I snuck away from the farm again, but this time it was business related. I had the honor of presenting at the MOSES Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse last weekend. It was two days ripe full of wisdom, inspiration and connection.

That said, I'm happy to be home. I plan to warm the kitchen this month with delicious roasts. You should too, as we are having a Sale on Roasts.

Normally I lean on the experts and provide a link to someone else's recipe in the newsletter. But this month you are getting one from my own kitchen. I threw together a pot roast for dinner and Farmer Chris said it was the best I ever made.

So despite not measuring a thing, I did my best to create a recipe for you below. Pot Roast, I know what your thinking - simple - but I get asked each winter market for a recipe. So here it is! 

Thank your for taking the time to read our farm news. We hope March provides you some celebration and the joyful anticipation of spring.
 
-Tamara & Chris Johnson

P.S. Plan ahead for your St. Patrick's Day Brisket & Easter Ham - Order them today.

​FARMER TAMARA'S POT ROAST
INGREDIENTS -

• 2-3 lb Arm Roast, trimmed
• Kosher Salt & Pepper
• Central Street Old World Seasoning (I was gifted this for Christmas and it's good!)
• Flour
• Butter or Lard
• Bay Leaf
• Thyme
• Onions - all the veggies are roughly chopped
• Garlic Cloves
• Broth
• Carrot
• Celery
• Sauerkraut, 1 cup - use red wine if you don't like kraut

DIRECTIONS -

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 F
2. Pat roast dry. Rub with flour, salt, pepper and Central Street Old World Seasoning
3. Brown roast in a Dutch Oven using butter or lard. I actually used booth
4. Remove roast and sauté onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaf
5. Add roast and broth to pot. Enough broth the cover 2/3 of roast. Place in pre-heated oven with lid on crock. Braise for 1.5 hours.
6. Remove pot from oven. Flip roast. Add roughly chopped veggies and kraut. Add more broth, if needed. Braise for another hour, or until meat is fork tender.
7. Eat and enjoy!

February is a month of love and I swoon over a nice sear! Therefore we are having a deliciously good SALE ON STEAKS. Our nicer steaks - Ribeye, Strip, Tenderloin, T-Bone, and Porterhouse and our Prime Ribs - are all 10% OFF. 

These cuts are not just for the grill. Enjoy them in winter by making a Perfect Broiled Steak.

Tamara's flying the coop and taking a vacation, which means we need your orders early for the Feb. 5 Northeast Minneapolis Farmers Market. Please get them in by Sunday, January 30th. Farmer Chris will be in the market stand with our helper Em.
 
Wishing you a month of showing love for self, steaks, and one another.

Squeak, squeak, squeak. We can hear the animals coming from a mile away these days. With temperatures solidly in the single digits, the snow is squeaky and the animals are sporting ice beards.

Thankfully they are much hardier than us humans and are well suited to tolerate the cold winter weather. 

Our first Farmers Markets of the New Year are coming up -

• Sat., Jan 8 at Northeast Minneapolis Farmers Market
• Sat., Jan 15 at Neighborhood Roots Winter Farmers Market

The outdoor winter markets are a fun and healthy place to shop for our Grass-fed and Pasture-raised meat. Pre-orders recommended.

PORK SHARES available for end of January - Receive a whole (~140 lbs) or half (~70 lbs) share of Pastured Raised, Heritage Breed Pork including Pork Chops, Pork Roasts, Coppa Steaks, Bacon, Sausage, Ham Hocks, Ham Roasts or Steaks, and more. Save 15% over retail. Sign-up at - https://www.johnsonfamilypastures.com/csa-shares.html

Winter Beef Bundles, Pork Sampler Shares, and the Johnson Family Favorites bundle are back in stock! Check out our order form for details.

This month's recipe is for Rice Noodle Bowls with Pork and Scallions - A recipe that both the Johnson kids and grown-ups love.
Wishing you a Healthy and Happy New Year,
Tamara & Chris Johnson

PS - Place your Pre-Order by Thursday at noon for PU in Mpls or On the Farm

Hey! I've got four bits of info I want to share with you.

• Ham Roasts are on our online order form so you can order your Holiday Centerpiece Roast -they won't be ready until next week so please order them for the weekend of Dec. 17
• Fresh Pork Cuts & Sausage are back in stock!!!
• Bacon, Ham, and Hocks will be back in stock next week!!!
• and the Neighborhood Roots Winter Farmers Market is happening two Saturdays in a row. Join us.

Neighborhood Roots Winter Farmers Market
Saturdays Dec. 11 & 18
11 am - 1pm
49th & Chowen Ave. S., Mpls
Check out our online order form for gift bundles, current inventory, pricing, and pickup options. If you have any questions after looking at the form or if the form isn't working email or text Tamara.

Thanks for including our Farm Goods in your Holiday Meals and Gift Giving!

​Please consider making a donation to our Fair Food Fund on this Giving Tuesday.

At the start of the pandemic, we launched our Fair Food Fund as a means to offer our meat at a more affordable price to individuals with limited food resources. Customers have been donating by "rounding up" when making purchases from our family farm.

Those donations allow us to offer low-income customers discounts at market, to make donations of food to the homeless, and to contribute to "back back lunches" for school age children.

Our fund is currently coming up short as we have more low-income customers using it at market than ever before. Therefore we are reaching out to you on this Giving Tuesday requesting that you please consider our donating to our fund.

Thank you for your ongoing support of this program. We believe that all people should have fair access to good food.

When You Support our Family Farm We Actually Do a Happy Dance!
(click the shop small button below to place an order)

MEAT LOVER'S 🎁 GIFT BAGS - For the food lover on your list. At 5 or 10 lbs our Holiday Gift Bags contain a variety of our customer favorites plus a sturdy insulated cooler bag. This gift needs to stay frozen.

The Neighborhood Roots Winter Farmers Market is this weekend!!! Grab your Thanksgiving shopping list and shop for quality, locally-raised ingredients at the market this Saturday. Pre-orders recommended.

Johnson Family Pastures freezers will be stocked with -

• Holiday Roasts - Pork Loin Roasts, Prime Rib, Sirloin Tip, and Brisket Roasts
• Summer Sausage for the snack platter
• Leaf Lard for your pie crust
• Plus Host Gifts - soaps, mustards, honey

This year we are giving thanks for our community, which has supported us during a dry, challenging farm season.

We acknowledge that we live in anishinaabewak and will be including some of the Bioneers' suggestions on Decolonizing Thanksgiving during our family's gathering.

With thanks,
Farmers Tamara & Chris

PS - Place your Pre-orders by noon Thursday!!!

​Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Foolproof Pie Recipe
 
Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 Tbl Sugar
• 12 Tbl cold unsalted butter, cut in ¼-inch slices
• ½ cup cold lard, cut into 4 pieces
• ¼ cup cold vodka
• ¼ cup cold water

 
Steps:

1. Process 1 ½ cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses.
2. Add butter and lard. Process until dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds. 
3. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into large bowl.

Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.