As daylight of 2023 creeps towards the solstice, Racey and I have been practicing the exercise of celebrating what we have, practicing the act of giving and receiving, and practicing setting goals for next year.
My celebration this past week was setting new goals for myself, and I’m excited to share some of the opportunities and offerings this will bring next year. Stay tuned.
Giving and receiving also takes practice. For me, the receiving is more challenging, which ties back into the goal setting I’ve been working on. Can I set goals and receive what comes? Can I feel worthy of the gifts that I am given?
Racey and I have also been working on farm and business goals. One of our goals is to support human and environmental health through food production, and in digging into what this means we’ve realized that this is bigger than our farm. Change extends beyond the boundaries of our farm and this is part of the goal.
Change begins in our minds; change is a perspective shift. Do you remember the first time you made a change? Maybe the first time you signed up for a CSA, or bought food at the farmers market, or ordered meat online directly from a farm? What was that change for you? Maybe there was someone in your life that helped you see food differently? Maybe your own health or the health of a loved one changed how you see what you eat every day?
During this holiday season I invite you to be that change for someone. Maybe change means giving a gift card or a gift box from our farm or another farm you believe in. Maybe change means having a conversation with a friend. Maybe change means growing your own food, or learning more about where your food comes from. What change will you live?
How to give the gift of Reber Rock Farm food:
Visit our Gifting Page, select from a variety of gift cards or one of our curated gift boxes. When purchasing a gift card you will automatically get a receipt with your purchase emailed to you with the gift card code. Pass that on to whomever you are gifting to and tell them to enter it at checkout.
Gift boxes are a fun and easy way to help someone dive right into trying our food. Leave a gift note in the comments section and we will hand write it for you and send the box directly to the recipient.
Try it! Send a gift, support our farm, inspire your friends and family with some great tasting meat direct from our farm.
Introducing Shoulder Bacon
Next in the lineup of fun new pork items to try is Shoulder Bacon, also known as Cottage Bacon or Irish Bacon. Shoulder Bacon is just what it sounds like: bacon made from the shoulder of the pig. More specifically, it’s made from the Butt, or upper neck/shoulder area, known for its excellent flavor and great marbling.
Shoulder bacon is smoked and cured the same way we make our No-nitrate Bacon (made from the belly of the pig) with just salt and sugar, plus a trip to the smoker with natural hickory wood smoke. No nitrates of any kind, either synthetic or naturally occurring like in celery powder.
So what’s the difference between shoulder bacon and regular belly bacon?
Shoulder bacon, as the picture above shows, is more of a round or oval strip of bacon. Shoulder bacon is leaner and meatier than belly bacon, making it great for sandwiches or pizza toppings. This is our first time having shoulder bacon so there is a limited supply until the spring when we will butcher the next round of pigs. Try some while supplies last!
Walk in the woods
I went for a walk in the woods this week during some of the colder mornings we’ve had so far. The ground has been soft and saturated from so much late fall rain and snow melt, so I set off to rest my mind on the hardening paths of the woods around the farm. One game I play every time I walk or run in the woods is to remember to look up. So often my head is bent down in thought, and I try to remember to look up and see what is around me.
On this walk it was the ground itself that reminded me of this game. I saw this beautiful frost crystal poking up through the leaves of my path. Sometimes it takes looking down to remember to look up.
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