Turkeys are one of my favorite animals to raise. They are fairly social and curious, which makes them entertaining to some degree.

I raise two different types:

- Broad Breasted Bronze Turkeys, a heritage bird crossed with a standard white broad breasted white turkey

- Standard Bronze Heritage Turkeys

The bronze heritage turkeys started hatching in March, and the last group in mid-May for Thanksgiving. The last two hatches - first of June and mid June - will be reserved for replacement hens for next year.

The heritage breeding flock is getting old and my Toms (males) aren't as effective anymore at breeding the hens. This year our conception rate was at about 50%, so there will be likely only about 120 heritage turkeys available.

Just yesterday, I moved the heritage turkeys from their brooder facility (think nursery) to the outside. They are currently confined to an open air barn for a few weeks so that they know this is home. This is important for these birds because they roam a long way and can fly. If they don't have an established home they would soon be off to the next farm or into the woods.

Here in about 2 weeks the heritage turkeys will have 7 acres to themselves and a stream for fresh water. They are the talk of the neighborhood usually as cars honk at them on the edge of the road or stop to take pictures.

Photo here: Heritage turkeys in their new home for a few weeks before the netting is removed from the front wall to let them roam.

In the brooder house, the broad breasted bronze turkeys are now 2 weeks old. They arrived with some friends as well - 1500 broilers. The theory here is that turkeys are more difficult to start, both because they are more sensitive to heat but also because they have a hard time finding the feed and water.

The broilers (white birds in the photo to the left) quickly find the feed and water, and the turkeys are copy cats. If one turkey does something, you better bet they all are going to do that. If there is a screw hole in a piece of sheet metal, each bird will take their turn pecking at it to see what it is.

So, in the sense of learning to eat and drink, if the turkeys see a broiler hitting the water nipple and getting a drink, they will try the same thing. Soon, you'll have 10 turkeys fighting over the same water nipple. (photo right)

In about 2 weeks, the broilers will be separated out and moved outside, leaving the turkeys for another week or two to size up before moving to pasture. If I move them out too soon and the weather gets wet and cool, they will quickly pile up and I'll be shoveling dead birds out of the field.

In all, the turkeys live for 18 weeks (Heritage between 24 and 28 weeks) before making it to your Thanksgiving dinner table.

Two longtime locavores have teamed up to start a new mushroom operation. Warren Taylor, formerly of Snowville Creamery, and Abbe Turner, of Lucky Penny Creamery, are working together to grow high quality shitake mushrooms.

I particularly like the shitakes because I feel like I get a better yield with them than oysters. They also have a better shelf life in the fridge and a size just perfect for the sauté pan alongside a steak and potatoes.

This week we have 8 oz. bags of shitakes on sale for $6 per bag. Order online.

This photo doesn't do it justice. My dishes and the lighting in my house aren't really instagram worthy.

I wanted to share a "recipe" with you. We try to use every part of our share at home. This includes the stems, anything getting wilty, etc. I must confess, I get behind too and sometimes overwhelmed. Over the last several weeks, somehow extra peas, kale, and broccoli were making their way to my home refrigerator.

The broccoli florets are easy to use. Steam them, delicious and done. But what about the stems? I feel bad throwing them out so I collect all my stems in a bag and keep them in the refrigerator for later use (you can also freeze them).

I then peeled the stems with a paring knife and boiled them until tender. I braised down some extra greens in a big batch (see recipe below) and made veggie stock from some carrot tops, onion scraps, and celery leaves (scraps that I had saved from earlier in the season and stored in the freezer).

Step 1: Peel the broccoli stems. Boil in just enough water to cover until tender.

Step 2: Chop an onion and sweat in oil or butter.

Step 3: Combine sweated onion and broccoli (with cooking liquid) in Vitamix, food processor or stick blender. Spin until smooth, adding veggie stock until desired consistency

Step 4: Fold in braised greens and broccoli florets. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 5: Season with salt and pepper.

Strip your greens from the stems. You can do this with kale, broccoli leaves, collards, mustards, or even spinach and swiss chard. The only difference in greens is how long you cook them. Spinach is tender and will cook quickly. Broccoli leaves, collards, and mature kale will take longer.

In a large heavy bottomed skillet or pot, melt some lard or oil in the hot pan. Wash your greens and add them wet. Watch for splattering grease. Stir the greens and coat in the grease. Season lightly with salt. Let them cook over medium heat until they start to wilt.

Once the greens are getting soft, add a chopped onion. Let the greens cook until they start to stick to the pan, then add some liquid - water at a minimum or stock. Sometimes I use tomato juice if I have it. Cover and let stew until tender. This depends on the type of green and how mature it is. The key is to keeping the greens in liquid at this stage.

Once the greens are tender, uncover the pan and cook until liquid starts to evaporate. Add some minced garlic, a squeeze of honey, and a couple splashes of cider vinegar. Adjust salt, pepper, and vinegar to taste. Add a few crushed pepper flakes or finely chopped jalapeno for a bit of heat.

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