Tiny Farmer Beef!

As usual when there is not much action on the blog it’s an indication of lots of action at Tiny Farmer HQ. Last Thursday we finally took delivery of the first of our 21day aged Angus beef. We had orders for 22 boxes of 10kg and 5kg packs and it was quite a logistical feat getting the meat from the butcher and to our friends. The meat had to be transported in iced poly boxes and we hired a refrigerated truck to keep everything cool before each box was delivered.

It was great to be getting the beef to all the people who had placed orders over a month ago. It was even better to get phone calls and emails from people the next day telling us how much they enjoyed their steaks!

On the sheep side of things…



It was quite a family affair when we went up to worm the sheep the other day. They needed to be wormed and have their toenails trimmed. So while dad rugby tackled the each sheep to the ground and got her in a non-struggling upright position, mum prepared the worming syringe and youngest daughter stood by with the spray marker to put a red dot on each sheep that had been treated. An unusual way for the family to spend a Saturday afternoon but good fun all the same.

We also took the opportunity to visit the allotment and dig up yet more potatoes and beetroot (and cabbage and marrows and beans…). As you can see one of us at least is getting very handy with a fork.

Veg boxes are now our routine visiting gift!

And lastly the chicken…

We couldn't believe that we had reached the end of our chicken supply (they were the 12 chickens that we had ordered before Christmas last year and were the first items in our freezer). Luckily the farmer had some more ready so we collected 6 oven ready chickens on Sunday. 3 of them have been cut up so that we can have the usual stir fries, curries & all important BBQ supplies and the remaining 3 will be ready for roasting as and when over the coming months.

The next big job is making sure that we harvest the tiny amount of wheat that did manage to grow at the field. Despite best intentions over the past few weeks to get this task done it keeps slipping off the "to-do" list. Stay tuned for progress...

Tiny Farmer out.

VEG GLUT

It is, of course, no surprise that we now have too much veg. We are absolutely coming down with beetroot, French beans and tatties. Not to mention the cabbages and the squashes (which are growing like triffids!). Fortunately we have some very grateful friends and neighbours who are only too willing to take excess veg off our hands. We recently sent a whole sack of potatoes off to Scotland with our returning relatives. We have given potatoes to all our neighbours and have something of a barter situation going on with apples from a nearby garden. Some kind souls have even offered to buy veg from us and I have to admit that it is quite satisfying being able to put together a whole variety of home grown vegetables in one box.

We are getting quite used to the art of blanching and freezing. Here is just one freezer drawer full of frozen veg.



It is a little of our supply of beans and beetroot. We are not entirely convinced that beetroot will freeze well – though all the experts say it is fine. So we have tried various techniques – boiling and dicing and baking and quartering etc – to increase chances of success. We are still eating tons of beetroot grated raw in salads - and we’ve even tried the chocolate and beetroot muffins. We are less concerned about the frozen French beans – which look fresh and green and ready to eat. Very much looking forward to eating through that supply over the winter months.