Didn't Buy a Cow, But Bought a Turkey

A few weeks ago, I blogged about buying a 1/4 of a cow.  Well, we have yet to decide if we want to do so, but I did buy a turkey for Thanksgiving.  I purchased the turkey, which is still gobbling around on the farm, from West Wind Farms, http://www.grassorganic.com .  I am super excited about this bird.  It will be processed the Friday a.m. before Thanksgiving and I pick it up on Saturday.  Did I mention it is ORGANIC?  I know I am paying more, ok, a lot more for this bird, but I wanted to try something different.  This will be the first time having our family at our house for Thanksgiving, so I wanted to do something special and supporting a local farmer couldn't hurt.  I am still researching buying food from local farmers and found a local restaurant which prepares food brought in by local farmers.  Can't wait to try this restaurant out.  It is the Trolley Stop Market on Madison, http://www.trolleystopmarket.blogspot.com .  I think little K and I will have to have a lunch date there next week.  Anyway, back to the bird.  I have only cooked a whole turkey one other time, so I hope I don't let it overcook.  Guess I will need to begin researching how to prepare turkey's in the meantime. 

Want to Buy a Cow?

Each day I am becoming more aware of what I am feeding my family. My interests lie in sustainable and organic foods and how I can acquire these foods and put them on the dinner table.  Right now I am researching a local farm where I can purchase a 1/4 of a cow.  There is a $50 deposit and it will end up costing anywhere from $460 - $490 for about 115 lbs of beef (several different cuts).  I brought the idea up in my new mom's group to see if any of the other girls would be interested in going in on this 1/4 of a cow.  So we will see.  If we do end up splitting a 1/4 of a cow between others, it is going to be a lot of beef.  We don't eat a lot of beef, but this is grass fed cattle and far superior to the beef found in the local grocery store (or so I think).  I at least know I am getting this from a local farmer and helping support a local rancher too.  So with this much beef, I am going to look into getting a deep freeze. 

The local newspaper printed a great article on an upcoming fundraising event to help support a project's efforts to help our city's restaurants become sustainable.  I talked the hubby into going and maybe I can get some more people to go to support a good cause.  There is going to be local food from about 6 area restaurants and a local brewery is going to be providing beer.  Sounds yummy!!!  Can't wait. 

My mind just doesn't stop when it comes to how I can make my life more sustainable and eat organic and locally produced foods.  For another post at a later time, I will talk about how I would love to get a compost bin and begin composting.  It is just amazing how much we throw out in trash that could be composted.