Hank's blog, if you haven't already visited, is called Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook. Do yourself a favor and add it to your feed. It's one of my favorite places to click to for inspiration. When you are like me and you try to dine on what is free and near, checking in at websites like his keeps the fires stoked. After the interview, check out this link to his recipe for Venison Meatballs, Greek-style. We've been enjoying this dish all winter with some of the venison our neighbor has been trading us for eggs!

(Note: In November, Hank will be visiting us here at the farm for a book event. He's just written Duck, Duck, Goose, a book about cooking wild and domesticated water fowl.)

BH: Was there a definitive moment when it dawned on you that seeking and eating wild food was preferable and something you wanted to make part of your daily life?

Hank: Not really. I grew up picking berries and digging clams and fishing. Wild food is part of our family's DNA. But I can tell you that one reason I've taken it into hunting -- something no one else in my family does -- is as a conscious rejection of factory farmed meats. There is real horror in industrial meat production, and I want to minimize my involvement in it as best I can; I have bought meat only a handful of times since 2004.

BH: Killing and consuming wild or farm-raised animals, especially cute ones, can be really a really polarizing topic. How do you find yourself coping with folks that seem to take serious issue with the rather hands-on manner in which you provide for yourself?

H: Well, it can come from several directions. The most amusing are the "cute-itarians," those who will eat beef because they're ugly and not lamb because they're cute. Kinda ridiculous. The other easy ones to dismiss are those hypocrites who tell me I am a monster for hunting when they wear leather shoes and gladly stuff their pie holes with McDonald's burgers. They lash out at me because they fear the reality I choose to face head on. What I do reminds them that their burger was once a cow, their skinless, boneless chicken breasts were once wandering around pecking things -- or not, in the case of factory chickens, which barely get to move at all.

On the other hand, I enjoy debating and discussing with vegetarians. I like vegetarians, because many of them (not all, mind you) have also spent time thinking about the industrial food system and they too have rejected it. Their choice is merely a different one from mine. Where we debate is in who does the least harm to the world. This, in the grand scheme of things is akin to debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin -- vegetarians and hunters do FAR less harm to the earth than do the typically wasteful American consumer. That said, vegetarians (and vegans) need to realize that animals die for them, too. Anyone who's ever seen the crows and seagulls flock around a disker, pecking at the chopped up remains of mice, voles, baby birds and such -- and I'm not even going to get into the issue of habitat loss and pesticide use -- understands that no one lives unless something dies. It is a cruel fact of this world.

BH: How do you feel that your lifestyle has effected your perspective? Do you feel differently than you did before you began actively hunting and foraging?

H: Like I said, I've been foraging and fishing my whole life. But hunting has definitely changed my perspective. I waste less meat now. I am a better cook because I hunt -- it requires skill to cook offal, and the tough cuts of an animal. I actually eat less meat now, because I have chosen to eat only what I bring home. I think hunting has restored meat's rightful place in my life: For most of human existence, meat has been special. Before I hunted, it was not. Not it is something I hold in reverence.

BH: What advice would you give someone with hesitation about how to get started hunting or foraging? Do you have any advice for people who are afraid of taking a life to feed themselves or their families?

H: It is absolutely a big deal, a serious matter. And not everyone can do it. It's been a powerful long time since everyone was required to be able to kill for their meat -- eons, actually. And there is no shame in facing the moment and finding yourself unwilling or unable to pull that trigger, or release that arrow or slash those gills. My advice for those who are curious is to talk to anglers and hunters and livestock farmers. If you are still interested, ask to join them on a fishing trip, or a hunt or on slaughter day. Watch. Let it seep in. If you think you can do it, only then should you start the journey.

Killing for meat, especially when we're talking about fellow mammals like deer, is never easy. Nor should it be. But over time you understand that doing so is taking your place on Nature's stage. We have been hunters since before we were fully human. There is no shame in accepting that -- so long as we remember to respect what Nature gives us.

BH: In your opinion, what is the most rewarding aspect to having a more intimate involvement with your food?

H:Getting to see Nature in a way no other people get to see. Hunting, fishing and foraging get me closer to the wild world than you ever possibly could as a hiker or as a spectator with a camera. To succeed in what I do, I must understand what I am pursuing -- whether it be bird, beast, fish or plant -- far more than I would need to as a casual observer. There is an intimacy in the process that lies outside the realm of reason. The forest, the fields, the ocean. These are my cathedrals.

Normally, we'd separate one of our broody hens to set upon a clutch of eggs but right now it's all hens on deck for our flock. We cannot spare any laying hen's abilities for now, but we feel that letting Mama Nature take care of things is always preferable to human intervention.

Our plan is to not buy chicks or pullets ever again. We've had such a headache with our most recent additions to the flock not being hardy and dying or having deformities that could have been avoided with better management that we just feel like we could do a better job of it here. Ordering chicks feels kind of bad for us because we end up ordering only females and who knows what happens to the male chicks. If we raise chicks at home from our own stock, we can raise a few cockerels for the table for nearly nothing.

We'll keep you guys posted on the process! Interested in hatching your own eggs? The Backyard Chickens forum has a great tutorial on how to do it!

There are few food staples that vary regionally to the same degree as bread. Though many of them consist of nearly the same ingredients; flour and water, variables such as the careful handling of the dough, the quality of the grain and the method of baking have a created a vast and perhaps countless number of bread recipes from cultures and kitchens around the world.

None of them, as far as I am concerned, will ever compare to the humble biscuit. Not ever.

I grew up on these delectable quick breads, much like any child born below the Mason-Dixon. The mere sight of a puffed up, golden-topped biscuit is enough to make me do jumping jacks where I stand. I love them dearly, and only recently attempted to baked them, when I was hard up for quality biscuits in Brooklyn. I found the ones in my vicinity to be dry, dense and all together unappealing. I know some of you will chime in to defend some of restaurants known for making excellent biscuits. I won't argue that there are places in the city that do it up right, but hear me this; baking biscuits at home and breaking them apart fresh out of the oven to enjoy is an experience you cannot get in a restaurant. Biscuits will always be better made at home, especially when you know how to make them.

I've spent some time noodling around with recipes and have sort of come up with my own goat-centric version. We've always got tons of milk piling up in the fridge, which often times gets made into yogurt, which oftentimes ends up in these biscuits. Yogurt, I've learned, makes a great substitute for buttermilk. It's thick, creamy tartness imparts wonderful flavor and results in a moist and flaky biscuit that would give any southerner a warm fuzzy feeling inside. The trick to a good biscuit is a wet dough that just barely keeps from sticking, and minimal handling.

Farmer Meg's "Famous" Biscuits

To make, you will need:

-3 cups of self-rising flour, plus extra for handling the dough
-1 teaspoon of salt
-half a cup of cold butter or lard
-1 cup of yogurt (we use homemade goat yogurt, but a store-bought thick, cultured yogurt would work as well)
-a 10-in cast iron skillet

Here's how to make them:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, mix flour and salt with a fork, making sure to break up any lumps of flour. Cut butter or lard into small pieces and spread throughout the flour. Using your hands, rub the fat into the flour until the pieces are the size of small peas. Add the yogurt and stir in a folding motion until all of the flour is absorbed. Dough should be sticky to the touch.

Flour a smooth workable surface like a counter top or butcher's block. Pour dough out onto the surface and dust liberally with flour. Fold over several times lightly, lightly forming the dough into a rectangular shape. Add flour to places that continue to stick. It's important at this point to avoid the temptation to over handle the dough. Less is more. If you are working the dough for more than a minute, you are overdoing it.

By hand, gently press out the dough to 1-inch thickness. Using a knife or pastry scraper, cut the biscuits into squares. Larger squares can be used to make tasty breakfast sandwiches, while smaller ones can accompany soups or salads. Place the biscuits flush to one another in the cast iron skillet. You may have to gently squeeze the last one in. Don't be shy about it.

Place in the over for about 20 minutes or until the tops are a toasty golden brown. Serve with honey butter immediately or up to 24 hours after.

Enjoy!

It's frustrating at times because we want to continue sharing everything that's happening here, but the reality of being a farmer/blogger is becoming clear. At some point you have to choose one or the other to focus most of your attention on.

Some things will be changing around here. There are plenty of blogs out there with daily content being added and we aspire to be that sort of prolific blog as well, but since this farm has become our first priority, that will be challenging and not always possible. I personally have had to rethink my strategy because I cannot find myself behind a computer for the length of time I am accustomed to. Lives are literally at stake daily. We need to be present mentally and physically, if only to provide damage control.

For farm information, you'll want to look to our posts at Seven Arrows East. The content will likely contain useful information alongside personal anecdotes. We're also contributing to The Anchor, an Asbury Park based culture blog. We're contemplating what to do with Brooklyn Homesteader. We're ready to move on, so now we've got the complicated task of figuring out what to do with it. We cannot depend on other people to post content with regularity. So, a name change is on the horizon and with it a slight shift in focus. More on that soon.

So are you guys ready for Spring or what? Renewal and verdure are on the horizon, y'all!