Quest for Raw Milk

I recently made a trek to Barre, MA to Misty Brook Farm in search of raw milk. It is a charming farm complete with the sweet smell of grass, real live cows, chickens and of course amazingly loud guinea foul.

The Misty Brook Farm Store

The farm store is an itty-bitty shack that houses several freezers , coolers and fridges. The bulletin boards are littered with ads from customers looking for raw milk shares, in other words- other raw milk drinkers who travel from afar for its goodness. There is a raw milk group in Worcester where people take turns sharing the trek out to Barre and pick up at others homes.

Milk was clearly labeled with the dates of bottling. They have a variety of meats and dairy products including chicken beef, pork, even kielbasa. Upon inspection of the eggs my friend said,"It makes me so happy to see different color eggs!". We remarked on the varying sizes of the eggs and noted that the little ones would have probably thrown out by big commercial farms. I felt so privileged to be able to actually garner fresh dairy products. I purchased yogurt, milk, eggs and bones for my dogs.

We also stopped at a little place on the way for veggies, luscious strawberries, bread and cheese.

Inside the shop

Fruits of the day!

As demand grows for locally grown food many families are moving towards consuming raw milk as they believe it to be more nutrient rich and safer than traditional store bought milk. There is large debate on whether drinking raw milk is safe especially for children due to bacteria- I have to say, I drank it and I lived! I too was skeptical and I have to say a little afraid to give it to my baby. I did research and have found many instances where it is safer than milk in the store. It is tested more often and put under high scrutiny and there are more rules and regulations in place.

Sidney the dog guarding is precious calf.

Raw milk is taken from a cow fed on a grass diet, cooled to around 36-38 degrees and bottled. There is no pasteurization or additives. Misty Brook bottles theirs in large half gallon mason jars. A ton of information is out there and it's important to educate yourself before drinking raw milk as not all milk is created equal. Some of the sites I researched information on raw milk include:

Campaign for Real Milk

Raw Milk Facts

Raw Milk.org

For my breastfeeding mamas- Here is a photo of a cow's colostrum!

Toddler Meal: Mama's Creamy Alphabet

My son refuses to eat anything unless it's covered in cheese, sorta soft, sorta salty, contains blueberry or strawberry, and he can pick it up. Quite the list! I struggle three times per day with meals being catapulted on the floor, thrown in my face and worst of all spat out. I think I had a breakthrough with a new recipe that is essentially mac & cheese with a secret ingredient- broccoli. Sorry I don't have any photos, he ate is up too fast!

Mama's Creamy Alphabet Pasta

1.5 cups whole wheat organic alphabet pasta ( got it from Babies R Us for $1.99 a box)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup raw milk ( you can use regular of course!)

2 tbsp of butter

8 frozen broccoli florets ( if you use fresh just steam them first!)

In a small skillet combine cheese, milk and butter until melted. Be sure to keep the heat low so you don't burn it! Boil water for pasta and cook according to directions. Throw in the broccoli florets. Remove the florets once done and drain the pasta.

Once cheese mixture is ready put it in the blender with broccoli florets and blend. It will be a yummy pistachio color. Toss with pasta and you are done!

Note: If you want to be fancy you can always throw the pasta and cheese into a mini baking dish and dust with a bread crumb topping ( 1/4 cup of bread crumbs and 2 tbsp of butter.)

You can also sub carrots in for the broccoli to make orange mac & cheese.