Why We’re Returning to the Basics—For Our Health, Our Land, and Our Future
posted on
December 11, 2025
Welcome to the very first entry of Pasture & Iron: A Farmhouse Kitchen Blog. I’m so grateful you’re here. This blog is an extension of our life at Iron Root Pastures, our regenerative farm tucked into the rolling hills of Northwest Georgia. Every day, we walk alongside our animals as we move them across fresh pasture, building healthier soil with every rotation. Regenerative farming isn’t just what we do—it’s the foundation of how we cook, how we raise our children, and how we hope to nourish our community.
But our story didn’t start on a farm.
It started with a reaction to wheat.
Years ago, my husband, Ernie, began having unexpected reactions to foods he’d eaten his entire life. That single moment sent us on a path that changed everything: how we ate, what we purchased, what we believed about food, and eventually… where we lived and how we farm today.
We began reading every ingredient label on every single product that came into our home. If we didn’t recognize something, we looked it up. One search turned into another, and suddenly we were staring straight into the reality of our food system—synthetic chemicals, artificial colors and flavors, preservatives, fillers, toxins, and marketing claims that meant almost nothing.
Our first small change was switching to organic produce to avoid herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers. Then came organic meats and eggs, hoping to avoid antibiotics and hormones. I remember proudly bringing home a carton of “Organic Free-Range Eggs,” convinced I had made the best choice.
When Ernie asked, “Why did you buy those?” I responded confidently,
“Because they’re free range!”
In my mind, that meant chickens roaming on a sunny pasture with a barn close by. But that isn’t what the label means at all. “Free range” only requires a door on a barn containing tens of thousands of birds. There’s no guarantee they ever step outside. No requirement for green grass, fresh air, space to forage, or even access time.
It was a wake-up call. Words on a label can be marketing, not meaning.
We realized that the food we wanted—clean, nutrient-dense, truly pasture-raised—wouldn’t be found in a grocery store. So we searched for farms aligned with our values, and that search introduced us to regenerative agriculture. Once we understood how regenerative farming heals land, animals, ecosystems, and people, we couldn’t unsee it.
And that’s when the dream began.
A dream that eventually became Iron Root Pastures.
Starting a regenerative farm has been the hardest, most humbling, most rewarding chapter of our lives. It’s labor-intensive and full of constant learning, but it allows us to raise food the way it’s meant to be raised—ethically, intentionally, and with deep respect for both the land and the animals.
That philosophy doesn’t stop at the farm gates. It carries right into our kitchen.
Cooking the Old-Fashioned Way—With Intention
As we changed the way we raised food, we naturally changed the way we cooked. We returned to the basics—not because it’s trendy, but because traditional cooking is deeply connected to nourishment.
We cook with purpose.
We honor the whole animal.
We make our butter, render our own lard, tallow, and schmaltz—the very fats people have thrived on for generations.
These cooking fats aren’t just flavorful—they’re rich in bioavailable nutrients, free from seed oils, and a direct result of how we care for our animals. When you cook with the whole animal, nothing is wasted. Bones become broth. Fat becomes fuel. Meat becomes memories around the table.
Regenerative cooking mirrors regenerative farming:
use everything, waste nothing, and recognize the value in every part.
Why This Blog Exists
Cooking with Iron Roots is a space where those values come to life. Where we share recipes, stories, tips, and traditions that connect us back to real food—the kind you can trust, the kind your great-grandparents would recognize.
Our mission is simple:
Healthy Pastures, Healthy Animals, Healthy YOU.
Because healing our soil starts with healing our food,
and healing our food starts in our own kitchens.
From our family to yours—
Janet, Ernie, Miran, Aurelia & Silas
