Buying Clubs, Sustainable Farms, and "Natural Living"

[dvdmon]

Hey guys,

This area hasn't been very active lately, and I share some of the blame since this is an area that I'm very interested in - the paleo, sustainable, purist part of Protein Power, as described in Protein Power Lifeplan, and sometimes on Dr. Mike's blog.

Anyway, I wanted to give an update of what I've been up to in this area since the new year, and encourage you all to share as well, and/or get more involved in these things if this is something that appeals to you.

I mentioned before the new year that I had read The Omnivore's Dilemma and posted a big review of it on my blog. This book, while flawed, is very enlightening and motivating, at least for me. Mostly the description of a small, sustainable farm (Polyface in Swope, VA) seems like a model that we should all look up to and support as much as we can, especially given the interests of the large factory farms and their tendency to throw their money at politicians in order to get regulations passed that make it harder and harder for small farms to operate in a sustainable way, or at all!

My father-in-law lives with us for half the year and during that time he does all the cooking. That means he has a big say in what we buy, and he actually buys some of the stuff himself. Because of this, and because he's very cost-conscious, he buys a lot of stuff from Costco, which I know uses standard factory-farmed meat. Luckily, the timing was such that he left soon after the new year and will not be back until July (save for a week or two in late April). So after cooking all the remaining frozen costco chicken, pork, and steaks, I'm finally at a point where I can start buying stuff where I want to! I've been trying to research the options and there are a number in my area (the Washington DC Metro area). There are buying clubs that drop off packages of meat, eggs, and dairy in numerous places around here. The farms are in PA, MD, or VA. Some are certified organic, some aren't but still use similar practices and go "beyond organic" as does Polyface. Polyface actually has drops in the area, since they are only about 2.5 hours from here by car.

I've settled on a certified organic farm from PA which does grass-fed beef, and free-range chicken, sustainable practices, etc. My first order will come on Thursday so I'll post an update after I've sampled some of the stuff (I've orderd a selection of chicken, pork, beef, raw cheese, and eggs). I'm also going to be ordering from Polyface, but unlike the PA farm which drops every week, Polyface drops only once every 6 weeks and they've taken a long winter break and their first drop since December will be in March. So if both seem to have good stuff and we can manage the costs by choosing the lower-priced items when possible, then I'll probably try to get much of our meat and eggs from these farms.

Vegetables are another story. There apparently is only one CSA that operates during the winter here, but my fear is that we'll end up with a bunch of potatoes! So I think what we will probably do is to continue to shop at Wholefoods and Trader Joe's and get organic veggies (and fruit) when possible, until the local farmers markets open in April or May, and then use those, in addition to my own garden, which I'm hoping to expand to use a lot more of our back yard, and hopefully grow a bunch more and have more selection as well. Last year I had good luck with tomatoes, eggplant, lettuce, and cucumbers and zucchinis until some powdery mildew ate through those last two out. I got some broccoli but not much before it also died of some bug which ate it up! But as I said, I'm going to expand the garden so that things are spaced out a lot more and I think that will help with preventing disease from spreading from one crop to the next...

Anyway, the other thing I wanted to mention was that I came across this organization that promotes "natural living" which includes eating organic, but also natural birth, alternative medicine, etc. While I may not be as progessive on every front, I do share a lot of the same mindset as many of those. They have local groups, including one in my area, and we communicate in a Yahoo! group. It's great to be able to communicate with a group of like-minded people who are also local and can help you find local resources, etc. The organization is called Families for Natural Living and you can look up if they have a local group near you at their website (http://www.familiesfornaturalliving.org). A lot of our group is geared to questions concerning kids, and most of the people on the list are moms. I seem to be the only guy who posts, although apparently there are others on the list.

Anyway, for those of you who have leanings in this direction, have you had any new insights or progressed in your goals along these lines since new years (and new years resolutions)?

[Mitra]

I don't participate in any official schemes, and I eat grains, beans and dairy, so I'm not anywhere near purist, but I've noticed over the time I've been doing PP that I'm reading labels less and less, because these days I rarely buy anything with ingredients. The other change I've noticed is that I go to a low more shops. I used to get everything from the supermarket, apart from a few specialist deli items. Now I get veggies from the farmers market and the deli that buys them from Italy; I get meat from the butchers and the farmers market; I get cheese and coffee from the cheese shop and fish from the fish shop. I mainly get milk, cottage cheese, some out of season veggies and non-food stuff from the supermarket - so I wonder just how I manage to spend so much money there :rolleyes:.

[dvdmon]

Well, I finally picked up my stuff today. I was able to taste the eggs and pork chops so far. The eggs seem pretty similar to those I buy at whole foods, but I believe that during the winter, the chickens mainly eat grain inside, so the differences aren't as great. When they start going outside and getting a lot of their nutrition from grass and bugs come April or May, that's when you start seeing big differences.

The pork chops were definitely different from the kind that I've had from Costco or even Wholefoods. They have a more "porky" flavor, heheh. The flavor was just more distinct. Especially in some of the fatty parts that were browned, I almost thought I was eating bacon at times, the flavor was so intense, but mostly it was a little more subtle. I also think I overcooked it slightly as I don't often make pork chops and they were fairly thin at about 3/4". I sauteed them in butter and olive oil.

I got some raw garlic cheddar which is definitely tasty.

I got a couple of chickens and one is defrosting, but we probably will not be making it until Sunday, since we'll be out of the house tomorrow night and Saturday night...

I also ordered steaks but unfortunately they were sold out.

I've ordered a similar assortment for next week, with a few additions, so I'll keep you posted on those and when I make the chicken on Sunday.

Also, I put in an order for Polyface for a couple of weeks from now. After that there next pickup isn't for two months, but then it gets more frequent - every 6 weeks. There prices are a bit higher for some things than the place in PA, but they are also known for super high quality. The best I can do is just keep trying different stuff from each and determine what makes sense in terms of cost/quality to buy from each...

[AT22]

Thanks for all the info.
Have you ever tried My Organic Market? Perhaps you aren't that close to one. The shop near me is smallish but the produce is organic and usually very good. It's not all local.

Just a comment on the pork: I got married in Greece in the village where my dad was born. (I have many relatives and family friends there and they threw a great wedding.) This particular island doesn't have much lamb as you might expect, but they have lots of wild pigs/boars and pork. My wedding dinner was pork chops, and we ate a lot of pork the entire time. My husband and I commented that the pork there tasted much more like bacon. It must be the "wild" or grassfed nature compared to the grain-fed, can't-move-in-the-pens, pigs, eh?? Whatever it is, I find it delicious. I never really liked pork until that pork.

I have made it a priority for this year and the future to try and buy locally and organically, for me and the environment. I am on-again-off-again environmentally minded - it's just easier to shop at Giant, right? - but I'm committed to reducing our waste and environmental impact. I'll be using farmer's markets and mail orders, like you've suggested -- I'm going to check out Polyface right now!

[dvdmon]

AT, we don't have My Organic Market around here, as far as I know. However, there's Wholefoods all over the place. To be honest, I've not shopped in Giant or other such places for maybe 4 or 5 years - for food at least - or maybe even longer. I shop at Wholefoods, Trader Joe's, Farmers Markets from May through October, and now buying clubs. It's not as cheap as buying everything from Giant, but I feel like it's one of the most important things I can "splurge" on.

As far as greece, my father-in-law's family is from there and he lives with us and cooks for us for half the year, so I'm familiar with a bunch of Greek dishes. I think most of the greek foods his family made were lamb-based, but I have heard of parts of greece - specifically Greek islands - where the predominant meat was pork. On Thursday I'll be picking up some more pork chops and also some bacon. The bacon, from what I hear, is not cured, not even salted at all, which is especially good for me right now as I'm trying to get my BP down and can just put plain potassium (nu-salt) on it instead.

[Mitra]

Dvd, I'm curious as to what makes it bacon rather than just sliced pork, if it's not cured? Not that I have any problem with eating pork that hasn't been cured, just wondering why they'd call it bacon?

[dvdmon]

Mitra, I think it's the cut. It is from the same part of the pig and sliced the same way as bacon would be. But bacon is technically pork as well. According to this page:

http://www.hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?catitemid=31&id=158

bacon is also called "side pork" and "salt pork." Furthermore:

"The side pork is the section of the side/belly that is left after the spareribs are removed. It produces side pork, bacon and salt pork. Side pork is not cured or smoked, bacon is both cured and smoked, and salt pork is cured but sold fresh. All are available in a bulk slab or pre-sliced. The cuts from the side pork are generally pan-fried or broiled but can also be roasted in the oven, cooked in the microwave or simmered in water."

So I guess technically it is "side pork."

[Mitra]

Thanks - so it's the same cut as bacon, sliced in the same way, but not cured.

Speaking of pork, one of the things I've found most worth making at home if you have a source of good pork, is sausages. I don't do it every time, but if you have a freezer (we don't) and could do it in larger quantities, it would give you some good quality sausages, with total control over the ingredients - quality of meat, fillers, preservatives, salt etc. And they taste better, too ;).

[dvdmon]

Thanks - so it's the same cut as bacon, sliced in the same way, but not cured.

Speaking of pork, one of the things I've found most worth making at home if you have a source of good pork, is sausages. I don't do it every time, but if you have a freezer (we don't) and could do it in larger quantities, it would give you some good quality sausages, with total control over the ingredients - quality of meat, fillers, preservatives, salt etc. And they taste better, too ;).

Mitra, yeah, we have friends who make their own sausages. I haven't quite gotten to that point. Part of it is just lack of time, the other part is that while I enjoy sausage, it isn't such a favorite of mine that I'd want to spend a lot of time with it. Also, my wife doesn't eat pork, so it would only be worth making for myself and my father-in-law (when he's around). My daughter has eaten sausage, but she seems to have very varying tastes these days! Unfortunately her big foods right now include rice, noodles, and pretzels! She was such a big chicken eater up to a month or two ago. She still eats chicken and other meat, but not nearly as much or exclusively as she used to...

Anyway, I'll let you know how the bacon... er, side-pork ;) comes out.

[maxlharris]

So, if you were slick, had a smoker or a stovetop smoker, or even were handy with some tinfoil, I think you could take your side pork, and make a smoke cured bacon out of it. I would use my cameron and maybe some hickory sawdust stuff, but any fruitwood would probably work nicely too.

Handy with tinfoil would require maybe a triple wrap package, with two compartments, not completely sealed from each other. Wrap the sawdust (maybe 2 TBSP) in a double layer, press to something resembling flat and pouch like, poke holes (for ventilation in the top). put this under your side pork, which you then wrap in a double-triple layer of foil.
Use the burner to get your packet smoking, then turn to very low (you just want to keep it burning, not burn it faster.

I'm guessing you can find time info on the cameron smoker website.

I think this would be pretty damn special with some quality pork side and the proper dose of care. Even better if you wanted to add some kind of cured flavor to it. Old school, but in the kitchen.

Can do this with a webber charcoal grill to, probably to better effect.

[dvdmon]

Max, I don't have a smoker, but I am looking for different ways to cook bacon other than the standard pan-frying method, so I'll keep looking for stuff online.

I thought I'd also present an update of products from what I've gotten so far.

I've tried more of the cheeses, they all seem to be very good so far. The smoked cheddar is excellent, but even the jack is really good.

The chickens are good, but have a different flavor than store-baught. I can't really describe what the flavor is, but in any case, there is more flavor to it than store-baught. I do think it's something one needs to get used to a little. They also keep this flap of fat that store-baught chickens don't have, but which on these, kind of hold the drum sticks together.

I tried one sirloin but I don't think my maranade worked very well. It was ok, but next one I want to try pan-frying plain without maranade, despite the relative lack of fat. I'll just have to be very careful not to overcook it.

Bacon! This is great stuff. It is different from any other I've had. It's very thinly sliced and this helps with frying it. It cooks completely and evenly and doesn't tend to curl up as much as other bacon. But the best thing about it, I think, is that it's uncured. As in unsalted. Often bacon is too salty for me and even when I don't notice it, I think it's great to have it unsalted for those who want to watch their sodium intake. I'm doing that in order to keep my BP in line. Sometimes I will use some Nu-Salt or similar product so that it makes it a little saltier, but even without anything, this bacon is really tasty!

Pork sausage: also excellent stuff, very tasty.


Oh yes, I also picked up my first order from Polyface. So far we have tried the chickens and the eggs but they don't seem appreciably different from the ones in PA. In addition, I got some rib-eyes and ribs, and I think pork chops as well, but can't recall exactly right now. It's down in our freezer at the moment. Finally, I signed onto another buyers club which gets food from ANOTHER farm in PA, and delivers to our area every 2 weeks. My first order comes in next wednesday, and I ordered some chicken and eggs to compare as well as some of the products that are unique or just much cheaper than the other 2 places. There's yet another farm in VA, which delivers on a much less frequent schedule (probably because they are even further away at about 3.5 hours), but have much cheaper prices. I need to place my order with them by the end of this month for an April delivery.

So, definitely having fun with all of this farm food and I think with all these different sources I can try to really get a handle on which has the best of a given product and/or which has it for the most economical cost. Most of these places have delivery fees, although some say they will either decrease it or eliminate it if there ends up being enough business in the area... The one thing I haven't tried yet is to get a half or quarter cow. I don't know if we'd have room even for a quarter, despite having a stand-up freezer, but also my wife doesn't eat beef, so it would take me a long time to put a dent in even a quarter until my father-in-law comes to live with us, which this year is looking like it might be somewhat later - maybe July...

Otherwise, I'm at least starting to think more about my vegetable garden. I heard about an organic disease preventative called Serenade that apparently helps a lot with mildew, which is something that killed my zuchinni and squash and eventually cucumbers last year. I expanded my garden last year, but it's still a relatively small strip of about 2 feet wide by 15-20 feet long. I planted a lot of stuff on it last year, and fear that part what made some of plants more susceptible to disease was stress due to overcrowding. So I'm thinking of starting another new plot this year. Heaven knows where I'll find the time to do all this with a new, demanding job!

[LisaS]

did you see the post in Regina Wilshire's blog last week about her food costs (and buying habits, including sides of beef & CSA for produce) over the last year - vary interesting -
look for it here (http://www.weightoftheevidence.com/) from June 5 - titled "You Asked For It"

[dvdmon]

did you see the post in Regina Wilshire's blog last week about her food costs (and buying habits, including sides of beef & CSA for produce) over the last year - vary interesting -
look for it here (http://www.weightoftheevidence.com/) from June 5 - titled "You Asked For It"

Interesting. I love Regina's blog. She is so prolific, and eloquent, and I wish I could read it more often, but my time these days is limited. If only she had a podcast, then I could listen on my commute! ;-) Actually, she mentions that she was in Virginia before. It so happens she used to live in the same town I do - Vienna. We corresponded a bunch a couple of years ago before she left, but I never got to meet her in person, unfortunately.

As for the cost, yes, it is higher than what you would pay in most supermarkets, but not all. Wholefoods, for one, tends to be just as high for many things, but the same or higher for others. Wholefoods does have sales, though, which will lower the price. The farms that I get stuff from don't have sales. I also haven't tried the bulk buys of beef, although we did share a bulk lamb purchase last year with another family. Also, we haven't tried a CSA yet. Partly this is because we have some great farmers markets here, but also I try to grow a lot of veggies in my garden, and so at least from May-June through Sept-Oct, a lot of the veggies are taken care of. I also just planted a couple of blueberry bushes and have had some strawberry plants as well, so while we don't get copious amounts of berries yet, in theory I would like to get to the point where I'm getting as much as possible from my own garden....