JBG farmers market offerings. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

Calling All Fundraisers! We’re Putting Together a Team

barn raising: n., A social event in which members of a community assist in the building of a new barn.

We have been working for now months on designing a new barn and cold storage facility next to our fields over at River Road.  Such a facility is greatly needed as we are bursting at the seams over here on Hergotz; however, we do not have the capital we need to build this barn alone.  Like an old-fashioned barn raising, we want to make the building of this barn a community effort.  If you have experience running a capital campaign or with fundraising in general and would like to give JBG a hand with this, please email us at farm@jbgorganic.com.

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Attention Home Delivery Customers

Many thanks to all of our home delivery customers for making this service such a success!  We’ve had so many sign-ups for this convenient way to get your vegetables that we need to expand from two to four delivery days.  This expansion will enable us to fit in more homes without having to deliver well into the night!  Delivery days will continue to be determined by zip code.  If your day has been changed, we will call or email you directly within the next few days.  As always, if you have any questions about your schedule, please call the farm at 512-386-5273 or email us at farm@jbgorganic.com.  We thank you so much for helping make home delivery a success!

Week of January 31st CSA Box Photo and Contents List

Week of January 31st CSA Box Contents. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Week of January 31st CSA Box Contents

Spinach
Carrots
Salad Mix
Scallions
Broccoli
Cabbage
Rutabaga
Chard
Fennel
Oranges

Book Summary: Pet Food Politics
Implications of the biggest pet food recall in history

In early 2007, a pet food manufacturer started receiving phone calls from distressed pet owners. They were reporting kidney problems in their cats that started soon after the consumption of the company’s cat food. The company started investigating and a few weeks later notified the FDA of its intention to issue a recall. Most likely it was the wheat gluten within the cat food that was making the animals sick.

After a couple weeks of additional investigations the culprit was found. The wheat gluten, a common pet-food additive due to its high protein content, was found to be tainted with melamine and cyanuric acid. Wheat gluten is expensive to produce, but melamine and cyanuric acid, by-products of plastic manufacturing, are not. Even though melamine and cyanuric acid are not proteins, they contain nitrogen, the desired element in protein. By mixing wheat flour, which contains about 10% protein, with melamine, the protein content can be driven up to 75%. While the protein content of animal feed undergoes inspection, it is often tested with a method that counts the amount of nitrogen present. Since nitrogen from protein and non-protein sources looks alike, the fraudulent nitrogen source was able to slip through security.

The pet food manufacturer purchased the wheat gluten from another company who imported it from a supplier in China. As the FDA banned all further imports from the Chinese supplier, other pet food manufacturers using wheat gluten from the same source issued recalls as well. Once the scandal in China was unraveled, the CEO of the Chinese company was executed.

One reason the FDA feverishly investigated the case was to ensure none of the contaminated products entered the human food chain. However, it had already done so before the contamination became known. It’s common practice to feed salvaged pet food to hogs and poultry. When tested, traces of melamine showed up in the urine of those animals. Because the USDA is in charge of regulating meat and poultry production, the issue now became part of their responsibility as well. In the meantime, the public was reassured that the melamine levels found in farmed animals were safe for human consumption.

Throughout the months dealing with this case, the FDA came under intense criticism for being understaffed and underfunded and thus incapable of doing its job – insuring food safety. With 18,000 telephone calls from concerned consumers and only two full-time staffers to answer them, the agency was simply overrun. Since at the time FDA could only request voluntary recalls, it didn’t mention the names of the pet food manufacturers that opted not to recall. Critics proclaimed the FDA was no longer had the capacity to protect the food supply. At the time (and probably to this day) the agency still operates under food and drug laws passed in 1906 and modified in 1938, when the food supply chain was very different than it is today. The system was designed for whole foods brought in from a 50 mile radius. Now we have food products that may contain ingredients from 50 countries. The US currently imports about 80% of its seafood, 32% of its fruit and nuts, 13% of its vegetables and 10% of its meats. In 2007, these foods arrived in 25,000 shipments a day from about 100 countries. In 2007, the FDA was able to inspect about 1%.

What began with a few customer complaints turned into the largest food recall in history. It resulted in at least 4000 dead pets as well as one dead human. It exposed major shortcomings within the FDA and international food safety. It also illuminated the impossibility of separating the animal food chain from our own.

To read and discuss books like this, join the Food Think Book Club.

Source: Pet food politics – The Chihuahua In The Coal Mine by Marion Nestle

Sweet cat looking for a home.

Sweet Cat to Give Away

Soleily’s shelter name was Sweetie which couldn’t have been a more fitting name. Sweetness is a major part of her character. She enjoys sitting on your lap for as long as you can hold out and is always up for rubs — the longer the petting sessions last, the better.

She is a verbal cat with a full repertoire of different meows which she uses readily.

With other people or anything new, she is timid and shy. However, with her primary one to two caregivers she will develop a strong, devoted and loving relationship. Because she easily scared and somewhat indecisive I kept her as an indoor cat only. She is around 5 to 6 years old by now and still playful and active.

Please email or call me if you are interested in taking her. Also, email me with all further questions about her you may have.

Grit

Phone: 512-775-8463
Email: email@gritramuschkat.com

Lettuce head close up. Photo by Scott David Gordon

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

Help Us Bring Vegetables to Children in Need

We need your help to bring fresh produce to the Settlement Home for Children, a wonderful local non-profit and residential program that cares for and promotes the healing of abused and neglected children.  With the organic vegetables they receive from JBG, the Settlement Home  can provide nutritious meals to these children.  We are asking for your help in making this valuable partnership a long-term success.  We’ve created a special webpage where you can purchase vegetables for the Settlement Home.  Then, JBG will deliver this produce straight to their kitchen.

To donate, click here or go to http://www.jbgorganic.com/settlementhome.  No amount is too small. We would greatly appreciate your participation at any level.

CSA members can also make a one-time contribution when they sign up or renew their CSA membership. Please consider contributing to our partnership with the Settlement Home.  The more who give, the more produce we can provide these children in need.

Many, many thanks to everyone who has already contributed!  Your assistance is making this program a success.

Photo by Scott David Gordon

JBG Hosts Annual Citrus Sale

JBG is now hosting its annual bulk citrus sale. Organic oranges and grapefruit are available for purchase at a cost of $10 per 10 lb bag.  These delicious oranges and grapefruit are grown in the Rio Grande Valley by G & S Groves, a certified organic grower in McAllen, Texas.  To order, please click here or go to our website at jbgorganic.com.

Photo by Scott David Gordon

3) Recipes

From 101cookbooks.c0m

Double Broccoli Quinoa

3 cups cooked quinoa*
5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems

3 medium garlic cloves
2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 big pinches salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream

Optional toppings: slivered basil, fire oil (optional)**, sliced avocado
crumbled feta or goat cheese

Heat the quinoa and set aside.

Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside.

To make the broccoli pesto puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.

Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed, you might want to add more of the pest a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil, and some sliced avocado or any of the other optional toppings.

Serves 4 – 6.

*To cook quinoa: rinse one cup of quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer. In a medium saucepan heat the quinoa, two cups of water (or broth if you like), and a few big pinches of salt until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15 minutes. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain, and it is tender with a bit of pop to each bite. Drain any extra water and set aside.

**To make the red chile oil: You’ll need 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes. If you can, make the chile oil a day or so ahead of time by heating the olive oil in a small saucepan for a couple minutes – until it is about as hot as you would need it to saute some onions, but not so hot that it smokes or smells acrid or burned. Turn off the heat and stir in the crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside and let cool, then store in refrigerator. Bring to room temp again before using.

Prep time: 10 min – Cook time: 10 min

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe

Look for deeply green, tight heads of broccoli. I typically avoid any heads that have yellowing florets or seem died out. If you like a slightly creamier soup, stir in a generous dollop of creme fraiche after pureeing. You can easily make this soup vegan by using olive oil and omitting the cheese/creme fraiche, and you can make it gluten-free by doing something in place of the croutons.

croutons
5-6 ounce chunk of artisan whole wheat bread, torn into little pieces (less than 1-inch), roughly 3 cups total

1/4 cup butter or olive oil (I like 1/2 and 1/2)
1 1/2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

soup:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (1 1/2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 1/2 cups light, good-tasting vegetable broth
1 large head of broccoli (12 ounces or 3/4 lb.), cut into small florets

2/3 cup freshly grated aged Cheddar, plus more for topping
1 – 3 teaspoons whole grain mustard, to taste
smoked paprika, more olive oil, creme fraiche (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees and place the torn bread in a large bowl. In a small saucepan heat the butter until it has melted. Whisk the mustard and salt into the butter and pour the mixture over the bread. Toss well, then turn the bread onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 – 15 minutes, or until the croutons are golden and crunchy. Toss them once or twice with a metal spatula along the way.

While the croutons are toasting, melt the butter (or olive oil) in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the shallots, onion, and a big pinch of salt. Saute for a couple minutes. Stir in the potatoes, cover, and cook for about four minutes, just long enough for them to soften up a bit. Uncover, stir in the garlic, then the broth. Bring to a boil, taste to make sure the potatoes are tender, and if they are stir in the broccoli. Simmer just long enough for the broccoli to get tender throughout, 2 – 4 minutes.

Immediately remove the soup from heat and puree with an immersion blender. Add half the cheddar cheese and the mustard (a little bit a a time). If you are going to add any creme fraiche, this would be the time to do it. Now add more water or broth if you feel the need to thin out the soup at all. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Serve sprinkled with croutons, the remaining cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and a tiny pinch of smoked paprika.

Serves 4 – 6.

Prep time: 15 min – Cook time: 20 min

Sarah, Brenton, & Kim give the slide at "Ada's" playhouse a try. Photos by Scott David Gordon