Make sure you come by and pick up your Halloween Pansies! We planted up black and yellow pansies in a six inch pot so you can easily drop it in a pot or plant it in your planters by your front door. Everyone will love the “Halloween Color” that is part of your decorations!
We only have two more Saturdays till our Fall Farmers Market Ends!! Make sure you come out to our Vaughn Rd location this Saturday Morning to load up on locally grown veggies, honey, goat cheese and much more. While your getting your veggies, pick up some BBQ for all those college football games you be watching Saturday. They are cooking it fresh right here at the Market!
We love this new architectural round mirror that is in our “Interiors” Room. Its hand made out of reclaimed wood and would look great in any room in your home from the bathroom to the living room.
We have been busy little bees here at Southern Homes and Gardens. We are putting the finishing touches on our Christmas decorations and they look fantastic! We are very excited about every theme that we have this year and want to share our designers handy work with you. Pictured is our “Winter Wonderland” theme. This is the opening theme to each of our stores this year and we just love how the whites and silvers make such a big impact. We have Amie Brown to thank for the inspiration behind this theme!
Check out this great find that we picked up at the High Point, NC show! They are hand carved wood pieces that are reproductions of architectural fragments from the turn of the century. Use them to stack out an assortment of candles, as a serving tray, lamp stand or a pedestal for home accessories. They are located in our “Interiors” Room at the Vaugh Road store. Get yours before they are gone, they are selling fast!
We have just returned from the High Point, NC furniture market and have been inspired!! These photos were taken in many of the showrooms where we get our furniture and accessories. Make sure you come by our Vaughn Rd. store to see our new “Interiors Room”. We have put together the same look that you see in these photos…bleached wood furniture, architectural pieces, art work and cowhide rugs! You are going to love it!
We’re excited to introduce you to another one of our outstanding Fall Farmers Market vendors….
Oakview Farms
Oakview Farms owners, Joe & Patty
Oakview Farms is a family owned and operated gristmill and working farm in beautiful Elmore County, Alabama. Owners Joe and Patty Lambrecht began in 1998 as Oakview Farms Granary, a stone burr gristmill, general store and whole grain source. Their business has grown by such leaps and bounds, they decided to expand into a diverse hydroponic greenhouse operation, blueberry U-pick, honey bee farm, and a local grower for fresh seasonal vegetables. Oakview Farms believes in food safety and food quality, and offers their customers sustainably grown vegetables and fruits, chemical free and organic grains, and raw honey from their bees. Also available are bulk grains, bread baking equipment and supplies, fresh free range eggs, and meat goats.
Oakview Farms’ products and produce are the freshest possible and used by many fine restaurants and chefs in the Southeast. Their general store is usually open 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. During the summer farmers market season, Joe and Patty can be found at numerous places where the Buy Fresh Buy Local markets are held. Summer hours will change accordingly.
Plans for Oakview Farms are to expand even further! Their website is in last stages of being completely redesigned and updated, so watch @ www.oakviewfarms.com for new items, events, and sign up for their email list!
Check out one of Oakview Farms’ favorite recipes:
Oakview Farms Granary
Broccoli Jalapeno Cornbread
1/2 cup stone ground cornmeal, white or yellow
1/2 cup soft unbleached OR all purpose flour *
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 cup sugar
8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
5 ounces frozen broccoli (or 1 cup fresh steamed/chopped)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 -2 fresh jalapeño peppers OR jalapeno slices to taste, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease and preheat large iron skillet.
Stir dry ingredients together well, then add remainder in order listed. Batter will be stiff.
Bake in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.
* if using self rising flour, adjust leavenings and salt
So come visit Oakview Farms and our other market participants every Saturday to get the freshest locally grown and produced goods this Fall including organic milks & cheeses, seasonal produce, baked goods, homemade soups to-go, heirloom pumpkins and MUCH more!
Saturday mornings at our Vaughn Road store location sure got a bit more tasty (& stylish!) this past weekend with the kickoff of the Fall Farmers Market! Beginning at 7:30am, our Fall market opened with many tasty baked goods, seasonal produce and more – all locally made and grown!
Fall just isn’t Fall without a few staples to usher in the season properly: pumpkins and gourds. Luckily, there were no shortage of either at our market this past weekend! We quickly fell in love with these beautiful polished heirloom pumpkins and gourds (grown in Chilton County by Scarbrough Farms)- ideal for decorating inside your home or out. For inside decorations, think mantles, dining table centerpieces, coffee tables, kitchens or wherever fits your fancy! Outdoors, these polished pumpkins and gourds make a striking statement stacked together in a container, in a grouping by any entrance, mailbox or patio.
Heirloom pumpkins & gourds make a great Fall statement
A few other reasons we fell in love with these heirloom pumpkins and gourds:
Wide variety is the key to making a seasonal splash
Did you miss out this past weekend at our Farmers Market? No worries, we’ll continue them every Saturday morning (7:30am til 12noon) at our Vaughn Rd location….stop by and pick up some Fall goodies!
The De Jong family - the success behind Working Cows Dairy!
Working Cows Dairy is a family owned and operated dairy farm in Southeast Alabama. Milking 425 cows, 2 times per day on a 48 stall carousel milking barn. As of November 1st 2009, we are Alabama’s First Certified Organic Dairy.
Mission Statement:
To produce healthy certified organic milk and distribute it to the general public at an affordable price, while maintaining a Grade A product that brings back the taste of old-fashion cream-rising milk.
In 1985, Jan and Rinske de Jong, came to the land of opportunity with a dream to start a dairy of their own. Working Cows Dairy was started in October 1985. The de Jong’s milked 180 cows for a dairy farmer in Cottondale Florida and for that they were allowed to use his barn and 40 acres. They leased 55 cows, with the $5,000 they had saved in Holland, and started milking about 20 hours a day. In the spring of 1986, Jan planted watermelons on part of the land and had a fruit stand on Hwy 231. The De Jong’s stayed for 2 years and then left with 29 cows to a rented place in Grand-Ridge Florida. There they expanded their family to three boys (Jonny, Mendy and Ike). The De Jong’s then worked their way up from 29 cows to 220 cows only four years later! They moved again to their current location in June 1991.
Going Organic: Quite an adventure!
In July 2006, Working Cows Dairy decided to go organic. They were tired of the milk price “rollercoasting” – 2006’s milk price was the same as in 1976! Going organic was a way that they could get a more level milk price and a product they could one day sell themselves.
In preparation to become organic, they had to start from the ground up – literally. Their fields could not been sprayed with chemicals, pesticides or herbicides and they were are not allowed to use commercial fertilizers.
Second, the cows had to become certified. After being 2 years deep into the transition period, our cows went through their change. They were fed all organic feed and also treated with organic “medicine”.
Happy and healthy organic cows make Working Cows Dairy work!
By May 1st 2010, with the help of their sons, the De Jong’s started a bottling plant on the farm and began selling Grade A pasteurized milk!
Products
Organic Milk by the Gallon or ½ Gallon
Organic cheese too!
Fresh, grass fed, wholesome, organic, local, cream-rising milk on the farm…the best you’ll find anywhere!
Interesting Facts & Tidbits
Q: Why do we do low temperature pasteurize?
You may wonder “what is low temperature pasteurization?” – it’s the process of heating the milk up to the minimum temperature required by law. It is held at that temperature for 30 minutes.
Q: Is Low Temp. Pasteurization healthier?
Yes, it is. There are all kinds of bacteria living in milk and depending on the farmer, most of the bacteria is good. When the milk is pasteurized, it kills the bacteria off. The hotter you go, the more bateria is killed. By only heating to the minimum required temperature, we are preserving as much of the bacteria
Q: Why our milk is more expensive than the conventional milk
All cows at Working Cows Dairy eat mainly organically-grown, causing production to be reduced by as much as 65%. We used to feed high-powered diets: Lots of Corn, Soy bean meal, Citrus pulp, Distillers Grain, Cottonseed. Cows were producing a lot of milk, but cows were being replaced every 2-3 years. By going organic, cows at Working Cows Dairy, will be around much longer (6-7 years), but will not produce a lot of milk. By improving the cows’ quality of life, the quality of milk increased as much as 400%!
Did you know……..
*information on Working Cows Dairy came from www.workingcowsdairy.com with permission from the De Jong family
To Contact Working Cows Dairy or to learn more:
5539 North State Hwy 103
Slocomb, Alabama 36375
(334) 886-3839
PS: Ask them about booking a tour or field trip!
Going Organic: burning down the fields to start anew
Recent Comments