A visit to Country Gardens Farm & Nursery

A baby calf, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Last week I took some time to visit Country Gardens Farm & Nursery outside of Newnan. It is a quaint little farm and nursery that sells among other things, Raw Milk!

This milk is straight from the farm. (Read-Grass fed cows) and of course, is labelled for pet consumption only. I picked up a $4.00 half gallon and brought it home for my two cats to sample. This milk was not what one would expect to see down at the local super market. First, there were two distinct layers within the container and the color was more of a cream than the more familiar stark white.

After watching the cats go to town on this treat, I went ahead and shook the carton and poured myself a tall cold glass. All I can say is that this milk is truly amazing. Did I get sick from drinking it? No.

I am not going to say that Raw milk is safe to drink. Unfortunately, we live in a time of great fear with regards to food borne illness. Bacteria can be harbored in the milk and cause a litany of problems from diarea to vomiting. The FDAstates that consuming raw milk is dangerous and I believe them to a point. If we did not live in the time of the factory farm, I doubt that that e coli, Salmonella, or listeria would nearly be as bad as they potentially are these days.

The FDA also claims that more than 800 people in the United States have gotten sick from drinking raw milk or eating cheese made from raw milk since 1998. That really is not that many people when one thinks of the millions of people that call the United States home.

Conical Fermentation Tanks

Conical Fermentation Tanks, originally uploaded by jekemp.

This is where all the great beer from Terrapin comes from.

My plan to have Farm Fresh Eggs: The Backyard Barnyard Part One.

Cuckoo Marans Chicks, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Two years ago, I became interested in finding a way to get better eggs. What better way, I thought than by raising some day old chicks into egg laying hens?

Ok, so, the hunt was on. I wanted some really beautiful eggs and decided on a breed that lays dark, rich, almost chocolate colored eggs.

These chickens were known as marans. I found a breeder in Ohio called Meyer's Hatchery to order the chicks. I was able to select a straight run of females but their was a minimum order of 22 chicks.

I felt that I could raise them into healthy chickens and maybe find some like minded people who would not mind a hen or two in their backyard as well. Then the day came when the chickens were delivered by the post office, of the 22 that were ordered, only 11 ended up surviving the trip and I suspect that the box probably sat around in the post office for an extra day to have caused this small tragedy.

The remaining chicks lived on a round plastic table that I had surrounded with a ring of cardboard in my basement. Here, with their heat lamp, they ran in circles and ate and drank to their hearts content. Oddly enough, one of the chickens was different, somehow, bigger, meaner in its disposition. It was not until much later that we where able to make the determination that this was no chicken...It was a rooster.

We ended up calling this mighty bird Cap'n Redcomb.

25 pound Smoked Turkey

25 pound Smoked Turkey, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Brined the turkey for 12 hours beforehand and started the mesquite charcoal at 7:00am. Loaded the bird around 7:30am and finished at 2:00pm. The BGE never got over 260 degrees. During the smoking process, I added water soaked apple wood chips along at various intervals to make a nice thick pink smoke ring in the meat.

shittake & Green pepper

shittake & Green pepper, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Special Pizza Fundraiser for Georgia Flooded Farms Relief Fund

On Saturday November 14 at 10:00am
The Peachtree Road Farmer's Market
Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers will be on site with their mobile pizza oven preparing some very special pizzas to sell by the slice and as whole pies. All proceeds will be going directly to the Georgia Flooded Farm Relief Fund.

~What makes these Pizzas so special?

I went ahead and spoke with the farmers who participate at the market and will be sourcing the ingredients for the toppings directly from from them on the day of the market!
These pizzas are going to be a unique and limited offering to say the least.

Special Mellow Locavore Pizzas:

#1~Cheese,Spinach, Bacon, Mushrooms, Olive oil, Black pepper, Salt
#2~Assorted local Peppers, River-view Farms Sausage, Cheese, Tomatoes
#3~Georgia Coastal Shrimp, Garlic,Olive Oil, Peanut-Cilantro Sauce, Cilantro
#4~Sweet potato,Parmesan,Kale,Rosemary,Olive oil.
#5~Cheese,Pesto, Tomato,Eggplant,Basil,Arugula,Black Pepper,Salt

*Pizzas will be subject to ingredient availability on the day of the market and may not be served exactly as shown above.

A simple mayonnaise recipe

Mayonnaise

2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 cup peanut oil

1. Place egg yolks, salt, mustard, lemon juice, and vinegar into food processor. combine well by pulsing 4 or 5 times.

2. Pour oil through the feed tube slowly in a thin stream until fully incorporated. The mixture thickens up as the oil gets worked in.