1) In Your Box This Week

2) Farm News

• JBG Now Accepting New CSA Members
• Attention New CSA Members: Eggs Are Back
• Looking for a New Host at Brodie/Slaughter Location
• Thank You for all the Box Donations!
• Celebrating our 5th Anniversary 2004-2009

3) Events

• Austin Healthy Cooking Classes, all this week!
• Sculpture Exhibit at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
• Whole Foods Presents Ice Skating on the Plaza

4) Quotable Food

5) Recipes

• Jo Jo Potatoes
• Carrot and Rosemary Scones
  

6) Produce Storage Tips

7) Johnson’s Backyard Garden Contact Info

1) In Your Box This Week

Dill

New Potatoes!

Carrots

Beets or Turnips

Tomatoes

Cauliflower or Broccoli

Green Garlic

Broccoli Rabe

Butterhead Lettuce

Coming Soon:

Scallions

Bok Choy

At the Market:

Arugula

Broccoli

Mixed head lettuce (romaine, butterhead, oakleaf)

Salad mix

Spinach

Cilantro

Dill

Carrots

Beets

Bok choy

Turnips

New potatoes

Sweet and hot peppers

Tomatoes

Fennel

2) Farm News

• JBG Now Accepting New CSA Members

Johnson’s Backyard Garden is expanding, and we are inviting Austin residents to become new CSA members.  If you know anyone who loves local, organic vegetables as much as you do, let them know about your CSA membership, and encourage them to look us up!   Our goal at JBG is to have a real impact on Austin’s local food chain by providing as many Austin residents as we can  with food straight from our farm. So share the news with your friends, family, co-workers, church members, or anyone else you’d like to share fresh, organic veggies with.  Word of mouth is our best advertising!

• Attention New CSA Members: Eggs Are Back

We have recently connected with new local egg suppliers in order to meet the demand, therefore we are no longer putting a hold on egg orders for new costumers. If you are interested in receiving eggs with your box please email us at farm@jbgorganic.com.

• Looking for a New Host at Brodie/Slaughter Location

We are still looking to fill the host position at the Brodie/Slaughter pick-up location. We have had a few approach us about becoming a host and we are now evaluating which would fit in best along our driving route. If you would like to be considered please contact the farm; we will be making a decision in early January.

In a hosting site, we are looking for a cool place for the vegetables (either air-conditioning or lots of shade) and easy access for CSA members (ample parking and pickup availability from 3:30pm until 7pm on Fridays). Most hosts use either shaded front porches or garages/carports for the vegetables.

Hosts are given a free box every quarter in exchange for the work they do. This includes keeping the empty wax boxes for us until we drop vegetables off again the following week, setting out a table for the CSA boxes, and giving away any leftover vegetables to friends, neighbors, or families in need. If you have any questions, or are interested in becoming a host for this location please email us at farm@jbgorganic.com or call the office at 512-386-5273.

• Thank You for all the Box Donations!

A special thank you to all of our members who donated their CSA boxes over Christmas.  Because of your generosity, the Salvation Army left JBG on Wednesday afternoon with over 40 boxes of vegetables, 14 dozen eggs, and 3 pounds of coffee!  Everyone here at JBG is extremely grateful for your charity this holiday season.  Alvin, from the Salvation Army, thanks you too.

• Celebrating our 5th Anniversary, 2004-2009

The end of 2009 marks our 5th year growing and selling organic produce in Austin.  Brenton was reminiscing this morning about how it was really the support and enthusiasm of Austin’s residents that encouraged him to grow from a backyard garden on Holly Street, to the largest organic CSA in Texas.

Brenton and Beth started selling at the Austin farmers market in 2004.  They had enough produce to barely cover a card table.  Their cardboard sign, which at that time read “Brenton’s and Beth’s Backyard and Frontyard Garden,” communicated a very simple message: a family garden, open for business.   Their first day at the market, they made under $100.  Brenton recalls that he didn’t even know what to charge people.  Customers would come up and ask how much for a bunch of collards, and Brenton would respond, “I don’t know, whatever you think is fair.”

Maybe it was the honesty that kept customers coming back, but Brenton and Beth’s profits  increased every week.  Soon, Brenton was selling produce directly from his backyard, in a small, 10-member CSA–the smallest  in Austin.  In 2006, JBG moved to its current place on Hergotz Lane, and now we host the largest and fastest expanding CSA in Texas–over 650 members, and counting!

Along with all of our current members, it was that early support that has led JBG to where we are today.  We’re very grateful, Austin.  Thank you to all of our members for your continued dedication to local, organic growing.

3) Events

• Austin Healthy Cooking Classes, all this week!

Austin Healthy Cooking is a store that promotes health, nutrition, and great food.  They offer a variety of weekly cooking classes, which seems perfect for our CSA members.  Here’s the schedule for this week:

Wednesday the 30th – Chicken in a Hurry.  Quick, easy, and double delicious.  And just for fun, some rice pilaf unlike any you have ever had out of a box!!!!!

Saturday the 2nd – Pressure Cooking and Unique Grains.

For more classes and information, visit Austin Healthy Cooking

• Sculpture Exhibit at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Enjoy viewing some of Texas’ finest artists’ work at this sculpture exhibit.  Begins Tuesday, October 20, 2009 through March 7, 2010.  For more information about the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, go to wildflower.org

• Whole Foods Presents Ice Skating on the Plaza

10:00 am – 10:00 pm $10.00 includes skate rentals.  Austin’s first and only outdoor ice skating rink on our rooftop plaza!  The rink opens Friday, November 27^th and is open every day except Christmas through Sunday, January 17^th.  Tickets are only available at Whole Foods Market downtown Sixth and Lamar location. For more information visit http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/lamar/

4) Quotable Food

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”  ~George Bernard Shaw

5) Recipes – from one of my favorite food blogs, Chocolate & Zucchini

• Jo Jo Potatoes

Ingredients:

60g (1/4 cup) butter, melted
1kg (2 pounds) baking potatoes (in France, use charlottes), scrubbed but not peeled
80g (2/3 cup) flour
60g (2 ounces) parmesan or other aged hard cheese, freshly and finely grated
2 teaspoons whole mustard seeds, crushed in a mortar
1 1/2 teaspoons celery salt (or celery seeds ground with sea salt)
1 tablespoon paprika or smoked paprika
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground chile pepper, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

Serves 4 to 6; the recipe can be halved.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a rimmed cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with the melted butter, and slip it into the oven to preheat.

Combine the flour, cheese, and seasonings (from mustard seeds to black pepper) in a large freezer bag.

Cut the potatoes lengthwise in wedges, 4 or 6 wedges per potato depending on its girth. Try to make evenly sized wedges so they will all bake at the same speed. Do not rinse or pat the potatoes after cutting them; you want them to retain a film of starch on their cut sides.

Add the potatoes to the bag, close the bag tightly, and shake well to coat the potatoes on all sides. (There will be some flour mixture leftover; it will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.)

Place the potatoes, flesh side down, on the preheated cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, flip, and bake for another 30 minutes, until cooked through and golden. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and serve.

• Carrot and Rosemary Scones

Ingredients:

150 grams (1 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
120 grams (1 cup) chickpea flour (substitute another kind of interesting nutty flour, such as chestnut or buckwheat, or just use all-purpose flour, 270 grams or 2 1/4 cups of it)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons fleur de sel (substitute kosher salt)
120 grams (9 tablespoons) chilled unsalted butter, diced
230 grams (1 1/2 cups) coarsely grated carrots, about 1 1/2 medium
100 grams (1 cup) coarsely grated aged Parmesan
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary needles (or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced, or pressed
2 tablespoons strong Dijon mustard
100 mL (7 tablespoons) light (15%) whipping cream, plus a little more as needed

Makes about 50 miniature scones

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with the tips of your fingers or a wire pastry blender, until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add the grated carrots, cheese, rosemary, and garlic, and blend with a fork. (This can also be done in a food processor.)

Add the mustard and cream and mix them in gently with the fork just until the dough comes together — add a tad more cream if the dough is too dry.

Turn the dough out on a floured work surface or a silicon mat, and gather into a ball without kneading. (This can be prepared up to a day ahead; cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to rumble.)

Roll the dough out into a rough rectangle, about 2-cm-thick (3/4-inch). If the dough is on the wet ‘n sticky side, it helps to cover it with a sheet of parchment paper and roll the pin over the paper rather directly on the dough.

Cut the dough into 3-cm (1 1/4-inch) squares and transfer onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about a little space between each.

Bake for 20 minutes, until puffy and golden, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. Let cool on a rack for a few minutes and serve, warm or at room temperature, on its own as an appetizer, with a salad, or as part of a brunch.

The scones will keep for a few days at room temperature, wrapped tightly in foil.

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:

To store dill, place the stems in a glass of water in the fridge and cover loosely with a plastic bag. Be sure to keep the leaves about the water level.

Broccoli Rabe should be stored in plastic bags or containers and kept in your vegetable crisper.  It will keep for 5 to 7 days.

Peppers should be stored in the crisper, and washed before use.

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

e-mail: farm@jbgorganic.com