I tell you all of this because on this meat journey, I learned about the benefits of real dairy foods (mostly from Nina - she is very convincing). I've been drinking soy for a few years because I felt like I might have been mildly lactose-intolerant, plus most commercial milk is full of terrible things, but with incorporating meat, I have also added in the most delicious thing EVER (in my opinion)... real, raw milk from grass-fed, pastured cows. It is sooo good; Dunc and I have decided that you almost have to drink it like wine, smelling and savoring every sip. Although I don't drink any other milk, Dunc assures me that the taste is dramatically different.
Now, I thought it would be really hard to find RAW milk, mostly because of the whole unpasteurized deal, but lo and behold, farmers can sell it in stores and at farmers markets in this lovely state o'mine. Dunc, the dairy man, informed me they sell raw milk at Whole Foods, but it is not from grass-fed cows (important because cows were meant to eat grass -not grain- and the grass-fed cow's milk contain's more omega-3 fats, vitamin A and beta-carotene - also "butter and cream from grass-fed cows are rare sources of the unique and beneficial fat CLA." - Nina Planck, Real Food, pg. 68). After a bit of research from "Where Can I Find Real Milk?" I learned of a fabulous farm on Vashon Island, Seabreeze Farm, that sells their grass-based farm goods at our local farmer's market every Saturday. YAY!
So if you haven't ever tasted the tasty tastiness that is raw milk, I encourage you to find yourself a good grass farm and partake! Yum yum!
*If you've heard that raw milk is bad for you and causes tons of diseases, and want more information from someone who isn't a super gung ho raw milk fan, check out these guys:
Do the farmers markets up there stay open year-round? We have this problem where between ~oct-may it's very hard to find marketey stuff unless you live in Baltimore / DC proper (otherwise it's a 40-60 min drive round trip for milk and other noms - logan sad face goes here).
ReplyDeleteBut this year we're totally going to get a share in a local farm's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program because they do a drop-off at the library across the street from us. Hurrah! and maybe they'll have milk for us... Hey, have you ever tried kefir? I hear it's like a hard-to-kill yogurt culture.
We have two Farmer's Market Alliance markets that stay open all year and a number that run from April - December, and two independat year round markets (Fremont and Ballard Markets) - I guess we are lucky up here in Skeattle.
ReplyDeleteOooh, I love farm boxes! Dunc and I were going to get in on that, but the farm we were looking at actually sells at Whole Foods (discount!) Speaking of WF and the dairy dept, Dunc totally has tried kefir - it was mentioned in my book - I hear it is pretty delicious.
We will have to have fun market times when you come up! Woot!
Dude, kefir is like the destroyer of everything evil, or the creator of everything good...I forget. It is quite delicious though, and at my Whole Foods, we carry a supply worthy of the largest and finest pro-biotic armies. I suggest you try it!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize we were so lucky when it came to Farmer's Markets; I guess that'll have to be another thing we require when / if we move. Or you, Log, can just move up to the NW and we'll all be happy! Hurray!