Raw Milk Eggnog Recipe

Nothing says the holiday season like turkey, pumpkin pie, and eggnog.

The problem is store-bought eggnog often has fillers, artificial flavors, dyes, and highly processed dairy and sugar.

The good news is you might have all of the ingredients to make this raw milk eggnog right now.

Inspired by The Prairie Homestead’s Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups Saint John’s organic grass fed raw milk

• 2 cups Saint John’s organic grass fed raw cream

• 6 pastured egg yolks

• ½ cup maple syrup or honey

• 1 tsp vanilla

• ½ tsp nutmeg

• ¼ tsp ground cloves

METHOD

Mix or blend all ingredients and chill well.

If you want this recipe to be thicker, beat 2 egg whites and a ½ cup cream until you get stiff peaks. Fold the beaten egg white into the eggnog.

If you try this recipe, tag us on Facebook or Instagram.

Is Apeel Safe? 3 Things You Need to Know

Have you heard of the controversial “edible coating” Apeel?

It’s a film that goes on produce to make it last longer, and it’s been approved by the USDA Organics program.

It’s invisible, odorless, and you can’t wash it off.

Many people doubt Apeel is really safe to consume, even though the Bill & Melinda Gates partnered company, Apeel Sciences, claims it is.

What You Need to Know:

1. Apeel is a tasteless, odorless, invisible food coating that dramatically slows down food spoilage.

It’s purpose is to extend shelf life of produce, to make the produce look fresh even if it’s been in a warehouse for weeks. There are versions of Apeel that can be applied before or after harvest. It’s on foods in over 65 countries, including organics in the U.S.

“Apeel already has approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). The two products will be marketed as preserving agents (keeping the outward appearance of freshness of the fruit or vegetable), as pesticides (creating a physical barrier for pests) or even as fungicides (such as preventing the anthracnose fungus from shriveling up avocados).”

— "Is Apeel Appealing?" - Weston A. Price Foundation

2. Apeel claims to be environmentally friendly and plant-based.

Apeel is extracted from food waste, like seeds, peels, pulps, and stems from plants. Apeel claims to source a lot of its ingredients from grape skins and seeds leftover from wine processing.

Though it may come from natural sources, the end result is a far cry from leftover orange peels because the raw ingredients undergo a transformation using industrial petrochemical extraction.

However, how “green” is it to use petrochemical solvents in the extraction process?

3. Apeel contains heavy metals and petrochemical solvents, and it may contain trans fats.

Apeel is made of purified monoglycerides and diglycerides, which are edible fatty acids commonly found in the often discarded parts of fruits and vegetables. These types of fatty acids may contain trans fats, which are known to cause obesity and metabolic syndrome.

The problem is the extraction process contains exposure to industrial petrochemical solvents and heavy metals. Apeel tested the amounts of these solvents and heavy metals in their submission statement to the FDA (page 14).

Apeel contains lead, cadmium, arsenic, palladium, and mercury. It claims to be in small enough amounts to not negatively impact the consumer, thus the USDA’s “Generally Recognized as Safe” classification.

Apeel says a consumer would need to ingest 30,000 apples to ingest 1 kg of Apeel. However, I don’t think you’d need to eat 1 kg of Apeel to get a substantial amount of heavy metals. We know heavy metals build up in the body over a lifetime. It’s not a fair comparison to say there are trace amounts of heavy metals in one piece of produce sprayed with Apeel. That may be true, but that person very well may eat thousands of apples in their lifetime, thus exposing them to heavy metals daily.

What Can You Do About It?

One of the best things you can do is to support local farmers and ask them questions about their growing process. There’s no need to use Apeel if you’re going straight to the source.

Another action step is to submit feedback online to your local grocer, especially if it’s a big chain. Tell them you don’t want produce coated with Apeel and won’t be purchasing any produce with an Apeel coating.

Slow Cooked Osso Bucco Recipe

by Jared Karle

Osso Buco, when slowly and tenderly cooked, transforms from one of the toughest cuts of the cow, into a savory and scrumptious dish. Online recipes are lifesavers. I found mine at Allrecipes.com.

First, I patted the osso buco dry; then I dusted the cuts in flour to make the beef brown extra well. Searing the beef was a piece of cake. (Well, it really was a piece of meat.) I fried the osso buco in 2 tablespoons of butter, for 4 minutes on each side.

Next, I removed it from the pan, added coined carrots and chopped onions, and then cooked this mixture on medium-low until the onions were translucent.

Quickly, I replaced the meat in the pan and added chicken stock, canned tomatoes, and apple cider vinegar.

The mixture simmered for 1½ hours with a lid.

At the end of this time, Voila! A delicious dinner to sink my teeth into.

Works Cited

Pickledpossum. “Traditional Osso Buco.” Allrecipes, 22 Mar. 2023. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/87389/traditional-osso-buco/. Accessed 11 Sept. 2023.

Getting the ingredients prepped

Searing the meat

Adding ingredients to the pan

Ready to eat

Spicy Garlic and Herb Grass Fed Burgers: The Best Way to Use Up Summer Herbs

A plate of spicy garlic and herb burgers with grilled onions.

by Courtney Meyerhofer

The herbs in my garden are out of control. They’re really taking over the place, and I needed something to put them in.

Enter summer garlic herb burgers.

Then my husband said “make them spicy”.

So I did. And wow, I did not regret it.

Even before cooking, the patties smelled amazing with the herbs, garlic, and jalapeno.

The best way to serve this? On a hamburger bun with some fresh mayo and garden veggies on the side.

This is a savory, juicy, garlic and herby spicy burger. It’s a lot of flavor for a little effort.

Don’t sleep on this one. You’ll be glad you tried it.

Loading up my burger with all the fixins.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lb Saint John’s organic, grass fed ground beef

• 2 jalapenos, minced

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp black pepper

• ½ cup summer herbs (parsley, thyme, basil, tarragon, oregano), minced

METHOD

Mix all ingredients together and shape into 8 ¼ lb patties.

Preheat a grill on high heat.

Cook for 3-6 minutes each side. 4 minutes each side yielded a medium-done burger for us.

Serve with summer tomatoes, zucchini, and grilled onions.

Enjoy!

If you try this recipe, tag us on Facebook or Instagram to let us know what you think.

Raw Milk Health Benefits: 8 Reasons why this Ancient Food is the Elixir of Life

Saint John’s cows grazing in the summer pastures.

by Courtney Meyerhofer

1. Raw milk enjoyers experience significant reduction in allergies, asthma, and hayfever

2. Raw milk alters gut microbiome so that glucose is better metabolized – preventing metabolic syndromes like diabetes and insulin resistance.

3. Raw milk heals the intestinal lining and “leaky gut”.

4. Raw milk rebalances the gut microbiome toward “good bacteria”.

5. High quality raw milk is healing for mammals, as mammalian milk is our perfect “first food”.

6. High calcium to phosphorous ratio of grass fed milk lowers cortisol and fights stress-related disease.

7. Grass fed raw milk is a rich source of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K – especially important for growing children and fertile women.

8. On average, one bottle of raw milk contains over 700 different strains of bacteria – better than any probiotic you can buy.

Inspired from Paul Saladino’s podcast interviewing Mark McAffee from Raw Farm

Steak with Creamy Peppercorn Recipe

by Courtney Meyerhofer

I’m not usually someone who enjoys a sauce on a steak. I typically like the steak to speak for itself. This sauce is the exception to that rule.

This creamy peppercorn sauce will take your steak game to the next level.

It’s creamy, peppery, and full of umami flavor.

The total time to make this meal is about 30 minutes. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

For steaks

• 2 Saint John’s organic grass fed steaks (I did sirloin but any will do)

• 2 Tbsp tallow

• Salt

For creamy peppercorn sauce

• ¼ onion, finely diced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 Tbsp peppercorns, crushed

• ½ cup beef broth

• 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

• ¾ cup Saint John’s organic grass fed raw cream

METHOD

Heat cast iron skillet on medium high heat until it’s really hot. Give it a few minutes to warm up properly.

Melt tallow in skillet.

Cook meat until desired done-ness is reached. I did 3 minutes per side for medium-rare.

Remove steaks to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add onion and cook until translucent.

Add garlic and crushed peppercorns Cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add beef broth and worcestershire sauce. Stir in cream.

Turn heat down to medium-low. Simmer for 7-10 minutes until thickened. It will thicken the longer it stands.

Serve as accompaniment to steak!

Grass Fed Beef Smash Burger Recipe

by Courtney Meyerhofer

Double patty smash burger with garlic-herb aioli

I’ll always like traditional patty burgers, but there’s something special about the smash burgers.

It’s fun.

It’s flavorful

It’s fast.

Smashing yields a burger that is delightfully crispy on the outside, a delicious sear that locks flavor and juices inside.

Add a homemade bun, a summer herb aioli, a squirt of ketchup, and buddy, we’re in business.

Here’s how I make smash burgers on a cast iron griddle on a gas grill.

It’s possible to make them indoors on a cast iron or stainless steel skillet over high heat, but be warned, there will be smoke. Lots of it. In your house.

Because to get the aforementioned crispy crunchy sear, you need high heat.

Also included: a sourdough bun (start these the night before) and an herb-garlic aiol recipei. Enjoy!

BURGERS

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs Saint John’s organic, grass fed ground beef

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• ½ tsp black pepper

METHOD

Mix meat and spices together and form into 3 - 4 oz balls, not patties. Use of a food scale for accuracy is helpful here. Refrigerate meat until ready to cook. The meat should be cold when it hits the pan.

Preheat a griddle pan on a gas grill over high heat or a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat on an indoor stovetop.

Once very hot, place 2 - 4 meat balls on the pan and use two spatulas to smash together, one spatula per hand, spatulas stacked to create an even and thin smash burger. Once smashed, slide the spatulas off the meat (do not lift the spatulas, as they will bring meat with them).

Cook for 2 - 3 minutes per side, checking with a meat thermometer for desired temperature.

SOURDOUGH BUNS

From Lisa at Farmhouse on Boone

INGREDIENTS

• ½ c sourdough starter

• 3 c flour

• 1 egg

• ¼ c butter or coconut oil, melted

• ¾ c warm water, milk, or whey

• 3 T honey

• 1 t salt

METHOD

The night before, add all ingredients to a stand mixer and knead with a dough hook for 5 - 10 minutes.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to ferment at room temperature for at least 8 hours.

4 - 5 hours before baking, divide dough into 8 equal pieces and shape into smooth, flat, round disks. Place in a warm spot to rise.

Once the dough has approximately doubled in size, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

GARLIC-HERB AIOLI

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pastured egg

• 1 pastured egg yolk

• ⅔ - 1 cup avocado oil

• 1 tsp mustard

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 3-4 Tbsp fresh herbs, finely chopped (basil, oregano, tarragon, parsley, thyme, etc.)

METHOD

Add egg and egg yolk to blender. Blend on medium speed then slowly drip in the oil through the top.

Start with ⅔ c of oil then slowly add to 1 c of oil if needed. You will know you have added enough oil when the aioli looks as thick as mayonnaise. If it looks loose or thin, try adding a bit more oil.

Add remaining ingredients and blend well.

(I recommend only using high quality pastured eggs since the eggs will be consumed raw).

mRNA Vaccines in Livestock: A Coming Trend?

by Courtney Meyerhofer

“Are your cows vaccinated for Covid?”

No, Saint John’s cows are not vaccinated for Covid.

The only vaccine they receive is the Brucellosis vaccine which has been required by law for many years. It is administered to females only between 4 and 12 months old.

In recent months there have been a few reports of “leaks” and “whistleblowers” decrying a Covid mRNA vaccine will be mandated for all cattle in the United States.

Many of the sources of this prophecy are unnamed, and the truth is that there currently is no mRNA Covid vaccine available for livestock or veterinary use.

However, that doesn’t discount the possibility of future adoption of an mRNA Covid vaccine in the conventional agriculture space.

Here’s What We Know

According to the CDC, livestock and other non-human animals can catch Covid from humans. However, per the USDA’s reports, no cases of livestock with positive Covid test have been found. 

There are no mRNA vaccinations for Covid currently available for livestock or veterinary use. The approval, testing, and distribution processes for animal use and human use are two different tracks and require different levels of disclosure and testing.

Since 2018, most grocery store pork has been vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine (not Covid).

Vaccinations and antibiotics are used routinely as a preventative measure in conventional agriculture to prevent disease, since disease is more prevalent in conventionally raised animals.

Disease is more common in conventional agriculture because animals are not raised in their ideal ecology, and the ecology of life creates the foundation for health, be it plant life or animal life.

Without adequate access to sunshine, high quality water, clean air in pastures, and species-appropriate food, the animal by definition cannot be healthy because it does not have health-producing inputs. The same is true for humans, by the way! Our ecology is our foundation, including our relationships, mindset, and habits. 

Conventionally raised cattle receive the aforementioned preventative antibiotics and vaccinations, contributing to the abundance of superbugs in conventionally-raised meat.

According to the USDA Certified Organic standards, an animal cannot receive antibiotics and be sold as “Organic”. However, the USDA does allow vaccinations for its certified Organic program.

mRNA Covid vaccines are currently being researched and developed. This signals that there may be significant funding available to develop vaccines and perform clinical trials. If a vaccine manufacturer could get an mRNA Covid vaccine on the standard vaccine schedule for livestock, they would make a fortune. Studies are linked in Resources section at end of article.

What We Don’t Know

Whether the USDA will allow mRNA-vaccinated beef to be labeled Organic is still to be determined. As it stands, if a bovine mRNA vaccine for Covid were approved and distributed, USDA certified Organic meat could receive the “preventative inoculation”.

We don’t know how an mRNA Covid vaccine would affect the tissues and byproducts of a vaccinated animal. It could be benign or it could cause unforeseen health implications for the consumer.

As a matter of principle, the consumer has a right to know what they are consuming. We must insist that products be properly labeled so that we can be informed consumers and make our own choices. A practical way to insist on this is to concentrate the majority of your food spending to well-sourced, well-labeled, locally raised food.

Resources

Alderspring article: https://www.alderspring.com/organic-beef-matters/glenns-response-to-the-mrna-vaccine/

Wisconsin Pork Association:

https://www.wppa.org/livestock-and-mrna-vaccines/

mRNA vaccines being developed for veterinary / livestock use:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8877136/

https://porcinehealthmanagement.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40813-020-00179-7

https://www.merck-animal-health-usa.com/species/swine/sequivity

Raw Milk vs Pasteurized Milk: A Look at the Research

Raw milk is a source of deep nutrition, and unprocessed whole, raw milk from grass fed cows has many benefits for those who can digest it well.

Raw milk is milk that has been minimally processed, and specifically not heated for pasteurization. Pasteurizing milk changes the profile of enzymes, bioactive peptides, nutrients, and beneficial bacteria that are naturally present in the milk and give the milk so many of its health-promoting qualities.

The pasteurization process may also be a reason why many people are “lactose intolerant”, as milk processing increases the allergenicity of milk.

The pasteurization process increases the shelf life and made milk accessible to city folk during the Industrial Revolution, but now we know that this processing has a major downside – it’s much harder for the body to metabolize.

This means that people who are lactose intolerant may only be intolerant of highly processed, ultra-pasteurized milk. Many people find they thrive on raw dairy instead, with its enzymes and bacteria intact to aid in digestion.

Additionally, raw milk has a protective effect for childhood asthma and allergies and raw milk is a supremely important food for nourishing growing children, athletes or those seeking muscle growth, and pregnant and nursing women.

Raw milk has been shown to boost muscle building in athletes. Drinking raw milk post-workout has been shown to decrease muscle damage, increase muscle repair, increase muscle protein synthesis, and reduce recovery time from workouts.

Nutritional Differences

Photo Credit Real Milk Campaign

Additionally, there is some emerging research that the milk fat globulins of raw milk may be protective of brain health. Milk fat globulins may be protective against neuro-degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s, as these globulins are fodder for brain growth and activity.

Raw milk can be an incredibly supportive food for many people. Check out our Raw Milk Co-op! Our milk is produced at a small scale, and all of our cows are 100% organically grass fed.

Grass Fed Beef Meatballs: Crispy and Quick Recipe

These crispy pan-fried meatballs are inspired from a favorite Hungarian cookbook, Cooking with Love and Paprika by Pasternak.

The paprika adds a subtle savory flavor that was very enjoyable. I recommend serving them with sour cream and ketchup!

• 2 lbs Saint John’s organic ground beef

• 4 eggs

• ⅓ cup shredded parmesan

• ½ large onion

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1 ½ tsp salt

• 2 tsp paprika

• ½ tsp black pepper

• 1 ½ cups breadcrumbs or blended rolled oats

• Plenty of tallow

METHOD

1. Blend onion in food processor or finely dice. Add all ingredients except breadcrumbs and tallow and mix well.

2. Shape mixture into small balls and roll in breadcrumbs or blended rolled oats.

3. Heat tallow or lard in a heavy bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat. You shouldn’t need enough tallow to deep fry, but enough to halfway submerge the meatball.

4. Add 5-7 meatballs and cook until an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees. This was approximately 4 minutes each side for my setup.

5. Keep warm and enjoy!