Love that back fat

You know that area above your bra line where  fat sort of bulges over and out ? Oh, you don't ? Nice for you, real happy for you but some of us have to deal with imperfect bodies. And then there is  the lovely hog who gets paid to have back fat. Well his farmer gets paid. Don't mind me just having fun with fonts.

So yeah, the fattest pig wins as long as there is still a good amount of real juicy meat as well as fat. Chefs love back fat. Wives of chefs must be the happiest women on earth. Unless of course it the farmers wife. We all know how much they love fat calves.

 

Took this pic last week of a Red Wattle we were deliveriing to one of our Chicago Chefs. This particular RW had been reserved last fall about 6 months ago. It hadn't even been weaned yet from its mama but it and several of its siblings were tagged for chefs wanting the RW for future menus. Now at 7 months of age it's hanging weight was 286 pounds.

A big fellow with good back fat and beefy red meat. Folks often ask us, "Is the meat of a Red Wattle really any different from other swine breeds ?

                        Yes it is we say. Yes it is.

Cream of Udder

This picture has nothing to do with today's blog. I took it last week.
I was too lazy to go to the barn and take an udder picture.
Get it ? An Udder Picture ? Like another picture ?
Oh go to bed.

Not unlike the House of Usher, Cream of Udder is also a bit scary. So yes of course I will explain. If you know my husband Keith (this is a rhetorical question, put your hand down) you know he is a man of few demands. So a few days ago when he asked me if I thought I would be able to MAKE our own udder balm for the cows chapped teats, yes that's what I said, chapped teats, its a farm term people...You know these blogs would not be half as long as they are if you numrockets would stay focused...As I was blogging, he asked about making udder balm.

As a totally experienced soap maker (4 months and only half my batches have failed) I was up for the challenge. He asked me again a couple of days ago. Sure, sure I said. Then again yesterday. I'm telling you he may look all mild mannered but he is relentless when it comes to chapped teats.

Stop it.

So I sent him to the barn for the near empty container of Udder Fancy  made by Crystal Creek, an organic product for our certified organic cows.

 "You look udderly fancy Marabella "
 "No, YOU look udderly fancy Moolina"
No, YOU do"
No YOU do"

The ingredient list was very similar to the soap supplies I had in my cupboard. Except for the Sunflower Oil, the Jojoba Oil, the Peanut Oil, the Glycerin, the Cedar wood Oil, the Lemon oil, the Peppermint Oil, The Clove oil, the Comfrey Extract and the Vitamins A, E and D, well I had it all. Basically I had the Canola oil, the Palm oil and the Coconut Oil and the Tea Tree Oil. So I substituted the finest fat in the world, a little Red Wattle Lard, yes it is certified organic.

Now the missing ingredient in the list above was Beeswax. We had that. A whole big bucket of that. Wax mixed with honey mixed with a few, OK, many bee parts. I asked Keith how to clean it up and he said, and I quote, "Just heat it and all the wax will rise to the top "

Funny guy.

I heated and it bubbled and turned into a huge brown mess. I tried to scoop some wax off the top but it kept getting all mixed back in with the Slum gum (a real word. Google it) I heated and scooped. What a mess ! I went to google myself.

I said STOP IT!

I went to Google and looked it up. Seems you are supposed to add a LARGE amount of water to the mix, boil it all, LET IT COOL and then the wax will separate.  Then just a good bottle of shampoo you must, repeat, and repeat again. About this time my husband suggested I might want to use a bigger pan for this process. He has No idea how close he was to having HIS.....nevermind.

Slowly I was able to get the 5 dinky ounces of wax clean enough to throw in with the rest of my Udder Rancy cause the whole globby pan of honey flavored swamp water was looking pretty brown. Those darn bee legs just don't want to break loose from their wax !!!!

After four hours I said good enough. I sloshed enough Tea Tree Oil in it you could smell it all the way into the Chatsworth American Legion and set it aside to solidify. Criminy. The things I do to save a buck these "self-sufficient" days.

Goodbye Middle Man

A year ago when we said goodbye to our Milk Middle Man and decided to sell our raw milk DIRECT to customers we knew we would meet many challenges. When we also decided to sell all our meat DIRECT to customers we assumed even more risk and challenges. Nothing to stand between us and our products except...us. The biggest challenge of all have been, I believe, finding others who have done the same and are willing to share what they have learned. Farmers are workers and few are writers so the How -To books are limited when it comes to promoting and advertising what your farm has to offer.


Joel Salatin of course has done wonders in this area as has Lynn Miller but we need more. We specifically need state specific how- to -books. I continue to search for one consolidated source, a well written book about the rules, regs and best advice for direct farm marketing in our home state of Illinois. Does anyone know of such a publication ?

Pop-Up Children. Just one more way to draw attention to your farm  sign.
It might also draw the attention of DCFS . I'm just sayin'

In the meantime, I plug away at all the marketing ideas that have so far worked well for us. This blog, our web page, http://www.south-pork-ranch.com/ our Facebook Page, http://www.facebook.com/  our listings on The Stewards of The Land website, http://www.thestewardsoftheland.com/OurStewards.htm along    with http://realmilk.com/,    http://www.localharvest.org/  and   http://www.eatwild.com/products/illinois.html   (Now was that blatant self advertising or what ?!?) All good but not enough when your sole source of income is from the products of your farm. We considered hiring a plane that pulls your big banner across the sky but its out of our budget (for now). And besides, a marketing technique that causes our cattle to run through fences seems counter productive. Anytime a farmers herd of critters shows up in a neighbors well landscaped yard, one looses a few "direct-marketing" points. So we settled for the ever basic but still effective (we will see) Farm Sign. 

Look for it   (on County Rd 3200 and The Melvin-Chatsworth Blacktop) and drop in for a visit to our store. Open everyday 10 AM to 5 PM except Sunday when we are closed. We'd also  love to just take a minute and tell you about our farm, share with you our reasons for keeping animals outside on pasture, and show you the swollen bellies of our THREE Red Wattle gilts ready to give birth any day now. We wouldn't even mind selling  you some of our certified organic meat, a bag of popcorn and a bar of handmade soap. If you insisted.  (Thanks JD, good to see you guys)

Happy Easter Everyone

Pig of ill Repute

If you look at any site, including ALBC's (American Livestock Breed Conservancy) which talks of the Red Wattle you will find a common thread. First they will talk of the easy going 'Gentle Giant' nature. True. Then they will discuss their strong mothering capabilities. True and check. The sites will go on to talk of their tasty meat with a beef-like redness and texture. True, check and ditto.

Then they go screeching off the track. Their is a rumor that the Red Wattle breed lost its popularity in pioneer days when the woman folk discovered they had low levels of fat and therefore could not be used to make much soap.

Its obvious to me the pioneer woman they spoke to were lifting a little too much Poteen from their husbands backwoods stills. And I aim to prove this all scientific like. I started making soap about 5 months ago and my very first batch was made with Red Wattle lard. I have several bars left (because I always go over board with any new project that's why) and it is one great bar of soap. I made it before I knew about coconut oil, which makes for great lather, so these first bars lather well but not crazy well. Many people like the low lather soaps. Especially guys for some reason. Makes them feel less prissified I guess. I did make the first Red Wattle soap bars with olive oil so after using your skin is quite smooth AND clean.

Right now, as I pick at these keys in a slow-probably- had -too much -Poteen- myself- as- a- teenager- way, I have a LARGE batch of Red Wattle fat melting, or rendering, in my crock pots. I am preparing to make several new batches of RW soap for an event being held at Garfield Farm on Sunday  May 22. Specifically it is called the Garfield Farm Museum Rare Breeds Show and Sale  .http://www.garfieldfarm.org/calendar.html  For more info call 630-584-8485. A very cheap event to attend and a great way to see some very cool animals. Also a fantastic opportunity to display your own rare breeds (husbands not accepted) and the products you have from such animals.

My first batch is "Gardner's Soap",  (yup, still working on the name, no where near good enough for an alternative rock soap) made with coffee grounds which is great for sloughing off dried dirt, plant material, manure and grease. I do not test my products on animals but I do test them all on my Gk's and that farmer who insists on crawling into bed with me every night. I should get his name, but why? I'll just forget it in the morning.

All work and no play make for a crabby Yaya

Once in a while I just have to LEAVE. I usually don't go far and I always come back. Well, sometimes I go far, or I did before we were "self-sufficient" AKA having limited funds, but another trip to Ireland is now WAY off but still, short trips are doable.

So we loaded up the kids, slung our backpacks over our shoulder, hopped the rail out of Pontiac and ended up on Michigan Avenue in one of the most wonderful cities in the world. A weekend trip to Chicago and all is well again. Oh, and a big THANK YOU to Amtrak. Four RT tickets only $16 each.

View from the 36th floor of Chicago Marriott Downtown
Very cheap stay thanks to priceline.com.
 Oh how I love Captain Kirk !

My sister Teresa and her kids accompanied us. The math would therefore be five kids and two adults; ooutnumbered for sure. But with Teresa's loving ways and my military -like approach, "You ! Yes You ! Stop going through the revolving doors on your hands and knees and go get your brother off the escalator. MOVE IT, MOVE IT , MOVE IT. !"  We managed to keep all 5 of them out of danger while exposing them to (instead of them being exposed at)  the culture and refinement Chicago is well known for.

Such as : Ed Debevics

At Ed's the waitresses and waiters are experts at  being rude. If you cross them they'll toss a wadded up menu, or stack of straws at you. They'll make fun of your order, or your name or your clothes. They'll interrupt their work to dance nonsensically on the counter tops.

Not that different from meal time here.

After that, a visit to Rain Forrest Cafe. The large robotized critters freaked out the 3 yr old a bit but proved very entertaining to the rest of us.

Saturday evening we walked over to The Lego Store. Lots of things to see and do for free if you stand  strong to the requests for a life size (PLUS) Lego version of Andy.

All those Lego's. Amazing partner.

Sunday we stormed the Museum of Science and Industry. $45 for the four of us to entre' vous and worth every dime. We saw only half of the exhibits but came away exhausted and a bit further smarticated. The kids learned about tornadoes, tidal waves, color refracting, robotics etc...The highlight for me was taking my GK's through the coal mine. The same old coal mine my father took me through in the late  60's, the same one I took my kids through in the late 80's and early 90's. Holding Wesley on my lap in the rickety coal train car as it bumped along the tracks in the pitch black with his little hands holding tight to my face for security . (Yeah, he likes to hold faces when he is scared. What to make something of it ? Do you huh, do ya ?) Made me think of my own dad's big arms wrapped around me in that same old train car when I was just 4 or 5.  So a few more pics and I'll let you off the hook. Tomorrow, back to work.



Sister Teresa. Yes as a matter of fact.
 She is a saint





Niece Bridgette and nephew Connor best helpers 2011. Wes on crane



Allana and assistant run their first light show

Grad student ? Come on down !

Really, last week was fantastic with all our numerous farm visitors. Seems everyone is interested in our Gentle Giants

From left: Pregnant Red Wattle Lacey, Pregnant Red Wattle Debbie,
Far From Pregnant Red Wattle Farmer Keith, Pregant Crossbred Leopard
and Very Pregnant Red Wattle Morticia

On Friday we had another graduate student, just like Sasha, except this one was female, did not have a beard (hey, you never know, some of us middle age women lose track of our hair chins from time to time) and attended school in Massachusetts. Specifically her name was Kristin from Goddard College. Her topic was, "The Central Illinois Farmer Photo-Dairy Project" and involved an interview, a tour, photos she took and the opportunity for me to submit photos as well. Kristin also taught me the meaning of the phrase "Visual Ethnography."  Now, over 3 dys later, I of course cannot remember the definition, but I did log the phrase into my notebook of Name Ideas for Future Alternative Rock Bands.

Kristen Thiel, dedicated grad student, fighting her way
past the ever ferocious Fannie to get photos of naughty
Freddie locked away in the feed shed.

Unfortunately, the weather was cold and rainy. Very cold, and rainy and a tad windy. Then a F3 windy. So windy that just as we were finishing up with Kristin and right before the Pollock family arrived with their girl Barbara, our large calf hutch was lifted up into the air and thrown  mercilessly to the ground, releasing several animated calves into the yard.  Herd dog Freddie, still mostly untrained , would circle one calf while three others ran past him, then he'd chase that group leaving the one he did have under control to start running the wrong way. What a zoo !

Eventually all the wind blown animals were restrained into a makeshift yard of single wire electric fencing allowing us to thank Kristen for her time and usher the Pollacks down to the barn so their gal, a stunning Red Wattle looking for love, could be unloaded between tornados. In between rain showers we were able to load Mad Max out of his pasture and into our trailer and escort him to Barbra's love lair. Funny thing about that Mad Max. Loading him required virtually no effort on Keith's part other than telling Max why he had to get into the trailer. He practically RAN into it, the little horn hog that he is.

Mad Max to the right and the petite Lady Barbara to the left

Once Babs and Max were properly introduced, "Pig, meet pig," they seemed only mildly interested in each other. They were however, greatly interested in the grain Keith spread out for them. But you learn quite a bit about someone the first time you share a meal with them, so who are we to question their priorities ? This will be Max's first girl from another farm and we are all looking forward to the results. Hopefully a happy healthy litter of the still critically Red Wattles in 4 months time. We know they will be gorgeous because that Barbara is some looker. The Lucille Ball of Red Wattles I would say. Shiny copper red hair with a glimmer of gold. Made our Max look a little dull but of course I did not say this out loud. Would hate to deflate that ego of his when he needed it most.

After dinner, the couple takes a stroll. Max waits to make his move.

Putting these two together required (by me) the writing of my first semen contract. An interesting list of do's and don'ts regarding who was responsible for what, when and where. Although it  was fairly simple, I took the contract writing  very seriously until some goofball cousin of mine, via Facebook, suggested I should now be referred to as "Semen Meister".

I get no respect. Nada