Turkey’s flew in from Iowa this morning a day early..first time using Hoovers Hatchery, they were the only hatchery not sold out..I will use them again all the chicks are healthy..the next 24 hours is key..they will grow to 20-25 lbs in the next 5 months if I can kept them safe from the many predators….as soon as their perm feathers come in they go outside in their moveable pen…eating grass, bugs, and yes frogs, small snakes..
If you have not tried a fresh farm raised turkey , then you have never eaten and tasted what real turkey tastes like…I promise your ” Butterball” days will be over !

We’re turning much of our efforts inward this year to have the opportunity to bring people to the farm to purchase goods.

The old barn needs a roof and some structural framing replaced, which I am doing on my own. I used to help frame houses in my youth 🙂

So if you’re all wondering why we aren’t doing as many markets this year, it’s because we are improving and expanding operations so we can better serve the public.

This by far has been the most challenging project I’ve ever taken on.

Had a wonderful experience meeting our online customers at the Rasmussen farm in Freeman township this past Sunday, it was great to hear how people prepare the gourmet meat that we sell them.

I set up my little cooking station and was able to cook up some breakfast sausages, hot sausage, and our awesome kielbasa. Johan had learned the word “delicious” that day due to all the people coming in and trying the samples of sausage. He was saying delicious all the way home after the event.

My favorite thing to do at these gatherings is to prepare the dishes that are the ones I like best for example our pulled pork.

Preparing pulled pork is extremely easy and has only a few ingredients but the main secret to making the dish success is to cook it for very long time in the crockpot on low.

What sets aside our recipe from other recipes that I’ve tried is the type of vinegar that we use.

Rice wine vinegar has a crisper, lighter taste and goes extremely well with pork. I discovered this by accident one day when I ran out of apple cider vinegar.

Palemoon Farm Pulled Pork

4 pounds pork shoulder

One and a half cups brown sugar 

One and a quarter cup rice wine vinegar 

For cloves of garlic smashed

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper black
Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl and add to pork shoulder that has already been placed in the crockpot.

Set crockpot at low setting, Cover, and cook for minimal six hours, you’ll know it’s done when the pork falls away from the bone. 

Make sure the Pork Shoulder is not frozen when placed into the crockpot, it should be at room temperature.

After a minimum of six hours, Next step is to take the bones out and to ladle out any of the excessive fat and liquid left over from the cooking process. You don’t want to take out all of the liquid but you do want to take out most of the fat.

You can then add your favorite barbecue sauce and let it cook an additional 20 to 30 minutes, best bet is not to add the barbecue sauce too early because it will caramelize and burn around the edges of the crockpot.

We have approximately 15 to 20 pork shoulder roast’s remaining and they weigh approximately 4 to 6 pounds each.

Pulled pork is the summertime favorite super easy to prepare and awesome as leftovers as well.

I hope you enjoy the delighting  your guests with our pulled pork recipe and feel free to share it with others as it’s here on the our website.
Sincerely,

Jonathan 

Pale Moon Farm

One of our most loyal customers that has been with us since we joined the Unity Market requested I post the recipe for the “Thai Chili Meatballs” I prepared for the Taste of the Market event we had recently.

For Mike 🙂

The Meatballs

1 lb Palemoon Farm Ground Pork

1 duck or chicken egg

1 cup Panko Bread crumb unseasoned

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger ( use a cheese grater )

1 tablespoon finely chopped Garlic 

2 teaspoons of Chinese 5 Spice Seasoning 

http://www.mccormick.com/gourmet/spices-and-flavors/blends/chinese-5-spice-blend

The Sauce

1 cup water

1/3 cup of Organic honey

4 tablespoons of Pickled Thai Red Chili. 

http://importfood.com/pkco1603.html

1/8 cup Rice wine Vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt
The Method

Combined Meatball ingredients into a bowl, make sure the meat is nice and cold, if the meatballs are a little dry when forming add a tiny bit of water. I used a teaspoon to scoop the meat out and roll with wet slightly wet hands.

Sesame Oil into a skillet pan with plenty of room for turning , just enough to leave a coating , don’t pool the oil (add too much) or it will overpower be mindful not to burn the sesame oil as well.

When you initially drop the meatballs into the pan they tend to stick when carmelizing, the first time you turn the meatball you must be cautious not to break them, after a few turns and they get brown on like 50 % then they become less fragile.

After they are brown on all sides take one out and eat one..Damn you think they are good now ..wait untiLyou add the sauce!

Turn down the skillet to lowest setting and add the sauce…cover for about 5-10 mins and your ready to serve.

Best when served over White Jasmin Rice.

If you can’t wait to get the pickled chili’s and want to cheat on the sauce you can pick up Thai Chili Sauce in most supermarkets in the ethnic section.

It was a wonderful day at the Unity Farmers Market this Past weekend. We had a chance to prepare our food and were also treated to foods donated by other vendors all free to the public.

I used the ground pork to make my famous “Thai Sweetchili Meatballs” they were a huge hit.

Kielbasa, Hot and Chorizo sausage and grassfed Hamburger  from the farm were also prepared.

My dream is to have a venue were I can prepare recipes that I have learned in the many places I have worked as a chef in my earlier days.

Was a great opportunity to give back to public that supported us this year.
   
    
 Sincerely,

Jonathan, Michelle and Johan

PaleMoon Farm

Place your orders now.  Contact us at Palemoonfarm@me.com.

It’s that time of the year again when we harvest and get ready for winter!

Currently we have Delicious Gourmet: 

Lamb

Boneless Lamb, Lamb Sausage (Hot and Garlic), Crown Roast, Stew, and Loin with Bone in.  There are 5 lambs left that will be going in for processing in November, I can have these custom butchered with prior notification.

Pork

Sausage: Hot, Garlic,Sweet, Maple

Ground Pork

Beef

Ground Beef and Stew beef

Whole Chickens —SOLD OUT

My wife prepared an amazing Gyro Lamb on our 2 Wedding Anniversary using this recipe :
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/68828/easy-lamb-shawarma/

We finished it over lump charcoal in the Egg before serving in warm Pita, with Homemade French Fries, fresh Garden Tomatoes, and lettuce..topped with gravy for the lamb.

Please place you’re orders for Turkey, as of Today Sept. 11, we have 12 turkeys ( out of 40) left for Thanksgiving.

If you’d like place an order for Pork to stock up for winter, we have about 7 whole pigs left (in addition to the 4 are going in next week), so we’ll have more Chorizo Sausage for all the “Chorizo Fans” out there. This season Chorizo was a great seller, it’s such a great sausage to make Black Beans with…not too mention I love eating in an omelette aw well or just on the grill!
  

Fall is also the season for soups, Bean Soup made with our famous Smoked Ham Hocks creates a rich flavorful broth with delightful chucks of hocks to nourish the soul and body.

There’s nothing better this time of year when the leaves are changing, to celebrate the end of the summer with feasting on the bounty that God provided for us. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to share a very prosperous year for raising Lamb, Pork, Chicken and Beef…it was a very hot and dry summer but all the hard work building shelters for the animals paid off. Having Installed over 900′ of water pipe and Water Spikets was key in being able to supply fresh filtered well water to them.

We want to hear all about how your preparing our Gourmet Meats, share your recipes, pictures, and show off your cooking skills!

You can find us Now Saturday’s the Unity Farmers Market until the last Saturday before Thanksgiving.

 
 Farmers’ Market & Community Events

Every Saturday morning

from the

First Saturday in May

thru the

Saturday before Thanksgiving.

9 am – 1 pm

At the Unity Community Center

32 School Street

http://snakeroot.net/unity/

Just in time when your skin is extremely dry from the winter cold and indoor heat.

These go fast so place your order now.
http://palemoonfarm.com/home/general-store/

 The health benefits of Birch Essential Oil can be attributed to its properties as a tonic, disinfectant, stimulant, antidepressant, analgesic, detoxifying, antirheumatic, antiarthritic, diuretic, antiseptic, astringent, febrifuge, germicide, insecticide, and depurative substance.
There are two types of birch, the White Birch or Silver Birch, which is scientifically known as Betula Pendula (previously known as Betula Alba), and the Black Birch, Sweet Birch, or Cherry Birch whose scientific name is Betula Lenta. The main constituents of birch oil are Salicylic Acid, Methyl Salicylate, Betulene and Betulenol.
Birch varieties are categorized as deciduous trees and have been used as a decorative tree as well as a medicinal plant since ancient times.

Health Benefits of Birch Essential Oil
Antiseptic & Disinfectant
These are the two of the most important properties of birch oil. The components responsible for these properties are Salicylic Acid and Methyl Salicylate, two well known germicides and bactericides in the world of medicine. They protect the skin from both bacterial and fungal infections.
birchwood

Antidepressant & Stimulant
Birch Oil is a stimulant by nature. It stimulates the nervous, circulatory, digestive and excretory systems. It also stimulates the endocrine glands that result in more secretions of enzymes and essential hormones. This can play a beneficial role in diseases associated with the improper secretion of hormones, including diabetes, where the enhanced insulin production will help lower the blood sugar levels.

Febrifuge
It helps reduce body temperature during fever by promoting perspiration. This also helps in the removal of toxins from the body through sweat during fever, further improving the condition of the patient and leading towards a faster recovery time.
Analgesic & Antispasmodic
Birch oil is helpful in reducing pain in the joints and muscles, as well as pain associated with headaches and toothaches. It is also antispasmodic and relieves cramping throughout the body.
birchwoodessentialinfographic
Antirheumatic & Anti-Arthritic
Since it stimulates circulatory system and improves circulation, birch oil is very helpful in giving relief in diseases associated with improper circulation such as edema (swelling), rheumatism, and arthritis. The detoxifying property of birch oil also aids in this, as it removes toxins from the body which are the root causes of these circulatory diseases.

Astringent & Tonic
For ages, birch oil has been in use as a skin toner. Regular external application (in low dosages) effectively reduces wrinkles and sagging of the skin and muscles. Its astringent property strengthens gums, hair and tightens muscles. Thus it makes you look younger and may help you get back into a more youthful lifestyle, even when you are well into your forties or fifties.
Detoxifier & Depurative
Birch oil helps to remove toxins like uric acid from the blood through increased urination and perspiration (being diuretic and stimulant in nature). In other words, this purifies the blood; a depurative is an agent that purifies something.

Germicide & Insecticide
Birch oil is an excellent germicide and insecticide, mainly due to presence of Salicylic Acid and Methyl Salicylate contained in it. These two components are excellent cures for eczema, ring worm and other skin diseases and infections. You might have seen medicinal preparations like lotions and creams for ring worm and eczema containing these two components. Birch oil is a natural source of these beneficial compounds.

Diuretic
Birch oil promotes urination. Betulenol and Betulene are the two components which are responsible for this property. Urination helps body in many ways.
It helps people to lose weight, removes toxins from the body, promotes digestion, cures infections in the urinary system, cleans the kidneys and lowers blood pressure. Urination also helps prevent the formation of kidney stones and conditions like gout and arthritis.

Other Benefits
Used as a tonic, it gives feelings of strength, warmth and vitality. It is ideal for use in extremely cold climates.

A Few Words of Caution
Sweet Birch (Betula Lenta) oil is toxic and can cause skin irritations. Pregnant women should avoid birch oil due to its powerful effects that could hurt their unborn child.
Blending: Birch Oil blends well with Benzoin, Sandalwood, Rosemary and Jasmine Oils.