10 Gifts for A Carnivore or Meatatarian

I've seen a lot posts about gifts for farmers and ranchers, which is fabulous except I don't have a huge herd of cattle or sheep. I merely have three horses and some scruffy, lovable canines. However, what I do have is a hankering for meat and penchant for incorporating it into many aspects of my life. First, if you need a refresher of what a meatatarian is, read this post and come back. If you are familiar with this delicious and healthy dietary pattern, read on to find some cool gift ideas to buy for the resident meat lover in your family or circle of friends. These are my top 10 gift ideas for meat-loving folks and they run the gamut of Christmas gift types.

For the decorating meatatarian:

1. Beef Vintage Art Print

I would love to have this in my kitchen!

2. Meat. Yes, It's Meat.

I have purchased this for a family member but no one has bought it for me yet- c'mon folks!

For the grill master in your household:

3. K-State steak branding iron


My stepdad has this but I need one too!

4. A giftbox of Kansas City strip steaks from the Kansas City Steak Company.

Perfect for a Christmas Eve meal!

Of course, you can't forget about the style-conscious meat lover in your home:

5. Steak t-shirt

Yum!

6. Meatatarian: A Personal Choice t-shirt

This is by far my favorite!

 And let us not forget the lovers of bacon. Isn't that everyone?!

7. "Bacon is Meat Candy" - Bacon of the Month Club

Bacon every month?! Yes, please!

8. Two words. Bacon Vodka. You can purchase it in most states (sorry, Ohio and Kansas!).

And these last two are great for any meat eater - I am actually hoping to get a really nice meat thermometer myself!

9. The Healthy Beef Cookbook

 

 10. A reliable meat thermometer and remember to use it! See here for recommended cooking temperatures per the USDA.

Don't fire up the grill without it!

Do you have other ideas? Please feel free to leave them in the comments below!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Giving Tuesday: Give Cows to Help Feed the Less Fortunate

Many people get caught up in the spirit of "BUY-BUY-BUY" at this time of the year, not necessarily for others but because there are such great deals in every single store at the mall. How can you avoid a good deal when Black Friday, Shop Small Saturday and Cyber Monday bombard us starting in mid-November? In my opinion, we really should be focusing on "Give. Give. Give some more" amd when is a better time than Giving Tuesday? Material possessions often cloud the real reasons behind Christmas and I believe we should always be striving to help those who are less fortunate.

I'm part of the Rockin' Rural Women group on Facebook and this year we are encouraging our fellow rural women and social media networks to buck this materialistic trend and help others by participating in a Heifer International drive to purchase cows for families suffering from hunger and poverty.

Our group has a collective fund, which you can access here, and our goal is $1000. With that we can purchase a cow which has the potential to have a massive impact since its offspring are passed on to even more members of the community. If you choose to donate, your gift will be multiplied and create a sustainable impact for future generations.

Please help us purchase a cow for a family who needs a helping hand. Even if you can only spare $5 that is so very much appreciated. If you have questions, please feel free to shoot me an email and I'll be happy to answer them.

I'll close with this quote which is taped up on the mirror in my bathroom - please keep this in mind on today, Giving Tuesday, and for the remainder of this holiday season and consider helping those in need.

Somewhere, someone else is THANKFUL for less than you have

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

 

Bacon For A Birthday

I am quite confident in my gift giving abilities. I work really hard to give thoughtful gifts for birthdays, weddings, Christmas etc. Just ask The Ninja, our first Christmas together I gave him a personalized leather padfolio with his initials and a PowerCat on the back. It was an awesome gift and he thought I was an awesome girlfriend (duh). I eventually became the awesome wife. But I digress.

So, I am especially thrilled to have found this next gift for the meat lovers in my life. I just haven't decided who is going to get it yet. Both my stepdad and my father-in-law have birthdays in January and maybe one or both of them are going to get a subscription to Zingerman's Bacon Club. Did you catch that last part.

Bacon. Club.

A membership that provides you a pound of artisan bacon every. single. month. What carnivore wouldn't love that?! I first saw it in the Taste of Home my mom sent me in the mail - the cover was adorned with cookies and sweets so of course I'm going to read it. I was so excited about this club that I Instagrammed the image of bacon in the magazine. Obsessed, folks.

You can order a 3-month or 6-month subscription for yourself or a friend (or a friendly blogger named Buzzard) and the varieties range from Applewood Smoked to Long Pepper. Wowza, my mouth is watering already. Yummo.

This club has been so successful that it has recruited six vegetarians. Six people who have sworn off meat as part of their value system were brought back from the dark side by bacon. Lovely sweet bacon - it must be why they call it the "crossover meat." I love bacon almost as much as I love beef jerky. And this is my favorite brand of beef jerky (my birthday is in April y'all) and it's made in God's country aka southeastern Kansas. Wow - this post has gone from gift giving to beef jerky. Great transformation.

So what do you think? Is a bacon club membership a good gift? What are some of the best gifts you've given (or received)? Was food involved?

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

PETA Targets Kids With Christmas Billboard

Apparently, PETA knows no bounds. They have now taken to targeting children with their venomous lies about animal agriculture and the most recent incident is a billboard that poses the question:  "Kids, if you wouldn't eat your cat, why eat a turkey?"

I can answer that - a cat is a pet. It sleeps on your bed, eats mice (yuck) and coughs up hairballs.

Turkey, on the other hand, is a farm animal that was created by God for consumption. They eat grain in a farm setting and wild turkeys eat acorns, seeds, flower buds, insects etc. I'd much rather eat some grain, acorn or insect fed turkey than a cat that eats rodents. I've eaten bugs before but I would have to be pretty desperate to eat rat.

The video also says that PETA hopes kids will choose tofurkey for Christmas dinner.

Scuse me? You've got to be freakin' kidding me. Most kids will eat what is put on their plate but I don't know a single child who would request tofurkey over real turkey. People be crazy these days.

Check out the video below - what do you think? Has PETA crossed the line....again?



I'm starting to believe that PETA is desperate for people to take them seriously. I think they need some serious PR help.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Fall Activities

Just another random post/life update - if you were looking for some advocacy or agriculture news, you're going to be disappointed by this post.

Thanksgiving came and went - we played cards, ate way too much, watched football, closed down a roadhouse, conquered Black Friday and I only took a few pictures.  #fail

So here is a short photo round up of the past week:

 I have conquered pumpkin cookies and vanilla frosting - both of which were HOMEMADE. Ba-zing

I rode on my uncle's Harley Davidson in the Christmas parade right behind the Legion Flag Corps.

 

This little 9 year old is the bomb. She came into my life when she was about 8 months old and I can't believe she's so grown up now. Literally, she has grown up. Look at the picture below - I am almost three times her age and she is only about 7 or 8 inches shorter than I am. She's going to be a baller for sure.

Look at that magical Christmas tree - 1 of 3 in the house. Niner (as I will call her on this blog, until she turns ten) had us all decorating about 10 minutes after we got home from Thanksgiving dinner. It looks like Santa's Secret Workshop in Anderson County!

Black Friday is not for the faint of heart. My mom wanted to get a 50" TV from Wal-Mart that went on-sale at 5 am. So we rose at 3 a.m. drove to Wally World and I am pretty sure that all the TV vouchers were claimed around 2 am. So, instead of a TV we got some other gifts (not near as exciting as a TV but people I purchased gifts for read this blog so I'll be secretive) and headed to the city where I was fortunate enough to get Mabel.

This is Mabel - she is beautiful. She is Martha Stewart's child - find her here. She has two baby calves that I haven't yet named or acquired but they are little prep dishes (of course I can't find them on Macy's.com so no link, sorry).

Kansas Sampler is a Wildcat's purple haven. Soooooo much purple and awesome clothing. More gifts purchased but what I really wanted was a purple pool table. Someday when I make one million dollars I'll have one.

Oh! Also in photography news, I am getting ready to order our Christmas cards and this year they are adorned with photos from sweet Wrenn Bird photography. Seriously, the gal works magic behind the camera and incorporates color and light. My reaction: wowza! We had a great time and here are a few of my favorites from the shoot.

 Whew, somebody needs a tan and it isn't Hyatt. Yikes. Can you guess which pictures are on the card?

Anyhow, that's the random stuff going on in my life. Thanks to Black Friday and Cyber Monday I only have about 7 or 8 gifts left to buy. That's it. I am so on top of my game this year. Now all I need to do is send out Christmas cards, decorate the house, get a tree and wrap everything. Easy peasy now that I am not in grad school - just let DVR'd episodes of Law & Order: SVU play in the background and I"ll be set to go.

K-State plays Texas on  Saturday. If we win, we're probably headed for the Tostito's Fiesta Bowl and will be the outright Big 12 Champs. I won't discuss the other alternative, because it ain't gonna happen. Believe, people. #EMAW

Where are you at with Christmas shopping and decorating? Did anyone get any great deals over the weekend?

Oh! Congrats to friends Jenny and Mark on their Thanksgiving engagement - check out the story here. They are so sweet!


Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

You know you're in a farm family when.....

Good morning and I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas filled with family, food and friends (and kept the reason for the season, baby Jesus, in mind).

Our Christmas at Frobose Farms was relatively normal - opened gifts (for two hours, geesh), Christmas brunch, play new Wii games etc. Of course there are some defining factors that set any farm family apart from their urban contemporaries this time of year.

1. The cattle and hogs are fed before 7 am (they need to eat on Christmas, too) - long before a single gift is touched/shaken/squealed over.

2. You jump out of your chair with pure excitement after you open a brand new pair of coveralls; perfect for bedding cattle, hauling hay, feeding livestock or riding horses through deep snow.


3. As equally exciting as #2, wearing those new coveralls with the new muck boots you bought yourself (on sale at Cabela's) is a primo feeling. Warm and cozy with dry feet. Perfection.


4. After presents and lunch, the hogs must be weighed, walked and rations tweaked in order to prepare for the National Western Stock Show.

5. You dart out to the barn a few times a day to check on these little guys (who arrived on December 23rd).

Simmi X Angus

Purebred Simmi

6. In the midst of all the chaos that's associated with farm life, you spend a few hours frantically rushing around the kitchen preparing side dishes and desserts for Christmas dinner that evening.

As you can tell, we had a pretty busy Christmas and were very blessed to be able to spend the day with each other and got some pretty cool stuff, too!

What was your favorite part of Christmas? Does your family have any special traditions? Did Santa bring you what you asked for?

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Christmas Lazy

We all do it. The final 5-6 days before Christmas arrive and we think, "Crap! I have so many people left to buy for and I'm running out of time." No worries, Buzzard is here to save the day.  Here are some of my favorite aggie gifts and stocking stuffers for your shopping pleasure.

- Steak Brander: Know somebody who is an all-weather grill master? I do and I got him this K-State meat brander about 5 years ago! My stepdad loves this thing and uses it all the time!

- Perky Jerky: my husband has a very difficult time staying awake and driving late at night, so I am going to get him some of this jerky that is infused with guarana (that stuff in energy drinks). High in protein and high energy to boot!

For your tech savvy friends, what about a pig USB port or a ceramic pig speaker for your iPod?

And probably my favorite ag gift (which I sincerely hope hubsy buys me but he probably won't since he never reads my blog) is this fantastic t-shirt which describes me to a tee (no pun intended).

I love meat!!

Here's to finding that perfect gift but let us not forget the reason for the season. Let us rejoice our dear Savior's birth so long ago.

Merry Christmas,

~Buzzard~

Are those real?!

Does your household put up an artificial or authentic Christmas tree when December rolls around? My family doesn’t have the tradition of a real tree, we’ve used the same artificial tree for 20+ years and spice it up with a vast assortment of ornaments, lights and a star on top. But if you’re like the Ninja, you prefer a real tree (the Frobose’s use white pines) and won’t accept anything less. Did you know that when you purchase a real tree, you’re supporting a segment of American agriculture? Contrary to popular belief, Christmas trees are not cut from forests. In fact, 98% of all Christmas trees are grown on Christmas tree farms all over the United States.

Christmas trees farms are very environmentally friendly. Check out all of their ‘green’ attributes.
• For every Christmas tree that is harvested, 2-3 seedlings are planted.
• Christmas trees remove dust and pollen from the air.
• There are more than 4,000 Christmas tree recycling programs in the U.S.
• Growing Christmas trees provides a natural habitat for several wildlife species.
• Recycled trees have been used to make sand and erosion barriers and have been placed in ponds for fish shelter.

There are over 21,000 Christmas tree farms scattered all over the U.S. (including Hawaii and Alaska) however Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are the top five producers. Every year, 30-35 million real Christmas trees are sold, which accounts for a whopping $1.3 billion boost in the economy. A few days ago, I helped the Frobose family select two beautiful white pines for their home. It was new experience for me and it was really cold but it was a ton of fun. For your viewing pleasure, here are a few pictures of that adventure.

Looking for the 'perfect' tree

This one made the 'cut'!

The fiance is good for a lot - including manual labor!

Many factors go into selecting the ‘perfect’ Christmas tree. Height, uniformity, trunk width and overall appearance all play into the decision. It was quite an entertaining experience to say the least.

So what are you waiting for? If you haven’t bought your tree yet, head over to Wal-mart, the Home Depot, Lowe’s or any one of a hundred different places near you to buy a real tree. Celebrate this Christmas in style and support American agriculture.

Merry Christmas!

Until next time,

~Buzzard~

p.s. I just want to point out that if you don’t have a real tree, there’s nothing wrong with you. Here’s a picture of my dad and I’s tree and I think it’s beautiful in its artificial glory!



Beef Up Your Christmas

Still not finished with your Christmas shopping? Meh, don't feel bad -- I'm not either. But I know one way I can easily stuff some stockings this year. The Kansas Lottery has recently partnered with Munson Premium Angus Beef to create the new Beef & Bucks instant scratch game.  The tickets are designed to raise beef awareness and instant prizes range from $2 to $10000! There's even a second chance drawing on March 25 to win a Munson Premium Beef prize package.

Tickets are now on sale at Kansas Lottery retailers - so visit your nearest retailer and beef up your Christmas morning!  You can visit here to learn more about Beef & Bucks or here to learn more about Munson Premium Angus Beef!

Merry Christmas!

Until next time,
~Buzzard~

Christmas in Ohio

This year I spent Christmas with the Ninja's family in Ohio -- this was an unfamiliar experience for me because I've never spent a Christmas away from either of my parents.  But I bit the bullet and headed east to celebrate my favorite holiday!

I was a little sad because it poured on Christmas Eve so there was no snow but we still had a blast!  Check out my awesome stocking

Great times were had by all -- the Frobose family completely spoiled me -- I think I am going to like being a part of that family :)

Until next time,

~Buzzard~