Organic Beef, Chicken, and Grain orders in the Bow Valley

From Farm Box:

Place your orders online before March 14th for the following Spring Offers:

Prairie Roots Organic Chicken - Sunworks Farm, Armena AB.

These truly superior products come with a long list of certifications, including Organic, Free-Range, Humane, and Local Sustainable.

Several combo boxes available as well whole chickens.

Place Your Chicken Order
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* NEW* Organic Grass-Fed Beef - Sunworks Farm, Armena AB

This grass-fed, grass-finished cattle share the organic pastures at Sunworks Farm with the chickens who follow them in an intensive grazing method that keeps the grasses healthy & well fertilized, and the animals naturally fed.

Place Your Beef Order
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*NEW* Highwood Crossing Organic Grains & Oils - High River AB

Highwood Crossing is a beautifully sustainable family grain farm and processing facility near High River AB that produces a diverse selection of whole grains, flours and cereal mixes as well as amazing Cold-Pressed Canola Oil & Flax Oil.

Some of you may have sampled these exceptional products from our market stall last year. This year rather than package these products into a grain share, we will offer seasonal bulk orders.

Place Your Highwood Crossing Order
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We are working with a New Online Order/Registration System!
Zone4 Systems is working it's magic for us, so please note that you will receive confirmations from this system in your inbox when you place your order!

Farm Box

farmbox.ca

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Cooking chicken

I've long struggled to cook chicken breasts in a manner that I'm happy with. I like to BBQ them in the summer but am stuck for other cooking options throughout the rest of the year. Moist chicken breast is elusive to many, hence this instruction set from TheKitchn.com.

I've tried this method twice - I used too much flour the first time so I was only lightly dusted each breast with a smidge of flour this time. Much better! I sprinkled each breast with Hazelwood Herb Farm Chicken Blend, paprika, and salt + pepper before dusting them with the flour. I followed the directions (almost) exactly as posted and was very happy with the results. I used the chicken in salad on this occasion but it would also go nicely on top of pasta. I've copied the instructions below for ease and included my minor changes.

Ingredients
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon dried herbs (parsley, paprika, oregano etc)
Olive oil
1/2 tablespoon butter

Equipment
10-inch sauté pan with lid
Instructions

1. Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness with the handle or flat of a knife (I skipped this step because my chicken breasts were already fairly even in thickness).

2. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken breasts. Sprinkle with dried herbs of your choice.

3. Quickly dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, so that they are just lightly dusted with flour.

4. Heat the sauté pan over medium-high heat. When it is quite hot, add the olive oil and butter. Let them melt, and swirl the pan.

5. Turn the heat to medium. Add the chicken breasts. Cook for just about 1 minute to help them get a little golden on one side (you are not actually searing or browning them). Then flip each chicken breast over.

6. Turn the heat to low. Put the lid on the pan. Set a timer for 10 minutes, and walk away. Do not lift the lid; do not peek.

7. After 10 minutes have elapsed, turn off the heat. Reset the timer for 10 minutes and leave the chicken breasts in the pan. Again, do not lift the lid; do not peek.

8. After the 10 minutes are up, take the lid off, and tada! Soft, tender, juicy chicken breasts that aren't dried out in the least. Double check them to make sure there is no pink in the middle. Slice and eat.

Food happenings in the Bow Valley

Finally - a new blog post! Baby Z is now 9 weeks old and life is settling down enough for me to return to cooking and blogging about food. I've also received a few emails over the past week about opportunities to support local agriculture which has further inspired me to write this post.

From Farm Box:
Hello Local Foodies! You are invited:

Farm Box Winter Pow-Wow
@ Communitea Cafe
7-9pm, Thursday, February 28th

Join us for snacks, learn about what's NEW for 2013...& Meet Your Farmers!

Lots of Change & Growth in 2013!
We are excited to share with you what we've been working on this winter, including:

* The New Faces of Farm Box

* Our New Location

* Farm Box goes Year-Round

* Urban Agriculture Project

* Changes to the Shares

* New Working Shares

* You'll also have a chance to meet several of the farmers that Farm Box works with! *

Please RSVP by Monday, Feb.26th so we know how much food to prepare!

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Avni and Chrystel

Farm Box
farmbox.ca

Also from Farm Box:

Hello Foodies and Farm Boxers!

Farm Box invites you to fill your freezer this Spring with pasture-raised, heritage-breed pork from Fisher Farms.

 This season, Fisher Farms is offering a variety of gourmet sausage and nitrate-free bacon!
And for those of you seeking less processed options, they've got roasts, chops, & ribs available. 

Please place your order by Feb. 28th for delivery the following week on March 7th.  

Fisher Farms raises Berkshire and Tamworth hogs on their pasture near Didsbury Ab. These happy hogs are raised with compassionate, responsible and ethical practices. Farmer Nolan Fisher is committed to maintaining high standards of animal welfare and product quality. This sustainable farrow-to-fork operation “strives to produce the best pork products available, by raising our free range pork the way Mother Nature intended.”

All products arrive frozen, labelled and vacuum packed.

Nitrate-Free Boneless Hams (2-2.5kg) limited qty! $15.40/kg

Pork Chops - Thick Cut, Boneless (4/pkg) $23.96/kg
Pork Chops - Thick Cut, Boneless (2/pkg) $23.96/kg

Ground Pork (0.5kg pkg) $13.24/kg

Shoulder Roast (1.5-2kg pkg) limited qty! $18.60/kg

St. Louis-style Side Ribs (0.5-0.9kg pkg) limited qty!  $18.60/kg

Baby Back Ribs (0.5-0.8kg pkg) limited qty! $23.43/kg

Pork Belly (0.5kg pkg) limited qty! $18.60/kg

Pork Fat (2kg pkg) $4.00/kg

Bacon!

Nitrate-Free Back Bacon (0.5kg pkg) limited qty!  $31.99/kg
Nitrate-Free Bacon - Sliced (0.5kg pkg) limited qty! $23.96/kg
Nitrate-Free Bacon - Unsliced (0.5kg pkg) limited qty! $23.96/kg

Sausage! (all gluten free except breakfast)
Nitrate-Free Bratwurst (0.5kg pkg) $23.43/kg

Mennonite Sausage (0.5kg pkg) $22.04/kg
Farmer Sausage (0.5kg pkg) $22.04/kg
Breakfast Sausage (0.5kg pkg) $22.04/kg
Garlic Fry Sausage (0.5kg pkg) $22.04/kg
Smokies (0.5kg pkg) $22.04/kg
Summer Sausage (0.5kg pkg) $23.30/kg

From Iain (the farmer that I order grass-fed beef from):

Please let us know at your earliest convenience if you are considering buying beef or pork from us in 2013 with an indication of quantity. There is no binding commitment to purchase on your part until you send back a completed order form/cutting instruction sheet by the end of August deadline (end of July for first time customers) Letting us know your requirements now however guarantees you supply and allows us to manage our inventory so that we know when to stop accepting new orders. All product will be allocated on a first come/first served basis.

Thanks,
Iain

Iain's beef goes quickly so if you are interested, email him soon to get your name on the list. I plan to attend the Farm Box Winter Pow-Wow and hope to find out about options for purchasing local eggs. It's the one big item missing from my (wanna-be) 100 mile diet aspirations. I'll keep you posted!