The hanger steak, often referred to as the “butcher’s cut,” has an interesting history tied to the practices of butchers and their appreciation for the more flavorful, yet less well-known, parts of the beef. Historically, the hanger steak was a prized cut among butchers. Its…

Today I am excited to have Darron Marzolf of Falling River Meats, a 4th generation butcher from the Puget Sound.  We discuss the history of the butcher business in his family, how things have changed since his family started, and how small farmers can work…

SHOW NOTES Today I am excited to have our feed supplier, Brad Murphy and The Red Bridge Farm. We use their feed for our cattle, pigs and birds. We have had EXCELLENT feedback from our customers on the quality of the feed and how our…

Join me in a discussion with Larry Snyder as a mentor to many at Starbucks, professional photographer, author and auctioneer. “That Starbucks location introduced me to 1000’s of interesting people like you. My friend Traca coined the phrase “Curiosity Conversations” which drives my interactions every…

I have updated this post to reflect the fact we now grow our own eggs and use them every day but decided to keep some of the raw elements of the original post from 2012. I also combined three posts into one as you will…

One of the great stories in all distillation history is when apples are fermented into cider and then distilled into whiskey (or bandy). Simple, delicious and intensely North American (if that matters). This favorite takes Applejack Whiskey, add our apple bitters and some simple syrup…

One of the recent projects we put together was working through a barn quilt maker in the Midwest to turn our little farm logo into a barn quilt. When I pitched it to my wife, she was a smidge skeptical as it isn’t all that…

There are a lot of things we have learned in our short time owning a little farm. Some are dramatic (cows trying to leap fences) while some are so subtle and so simple and yet provide tremendous joy. One such item is lard. Lard was used…

At Lake Joy Farmstead we take great care of our pigs.  Our “pastured pork” is free to graze all day, every day, and we supplement their grazing with 100% organic, non-GMO, Washington based pig feed. When you select your portion, from 1/4 to whole, we…

At Lake Joy Farmstead we take great care of our cows.  Our cows are 100% grass-fed and grass finished and have access to pasture their entire life. We use the very best haylage and alfalfa from throughout Washington state. When you select your portion, from…