Star Brand Beef ~ Year One Recap!

First off, I now know why middle-men exist. Organizing and coordinating this first run was about three times as much work as I was expecting ~ and I was anticipating a lot. I’ve spent the last month catching up on everything that fell by the wayside this summer, hence my blog slacking of late. But it was so worth it. The reviews have been pouring in and they, too, exceeded my expectations:

“The beef is UNREAL. I grilled up some New York steaks and could cut them with a butter knife. I have never tasted beef like this. Ever. Bravo.”

“We have been buying sides [of beef] for a long time and this is the best ever.”

“Star Brand Beef is the best beef I have ever eaten! I’m not a great cook so I know it’s not my cooking skills but the actual meat :-) It was incredibly tender, flavorful and juicy. I only used a little bit of salt and pepper to season it, that was it.”

“Been to some high end steak houses but this was THE best steak I’ve ever had. Seasoned with salt and pepper only. Wow.”

“I have to say, this beef is incredible tasting. And this whole process has made me much more conscious of the meat industry.”

“Star Brand Beef is what a hamburger is all about. Spouse saysit’s the only beef he’ll eat from now on.”

“We grilled up a package of hamburger on Saturday night. They were unbelievable! It makes you wonder how it’s possible that we’ve been duped for so long into eating the tasteless stuff in grocery stores. I’ve been so thrilled with this whole experience…”

Healthy beef, humanely raised, better for the environment, and it’s delicious beyond words! Hurrah!

When we were loading Bethany’s truck, a number of local ranchers found reasons to “happen by” and watch. Word has spread around the area and I have a list of ranchers who want to talk with me and learn more about what I’m doing. This excites me so much ~ for this is how large-scale transformation of the industry and feedlot system (which is intimately linked with GMO corn and soy) can eventually take place.

In regards to the future: I’ll be spending the winter figuring out next year’s route, and the years beyond that. In addition to those in the East who patiently waited out this year, I’ve heard from a number of customers on the west coast who are hoping I’ll deliver West again next year, too. Hearing from you will help me enormously. I am putting together a mailing list, and info for next year’s sales will go out to this list before I make it public on the blog. If you’d like to get on this list, please email me with your name and city and state. If you have an idea of how much you’d like to order (whole, half, or quarter), that info will also help me plan for the future. I won’t be sending out many emails to this list and certainly won’t consider these emails from you as set-in-stone orders, rather, it’s information gathering so I can try to make everyone as happy as possible.

THANK YOU so much for your patience, support, and enthusiasm!

Skunked

So, it turns out having a skunk blow its load in one’s house is not as horrible as one would imagine.  The immediate smell is horrible ~ more horrible than you could imagine.  But dealing with it is not so bad!  It’s amazing how rejuvenating it is to have a break in routine, even when it’s caused by skunk-bombing.

I moved up to Mike’s house with Mushy, who is still healing from
her talon wounds and I didn’t want her outside.
Lo and behold, Mike and I realized we really like living together!
Quite a surprise for both of us ~ we’ve spent the last six years living like Frida and Diego ~ but good info for us to know as we scheme about the future….

The rest of the house Farmily stayed at my place, as I was back and forth often and had every door open day and night for them to come and go ~ and to air out the place.  A little scrubbing, a little laundry, a little purging of clutter, and home was back to normal and odor-free much sooner than I expected.

Thanks to everyone who emailed with suggestions ~ the hydrogen peroxide / baking soda / liquid soap recipe works like a charm.