C&D Farms fresh meat & eggs from the white van

Crystal Nells raises pigs, chickens, lamb and beef and during the non-outdoor farmers market months you can buy it directly from her white van when she pulls up "shop" on Tuesdays. She's in the Lincoln Square parking lot off of Lincoln from 7 am - 11 am and from 4-6 pm she's on Berwyn (in front of Ranalli's) in Andersonville. I am most familiar with her pork -- her bacon will ruin you (in the best way) as will her Canadian Bacon . . . but we also had a leg of lamb from her for Xmas and it was magnificent. In addition to this, she's funny and there's something refreshing about standing in 18 degree weather (with other folks) cracking jokes while waiting for your ham steak to be pulled from a freezer. She also has farm fresh eggs with nice, bright yolks.

She sent me this email this morning, looks like she has a deal going if you come to her tomorrow and let her know you are a new customer! (Let her know you read about it on lthforum and maybe she'll give you another deal . . . who knows?)

Here's the email:

Good Morning Lincoln Square and Andersonville,

Well, we haven't had any new piglets this past week. Since the weather will be bad this week we are sure a couple more moms will give birth. It always seems that the worse the weather the better chance we will have piglets. I don't know why it works that way. Murphy's Law I guess.

The feeder pen is getting fat and that means a lot more meat is coming up. Along with a lot more meat means we need a lot more sales. I know January is a blah month and people aren't shopping as much so I am hoping things turn around in February. Well, I am hoping that we are close enough to February that many of you want to come and see me tomorrow. No more accidents with Cody (my male German Shepard) and eggs so I will have plenty of eggs available tomorrow.

I have plenty of pork tenderloins, ham steaks, pork strips, pork chops, ground beef, hamburger patties are back in stock, chuck roasts, flat iron steaks, boneless skinless chicken breasts and whole chickens.

Let's have a sale! Yes it just came to me while I was typing! Boneless skinless chicken breasts will be $1.00 off per pound and Flat Iron Steaks will be $2.00 off per pound. I have a lot of both and they both seem to be favorites of yours so lets motivate you to come and see me.

Tell your friends....... Any new customers that come and see me tomorrow and spend at least $10.00, I will give you a $5.00 discount on your next purchase. If you have a better incentive program then that, give me your ideas.

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow in Lincoln Square from 7 to 11 and Andersonville from 4 to 6. As always if you need me to stay longer just give me a call at 773 401-9759.

Thank you!

--
Crystal L. Nells
C & D Family Farms
crystal@cdfamilyfarms.com
574 772-5334 (office)
773 401-9759 (cell)

Thanks BJT--going to check this out tomorrow!

great! she takes credit cards but she prefers checks or cash. be fair warned -- her meat costs more than you are going to find at Jewel but I think it is worth it in terms of the quality you get. Ditto on the eggs. (If you bring an empty egg container she gives you a discount on your eggs.)

If you purchase something, I would love to hear your thoughts on it. I plan on breaking out of my pork rut with her and buying one of her flat iron steaks tomorrow. Although, I must say, as a mom who literally runs in the door and then starts cooking, her ham steaks have saved my harried bum many a night now. And just the other evening we happily gobbled down "breakfast for dinner" with her Canadian bacon and eggs and some quick fried potatoes. (Wow I think I am actually becoming a gulp, Midwesterner! Wait, I think I threw down some kale with those potatoes so I wouldn't feel totally guilty . . . or did I just think about throwing down some kale?)

bjt

It looks on her website like she is in Lincoln Square on Tuesdays from 7am - 1pm, not 11am-2pm?

PitaChip wrote:It looks on her website like she is in Lincoln Square on Tuesdays from 7am - 1pm, not 11am-2pm?

Just spoke to her on the phone and she said that the times on the website are correct--so 7a.m - 1pm @ Lincoln Square and 4pm - 6pm in Andersonville are correct.

Thanks Pita Chip--I would've been SOL if I showed up between 1:00 and 2:00 like I originally planned!

Sorry about that, I edited my original post to have the correct times!

bjt

C&D is indeed excellent pork. A listing of their winter sales outlets has been on the Local Beet: http://www.thelocalbeet.com/2009/12/18/ ... locations/

bjt wrote:Sorry about that, I edited my original post to have the correct times!

bjt

No problem--thanks for the info--looking forward to checking it out tomorrow!

It looks as though Crystal might be appearing in Hyde Park as well with her white van during the winter months. It's a little late to call her so I will just ask her tomorrow when I see her. But if any of you fabulous south side/HP peeps know better, let us know. Beverly too, is it true?

bjt

PLEASE NOTE: Crystal will NOT be at any markets today (Tuesday) there was a fire in their barn last night. Please read below. She says she will come on Thursday instead.

Hello to all my loyal and wonderful customer!

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I am sending you this e-mail. Tonight at 12:15 a.m. I woke up to feed Abby and saw that our barn was engulfed in flames. The barn held 13 piglets, 3 mothers and 2 mothers to be. Thankfully the doors on both ends of the barn were open and most of the animals escaped. We lost one mother (Abby's mom), one mother to be (of course it had to be one of our favorites) and one piglet to the fire. Everyone else escaped and Dan and I were able to keep them out of harms way.

I will post if I hear any differently about her coming on Thursday.

bjt

I'm so sorry to hear about the fire. It is hard to imagine how devastating that must be. Sure is amazing that she woke up in time to save some of the animals.

Please do keep us posted about her schedule DH has his little pile o'cash and plans to catch up with her when she is next in Andersonville.

I will certainly keep you all posted, now more than ever she will be needing people to show up and support their farm. (And as far as waking up for the fire goes, Crystal actually wakes up 2-3 times a night and goes to the barn to feed the baby pigs and make sure they are warm enough, etc.) Raising livestock is work that really never stops.

bjt

bjt, thanks for sharing this. I was going to stop by today.

Just out of curiosity, how do you know so much about them, sleeping habits, etc?

Good question! Crystal sends out emails to her "regular" customers (if you give her your email). I think the original intent was to tell us about specials but they always seem to include anecdotes about what's going on with the animals amd the occasional grumblings about business being slow. A few weeks ago she shared with us that when the piglets were first born she atually brought one litle runt into the house because feared it wouldn't survive the cold. And another time she mentioned how rough it is to get up every few hours to go out and feed/check on the piglets. So . . . that's how I know. But other than chatting and joking with her when I go to pick up my meat and eggs, and occasionally emailing her meat questions (like, what's the difference between pork shoulder and pork butt? her answer, nothing) I have no other relationship with her or the farm.

But I sure do like buying my meat directly from the person who raised it. I just hope they are all right and can get through this challenge, it seems like they were struggling (based on an email a few weeks back) even before the fire.

bjt

Hi:

Any word if she will be in Andersonville this afternoon? I couldn't tell from the website, so I thought I would ask around....

Thanks,
Vicky

She will be in Andersonville today.

Woooooo-Hooooooo! DH will be there with my shopping list and his fist o'cash!

Business was brisk at the C & D van yesterday at around 5 pm in Andersonville and she said Lincoln Square had a nice turnout too.

I asked if she will be back to Tuesday next week and she said yes.

Some bacon asides: the bacon yesterday looked fattier than I am used to (for hers) so I opted out and bought Canadian bacon instead. I hope this is an aberration because I've really loved the cut of her bacon for months now. Also the woman in front of me bought what Crystal referred to as "jowl bacon" and I also heard that it was smoked. I meant to ask but then it was my turn to give my order, anyhow, anybody know how you use/prepare jowl bacon?

thanks!

bjt

I made a maiden voyage and picked up some good stuff also: bacon, flat iron steaks, eggs, and a beef tongue. Glad I caught this thread!

bjt wrote:PLEASE NOTE: Crystal will NOT be at any markets today (Tuesday) there was a fire in their barn last night. Please read below. She says she will come on Thursday instead.

Hello to all my loyal and wonderful customer!

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I am sending you this e-mail. Tonight at 12:15 a.m. I woke up to feed Abby and saw that our barn was engulfed in flames. The barn held 13 piglets, 3 mothers and 2 mothers to be. Thankfully the doors on both ends of the barn were open and most of the animals escaped. We lost one mother (Abby's mom), one mother to be (of course it had to be one of our favorites) and one piglet to the fire. Everyone else escaped and Dan and I were able to keep them out of harms way.

vickyp wrote:Please do keep us posted about her schedule DH has his little pile o'cash and plans to catch up with her when she is next in Andersonville.

The latest is that C&D will be at the Lincoln Park High School parking lot, tomorrow, from 9-11 am, selling their products. More details here.

I actually made two trips to the van yesterday--once for me (pork tenderloin, better-than-bacon (shoulder?), gorgeous 6.3 lb chicken, chicken breasts, lat iron steaks and a dozen eggs.) Had an egg the moment I got home. Oh my goodness. Was prepping the pork tenderloin for dinner and you'll have to check the thread "things my dumbass dog wants to eat" to see what happened there. Sucked.

Then went back an hour later to pick up some stuff for a friend who was sick and couldn't make it out. I'm definitely a fan now. Thanks for posting!!

DH found the truck on Thursday afternoon and came home with a good pile of yummy stuff! This weekend we enjoyed some of the farm eggs and jowl bacon. The jowl is heavily smoked - which made it a little drier and firmer than I expected. Still, I sliced and diced some of it and made 'bacon' gravy - my guy's favorite. It was very tasty. Still have a chunk that I will throw in with some beans and greens later in the week. The eggs were also very nice.

He also got some sausage, ham steak, ham hock(smoked), flat irons, pork chops and whole chicken that we haven't gotten to yet. I'm looking forward to working my way through our loot!


Vicky

bjt wrote:Some bacon asides: the bacon yesterday looked fattier than I am used to (for hers) so I opted out and bought Canadian bacon instead. I hope this is an aberration because I've really loved the cut of her bacon for months now.

My wife and ate our pound of bacon already (not in one sitting!). It was delicious and actually not particularly fatty (for bacon, that is). A large portion of the meat was "whiter" than the other portion, which was pink. Perhaps it looked fatter in the package?

Darren72: I think you might be right about this, thanks! I cooked up some of her bacon tonight (that was in the freezer) and most of the white parts cooked up and were not fat but pale meat. And tasted divine. We had breakfast for dinner: C & D bacon and eggs and yukon gold potatoes roasted off until crispy and tossed with a green "salsa" of parsley, capers, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice. A little bit of greens on the side to "Michael Pollen" it up (eat mostly greens etc) and we ate every last bit. I don't think I will balk next time at the white-ish bacon!

fwiw, I bake my bacon: I lay down parchment paper on a large rimmed cookie sheet then put the bacon on it and then put it in the over at 400 degrees. I flip the bacon with tongs a few times as needed. It is so much easier and less messy than cooking it in a pan! And I think the bacon cooks more evenly than in a griddle. Plus there's less grease in the "air" of your kitchen afterwards. You do get a bit of a bacon facial every time you open the over door but that's not such a terrible thing.

Crystal will be back tomorrow in Lincoln Sq and Andersonville -- I know she was just here both Thursday AND Saturday in LP but even if you show up and buy one thing, I am certain she would appreciate it.

bjt

hi all:

due to the storm and snow, Crystal will be coming Thursday instead of today, just this week. Same times at the Lincoln Sq and Anderdsonville locations.

bjt

Just to clarify, because some posts above indicate that C&D is in Lincoln Square until 1 p.m. - that is sadly not the case, or at least not the case today (the make-up day for Tuesday's snow storm), as I went over there around 11:45 a.m. and no van was to be found.

I would assume that the hours posted on her website (http://www.cdfamilyfarms.com/Home) are correct, and therefore the hours for C&D in the Lincoln Square parking lot are 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Tuesday mornings.

I was hoping to get some eggs this morning but there was no white van in the Lincoln Park HS parking lot at 10am. The website states they would be there from 9-11.

Hi guys, I emailed Crystal to clarify and she responded that she is at Lincoln Square only until 11 am, not 1 pm (and I will edit my OP one more time to reflect that).

As far as LP HS goes, Crystal said she emailed her customers to let them know she wouldn't be coming. But . . . that doesn't really work for you if aren't on her email list and are reading about it here. So I suggest you either email her the day prior or call her cell to confirm if weather is dicey or you are going out of your way to meet her.

Here's her contact info . . .

Crystal L. Nells
C & D Family Farms
crystal@cdfamilyfarms.com
574 772-5334 (office)
773 401-9759 (cell)

She also said she will change the info on her website when she gets a chance but I think you are always going to be safer just calling or emailing her.

Sorry to tem and epoomay for giving you bogus times/info.

bjt

C & D Family Farms will be doing 6 markets in 5 days this year. Lincoln Square - Tuesday's 7 to 1, Andersonville - Wednesday 3 to 8, Hyde Park - Thursday 7 to 1, Lincoln Square - Thursday 4 to 8, Northcenter - Saturday 7 to 1 and Beverly - Sunday 7 to 1. We also have a new page on Facebook. We are on Twitter and Linkedin as well. Keep up with the farm!

We are on Twitter and Linkedin as well.

Hi, Crystal - what's your Twitter address? My searches are all coming up empty. Thanks!