Wednesday, February 29, 2012

He bought me a pig...That's Love!

Valentine's Day has come and gone and I suddenly realized that I never had a chance to share with you the very thoughtful and brilliant gift my hubby got me. You see I came home from my last trip to New York two days before the big day and proceeded to catch a cold that has refused to turn me loose until now, and since I am officially on the mend and still positively giddy with excitement, the time has come to tell y'all all about it.  My husband is a real hottie, a six foot three blue collar babe who does wonders for a pair of blue jeans and construction boots.  He's one of these guys, who knows a guy, that knows another guy that can always get the job done. Politics and music are his favorite topics of choice and his favorite meal consists of anything with "meat" (we'll never be a 100% vegetarian household). He loves me more than I love myself and for nearly nine years has tolerated my rants about such food related issues like eating locally and organically. Watched me roll my eyes and throw my hands up in disgust over the lack of Farmer's Markets and CSAs in the area. There have been many times when I wasn't sure if he was really paying attention or cared about anything I was saying but apparently he was.




A little over three years ago our oldest daughter was diagnosed with Autism and I became committed to overhauling our family diet after reading several case studies that implied certain foods could affect the emotional behavior of Autistic children.  We weren't bad eaters by any stretch of the imagination, after all I was and still am a food professional but there was certainly room for improvement. The thing that became most challenging for us in terms of changing our diet was the lack of access to organically pastured meat...but not anymore.  Mr. Jones (that's my husband) knows a guy, who knows another guy that is a gentleman farmer.  This farmer inherited a small plot of land and for the past several years has  raised just enough chickens and pigs to provide for his own family, however, after recently finding the need to make a little extra money while also noticing the increasing demand from friends and aquiantences for his poultry and pork products; he decided to turn his farm into a side business. Enter Mr. Jones who after hearing about the gentleman farmer knew that this was just the kind of thing I'd be into, especially when he heard those magic words "organically pastured". It started out quite innocentaly with the sudden appearance of sweet Italian sausage links wrapped in white butcher paper and a couple of free-range chickens sitting on my counter. I was immediately impressed with my husband's forthrightness, but I could have never guessed what was coming next.  Not long after the chickens 2 jumbo sized coolers and four plastic crates appeared on my kitchen floor containing a total of 203 pounds of Pork, in the form of loin, ribs, sausage, shoulder, bacon, and scrapple!.  Yes folks, as my friend Nadine would say "We dine on the swine".  The farmer had raised the pig for another customer who changed his mind at the last hour, but knowing that my husband was married to one of "those food people" he called him and offered us the Pig.  I had no idea it was coming (thank goodness for the chest freezer in the basement), but I couldn't have asked for a better surprise.  Mr. Jones had really taken in what I had been preaching and carrying on about for the past few years and knew that 203 pounds of pig would be better than a box of chocolates, perfume, or even a new diamond ring. And that folks is real love...Bless his heart!






4 comments:

  1. I have a little tear coming down my face. Your husband is sexy and knows what can turn a girl on for months. Tell him to spread the word to his friends perhaps Mr. Jones needs Twitter to unleash his progressive knowledge.

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  2. That is totally the most awesome Valentine's gift. EVER. Clearly Mr. Jones is a keeper! Enjoy those piggy parts!

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  3. Love this story!! You guys are very lucky to have one another...and tat sausage looks amazing!!

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