A fresh breeze to ruffle the feathers, sun to warm them, freedom to run about and peck at whatever they should choose. Delicious vegetarian feed and a life free of antibiotics and hormones. That's how chickens should be raised.  Not in cages or factory farms where they never see the outdoors a moment of their lives. Not where they crawl with bugs and peck each other to death out of fear, anxiety, and a blind attempt at self preservation.

It's not a very appetizing thought, is it? Sadly, it's the reality of commercial farms, the predominant source of meat throughout the US.

It can be difficult to find an alternative to factory farmed meat, though, and the difficulty often outweighs one's conscious. It's so easy to just pop over to the neighborhood supermarket and pick up a pound or two of chicken for dinner and not think about where it came from.

It's an issue that's plagued me significantly since moving to North Carolina. In California it was so easy to find humanely raised meats at nearly any market, but in North Carolina it's been impossible - at least until last week.

Carolina Grown, a relatively new business in central NC, is offering an amazing new service. Produce, dairy, and meat from solely NC growers delivered directly to your door for a surprisingly reasonable flat fee.

I think it's here where I should make very clear that I have absolutely no association with, nor have I received any goods or services from Carolina Grown for which I have not paid. I am simply interested in expressing my amazement at their service.

And it really is amazing. Many of their growers are certified organic, Animal Welfare Certified and those that aren't maintain sustainable practices. They send out representatives to each farm to ensure they really are doing what they say they're doing as well. They then take goods from multiple farms throughout the state of NC and post them all in a central shopping area on their site. You sign up for a weekly, monthly, or annually paid subscription, are allotted a certain number of points to spend each week and then you pick what you want. Your order is then delivered to your front door every Saturday.

Sound too good to be true? I thought so too and was, in fact, very hesitant to jump on the bandwagon. I finally decided to take the leap - and I couldn't be happier. I'm happy with each product so far and can't wait to try more.

This chicken is from Rainbow Meadow Farms, a family owned farm in Greene County, NC. It's only about one hundred miles away from where I live - talk about local eating. The RMF website claims the farm has been in the family for eight generations and prides itself on it's sustainable practices.

The chicken, specifically, is free range and boasts a diet of at least 30% grass/seeds/insects. RMF claims that this creates a more flavorful, lower-fat meat and after trying it for myself I couldn't agree more. This stuff makes your average grocery store chicken taste like library paste.

Ultimately, it's an amazing program for anyone living in the central North Carolina region. The partnerships Carolina Grown has developed with local growers has created a cooperative that benefits so many people that would otherwise have few alternatives to the grocery store's offerings. If you live in NC, or even if you don't, I urge you to check out the Carolina Grown website. I will add that the organization is still in a fledgling stage, so the site is fairly basic and contains several proofreading errors. I would also be a little more comfortable with the payment process if the website was Verisign certified.

Seared Chicken with Mushroom Sauce over Barley

adapted from Jacque Pepin

Yields 4 servings

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of extra skin and fat

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 small onion, chopped finely

2 large cloves garlic, minced

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped

1/3 cup white wine

chopped herbs, to garnish

1 cup barley

2 cups chicken stock

Preheat oven to 300ºF

Heat a heavy, oven-proof skillet over high heat until very warm. Season the chicken thighs on boths sides with salt and pepper. Place the thighs skin side down in the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Cover and let cook for 16-18 minutes, checking to ensure even browning. Reduce heat if needed to avoid overcooking. Remove the chicken from the skillet when an instant read thermometer inserted in the thicken part of the thigh registers 150ºF. Put the thighs in the oven to keep warm, along with the plates you'll be serving them on.

Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a boil in saucepan with lid. Add the barley. Boil for one minute. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 25 minutes or until tender. Barley will retain a toothsome texture unless cooked to death - use your discretion. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Pour off all but two tablespoons of the rendered chicken fat (I didn't have enough to bother pouring off using the thighs from RMF). Turn the heat back up to high and add the onions and garlic. Cook until softened. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently to caramelize. Add the white wine and let reduce by half. Set the thighs on the barley. Spoon the sauce over the chicken thighs and sprinkle with freshly chopped herbs.

Nutritional Estimate

This is a nutritional estimate, regard it as such.

1 servings = equals 1 thigh, 1/4 of mushroom sauce, and 1/4 of barley

270 calories

38 g carbohydrate

5 g fat

18 g protein