News and Blog

Market Schedule Announcement

We will NOT be able to attend the Gateway Farmer's Market in Texarkana this Saturday. 

Stay tuned with Facebook, too.

Dear Foodie Fan,

Your Farmers are tremendously impressed with your food knowledge!!   The answer to the foodie fun quiz is: COOL WHIP.
 
I was very surprised how many of you knew the answer!  I took the first correct answer on email and facebook.  Stay tuned for the next one.  It shall be harder!!

Call to Action
While you are here, I just wanted to share a link with you that I have only began to research.  I know your zeal for quality food and supporting small farms.  I first saw this senate bill proposal  on facebook, and am now searching out other sources of information.  Please read and be informed.    Nothing is too hard when we work together.  Too much government, food giants and monopolies seem to control our sphere.  But keep in mind how you eat an elephant: one bite at a time.  Research, share and teach. 

Dinner and a Movie
AUGUST 28th – Join the Arkansas Sustainability Network (ASN) as we host a screening of “Fresh”, a new film celebrating local food and the folks who work to make it happen. For more information about the film: http://www.freshthemovie.com/
We’ll complement the film with a dinner of traditional Mexican style tacos featuring locally grown ingredients served with beans, chips and salsa, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverages. Vegetarian options will also be available.
Saturday August 28th | Dinner at 7 pm | Movie starts at 8 pm
Tickets: $15.00 for Dinner & Movie
alcoholic beverages available for purchase
Please purchase tickets in advance; space is limited
For info and tickets: EmailASN@gmail.com
501-291-2769
Christ Episcopal Church, in the Fellowship Hall
Proceeds benefit the Arkansas Sustainability Network
Learn more about ASN at www.arnetwork.com
on facebook: www.facebook.com/ARSustainability

Blessings,
Tracy

Dear Farm Friends,

As I am writing to you now, there is thunder in the air.  We are near to dancing outside in our underwear if it would rain.  But we don't strip down and dance for thunder yet, so at least I can finish this newsletter!!  We have been blessed with rains that others in our area have missed, but we are needing some rain.  We are truly thankful for all the grass that is stockpiled in front of us.  The farm has many grazing days left as others are looking to their hay barns ready to start pulling out the hay for feeding.  Speaking of hay, we put some square hay up this year.  We always need some for the fair, animals we have to bring home, or just fun hay rides.  It was one of the first 100 degree days.  But it is in the barn and worth it now.  (Can you tell I stacked it?  Yes, some fell off)  

There are things we do not produce on our farm.  I do not make my own laundry detergent, ketchup or clothes.  I think it would be great, but sleep becomes necessary at some point!  We live a pretty sustainable life, but there are items we have to go to town to get.  In the grocery store (not Wal-Mart! ) we were picking out the things we needed and I noticed Ben looking at the ingredients on the back of a bottle of bar-b-que sauce.  I was very impressed.  They know that I won't usually buy it if it has MSG or High Fructose Corn Syrup.  I am hoping they will make good decisions on their own based on habits and beliefs, not advertising and convenience. 

Know Your Ingredients
Speaking of ingredients, here is a foodie fun quiz.  If you think you know what this product is, reply to me by

  We didn't make it to the podium this year, but are already looking forward to next year.  It was a nice trip, but we are Back On Track this week. 

Polk County Farmers Market, Mena, AR  Thursdays  7-10am

Gateway Farmers Market, Texarkana, AR  Saturdays 7-11am

Delivery to ASN and Village Community Market on Fridays 


New Items to Try and Recipes

We have Flank Steak, Skirt Steak, Briskets, Smoked Ham and Smoked Ham slices!              These items are newly added or back in stock!

                Ingredients:  Grass, Sunshine, Water

 

Glazed Ham in Maple Raisin Sauce
1 Smoked Ham
1 1/2 cups maple syrup or honey (use only 1 cup if your ham is 4lbs or less)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Bring ham to room temperature, place in a roasting pan, and bake until heated through (internal temperature need not be more than 130 degrees)  Remove the ham from the oven and increase temperature to 425 degrees. 

Using a knife, score the outside of the ham by making a series of crisscross cuts.  Brush on 1/2 cup of the maple syrup (1/4 cup if your ham is 4 or less pounds)  Return the ham to the oven for 20 minutes and baste 2 or 3 times with the pan juices. Remove the ham from the oven, set it on a cutting board, and brush with another 1/2 or (1/4) cup syrup.  Tent loosely with foil, and let rest while you make the raisin sauce.  

Raisin-Sauce
If your ham is less than 4lbs, halve all the ingredients.
1 cup water
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 T. butter
2 T. lemon juice
1 T cornstarch or arrowroot
1/4 cup ice water

To make the sauce, place the roasting pan on two burners over low heat.  Pour in the cup of water and the remaining 1/2 cup maple syrup and simmer, scraping up any browned bits.  Add the raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter and lemon juice; bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce the mixture by about a third, and lower to simmer.  Whisk the cornstarch or arrowroot and ice water until smooth, and slowly pour into the sauce.  Contine to cook and stir 1-2 minutes longer, until the sauce has thickened.  Carve the ham, and serve the sauce on the side. 
  

Thank you for your continued support of our efforts and farm.  We will, again this year, have a booth at our Polk County Fair.  We will have free drawing for an 1/8 of a Grassfed Beef.  This is appoximately 50lbs. of beef.  There are two ways to sign up.  Come by the fair booth (August 31-Sept. 4) or sign up online on our Facebook page during the Fair week .  I will add the Facebook entries after the fair and then draw a winner. 

Blessing to you all and remember it is easy to Know Your Ingredients when you Know your Farmer!!

Tracy 

   



Have you looked up and noticed half of the year is over?  We are boggled by the speed of life at times.  I for one am looking a little forward to shorter days, not cooler weather, but shorter days!!

We have been working on our cattle herd for the past several years, but with great intensity the last four.  We have changed our genetics, management practices, calving seasons and are looking forward to a winter possibly without feed hay. You know about our recent purchase of two South Poll bulls.  They are here at the house until late August, early September.  One bull especially is extremely friendly.  He is more gentle than the milk cows as well as the kids show calves!  Each evening when we put up the milk calves, he thinks he needs some attention also.  We love this disposition!  So we made another big decision.  We bought 12 South Poll stocker calves last month.    They are from a farm, well respected for their management practices and follow the same practices as NO grain, antibiotics or hormones as we do.  These calves are a year old and we will keep them until they are "finished" next spring.  We would love to be able to expand our herd into South Poll heifers or mama cows, but they are much more difficult to come by. 



     Schedule Changes                      No Markets, August 5, 6, 7th

Stock up this week because we will be absent from all markets August 5-7th.    Ben and I will be traveling with friends to Sparta, Illinois to the ATA Grand American.  This is Ben's sport!  He will be shooting trap, competing with kids across the nation, on Saturday and Sunday.  Andy and Matti are staying behind to keep the farm running.  We should be back to routines the following week (my fingers are crossed as I say this). 

New Items
Yesterday we traveled to Big Cabin, OK to pick up our harvest.  I have much organization to do in the big freezer, but here are some new items to look for at the markets this week:

T-Bone Steaks                     Ribeyes                    Rib Steaks              
                           Beef Brisket                        Baby Back Pork Ribs
Large Slab Spare Ribs                         Ground Beef                         
                         Italian Bulk Sausage                   Beef Oxtails/Bones 


We hope to see you this week, shoot me an email with your order to make for a quicker pickup at the market!!


We are taking orders for Fall freezer beef and pork as well.  Let me know if you want on our wait list. 

Blessings,
Tracy

Freezer Summer Specials
You don't see the words freezer and summer too closely related in any usual way.  But we don't travel the USUAL path around here very often. 

We have some "freezer" beef available.  This means you are buying in bulk and saving a LOT of $$$.  We have half beefs, quarter beefs and possibly some 1/8th.  Let me give you more information.

Half Beef:  Price is $1025 processing included.  You will get approximately 200 lbs. of beef.  You will need approximately 7-9 cubic feet of freezer space.

Quarter Beef:  Price is $525 proocessing included.  You will get approximately 100# of beef.  You will need approximately 3-5 cubic feet of freezer space.

1/8:  Price is $275 processing included.  You will get approximately 50 lbs of beef.  You will need about 1-2 cubic feet of freezer space. 

A sample QUARTER beef cut sheet:

3 chuck roasts
7-8 Rib eye steaks
1 sirloin tip roast
1-halved brisket
1-2 New York Strip steaks
3 sirloin steaks
5-6 T-Bone steaks
Sirloin Roast
6-8 Tenderized round steaks
1 Pikes Peak
1 Rump Roasts
30-35 # of ground beef


Of course you will double the above for half a beef and half it for the 1/8 beef.  Clear as mud??

This will be on a first come, first served basis.  Call 479-243-5473 or email me.  If you want a custom cut on your beef, select packaging and such, call me this week. 

Enjoy the evening,
Tracy

Go One More...

Do you feel swallowed up by deadlines, timelines and crazy schedules?  We understand demanding pressures more than bucolic farmers should.  While we don't necessarily have a peaceful life, we strive to be at peace with it.  To achieve this, we have certain standards that we are reluctant to waver on.  One of these standards is dinnertime.   Dinnertime is the cornerstone of our family's mental health.  Cooking is the vehicle to facilitate that health as well as improve physical health.  A home-cooked meal guards against empty calories, shady ingredients and poor quality farming practices.  You have the choice to prepare whole-ingredient cuisine that will save money, trim waistlines and draw your family into superior times at the table.  You might at this point draw attention to the fact you have already spent 8 hours working and have no desire to stand over a stove, grill or oven.  I completely get it, however, while eating overprocessed or packaged food may seem like salvation for a moment, I assure you, it has costs and factors not readily seen.  Start with this theory:

                          Little and Often amount to Much.

You don't have to buy a whole beef, or grow the entire garden on your own.  Start with one wholesome, quality-packed, nutrient dense dinner a week.  If you are already doing that, go one more.  We try to follow a simple rule, it is the 80/20 rule.  80% of the time, we eat true foods, ones that are as close as possible to the ground or hoof.  20% of the time, we don't sweat it!  But in the beginning we were closer to 40/60, then progressed to 50/50 and so on.  The point is to start.  Here is a recipe to help towards that end.  I made these and decided to keep the recipe because it is cheap and my kids really liked it.

Hamburger Steaks (keep reading, they are worth it)

2 lbs. ground beef, preferably grassfed
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
2 eggs
1-2 tbsp. fine dry bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
6 tbsp butter
3 tbsp dry red wine, or white wine

In a large bowl, combine and blend the first 5 ingredients.  Mold the meat mixture into oblong "steaks"  In a large skillet, heat 3 tbsp butter over medium high heat.  Add the beef and brown on both sides, until insides are just barely pink or no longer pink.  Transfer to a hot plate.  Add the remaining butter and the wine to the frying pan, and simmer until most of the liquid has evaoprated.  It will condense to a thickened sauce.  Spoon over steaks and serve.


Sucessful Trip
Last night we returned late from Oklahoma, Big Cabin to be exact.  So this means we have a bulging, fully stocked freezer.   We also have a limited supply of lamb, yes, actually lamb!  The key word is limited.  Come see me at the markets.

Specials

For the July 4th grand event, grab some grassfed ground beef, hot dogs or link sausages!!  Email me in advance for convenience at the farmer's market booth.   

4th Grillin' Special:  $15 (This will feed approximately 12-14 folks, single serving)

2 lbs. Grassfed Ground Beef
1 package (approx 1 lb) Hot Dogs (No Msg, nitrites or fillers)

Summer Sausage Sampler:  $25  (No Msg, nitrites or fillers)

1 lb. Fresh Bratwurst Link
1 lb. Smoked Sausage Link
1 lb. German Sausage Link

An Offering
We have a 1/4 of a beef available to be delivered to the processor next week.  Email or call 479-243-5473 if you are interested.  


Find us on Facebook, an online market, farmer's markets, Argenta Market or here at the Farm.  We look forward to helping you take the next step towards a whole food diet.  ( I sorta feel like doing a high-five with you right now!!)

Enjoy Your Day!!
Tracy
"Go ahead and eat with your Fingers, the Food's clean!"

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Youngblood GrassFed Farm, L.L.C. is responsible for the content of this email.
Tracy Youngblood, 173 Polk 252, Grannis, AR 71944

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Inventory News

We will have back in stock this week, Wednesday:

German Sausage

Arkansas Bacon

Smoked Bacon

Select Lamb cuts

As well as others!!

Special Note:
I have been selected for jury duty this morning, I may have a crazier schedule with interruptions.  I just don't know!! 

Have a blessed one and stay cool!