Radio interview (luckily is was only on AM radio...)

http://www.wnbz.com/NorthCountryToday.htm
If you would like to hear more about life at North Branch Farm, check out my interview on North Country Today (click above link) with by friend Chris Morris from WNBZ.

Jowl bacon and sausage making with the family!

Joe's family stopped by just in time to help out!

Here joe and his father butcher the pig. When they are finished the freezer is stuffed with racks of ribs, tenderloin, chops, bacon, and hams! Turns out the butt of the pig is actually a part of the shoulder...live and learn. I also learned that the jowls (or cheeks) make the best bacon. See diagram below for details.

Sausage is made from the pieces of fatty or lower quality pork cut away from the nicer cuts of meat. Ground pork is made from the nicer leaner cuts of meat that are left over. Below is a picture of me feeding the meat grinder. Very satisfying machine. We were lucky enough to have an electric meat grinder on hand. Joe's mom wraps all the cuts of meat and ground sausage in freezer paper. Everything is dated with the month and the year. The cuts of meat are then put in a plastic bag with a salt water solution to cure. In a couple of weeks the meat will be ready for smoking. I'll post more about meat preservation and smoking when the time comes.

How bacon is made....and other yummy pork products. (Skip this post if you don't want to read about or see photos about pig butchering

RIP Lunch and Dinner!

I won't get into details but they died a quickly and painlessly. 

Hanging weight was about 160 to 175 lbs each. That's a lot of pork! 

Most people send their pigs to the local butcher shop. Joe butchered his pig in the barn. 

 Many people choose to scald and burn the hair off their hog and scrape the skin clean. Joe chose to skin his pig. The process took some time, but the skin came off in one piece. Once the pig is hung up by it's back legs (between the bone and tendon) it is skinned. Once the skin has been removed, he removes the head, and splits the carcass by cutting a clean line down the center of the belly, all the way to the breast bone. Be careful not to cut the stomach or intestines open. After splitting the carcass he removes the ainus, bowls, intestines, stomach, lungs, heart, liver, etc.. once you have the ainus removed everything else can be cut away fairly easily. 

Joe then removes most of the fat from the outside of the carcass. We will render the fat to make lard (for delicious pie crusts!).  He then butchers and quarters the pig. This involves sawing the pig is half by cutting right down the middle of the backbone with a bone saw. We had an interesting time figuring how to get the pig from the hook to the cutting table without dropping it on the floor. I had to bear hug the carcass at one point...great fun let me tell you. This whole process takes about 3 hours, so he puts the meat on ice until the morning.

Let's talk Veggies

Almost all of the veggies in the garden were grown from seeds. Our supplier is a seed cooperative based in Maine, FEDCO. They specialize is cold weather hardy cultivars for the North East. They also have a wide variety of certified organic and heirloom varieties. They do not sell genetically modified seeds.

 Modern industrial farms tend to grow huge numbers of only one species of plant. This is referred to as a monoculture. These chosen few species are selected for their high yield and immunity to pests. It is far more efficient to grow one species over a large area since you can develop uniform growing and harvesting requirements. Heirloom plants are loosely defined as plants that are openly pollenated and grown in an earlier era. Many growers who choose to grow heirloom plants do so to help preserve genetic biodiversity.

Red Russian, White Russian, and Rainbow Kale!

It was one of the first vegetables to come in this season and has become a staple of my summer diet.

FEDCO Seed Descriptions

Red Russian (60 days) B. napus (pabularia group) Open-pollinated. 

Called Buda Kale by Fearing Burr in 1863, Ragged Jack by Vilmorin- 

Andrieux in 1885, and Communist Kale in 2006 by workers at Darthia Farm 

in Gouldsboro, ME. Russian traders brought this Siberian heirloom to 

Canada in the 19th century. It has undergone a rousing revival in the last 

dozen years. Its oakleaf foliage colors after fall frosts. Red and purple leaves 

change to dark green when cooked. Use soon after picking, or chill leaves in 

cold water; otherwise wilts quickly. Vigorous edible landscape plant has 

proven a big hit with customers for its unsurpassed tenderness and delicate 

flavor. Tolerates outside temperatures of 14˚ double-covered under Agribon 

3459WO White Russian OG (60 days) B. n. (pabularia group) Open- 

pollinated. A flat-leaf Siberian type, silvery green with white veining. 

Similar to Red Russian, but a few inches taller, a third more productive, with 

larger, more serrated leaves. Also, much hardier than Red Russian, will hold 

into November without protection and thrive in an unheated greenhouse, 

even if temperatures go down to 0˚. Gene has harvested White Russian 

outdoors in Waterville out of the January snow. If season is extended, White 

Russian will produce new clusters of smaller tender secondary leaves from 

old axils. As with other Siberian kales, flavor gets sweeter with frost. ❄ OT- 

certified. ➀ 

 

3466LO Rainbow Lacinato OG (61 days) Who but 

Frank Morton would think to cross Lacinato with 

Redbor? The result? A stunning new kale that 

combines some of the best features of both. It looks 

like Dinosaur kale overlaid with reds, blues and 

purples. In addition to its color, Redbor lends its 

productivity, super cold hardiness and reluctance to bolt 

to this heavenly combination. Curly edges, red 

veins, purple leaves, blue-green 

leaves, what a banquet of diverse 

shapes and colors! ❄ OT-certified. ➀ 



Rabbit - YUM (warning, animal lovers/ vegetarians might want to skip this post- sorry nikki)

New Zealand white rabbits are the most common breed of meat rabbit found in the United States. Male rabbits (bucks) are slightly smaller than and female rabbits (does). Does have a flap of fur below the chin called a dewlap, which young rabbits nest in. New Zealand white rabbits are characterized by their large muscular bodies. They also carry an genetic abnormality, albinism, which is why they are white with pink/red eyes. Rabbits are fertile year round and their gestational period is around 28 to 31 days long. Friers (rabbits weighing about 3 and 1/2 lbs) are ready to butcher at about 6 weeks. Full grown rabbits weighing between 8 and 12 lbs are ready to butcher at 10 to 12 weeks of age. 

Rabbits need very little room to grow and are considered to be one of the most efficient animals to raise for producing the greatest amount of meet with the lowest amount of feed. Our rabbits are raised in cages and in rabbit tractors. The rabbit tractor is dragged onto fresh grass every morning and evening. We also feed the rabbits pellets. 

Farmer Joe kills, skins, and butchers rabbits on site. These are for home consumption only! The rabbits are killed quickly and calmly with a swift blow to the head with a wooden stick. In the above photo Joe is skinning a rabbit. He starts just above the feet and the skin is peeled off easily. The rabbit is then gutted, washed, and butchered. It is a surprisingly clean and simple process. Much easier than processing chickens. 

Rabbit meat is very healthy, it is a low fat, lean, white meat. Joe packages the meat up by body part. Back legs, front legs, back strap, and loins. Apparently the loins and front legs are good for stew meat. The back strap is delicious just sautéed up with a little butter. I've been browning the back legs with a little olive oil and then letting them cook in a mixture of broth, onions, parsley, dill, cilantro and garlic. After two hours in the stew pot the meat is delicious and tender. I make gravy out of the remaining juices and walhalla! DINNER IS SERVED! 

At least Nathan really seemed to like it! 

I'M ON NCPR!!!

Check out the following link for more information on the Essex Grange Mixer for young farmers. North Branch Farm and yours truly are mentioned!
http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/17981/20110708/motley-crew-of-farmers-celebrates-a-passion-for-the-land

Goat milk cottage cheese!

Step 1:
Assemble the ingredients
 *one gallon of milk will render 2lbs of soft cheese.
1 gallon goat milk (raw if possible)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbs. melted butter
1 tsp. baking soda

Step 2: Heat the milk to 195 degrees.
A digital thermometer works best for this (preferably with an alarm).
Don't let it boil, your cheese will taste strange!
Keep it on medium to low heat and let the milk heat slowly.- stir occasionally!

Step 3: Once your milk has reached 195 degrees, slowly stir in the vinegar.

Step 4: Watch the curds separate from the whey.
(I call this the miss muffet moment.)
If they you don't see your curds coagulating try heating the milk to 205 degrees.
Do NOT add more vinegar, if you do your cheese may taste strange.

Step 6: Remove the curds with a slotted spoon and place them the center of a piece of cheese cloth (preferably placed over a strainer). Goat milk curds are more delicate the cows milk curds, so to be gentle when straining them.

Step 7: Drain the cheese curds and add the melted butter and baking soda. Whey can apparently be used to make bread, protein shakes, and in the case of whey from cows milk ricotta cheese. I fed the left over whey to the pigs (they loved it). 

Step 8: Give it a good stir then, TASTE TEST!!!

Step 9: Maybe just one more little taste....to be sure....maybe a few more will be necessary..

ENJOY!