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How to Eat Confidently in Today's Uncertain World!

written by

Sue King

posted on

December 2, 2020

I grew up listening to stories from my grandmother who was a child in Poland during WWI. She spoke often of the benefits of living on a farm and raising their own food. There was always a large garden that would provide them with an abundance of food to fill the pantry year round. There was always a cow for fresh milk, cream, butter and cheese and chickens for eggs and meat. Every farmer would raise enough pigs for themselves plus their neighbors in the village .

On the flip side she also remembered the hardships that occurred as their country was pulled in war. Seeing their well stocked panty depleted when soldiers would march through the area looking for food. The indiscriminate confiscation of food that left many families, who would have otherwise had enough food, now hungry.

There is one particular story that has really made an impression on me. She often talked of the days when she was really hungry. As the youngest child in the home at the time it was her job to gather the eggs. She would sneak the salt shaker into her apron pocket and head to the hen house. In those days the women and girls always wore aprons with big pockets. Before she headed back to the house with her basket of eggs she would very carefully crack the top shell off the egg, salt the inside and eat the raw egg.

This story is etched in my brain and has made me who I am and why I believe that the local food movement is as vitally important to us today as it was then. I determined way back when I was a child that this would not happen to my family when I had one. It may be a lofty goal for a 10 year old, but much of it has come to pass.

For many years I have worked towards supplying the needs of my family as I was able to. I have not always succeeded, but have always made strides towards my goals. As time went by, I realized that there are many people in the towns and cities around me that didn’t have opportunity to grown some or all of their food. This is when we made a conscious decision to become a farm-to-fork farm.

For twenty years, instead of just selling into the centralized food system, we have made the choice to sell directly to local customers. It has not always been easy, but when we see how families can eat confidently knowing the food we raise is healthier and that our customers food dollars stay within our community it is so rewarding to us.

It is a confidence that can only come from knowing that their farmer cares about them personally.


DID YOU KNOW THAT WE DO A PORK AND BEEF VARIETY BUNDLE?

Each Bundle contains:

*Pork Loin Chops 3 pkgs. of 2 each

*Ground Pork 3 -- 1 lb. pkgs.

* Boston Butt Roast -- 1 roast approx. 2.5 lbs.

*Ground Beef 3 -- 1 lb. pkgs.

*Beef Roast 1 roast approx. 2.5 lbs.

Are you interest?


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Are you Absolutely Satisfied with Store-Bought Pork?

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HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY PORK DISHES ALWAYS HAVE SO MANY SWEET SAUCES ON THEM? For many years this question never crossed my mind. Until we started raising and eating our own pasture-raised pork. But what lead us to start raising pigs?  Neither Larry nor I had much experience with pigs growing up. We started our married life buying all our pork in the grocery store, but then switched to sourcing it from a neighboring conventional pork producer. We were not aware that most of the pork that is available in the grocery stores comes from pigs that have never seen the light of day. They spend their whole life crowded into huge hog barns. They are fed an industry standard diet of grain with no green, living food at all. They are crowded into small spaces with many other pigs where their natural ability to move is restricted. Much to our surprise and horror, we discovered that the neighbor we were purchasing our pork from was raising them no differently than what we could get in the store. At that time, little did we know that eventually Larry would face a digestive issue from this type of pork. After certain meals he would feel sick to the stomach and end up with diarrhea. It got so bad before we clued into the cause. When we quit eating pork these issues went away. Now we had a dilemma. We really like pork but couldn’t eat it anymore. Being the DIY homesteaders we were back in those days we decided to buy a couple little pigs and raise them ourselves. We knew that we didn’t want to raise them in a barn. So outside they went. These were the happiest pigs I ever saw. They were free to roam around their pasture, rooting in the soil and wallowing in the mud while searching for whatever they thought was tasty to eat. We fed them grains from a neighbor, kitchen scraps and milk from our milk cow. When they were big enough to harvest, we sent them to the processor, not knowing if we would even be able to eat this pork. Much to our delight Larry had no adverse reaction to the meat. It was delicious! The meat was firm, not mushy like barn raised pork. It also had a richness to it that we had never experienced before.  No more bland and flavorless conventional pork for us.  No sauces required! We thought that we couldn’t be the only people who had experienced something similar and wished for a pleasurable eating experience. This success started us on a new farming adventure, raising pastured pork for sale. Encouraged by the success we had with our first pigs we decided to purchase our breeding herd. We have tried many breeds of pigs over the years and have settled on the Berkshire breed. They are a heritage pig that matures slower thus producing an excellent quality meat and the best lard fat that I think you can get. I have heard it said that Berkshire pork is the gold standard of pork among chefs. Besides that, they are very personable and entertaining to have around!  And mischievous. I truly believe from our personal experience that all animals that we raise for food need to be able to live in conditions that are natural for them and have the ability to express their God-given characteristics. When we domesticated animals, we became responsible to steward them well. We strive to do just this with all our animals. One of my favorite cuts of pork is the Boston Butt Roast.  It is juicy, tender, melt-in-your mouth meat. This is the cut that pulled-pork is made from. It is an economical cut that we also use to make ground pork and our special gluten-free, nitrate-free sausages. When you purchase our pasture-raised pork you will experience what real pork should taste like. We offer a variety of options when it comes to purchasing our pasture-raised pork.   Individual cuts to suit your needs. Pork Chops, Traditional salt-cured and smoked ham and bacon, Whole Tenderloin, Boston Butt Roasts, Ground Pork, Breakfast Sausages (Nitrate-free, Sugar-free and Filler-free). Coming soon!  Our "1/4 Pork Bundle."  Our newest addition to our pastured-pork line-up.  This bundle is perfect for a smaller family or if you have limited freezer space.  It will consist of a variety of the individual cuts, including Pork Chops, Pork Sirloin Steak, Ham Steak, Bacon, Ground Pork and Sausage. And, last but not least if you want to customize the cuts you receive, we have whole hogs available.   You can find all of these options in our online store. Do you want to try my simple Boston Butt Roast recipe? It’s so simple. I place the roast on a rack in my cast-iron dutch-oven. Add a little water. Sprinkle chopped onions on top (I used my home-grown dehydrated onions) salt and pepper. Roast until the internal temperature reaches 160F. I slice it and serve with apple sauce, oven roasted potatoes and a veggie.  You can purchase our pasture-raised pork from our online store or from us at the Grande Prairie Farmers Market on Fridays or Saturdays.

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