FOOD CRUSH FOOD CRUSH

Locally grown and sourced food is unlike anything else. It’s cleaner. It’s fresher. It’s more flavorful. Farm-totable is a buzz phrase for restaurants and grocers alike, but there is truth to its meaning. Sourcing food from its origin is the way to go. Bachman Family Farms in Deer Creek is raising grass-fed beef and pasture chickens from the ground up, paying attention to everything from the soil to the sunlight. They aren’t cutting corners, and it’s making a huge difference.

Operated by David and Amy Bachman, this small farm is delivering the best beef direct to any doorstep in the lower 48 states. The variety of cuts available to order is impressive. There are the usual cuts that most carnivores are familiar with, but don’t look past the not-so-easy-to-find products. Marrow bones, oxtail, even primal ground beef (70% grind/30% organ meat) are available. The tomahawk ribeye is Bachman’s specialty. It is rich and buttery and unbelievably tender. It’s an impressive steak, well marbled and dry aged. Personally, we like to put extra virgin olive oil on all sides and season with a generous amount of salt. Throw it on a screaming hot grill for 5 minutes on each side to put a hard sear on the steak. Put it on a baking sheet in a 300 F oven until the internal temp is ~135 F. *Note: this is for medium rare. If you prefer your temperature elsewhere, adjust accordingly*. Let the meat rest for a minimum of 10 minutes. Slice and enjoy with a bottle of good Cabernet.

Maybe the most overlooked and taken for granted item is ground beef. It’s on the low end of the price range compared to almost any cut, and it’s readily available in most parts of this country. It’s so convenient that it’s taken for granted and subpar grind is commonly accepted. Bachman’s grind is juicy and rich. It’s the perfect balance of a sweet, savory flavor mixed with salty fattiness. That sounds like a lot, and it is … in the very best way. The way to go is 80/20. It is THE choice for burgers – the only choice.

Bachman’s also has superior pastureraised chicken. It is leaner and more robust than supermarket chicken. Supermarket chicken is almost watery, and chicken isn’t supposed to be tasteless. Bachman’s chicken is hearty, and it absorbs spices/brine/ seasonings more easily than grocery store chicken. Chicken breast may be the most popular cut, but the very best cut is the thigh. It’s a fattier cut, which makes it more flavor intensive. Does more fat equal more calories? Sure, but life is meant to be enjoyed, and chicken thighs are meant to be eaten.

The variety, accessibility and the way the animals are raised doesn’t matter if the flavor isn’t there. No doubt, Bachman’s is better. Local, small farm meat > industrial-raised meat all day, every day. Happy eating!!

If You Find Yourself In …

FORT WORTH and you’re looking for interesting meat, go to Lonesome Dove Bistro in the Stockyards and grab a seat at the bar. Order the Jalapeno Cucumber Margarita. Start with the Rabbit-Rattlesnake Sausage (trust me). Order the Roasted Garlic Stuffed Beef Tenderloin with a side of LD Mac & Cheese. The tenderloin comes with hash and grilled asparagus. Order the mac & cheese anyway. Finish with a Jalapeno Cucumber Margarita. Yes. It’s so good, you’ll want two.

Top Three For Me

The chicken thighs. Google Bon Appetit’s Pepperoncini Chicken recipe and get to cooking.

Order online and have top-quality meat delivered right to your door.

The bones (beef and chicken) are fantastic for making homemade broth.

Odder, a three-year-old sea otter, is the Queen of Play. She takes plain old swimming and diving to a new aquatic-acrobatic level! She dive-bombs, twirls and excels at triple doughnuts.

Odder learned how to be an otter at “Highwater” –humans call it the Monterey Bay Aquarium – after she was separated from her mother during a mighty storm. Once the humans had taught her everything they knew about how to be an otter – humans call it “Otter 101” – she was released back into Monterey Bay to live with other sea otters.

Her best friend is Kairi, a five-year-old otter who is sensible and wary. They play, eat, dance and sunbathe together. One day the two friends are searching for something to eat when they encounter a teenage shark who mistakes them for a yummy snack. (Sharks think otters taste yucky – they’re just bones and fur without any blubber.) Of course, by the time the shark realizes his mistake, it might be too late for the otters.

Luckily, Odder is rescued – again – by the humans of Highwater who will do their best to help her heal.

Odder is a novel-in-verse. A novelin-verse is a type of hybrid. It has the length and structure of a novel, while taking advantage of the expressive freedom of poetry. I often tell my students (especially those who insist they don’t like to read) that there’s a lot of white on the pages, so there’s not nearly so much reading required. It’s truly a lovely form of narrative.

Applegate based the otters in her story on some of the real-life otters who have been cared for by the Monterey Bay Aquarium staff in the Sea Otter Rescue and Conservation program. As a side note, sea otters are currently listed as an endangered species.

BY NICK VIALL

I saw this book on the shelf and just had to pick it up. No, I’m not looking for advice on love, sex or dating; it just grabbed my attention. I then stood there in the bookstore and read aloud from the Q&A section to my friends. Nick Viall’s commonsense, one-liner answers were entertaining and captured my attention.

This book, despite the title, is about being honest with yourself. It’s about understanding yourself and your choices, controlling what you can control and recognizing what is outside your control. The author, Nick Viall, is up front about not being a trained expert. Several times throughout the book he reminds the reader that he isn’t a therapist or a relationship counselor. He is, however, the host of The Viall Files, a podcast that focuses on relationships.

Nick reminds the reader, “You’re searching for your person, your one.” He encourages us to recognize our nonnegotiables, set our expectations and enforce our

Review By: Lorrie Layton

PROVIDED BY BRACE BOOKS & MORE

boundaries. He discusses the value of being grateful instead of hopeful. He reminds us that dating and relationships require hard work. Movies mislead us about what dating and relationships look like and how easy they should be with that one special person. That’s a lie we fall for so easily.

Nick also helps us understand why we do some of the things we do in relationships, like welcoming back someone who broke our heart, feeling like we’ve invested too much time in a relationship to quit now (even if we’re miserable) and being willing to accept someone hurting us so we don’t have to be alone.

While this book is supposedly advice on love, sex and dating, I found that much of this book applied to relationships in general, especially setting expectations, identifying nonnegotiables and enforcing boundaries. I also found the book highly entertaining.

“How are things in Ponca City?”

I get asked how things are in Ponca City from my peers and colleagues across the state as if we live in a foreign country. I respond with “GREAT!” But if I had time to point out a few things, I would give them a whole lot more. Did you know we’re attracting individuals each day to move to our wonderful city? It’s true!

The first reason we’re attracting folks is Ponca City has a strong and diversified economy, with a mix of manufacturing, healthcare and energy industries providing a stable base of jobs for residents. We attract people to the area for several different types of employment opportunities.

This past weekend I met an individual who moved here from near Atlanta, Georgia, and relocated to Ponca City. She had first moved North of the border, but quickly became acquainted with our community and moved here! When I asked why, she stated she was in awe of our history and the culture found within our community. Ponca City has a rich history and culture, with a variety of historical sites, museums and cultural events that can attract tourists and visitors to the area. I love how we are able to attract new residents who appreciate the city’s cultural heritage.

I’m most fond of having the opportunity to work in a strong and high-quality public-school system. This can be a major factor in attracting families to the area. Parents are often looking for good schools for their children when they are deciding where to relocate, and a well-regarded public-school system can be a major selling point for the community. We aim to keep Ponca City public schools with a good reputation for providing a high-quality education and preparing students for success in college or careers.

Our school system can also provide a variety of extracurricular activities and programs that can attract students and families to the area. For example, the school system offers a wide range of athletic programs, music and art programs, and clubs that can provide students with opportunities to explore their interests and talents. This fall we look to bring online our Wildcat E-Sports program. It will be increasingly important for our school district to evaluate what programs and offerings can be made for the public as we move forward.

To all my friends around the state living their best life, I say we have it going pretty well here. I think all the pieces are here for the next phase in our community’s development. I look forward to helping grow the community by providing high-quality education, offering a variety of extracurricular activities and programs and community services. Together we will create more selling points for our community and continue to attract families to our area.

– Maria Edgeworth

Editor’s Note: Streaming has changed the way humans consume television. With nearly every episode of every show ever created available at our fingertips, many viewers are discovering shows they may have missed when they originally aired. Though times and technology change, good storytelling never goes out of style. Our new monthly series “Stream It” will help introduce our readers to some of the best that streaming TV has to offer.