Recipes

I've added another link on this site.  This one is going to be dedicated to recipes.  Since you are all buying food from Red Rooster Ranch ( you ARE buying aren't you?), I've decided you should have an arsenal of tasty recipes for cooking such great, wholesome food.  If you have a recipe to share please comment on this post or email me at mdrennen20@gmail.com.  Right now I'm obviously going to focus on chicken and egg recipes so if you have some favorites please send them in and I'll post them on the site. Thanks guys!

New Page

Tonight on the news they reported on two separate food illness outbreaks.  One is a Lysteria outbreak involving cantaloupes from Colorado and the other was yet another E. Coli outbreak involving ground beef.  Tyson Foods recalled more than 100,000 pounds of beef in Ohio because of the bacteria.  Yet more reasons to buy foods from your local foodshed.  Build relationships with farmers in your community and buy food from them.  When there is a relationship between  consumer and grower it sets up some accountability and ensures more integrity than food that comes from who knows where and travels hundreds if not thousands of miles changing hands many times before it gets to our table.  I'm setting up another page on this site to track all of the food related recalls and outbreaks to compile a list showing that bad track record of the military-industrial food complex that feeds most of us.  I think we all are outraged at such outbreaks while they are fresh in our minds, but the memories fade and we forget and go right back to buying our Cargill feedlot mush.  Anyway, check out the running list from time to time to remind yourself just how abnormal our food system is in this country.

Come Join Us

 

 

Elevation Church Norwalk Extension is starting a new series studying Hebrews chapter 12.  Come be a part of the "Kingdom that cannot be shaken."  Sundays starting at 11:15am @ Main Street School in Norwalk, Ohio.  We would love to see you there.

Working with Nature

This morning is clear and it looks to be a good day here in northern Ohio, but it's been raining off and on for about the last six or seven days.  On Monday my dad needed some extra help at his shop so I did my chores in the morning here and left for Birmingham.  As I was finishing up my chores it was beginning to rain very lightly, and I gave my still young broilers that are out in the field pen a pep talk warning them to get under the sheltered end of the pen if it started to rain hard.  I don't think they listened.  Later that morning a thunderstorm rolled through, and though I don't think that the winds were excessive or anything the chicks were scared and tried to pile up in the front corner of the pen.  When I got home in the evening and checked on them I found that eight were dead.  It looked as though they had just been smothered and trampled to death by their brothers and sisters during the storm.  I'll assume that's what happened since there were no signs of predators or anything like that.  I was worried about them when I left because it was only the second day that they had been in the field and had not yet experienced rain.  Hopefully we won't lose anymore before it's time to harvest them.  You win some and you lose some.  As Beyond Organic farmers we take on more risk than that of industrial scale conventional farms, but the rewards are infinitely greater.  We could easily raise birds for Tyson or Perdue and they would front most of the expenses ( cost of chicks, feed, and meds), but the birds wouldn't be worth eating when we finished them.  Our model produces food that leaves us with a clean body, clean environment, and clean conscious.  Nature is cruel and when you are working with it sometimes you will get burnt, but ultimately it is much easier to work with Mother Nature than to work against her.

Souls Satisfying Work

We started our day by watching the boys (minus Micaiah) play soccer.  All three won.  Our big boys play on one team and  Brodey  plays on another.  It sure is a blessing to be able to watch those boys play sports.  They really are doing well and are learning to be fierce competitors, as well as good sportsmen.  We are so proud of them. 
When we got back from the soccer fields ( and Bob Evan's, Becky always wants B.E. after soccer) I changed into my work duds and started addressing a long list of things that need done before the snow flies.  I'm exhausted as I sit here and write this.  I'm not sure that I should be since I only worked for about five hours, but I am.  I cleaned out the nest boxes in the coop.  I cleaned up some of the debris the pigs had created in the coop.  I mowed some of the grass in the big yard to prepare for the broilers coming out to the field pen.  I moved the broilers out to the field pen.  I continued disassembling the "junk" barn.  It was the kind of afternoon that I just didn't want to end.  I was working hard and I was really enjoying it.  Tomorrow I probably will not work out side other than doing the regular chores of feeding and watering the animals because it is Sunday and after church I'll be spending time with my family and getting things ready to start them back to work and school on Monday.  As soon as I can get back at the work that I was doing today I will.  It was enjoyable because I was out there working by myself and so I was alone with my thoughts.  I need that from time to time.  I think everyone needs that from time to time.  It gave me some extra time to talk things over with God.  I enjoyed that.  As I worked and hashed things out with my maker I had the sound of the fire crackling in my ear as I burned some of the scrap wood coming off of the barn.  I also had birds singing as they played in the vines growing on the hay barn.  I had the occasional cackle of hens in the field pens and snort of a pig or two from over in the pig pen.  All the while I had visions of the green grass that will grown under the footprint of this old barn in months to come.  It was a "whistle while you work" kind of afternoon.  So as I sit here physically tired from the work I did today,  my soul sings from the satisfaction that it brought.  Thank you, Father in Heaven for allowing me the privilege to work this small piece of ground and to be a caretaker of your animals.  Thank you.

Rain, Mud, Muck, and Chores...

It's been raining here in northern Ohio for the last few days off and on.  The projected forecast is rain for the next seven days.  YUCK!!!  Well, anyway it's turning into a mess out there, but the pigs still need water, and the hens still need some feed and the broilers still food and water.  Luckily the broilers are in the barn today, but unfortunately they are supposed to move out to the field pen this week, but I think I'm going to hold off until next weekend so that they don't spend their first few days outside of a nice dry barn with seven straight days of rain and fifty degree weather.  The pig pen is turning into a quagmire and I'm not at all looking forward to going out into that today.  Today would be a great day to not be a farmer, but there are no days off in farming.  I'm okay with that.  Sloshing around in the rain for a bit trumps driving to a job off of the farm everyday. 
I'm feeling a little scatter-brained so far this morning-I did yesterday as well.  A million thoughts and ideas and things I need to do and things that I want to do.  I'm just having a hard time focusing.  I actually am having a hard time focusing on anything even worth writing about this morning.  I think I'm just going to read my Bible and make out my to do list for the day and get on with it.

Good morning from Red Rooster Ranch!

the case of the missing eggs

I seem to be gaining some momentum in the egg sales.  I've gotten some good reviews lately and a few people have liked them so well that they increased how many they want each week.  Unfortunately,  at the same time that people seemed to be getting excited about the eggs and wanting more, I started not having as many as I should each day.  A few months ago I was getting about two dozen a day, now I'm getting about ten a day.  I'm sure the pigs are responsible.  I interrogated them for awhile, but they didn't say a word.  Just blank stares insisting their innocence.  I don't know what to believe.  Ha! Anyway, allowing the pigs access to the coop was a good thing while they were still fairly small because they didn't bother the chickens or the eggs but they did aerate the bedding in the coop which composted nicely, but now they are too big and too mischievous to be trusted in there.  So I'm going to have to lock them out of the coop and lock the chickens in it.  I've got some repairs to do because I did notice the other day that the pigs busted a couple of boards loose from the back wall of the coop.  Anyway in the next day or two I should be able to have that done.  I'm also going to move our Plymouth Rock hens in the coop as well from the field pen because they should be laying anytime now too.  With the addition of the Barred Plymouth Rock girls laying we should be getting somewhere around forty or fifty eggs a day maybe more.  I'm excited about that and it is just what we need to strike while the iron is hot so to speak.  Soon, we'll be installing a hoop house here which will be the winter home for the hens.  We'll add some nest boxes hanging from the center and they will be much warmer in there which will allow them to lay better through the winter on less food than it would take if they were freezing cold.  I can't wait to see how the hoophouse turns out. 

The Pigness of the Pig

I've got a question for you.  "If God meant for pigs to live their lives on concrete, or worse, on a slatted floor in a CAFO, why did he put a plow on the end of their noses?"  To steal some phraseology from Joel Salatin, "It's about respecting the pigness of the pig."  I'm no scientist.  Nor am I a well-studied theologian.  I am a Christian, and I do believe that the Earth and everything in it were created by an all-knowing, all-powerful god.  So then, the question must be asked again: "Why does the pig have a shovel on the end of his nose if he was never intended to use it?"  Certainly, God knew what was best for the pig when He designed him.  I am certainly not an animal worshiper, or a member of PETA, but I most certainly think that it is our duty as caretakers of God's creation to respect the "pigness of the pig" or the "chickenness of the chicken".  I take pride in the fact that to the best of our ability we try to allow the chickens to live like chickens and the pigs to live like pigs, not like prisoners in a concentration camp who are not healthy, but given an orgy or pharmaceuticals to keep them alive long enough to reach slaughter weight.  I believe that I am honoring God by respecting His creation.  Yes, ultimately our animals will be killed and eaten by us or our customers, but we must all remember that our food has a face.  Whether or not we want to look into that face or not, does not change the fact that the ham we are eating used to be a living breathing pig.  Did it live its life like a pig?  Was it allowed to express its pigness?  Did it have the opportunity to flip sod over looking for roots and grubs?  Did it get a chance to cool itself from the hot summer sun in a mud hole?  Or did it spend its life in a barn shoulder to shoulder and nose to tail with other hogs not allowed the freedom to do anything but eat?  Those chicken nuggets your eating: Did they come from chickens who were allowed to hunt and peck for bugs and eat fresh grass each morning?  Did it get to live like a chicken or did it simply survive the concentration camp long enough to become a Happy Meal?  We are what we eat and I guarantee you that there is a difference in taste and nutritional value in meat that comes from happy animals allowed to express their individual uniqueness that the God of Heaven and Earth instilled in them.  I don't know all of the reasons that God put that plow on that pig's nose, but I'll bet the farm that they are good ones.  Respect the pigness of the pig; buy meat from local farmers who know there is a reason for that pig's plow.

One step at a time....

 

Yesterday I decided to dig up the potatoes because the plants had pretty much died back.  Last year's potato crop wasn't great.  I mean it was okay, but we ended up with a lot of little golf ball sized or smaller ones.  This year was a different story.  I still had some some that were pretty small but all in all they looked about the same size as ones that you would buy at the grocery store.  Only difference is we grew these.  We planted them.  We dug them.  We knew exactly what went into that soil.  They didn't come here all of the way from Idaho.  They will only travel about fifty feet from the garden to the table where they will be eaten.  Even though we grew twice as many spuds as we did last year I still don't think it is even half as many as we need for the winter.  One step at a time.  That's all we can do.  We can't go from Wal-Mart dependent to totally self-sufficient over night, but we can learn.  Year by year we can do a little more and do a little better.  There is always room for improvement.  Always room for refinement.  It's a slow, life-long process.

... peppers too!

Exhausted and it's only 4pm!!

Today I went over to Round Rock Farm and helped some fellow poultry graziers butcher chickens.  I will tell you what: butchering chickens for five hours straight wears you down.  By the end you are whooped.  We did  60 birds by the time I had to leave.  Unfortunately, I had to leave early to get our kids off of the bus, and Luke and Mary Heymann still had about 40 birds to go.  I still think we made pretty darn good time.  It's nice meeting like minded farmers who are striving to grow food of exceptional quality by keeping it simple and natural.  They certainly are doing just that.  I'm glad that we are getting to know them more and hopefully our friendship with them will lead to increased learning and productivity for both their farm and ours. 

Barn Down....

We pulled the barn down tonight.  Dad came over about six and made a few cuts in some strategic places and then pulled it over with his truck.  It was pretty awesome to watch it fall.  The good news is it looks like the majority of the big beams made it down with out any damage.  Tomorrow I will start sorting out the wreckage.

They don't make 'em like they used to....

Dad and I have been tearing at that barn some more this weekend.  I'll tell you what, for as dilapidated as it looked like from the outside, it is still pretty darn solid.  The proverbial "Brick Sh*t house has nothing on this barn.  We came to the conclusion out there that had the foundation been better that barn would have stood for a thousand years.  We quit for the night, but we are close to the point where we will try to pull it over.  No barn work tomorrow... my lovely wife was named "Teacher of the Year" by the Erie County Soil and Water Conservation District.  I'm so proud of her!! Anyway we'll have this old barn on the ground Tuesday evening.

TGIF!!!!!

I. AM. EXHAUSTED!!!!  Becky is even more so.  This has been the longest week ever.  Becky is teaching high school Monday through Friday during the day and she's teaching evening classes at Ashland University on Mondays and Wednesdays, and evening classes at Bowling Green State University- Firelands' campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  She's pooped to say the least.  She gets home some time between eight and ten most nights now.  She really enjoys teaching the college classes and we both hope that maybe this opportunity will lead to a full time position at on of the universities.  I, on the other hand, am not whipped because I'm teaching young adults about rocks and minerals in the late evening, but because I'm outnumbered six to one here.  It hasn't been too bad really, but on top of flying this ship solo while Becky makes the dough, this week I'm helping my dad out at his shop since his driver is on vacation.  Plus the kids started soccer this week on top of it all.  Needless to say I'm ready for the weekend.  I've been picking away all week at the pile of grapes we brought home from Aunt Pat's. One thing at a time people.  One thing at a time.  We're making an effort and that's what counts.  I'm off to bed.

Barn Pics

The barn is still standing, but we got all of the junk out of it.  Now we just need to disassemble some of the nice wood that we want to keep and then pull it down.  Here are some cool pictures Becky took from inside of it on Monday.

The prodigy in me

 

There's a prodigy in you too.  We just started a new series at church called "The Prodigy in Me".  It's all about how God has given each and everyone one of us specific skills and talents to do great things for Him.  Today was the first in a four week series.  Pastor Steven Furtick was on fire preaching this one.  He set the bar pretty high and if the next three weeks are even half as good as this one it will be one of the best things I've ever heard.  You can check out Pastor Steven's blog at www.stevenfurtick.com.  Come check it out every Sunday at Main Street school in Norwalk, Ohio.  Church starts at 11:15 AM.  See you there. 

Wine anyone?

On Friday my grandma called and said that her sister (my aunt Pat) had a grape vine with "gobs and gobs" of grapes on it and that she wanted to know  if my grandma knew anyone who might want to have some grapes.  So, Saturday Becky, the kids, and I went and picked some grapes.  We picked just shy of four bushels of grapes.  We haven't had a chance to process them yet, but we decided we are going to juice all of the grapes and then we are going to can some grape juice and make some jelly too.  I guess we'll be doing that tomorrow.

Today, my dad came over and we started cleaning up in the "junk" barn because tomorrow we plan on pulling it down.  We're going to salvage all that we can.  We'll recycle all of the metal that we can't reuse.  Any wood that we can't salvage we're going to burn, and everything else is going to go to the dump.  Dad came over about four o'clock this afternoon, but some heavy rain moved in about six and we had to call it quits for the night.  We'll start back up at seven thirty tomorrow morning.  I hope we at least get it down tomorrow.  Becky and I rented a construction dumpster which will be here for two weeks so I've got a little while to clean up the mess we make.  We're tearing the barn down because it's falling down, an eyesore, in the way, and we want to get the area cleaned up so that we can us the room for either livestock or veggies.  Hopefully I"ll have some pictures of the barn project tomorrow night. 

Let's go back to the start

 

This video is great.  It's a commercial for the restaurant Chipotle, which is a national chain that is making an effort to purchase animals raised in a more natural way.  It's a step in the right direction.  I came across this clip on a blog that I follow.  It's a pretty good one and you can check it out here.www.coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com

Yesterday, I watched my niece for just a few hours and she was super excited to see the "baby chickies" at Uncle Matt's house.

Last Call

Well, yesterday I picked up the last fifty broiler chicks of the season.  I think just about all of those fifty are sold, but if anyone is interested in any let me know and we'll see what we can do.  These fifty will be butchered on about October 15 of this year. 
I had to run to the grocery store earlier today to pick up some much needed food staples.  It is amazing how much bread a family of eight goes through once you're packing lunches for six of them five days a week.  It was encouraging though to realize that I didn't really need any meat or veggies while I was there because we've been eating what we can produce here.  I must confess that I did buy some Johnsonville Brats because my dad is coming over this weekend to help me tear down the "junk" barn.  I know they are made of junk meat probably from Smithfield (Lord forgive me), but I do love me a bratwurst.  I could have used some ground beef too, but I absolutely refuse to buy Cargill ground beef so I passed, and I'll just have to wait until I can get to the meat market to get some. 
Charlotte and Curly, our two pigs, are growing well and are as mischievous as ever.  I've been wondering how much they weigh, because we are aiming to have them butchered at around 225 to 250 pounds.  I did a little research and found a formula for calculating the weight.  All you do is measure the length of the pig from the crown of the head (between the ears) to the base of the tail.  Then take a girth measurement around her chest just behind the front legs.  The formula is:  WEIGHT= (LENGTH X GIRTH X GIRTH) / 400.  Charlotte measured 43" long x 36" girth or approximately 139lbs.  Curly was 45" x 37, or 154lbs.  I'll check them out here in another month and see how they are.  Right now I need to decide where I am having them butchered and the logistics of that whole process.