Fall Calving Season

 I just wanted to share a few photos from our small herd. We have 20 cows. Most are black angus. We have a few red angus. Some angus / Hereford cross and some Romagnolas. It’s so fun checking the cows every morning with a steaming cup of coffee in hand and finding new baby calves! We had one cow who had twins! 

Follow us on Social Media

 It’s been quite a while since I posted a blog. I’ve been focusing more on some other social media platforms. But I’d really love to get back to blogging with recipes and how-to info along with updates from the farm. That’s my new goal! But in the meantime please checkout our farm presence on social media 

Instagram @hartscreekcattle

YouTube Harts Creek Cattle Company

Home-Canned Butter

 

Shelf stable and easily spreadable butter! Check out my Instagram reel for more information!!

Home-Canned Butter

Pit Boss Smoked Chicken

 

PitBoss Grills

This is a super easy and very delicious chicken recipe that we cook on our Pit Boss pellet grill!

Brine the chicken overnight in the refrigerator in a mixture of 1 gallon of water, 1/2 cup Kosher salt, and 1 cup brown sugar. The next day rinse your chicken and pat dry. I put cubes of butter under the skin on the breast and season the outside with salt, pepper and garlic powder and a squeeze of lemon juice. I place lemon halves, quartered onions, fresh thyme and a bulb of garlic in the cavity. Heat your Pit Boss pellet grill to 225 degrees and cook your chicken until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reaches 160 degrees. Mine took approximately 3 hours. 

Go to my Instagram to watch the video!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxLjCssxxnG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Beef Tallow Body Lotion

 

Research shows that beef tallow contains antioxidants, has anti-inflamatory properties, doesn't clog poors, and can help produce collagen! Click on my Instagram link for the full recipe! Harts Creek Cattle Company Instagram

Sourdough Beer Bread

Making Sourdough Bread! (Instagram Reel)

This bread is a version of my basic Sourdough Beer Bread. I added bacon and cheddar cheese to this loaf. 

The basic recipe is:

1 cup recently fed starter

3 T. sugar

1 tsp sea salt

12 oz room temperature beer

5 cups all purpose flour

Mix sourdough starter and room temp beer in your mixer. Add sugar and salt and flour (using the dough hook attachment) until a soft dough is achieved. Continue to let the mixer kneed the dough on low for 3 to 4  minutes. Cover and let rise for two to two and half hours. When you push the dough with your finger, the indention should remain.

Dump the dough on a lightly floured parchment paper lined baking sheet and shape. Cover and allow to rise an additional two hours. During the last half hour preheat your oven to 450 and place your dutch oven inside to heat it. 

Score the top of your bread and pick up the parchment paper and transfer the bread to the dutch oven. 

Bake covered at 450 for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 to 12 minutes. Remove when bread is dark brown and sounds hollow when tapped. 

I keep my sourdough starter in the fridge in a Weck jar. 

Weck jars on Amazon

Be sure and click on our Harts Creek Cattle Company Instagram link for the video! 

Back to Eden Gardening....Greenwood Style

We have been avid gardeners / canners for several years now. And during that time, we're always seeking new methods that will make our lives easier, increase production, etc... Last year we incorporated raised-row gardening after visiting the Old World Garden Farms website and reading their book. This year we are using the Back to Eden method, but with our own spin on it. Last year when we began using the raised-row method, we built up our growing rows with rich soil and let grass grow on our walking rows in order to incorporate the "no-till method" of gardening. After lots of research, we've found that tilling only disturbs the natural balance of the soil and gives weeds a better chance to grow. However, mowing the walking rows was time consuming and grass runners invaded our growing rows. At the end of our summer season, we covered our raised rows and our one raised bed with heavy black plastic.

This method, hopefully, killed all the weed seeds and grass (along with any remaining squash bugs...which is a whole other story). We decided to use the Back to Eden method on our walking rows this year. In short, using bark mulch to hold in moisture and keep out weeds. I'll still be using straw mulch on the growing rows. We wanted to put down an extra barrier between last years grass and the bark mulch. So, we've been saving up paper feed sacks (from the feed we use for our cattle) for months. Also, we were able to get our bark mulch for FREE by contacting the city barn where they had piles of bark from trimming trees. We completed one walking row today (with several more to go).

I'll be keeping you updated on the garden this summer. Especially, if this makes the work load easier. Plus, I'll be sharing lots of canning recipes.....both hot water bath and pressure canning.

Here are some helpful websites for more information. Happy gardening!!
 

https://oldworldgardenfarms.com/raised-row-gardening/

https://www.backtoedenfilm.com/#/