80 Lambs and Counting...

Lambing has been well underway on the farm.  Almost all my ewes twin.  I was expecting most of the lambs in March but obviously the rams got a jump start on things.  One of my turkey hens has begun her nest and the chickens are laying eggs like crazy again.  The fruit trees are budding out and Priscilla and June, my two Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, are pregnant.  Sounds like an early Spring to me!

Winter Open House Today

The Winter Open House is still happening on the farm today.  It looks like the rain will hold off.  Stop by for a visit between 11 am and 4  pm.  Wear your boots!

Shop the Farm Store: Make Your List and Check it Twice!

We've been busy transforming the Farm Store into a modern country larder offering farm-raised, fresh food.  And now that Winter is upon us,  it's time to cook up a delicious feast! While you're making your list of fresh, local treats to pick up make sure the Happy Hens Farm Store is your first stop.

We carry cheeses and whole milk from Spring Hill Dairy, Straus Creamery, Achadinha Cheese Company, and St. Benoit.  Each of these organic dairy products is delicious on its own or mixed into your favorite omelette, french toast, or macaroni dish.  Pair some of our fresh, pastured chicken or duck eggs with artisan cheeses for a hearty breakfast.

As a special treat for the holidays, why not buy a little organic fruit extract to drizzle atop breakfast, yoghurt or dessert?  Hidden Star Orchards has organic fruit extracts that we can't seem to get enough of!  They are kind of like a syrup but no sugar is involved in the making and the flavor is pure fruit and fabulous.  They come in four flavors:  Cherry, Pomegranate, Apple and Blueberry.  (Personally, I'm crazy about the cherry.)

Nuts and just-picked seasonal veggies are packed on the table and shelves in the store and the walnuts are a special treat this time of year.  We have fresh produce from Full Belly Farm, Laguna Farms, Paradise Valley and Noeller Farms.  We also have small-batch, artisan extra virgin olive oil from Sylverleaf.  Made from olive trees in the Sierra Foothills, we discovered this olive oil at the Thursday Farmers Market at the Marin Civic Center and think it's fabulous!

Of course, we still have our pastured chicken and duck eggs; pastured chickens, stewing hens, and heritage pork; and 100% grass-fed lamb, goat and beef.  Plus, we have house-cured bacon from our heritage pork, lard, stock and sausage available.

Now that you've decided to shop and eat locally and seasonally, we have lots of recipes and suggestions for you.  Be sure to visit the store, chat with us and stock your winter pantry.

This Weekend at the Store

We have freshly-harvested whole chickens today at the store.  And if you've never tried goat meat, we have our 100% grass-fed goat meat available, too.  We raise Kiko and Kiko cross goats for meat.  (Kiko is a New Zealand meat goat breed.)  Did you know that 70% of the red meat consumed in the world is goat meat?  It's mild, lean and delicious.  We also have our usuals — grass-fed beef, lamb and pastured pork, too.  Eggs are dwindling this time of year but hopefully some of our younger pullets will begin laying soon!

This Saturday at the Marinwood Farmers Market

Our Saturday Menu: Back by popular demand, our wonderful apple-maple syrup topping for the French toast that includes organic apples from Nana Mae's caramelized in organic Jersey butter from Spring Hill and then blended with organic maple syrup. We will also have our house-made Petaluma Farmhouse Sausage for scrambles. (You can also buy some to take home.) Or try one of our Lamburgers for lunch. These are made with Happy Hens Farm 100% grass-fed lamb and served with our house-made Heirloom Yellow Tomato Chutney. (We've been harvesting the last of our tomatoes and couldn't resist this recipe.) Will also be serving our Grilled Cheese and Heirloom Tomato sandwiches and our 100% grass-fed beef Hamburgers (aka the Happy Hens Farmburger). Have a good day at the market tomorrow!

Our Saturday Menu at Marinwood Farmers' Market

Since Fall begins tomorrow, we came up with lots of delicious Autumn-inspired offerings for tomorrow's market. First of all, we have our house-made Petaluma Far

mhouse Sausage, made with our own pastured pork. Try it in one of our egg scrambles or have a sausage burger instead of hamburger tomorrow. You can buy some to take home, too. We have a wonderful apple-maple syrup topping for the French toast that includes organic apples from Nana Mae's caramelized in organic butter from Straus Creamery and then blended with organic maple syrup. (Double yum!) And lastly, we have grilled cheese and heirloom tomato sandwiches made with organic Colby Jack from Spring Hill Jersey Cheese and organic heirloom tomatoes from Happy Hens Farm. Come celebrate Fall at the market!"

Petaluma East-side Farmers Market

We'll be at the new Petaluma East-side Farmers Market selling our pastured eggs, grass-fed lamb and grass-fed beef.  This is Petaluma's first year-round farmers market and will have over 50 vendors.  The markets are every Tuesday morning from 10 am - 1:30 pm at the Community Center, 320 North McDowell.  We will also be using this market as one of our pick-up locations for our CSA.  Stop by and say hello!