Hello all,
Welcome to June! The summer heat will be upon us any day now. Who else had to use their heat and air in May?
Ranch Happenings: As a reminder, SAVE THE DATE: We have finally found a time to reschedule the Happy Life Ranch open house. Sunday, July 11th 1pm-7pm. Come hang out and feel free to bring a friend, meet other CSA members, swim, see the farm/animals. Please email us by July 1st to let us know you’re coming so we can be sure to have enough food. See additional flyer and/or Facebook for details.
We are getting further along on the hoop house/new layer house every day. The layer chickens should be ready to be moved into their new home within the next week or so. There COULD be a drop off in egg production because of this move so just a heads up in case we have a temporary shortage. We have seen a great increase in egg production this year so as long as we can at least meet the needs of our CSA peeps all will be well. The leghorn rooster named Reeps has been taking some of his ladies into the almost done area every morning, so fingers crossed no one gets too stressed. Once that move is done, we will begin very careful destruction of the big metal coop so we can salvage the materials for a bigger and better pig building. If anyone would like to help, we’d surely appreciate the hands, and we’ll make sure you’re fed well. We plan to add goats to the area around the new chicken coop and we just may be bringing in some sheep and an alpaca from another homestead. Time to start reading up on these two critters.
This whole sow pregnancy is really a guessing game until they’re pretty far along, but it appears Betty, the black sow may actually be preggers. Boris seems to be sleeping on the job (wink). I know we keep talking babies, babies, babies but that’s the goal, right? Wishful thinking and prayers year-round.
The kids are done with school for the year!! Niko has officially graduated and joined the work force full time with Karstensen Construction and he could not be happier (more tired). Nina has completed junior year and will be studying independently or at Prairie State College over the summer to gear up for a super strong senior year.
We are finally in the process of improving our website with the expertise of Jim Hanus, a CSA customer and friend. It will take a few months to get up and rolling but we assure you it will be beyond fabulous with many more buying/shipping options. We’ll keep you posted about that exciting change.
FARMERS MARKETS Beecher Farmers Market is every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month on Route 1. 625 Dixie Hwy, Beecher IL. (9am-1pm). We serve lunch and as always you can pick up meat and eggs and possibly some of Oily Wife Happy Life apothecary items. Lots of food, handmade items, honey and more.
We will also be attending the Cedar Lake Farmers Market the 2nd and 4th Wednesday 3pm-8pm. This market is huge and there’s sure to be something for everyone. Food, music and more. 7408 Constitution Ave Cedar Lake IN.
We are going to try out the Crete Farmers Market at Willard Park (?) the 1st Wednesday of June and see how it goes. If all goes well, we may be there the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month.
DOG FOOD: The very short wait list is getting shorter as we work out how much we need so if you would like to add it let us know. Pricing: Beef- $7.25/lb. Boar- $5.25/lb. Turkey- $5.25/lb
Veggie CSA: The Gattos veggies are coming along beautifully. Some slots are still available for their CSA. Feel free to contact Janet directly with any questions. 708-359-4449.
As always, we appreciate your support so much. Eat well, stay well.
Ready! Set! Eat! Meal
Email your order to info@happyliferanch.com 3 days in advance of when you need it. We will have it ready for you to pick up between 4PM – 6PM.
Provide Name, Full Address, phone number and email address. We will send you an invoice through quickbooks.
MEALS:
- Full Slab Baby Back Ribs… $60.00*(1 full slab (each slab is 2-3 pounds), 16 ounces of fresh homemade Cole slaw and cornbread)
- Chicken Cacciatore…1/2 PAN…$40.00* (1 pound of spaghetti, 7 pieces of chicken and a container of sauce) FULL PAN…$75.00* (2 pounds of spaghetti, 14 pieces of chicken and a container of sauce)
- SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS, ½ pan…$55.00* (sausage, green peppers and onions prepared Greek style with rice pilaf)
- Greek Chicken…$60.00*(whole chicken with roasted potatoes, carrots and celery)
- Steak Fajitas, ½ pan…$70.00* (grilled steak with sweet peppers and onions)
- Steak Tacos, ½ pan…$85.00 (approx. 40 tacos: comes with Corn and/or flour tortillas, cilantro, onion, homemade salsa).
- Shredded Chicken Taco, ½ pan…$85.00 (approx. 40 tacos: comes with Corn and/or flour tortillas, cilantro, onion, homemade salsa).
- Ground Beef Tacos, ½ pan…$80.00 (approx. 40 tacos: comes with Corn and/or flour tortillas, lettuce, tomato, homemade salsa).
- Roasted/Grilled Bone-In or Boneless Pork Center loin…$75.00* (3-4lbs of pork loin with roasted potatoes, carrots and mushrooms)
- Roasted/Grilled Leg of Lamb…$80.00* (3-5lbs boneless or bone-in leg of lamb with roasted potatoes, carrots and celery prepared Greek style)
- Italian Beef, ½ pan…$60.00* (roasted beef pulled apart for sandwiches with AU JUS, with sweet peppers and onions)
- Melissa’s Chicken Soup…$25.00* (1 quart)
- Greek Salad, ½ pan…$45.00* (tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, feta and kalamata olives with homemade Greek dressing)
***We can cater your next event, just give us a call at 630-877-7718***
Let us know what y’all think.
Thank you for supporting our small family ranch,
Gus, Melissa, Niko, Nina Athanasopoulos