Meet the Team: Akili

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posted on

January 24, 2025

Akili McCullough has been a star employee of Whiffletree for a few months now. He interned with us spring of 2024 and stayed on as one of our crew. A cool fact about Akili is that he hiked the whole Appalachian Trail! He’s a great guy to have on the farm…observant, a hard worker, never complaining, always ready for a joke, and really believes in doing good work!

So read on to find out about Akili!

Where did you grow up? Any siblings?

I grew up in Warrenton most of my life and am the youngest of 5 siblings. I have 2 brothers and two sisters. I also attended and graduated from Covenant Christian Academy.

What did you do before you came to farming/Whiffletree?

I worked at a car wash before starting my internship at Whiffletree.

What inspired you to become a farmer?

The pandemic and the riots of 2020 made me more conscious of how fragile the infrastructure and society are. I wanted to be more prepared.

What are some things you didn’t expect to learn that farming has taught you?

I learned that I must simultaneously underestimate and overestimate an animal's intelligence.

How has a farming internship benefited you?

It has given me experience with farming without the up front risk of starting a homestead.

What do you hope to accomplish through farming?

I plan to learn and be more self-sufficient.

How has your role at Whiffletree evolved in your time here?

I have evolved more into a teacher from my start as an intern, though I still have more to learn.

What’s your favorite animal on the farm? And why?

The cows are very simple creatures that really want one thing: grass. The chickens seem to actively try to make your life harder. The pigs are smaller versions of the cows with none of the charm (piglets don't count).

Favorite hobby? Or favorite things you like to do when not working?

Hiking, when time and weather allows, is my go-to hobby.

Favorite food?

Sushi, Mac and cheese, and bacon wrapped meatloaf.

Favorite dish you like to make with a Whiffletree item?

Bacon wrapped meatloaf.

Easy One-Pan Turkey Drumstick Recipe

Everyone has those hectic days when no one has time to spend hours in the kitchen, so we all need quick and easy meals in our back pocket. This one-pan meal (inspired by a combo Liz Straight likes to make for their family) combines the sweet and savory flavors from thyme, sweet potatoes, balsamic, garlic, onion, and goat cheese. It serves about 3-4 people, takes about 20 minutes to prep, dirties only a few dishes, and is packed full of flavor, so it’s a winner! A bonus to turkey is that it is actually cheaper per pound than chicken is, and can be substituted for chicken in just about any recipe! And it is packed with a wide range of minerals and B vitamins. This recipe uses turkey drumsticks, which is the most economical cut of turkey we carry (and dare I say the tastiest?). But you can substitute whatever cut of turkey is your favorite and adjust the cooking time accordingly! Easy One-Pan Turkey Drumstick Recipe: Ingredients: 2 turkey drumsticks (I used 2 - 2.5 lbs drumsticks) 3 Tbsp. butter, tallow, or lard 4 sweet potatoes 1 small onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves ½ tsp. Garlic powder Salt and pepper to taste 1 cup fresh arugula Crumbled goat cheese (optional) Balsamic vinegar or glaze Chopped pecans (optional) Directions: 1. Preheat your oven to 300. 2. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes, then slice the onion. Combine both in a 9x13 pan. Add in the minced garlic, thyme leaves, and sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Melt the butter, tallow, or lard in a small saucepan. Add a couple tablespoons to the sweet potato mixture (make sure to reserve some for your turkey drumsticks). Mix everything together. 3. Pat your drumsticks dry. Rub the rest of your melted fat of choice onto the drumsticks, then sprinkle on the garlic powder and some salt and pepper. Nestle the drumsticks in the pan with the sweet potatoes. 4. Place in your preheated oven and cook for about 80-90 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 F. 5. Take the pan out of the oven and let it cool a bit. Then add in your fresh arugula, crumbled goat cheese, and pecans. Mix it up, and drizzle the balsamic over the top. 6. And you’re done! I made this at work on a day when I didn’t have any leftovers in my fridge to bring for lunch. It was super quick and easy to whip up, but still a very satisfying, delicious meal. Another variation you can do with this is to substitute butternut squash instead of the sweet potatoes. Your choice! Enjoy! ~Bethany

Not Made, But Found

My daughter and I run together some mornings of the week, and besides catching up we also like to listen to "The Daily Poem" podcast. This morning we heard this one by Pulitzer Prize winning Richard Wilbur. Wedding Toast "St. John tells how, at Cana's wedding feast, The water-pots poured wine in such amountThat by his sober countThere were a hundred gallons at the least.It made no earthly sense, unless to showHow whatsoever love elects to blessBrims to a sweet excessThat can without depletion overflow.Which is to say that what love sees is true;That this world's fullness is not made but found.Life hungers to aboundAnd pour its plenty out for such as you.Now, if your loves will lend an ear to mine,I toast you both, good son and dear new daughter.May you not lack for water,And may that water smack of Cana's wine." My daughter and I both thought it a very sweet poem. Part of what this poem is about is making a claim about reality--how in a fundamental way, reality (or God and his world, as shown by Jesus at the wedding) is full of love and blessing and abundance and life that "brims to a sweet excess." With that context, this line stuck out to me: "That this world's fullness is not made but found." One way of looking at the world and our work is that the main task in life is man-handling what we want out of this world. Squeezing and imposing and "building". The alternative orientation is the way of this poem--that our main task is mostly figuring out how to best co-operate with reality that is already bursting with life. Our approach to farming is with the presumption that "life hungers to abound." And it is our fundamental job as farmers to facilitate the life that is much bigger than us--we help put the right pieces in the right places at the right time (which is no small task!)--but we don't really "make anything grow." We can move the animals around the pastures in the right rotation at the right times to make the soil, and plants, and animals happy, but we don't make the sun shine, and we don't crank any gears to make photosynthesis happen, and we don't make the soil microbes work, and we don't wind up the chickens to keep them running. In other words, as farmers "This world's fullness is not made but found." We don't do good work when we aggressively impose our will on the soil, plants, and animals. We do our best work when we find the abundant ways of nature and life, and in humility, join in collaboration. Of course, this poem was not written about farming (ha!), but it is about living and love and how to see the world and ourselves--how it is a sad joke to live in Scrooge-ish grasping dominance, but wonderful to live in the harmony and abundance of collaborating with the nature of reality. And being a farmer, I couldn't help but hear those thoughts when I heard those lines. Our aim is to "find" the abundance in nature's ways, and pass that abundance along to you, our customers, in the form of tasty food that is truly healthy for the land, animals, and community. ~Jesse Straight

The Best BBQ Drumsticks

Nothing says summer more than a good BBQ (I know, it’s not summer yet, but one can dream!). But honestly, these drumsticks are good any time of year - the BBQ flavors are compounded when mixed with the smoky essence of a grill, or when it’s cold the spices warm you up and fire up your tastebuds. And served with some roasted potatoes slathered with butter? They are smashing! This recipe is inspired by a recipe that Jesse and Liz Straight and their family love. These drumsticks are served with a tangy white BBQ sauce with a bit of spice…a perfect compliment to the spice rub on the drumsticks! (Or serve ‘em up with whatever your favorite BBQ sauce is!) Drumsticks: 2 Tbsp. coconut sugar 1 ½ Tbsp. salt 1 Tbsp. garlic powder 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika 2 tsp. black pepper 1 ½ tsp. onion powder 1 ½ tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. cinnamon (optional, but adds a nice twist!) ½ tsp. cayenne (optional) 2 Tbsp. water 1 Tbsp. olive oil 2 ½ lbs. chicken drumsticks (or use turkey drumsticks!) White BBQ Sauce: 1 c. mayonnaise ¼ c. apple cider vinegar 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp. honey 1 tsp. prepared horseradish 1 ½ tsp. hot sauce ½ tsp. cayenne (optional, depends on how much spice you like!) Directions: 1. Heat your oven to 375. 2. While the oven is heating, mix together the dry ingredients for the drumsticks. Add in the water, stir, and let sit for a couple minutes to allow the water to soften the spices. Then add in the oil and let sit for another couple minutes to allow the water and oil to draw out the flavor compounds of the spices. 3. Place a wire rack on your baking sheet. Pat the drumsticks dry with a paper towel, then rub them with the spice rub. Lay them on the wire rack with the fat end facing the edge of the pan. (You can always skip the wire rack if you’re in a hurry and want to get supper on the table as fast as possible, or want to minimize clean up after. A wire rack will just create air flow to give you the crispiest skin possible!) 4. Bake in the oven (or on the grill) for 1 hour. 5. While the drumsticks are cooking, mix up all the ingredients for the sauce. Add as much hot sauce or cayenne ‘til it’s as spicy as you want. 6. Serve the drumsticks with the sauce on the side. Some lemon wedges add a nice bright note to the dish as well! I think this is my all-time favorite drumstick recipe. They’re quick, easy, and delicious. I highly recommend adding these into your meal rotation! If you’re looking for more ideas on how to make drumsticks, here’s a few more ideas from Liz Straight: A one-pan meal with drumsticks, brussel sprouts, and diced sweet potatoes tossed in melted lard or bacon fat and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Crumbled bacon on top is a bonus! Nestle everything in a pan and bake at 375 for 60 minutes.Drumsticks, melted lard or tallow, diced potatoes, a few minced garlic cloves, diced tomatoes (canned or fresh), lemon zest to taste, dried or chopped fresh herbs of choice, and olives. Cook the same way as above!Mix equal parts of melted butter and Dijon mustard, mix in dried or chopped fresh herbs of choice (dried basil or tarragon, or fresh thyme recommended!) and paint onto the drumsticks. Cook at 375 for an hour! And the ideas are endless. Have fun in the kitchen experimenting and finding your family’s favorite! Cheers! Bethany

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