AUG 2019
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Let's talk about....

SILVER SPRING RANCH
South of Bellevue, the approximately 3,500 acre Silver Spring Ranch has been transitioning over the last five years from a traditional barley and alfalfa farm into one that employs an agrarian, back-to-the-land approach.

This is a vital change since the farm raises multiple types of cattle on an organic plant based-diet near world famous Silver Creek. In fact, more than 70 percent of water in Silver Creek begins on the Silver Spring land. The proximity to the pristine waters of Silver Creek is one reason its cattle are needle-free (no antibiotics) and clean of any chemicals. The other is that the cattle raised there is a better product that tastes amazing.

“We stopped chemicals staring about five years ago, so we’re nearly three years clean,” said Brandon Jones, Silver Spring manager.

He said the plan is to basically create their own organic label that goes beyond the federal label.
“Idaho Clean Beef or Clean Cattle,” Jones said. “We throw it around in our social media and marketing. We want to be transparent, so among ourselves we call it clean beef. We want people to know that unless a cow is dying or is sick we don’t use any antibiotics. If its sick it’s out of the loop. We’ll cut a notch in its ear. We permanently mark these animals so they don’t get in a package.”

As well, Silver Spring raises several types of cattle cross breeding them to create a better animal. They raise predominantly Hereford and Angus as well as White Park, Shorthorn, and Brahman .

“We don’t believe in chasing a breed,” Jones said. “We believe in creating resilient hybrid bovine which has resiliency. What intrigued me was the natural marbling we were getting. To get a good fat content they have to meet nutrition standards. I don’t finish them with corn or straight. We grow a poly-culture of legume, sedge, grass, forb, and brassica in our fields, so there’s a variety of food groups to choose from even in the winter bale feed. We only use what we grow on the ranch.
I listen to the cattle by watching them.”


NourishMe prices for Silver Spring Ranch beef:
 
Rib Eye $20 lb.
Flank Steak    $15 lb.
NY Strip         $20 lb.
Tenderloin     $25 lb.
T-Bone            $18 lb.
Ground Beef  $7 lb.
 
Random Food Shots
of our house made items

New Products
Orchestra Provisions Gourmet Cricket Seasonings are available at NourishMe. Founded by Kate Stoddard, an Idaho native with a masters in the science of nutrition, she created Orchestra Provisions to solve current problems facing strained food systems, limited resources and a booming human population.

About 2 tablespoons of cricket powder equal 9 grams of protein and provides iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium, B-vitamins, fatty acids and prebiotic fiber.
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EVENTS



 HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE
Come say cheers to our fearless leader, on Sunday, Aug. 4.


Waterwheel Gardens mini-farmers Market every Thursday 2-6 p.m.
Fresh produce, eggs, berries, jams and much more.

 
Local Food Alliance will present a farm to table "Elevated Table" dinner Friday, Aug. 9 , for an unforgettable night of food and fun at Silver Spring Ranch (see above). Savor four exquisite courses prepared by talented local chef Sean Temple with ingredients from Silver Spring and surrounding farms. Sip a distinctive wine from Sawtooth Winery with each course. Save room for a special dessert from pastry chef Sarah Lipton of Hank & Sylvie's.

Check for more food related events at Local Food Alliance.
Monthly Recipe

This Roman dish of risotto-stuffed tomatoes on a bed of potato wedges is perfect for the coming tomato season in Idaho. It’s adapted from Rachel Roddy's “My Kitchen in Rome”. This is a great side dish to simple grilled or roast meat.
Use ripe, but firm tomatoes that will hold their shape well while baking. Additions that will work are fresh parsley, oregano or mint. Prep time 55 minutes. Cook time 1 hour.
Ingredients:
  • 8 firm, tasty round tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 8 basil leaves, torn (and/or mint, parsley or oregano)
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 tablespoons arborio rice
  • 1 pound roasting potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 2 pinches salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
Heat oven to 350° F.
·       Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and reserve them for later. Scoop out the seeds, juice and flesh inside the tomatoes with a teaspoon and collect in a bowl. Blend this mixture then strain through a sieve to remove the seeds or puree with a mouli or food mill.
·       Sprinkle the insides of the empty tomatoes with some salt and turn upside down over some kitchen paper to drain any excess liquid.
·       Add the garlic, basil, three-quarters of the olive oil and the arborio to the tomato. Season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Let this rice and tomato mixture sit at least 45 minutes.
·       Toss the potato wedges with the rest of the olive oil, sprinkle well with salt and place them at the bottom of a casserole dish or baking tray.
·       Fill each tomato until three-quarters full, put the tops of the tomatoes back on like a lid and nestle the tomatoes on top of the potatoes. Bake for 1-1¼ hours or until the potatoes are golden and cooked through, the tomatoes are shriveled, and the rice is tender.
·       Let the dish cool slightly before serving, as much as an half an hour.

Heat, Cool, Freeze
  • In the café: Available daily are fresh juices, smoothies, delicious and nourishing soups including a vegetarian option. Everyone is welcome to pull up a chair at the cozy cafe tables, or take their soups and salads to go. Also available are sandwiches, take-away items, coffee and tea.
  • In the cooler, find fresh local organically fed and raised eggs, krauts, cheese, gourmet items, butter, seasonal fruit and other produce.

  • In the freezer, customers will find a choice selection of organic meats, and other foods.
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Reading and Eating


A collection of stories edited by Devon A. Mihesuah, a member of the Choctaw Nation, and a professor in International Cultural Understanding at the University of Kansas, "Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States" addresses nearly every aspect of indigenous food sovereignty.
Chapters take on everything from revitalizing ancestral gardens and traditional ways of hunting, gathering, and seed saving to the difficult realities of racism, treaty abrogation, to tribal sociopolitical factionalism, and the entrenched beliefs that processed foods are superior to traditional tribal fare.
Contributors include scholar-activists in the fields of ethnobotany, history, anthropology, nutrition, insect ecology, biology, marine environmentalism, and federal Indian law, as well as indigenous seed savers and keepers, cooks, farmers, spearfishers, and community activists.
After identifying the challenges involved in revitalizing and maintaining traditional food systems, these writers offer advice and encouragement to those concerned about tribal health, environmental destruction, loss of species habitat, and governmental food control.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”