Egg farmer struggles along on $8-a-dozen organic product. "Poor baby!" you might be thinking. With $8 eggs, you might be thinking about buying a second yacht. And when Alexis Koefoed began selling a few eggs to her neighbors in Vacaville, California, in 2005, she'd soon be selling, not just eggs but poultry meat at $6.50 a pound to consumers and gourmet restaurants in nearby San Francisco.
     Home cooks and chefs both like the taste and freshness they get from her 8,000-bird free-roaming flock. Koefoed and her husband, Eric, found out exactly how much their customers valued the product when an arsonist set a brush fire in September that destroyed two of their chicken houses and killed 1,200 birds. It was the end of their business, the Koefoeds thought.
     But almost before the smoke had cleared, customers, friends and strangers had raised $25,000 to keep the farm going. One weekend, 35 volunteers showed to up rebuild the chicken coops, and Soul Food Farms was back in business.
     After that show of support, she couldn't stop Koefoed told New York Times reporter Christine Muhlke. Not stopping meant more long days with early mornings and late nights. She and Eric both work hard and the farm operates on razor-thin margins. They're definitely not driving driving in a BMW.
     If you think you'd really like to be getting $8 a dozen for eggs, you might want to read the Koefoeds' story first. You can get it here:   http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/magazine/29food-t-000.html?scp=6&sq=agriculture&st=cse

     Springerle cookies, anise-flavored "picture" cookies are a Christmas staple in many households with german heritage. The recipes date back to the 15th century, and many elaborate designs, like the one shown here, were stamped onto the confections with wooden molds. Lancaster Farming regional editor Tracy Sutton talked to bakers both in Michigan and Lancaster County about how to succeed with Springerles. It's complicated. Your can read her story in Section B of our current edition, or check it out online here: http://www.lancasterfarming.com/node/2414


     One more reason it's nice to live on a farm. http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/caught-on-cam-woman-battles-subway-door/6256wp6