Eggs

Beautiful!!
Now that is a big egg!!

If you know Chuck and I you know that we support buying local. One of the biggest benefits to buying local besides supporting our economy is that you can find the farmer who is growing what your eating and talk to them, maybe even visit their farm. It is so important to know what you are putting into your body. Now we all don't have time to drive around and visit every place we get our food. So that is where Chuck and I come in~ not that we will always be able to visit the farms or plants where the products are made but if we do you can be sure we will share it with you.

Now onto the business of eggs. I can't even remember the last time Chuck and I bought eggs. We are lucky enough to have laying chickens on the farm, but for the purpose of this blog we bought eggs, and not just any eggs. These eggs come from the Schlangen Organic Farm in Freeport Minnesota- just north of St. Cloud.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the farm. I did not actually go to tour but Alvin, the farmer, offered to show me the hens. At the time I did not know that I would be starting this blog or I might have asked more questions. Anyway the hens have plenty of room to exercise absolutely no cages just a bunch of nesting boxes. They have a huge window that lets sun in, Alvin said they are working on adding even more windows. In the summer the hens are given pasture to roam, truly free range eggs! Oh, and they eat organic feed.

Because Chuck and I already have eggs daily but never enough to make deviled I thought I would with Alvin's eggs. Not much to it, boil in water and then shell 'em. Right now all Alvin has are Jumbo eggs, part of his older hen management- not that I think that really matters we never weigh our eggs I just use what we have, big or small, and our recipes always turn out. (As hens age their eggs get bigger, and less frequent).

Only draw back I found~ the eggs are fresh! Okay how can that be a draw back, well if you have ever tried to peel fresh eggs you know what I mean. When we want to hard boil our eggs we have to plan at least a week in advance, I know it sounds weird but it is true fresh eggs are a pain to peel. The peel comes off in small bits and sometimes takes half the white with it. So I suggest if you want to hard boil Alvin's eggs buy two dozen:)

If you have questions or want to know where you can get Schlangen organic eggs please visit the website.

SnoPac Vegetables

Still frozen
Dinner is served~ The Chicken is local too!

SnoPac located in Caledonia, Minnesota is a family owned and operated organic farm and processing plant. They carry 10 varieties of organic vegetables including mixed vegetables and hash browns. They also have 3 varieties of organic fruits and non-organic cranberries.

No drawbacks here, they tasted like peas! We have not yet tried any of the other vegetables nor have we tried the fruit. However, I am sure they are just as good. You really can't go wrong with locally grown organic fruit and vegetables.

The website seems to be set up for distributers rather than the public, however if you are interested in the history and what they carry check it out. Not sure if SnoPac can be found in the grocery store, but I am sure they are in most of the co-ops. Also if you are part of a UNFI buying club or buy from Alvin you can find SnoPac products.

PastureLand Butter

Salted
Unsalted
What a beautiful yellow color

Ahhh, one of our favorites! And a good one to start the blog off with. PastureLand is a cooperative of 6 small family farms, all located in Minnesota, all organic, and all grass based. Can't get any better than that. PastureLand only has their butter made when the cows are out on pasture, this makes for a natural yellow color provided by the beta-carotene in the grasses that the cows eat. The butter has won many awards and once you taste it you can see why. One of the draw backs that you may have is that it only comes in a one pound block, not those convenient pre-cut quarters. This however does not bother us, we just take a sharp knife and cut it into our own quarters. Helpful hint :cut it at refrigerator temperature. For those that do not use a lot of butter this is great because you can cut it up, put it in the freezer and take out as needed.

PastureLand also makes artisan cheeses, again only made when the cows are on pasture. I have to admit they are not my favorite but, they just released a few new cheeses including a raw milk cheddar that we have yet to taste. You can find the butter in most if not all the co-ops in Minnesota along with some grocery stores, check out their website to find locations near you.