Blog Posts — Page 4

Happy Grandparents Day!

Posted on September 13, 2020 Written by Serena Leave a Comment

What does Grandparents Day have to do with farming? For me, a lot.

You see, who I am now, has a lot to do with who my grandparents were and how much time I spent with them.

On my Mom’s Side

My mom’s mom, Grams, lived with us for a few years. When she didn’t live with us, we went to visit often. Grams was a great cook. Tamales, menudo, tortillas, mexican rice, everything she made was delicious. And most everything had lard in it. I remember being in her kitchen. The rickety floor, dimly lit, hot, and kind of scary kitchen. I would help her make tortillas while I tried to absorb every iota of smell wafting through the air–frying beans, browning rice, a stockpot full of I was never sure what, chili powder, garlic, and cumin. I loved being in the kitchen with her, but it’s only now I realize the impact it had on me.

Grams had the softest hands. When I was upset or in trouble, as I often was after my parent’s divorce, I would lay next to her as she’d stroke my face or hold my hand and hum. Her hum would vibrate through my whole body and calm me. She would take a lock of hair at the root and softly pull to the ends, over and over. To this day, when I am really stressed, I do this.

Grams didn’t spoil us, give us treats, or buy us gifts. I do remember her buying me a small porcelain trinket box at a garage sale for maybe a quarter. It had gold foiled legs and a rose painted on the lid. I still have it. Even as a child, I knew her time and care meant more than anything she could buy.

My mom’s dad, Ducky, was another story. I didn’t spend too much time with him, but the time I did spend was usually intense. Ducky was a carpenter. He built the house my mom spent some of her late teens in and lives in now. He salvaged brick from a housing project that was torn down to build the house.

He was an excellent craftsman and repurposer. After Hurricane Ike, the guys helping gut the kitchen were so excited to smash apart the cabinets Ducky built. I laughed and told them good luck! They tried for about an hour or so, then decided they’d make more progress prying them off the wall.

When I was around Ducky, I would watch with great curiosity. He was a man of few words, and if you only had “a piece of a brain” as he called it, those words could be harsh.

As a child, I was always a bit afraid of him. His gruff voice from smoking since he was 11, his slicked-back jet black hair, and lack of conversation. But, when I would see him, he’d smile and say, “Oh, Weena, where have you been?” As I got older, the conversation with him became easier and I learned a lot about him. During World War 2, he was in the Navy. On the way home, he and a friend stopped in the South Pacific in hopes of watching nuclear bomb testing. It was taking too long, so they hopped on the next ship that came through and headed home.

When I was living with my mom, he moved in with us because of his failing health. In his wheelchair, he was still gruff and scary. He’d watch me work around the house and ask me, “oh, Weena, why do you hold the hammer so stupid!?” as he shook his head. I’d give him a hard time about still smoking and he’d proudly say he’d cut back by half–only 2 packs a day now. Can’t argue with that I guess.

On My Dad’s Side

With my dad’s parents, we would see them a few times a month. Sometimes it was just a quick visit, other times we would stay the night. They always lived in an apartment and I loved staying in the office/art studio/extra bedroom. And, there was a greenhouse.

My grandmother, Honey, was an amateur botanist. She had a beautiful garden in the small backyard and a greenhouse. I loved sneaking into the greenhouse and examining all the plants she was tending to. I would carefully examine a new grafting she had done or marveled at an orchid in bloom. The backyard had banana trees, cucumber vines, and tomato plants covering it. It felt like another world to me.

Honey would tell me stories about sneaking out to go dancing, trips she and her sister took, and when she worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority conducting door-to-door surveys and came across a man with Elephantitis. Before she died, she told me a story about having the chance to go to the Kentucky Derby and she didn’t go. She looked at me, shaking her finger like she did when she wanted to make a point, and said, “Don’t ever regret not doing something.”

My grandparents had a bit of an unconventional marriage. They both worked, and my grandfather, Baboo, did the cooking. Baboo, like Grams, did not spare the fat in his cooking. While I did have to choke down peas and lamb on occasion, and meals were not by request, he also made special things for me and my brother and sister.

He would make silver dollar pancakes for breakfast and coffee milk–warm milk with a splash of coffee. Like my dad, Baboo loved his Blue Bell ice cream, so having a scoop with some sweet treat he made was common.

We’d play hide-and-seek or CandyLand to pass the time. They would watch golf and we’d all fall asleep. If we were super lucky, Baboo would take us to the post office in his Mach 1 Ford Mustang. I can still smell and feel the red seats as I’d climb in the back. We’d quietly laugh as he yelled at other drivers. There was a rocking chair my brother and I would rock in trying to see who could go the farthest back and forth without tipping over.

We’d sleep in a pull out bed in the office/art studio. Honey was a painter and I loved looking at her art supplies and the pictures and books on Baboo’s desk. My brother and I would play with the old typewriter and silently open the desk drawers to look at Baboo’s wax seal tools.

Unlike my other grandparents, small gifts were given for birthdays and Christmas, usually a book or game, and cards with a few dollars for Easter or Valentine’s day. We never got a gift just because we showed up. The only gift I remember from them is a pack of Strawberry Shortcake underwear I opened at my only non-family birthday party. The only reason I remember is that I was so embarrassed in front of my friends.

Maybe my parents would disagree and say we were spoiled and showered with gifts at every turn. If that’s so, what they bought made no difference in my life at all. What they have shown and shared with me has.

When Baboo’s health began to fail, I would take him to doctor appointments, to the grocery store, and spent as much time helping them as I could. When he was in the hospital, where thankfully I worked, I would take my breaks and go check in on him. The nurses would call when he was being a problem and I would go calm him. I now know he was suffering from delirium on top of the first signs of dementia.

Baboo never got mad at me, except one time in hospital. He asked me to break him out, the camp was surrounded, and we needed to escape. To him, we were back in the Philippines during the war. I told him I would make sure the coast was clear and I stepped out and waited. A nurse asked me if everything was ok and I politely said yes. I went back in and told him there were too many guards, we’d have to wait until tomorrow.

With that, his already pale blue eyes went even lighter and his face hardened as he told me it had to be NOW DAMNIT! He had never spoken to me this way before and it took a bit to calm him down. Later when I mentioned the eye color change to my dad, he snickered saying, that’s how you know when he’s really mad.

At the time, I didn’t want to believe I was losing Baboo to dementia. I didn’t think it was a real thing that could make him forget everything, especially me. But when a nurse asked him who I was and I saw the look on his face as he struggled, searching for me, my heart began to break. Then he smiled and said, “that’s my sweetie pie”.

I was so fortunate to have my grandparents as long as I did. I cherish the time I was able to be there for Baboo, Honey, and Ducky in their final years. Grams was lucky to have my mom, aunts, and uncles to rally around her. I was in Missouri when Grams died. My mom called from the ER and put the phone to her ear so I could say goodbye and thank her for always being there for me.

It’s not just on Grandparents Day I think of them. I think of at least one of them a day. When I drop a big glob of lard in the pan. When I’m building or repair something. When I tend to my plants and pastures. When I put Baboo’s apron on or look up at one of Honey’s paintings. When I break out Grams’ cast-iron skillet or when I cross my legs and sit just so, just like Ducky.

Who they were lingers in me because of the time and care they gave.

I’ve never been a fan of the “spoil the grandkid” mentality some grandparents have. But looking back on these relationships, I guess I was a bit spoiled. Spoiled with their time. Spoiled with their pride in my accomplishments. Spoiled by their understanding in my screw-ups. Spoiled with unending encouragement. Spoiled with their knowledge. Spoiled with traditions. Spoiled with learning skills. Spoiled with their care. Spoiled with their love.

There is no greater gift you can give your grandchild than sharing your time and who you are with them and allowing them to do the same for you.

What are your favorite memories of your grandparents or of being a grandparent? Share in the comments.

Get Ready to Start Loving Lard!

Posted on August 19, 2020 Written by Serena 1 Comment

When we started with hogs, besides having super yummy pork, we were really excited about having lard. We LOVE cooking with lard.

I know what you’re thinking, lard is BAD for you…isn’t it? Boy, do I have some good news for you!

How can lard be good for you?

When you get lard from hogs raised on pasture with lots of room to roam, soaking in the sunshine, and fed at the very least a non-GMO feed, you’re on the right track to some health benefits. Yes, I said it–HEALTH BENEFITS FROM LARD!

Lard is 48% monounsaturated fat which may help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. Lard from pasture-raised hogs is the second highest food source in vitamin D, after cod liver oil. How does lard have so much vitamin D? Hogs absorb it from the sun and store it in their fat, which is why you want lard from hogs that live outside. There’s a lot to sort out when it comes to fats and Sally Fallon and Mary Enig do a great job explaining it in “The Skinny on Fats”.

When is lard bad for you?

Pretty much anything you buy in the store is NOT what you want. It’s hydrogenated–processed and mixed with lots of junk to make it whiter and more shelf-stable. If the label says more than hog fat, don’t buy it. And just because it’s local doesn’t mean the hogs haven’t been in confinement which will affect the quality and benefits of lard (and pork for that matter).

What about cholesterol?

Cholesterol is good for you. Very, VERY good for you. It aids in cell regeneration, proper synthesis and production of some hormones, especially sex hormones, and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, to name a few. Those are all really important functions!

The body produces 80% of our cholesterol for a good reason and inherited genetic high cholesterol occurs in only .5% of the population. So “genetic high cholesterol” is more a combination of learned eating habits and excellent marketing of not-so-good-for-you foodstuff.

So, if our bodies make most of our cholesterol and it performs major bodily functions, why do we keep hearing cholesterol is bad and will clog our arteries and kill us?

Where we get mixed up about cholesterol is WHY our arteries clog. Hint–it’s not because we eat too much cholesterol.

When there’s chronic inflammation in our body, our liver is signaled to produce cholesterol and sends it out to ease the inflammation. This is different from acute inflammation from an injury like a sprained ankle or cut where white blood cells are rallied to help.

You see, cholesterol has healing properties in normal amounts. BUT, when your system is chronically inflamed, the amount of cholesterol in your system goes bonkers and starts to build up, walling off the inflamed site, clogging arteries. Your body is trying to heal itself, but can’t because the inflammation is too great. It just sends out more and more cholesterol to fight and it can build up.

So the question comes down to who’s to blame–the cholesterol that’s trying to heal your body or the inflammation calling on the liver to produce more and more cholesterol? To have a normal healing amount of cholesterol in your system, you have to eliminate what’s causing the inflammation.

Chronic inflammation can be caused by toxins we breathe in, like form smoking, and what we eat. Inflammatory foods are sugars, refined carbs (breads, crackers, cereals-even healthy organic ones), aspartame, gluten, oils (corn, safflower, sunflower, grapeseed, soy, peanut, and vegetable), and alcohol.

Low inflammation = low cholesterol. If you stop eating foods that cause inflammation, your LDL cholesterol can lower and change in type (more on types later) and HDL (the good stuff) increases on its own. No meds needed.

There have been several studies that show eating saturated fats do not increase your risk for heart disease, but eating sugary and starchy food can double your risk (Source). Cholesterol also has a crucial role in synthesizing Vitamin D. This article has great information about Vitamin D and cholesterol.

There’s still a lot of out of date info about cholesterol circulating and it’s hard to move past the idea of a low-fat diet being good for you. You can read this, this, and this article for more great information about why you should rethink the cholesterol myths. And this article is the latest on the myth of saturated fats and heart disease you really need to read.

And remember the fat-soluble vitamins I mentioned earlier? What that means is if you don’t have enough fat in your diet, you won’t be able to absorb those vitamins as easily. That means they won’t get stored in your fat and liver for later use. That expensive supplement pill or powder you take daily for your vitamin A, K, E, and D? If you don’t take them with a balanced meal including fats, you may not be getting your money’s worth.

My Story

When my cholesterol was at 200, my doctor at the time was hinting at meds. I had other plans. After some research, I decided we would eliminate all processed sugary treats, decrease our bread and boxed processed foods intake. If we wanted a sweet treat, we would have to make it and I’d usually cut the sugar amount in half.

At first, we went crazy making sweets and bread. Then it became quite a bit of work, so we slowed down and more often than not, just went without.

Some of the changes: Fred was eating 2 sandwiches a day for lunch and that dropped to one–taking out about 15 loaves of bread a year from his diet. We replaced store-bought bread with sourdough bread Fred made because it’s easier on your digestion and blood sugar (now I will buy store-bought sprouted bread). I slowly weaned us off chocolate chips-our throwdown sweet-from 52 bags to 26 to less than 12 a year. Switched from flour to corn tortillas and dropped the amount of sugar Fred put in his tea.

Within a year, both of our total cholesterol dropped 20 points and our HDL increased. Now, this whole time we ate a minimum of 3 eggs a day each and LOTS of meat. Most doctors would say to cut those things out because of the cholesterol. But since we cut down on sugar and flour, our liver was not sending out the signal to produce excess cholesterol and our bodies were able to utilize fat-soluble vitamins better. And remember, we only get 20% of our cholesterol from food.

What we were doing was eating healthy pasture-raised animal fats that were actually nourishing our bodies while removing/reducing sugar, grains, and chemicals that cause inflammation.

To be clear, we don’t always eat the best. If we are out and about, Fred may get a soda. We’ll have a slice of cake or pie at a family gathering. I’ll beg Fred to make kettle corn for movie night. Eating better is not an all or nothing thing. It’s just that, eating BETTER. I don’t beat myself up when I eat less than great, I just do better.

What do the numbers mean?

More important than total cholesterol is your cholesterol ratio and if you have a high LDL, what type of LDL.

Your ratio is your total cholesterol divided by your HDL level. The optimal ratio is between 1:1 and 3.5:1. A higher ratio increases the risk of heart disease.

Not all LDL is created equal and your run of the mill lipid test doesn’t give you the big picture. LDL can be tested to tell you if your LDL is large, medium, small, or very small. Large decreases your chance of heart disease and very small increases it.

Let’s look at my last Lipid panel with the normal range in ( ).

Total: 217 (<200)
Triglycerides: 51 (<150)
HDL: 86 (40-59)
LDL calculated: 121 (<100)
Non-HDL cholesterol: 131 (<130)

Ratio: 2.5:1 (217/86 = 2.52)

At first glance, you are probably freaking out, right? What’s low seems so low, and what’s high seems so high. My doctor was so happy with these results. Here’s why (and why I LOVE my Dr.).

While I didn’t have my LDL broken down to the type, which I will next time, my doctor knows my diet and exercise level and takes everything into account. Super low Triglycerides but high LDL, a diet full of good fat, and an active lifestyle means more than likely, my LDL is the large type and not the small stick to my artery wall type.

What about that low Triglyceride number? Very-low-density-lipoprotein, VLDL, the small LDL, is made up of triglycerides, cholesterol, and apolipoproteins. Not a lot of triglycerides, not a lot of VLDL.

See that HDL off the charts? That means I have a lot of “good” fluffy cholesterol keeping any “bad” small LDL cholesterol in check.

When you remove my good HDL from the equation, my Non-HDL cholesterol could still be seen as borderline. But again, looking at the big picture, my doctor sees an overall low risk of heart disease.

Are you thinking, “you didn’t mention your TOTAL cholesterol!” There’s a good reason for that. As my doctor says, it doesn’t really matter. It’s what the other numbers tell TOGETHER that gives you a more accurate picture of your health and heart disease risk. This is the thinking among doctors as they open up to the new research on cholesterol and heart health.

Want to learn more about cholesterol? Read The Great Cholesterol Myth by Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., and Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D. You can listen to it for free on the Hoopla app.

What do I do with my lard?

Oh, good lard, I am so glad you asked! Yes, there has to be at least one lard joke.

My Mexican grandmother used lard generously. I have her HUGE cast iron pan she used to make fried rice and beans in. I can still smell the chili soaking into the hot lard and the amazing glistening that coated everything she cooked. You really can use lard for all your cooking needs.

Lard makes THE BEST biscuits and pie crusts. Lard gives baked goods light flakiness you just can’t get from other fats.

Now that we have lard, I use it for sauteing and roasting veggies or browning meats. You can use less lard and get better flavor and less oiliness. It also makes the best fried eggs.

Lard had a higher smoke point, so frying in lard makes the best fried chicken or fish. Did you know when you heat vegetable oils too high or reuse it, it oxidizes and releases free radicals that can cause inflammation? No thanks!

Lard is a great butter replacement on pasta and bread. Mix in some herbs and spices, let it set in the fridge overnight, and use it as you would butter.

Real pure lard is fine at room temperature and won’t go bad for months, but we store what we are using in the fridge and extra in the freezer.

If you are interested in how and why we stopped using lard and started eating things like margarine and Crisco, click here.

Ready to try some lard? Click here to order!

Want to make your own? Click here for leaf fat.

>>> I am Not A Physician <<<

**Disclaimer: I am not a physician and this is not medical advice. If you have concerns about your cholesterol level and health, please contact a physician you trust and is informed of the latest research. If you are currently taking a cholesterol-lowering medication, please contact your physician before decreasing or stopping any medication.**

This article is about my research and my health changes and is only serving as encouragement for you to continue researching your health and medical options. A physician who listens to your concerns and values your input is the best place to start taking control of your health.

Zeke, Our Goofball Guardian

Posted on August 16, 2020 Written by Serena 2 Comments

Today is Zeke’s 4th birthday and since his sister Maxie has her own post, I thought it was about time to tell his story.

When our friend Kim adopted Lucy who was pregnant, I happily watched on Facebook, thankful I was not dealing with puppies anymore. Lucy had 11 puppies. 11 adorable puppies.

I would see the pups and go out to Maxie, thinking I was so happy she was finally out of her puppy stage at a little over 3 years old and could be left alone with the chickens. But then I notice her getting up a bit slower. Not being quite as eager as she once was to run the length of the field. And it hit me–in a few more years, she’ll be on her way to retirement. Who will replace her?

A puppy.

I went back and forth with Kim about which one was available, who did she think had more Komondor than Shepard in them, what about this, and what about that, until I’m sure she thought I was nuts.

I wanted a boy, and since most were already spoken for, we got Zeke. Looking back, it was like no one else chose him because he was meant for us.

I spent the next couple of months watching him grow on Facebook and waiting for him to get big enough (and neutered) to come home.

When the time came, I drove up solo with the backseats down so he could either hang back or come close to me. We had a little playtime together while I visited with Kim and her mom. I filled out all the paperwork, got his records, his blanket someone had gifted all the puppies with, scooped him up for a quick photo, and away we went.

He stayed in the back with his head on his blanket most of the ride home. After a little puke, he came up front and curled up in the passenger floorboard. We had a nice chat about his new home, his new big sister, and what was expected of him.

At home, we let him and Maxie sniff a bit across the fence and then I went in with him to make sure all was good with them. Maxie was, well, not impressed. Zeke would try to get close to her and she would look at him and walk away. But, slowly, day by day, she let him stay a bit closer.

Part of the reason we got her replacement while she was still working was so she could help teach him what he needed to do, and more importantly not do, with the chickens. That didn’t quite go as planned. While we lost probably 8-10 chickens to Maxie during training, Zeke topped out at 3-4. I’d love to say that was because of Maxie showing him the ropes, but that was not the case.

Once when he had a chicken, Maxie just watched him until she saw that I was watching. Then she took off after him, pinned him, then looked up at me. Needless to say, I was not impressed with her delayed response.

At Kim’s, Zeke was around a lot of birds. While that in and of itself doesn’t train them with poultry, it does help. So I went back to what I did with Maxie: supervised time with the chickens. Within a few months, I felt really confident in his ability and he has been great with all the chickens ever since (knock on wood).

After he was here for a month, he followed Maxie’s lead and when some bald eagles were circling the pasture, he went straight into protection mode. Barking like crazy and sounding pretty fierce for a big fluff ball. It’s taken him a while to find his own groove and not rely on Maxie all the time, but he definitely has and he takes his job very seriously.

When we have layers and broilers both running, Maxie gets the cush job of the layers and Zeke stays with the broilers. They spend about 6 months together and 6 months apart. When we put them back together, it’s like they saw each other the day before–no problem except Zeke annoying Maxie to play.

One day collecting eggs, a new hen was pecking me and I was yelling, “ouch, ouch, ouch!” Zeke came barreling down from the other side of the field in a full vicious bark and stopped right in front of me scanning for the danger. Oh, my heart! Even after watching him with the chickens, it never occurred to me that he would be protective of me.

He’s grown into a big beautiful dog but still has the biggest goofball ways. He loves rolling around and if you are even somewhat close to the ground, he’s in your lap laid out into a full stretch. He loves nosing around to see what we’re doing and laying down right where we need to be offering up his belly for a scratch.

Just like Maxie, I don’t know what we’d do without him.

The Terroir of Meat

Posted on July 23, 2020 Written by Serena 2 Comments

If you know wine, you’ve probably heard the term terroir.

Terroir: /terˈwär/
noun: terroir

the complete natural environment in which a particular wine is produced, including factors such as the soil, topography, and climate.
- the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced.

I was recently listening to Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love by Simran Sethi and she wrote about terroir not just in wine but in chocolate, wheat, coffee, and beer.

So I started thinking about the conversations I’ve had with customers.

One woman said she like our beef better than another farm’s, even though we have the same practices, had cattle from the same herd, and lived only 20 miles apart.

People say our eggs are the best they’ve ever eaten, even though eggs they buy from other farms have the same practices as us.

So I started wondering…could it be terroir?

Yes, it is!

The main reason our meat tastes different from store-bought is that store-bought is all raised the same way. Year after year, raised in the same conditions, fed the exact same thing, butchered at the exact same age. Quality is not left to chance; it’s all about consistency.

On our farm, Mother Nature has a hand in what our meat and eggs taste like. What grasses, forbs, brush, and “weeds” grow well this year. Will there be an explosion of crickets or, if we’re really lucky, cicadas this year? Will a momma put on plenty of milk giving the baby a growth advantage? Did the oak, hickory, and walnut trees produce nuts well for the pigs? Did a mild winter mean less weight loss? Did rains push more earthworms to the surface to feed the chickens and pigs?

It’s not just the environment that factors into our meat quality. When we butcher an animal, their age has a lot to do with the end product.

You’ll hear people say that a younger animal is more tender, not tough like an old breeder cow or sow. What I talked about in this post, debunks that myth.

If what an animal eats gives its meat flavor, then the older the animal, the longer they eat, and more flavor they can develop.

Often, with customers new to eating heritage breeds, I’ll suggest they buy something from a variety of farmers to find what they like. I tell them to find out where the farm is, the breed of animal, target age of butchering, feed type, and raising practices. A Tamworth hog raised on pasture will taste different from one raised in a pen and a beef butchered after eating spring grass for two months will be very different than a beef months into a drought.

I’ve had customers say grass-fed beef is “too strong”. What they’re tasting is actual beef flavor that store-bought just doesn’t have anymore. I have a hard time putting anything but salt and pepper on our beef so the flavor isn’t covered up. People joke that tofu tastes like whatever sauce you put on it. I feel the same way about store-bought meat and eggs.

So the next time you bite into that steak, chop, drumstick, or egg, know that what you are tasting is more than meat. It’s our farm, our practices, our breeds, our love.

It’s terroir.