Turkeys, Hens, and Firebirds!

I feel like I have posting about birds a lot lately. I guess chickens and turkeys are not what normally comes to mind with the word bird, however, I have to say that I find just as much enjoyment watching the turkeys and hens forage through the pasture together (see picture), as watching the starlings or the pileated woodpeckers I have mentioned in previous postings.

Speaking of turkeys, I want to give you a heads up that we will be offering turkeys for Christmas holiday--if you are interested in reserving a turkey for your Christmas celebration click here to find out how you can contact the farm directly. I mention the Christmas holiday simply because that is the week they will be processed. You are certainly welcome to freeze your turkey and use it at some later time.

As I have mentioned before, we have a new batch of hens that have just started laying. Normally hens slow down their laying this time of year. Their egg production is very much influenced by daylight. So we are delighted to be able to offer these slightly smaller but just as delicious eggs for $4.00 a dozen (or 2 for $7.00). The eggs are located in the refrigerator in the distribution shed. Take advantage of these great eggs while they last. Click here for a great resource that Mother Earth News has put together about the virtues of pastured eggs.

Finally I wanted to share a link to one of my favorite celebrations of the season, Phoenixville's annual Firebird Festival. Along with the burning of huge wooden Phoenix, just beautiful and exciting to watch, the festival includes a range of activities through out the town, appropriate for folks of all ages. And while you are up in the general area you might want to check out an open house at Yellow Springs Native Plant farm featuring their brand new goat cheese operation. Turkeys, eggs, goat cheese, and winter festivals--what more could one want.

With Gratitude and the Pursuit of Happiness....

This amazing NYT "opinion" piece was sent to me by a friend this morning. The perfect concept to think about on the day after Thanksgiving, the day we are suppose to switch from gratitude to fast paced consumptive madness. Personally I prefer to extend the celebration of food, family, and harvest --- enjoying a second and third meal of turkey and the delicious sides, as well as the friends and family that gather for this special holiday. For some great recipe ideas using up the turkey left overs check out Dawn Warden's mainline blog Bocconcini. Speaking of turkey and gratitude, thanks to all of you who purchased a pasture raised turkey from Inverbrook or some other local farm--a true pursuit of happiness.

Turkey Time!

Early this morning we gathered up the turkeys and took them to the processor so they will be ready for pick up at the farm later on today. If you have pre-ordered your turkey from Inverbrook (pre-orders only) you have several options for pick up:

1. From 3-6PM in the kitchen of the large stone house, the last house before the barn. If you are coming down the paved tree lined driveway (the one with the Inverbrook Farm sign at the end of it, you simple follow the paved part--it will curve around to the right and take you past the door to the kitchen.

2. If you are picking up an order from lancaster farm fresh and/or want to purchase greens from the farm you can drive up to the distribution shed. YOU MUST LET ME KNOW SO I CAN PUT YOUR TURKEY IN THE REFRIGERATOR UP IN THE DISTRIBUTION SHED. You can pick up turkeys from 3-6PM today or basically all day tomorrow. This will be a self serve process, that is why I need to know ahead of time.

3. Finally you can pick up your turkey in the same location at option 1 but on Wednesday from 10AM-2PM.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call 610-563-3116 or e-mail claire@inverbrook.com

If you are looking for cooking guidance Fine Cooking is a great source of video instruction and recipe ideas. For some tips about the nuance to cooking a pasture raised turkey click here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Plan a Local Thanksgiving

Over the next couple of weeks I encourage you to keep checking up on both the Inverbrook Farm Blog and the Kennett Square Farmers Market Blog which will be filled with tips, recipes, and more about making your Thanksgiving meal a true celebration of our local bounty. It makes sense to start with the focal point of the traditional meal--the Turkey. We are proud to offer own Inverbrook pastured raise turkeys (see pictures).

Unfortunately most of our large turkeys are spoken for, we do however have a handful of smaller turkeys yet unclaimed--probably in the 9-12lb range. The size our of turkeys is always a guess, and quite frankly, providing the focal point of your very special holiday meal gives me a bit of an ulcer. Our type of small scale natural farming lets nature dictate size, so as long as you can be flexible with the size of your turkey, we are happy to provide the very special bird. Our turkeys sell for $3.20 a pound and will be available the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. You can place an order request by e-mail claire@inverbrook.com. After you place an order I will follow up with pick up details. The wonderful weblog CCDwell recently posted a feature on sourcing local turkeys--so if you want a bigger bird or go all out a get a heritage breed--the have all local sources listed.


Turkeys are also available through the Lancaster Farm Fresh Buy Coop we will be hosting here at Inverbrook. To read more about the wonderful local organic coop click here to read an article that appeared in Grid magazine. To find out more about signing up for the 4 Season Harvest please read the previous post.

Yesterday's New York Times Food and Dining section featured a debate about what people like better-- the turkey or the sides. Perhaps the pictures I have included in the post will not do much to swing the debate towards the turkey. Although the turkey might not win in the looks department, our humanely raised poultry certainly tastes good, and you can be rest assured have a happy life until the end. Click here for the link to their dining blog about the subject. Besides the debate, this week's food and dining section featured some great recipes including this one for Dry-Brined Turkey, enjoy!