Thursday, January 24, 2013

First Lamb of the New Year




Here's the proud mom on the morning of this birth.  They are in the corner of the barn, keeping away from the rest of the herd.  This is a protective mother.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Lambing Season Already

Today is a very cold day in January, and the newborn lambs at our farm are protected from the harsh winds.  They have a special place in the front of the barn and their own private barnyard.  Their moms enjoy these private quarters where they can nurse their young and bond with them while having access to fresh water and nutritious hay.   An occasional treat of grain, fondly known as sheep crunch, gives them something special to look forward to on a chilly evening.

At the end of December, one of our pure white ewes gave birth to a single white lamb, a male.  A couple of weeks later, one of the brown Katahdin ewes gave birth to single male lamb, brown and white spotted.  Over this past weekend, triplets were born, and possibly there will be more this week.  It is a very cold time for lambing, and we wish it could be otherwise for their entrance into the world.  It seems the ewes have some good sense to hang around the barn when they begin labor, rather than be out in the field.  I hope and pray that this good judgment prevails especially during this week of predicted single digit high temps and very low lows!

I promise to post pictures of some of the lambs soon.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

New Year New Tastes

Sometimes it is fun to try new foods just to break from our routine.  It is easy enough to take an old-standby recipe and just make a few changes to the ingredients.

Several customers have recently tried making their lasagna with ground lamb instead of beef.  If you can imagine the flavor of the Greek dish Moussaka, you can imagine how delicious your new lasagna recipe could be!  You can even try making a mostly vegetarian lasagna and maybe add a layer with some lamb, if you are not sure how you will like it.    You can vary the sauce.   Instead of a red sauce, you could try a white sauce....it could be like an alfredo, or it could be just a simple roux, or a more complex bechamel.  

Do you have a favorite recipe for tuna-noodle casserole?   This classic recipe can be varied to become a chicken-broccoli bake, a ham and cheese casserole, or even a recipe to use ground lamb!   You do not need to learn a lot of new techniques to make these adaptations, and it is so much fun to experiment! 

Happy New Year!!

I hope everybody enjoyed the holiday season!  The big snow made it tough to travel and to shop, but what a beautiful sight to behold!!

This week is the big thaw.   The sun is out and temperatures are edging toward 40 today with high near 60 expected later in the week!   A great week to do outdoors projects

We have some new products in the store this week, especially in the deli section.  So if you want to try something tasty and quick, stop by to see what is new, including:

  • Tyson Buffalo-style deli chicken wings
  • Amish-made cole slaw
  • Aidell's all-natural, Italian-style chicken meatballs
  • Winter's bun-size Kielbasa
  • Farmland's angus-beef hotdogs
  • Individually flash-frozen, boneless/skinless chicken breasts
  • Diced Ham
We are sorry to report that Chuck and Dave's authentic, Mexican-style tortilla chips are no longer available in the store.   We are trying a new product that is equally delicious, so stop by to try these chips with a big Donkey on the package!!  We have them in the "unsalted" variety.

On the farm, we had a new lamb born a couple of days before the end of 2012!   It was very cold, but he and his Mom are doing just fine in the barn.   They will probably enjoy getting out into the barnyard during this warmup.  I hope to get a few pictuers to post very soon.

Thank you for shopping at Homer Village market in 2012, and we look forward to serving you in 2013!!    If you have any suggestions or special requests, please stop by and let me know!