Kids at work

Rusty helps harvest greens for our dinner

Rusty turned five last December, and it has been fascinating to watch him grow out of his preschool self and into a boy (kindergarten age this fall). This winter, we’ve had some challenges, because — well — parenting and childhood are both rough at times. I think it’s also rough to be the oldest child and always have your activities at home being toned down to accommodate a smaller sibling. Eventually, Casey and I realized that at least some of what was wanting for Rusty was work. Real, meaningful work. Because, wow, the boy has become capable of doing things.

It feels phenomenally different to have a child living in our house and our farm who can work. At five years old, when Rusty decides to pitch in on a task, it flies by. In contrast, a few years back his “help” often made a task go at least twice as long … or perhaps not get done at all! But, with inspiration from both Waldorf and Montessori pedagogies, we’ve felt compelled to — as much as we can — always let him help at tasks in the house and on the farm. Allowing him access to our work required us to truly slow down and let go of expectations for that particular work session. Sometimes these things aren’t possible, but we’ve tried, and now we are seeing the fruits of those previous labors, because as Rusty’s body and mind catch up with his will to work and engage, he can slowly begin to really do things.

Last spring when he was four, we gave Rusty his own set of garden pruners — real ones that I bought in the garden section. They are smaller — probably for women’s hands — but they are sharp and capable of cutting through a thick twig. I looked for pruners with a locking mechanism that I thought he could manage on his own and found one that has a lock that slides easily. We’ve kept his pruners (which he calls his “cloppers”) with ours in a special drawer in the kitchen so that it’s clear they are a tool rather than a toy to lose in the yard. We get them out when we have a project to work on or want to clear a trail or something else intentionally.

He doesn’t know it yet (so don’t ruin the surprise!), but this Friday, on the spring equinox, Rusty will get his own pocket knife. He’s been using Casey’s safely for months and months, and recently he also started using a real paring knife to help chop food for dinner (which helps me so much!). At this point, Casey and I feel so comfortable with Rusty handling real tools that it’s hard to remember that such things would have felt impossible to me just a few years ago.

Our society has so separated children from the real world — they have their own lives in “child proofed” spaces away from daily work (schools, daycares, etc.). I certainly grew up in this system — so thoroughly immersed in the world of academics and kid-focused activities — and I found myself having to stretch in new ways when I finally began reaching out into the world of adults. When I got my first job at 16 (working retail at an equestrian-themed interior design store of all places!), I was so, so, so very “green.” I had a million and one basic work-related skills to learn, and of course I kept learning them over subsequent years, especially as I encountered more diverse working situations. I especially had to grow into physical work, which was more or less completely foreign to me as a suburban kid.

After college, I worked in a commercial kitchen, which was a wonderful eye opener — I felt like I learned a whole new way of being in the world, where my body and hands could affect physical substance and make things (feed 300 people a meal in fact!). Even though I’d played sports in school and then majored in art (which by the way, is a very physical major compared to most!), my body and its abilities felt like a newly found power. In that year of cooking and subsequent years of farming, I grew more into this part of my being — learning so much about pacing and focus and full engagement of brain and body. I also learned about working in a team of people, meeting deadlines, managing lists of tasks, and more.

Reflecting back, of course, I value every experience I have had — the scholastic and the later work experiences. But I do question why they have to come into our lives in such segregated chunks of time? Working for pay in high school felt fairly normal when I did it, but I understand that it is becoming less and less common. And of course, even then, my work experiences were fairly limited because my time was quite full with other pursuits (school and such). Casey worked quite a bit more than I did in high school, and he graduated from high school with a diploma and an amazing work ethic. No dawdling on tasks for that young man — he had worked as a lifeguard, in a bike shop, in commercial kitchens, and on construction sites. He knew how to work!

As parents and farmers, Casey and I spend a fair amount of time thinking about the next generations. We think about our children and their future lives, but we also think about all the young people out there looking for jobs — many of which come our way. We have the privilege to meet and employ quite a lot of young people who are at the beginning or early stages of their own working lives. It is striking to us how even a little work experience early on in life can go a long way toward helping a young person grow into responsibility and capability. Other folks are more like I was — green and needing to grow into their work life in a lot of ways.

Each of us is on our own journey, of course. Some will be later bloomers when it comes to understanding (or wanting) responsibility. And, some people never want it at all! Certainly, I admire the free spirits of the world and believe that they play a role in keeping all of us balanced! However, I also appreciate all the hard working people who grow food, manage businesses, treat patients, educate children, drive buses, build houses, write books, and so much more.

As I get serious about preparing for Rusty’s upcoming kindergarten year, my observations of his own growing capabilities help me realize that this is a big part of why we’ve chosen to homeschool. As farmers, we have a unique opportunity to offer our children immersion in a work environment — a work environment that they can grow into at their own pace, learning all those valuable skills along the way. Farming is uniquely well suited to teaching about cause and effect (and offers immensely satisfying results for a job well done!). I look forward to teaching him to read and write (my other degree was in English after all!), but I appreciate thinking about him as a whole person, who will be growing in mind, spirit and body.

And, you know, kids are kids. Just because Rusty is growing in his capabilities and interests doesn’t mean he doesn’t still balk at feeding the cats. But he can also do things like plant out a whole flat of peas, peel and chop potatoes to roast, pick nettles, and harvest greens for lunch. And, he may not grow to be a farmer, but I hope he will grow to feel capable in mind and body, able to learn the tasks he needs for his own journey and purpose in life.

In fact, we think that farming tasks are so empowering that someday we hope to be able to offer those experiences to a wider audience of young people — maybe through a formal internship program for those young folks like my old self. I certainly feel grateful for all the employers and mentors who took me on in those days! For now our nurturing energy is best served staying close to home with the farm itself and our little ones — both of which are ever inspiring and ever humbling — but we always dream, and someday we will be in another phase of life!

So, Friday morning Rusty will wake to find a new pocket knife waiting for him downstairs. And in a few more years, Dottie will get one too. And Casey and I will do our best to help them learn all the responsibility and power that comes with tools — some of the best lessons we have to teach!

May you too discern what you have to offer your families and the world — something unique and valuable, to be sure! (If you don’t know what you have to offer yet, you might enjoy reading Ken Robinson’s book, The Element: how finding your passion changes everything. It was a great book to read as a homeschooling parent, but it’s not necessarily aimed in that direction at all!)

Enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla

P.S. Yes, there is other farm news too … always lots going on around here. This week in particular, we had some trouble with our cooler, which led to a much needed anyway reorganization of winter storage items. And, of course, there was that surprisingly powerful wind storm on Sunday! We spent two nights at the beach and then returned on Sunday to find ourselves being blasted by the wind! Casey checked on the animals several times to make sure all our electric fencing was in place. It was startling to drive around the county the next day and see so many trees down! Hope you fared well!

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CSA payment due this week! Just a reminder that the next CSA payment is due tomorrow! You can bring a check/cash to pick-up, or mail it to us: Oakhill Organics, P.O. Box 1698, McMinnville OR 97128. If you have any questions about what you owe, you can email me or ask at pick-up! Thank you!

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Cooking the perfect roast: Once upon a time, Casey and I didn’t know how to cook meat. We chose not to eat meat for many years, because at the time we didn’t have any sources of local, grass-raised meat. We still ate meat when served to us by friends or family. My mom, in particular, would cook the most amazing roasts and stews, and when we would visit we would marvel at the tenderness of the meat. It seemed like some kind of miracle to us, since we had no idea how she did it. Surely, it must be Very Hard Work to Cook Such Good Food.

When we moved to Yamhill County, our situation changed — we met farmers raising meat in sustainable ways right here in the county, and we decided we wanted to eat some of that meat. But we were suddenly faced with choosing cuts of meat. And then cooking them somehow. Surely, it must be Very Hard Work and Complicated to Do Well. Or, so we thought. As you can guess, we stretched ourselves and learned a thing or two about cuts of meat and how to cook them. We’ve learned that there are essentially two ways to cook meat — long cooked at low temperatures (roasts, stew meats) or quick cooked at high temperatures (chops, steaks, ground meats). The quick cooking meat does take a bit of skill, simply because you have to know your tools — know your oven or BBQ and your pans — and then you have to watch the meat carefully to avoid over-cooking. You also have to discern your own preference — Rare? Well done? Medium-rare?

But, roasts? Roasts are easy. Especially since we discovered an extra amazing trick. You can cook a roast in the oven, but we’ve taken to using our slow cooker. What’s the trick there? you ask. The trick is that we don’t add liquid. We put the meat in the slow cooker dry. We don’t “brown” the meat beforehand (a step that is often cited as necessary — I’m just going to shrug here and say that it doesn’t seem necessary to us!), we just pop it in the slow cooker (and maybe add some salt). The size of the roast will determine how long we let it go, but for most medium or large roasts we can start it at breakfast on “low,” and it will be perfectly cooked by dinner. And, by perfectly cooked, I mean: juicy, tender, falling apart. We can attest that meat from our farm cooked this way is phenomenally flavorful and delicious. You can serve it on its own or add it to stews or other dishes (we often chop our roasts and incorporate them into veggie-rich stews). And, all those juices and fat that are left in the pan? So perfect for using to cook greens! This method works for all types of roasts: lamb, pork, or beef.

One more awesome roast tip: I have one last tip for folks who might appreciate it. This is something that I think is super important, but I’ve noticed that it’s not widely known. When you slice or chop a roast, cut it against the grain of the meat. Just doing this can make a less-than-tender roast more delicious (but you won’t have that problem if you’ve used your slow cooker). Unfortunately, cutting meat with the grain can also make a tender piece of meat taste less tender (or at least a whole lot chewier). So, it is important! If you are having a hard time visualizing what this means, here’s a really informative and funny blog post I found on the topic of cutting meat against the grain (it even has useful photos!).

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Meet this week’s vegetables: Don’t get stuck in a rut! Try new veggies this week! Ask for preparation ideas if you need them!

• Turnip rapini
• Kale rapini
• Greenhouse kale & chard — So tender! This stuff knocks our socks off. We are kale lovers, and I am amazed at how different of an eating experience it is in different seasons. This spring greenhouse-grown kale is the ultimate in mild flavor and tender leaves.
• Celery leaf
• Kohlrabi
• Beets
• Potatoes — We’ll have two kinds available this week! If you’re a potato connoisseur, try taking home both and doing a side-by-side taste test! (We did a potato tasting a few years back at a CSA open house, and it was delightful to experience the differences like that!)
• Carrots
• Parsnips
• Green onions
• Garlic
• Apples — As a head’s up, the number of apples is going up this week! So check the sign to make sure you get enough for your “item”!
• Eggs

And this week’s extra goodies from the farm: Remember to bring containers when appropriate! We will have some jars for sale for fermented items and such at pick-up, but we know you’ve got loads of empty jars in your pantry already!

• Corn flour  — $5 lb
• Oat flour — $5 lb
• Walnuts — $5 lb
• Scallion pickles ~ Here’s a fun new fermented food: green onions! We think this will definitely be a garnish, but who knows! Try it out!
• Eggs — $6 dozen
• Pork, roasts & more — Prices vary. Lots of delicious pork shoulder roasts in the freezer! This cut is perfect for making pulled pork. See my “perfect roast” recipe for how to cook. Once cooked, pull the meat off and mix with your favorite BBQ sauce. So good.
• Lamb — Prices vary. We just took more lambs to the butcher and will have a broader range of cut options again next week (including chops and ground lamb). This week we invite you to try our “trim” meat — this is delicious lamb meat that isn’t necessarily a roast or a chop. It’s perfect for putting in a slow cooker for making stew. And, it’s also our lowest cost meat item at the storefront ($5/lb), making it a great place to start if you want to try the lamb! We also still have roasts left!
• Ground beef — $7 for 1 lb package