A New Staple - Family Farmed With Heart And Soil

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October 7, 2020

Breakfast just got even better! Lunch and dinner, too.

Introducing new products from Finnriver Farm & Grainery!

How lucky we are to be living in such an abundant foodshed! We are pleased to be offering another important food staple, "family farmed with heart and soil".

Now available on the Pantry Staples page:

"Finnriver Red" whole wheat bread flour

"Early Sunrise" whole wheat pastry flour

Spelt Pancake & Waffle Mix

Perhaps you have stopped by the Finnriver Cidery in Chimacum for a glass of farm-made cider and a locally sourced dinner (we suggest the One Straw bratwurst plate), or you may have enjoyed the bounty of blueberries and produce from Finnriver Farm, but did you know they've also been busily growing grain right here in Chimacum Valley? Keith Kisler, a Finnriver co-founder who grew up on his family's 5th generation wheat farm in Eastern Washington, has been working with WSU's Sustainable Seed Systems Lab and the Bread Lab to cultivate grain varieties that thrive in our micro-climate. And now with their beautiful new Vermont-made stone mill, all that hard work is available to local home bakers and breakfast makers!

In our own kitchen we have been using Finnriver flour for baking and it is truly a delicious, high quality product, excellent for all applications. Sourdough bread and waffles, cookies, pie crust and cakes are all improved with this freshly stone-milled flour! Along with some eggs and breakfast links or bacon (One Straw, of course!), the Pancake & Waffle Mix is a great way to whip up a lovely breakfast. With a short, simple ingredient list, the sweet, buttery, nutty flavor of the spelt really shines.

What can't we source locally?! The list is rapidly shrinking. And the beautiful thing is that the more we eat, the more farmers will be encouraged to grow, and our available choices will continue to expand. We are pleased to be partnering with amazing local food farmers and producers to provide increased access to good food.

Thank you for supporting local food resiliency!

🎥 Meet the chickens behind your favorite eggs. [video]

I’m taking you behind the scenes today with a video🎥 to help answer the question: “Why are your eggs so good?” That’s a question we get all the time, and I’m not sure how to answer it. Not because I don’t know the answer, but because I don’t know where to begin. Because the actual boots-on-the-ground logistics of what we do is super complex. And every piece of the puzzle contributes to the health of the hens, and thereby the flavor and nutrition of the eggs. 🐓 moving hundreds of chickens outdoors on fresh pasture 🦅 while keeping them from getting eaten by everything else 🌾mixing our own feed so it’s always super fresh 🐤working with a nutritionist so each hen gets exactly what she needs at each stage of her life 🥚keeping eggs in stock year-round ⛈️ proper housing in the winter to protect the soil and the hens 📜 the list goes on It’s no surprise when someone asks me a question like that, I immediately start composing in my head a 5-paragraph essay 📝 - complete with introductory sentences, supporting evidence, and a compelling conclusion. All the time knowing it’s going to come out how Charlie Brown heard his teacher – “wah wah wah”. 😄 Luckily, I mentioned my problem to Farmer Martin and he boiled it down to TWO WORDS. Fresh. Feed. Ha! Why couldn’t I think of that? 🤷‍♀️ At this moment of the year, Fresh Feed means the most gorgeous grass on God’s green earth. 🎥 So, if a picture’s worth a thousand words, I decided to spare you the 5-paragraph essay and bring you a 48 second video instead. Farmhand Grace was happy to hop on the tractor with her farmer-daddy to make the trek out to the pasture and help show you around. I’m not making promises about the video quality. 🎬 I didn’t plan out what I should say (I would have managed to turn it into an unendurable 5-paragraph essay). And fair warning if you get motion sickness, there’s a moment at the beginning where I spun the camera a little fast because I had a premonition of approaching danger… I’m not going to spoil it by telling you what it was - suffice it to say my instincts were correct. And while I apologize for the poor filming and any queasy stomachs, it’s pretty much real farm life in action. 👩‍🌾🥰 You’ll meet the hens, some of the guardians who keep them safe, and catch a glimpse of your farmers, too.Click on the image at the top of this post to watch the video. And don’t forget to grab some eggs for this week. With its bounty, Spring’s a great time to add extra eggs to your weekly protein routine. I’ve got several family-favorite recipes linked on the egg page to bring you inspiration for breakfast or dinner, like Cheesy Egg Bites, Dutch Babies and Potato Salad. Click here to get the best eggs.