Hi

My second annual meat order is at hand ORDER BY APRIL 24TH. This meat is raised by a long-time organic farmer, David Lynch. His farm was located in Loveland, CO for many decades and recently moved it to Buena Vista, CO. My husband, Dave, grew up visiting and working with David on the weekends, so has known him for about 30 years. I have visited David's farm many times myself and can attest for the loving care he has for his animals and land. I have personally sampled the beef, lamb and turkey and can say with certainty that the meat is superior.

From David--

"We raise grass-fed beef on the lush meadows along Cottonwood Creek, just west of Buena Vista, Colorado. Our animals have never been fed grain and provide high-quality, grass fattened beef that is superior to conventionally grown animals. The beef are harvested by a family-owned meat processing facility ... and are custom cut and packaged according to your specifications.

"When you buy ... lamb you can enjoy succulent, delicious meat and know that it comes from grass-fed lambs raised naturally on the lush meadows along Cottonwood Creek in Buena Vista, Colorado


WILD-CAUGHT SOCK-EYE SALMON: Available right now, about 25lbs (don't have to purchase all) of wild-caught salmon. David works directly with a fisherman in Alaska and visits him regularly. He purchases from this particular fisherman because the salmon is frozen within 12 hours of being caught, which preserves the fats and oils in the fish. The price is $14.50 per pound.

GRASS-FED AND FINISHED BEEF: Order now and the beef is available in December. The FINISHED price is around $6.25 per pound, could be more could be less, but is close to $6.25. The price depends on the hanging weight of the beef, the cost of the processing (which can vary depending on what type of cuts are ordered) and whether you want your organ meats and bones. I ask for a check with your order. I can give the check immediately to the farmer or hold your check until the beef arrives. With each order of meat you get a wide variety of cuts that include: ground, stew, steaks, roasts, ribs, etc. You can order 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, or a whole cow. In weight (WITHOUT ORGAN OR BONE) each 1/16 is just over 20 lbs. You will end up with more weight if your cuts are bone-in, you take bones for soup or dogs and/or if you take your organ meat. You can get many custom cuts (roasts the size you want, steaks the thickness you want, ground in 1 lbs, 1 1/2 lb or two lb packages, etc)

GRASS-FED AND FINISHED LAMB: Order now and the lamb is available in November. The FINISHED price is around $7.25 per pound, could be more could be less, but is close to $7.25. The price depends on the hanging weight of the lamb, the cost of the processing (which can vary depending on what type of cuts are ordered) and whether you want your organ meats and bones. I ask for a check with your order. I can give the check immediately to the farmer or hold your check until the lamb arrives. With each order of meat you get a wide variety of cuts that include: ground, stew, steaks, roasts, ribs, etc. You can order 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, or a whole Lamb. In weight (WITHOUT ORGAN OR BONE) each 1/4 is just over 10 lbs. You will end up with more weight if your cuts are bone-in, you take bones for soup or dogs and/or if you take your organ meat. You can get many custom cuts (roasts the size you want, steaks the thickness you want, ground in 1 lbs, 1 1/2 lb or two lb packages, etc)

PASTURE AND MILK -FED PORK: Order now, pork is available in November. Pastured pork, supplemented with about 50% raw milk as it's diet. I have not tasted this meat myself but I've heard this makes for an incredible taste and texture of the meat. Includes meat, lard and organs (no bones). You can order 1/4, 1/2 or whole pork. Each 1/4 is about 25 lbs. The pork is about $4.50 per lbs.

I will be placing an order for lamb, beef and pork in the next few weeks. If you would like to order please respond by April 24th with the amount and type of meat you would like. I WILL NOT TAKE ORDERS PAST APRIL 24TH, so don't even ask.

Order the salmon whenever you feel like it.

Also Available:

 Chickens and eggs from Northern Colorado Poultry (see www.northerncoloradopoultry.com). 
Available 1 time per month.  Contact me for pick-up date, location is at my house in Lakewood, but
other locations are available in the Denver Metro area. 
Must order one week before pick-up date.  Payment is due at pickup, either cash or check.
Please bring your empty egg cartons and a bag/box to carry away your product.

The current price list is as follows:

Whole bird $8.75 all birds weigh 4 pounds (frozen)
Breast $5.00 per lb (comes in 3 and 5 lb bags)
Leg Quarters $1.00 per lb (comes in 3 and 5 lb bags)
Wings $1.00 per pound (5lb bags only)
Backs for stock $1.00 per pound (5lb bags only)
Eggs $3.00 per dozen

Whole Cornish Hen $7.00 each (1.5-1.75 pounds each, frozen)

Heart, Gizzard, Necks, Liver, Feet all $1.00 per pound




Do contact me with any questions.  Feel free to share this with friends. 
720-837-4933 or inspiredfoods@gmail.com

USING UP MY SQUASH

So I still have about 15 heirloom pumpkins and squash in my basement. I know I won't have them for much longer, as they never really stay good past the end of February. So I got on the web and stumbled across a BBC website and found this recipe. My usual pumpkin soup has apples and dried thyme in it. This recipe uses fresh thyme. I splurged for the Gruyere and actually mixed it into the soup. The heirloom pumpkin I used was one I hadn't tried yet and it turned out to be more on the bitter side (kind of white with an underlying green hue and knobby bumps all over it) I used all butter and no sunflower oil, left out the cream, but added extra cheese. Used 1/2 vegetable stock and 1/2 beef broth. The result was pure pumpkin soup heaven. I thought about soaking and blending cashews into a paste to use instead of the Gruyere. I bet it would be good as it would add a creamy sweetness to the soup. I've included the original recipe below:


Roasted pumpkin and thyme soup with Gruyere cheese

Ingredients
3kg/7lb unpeeled pumpkin, kabocha or butternut squash
2 tbsp sunflower oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
75g/3oz butter
2 medium onions, chopped
8 small sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only, plus extra leaves to garnish
2.25litres/4 pints vegetable stock
1 tsp salt
300ml/1⁄2 pint single cream
175g/6oz Gruyère cheese, coarsely grated

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Cut the pumpkin or squash into chunky wedges and scoop away all the fibres and seeds. Rub the wedges with oil, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then place them into one large or two smaller roasting tins, skin-side down. Transfer to the oven to roast for 30 minutes, or until tender.
3. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and, when cool enough to handle, slice away and discard the skin and cut the flesh into small chunks.
4. Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the onion and half the thyme leaves and cook gently for about ten minutes until the onion is very soft but not browned. Add the roasted pumpkin, any juices from the plate, the stock and one teaspoon of salt. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
5. Leave the soup to cool slightly, then add the remaining thyme leaves and liquidize in batches until smooth. Return to a clean pan and bring back to a gentle simmer.
6. Stir in the cream and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Ladle into warmed bowls and place a small handful of the grated Gruyère into the center of each. Scatter a few more thyme leaves on top and serve.

MY NEWEST ENDEAVOR

I've been inspired lately by what Kipp Nash and others are doing in Boulder, CO. They are essentially building an Urban Multi-Plot Farm.
From their website: http://www.communityrootsboulder.com/
...Kipp Nash, who has devoted his attention to the ways in which we can connect our communities to bring traditionally rural ways of living into an urban context. Kipp utilizes the available land in urban settings (particularly front yards) to produce organically-grown produce, which is then sold at the Boulder Farmer's Market or via a CSA membership program (or given to those who have donated their land).

Amazing! Now how about that for a GREEN front lawn? That is my type of Green.

SO, I've been moved to have that for myself. In an effort to create relationships in my local neighborhood community and take a more active role in growing my own food I have created this flyer:

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN A NEIGHBORHOOD CO-OPERATIVE GARDEN?

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN TAKING A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN
GROWING YOUR OWN FOOD?

AND/OR

DO YOU HAVE FRUIT TREES, VINES, OR BUSHES THAT YOU DO NOT HARVEST FROM THAT YOU WOULD ALLOW OTHERS TO HARVEST FROM?

HI, I LIVE ON SMITH STREET AND AM INTERESTED IN MOBILIZING A CO-OPERATIVE GARDEN FOR GROWING SOME OF OUR OWN ORGANIC FOOD. THIS IS NOT SOME SORT OF SALES THING. I AM JUST INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING WITH OTHERS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNITY TO GROW SOME OF OUR OWN FOOD.
TO PUT IT BRIEFLY, WE WILL BE UTILIZING AVAILABLE SPACE IN OUR OWN YARDS AND WORKING TOGETHER TO HARVEST LOCAL RESOURCES TO GROW AND GATHER SOME OF OUR OWN FOOD. THIS COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS PLANTING PERENNIAL HERBS IN YOUR GARDEN TO SHARE WITH OTHERS, ALLOWING OTHERS TO PICK APPLES FROM YOUR TREES OR AS GRAND AS TURNING A SMALL PORTION OF YOUR YARD INTO AN “URBAN FARM”. WE WOULD SHARE PORTIONS OF WHAT WE GROW WITH OTHER PARTICIPANTS OF THIS CO-OP, THEREBY, INCREASING THE AMOUNT AND VARIETY OF THE FOOD WE CAN GROW.

INSPIRED BY
http://www.communityrootsboulder.com/
CHECK IT OUT!

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED OR CURIOUS PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL ME.
DAWN AT 720-837-4933 OR inspiredfoods@hotmail.com


So this weekend my family and I are going to (ugh!) flyer our neighborhood and see if we get any interested participants and then go from there. I've started to put together some ground rules such as:
organic, non-GMO seeds and plants
Organically grown
Not dictating what the garden looks like (on the ground, raised beds, keystone gardens)
and other such things.

I want a few basic rules, but I don't want this to be a dictatorship either. Yuck.
I bet we'll have some kinks to work out, but I've got to start somewhere. Small, grass-roots movement.

IF YOU'VE GOT AN INKLING TO BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE, DO IT, DO IT, DO IT. I'M ON YOUR SIDE!!!


The world is changing. I love it. I love it. I love it. It is so exciting. I feel my core vibrating with excitement. In other words, if I was my dog, I'd be wagging my tail!!!