A trip to the farm

With all the produce coming in from the backyard, Nate and I decided to buy a chest freezer. And with all that extra freezer room, well, why not buy some meat, too? I've been reading a lot lately about the benefits of grassfed beef, pastured poultry, buying locally, etc. So we did a little research and found the Trautman Family Farm, located just a few miles away in Stoughton, WI. We made a trip out to the farm last week and met with Julie Trautman, who told us about the animals while Walter chased the chickens around. (That was the first time I had ever heard him cluck!) Their small family of 5 – the kids all 12 and under – keep the farm running. They raise grassfed beef, pastured pork and poultry, free range pastured eggs, and grassfed organic dairy. We decided to buy 1/4 cow and 1/2 pig, both of which will be harvested in just a few weeks.

We also took home a small chicken (frozen, from the last harvest) to see if it might be more "chickeny" than what we've gotten from the grocery store. I cooked the chicken tonight with another Julia Child recipe – a simple roast chicken and veggies. The difference between this chicken and the grocery store chicken was amazing! There was hardly any grease at all, and the veggies cooked up very nicely in the juices. Of course, Walter wouldn't touch it. You never know on any given night what he'll eat, or won't eat. Maybe he was remembering his chicken friends from the farm. Oh well. Nate's review: "It's good. It just tastes like chicken." Well, that's chicken for you.