Everybody gets along at this farm
Farmers Jamie and Chad Henneman were careful when they were shopping for land.
The Rice, Wash., couple had seen other young farmers crippled by debt, and they didn’t want to take on more land than they could afford.
So, instead of extra acres, they’ve added animals to the brood at their Lazy Lightning H Ranch near Rice, Wash. Boer goats have joined the beef cattle and chickens in the pasture this year.
“The idea is that compatible critters graze the same piece of ground,” said Jamie Henneman. Beef cattle graze the grass first, followed by goats which also eat grass, as well as finish the bushes the cattle won’t eat. Then the chickens are placed in the field to get the last bit of grass and fertilize the ground, she says.
They recently began selling meat from the goats they’ve raised – called “forage-finished cabrito.” The Boer goats, which are bred for meat, are raised on milk for the first three months and finished in the pasture.
“Cabrito is a mild-tasting meat, not gamey or strong, somewhere between beef and lamb,” says Henneman, who is working with Hannah Kirk of Harvey Creek Boer Goats to raise and sell the meat.
Henneman says they are just beginning to develop the market in this area for goat meat, but it’s popular with some Hispanic families, Mexican Americans and people who have tasted the meat while traveling in Mexico.
Because they knew it would be unfamiliar to many people, they’re offering sample boxes of the meat. A $25 box includes two packages of steaks and chops and 1 pound of burger. A $50 box is two packages of steaks/chops, two pounds of burger and a roast. A half goat, about 25 to 30 pounds of meat, is $150, and a whole goat, 50 to 55 pounds meat, is $300.
The meat can also be purchased in smaller packages at Meyers Falls Market in Kettle Falls, Wash. Chef Adam Hegsted is serving cabrito at Brix restaurant in Coeur d’Alene. Diners can order it as part of the chef-tasting menu where it is grilled with salt and pepper and accompanied by a poached quail egg and fried potatoes. It’s dubbed “Steak n’ Eggs.” The goat meat also will be a spotlight item on the Fall Wine Dinner menu at the Inland Northwest Culinary Academy on Oct. 27. The dinner is sold out.
For more information about cabrito, contact Jamie Henneman at (509) 675-1209 or go to www.chickenranchers.net.
4 Seasons Coffee expands
Spokane’s first coffee roaster will begin selling its wares in select Rosauers and Super 1 grocery stores in Eastern Washington, Idaho and Montana.
4 Seasons Coffee is expanding its retail line after 30 years of small-batch roasting in Spokane. The business was started in 1976 by Tom and Leslie Hutchinson.
The coffee has always been available at its store downtown on Howard near Spokane Falls Boulevard. It has also been brewed at many espresso stands and coffee shops. Now, bulk or prepackaged bags of coffee will be in the coffee aisle at local Rosauers stores and the Super 1 store on 29th Ave. It also will be sold at Rosauers and Super 1 stores in Missoula, Kalispell and Libby, Mont., Lewiston and Ellensburg, Walla Walla and Yakima, Leslie Hutchinson says.
Blends vary by store but include the 4 Seasons Signature Blend and St. Regis Blend. Origin coffees such as the Costa Rican and Sumatran, also will be available at some stores, as well as two new community coffees – the Tailwagger Blend and the Purr-fect Blend, whose proceeds benefit the Humane Society. For more information or to purchase coffees online, go to 4seasonscoffee.com.