River Cottage Farm
Update
This Week at the Farm
Now that Brayden is home, everything is clicking along and I’ve been able to set some things in motion that have been waiting on the sidelines. This week, I finally drove my eighty pounds of raw fleece from the last shearing to Harrisburg, PA to be processed into wool. The trip was wonderfully uneventful and I’m so glad to be back at the farm.
As we start our new year here at the farm we plan to keep any changes to a minimum in order to continue to get better at what we already have in motion.
So, farm tours and dinners will be a huge focus in order to allow our customers to participate in more events at the farm. We also plan on opening up the farm house for guest stays in order to make it more feasible for our TN customers with children to participate.
We plan to keep everyone posted on all these upcoming changes through this page, so stay tuned!
This week’s sales are the same as last week. Continue to enjoy the chili and the short ribs, the weather demands it!
100% Grass fed (and finished)
Our Meats
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Marinated Skirt or Flank Steak with Lime
Ingredients
- 3 pounds skirt or flank steak
- 3 tb garlic chopped
- 3 tb olive oil coarse salt to taste
- 3 tb lime juice or to taste
Instructions
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If necessary, trim steak, leaving some fat. In a shallow dish rub steak with garlic and oil. Marinate steaks, cover and chilled, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.
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Season steaks generously with coarse salt and grill on a rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals 2 to 3 minutes on each side for medium rare. (Alternatively, steak can be broiler pan under a preheated broiler 3 inches from heat about 4 minutes on each side)
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Transfer steak to cutting board and drizzle with lime juice. Let steak stand, uncovered, 5 to 10 minutes and with a sharp knife cut diagonally across grain into thin slices. Serve steak with accompaniments, or cut up into small bite sized pieces and serve with tortillas, salsa, cheese, and lime.
If you are using an InstantPot, cook up the steaks on the meat setting for about 20 minutes and then grill, pan sear or broil till done.
For Sous Vide folks, just set the meat in your your reusable bag with the marinade and set at 135 overnight. Grill, pan sear or broil.
Beef
Brayden picked up all our beef from the butcher on Wednesday so we are all set with our inventory. The only item out of stock already is LIVER and HEART believe it or not! So, for everyone not a organ lover, we’ve got everything in stock.
Poultry
We’re still looking good on all things chicken. Remember, you can click on any of the badges and go right to that page of the store.
Lamb
Brayden picked up lamb from the butcher and so we are fully stocked on everything from lamb chops and lamb sausage.
Pork
We are finally fully stocked on all things pork. From chops to ground pork and sausage we have it all in stock.
Dairy
The last cold spell set the girls back a bit on their milk supply so I didn’t make any yogurt this week but we still have a decent supply of milk for everyone. I’ll make more yogurt and ricotta next week.
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Grass Fed- Grass Finished
Skirt, Flank, and Flat Iron, what’s the difference?
Flank steak is a cut of beef taken from the abdominal muscles or lower chest of the steer. It’s ultra flavorful but can be a bit tough and chewy if not prepared and served correctly. Don’t let this scare you away from this steak though, it’s flavor is so worth it! You can marinate it for extra tenderness but it’s not necessary as long as you cook it to no more than meduim rare, and cut it across the grain. These two things can keep this wonderful steak from having a tough and stringy texture. I love flank on salads, in fajitas, and served with slow cooked onions and gravy.
Skirt steak is a cut of beef steak from the plate. It is long, flat, and prized for its flavor rather than tenderness and is definitely a tougher piece of meat than the flank. The skirt should always be marinated overnight in something acid, something oily, and something flavorful. I like tomatoes or lemon, olive oil, garlic, and onions.
Back in Stock
Sausages
Brayden loves sausages! You can tell from our list of sausages that there’s something interesting going on here. And, he’s not done yet. I’m still working on getting the chicken and lamb sausage on the website so please feel free to jot your order in your notes section.
Duck, Pear and Port
Hillbelly, pork belly, cloves and ginger
Andouille, traditional Cajin
Beef Brats
Beef Brats with Pepper Jack
Pork Brats
Beef Chorizo
Pork Chorizo
Smoked Fennel
Hot Pork Sausage
Sweet Italian Lamb Sausage
Maple Chicken Breakfast Sausage
Sweet Italian Chicken
RCF WOOL
I just returned home from taking 80 pounds of wool to a small fiber mill in Pennsylvania and I’m so excited! Saying that I am happy to support a mom and her three kids starting up a mill to process wool is a huge understatement!
A very troubling trend we’re seeing is the uninformed campaign against wool. A local eatery (one that I was surprised to find ironically serves conventionally raised meat from feedlots) had a sign inside the door with the photo of a sheep advocating that patrons ask farmers to stop STEALING their wool. I asked the manager if she had ever seen a sheep that had not been sheared. Of course, she had not. I relayed the occasions when we attempted to rescue sheep and goats that had not been sheared. While I won’t get into the gory details here, I did with this uninformed manager and trust me when I say that she was visibly shaken. Suffice it to say, I have never been successful in saving the lives of those sheep and angora goats.
We’ve shared our shearing photos with you in the past and you can see that the sheep are standing up, basically getting a haircut.
Your support of our wool products helps us to maintain our flock in a way that any sheep would willingly give their wool up for!
If you have any questions about how we harvest our wool, please feel free to call or email. We LOVE to brag on our animal welfare.
Straight From the Farm
We Believe in Quality
This section of the newsletter will be reserved for those who love to read about the techicnal aspects of farming and all the ways we go above and beyond the norm to bring you the highest quality farm products.
Rignt now, on the farm, we’re already thinking about weeds. Last year we had a tough time with a few weeds that, if not dealt with this year, could take over certain pastures. Our options are mowing, spraying (not really an option for us), and goats. Although I’ve sworn off goats for the past several years, I am realizing that they certainly have a place on the farm in terms of weed control.
In addition to trying goats we will also utilize more mowing, and something called a “Paddock within a Paddock” grazing system. In this scenario we’ll set up small paddocks with temporary wire around the very weedy areas in the hopes that the animals will trample the plants causing them to die. We’ll keep you posted on that!
Let us know if there are any burning questions you have for us and we’ll answer them here.
Find Us
Wednesday Delivery
Friends’ Meeting House
11:30 – Noon
530 26th Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37209
Visit Us in Franklin
Visit us at the Franklin Farmer’s Market every Saturday 9 – Noon
230 Franklin Rd
Franklin, TN 37064
Visit Us in Bowling Green
Visit us at Community Farmer’s Market every Saturday 8 – 1
5199 Nashville Rd,
Bowling Green, KY 4210
Pick up in Hermitage TN
We’re setting up a new delivery site in Hermitage. Shoot me an email at hello@rivercottagefarm.net and I’ll give you all the details.