Just harvested summer produce on the CSA box packing line. Photo by Scott David Gordon

From the Farmer’s Perspective:

Help JBG with its Slow Money Land Preservation Effort

We’ve got great news – we’ve figured out a way to buy the historic dairy acreage adjacent to our River Road farm!   Acquiring this land would allow us to farm sustainably by giving us sufficient acreage for crop rotation.   It would also ensure that this very fertile acreage remains farmland.  The current owner of the land really wants to sell to JBG.  He, too, would like to preserve this farmland and, therefore, is willing to owner-finance on terms we can afford.

Now, JBG needs to come up with the capital for a down payment.  In order to raise this capital, we are offering a limited number of long-term CSA subscriptions at a discounted price.  By purchasing one of these long-term subscriptions, you would lock in a lower price of $28.85/box for the term of the subscription.  Also, you would be helping JBG purchase this land as well as protecting it from future development.  This acreage truly is some of the finest farmland in the Austin vicinity – we hope you will consider aiding in the preservation effort by buying one of these long-term subscriptions.  We have included the details below.  If you would like to sign up or for more information, please email us at farm@jbgorganic.com.  Sign-ups will be taken on a first-come, first serve basis as these discounted subscriptions are limited.

1 year weekly:  $1500 (52 pickups in a fixed 12 month period)
1 year bi-weekly:  $750 (26 pickups in a fixed 12 month period)

2 year weekly:  $3000 (104 pickups in a fixed 24 month period)
2 year bi-weekly: $1500 (52 pickups in a fixed 24 month period)

3 year weekly:  $4500 (156 pickups in a fixed 36 month period)
3 year bi-weekly: $2250 (78 pickups in a fixed 36 month period)

4 year weekly:  $6000 (208 pickups in a fixed 48 month period)
4 year bi-weekly: $3000 (104 pickups in a fixed 48 month period)

5 year weekly:  $7500 (260 pickups in a fixed 60 month period)
5 year bi-weekly:  $3750 (130 pickups in a fixed 60 month period)

Note: Prices are for community pickup subscriptions.   Please add $5 per pickup for Home Delivery.  Subscriptions must be completed in the given fixed period and cannot be extended beyond this.

Basil and tomatoes ready for CSA packing. Photo by Scott David Gordon

JBG Subscription Price Changes

In an effort to deal with rising production costs and to simplify our CSA ordering system, we have made some changes to our weekly box prices.  We have decided to increase our box prices by one dollar.  However, we also decided to eliminate the online processing fee.  So, for our members who order online,  this change in price amounts to only a 16 cents overall increase for a 4-pickup subscription.  If you choose to pickup at one of our community pickup sites, the cost will be $33/box, and for home delivery, it will be $38 per box.  Also, we will no longer be offering a discount for a 10-pickup subscription.  Instead, we are offering a limited number of discounted longer term subscriptions available (see details above).  We thank you for your understanding as we make these changes and please know that we make every effort to keep our prices as low as possible.

River Road squash harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

* JBG is now accepting CSA Members
* Week of May 24th CSA Box Photo & Contents List
* The Nitty Gritty: Get to Know Your Local Farmer: Pure Luck Goat Dairy
* Spring Onion Harvest at JBG

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

* JBG Photographer Scott Gordon Featured at Progress Coffee

3) Recipes by Melissa Vance, JBG CSA Member

* Summer Squash Medley with Pesto
* Melted Onion-Jalapeno Topping

Matt closes and stacks full CSA boxes. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

JBG is now accepting CSA Members!

Help us spread the word! Click here to join.

Week of May 24th CSA Box Contents

Week of May 24th CSA Box Contents

Tomatoes
Green Beans
eggplant
1015 Onions
Broccoli or Cauliflower
Mixed Summer Squash
Cucumber
Basil & Mint
Bunched Carrots
Lettuce
Sweet & Hot Peppers

Get to Know Your Local Farmer: Pure Luck Goat Dairy – Farming From the Heart

Usually, Pure Luck Farm and Dairy doesn’t offer tours to the general public. However, for Slow Food Austin, sisters and owners Amelia and Gitana Sweetheart made an exception. The twenty five of us that headed out to visit their farm near Dripping Springs that day felt very much in luck indeed! Upon arrival, we were warmly and cheerfully welcomed by the two sisters. I instantly liked their sunny and bubbly characters. “When you get to look around here,” said Gitana with a tear in her eye, “keep in mind that this is not only a farm this is also the home where we were born and raised. So respect, that to us, this place is not only work but also a place full of memories.”

It became obvious that the sisters run their farm from their hearts with a deep appreciation for their land, animals and cheeses. Not only does their last name fit with this theme, but it was also emphasized in the way they treated and talked about their animals. “People say to give goats access to pasture,” said Amelia who grazes her goat on pasture everyday. “We give them access to a barn.”

To gain insight into the milking procedure, our group squeezed into a small milking room. Seventy-five goats, eight at a time, move through here twice a day, at 5:30 in the morning and at the same time in the evening, seven days a week. Gitana brought in two demo goats. Since this demo milking session was outside of the goats’ usual routine, and goats are very habitual animals, one of the two seemed quiet startled by the whole thing. Even words of encouragement and gentle pets on her rear didn’t do the trick. She simply refused to jump onto the milking platform. Instead of forcing her into compliance, Gitana calmly led her back out to the pasture and proceeded with the other, more compliant goat. Animal welfare seemed on the forefront of her mind. So is the purity and freshness of their cheeses. If you have eaten them before, you know what I mean. I find that people tend to reject eating goat cheese due to a worry about a “goaty” or “hoofy” flavor. Pure Luck cheeses have none of that, but rather taste very clean and light. Amelia and Gitana have won awards from the American Cheese Society for each of the past ten years. The cheeses’ outstanding freshness is partially due to their short time spend in transit. In only three days, Pure Luck’s chevre is transformed from raw milk to a finished product for sale on the shelf.

Gitana Sweetheart shows our group how to milk a goat.

Even though the Sweethearts have the land to expand their operation, expansion does not appeal to them. Their herd of 100 goats is well suited to their work crew of six. Since the group is tight-knit, work is as proficient as it can be. They know their goats intimately. Everything from their different temperaments, utter sizes, milking capacities and milking preferences plays into a smooth and efficient work day. Almost all of their goats have names. With a bigger herd, they feel, a lot of this intimacy would be lost.

To get your own piece of pure luck, try their cheeses! They’re worth it. To read more about Pure Luck Farm and Dairy, check out Pamela Walker book: Growing Good Things to Eat in Central Texas or visit their website, http://www.purelucktexas.com.

At the end of the tour, we got to taste the cheeses. In the blue shirt standing and laughing is Amelia Sweetheart.

Spring Onion Harvest at JBG

The JBG field crew has been hard at work bringing in the onion harvest from River Road.  Like last year, we are storing onions in our second greenhouse on Hergotz Lane.  The crew has already brought in 1,500 fifty pound bags of onions – that’s 75,000 pounds!  Here are some photos of all of the heavy lifting our staff has been doing!

Blake adds another bag to the onion harvest. Photo by Carrie Kenny

Sarah and Rebecca hand off bags to Blake and Christian. Photo by Carrie Kenny

Jesse carries a bag. Photo by Carrie Kenny

Sam carries 50 lbs of onions. Photo by Carrie Kenny

Christian cheers after one truck has been onloaded. Photo by Carrie Kenny

A wall of onions and a tired crew. Photo by Carrie Kenny

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

JBG Photographer Scott Gordon Featured at Progress Coffee

Stop by Progress Coffee at 500 San Marcos to see a show of JBG photographer Scott David Gordon’s work.  He photographed all of the images included in the show with his iPhone over the course of two years in New York City.  These photos are great and well worth a visit to Progress.

Photo by Scott David Gordon featured at Progress Coffee

3) Recipes by Melissa Vance, JBG CSA Member

Summer Squash Medley with Pesto

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ onion, small dice
Crushed red pepper
3 cups diced assorted squash (summer, zucchini, pattypan)
Prepared basil pesto
Kosher salt and black pepper

Summer Squash Medley with Pesto

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan.  Add the onions and a pinch of crushed red pepper and cook until translucent.  Add the squash and cook until tender.  Transfer the squash mixture to a large bowl.  Toss with enough pesto to coat.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm.

Melted Onion Jalapeno Topping

Melted Onion-Jalapeno Topping

This is an easy and flavorful topping for grilled meats and portabella mushrooms.  I love it on just about everything!

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced in quarter moon shapes
2 jalapenos, seeded and thinly sliced
Kosher salt

Heat the olive oil and butter in a sauté pan.  Add the onion, jalapeno, and a pinch of salt.  Cook slowly until the onions are translucent and soft.  Season with salt to taste.  Serve warm as a topping for meats or veggies.

Tomatoes begin to ripen at River Road. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Illustration by Ryan Rhodes

From the Farmer’s Perspective:

Starting next Tuesday, May 24th, JBG will begin offering home and office delivery for our CSA!  At first, space will be limited as we determine the demand for this service.  We’ve hired a second delivery driver for Tuesdays and will expand to more days during the week if needed.  We will continue to offer our 30+ community pickup sites at CSA host homes, Whole Foods, Wheatsville, and area farmers markets.  Home delivery is simply another option from which members can choose.  At JBG, we are trying our best to make it as easy as possible to get locally grown organic produce straight from the farm. We hope one of our many options will work for you!  If you have any questions about our new home or office delivery service, please click here or email us at farm@jbgorganic.com.

Storm clouds roll in at River Road. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Last Thursday, our fields finally got some rain.  On that same day, we were lucky enough to have the help of about 20 volunteers from Livestrong.   We have a partnership with Livestrong that allows employees to pickup JBG produce at work.  So, it was nice to be able to show some of their employees exactly where this produce comes from.  It was also great to get so much help from these hard-working volunteers!  Thankfully, the rain held off for the first part of the day, and they were able to get a lot of potatoes harvested before the storms arrived.  We would very much like to thank all of the Livestrong volunteers for their hard work and for braving the rain.

JBG employee Kim shows Livestrong volunteers how to best harvest potatoes. Photo by Scott David Gordon

A Livestrong volunteer gets his hands dirty. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Livestrong volunteers dig up potatoes. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Some of Livestrong's harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Another Livestrong volunteer helps out. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Livestrong volunteers take shelter in the barn once the rain starts coming down. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

* JBG is now accepting CSA Members
* Week of May 16th CSA Box Photo & Contents List
* The Nitty Gritty: Cookies – Part 3
* What’s in Your Garden?  Featuring Aaron Morris

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

* JBG Photographer Scott Gordon Featured at Progress Coffee

3) Recipes by Melissa Vance, JBG CSA Member

* Curried Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps
* Jalapeno-Peanut Pesto

Brenton holds just-harvested Shishito Peppers. These are Japanese frying peppers. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

JBG is now accepting CSA Members!

Help us spread the word! Click here to join.

Week of May 16th CSA Box Contents

Week of May 16th CSA Box Contents

1015 Onions
Broccoli or Cauliflower
Mixed Summer Squash
Basil
Mint
Bunched Carrots
Lettuce
Sweet & Hot Peppers
Cucumber
Chard
Cabbage

***Coming: Tomatoes,
Green beans, Eggplant

Cookies – Part 3

I hope you had enough time to try out the last cookie recipes I gave you as here are two more… .

Cheers,

Grit

Spiced Shortbread Fingers

Spiced Shortbread Fingers
(makes about  24 cookies)

Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1/2 C sugar, white
1/3 C almond flour (Bob’s Red Mill Brand, available at Whole Foods)
1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C corn starch
3/4 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp cardamon, ground
1/4 tsp salt

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, salt and spices. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the butter and sugar on low speed until just combined. Add the almonds. Add the flour mixture and beat again on low speed until everything is well combined. The dough should be crumbly but uniform.

Scrape half the dough into a 1 gallon zip-log bag and the other half in another. Now, press the dough into firmly packed rectangles about 2 1/2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Press only from the outside of the bag. Fold the bags over once, keeping them tight against the dough’s edges. Then smooth the surface of the dough with a rolling pin. Refrigerate overnight or for as long as several days.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Working with one dough parcel at a time (keep the other one refrigerated), slit the sides of the zip-log bag and transfer dough to the baking sheet. Cut it into bars about 3/4 inch wide and arrange them on the baking sheet 1/2 inch apart from each other. Try to stay on the narrow side of 3/4 inch when slicing the dough into fingers. The fingers might widen during baking. Put the baking sheet with the finished bars in the fridge while you work on the second dough parcel. Refrigerate both baking sheets for 30 minutes before baking.

Preheat the oven to 350 ?F. Position the oven racks so that one is in the center of the oven and the other one right above it.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges are slightly colored. Half way through the baking time, rotate the sheets so that the front becomes the back and vice versa. Also, switch the position of the baking sheets. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for about 10 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies have cooled completely, store in an airtight container.

Source: Edible Twin City Magazine, Winter 2010/11

Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Chocolate Crackle Cookies
(makes about  22 cookies)

Ingredients
4 1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate (60%)
1 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate (52.9%)
1/2 stick butter, unsalted, cut into chunks
1 egg
2 TBSP cream
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 C light brown sugar, packed
1 1/3 C all-purpose flour
1 TBSP cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C powdered sugar

Melt the chocolates with the butter in a double boiler. Stir the mixture constantly. Melting the chocolates in a regular pot under supervision works as well. In a bowl, whisk together the flower, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together the egg, cream and almond extract. Add the brown sugar and whisk until smooth and the sugar is well incorporated. Now switch to the paddle attachment and stir in the chocolate mixture. Add the flour mixture in three helpings and mix until thoroughly combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

Line a baking dish with waxed paper, have more wax paper rectangles the size of the baking dish ready. Roll a heaping TBSP of the dough into a firmly packed ball (about 1 inch in diameter) and place in the baking dish. Once you have a full layer, cover with waxed paper and continue with a second layer of chocolate balls. Continue until all dough has been processed. Stick the baking dish with the dough balls in the freezer overnight.

At this point the dough balls can be frozen for up to one month.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 ?F. Position the oven racks so that one is in the center of the oven and the other one right above it. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place powdered sugar in a zip-log bag. Add frozen balls, 6 at a time and shake to coat. Place coated chocolate balls on the baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart from each other. Repeat the procedure working quickly to prevent thawing.

Bake for 16 minutes. Half way through the baking time, rotate the sheets so that the front becomes the back and vice versa. Also, switch the position of the baking sheets in the oven. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack.

Note: These cookies have a long prep time due to refrigeration/ freezer breaks. The good thing though is that they can be made way ahead of time as the dough balls can be frozen for up to one month.

Source: Edible Twin City Magazine, Winter 2010/11

Aaron Morris' garden in East Austin.

What’s in Your Garden?  Featuring Aaron Morris

Aaron Morris sent in these photos of his backyard at 11th and Chicon in East Austin.  Below, he describes how he transformed this backyard into a beautiful working garden:
“I have converted this entire backyard from a wasteland of weeds and china berry trees into a highly productive mini farm. I have done a bit at a time using little more than a cheap shovel and a soil sifter I built myself to remove rocks. Other than removing the rocks, the only other thing I did was grow a green manure and turn it in. I have a wildspace that I seed with wild flowers and irrigate. I built a chicken coop and compost system, and instead of tilling, I have the chicken clear the spent crops, the I cut out just the stems and leave the spent plant roots to compost in place. So I guess I’m doing a no till system and it is working wonderfully for me.  I just ate my first tomato (May 9th!), an amish paste, that I started from seed. I started my seeds in December, I have about 50 plants in the ground. 30 different varieties, mostly heirlooms.”

Thank you, Aaron, for sharing these great photos of your spring garden and great looking tomatoes:

2) Updates, Meetings and Events

JBG Photographer Scott Gordon Featured at Progress Coffee

Stop by Progress Coffee at 500 San Marcos to see a show of JBG photographer Scott David Gordon’s work.  All of the images he included in the show he photographed with his iPhone over the course of two years in New York City.  These photos are great and well worth a visit to Progress.

Work of Scott David Gordon featured at Progress Coffee

3) Recipes by Melissa Vance, JBG CSA Member

Curried Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup sweet onion, minced
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch cayenne
2-3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup mango chutney
1/4 cup minced cilantro
Handful red seedless grapes, quartered
2 tablespoons lime juice
Kosher salt and black pepper
Lettuce leaves
Shredded carrots
1/4 cup chopped cashew nuts

Curried Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

In a sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent.  Add the curry powder, garlic powder, and cayenne.  Stir until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Remove pan from the heat and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl mix together the curry oil, mayo, chutney, cilantro, grapes, and lime juice.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour the mayo mixture over the chicken and mix gently to combine.  Serve in lettuce leaf wraps with carrots and cashews on top.

Jalapeno Peanut Pesto

Jalapeno-Peanut Pesto

2 cups basil leaves, torn
1/3 cup salted peanuts
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Place the basil, peanuts, garlic, and jalapeno into the bowl of the food processor.  Pulse until minced.  With the motor running, pour in the oil and process until combined.  Add the parmesan and pulse a few more times.  Season with salt and pepper.

Corner view of JBG Delivery Truck. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Sunflower at River Road. Photo by Scott David Gordon

From the Farmer’s Perspective:

Our CSA boxes this week are literally filled to the brim.  In fact, we were a little too ambitious when we laid out the vegetables for the CSA box photo.  After taking the photo, we tried to put all of the produce in a CSA box, but we couldn’t get it closed!  In order to make it all fit, we had to take out the rainbow chard.  We’ll gladly give any member scheduled to pickup this a week a complimentary bunch of rainbow chard -  just come by our booth at any one of the farmers markets we attend today, tomorrow, Saturday, or Sunday, and we’ll give you a bunch.  Our photographer, Scott, got up high on a ladder so he could get all  of the produce into the photo this week.  We hope you enjoy all of these vegetables!

Scott gets up high to photograph this week's box.

Out in the fields, our tomatoes are just starting to ripen, and in about one or two weeks, members will start getting them in their boxes.  Here are some photos of some of the different kinds of tomatoes growing right now:

Heirloom variety. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Golden Rave Mini Roma. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Beefsteak Tomatoes. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Our CSA shares will have Jalapeno peppers for the first time of the season this week.  Next week, members can look forward to getting purple and banana peppers and possibly green beans.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to fit everything into the box next time!

Purple Pepper. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

* JBG is now accepting CSA Members
* Week of May 9th CSA Box Photo & Contents List
* The Nitty Gritty: Gro-ACT: Giving meaning back to the word local
* What’s in Your Garden? Featuring Pavithra and Manu Ravichandran

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

* Coming Soon: Home and Office Delivery from JBG
* JBG Needs Help from an Electrician
* JBG Photographer Scott Gordon Featured at Progress Coffee

3) Recipes by Melissa Vance, JBG CSA Member

* Lemon Butter New Potatoes with Green Onions
* Creamy Parmesan Beet Greens

Bees find a flower at River Road. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

JBG is now accepting CSA Members!

Help us spread the word! Click here to join.

Week of May 9th CSA Box Contents

Week of May 9th CSA Box Contents

Cucumber
Jalapenos
Basil
Mint
Fennel
Purple Potatoes
Swiss Chard
Mixed Summer Squash
Broccoli or Cauliflower
Bunched Beets
Mixed Lettuce Heads
1015 Onions
Bunched Carrots
Bok Choy
***Coming: Tomatoes,
Green beans, Eggplant

Pavithra's garden and the pug she's fostering

Close up of Bush Beans in Pavithra and Manu's garden

Pavithra and Manu's German Shepard with garden Seedlings and Plants

Coming Soon: Home and Office Delivery from JBG

JBG is about to begin offering home and office delivery options to CSA subscribers.  We are very excited about adding this convenient way to receive your organic produce from JBG.  We’ve already purchased another delivery van that will be dedicated to home and office delivery, we’ve hired a driver.  Now, we are  just finishing up the programming needed to manage these home and office deliveries.   We anticipate that we’ll be ready to start home and office delivery in  2-3 weeks time.  We will definitely keep you posted on our progress and on how to sign up!

Delivery Truck designed by Ryan Rhodes. Photo by Scott David Gordon

JBG Needs the Help of an Electrician

Recently, we purchased four more milk truck bodies to turn into coolers.  Since we’re expecting higher than ever crop yields, we need to have a space to store all of the produce!  We are looking for the help of an electrician to wire these coolers and get window units installed and hooked up.  If you are an electrician and would like to help us with this project, please email the farm at farm@jbgorganic.com or call the office at 512-386-5273.

Photo by Scott David Gordon featured at Progress Coffee

JBG Photographer Scott Gordon Featured at Progress Coffee

Stop by Progress Coffee at 500 San Marcos to see a show of JBG photographer Scott David Gordon’s work.  All of the images he included in the show he photographed with his iPhone over the course of two years in New York City.  These photos are great and well worth a visit to Progress.

3) Recipes by Melissa Vance, JBG CSA Member

Lemon Butter New Potatoes with Green Onions

Lemon Butter New Potatoes with Green Onions

1 bunch new potatoes, scrubbed clean
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 lemon
Kosher salt
1 green onion, sliced thinly

Cut any larger potatoes until all of them are uniformly sized.  Place in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil.   Cook until fork tender then drain and keep warm.

In a small saucepan combine the butter, juice of the half lemon and a pinch of salt.  Melt and stir to combine.

Pour the butter over the potatoes and sprinkle with the green onion.  Toss to combine.  Serve warm.

Creamy Parmesan Beet Greens

Creamy Parmesan Beet Greens

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, sliced thinly into quarter moons
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch beet greens or chard, trimmed of tough stems and chopped
1/2 cup cream
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup parmesan
Kosher salt and black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan and add the onions and red pepper flakes.  Cook until translucent.  Add the mushrooms and cook until browned.  Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the beet greens and a splash of water and cook until wilted.  Add the cream, onion powder, garlic powder, parmesan, and a heavy pinch of salt and pepper.  Simmer until the cream reduces and thickens slightly.  Serve hot.

Sunflower against a blue sky at River Rd. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Boaz Ringger gathers eggs in the eggmobile. Photo by Scott David Gordon

From the Farmer’s Perspective:

Over at River Road, we have been doing a lot of planting for summer including squash, cucumbers, melons, watermelons, sweet potatoes, eggplant, basil, zinnias, and sunflowers.   This week, members can look forward to getting fennel and red potatoes in their boxes.  For a little bit longer (before it gets too hot!), we’ll also include broccoli and cauliflower in the CSA shares.  We are especially proud of our Spring cauliflower crop.  In fact, this is the first year we’ve successfully grown cauliflower in the Spring.  Since it gets hot so quickly here in Central Texas, it is a very tricky time of year to grow cauliflower, and most area farms avoid planting a Spring cauliflower crop for this very reason.  We took the risk, though, and are very happy with the results.  Check out the colors of these Cheddar, Graffiti, and Fremont cauliflower varieties we harvested below:

Cheddar, Graffiti, and Cheddar Cauliflower

Spring Chickens and Eggs:

Back in 2007, JBG started partnering with the Ringger family of Fruitful Hill Farm to provide CSA members with eggs.  Every week, the Ringgers deliver their great tasting, humanely produced eggs to JBG.  Our CSA members can elect to add eggs to their order and pickup a dozen or a half dozen of these eggs each time their get their CSA share.  It is a great partnership, and we invite all CSA members to consider adding locally produced eggs to their orders.  We also partner with  Tierra Madre Farms for eggs and will have a feature story on them in one of our upcoming newsletters.  If you’d like to add high quality eggs to your subscription, please email us at farm@jbgorganic.com or call the office at 512-386-5273.  Eggs can also be added at the time of sign-up or renewal.

Here’s what the Ringger’s had to say about their chickens and eggs:

“The way we raise our chickens creates a different product for consumers who are interested in healthy and local foods.  We use no chemicals or hormones with our chickens or our pasture. We move the chickens about once a week to a new section of pasture so they get new grass and bugs to eat. An “eggmobile” is moved along with the chickens so that they have a place to lay the eggs, and some protection from the wind and sun. Moving them across pasture also provides for a more evenly distributed return of fertilizer to the soil. Their diet is supplemented with a high-quality high-variety feed and organic vitamins and minerals.”

Last week, JBG photographer Scott David Gordon paid a visit to the Ringgers and captured these great photos of their egg operation:

The Ringger family. Front row: Hogan, Dale, Amy, & Boaz; Back Row: Jasmine, Gideon, Eli, Serenity with their dog Ruby.

Boaz & Jasmine in the egg mobile.This mobile is moved about once a week to a new section of pasture.

Nest box in the eggmobile. Sometimes, nest boxes have only a few eggs while others have many.

Boaz & Jasmine inside the eggmobile gathering eggs while a chicken stands by watching them work. Each of the Ringger children gathers eggs every day if they aren't busy with other work.

Notice that the chickens have their full beak to help them catch bugs and eat grass. The Ringgers buy their chicks when they are one or two days old and specifically request that they are not de-beaked.

Hogan fills one of the chickens' feeders.

A flock of the Ringger's chickens and their latest eggmobile. The chickens like to rest in the shade under the eggmobile.

This flock of chickens has two guard pups in training. The pasture is currently experiencing a drought.

The Ringgers keep their eggs stacked inside the walk-in cooler, waiting for you to order them for your fresh breakfast omelets!

1) Farm News

* JBG is now accepting CSA Members
* Week of May 2nd CSA Box Photo & Contents List
* The Nitty Gritty: Do we need factory farming?

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

* JBG Needs Help from an Electrician
* New CSA Pickup Sites: Round Rock Market & 6701 Burnet Road Market

3) Recipes by Melissa Vance, JBG CSA Member

* Turnips with Honey Mustard and Bacon Vinaigrette
* Broccoli with Red Chili Sauce

Congratulations to JBG employee, Fawn Farley, on her wedding to Stephan Peirce!

1) Farm News

JBG is now accepting CSA Members!

Help us spread the word! Click here to join.

Week of May 2nd CSA Box Contents

Do we need factory farming?

We have to feed the world!

This is one of the most commonly used arguments by agribusiness to justify industrial-scale farming and confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The argument that factory farming is necessary to feed the world is, “… a supposition, not a fact.” writes Marc Bittman in a recent article for the New York Times. Big ag has yet to prove that it’s true. While the US produces plenty of corn, so much, in fact, that it is now widely used to produce fuels, there are still people starving. Big ag’s assumption “…is that by increasing supply, we’ll eventually figure out how to feed everyone,” continues Bittman, yet “…more supply of the wrong things — oil, corn, beef — only worsens things.”

Representatives of industrial farming cited in the book Eating Animals have admitted at least that the factory farming system isn’t a perfect solution. “No system is perfect. And if you find someone who tells you, he has a perfect way to feed billions and billions of people, well, you should take a careful look. You hear about free-range eggs and grass-fed cattle, and all of that’s good. I think, it’s a good direction. But it ain’t gonna feed the world. Never. You simply can’t feed billions of people free-range eggs. And if you hear people talking about small farming as a model, I call that the Marie Antoinette syndrome: if they can’t afford bread, let them eat cake. High-yield farming has allowed everyone to eat. Think about that. If we go away from it, it may improve the welfare of animals, it may even be better for the environment, but I don’t want to go back to China in 1918. I am talking about starving people.”

However, contrary the representatives’ claims, there is already growing a new movement beginning to transform how food is grown, transported and consumed. The way I see it is that industrial agriculture has enjoyed a dominant role for fifty years and it’s achievements and disasters are now coming into sharper focus. Let’s see if an alternative model can produce the food necessary and at the same time contribute to the health of our citizens, communities and environment.

As always, a system change requires a change of mindset in the consumers. On this point, I agree with the big ag representatives cited in Eating Animals: “What I hate is when consumers act as if farmers want these things [factory farms], when it’s consumers who tell farmers what to grow [and how]. They’ve wanted cheap food. We’ve grown it. If they want cage-free eggs, they have to pay a lot more money for them.” It is the consumer, not the farmer that is in charge. You and me!

Whenever I purchase a factory farmed chicken I can be sure it spent its whole, short life in confinement, barely able to walk, eating an unnatural diet and living in an unnatural place. Its beak was clipped at an early age and there’s a good chance it’ll end up with broken bones and dehydrated before it’s slaughtered. If I eat out and order pork, it almost certainly came from a factory farm and the animal will have suffered. If I want meat with every meal every day of the year, a farmer will supply these large quantities. If the full cost is not reflected on the price tag, it’ll be reflected elsewhere, in pollution, animal suffering and more.

We simply have to eat less meat in order to end factory farming and I don’t think that doing so will take us back to China in 1918. Or as Bittman put it: “A sensible and nutritious diet for everyone is essential; many people will eat better, and others may eat fewer animal products, which is also a eating better.”

The time has come for us to all take a hard look at our diets in particular and the western diet in general. Are we doing the best we can to live and eat in this 21st century? Will shaping our diets help speed the transition from a factory farming system to another that feeds eaters, communities and environments at the same time?

Sources:
Mark Bittman, NYT, March 8th, 2011
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (pages 94 to 97)

The fields at River Road. Photo by Scott David Gordon

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

JBG Needs the Help of an Electrician

Last week, we purchased four more milk truck bodies to turn into coolers.  Since we’re expecting higher than ever crop yields, we need to have a space to store all of the produce!  We are looking for the help of an electrician to wire these coolers and get window units installed and hooked up.  If you are an electrician and would like to help us with this project, please email the farm at farm@jbgorganic.com or call the office at 512-386-5273.

Boxes ready for produce. Photo by Scott David Gordon

New CSA Pickup Sites: Round Rock Farms to Market & 6701 Burnet Road Market

JBG is now attending the Round Rock Farms to Market & 6701 Burnet Road Market and will offer these as CSA pickup sites.  You can choose to pickup your CSA share at any one of the farmers markets we attend.  What’s great about picking up your CSA at any of these markets is that you can exchange any one vegetable for another we have in our market stall.  So, for example, if you don’t like rutabaga,  you can switch it out for some lettuce!  Here are the hours and days of all of our farmers market pickups:

Saturdays: 6701 Burnet Road Market (9am-2pm), Downtown Austin Farmers Market (9am to 1pm), Sunset Valley Farmers Market (9am to 1pm), Barton Creek Farmers Market (9am to 1pm) and Cedar Park Farmers Market

Sundays: HOPE Market (11am to 3pm)

Wednesdays: Round Rock Farms to Market (4pm to 8pm) and the Triangle Market (4pm to 8pm)

Thursdays: 6702 Burnet Road Market (4pm to 8pm)

If you are an existing member and would like to change your pickup location to one of these market sites, just give us a call in the office at 512-386-5273 or email us at farm@jbgorganic.com.  All new and renewing members can choose from a list of our pickup sites including these markets.  To join our CSA, please click here.  Questions?  Please call the office at 512-386-5273.

Onions in the field at River Road. Photo by Scott David Gordon

3) Recipes by Melissa Vance, JBG CSA Member

Turnips with Honey Mustard and Bacon Vinaigrette

Turnips with Honey Mustard and Bacon Vinaigrette

2 bunches baby turnips, peeled and quartered
¼ cup diced bacon
¼ cup creole mustard
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 scallion, thinly sliced

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the turnips and cook until fork tender.  Drain and keep warm.

In a skillet cook the bacon until crispy.  In a small saucepan combine the mustard, vinegar, and honey.  Using a slotted spoon add the bacon bits to the saucepan.  Simmer 5 minutes.  Pour the hot vinaigrette over the turnips and toss to combine.  Garnish with the scallions.  Serve hot.

Broccoli with Red Chili Sauce

Broccoli with Red Chili Sauce

½ cup champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 tablespoons butter
1 large bunch broccoli, trimmed

In a small saucepan bring the vinegar, crushed red pepper, onion, and garlic to a simmer.  Reduce by half.  Add the brown sugar, soy sauce, and tomato paste.  Whisk to combine and simmer 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter.  Set aside.

In a large pot of salted water, boil the broccoli until tender.  Drain well then toss with the sauce.  Serve hot.

Staked tomatoes at River Road. Photo by Scott David Gordon