The annual newsletter from Weathertop Farm in Check arrived in my mailbox about a week ago.
It held the usual promise that comes with spring: “Already our brooders are full of little chirping critters and the grass is greening up a bit,” wrote Sarah and Cedric Shannon.

The Shannons make a living raising and selling pastured chickens, pork, turkeys and rabbits. They also sell chicken eggs and will be selling duck eggs this summer. I met with the Shannons for a local food project and they sold me the most delicious Thanksgiving turkey I’ve ever had.

A little ways down in the newsletter, after the Shannons described their new products and their children’s involvement in the farm (Sami is raising ducks for eggs and Natasha is starting her own little flock of Bourbon Red turkeys), they moved on to prices.

Here’s the part that made my heart sink:

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Corey, Katie, Sean, Wendy and others have all offered some pretty convincing arguments for winning this week’s free cookbook, “Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook.” It’s going to be quite hard for me to decide.
From personal and family health to animal welfare, the arguments for switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet are compelling. If I may wander slightly from the topic of food, I’d suggest that anyone interested in animal welfare watch the new HBO documentary, “I Am An Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA.” Newkirk is the founder of PETA, and whether you come away from the doc thinking she’s a saint or a loon, it is a fascinating and thought-provoking experience.
Watching the part about undercover slaughterhouse investigations made me even more glad that I bought my Thanksgiving turkey from a local farm this year. Besides that, the darn thing just tasted scrumptious.
Moving right along, since it seems that a few of you are dreaming and drooling over this cookbook, I’ll share an awesome recipe from the chapter on salads to tide you over until you either win it or purchase it yourself.

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