We’re making plans now for our 2012 Permaculture Design Certification course, June 24th to July 1. This year we’re going to make the class even better than the one that was written about in the  New York Times.

Learn all about it and register now. The class is limited so don’t wait. You can even save $200 with our early-bird special.

We’re excited to announce Crazy Rooster pastured lamb will be the featured special at Lucia’s Restaurant in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis this Sunday, Dec. 11. The Crazy Rooster Farm lamb will be served in Lamb Stew with Soft Polenta in the restaurant’s Sunday Night Special, part of a weekly changing menu based on the best of the season. This is the first time our lamb has been on the menu at a Twin Cities restaurant, and we couldn’t be happier to start at the top.

Crazy Rooster lamb is in good hands with chef Lori Valenziano of Lucia's To Go in Uptown

Chef Lori Valenziano called our lamb “delicious!” Stop by at Lucia’s To Go this Sunday and give it a try. Many thanks to Lori and the rest of the staff for testing and tasting and giving us a chance to have it served at one of the best organic restaurants in the Midwest.

Attendees at the CLWS Holiday Fair gobbled up the Greek Lamb Burgers we sampled to kids and adults alike. I don’t know who loved them more. “Mmmmm!” “Delicious!” and “Can I get the recipe?” were the most frequent comments.

We used pastured mutton and seasoned it with Greek flavors and feta and exposed dozens of people to the delicious taste of lamb.

Kids enjoy Greek mutton patties at Waldorf school holiday fair

Sadly, we’re running out of our gorgeous farm-fresh perfectly organic eggs that I stockpiled in the fall, so I’ve had to buy the Certified Organic eggs from the natural foods co-op. Take a look at the vast difference in yolk colors: Certified Organic on the left; homegrown from hens who scratched for bugs and weeds on the right. Better get some more eggs at the farm soon. Get going, girls.

Even the Organic co-op eggs don't compare in color, texture or taste to home-grown.

We purchased two registered Tunis rams and a yearling ewe from Sandstone Ridge Farm near La Farge, Wisc., this fall. They arrived this weekend to do their business to ensure our ewes lamb in the spring. The Tunis breeds are a heritage breed originally imported in 1799 and were highly regarded by prominent Americans such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.  They are featured on the Slow Food Arc of Taste , a catalog of more than 200 delicious foods in danger of extinction.

Heritage Tunis sheep in danger of extinction. Our rams arrived in November to do their part to keep the breed alive.

According to Slow Food, the Tunis sheep is striking and attractive with cream or ivory-colored wool that is set nicely contrasted by a cinnamon-red face and legs. Spinning, anyone? Their pendulous ears and expressive eyes give a quizzical aspect to their demeanor, which is correctly interpreted as calm and docile. The meat is known to be tender and flavorful without a strong mutton taste. Grab your rosemary and olive oil.

Karen Vanek and Todd Gustafson

Welcome to Karen Vanek and Todd Gustafson who arrived from Chicago for a two-month Tag Team stint at Crazy Rooster. Many thanks to them for all their help with improvements to the barn and corral to reduce winter stress on the animals, care of the livestock, making some household improvements, and chopping and stacking firewood for winter. Todd even served the sheep an autumn snack of pumpkins, which they gobbled up. Karen and Todd are fellow “Permies,” recently graduating with their Permaculture Design Certificates. Their experience at Crazy Rooster Farm is preparing them for the next steps in their pursuits toward ecological and sustainable careers.

I’ve been bringing in the herbs in preparation for winter. Each fall, I do two things with my herb garden: I prune and dry the fresh plants while they are still in the Earth, then I dig the plants up and nurture under some grow lights all winter, giving me fresh herbs all winter long.

I dried one of my favorite herbs — rosemary — then went to store it in my pantry. Imagine my surprise at the difference in color, scent and, I’m sure, flavor, when I compared it to the organic rosemary I bought at my favorite co-op. It was gray.  Take a look at the difference.

Many thanks to Kevin, Cory, Fadra and the rest of the excellent staff at Olson’s Woodville Meats for their great customer service this fall in processing the beef and lamb. They were were a pleasure to work with!

Kevin Olson

Tatsu Shimizu and Jake Hartnett

We said goodbye to Jake Hartnett and Tatsu Shimizu this fall. Jake spent seven months as a Crazy Rooster Farm intern lovingly caring for all the livestock, studying and practicing intensive rotational grazing practices, and digging and constructing a test pond to harvest rainwater from the shed, among a million other things.

Tatsu came to Crazy Rooster Farm for one month from Japan as a part of the WWOOFer program through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. During his stint as a Tag-Team Farmer, Tatsu installed livestock fencing, cared for the livestock, and even got to hike in a Minnesota state park, visit the Mall of America, dine on Lake Calhoun and drink his first chocolate malt and root beer float at the the Convention Grill. Many thanks to our friendly waitress at Convention Grill who provided a free mini root beer float to give him a taste. Jake even taught him how to play chess. We thank both Jake and Tatsu, and wish them well as they continue their studies in agriculture and at college.

Busy days at Crazy Rooster Farm as we start harvesting chickens, lamb and beef for our wonderful customers. We’re using USDA processors for all meat this year and hired a local man to deliver the livestock to the processors.