty experiences on your grill this summer, I suggest you jump online and try some of our meats out if you haven’t already. We will always have our roots in our fruits and veggies, but you will be hard-pressed to find better meats than we are bringing you right now.

Farmer Monte

The Dinner Bag for the Week

Take Me To Your Web Site

Fruit! In case you haven’t realized it, we are in the height of fruit season with our growers. Blueberries and Cherries to be specific. And these are two of our oldest and most established partnerships that we have with growers.

Berry Best Farms in LaRue TX grows some of the most amazing high bush blueberries around. The acidic soil and high temperatures really make for a concentrated blast of blueberry flavor. These are not the over-irrigated big as a marble blueberries. And honestly, they shouldn’t be. The bigger the berry the more water the berry carries. So when I look for blues, I want to see a medium sized fruit packed with flavors. And we find that with Cary’s berries.

Also, you will love the freshness that we get from Berry Best. The harvesters (all by hand which is hard to find these days) head out into the field and harvest for us. The driver then leaves the farm and drives throughout the night and delivers to us first thing in the morning. No warehouses, forklifts, or additional middle(wo)men standing in the way between the field and our members. Unless you go to a U-Pick patch, you will not see berries any fresher than we bring you.

Fortunately for all of us, our good buddy Paul, from Excelsior Orchards in Paonia, CO harvests the same way. And the 4th of July week marks the beginning of his harvest season with the long awaited….drum roll please, sweet cherries.

Paul farms 85 acres of some of the most high quality trees in the entire United States. I mentioned it a few weeks ago, but you will be hard-pressed to find better growing conditions for fruit tree production than on the western slopes of Colorado. The warm days and cool nights, along with high mineral content from the mountainous soils, make from an ideal location. Well, as long as you avoid the late spring freezes.

I met Paul and his wife Elane about 12 years ago as they were trying to find homes for their incredible fruit. Our CSA was small at the time and we tried to support their orchard as much as we could.

Over the years, they have increased their harvests and we have increased the mouths that we feed. Then about 3 years ago over a cup of strong coffee and with no lawyers present, we shook hands and agreed to buy all of the fruit that Excelsior Orchards and Paul could grow.

This agreement made it easy for me/you to ensure that we would have access to the most incredible fruits in the region (and probably country). And for Paul, he could focus on what he does very well, grow fruit. Part of this agreement meant looking at fruits and varieties that could extend the season.

You see, if you are growing for fruit brokers you want to grow it, harvest it in one swoop, and then be done for the season. But with this new relationship, the goal is harvest a moderate amount every week throughout a longer window. Many years we will see Paul (and his fruit) for 6 months of the year.

Cherries, apricots, plums, nectarines, peaches, pears, and apples all call his orchard and your kitchen home throughout the season. We are very fortunate to have such a special arrangement with Paul. And I would have to say that partnerships like these are really how a diverse regional foodshed should look. The grower gains marketing consistency and fair prices. The consumer gets fair prices (no middleman) and insanely fresh fruits because they are harvested ripe and ready to eat since there is no delay in getting them to consumers. A true win-win situation. Enjoy!

Lastly, our second Summer Camp is coming up around the corner. July 10th we will kick off the second in our 3 part camp series for this summer. Monday through Friday. 9am-3pm. And yes a tasty Organic lunch is created, made and eaten by the campers every day. Please send an email if you are interested in joining in the reindeer games. Ages range from 3rd to 8th grade.

Farmer Monte