Introduction

Here is to a month of what I know best Farm-Food and Fun!
Excited to be taking art for the first time in The Nester's Write 31 Days.  Like many of you I have no idea how I am going to make this happen but who doesn't love a little challenge.

I am a mom from a small town in Ohio who lives on a small farm. I am looking forward to writing about the happenings on the farm, what we eat and all the fun things in between. October is a crazy busy time of year for our family and I am looking forward to giving you a little view into our world. I am looking forward to sharing recipes, food facts and maybe even some of the fun things we try to squeak in our busy lives.

My friend Sara from Saras-House encouraged me participate in this crazy idea so be sure to follow her as she writes about travel tips. I have traveled with her a few times and she has some great tid-bits.


Did I mention we raise sheep? Here is a great recipe that uses one of my favorite proteins and some of that cider coming straight from the apple orchards.

Serves 8-10
1 Boneless butterflied leg of lamb (6-7lbs)
Marinade:
1/2 cup  apple cider
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
3 Tbl Olive oil
2 Tbl fresh chopped rosemary
1 Tbl apple cider vinegar
4 cloves garlic minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all marinade ingredients, adding the salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle both sides of leg with light salt and pepper rubbing into the meat. Place in a bowl or plastic bag. Pour marinade over lamb to coat. Cover dish or seal bag and place in refrigerator over night.
Preheat grill to medium heat. Place lamb on grill brushing some marinade over meat. Grill approximately  15-20 minutes on each side brushing with marinade until internal temperature reaches 135*. Transfer lamb to platter and cover with foil. Let rest at least 10 minutes. Internal temperature of lamb should be 145*-150*.
Carve lamb at an angle and slice thin.
The key to great lamb is to not over cook!

Try one of my recipes or have any comments or ideas let me know!

Tuesday EWESday: Champion Burgers

We eat quite a bit of lamb in our family. When you raise sheep and  love to cook you are always on the search for new recipes. This is a recipe that comes from the 2012-2013 Ohio Lamb and Wool Queen Mikayla Pitman. I have the privilege of coordinating this competition, one question that I always ask the applicants is to share their favorite lamb recipe. This is a great way for me to try new recipes from other sheep producers. Thanks Mikayla for letting me share one of your family favorites.
This recipe is easy, affordable  and most importantly it is delicious!

Champion Lamb Burgers

2lbs ground lamb

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
6 pita pocket halves
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup spring mix salad greens
2 large red onions thinly sliced
2tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
1 ½ tsp sugar
1tsp stone ground mustard
¼ tsp mustard
¼ tsp pepper

1.      In large skillet sauté onion in oil till tender. Add vinegar rosemary, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes longer. Keep warm.

2.      2. Crumble lamb into a large bowl; sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper, mix well. Shape into patties. Grill burgers on each side 4-6 minutes or until they have an internal temperature of 160*

3.      Brush pita pockets with oil; lightly grill on both sides.

Serve burgers in pita pockets with lettuce and onions.

Tuesday EWEsday: Lambing Time

You are my Shepherd, and I am your lamb. and You will be with me wherever I am...

We do most of our lambing in the fall. Our breed the Horned Dorset  is very versatile so they can even lamb two times each year. This is a photo of a ewe (girl) lamb born a few days ago.

Who could not smile when this little lamb is looking at you. She has a terrific mom and a buck (boy) for a  brother. She weighed in at about 15lbs and her brother was about the same size. This is a great size lamb to have and even better that it was a set of twins. It is our goal to get two lambs at least out of of our ewes each year.

Tradition!

This time of year brings lots of traditions. Being in a family that owns a ChristmasTree Farm it often leaves little time for some of the usual family traditions. I always say we are busy being a part of over a thousand different family traditions as we help get them find the perfect Christmas tree, get their family photo by the reindeer, go for a sleigh ride, and eat their cut out Christmas cookie and hot cider.

One tradition we do with our children is read a Christmas book each evening before bed. We have collected quite the Christmas book library over the past 5 years. I wanted to share with you two of my favorite Christmas books.

The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado

Joshua was a sad spotted lamb who had no parents and felt left out. He was born with one leg that didn’t work right. Abigail the cow was his best friend. When Joshua would get sad Abigail would tell him “God has a special place for those who feel left out.” Sometimes the other lambs were not nice to him. The lambs were going to move to greener pastures with their shepherd. The Shepard told Joshua he had better go back to the stable; he did not think he could make the trip.  

Joshua fell asleep in the stable but was suddenly woken up by a strange noise. Joshua woke up Abigail and said he was scared. Someone was in the stable. They looked across and found a young woman with a baby resting in a feed box. The baby was crying and he was cold. Joshua lay with the baby to keep him warm. This little baby was the new king, his name was Jesus. Joshua had been born with a crippled leg but born with a very special purpose. “God had a very special place for him.”

On This Special Night by Claire Freedman

This is a story about a little kitten who could not sleep because the stars were so bright especially one star in particular. Throughout the night a donkey, lamb, three mice, calf stopped in for food water and rest. They said they were on a very special journey following a bright star. The little kitten and its mother decided to follow their new friends. They ended up in a simple stable where they found a very special baby.  

Tuesday EWESday: Ohio State Fair Edition

Ruby one of our fall ewe lambs is getting a bath at the Ohio
State Fair. She did not mind the water but the band marching
by did make her a little nervous. We do not have many
marching bands going down our road out in the country.

When you take livestock to the fair you are bound to get good questions. Here are a few oft the most common questions we fielded this year. The best part is that Campbell and Parker are getting old enough to talk to people and answer these questions on their own.

Why do the sheep wear covers? To help keep them clean after being washed. It does not hurt them or affect them from doing normal behaviors. We in the sheep business call them blankets.

Does it hurt them to get their haircut? First off sheep have wool not hair. It is just like getting your head shaved or cut. Most sheep farmers shear their sheep 1 time each year.

Are these goats or sheep? Our breed are Horned Dorsets. Both rams (males) and ewes (females) have horns. This is a breed characteristic. The Rams have larger thicker horns than the ewes.

What do sheep eat? They eat grass or hay when there is not grass to eat like right now. Our lambs also get pellets when they are young and then a grain mix when they are in their growing stages birth-7 or so months. We want them to get the best start as possible from birth so they can be a quality meat protein or a ewe or ram to reproduce healthy quality lambs.

Do we eat our sheep? Yes we do eat our sheep. We keep the best sheep in our flock to produce new lambs. By best I mean sheep that will make our breed of sheep better. We want to continue to better our breed of sheep so we can provide an even better end product. We raise sheep to eat them. It is a fantastic healthy and tasty protein. We take our jobs a livestock stewards very seriously. We want to raise the best lambs to feed to our family and our customers.

Where do we buy lamb? Most every grocery store will have lamb. If you do not see it out in the meat case ask the butcher and they may have it in the cooler or will be happy to special order it. You can also buy straight from the farmer like us. We do sell off the farm as do many farmers.

How do I prepare the lamb? You should not stress about cooking with lamb it is easy. Do not over think it. Lamb can be substituted for many recipes that call for beef. Try making meatloaf or meatballs out of your own family favorite recipe. Lamb is best when not over cooked and feel free to use chicken or beef broths to add even more flavor to your dishes. Visit www.americanlamb.com for some great recipes.

Tuesday Ewesday: Kids showing sheep

 The kids recently went to their first sheep show of the year. They had so much fun showing their two ewes. It was a bit reduculous that we took a two year old and a four year old on the road but it was a fun time. It was a bit wild in the showmanship class but we know what we have to work on now...Everything!

I told him to keep his eyes on the judge. Looks like he just gorgot to hold the sheep while he was doing it.

It is hard work for a little lady to show all afternoon. She did great and
wants to do it again soon!

Getting the ewes ready for the show. Parker takes this very serious if you can not tell.

Parker loved his ribbon from showmanship.
I think he liked the $10 even better.

Tuesday EWEsday: Fudge in the Field

Fudge, one of our rams poses for a photo! This is a name that Campbell gave him as soon as she saw him, it has stuck ever since. He is quite happy to be out in the pasture with 17 of our ewes. Right now we are breeding for fall lambs which will be born in September or October. We select which ewes we want bred to what rams based on the characteristics we want to have in lambs. The sheep are out on pasture and can come in the barn if they like. When the weather is nice they are outside most all of the time grazing and enjoying the lush green grass. We rotate pastures every so often so not to overburden the grass. This also helps with parasites. http://sheep.osu.edu/ should be a concern when raising livestock. We have to maintain a worming regiment for our sheep to help keep them healthy and reading to start pouring all their energy into keeping those baby lambs alive and thriving inside. Farmers and Ranchers always have something to worry about!


Gestation of a sheep: 145-150 days

It is common for a ewe (female) to have 1-3 lambs at each birth

Breed: Horned Dorset

Tuesday EWESday!

Tuesday EWESday is a new segment of my blog I want to dedicate to EWE! Anything goes if it has to do with sheep. I have been raising sheep for a long time. I hope to share some fun and even educational things about our great industry, as well as some things I have encountered along my way.

Did you know that a Ewe is a female sheep?

February is “Lamb is for Lovers Month!”
This recipe is one that my grandma passed on to me and we have served at many parties. It is simple and easy which are important for busy people on the go. My kids love to help mix up the sauce too!

BBQ Lamb
(Serves 8)

1 American Lamb Shoulder roast (approx. 5lbs)
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp garlic power
Worcestershire Sauce to taste
1 onion chopped
½ brown sugar
14 oz bottle of ketchup

Place lamb in a roaster or Crock pot. Set heat to high. Pour in chicken stock. In a bowl combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, Worcestershire, sugar and ketchup until mixed add in onion. Pour sauce over the roast. Place lid on and do not open for 6-8 hours. Cook until roast falls apart or pulls apart with a fork. Serve on a Kaiser Bun or bread of your choice!

*if roast is tied together with string, remove before roasting.http://www.reesefarmroots.com/