One of my absolute favorite food styles is BBQ. I love all sorts of BBQ, from brisket to beans. I love BBQ chicken, hot links, and of course pulled pork. When the wife and I got married we had some of our Poly friends prep…

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…

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…

This was originally written for Homestead Living Magazine in the May 2024 issue and in that issue was titled “Up in Smoke – the Art and Science of Smoking Meat.” The inspiration for building a smoker on our farmstead was essentially an evolution. We had…

At Lake Joy Farmstead we take great pride in how we raise our animals.  We believe in a holistic approach that is beneficial to the earth, the animal and of course the ultimate destination, the family dinner table. Currently we raise (primarily) Angus beef and…

These are fancy cattle with good carcass genetics from registered Angus cows, bred by the top Angus and Wagyu bulls available, animals that we have raised with care and kindness. Pigs too. Let’s assume an average sized 20 to 24-month-old animal weighs approximately 1,200-1400 lbs.;…

I have mentioned it before and I will probably always think this way, that in most cases, across multiple cultures, peasant food is the best food. The poor folks have had to do much more with much less and had to find a way to…

The story goes like this. I have a black moleskine book that I have been compiling recipes in since about 2005. The kids have asked for it when I die and I am not sure what to do with that prospect. It has all kinds…