Koch Ranches, Inc. Friday, January 6, 2012 thru Thursday January 12, 2012
Friday, August 25, 2011	Volume 3, Issue 1
In This Issue · This week’s markets & CSA pickup locations · Products · Koch Ranches News · Food News · Recipes Markets & CSA pickup: · Pearl Brewery Market Saturday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pearl Brewery 200 East Grayson Street · Quarry Farmers and Ranchers Market Sunday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Whole Foods, Quarry Market, 255 East Basse Road · Legacy Outdoor Market Sunday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Legacy Shopping Center near Lifetime Fitness NE corner of 281 and 1604 Products VENISON (AXIS): Ground Venison. All other cuts/items should be back in stock soon SAUSAGE: Wild Boar Pan Sausage, Italian Ring, Polish Ring and Alsatian Ring; Regular and Spicy Beef Snack Sticks, Regular and Jalapeño/Cheese Salami; Dried Sausage; Bratwurst & Hot Dogs. LAMB: Ground, Leg, Rack, Stew, Chops & Ribs GOAT: Rack of Goat, Goat Chops, Ribs, Shoulder Steaks, ground goat. Beef & Longhorn: Cowboy Rib eye, Chuck Steak, Sirloin, Boneless Sirloin, NY Strip, Filet, Roasts, Kabobs, etc. WILD BOAR: Whole pork loin, pork chops, ham, baby back ribs, spare ribs, ground pork, pork stew. Like us on facebook here: Info on Koch Ranches CSA http://www.kochranches.net/community-supported-ag.html Contact Us www.kochranches.net sales @kochranches.net (210) 213-8688
	Welcome back to Koch Ranches Weekly Newsletter We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are blessed with a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012. We have an exciting year planned and are looking forward to sharing our healthy, local, sustainable produce and our chemical-free, antibiotic-free, natural, grass-fed meats with you. Our CSA is in full swing (week 5 of our 10 week sub-season) and we are currently accepting pro-rated memberships. Come by the Koch Ranches booth at one our markets this weekend and see what you could be eating toward your goal of healthy living this year! The ranches are looking a bit greener after a couple of rains. The animals are fit and have grass to eat. The garden is growing strong. We are still, however, looking for more rain to alleviate the drought, as it is far from over. I hope to get some pictures in the newsletter next week to give you a glimpse of the ranch and its offerings. Thank you for your business this past year. We hope you have enjoyed your purchases. We feel blessed to have met you and look forward to serving you in the coming year.
	FDA backs off regulation on agricultural antibiotic abuse by Tara Green from: http://www.naturalnews.com/034572_agriculture_antibiotics_regulation.html Twas three days before Christmas and all through the U.S., people were shopping for last minute gifts. Sneakily into Big Agriculture’s stocking, the feds did deposit some deregulation. On December 22, the Food and Drug Administration quietly announced it would dispense with any regulation of antibiotic use on factory farms. This reverses an anti-livestock antibiotic stance the agency took back in 1977. Factory farming and antibiotics Thirty-four years ago, when the switch-over from small to industrial farming was not yet complete, the FDA had an inkling that giving small doses of antibiotics to livestock on a regular basis might result in the creation of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. At that time, the agency issued two notices of opportunity for hearing on this topic. The feds then spent the next three-and-a-half decades forming committees and consulting experts without making any announcement as to formal policy about antibiotic use on livestock farms. In the meantime, industrial farming grew into the behemoth it is today. Ever larger numbers of animals are stuffed into increasingly smaller spaces, surrounded by their own waste. The livestock are fed antibiotics to keep the filth of the animals’ lives from killing the humans that eat them. The FDA’s own statistics show that factory farms now account for 80% of antibiotic usage in the United States. Farms which allow livestock to roam unpenned have become rarities so that today “free range” farms, a term that would have been laughably redundant a generation or two ago, have to advertise their difference from industrial practices. The dangers of antibiotic use on livestock are almost universally acknowledged. The Pew Charitable Trust has a bibliography of the dozens of studies over a more than 40-year period pointing to the looming health crisis created by this agricultural antibiotic abuse. The American Medical Association, no one’s idea of an anti-industry radical organization, has even come out against this practice, noting that it can lead to drug resistant infections among humans. Yet the FDA announced that it will “focus its efforts for now on the potential for voluntary reform and the promotion of the judicious use of antimicrobials in the interest of public health.” Effective industry self-regulation on this issue seems highly unlikely. In 2010, the National Cattleman’s Beef Association claimed, in the face of a huge body of scientific evidence to the contrary, that there exists “no conclusive scientific evidence indicating the judicious use of antibiotics in cattle herds leads to antimicrobial resistance in humans.” Timing and politics The timing of the FDA announcement during the holiday season allowed it to pass largely without media attention. Only Wired Science blogger Maryn McKenna caught the small posting in the Federal Register and a few other news outlets have followed up on her story. The FDA did leave itself some leeway to pursue the agricultural antibiotic issue at a later date, stating that its recent action “should not be interpreted as a sign that FDA no longer has safety concerns or that FDA will not consider re-proposing withdrawal proceedings in the future, if necessary." Some observers have questioned whether this means the feds wish to prevent large donations from the meat industry to Obama's opponent in the 2012 presidential election. In the Federal Register notice of its decision, the FDA noted that it is accepting public comments on the issue of livestock antibiotics. You can visit this page http://www.regulations.gov/;D=FDA-2010-D-0094-0002 to express your opinion. Sources: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/12/fda-ag-antibiotics/ http://motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2011/12/fda-quietly-delivers-christmas-present-meat-industry http://saveantibiotics.org
	FEATURED RECIPES: MEAT RECIPE OF THE WEEK SMOTHERED PORK CHOPS (easy) from COOKS.COM Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,171,146171-251202,00.html Content Copyright © 2012 Cooks.com - All rights reserved. 4 pork chops 4 lg. slices of onion 4 slices tomato (canned tomatoes may be substituted) 1/2 c. uncooked rice Salt and pepper pork chops. Brown on both sides in skillet or electric fry pan. Place sliced onion on each chop; on top of this place tomato. Sprinkle rice around. Cover with water. Simmer 1 hour or until done. SMOTHERED PORK CHOPS (more difficult) From http://thedomesticman.com/2011/11/15/smothered-pork-chops/ 4 half-inch pork chops (bone-in, center cut preferred) 6oz uncured/nitrate-free bacon (about six strips), chopped 2 tbsp rice or coconut flour 1 cup each chicken and beef broth 1 tsp each sea salt and pepper 1 medium onion, chopped or blended 1 clove garlic, chopped finely 10 mushrooms, sliced 1/2 tsp thyme (fresh preferred, dried okay) 2 tbsp heavy cream 2 tbsp coconut oil To start, cook the bacon pieces in a saute pan on medium heat until crispy – next, remove the pieces with tongs and set the aside, keeping the grease in the pan. Turn the heat down to med/low and slowly stir in the flour. Toast the flour/grease roux for a few minutes, stirring frequently until it becomes aromatic. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the bacon/pork bits that get stuck on the bottom to mix them into your roux. Stir in the chicken and beef broths, salt and pepper. Bring to a slow boil and turn the heat down to low and leave it to simmer while you prepare your pork chops. Don’t worry if the gravy is too thin – but if it’s too thick, thin it a little with some water. In a Dutch oven, heat up 1 tbsp of the coconut oil for a few minutes on medium heat. Add the chopped/blended onions and sauté until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Scoop everything out and set aside. Add the second tbsp of coconut oil and turn up the heat to med/high, letting it heat up for a couple minutes. Add the pork chops, and brown on each side for about two minutes. If the pork chops are too big to brown four at once, brown them in batches. Once the pork chops are browned, layer them on the bottom of the Dutch oven and turn the heat down to low. Scoop the onion/garlic mixture on top of the chops, then the mushrooms, and then the bacon. Pour the gravy over everything. Cover with a heavy lid and cook for 45 minutes on low. Pull out the pork chops with some tongs and set them on a platter, covering them with tin foil. Turn up the heat on the Dutch oven to medium, and stir the cream and thyme into the gravy. Be sure to scrape up any browned pork chop bits so they mix into the gravy. This is your opportunity to get the proper consistency with your gravy – allow it to reduce if it’s too thin, or add some water to thin it if it’s too thick. Once the gravy is bubbling and at your desired thickness; pour it over your pork chops.
	CSA RECIPE OF THE WEEK: Have you ever eaten a kohlrabi? These little sputnik-shaped vegetables come in green or purple, can be eaten raw or cooked, and taste a lot like broccoli stems. The word kohlrabi is German for cabbage turnip (kohl as in cole-slaw, and rübe for turnip) though kohlrabi is more related to cabbage and cauliflower than to root vegetables. You can eat them raw, just peeled, sliced and added to a salad, but they are also delicious cooked and are often used in Indian cuisine.
	German-Style Stuffed Kohlrabi From: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/German-Style-Stuffed-Kohlrabi-10663#ixzz1iiI3gQ3L Yield: Serves 4 to 8 8 kohlrabies (about 5 pounds), bulbs peeled, stems discarded, and the leaves trimmed of tough center ribs 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1 garlic clove, chopped fine 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter 1 pound ground pork 1/2 cup cooked long-grain rice 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves plus additional for garnish if desired 2 tablespoons sweet paprika 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram, crumbled 1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 large eggs, beaten lightly 3 1/2 cups chicken broth 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 cup heavy cream Trim 1/4 inch from the root end of each kohlrabi bulb so the bulb will stand upright, scoop out the pulp from the opposite end with a small melon-ball cutter or spoon, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shells, and chop it fine (there will be about 2 3/4 cups). In a large kettle of boiling salted water cook the kohlrabi leaves for 3 minutes, or until they are just tender, drain them well, and chop them fine (there will be about 2 cups). In a large skillet cook the onion and the garlic in 2 tablespoons of the butter over moderate heat, stirring, until the onion is golden and transfer the mixture to a large bowl. To the bowl add the pork, the rice, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the paprika, the marjoram, the caraway seeds, the tomato paste, the eggs, 1/2 cup of the kohlrabi pulp, 1/4 cup of the chopped kohlrabi leaves, and salt and pepper to taste and combine the mixture well. Divide the mixture among the kohlrabi shells, mounding it, and arrange the shells in a shallow flameproof baking dish just large enough to hold them in one layer. Scatter the remaining pulp and leaves in the dish and pour in the broth. Bring the broth to a boil and simmer the shells, covered partially, for 30 to 50 minutes, or until they can be pierced easily with a sharp knife. Transfer the shells with a slotted spoon to a plate, reserving the cooking mixture in the baking dish, and keep them warm. In a small saucepan cook the flour in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over moderate heat, whisking, for 3 minutes and whisk in the cream. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking, simmer it for 1 minute, and stir it into the reserved cooking mixture, a little at a time. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook the sauce over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is thickened. Return the stuffed shells to the baking dish and garnish them with the additional parsley.
Cheryl Koch Ludwick 50 Haverhill Way San Antonio, TX 78209 (210) 827-8864 cheryl@kochranches.net www.kochranches.net