Late this Spring we finally ran out of grass feed beef for the first time in 6 months. The original “family sampler” we bought from Lasater Beef of 36lbs lasted about 6 months for 2 people. We decided to try another place as Lasater raised their prices significantly and we wanted to try another Colorado rancher to compare quality, price, and packaging. While I was scouting around the internet we stumbled on Sun Prairie Natural Beef as they were doing a closeout on their spring inventory. We got a great deal on some lower quality cuts like ground beef, roasts, spare ribs rather than the mix we previously had, which included high-end steaks. We jumped at the deal and ordered a 25lb box with pick-up in Denver at an average price of $4 per lb. Since then we’ve eaten our way partially through the box and are very pleased with their meat.

Unlike Lasater which wraps their meat in butcher paper and then freezes it, Sun Prairie’s processor vacuum packs the meat before freezing, which makes it much easier to thaw in the sink without a mess when you realize last minute that you don’t have the meat thawed that you planned for dinner. The processor also does a great job tenderizing cuts of meat such as cube steak and flank steak so that it’s more tender and easier to cook. The beef also tastes better with a less gamey flavor than Lasater. I don’t know if it’s a difference in the breed or the pasture, but it results in a better steak, this is especially noticeable on the lower quality steaks such as round steak. And to top it off they are cheaper than many of the other grass fed packages we’ve found around here and on the web.

Sun Prairie is now doing a summer harvest for the first time this year, normally they only do a spring and fall harvest, with pick up on August 22nd around the front range. If you live around the front range you should definitely give them a try as they have pick-up locations all around the front range including several in Denver, Boulder, Longmont & Fort Collins . They also deliver via UPS if you don’t live in the front range or can’t make the pickup times. They have 3 types of boxes available in either 25lb or 50lb sizes. They also allow you to make substitutions, which is great if you are like us don’t need 10lbs of ground beef and would rather use sausage and other cuts. If you place an order use the code “sunprairiebeef” and save an additional 5%. We just ordered another 25lb “Economy box” with several substitutions to get the cuts we need right now to fill out our fridge. In the fall we’ll order a box that includes more steaks and enough beef to get us through the winter. I can’t wait!

We planted three kinds of beans this year, Molly Frazier White Cutshort Pole Beans, Dragon Tongue Bush Beans, and Scarlet Runner Beans.  We planted our beans about 1″ deep and 3″ apart for the runner and pole beans, and 4″ apart for the bush beans.  They all sprouted in a week or two with no problems, but we had trouble keeping the Molly Frazier alive, we had watering problems with our drip system and the ones that were getting watered right still did not flourish.  Once the Scarlet Runner and Molly Frazier pole beans sprouted we put several tall garden stakes in the ground with strings running between them.  Then tied a string from the plant to the string above for the beans to run up.

The Dragon Tongue Bush Beans have been doing well and made quite a few beans, but the Scarlet Runner Beans are what we’ve had the most luck with. They can be used as a green beans or if you don’t harvest right away you can leave them on the vine for dried beans. The Scarlet Runner bean flowers are red and very very pretty, apparently some people grow them just as a pretty flowering vine.  I’ve also read that bees love Scarlet Runner Beans bright red flowers and we have noticed a lot of bees and butterflies around ours.

We finally had enough Scarlet Runner Beans to cook a couple of nights ago, I just sauteed them with olive oil and some shallots and they were very good, tender with a mild flavor. We tried some of the Dragon Tongue Bush beans this way as well but didn’t like their flavor quite as much and they didn’t get as tender, so I think we are going to try to save those pods and use them as dried beans. Apparently the Scarlet Runner Beans are a very popular variety in England and from what I’ve read you can buy the green beans in the grocery store fresh or even frozen there.  I’ve also read that they like cooler summers better than warm summers which could explain why we are having such good luck with ours because we have had a really mild summer here in Colorado.  I think next year we will try a different variety of runner or poles beans along with the Scarlet Runners again.