Boar Taint.

Right now my younger brother is sweating bullets. Why? Something you have probably never heard of before called boar taint.

Let me explain.

Boar taint is a really disgusting smell and taste that comes from male hogs. It is really nasty. Trust me, I know.

Generally boars are castrated during week 1-3 of their lives. The removal of the testes guarantees the removal of the possibility that they hog will have boar taint. This is done in all the gamuts of hog production. Factory farms do it, family farms do it. Nobody wants to take the chance.

Even Polyface Farms castrates. Yes, you have heard of them. They are the face of the "f you" movement challenging conventional agriculture and the government. They were featured in the book "The Omnivores Delimema" and the movie "Food Inc".

Factory farms HAVE to do it. Why? Because they way they raise their animals in confined spaces virtually ensures that the hog will have a taint. (Hogs raised in confined spaces are much much more likely to have taint).

Family farmers do it because they financially can't take the risk of the loss of income from a boar with taint. To them - it could mean the difference of making their farm payment or not. Furthermore, it has been done for years. It's "what you do."

Here's the problem with castration. Of course, nobody likes to talk about it. It isn't a fun topic. Animal rights activist are up in arms about it. We, as a family, are too. I absolutely refuse to castrate a pig. So does my mother. My brother will do it, but he would prefer not to.

The only person that is really comfortable with the job is my sister in law. She used to work at a hog confinement building. It was her job. She's good at it, if you will.

However, after years of research and my mother reading every book under the sun about outdoor pig production, things have changed at the Turpin Farm. Hogs are no longer casterated.

Raising your hogs outdoors on pasture significantly reduces the chances of boar taint. Check. We do that.

Butchering the hog under 300 lbs reduces the chances. Check. We do that.

Breeding plays a role. Lighter colored hogs have less of a chance of taint. Half check on this one. Some lighter colored hogs but we have been breeding in more Duroc genetics over the past few years. (The duroc gives the right marbling and flavor that consumers enjoy).

Tuesday Cole took a boar to the locker for a customer of ours in Kansas City. We won't know until we taste it if it has taint. (I am not there, thank goodness, as I don't want to take the chance of tasting taint. Poor Cole. hehe).

Even Barb from the locker called me thinking we had made a mistake. "You do know that this is a boar, right? Elvin said it has two seeds so it is a strong possibility that it will have taint."

Yep, I knew.

This is a big deal. Cole just quit his day job to be a full time farmer. Taking these sort of risks when he financially really can't afford to is stressful. If the boar has taint it is more than, "Oh we tried that and it didn't work." It is his livelihood.

For the sake of the hogs at the farm, Cole, and the customer that is expecting her hog to be delivered next week, I really hope it doesn't have taint.

Cheers and Happy Eats!

Lucinda

Let it Go. Let it Be.

This is a picture of Fiona on her second birthday. Isn't she cute? (sorry, couldn't resist doing the "oh look how cute my kid is" mother thing all us mamas do.)

I am in the blue shirt. For the purposes of this post, I want you to look behind me at the painting on the wall. That painting has special meaning to me. It was a gift from the grandparents of my best friend that past away when we were 16.

It hung, as the only item of decoration, on the living room wall of my marital home. It was the first thing you saw when you walked in the door. It now hangs on the wall of my home in Florida, again as the first thing you see when you walk in the door.

Last night, as Fiona's father came to pick her up, he commented on it. "That is a really nice painting, where did it come from?" he asked.

Hmmm. "It is from our home. The Bearden's gave it to me. It hung on our wall for years." I responded.

In my mindset, the mellow dramatic one that us women can sometimes be prone to specifically towards the males of our present and past, I couldn't understand how he could ask such a silly question. I mean, after all, he did live in the same house with the same painting on the wall for years. What the frizzle?

I closed my eyes tight so that nobody could see me roll them. Let it go, Lucinda, let it go.

Later in the evening as I was reading Harry Potter (yes, I read Harry Potter and love it...want to make something of it?), I realized I have read this series 5 times now (yes, I have read it five times. Again, want to make something of it ;- ) ? ) and just noticed that my maiden name is used in the book. Aha moment.

If I am allowed to read the same book 5 times without judgement and not notice that my maiden name, which is not actually a common name, is used who am I to pass judgement on someone that doesn't notice a painting for 5 years?

Humans are silly, aren't we? We waste a lot of our life getting all worked up about some of the most pointless things... like paintings.

I let it go.

In my quest for a more simplistic heart and life, I keep finding that when we embrace those around us as they are, we not only remove 90% of the drama from our lives, we allow ourselves to be who we are without judgement. Oh the freedom.

So let it go, and let it be. :-)

Sunshine and Happiness,

Lucinda

Where does milk come from?

Oh Snap, what have I done? I think I have scarred my child for life. Or at the very least I have created a food snob. Product of her environment, I suppose.

When given a glass of milk this happens;

Fiona: What kind of cow is this from?

Me: I am not sure. Most likely a Holstein but possibly a jersey or Guernsey or Brown Swiss.

Fiona: Is it from Uncle Cole's cow?

Me: No, his cows are not milking cows.

Fiona: Who's cow is it?

Me: It's Organic Valley so it could be from one of many different farmers. Organic valley is a co-op.

Fiona: How did you get it?

Me: I bought it at the grocery store.

Fiona: lets go there and see the cows.

Me: You can't. They don't have cows there.

Fiona: Where do they get the milk?

ME: From cows.

Fiona: What cows?

Me: Organic Valley Cows.

Fiona: Is this goat's milk?

Me: No, cow milk.

Fiona: I want water.

Carrot, Orange and Poppy Seed Muffins.

This summer Gran, Gramps, Fiona, the king carnivore, and I went for a trip to the middle of nowhere Iowa. For what? Well, a produce auction, a cheese factory, a commune, and an Amish store. On our great adventure I bought melons, cheese, citric acid and poppy seeds.

(Yes, I understand how absolutely random that entire last paragraph is.)

Moving on - today I noticed some rather sad looking carrots wanting to be eaten and a lonely orange begging for attention. Put them all together with the poppy seeds and the above was born. Carrot, Orange, and poppy seed muffins.

Get all your ingredients together:

You are going to need:

Muffins:

2 carrots

1 orange

1 egg - beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 pinches salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 cup flour

Glaze:

3 heaping tablespoons of powdered sugar

rest of the juice and pulp from orange.

Skin and slice carrots put in a skillet with water and simmer until the water is gone and carrots are tender.

Turn off heat, add butter to skillet so it melts.

Put carrot butter mixture in blender with the juice of one orange (use your hands to squeeze out the orange - don't go crazy because you'll want some juice for the glaze), 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 2 pinches of salt, 1/2 cup of sour cream and blend it all up.

Don't you love the color? (and my little helper?)

Add the egg, sugar, and vanilla. Then stir in the drugs. (For those that don't get the reference...poppy seeds will make you fail a drug test.)

Stir your flour and baking powder together and add it to the mixture to get this:

Fill muffin pan 3/4 full and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes (until tooth pick comes out clean.) The king carnivore likes to say that looking aint cooking. I would heed his advice on this as they might "fall" in the center if you open the oven door too many times. Ok, I did it like 4 times and they didn't fall, but I was playing with fire by doing that. I made mini muffins because I knew I wouldn't be able to resist opening the door and they would be less likely to get messed up.

While those are in the oven make your glaze by mixing the rest of the juice and pulp from the orange into the powdered sugar:

Glaze em and eat em. Yum.

Cheers and Happy Eats!

Lucinda

Apple Bread Cake Pie Thingy.

I am not really sure what to call this: Apple bread cake pie thingy or - I accidently made this and it was yummy.

Here is the recipe:

Dough:

1 package yeast

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup half and half (alternatively you can use milk but this is just what I had on hand).

1 egg

3 tablespoon honey

1 egg

1/4 cup butter melted

1 teaspoon salt

3.5 -4 cups flour

Activate the yeast in 1/4 cup warm milk (let yeast sit in warm milk about 15 minutes). Add all the other ingredients except flour. Stir it all up.

Slowly add in flour until dough is slightly sticky. Knead it into about 1/2 cup flour. Roll it into a ball, rub the outside with some sort of oil (coconut oil, butter, vegetable oil.. all will work).

Let rise an hour.

Punch it down and seperate into 3 dough balls. (This recipe makes three of these apple bread cake pie thingys- or you can refrigerator the extra dough, which is what I did and bake it into something else tomorrow).

Push it into a pie pan and cover with topping:

1. put down a thin layer of butter.

The stir up and sprinkle half of this mixture on top of the butter:

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Then dice an apple and put that on top of the mixture. Sprinkle a little bit more of the above mixture. Then dot with a few tiny pieces of butter.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Of course, I like to put more butter over the edges while it is warm.

Cheers and Happy Apple Eats!

Lucinda

Peppermint Oil - Miracle in a bottle

If you don't have a bottle of this - get one. Now.

It is a bottle full of miracles.

Got a headache? No problem, put this on the back of your neck and skip the pain pills.

Sore muscles? They ain't got nothing on peppermint oil. (yes, I just used ain't).

Car sick? Put a touch of this on your wrists and you'll be able to set in the backseat with no worries.

Got a sinus infection and can't breathe? Put some on your chest and you'll be having airflow in no time.

Use like you would an icy hot, but know that it is strong stuff. A little bit will go a long way and there is a delay of about 45 seconds between the time you put it on and the time you start to feel it.

I don't go anywhere without it. I travel with it. Again - miracle in a bottle.

Cheers and Good -bye ailments.

Lucinda

Feel Better Soon- Thai Coconut Smoothie

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. This is merely experience and wive's tales talking. Take it for what it is.

I have been sick. Very sick. I suppose a 30 degree drop in temperature over night, and traveling by car 18 hours from the midwest to the east coast had something to do with this. Not to mention playing nursemaid to sick friends right before leaving. Fever, cough, green funk coming out of my nose, and a chest on fire, oh and I feel like I got hit by a truck.

I am not a fan of traditional medicine and I would have to be on my death bed before even considering antibiotics. So far, it seems to have worked for me. I have overcome swine flu, pneumonia, and the occasional sinus infection without the need for an arsenal of pharmaceutics (In general I get sick about once a year). I prefer to give my body the tools it needs and have faith in its ability to fight whatever it is I am fighting. I suppose I learned this as a child, growing up over an hour from any town with any sort of civilization. You couldn't just run to the pharmacy in the middle of the night and with options limited you learn to deal with what you have on hand.

With that said, food can play a very important role in recovery. I keep an arsenal of "feel better soon" recipes on hand. The following smoothie recipe is easy and can take you from zero to hero in the span of a few hours. That is because young thai coconuts supposedly have the same chemical make up as blood plasma. In fact, it is rumored, that it was used for blood transfusions in WWII.

Note: Young thai coconuts are supposedly drenched in formaldehyde to keep them white. I can not confirm or deny this, but I can tell you that it is nearly impossible to find the certified organic leading me to believe it is true. SOO... scrub the daylights out of the outside of one of these bad boys before cutting it open.

Here is the recipe:

1 young thai coconut

1 banana

This particular coconut had a lot of water.

I used 1 cup and froze the rest. Put the coconut water, meat, and banana in the blender. Blend for a minute or so.

Consume and feel better soon.

Cheers and Happy Eats!

Lucinda