1) In Your Box this Week
2) Farm News
- Open House/ Potluck and The Onion Creek Crawdaddies: Sunday, April 19th!
- Register now for Outstanding in the Field at JBG: September 29th
- Interns Are Here
- Manufacturers Must Use Organic Ingredients When Available- The Cornucopia Institute
- Plant Sales
- Eating Better
- A New Generation of Farmers
- Log into your JBG CSA Membership Online
3) Events
- Earth Day, Gateway to the Green Economy
- Earth Day at Austin Farmers’ Market at Triangle Park
- Garden to Market
- Fair Food Across Borders
- Building Local Food Systems
- Environment, Health and Food Safety
- Spring Speaker Series
- Austin Organic Gardeners
- Travis County Master Gardeners Association
4) Quotable Food
5) Recipes
- Navarin d’agneau
6) Vegetable Storage Tips
7) Johnson’s Backyard Garden Contact Information
Please send newsletter feedback, suggestions and contributions to farm@jbgorganic.com
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Oakleaf Lettuce
1) In Your Box this Week:
Lettuce
Hakurei Salad Turnips
Radish
This list is subject to change depending on availability and quality of crops on harvest day. You’ll find the most accurate packing list on the homepage of our website.
Green Towers Lettuce
2) Farm News
- Open House/ Potluck and The Onion Creek Crawdaddies: This Sunday, April 19th!
That’s right, this Sunday April 19th is our annual spring potluck, from 4pm til dark. We will provide music and entertainment. Bring a dish to share, your own place settings and all the friends and family you can think of. Bring a chair or a blanket, and BYOB. You do not need to be a CSA member to attend, this is an event for everyone (except your canine friends, please leave them at home). We’ll meet in the orchard and have a walking tour of the farm with other local foodies. The Onion Creek Crawdaddies will be our musical guests for the evening. Parking will be available along the pecan orchard road.
- Register now for Outstanding in the Field at JBG: September 29th
Jim Denevan, author of a great farm to table cookbook Outstanding in the Field, will be hosting a dinner here at JBG on September 29 at 3pm in the pecan orchard. There are only 80 seats left and will likely sell out. Local chef Jesse Griffiths will be preparing a farm-style five course meal. Get registered for this event before it’s too late!
Jim Denevan's amazing cookbook.
- Interns Are Here
Well, the exchange continues. Eveyln Rosas, and her cat, arrived at the farm yesterday after an 18 hour drive from Chicago. This gave her just enough time to settle in before starting work today. Well rested, maybe not; but happy to be here all the same. Please stop by the potluck or volunteer for a workshare day and meet Evelyn!
Evelyn Rosas
- Manufacturers Must Use Organic Ingredients When Available- The Cornucopia Institute
To be labeled “ORGANIC,” and to carry the USDA organic seal, food has to be made up of at least 95% organic ingredients. The only non-organic ingredients are ones that are unavailable organically and cannot make up more than 5% of the product. Lecithin is one of those non-organic ingredients that is commonly used in many foods. Now that organic lecithin is commercially available, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) needs to determine whether to recommend removing lecithin from this list of conventional substances that are allowed in organic foods. This is the first time in organic regulatory history that an ingredient has been petitioned to be removed from the National List.
Unless the ingredients list specifically states “organic soy lecithin,” the lecithin was processed from hexane-extracted soybeans, which were grown conventionally and sprayed with pesticides in the fields. Hexane is a neurotoxic chemical by product of gasoline refinement.
There is more at stake than simply the type of lecithin you can expect to find in your organic foods in the future. If the regulations do not change when companies innovate and develop new organic ingredients, why should anyone bother investing in the expensive research and development that gives rise to the availability of new organic ingredients?
It’s easy to take action at www.cornucopia.org
- Plant Sales only Two More Weeks
Our organic vegetable starts will be available for two more weeks, so get your order in now! Plenty of heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers are anxiously awaiting to spend some time in your home garden this summer and ultimately join you at the dinner table. If you’re interested in raising some of your own vegetables this season, check out our web site to place your order.
- Eating Better
Micheal Klug, our Hyde Park host, sent us another interesting story from the NY times, Eating Food that’s Better for you, Organic or Not. This article discusses some confusing aspects of food labeling and how we as consumers just aren’t well enough informed. Good information and good food for thought.
- A New Generation of Farmers
Grit also forwarded a great series of 13 articles on Young Farmers, published in Yes! magazine. Each short essay describes the farmers personal motivation for undertaking farming and briefly mentions each persons background and specialty.
Arugula
- Log into your JBG CSA Membership Online
3) Events:
- Earth Day, Gateway to the Green Economy
Saturday, April 18.
Austin Farmers’ Market Downtown at Republic Square Park 9 am – 1 pm, then fun extends until late afternoon.
Presented by Austin Farmers’ Market and community partner Austin Green Art! The fun will extend in the market, at Republic Square Park, and in the future site of the Federal Courthouse for a three-block sensation of Earth-friendly products expo, arts with a green conscience, kid’s activities, cooking demos, music and the array of farmers’ Earth-rich harvests for taking home.
- Earth Day at Austin Farmers’ Market at Triangle Park
Wednesday, April 22. 4 pm – 8 pm
Austin Farmers’ Market at The Triangle, 46th & Lamar
Free Parking in the garage immediately adjacent to Triangle Park.
The Wednesday in which we have the market at The Triangle is the actual Earth Day, so we’ll have some garden workshops for kids, The Little Kitchen cooking class, and some other low-impact kid-friendly activities. Planning an after sundown Earth-inspiring film too, so keep looking at this schedule.
- Garden to Market
Wednesday, April 22. 6-7pm
Austin Farmers’ Market at The Triangle, 46th St. & Lamar
Learn to sell the produce you grow at a farmers’ market.
- Gourmet Magazine Green Market Tour
Saturday, April 25. Market: 9 am – 1 pm. Chef Jesse’s Demo: starts 10 am
Austin Farmers’ Market Downtown at Republic Square Park, 4th and Guadalupe
Like cooking, eating or shopping? Come, of course, to this special day. Featuring at chef demo and tasting tent with Chef Jesse Griffiths of Dai Due, a Gourmet Magazine tent with free give-aways, and a “Taste the Place” tent of volunteers tasting out AFM farmers’ produce for the season.
- Fair Food Across Borders
April 16, 7pm, MonkeyWrench Books (110 E. North Loop)
Film screening (”Paying the Price”) and discussion on migrant agricultural workers in the U.S. and Mexico.
* Melody Gonzalez, Chiapas Media Project
* Fair Food Austin
* Moderator: Cristina Tzintzún, Workers Defense Project
- Building Local Food Systems
April 30, 7pm, MonkeyWrench Books (110 E. North Loop)
Meet individuals and organizations in Austin that are contributing to food access, efficacy and awareness that helps make a local, sustainable food system possible.
* Andrew Smiley, Sustainable Food Center
* Youth participants, Urban Roots
* Erin Flynn and Skip Connett, Green Gate Farms
* Moderator: Marla Camp, Edible Austin
- Environment, Health and Food Safety
May 7, 7pm, Center for Community Engagement (1009 E. 11th Street)
Explore the impacts of the conventional food system on the environment, health, and food safety.
* Curt Ellis, filmmaker, “King Corn”
* Charlotte Herzele, University of Texas at Austin
* More speakers TBA
Sponsors: American Friends Service Committee, Fair Food Austin, MonkeyWrench Books, Oxfam-UT, PODER, Sustainable Food Center, Texas Fair Trade Coalition, Center for Community Engagement (UT-Austin), Urban Roots, Workers Defense Project
For more information, visit
http://fairfoodaustin.blogspot.com
http://monkeywrenchbooks.org
- Spring Speaker Series
Varying times on select days through May 30. Check Web site for schedule. 10 a.m. today: Mixing It Up With Dave: Container Patio Gardening at its Best!’With Dave Mix, Pacific Home and Garden. Free. The Great Outdoors Garden Center Nursery, 2730 S. Congress Avenue. www.gonursery.com
- Austin Organic Gardeners
The Austin Organic Gardeners meet the second Monday of every month at Zilker Botanical Garden. www.austinorganicgardeners.org
Meetings start at 7 p.m.
- Travis County Master Gardeners Association
The Travis County Master Gardeners Association holds it’s monthly meetings on the first Wednesday of each month. www.tcmastergardeners.org Meetings starts at 7 p.m.
Rainbow Chard
4) Quotable Food:
Chemicals, n: Noxious substances from which modern foods are made. ~Author Unknown
5) Recipes:
- Navarin d’agneau
Jane Stavinoha, a regular Saturday workshare, was very excited about getting turnips so she could make this dish. A delicious lamb, potato and vegetable dish – a hearty seasonal meal that you can make a day ahead.
Serves 6
Preparation and cooking times 2-2¼ hours
6 large boned leg lamb steaks , total weight about 2lb 12oz
2 tbsp vegetable oil
12 oz Charlotte potatoes , scrubbed or peeled and halved lengthwise if large
2 large leeks, trimmed (with some green left on) and halved both lengthwise and crosswise, then washed
3 large carrots, peeled and halved both lengthwise and crosswise
6 small or 2 medium turnips, peeled, cut into thick rounds
1 lamb stock cube
4 tsp plain flour
4 oz dry white wine
about 12 fat continental spring onions, white and green parts
several sprigs of flat leaf parsley and lemon thyme
3 tbsp single or whipping cream
1 unwaxed lemon
chopped fresh parsley and/or lemon thyme
1. Halve the lamb steaks and cut off any excess fat. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil over a medium heat in a large flameproof casserole that has a tight-fitting lid. Fry the lamb until it ’seizes’ – it should be a little colored all over but not charred. Bring a kettle of water to the boil.
2. Transfer the lamb to a plate and rinse out the casserole. Add the veg (but not the spring onions) and cover with boiling water. Season and cook for 15 minutes, then drain into a colander over a bowl. Measure 16fl oz of the cooking liquid, crumble in the stock cube and stir to dissolve.
3. Mop the fatty juices from the lamb with kitchen paper. Heat the remaining oil in the casserole over a medium-high heat. Add the lamb, season and sprinkle with the flour, then stir for a minute. Tip in the stock, wine, onions and herbs and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook gently for 1 hour, stirring a few times.
4. Add the veg and stir well, cover and cook for a further 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. (Cool then freeze for up to 1 month or keep chilled for up to 24 hours.)
5. Lift out the meat and veg into a warm serving bowl.With the casserole over a low heat, stir in the cream, grate in the lemon zest and squeeze in the juice. Adjust the seasoning, spoon over the lamb and veg, sprinkle with herbs and serve.
Try a different cut:
If you can’t get lamb leg steaks, buy a 2lb 12oz boned leg of lamb and cut into six.
Beet Greens
6) Produce Storage Tips:
We aim to grow and package our vegetables to maintain the highest taste and nutritional quality possible. However, once they’ve left the farm it’s up to you to keep them fresh and nutritious. There’s no refrigeration at the CSA drop points so it’s best to pick up your box as early as possible. Here are some additional tips on how to store this week’s share:
Spinach, Kale, Chard, Lettuce, Salad Greens, Pak Choi, Braising Mix and Cooking Greens will stay fresh in the crisper for 4-7 days and should be kept in plastic bags. Any bunch greens can be freshened by cutting an inch of the bottom stalks and soaking the entire bunch in cold water for 10 minutes. Place in a plastic bag in the fridge for a few hours to revive. Also, when you receive lettuces and other delicate greens like arugula, you will notice that we bag them wet. This helps keep them fresh until members can pickup and refrigerate them. The lettuce heads, lettuce mixes, and arugula should not be refrigerated wet, though. Once you bring these vegetables home, you should wash and dry them before bagging and refrigerating. If you follow these steps, you lettuce should stay fresh.
Carrots, Radishes, Turnips, Beets, and Parsnips should be stored in plastic bags. They’ll last two weeks in the fridge. Take tops off carrots before storing, leave greens on radishes, turnips and beets, with both roots and tops in the bag.
Parsley and Cilantro are best with bottoms of stems trimmed, placed upright in a jar of water in the fridge. Basil can be stored upright in a jar of water at room temperature, or in an open bag on the counter. These three all do well frozen also (they will loose texture but not taste).Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Scallions, and Summer Squash will last 4-7 days in plastic bags in the crisper.
It is best to store the Onions at 40 to 45 degrees F. Don’t whole store onions in the refrigerator because the moisture is bad for them. Don’t store potatoes near onions. The onions will absorb moisture from the potatoes.
To store Kohlrabi for several weeks, remove the leaf stems and place, unwashed, in sealed plastic bags in the refrigerator.
Checkout our storage tips on our website for a more complete guide, and of course, feel free to contact us with any questions. The National Center for Home Food Preservation is your guide for how to can, freeze, dry, pickle or ferment just about anything.
Spinach
7) Johnson’s Backyard Garden Contact Info:
Johnson’s Backyard Garden
9515 Hergotz Lane, Box E
Austin, TX 78742
Office Phone: 512.386.5273
Office Hours: M-F 8am to 12:30pm