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.

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.

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

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

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
(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
(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

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.

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

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

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.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 at 8:09 am and is filed under Newsletters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.