Next Saturday, I will be the proud consumer of locally-grown meat! 2 lbs. of turkey breast, 6 pork chops, and a dozen eggs. A small, humble order but it feels good. I got a hold of Karl Baer, a local farmer (from Adrian, MI) and he was really friendly and informative.
He walked me through the order, haha, because I am incompetent- when you buy meat from the supermarket, you get it all chopped up where you can't even really tell it was ever alive, and you don't have to mess with technicality. I didn't even know how to go about ordering from him. The conversation went something like this:
Arika- "Hey... can I have some turkey?"
Karl- "Sure, what type? We have smoked turkey breast by the pound, fresh turkey breast by the pound, turkey sausage, spicy turkey sausage, turkey burger, turkey wings, turkey thighs, turkey carcasses etc. etc. etc..."
Arika- "Hey... can I have some turkey?"
Anyway, he was understanding and chatty, which I appreciated. He's at the Ypsi FM every other Saturday, including next Saturday, which is when I will be picking up my first order! He also had whole roaster chickens, but I don't think I can handle that. I did make chicken noodle soup last year from the Moosewood cookbook, with a whole chicken that cooked over-night. Maybe I will have a soup making party and do that soon. Anyone up for an all-night chicken-cooking sleepover?
Who could resist that invitation?
I don't think a former vegetarian has ever been this excited about meat before. I'm missing my Master Gardener class tonight because I have a meeting, which is a little disapointing, but a fact of life. Sometimes, you have meetings. I'll have to shlep down to Monroe in 2 weeks to take the class I'll be missing at their MSU-Ex. office. Oh well- I'll get to see another MSU-Ex office and meet some new folks- that will be an adventure!
Here's to hoping it doesn't snow too much this weekend. My ground is frozen and I can't dig in to get my soil sample! Come on Mother Nature.. can you warm up just a teeny bit?
Hey, congrats on your local meat! I get roaster chickens from my farmer's market almost every week (or I did until I had a baby and ran out of time... Now I get them from my freezer, lol). I just rinse the chicken, put it in a glass baking dish, slice up an onion and lay it in the pan and inside the cavity, add salt, pepper, and paprika to taste, and bake on 350F for 75 - 90 minutes. It's almost idiot-proof. When it's done, you just pull all the meat from the carcass and use it in any kind of dish. Or freeze it in meal-sized portions. I make pastas, stir fry, soup, chicken salad, chicken pot pie, etc, etc. Chicken's much cheaper when you get it whole, and the dark meat adds a lot of flavor compared to boneless/skinless breasts. Good luck!
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