Week of December 27th CSA Box Contents

Week of December 27th CSA Box Contents

See you in 2012!

JBG Wholesale, Packing Shed, and Office crew model their new hats. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

CSA Holiday Announcements

Going out of town for the holidays?  Donate your box to the Settlement Home or the Salvation Army. We recognize that many people go out of town over the holidays to visit family and friends, and you may be considering canceling your box.   If you need to cancel your CSA pickup, we understand.  However, to save the farm a big financial hit over the holidays and to help provide food for those in need, please consider donating your share to the Settlement Home or the Salvation Army.   This way, you can keep supporting the farm, while sharing fresh, organic vegetables with others.   To donate your box, please send us an email at farm@jbgorganic.com and let us know if you’d like it to go to the Settlement Home or the Salvation Army.

Easter Egg radishes. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Holiday Schedule Changes

All weekday CSA pickups will remain the same the week of December 19th and the week of December 26th.  The only changes are to farmers market  pickups on the weekends of Dec. 24-25th and Dec.31-Jan. 1.

Here are the details:

Burnet Road Farmers’ Market: December 24 and December 31 pickups are moved to Barton Creek Farmers’ Market

Austin Farmers’ Market- Downtown: December 24 pickups moved to Sunset Valley Farmers’ Market

Sunset Valley Farmers’ Market: December 31 pickups moved to the Austin Farmers’ Market-Downtown

HOPE Market: Closed December 25; pickup moved to Saturday, December 24 at the Barton Creek Farmers’ Market (9am-1pm).

Lakeway Commons Farmers’ Market: December 25 and January 1 pickups moved to Cedar Park Farms to Market on Saturday, December 24 and Saturday, December 31.

If you have any questions or are unable to make the new pickup, please call our office at 512-386-5273 or email us at farm@jbgorganic.com, and we can help you make other arrangements.  Thank you for supporting the farm, and we at JBG wish you all safe and happy holidays!

Anthony washes just-harvested carrots. Photo by Scott David Gordon

JBG is now accepting CSA Members!

Help us spread the word! Click here to join.

Week of December 13th CSA Box Contents

Week of December 13th CSA Box Contents

Broccoli
Spinach
Fennel
Collards
Carrots
Cabbage
Salad Mix
Beets
Cilantro
Scallions
Kohlrabi

Cook What You Got

We’ve all been there before. You open your refrigerator hoping that some combination of its contents can be turned into a reasonably tasty and nutritious dinner. Yet everything that comes to mind seems to be missing a key ingredient. What to do? While it’s tempting to abandon cooking altogether and call in takeout, I embrace the challenge. To create tasty food out of seemingly nothing is what I call the Leftover Challenge.

Because cooking a classic dish is usually impossible, we’re forced to replace the missing ingredients with creativity. Substitutions are part of this. If you need greens, make any greens work. If you don’t have butter for a baked dish, egg and yogurt will do. Not being bound by a recipe provides additional room for experimentation. Often, my dinners made from the Leftover Challenge are composed of small, different portions. Egg drop soup is a common appetizer which only requires an egg and broth while other ingredients can vary. Greens, mushrooms, scallions etc will do. Vegetables can easily be bulked up with pasta and cheese. Dessert can be as simple as yogurt with applesauce or marmalade.

Without a recipe to follow, there’s no anticipation of its outcome. Since there is no “right”, there’s no pressure to “get it right”. If something turns out poorly, there’s less of a loss since, after all, the ingredients were just leftovers.

In the Twin Cities, the non-profit organization Sisters’ Camelot takes cooking with leftovers to the extreme. Working out of a food cart, volunteers collect excess organic fruits and vegetables from various sources around town and cook them into delicious meals. They’re then given away for free. The food is available to anyone but you have to know where to find them and their location changes.

When the Sisters’ Camelot one day found themselves with tons of ingredients for salad but no oil of any kind, they had a Leftover Challenge at hand. What’d they do? They created a dressing out of cucumbers and yogurt.

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Link to Sisters Camelot: http://sisterscamelot.org/

Nitty-Gritty writer with her son, Wesley. Photo by Scott David Gordon

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

JBG Gift Subscription designed by Ryan Rhodes

JBG Market Bucks designed by Ryan Rhodes

Holiday Gift Ideas From JBG

Want to give something healthy and local this year?  Consider these great options from JBG.  Order now, and we’ll get them in the mail within 48 hours of purchase.

CSA Gift Subscriptions: Give a CSA subscription for (4) pickups or more.  Each CSA gift subscription comes with a sign-up form so the recipient can choose their start date and the most convenient pickup location.

Farmers Market Bucks: Give your friends “bucks” to spend at our booth at any one of the farmers markets we attend.  This now includes the Triangle and Round Rock Farmers Markets on Wednesdays, the Downtown Austin, Barton Creek, Sunset Valley, Cedar Park, Burnet Road, Callahan’s and Lakeline markets on Saturday, and the HOPE market on Sunday. These “bucks” are available for purchase in $20 increments.

Purchasing Info: When you purchase a gift subscription or market bucks, you can choose to have it mailed to you or to the recipient directly.  If you choose to have us mail it, we can include a personal message from you.  To purchase Farmers Market Bucks or a JBG CSA Gift Certificate, please click here or call the office at 512-386-5273

JBG hats designed by Ryan Rhodes

JBG hats, t-shirts, and tote bags also  make great gifts! Hats are $12.00 each, and t-shirts and totes are $15.  We can ship any of these within 48 hours of your order.  If you’d like us to send it as a present, we can also include a gift message. To order, click here.

Organic Rio Red Grapefruit from G&S Groves. Photo by Scott David Gordon

JBG 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.

JBG deliver driver Skyler Scott packs CSA boxes. Photo by Scott David Gordon

3) Recipes by Dish a Licious

Pig’s Head Part II

by Louis Singh | photos by Daniel Abrego & Jeff Stockton | dishalicious.com

Every week, we get together with friends to cook.  Some friends want us to show them things, some friends want to show us things.  The important thing is we all learn some things that inspire us to cook again.  We hope you learn something, too.

This week, Pig’s Head: Part Deux!

If you recall, last week we ended after braising the pig’s head in an aromatic broth.  Now, it’s time to build our terrine.

First, carefully remove the pig’s head to a cutting board.  Fish out the ears and remove them to a safe place, we’ll deal with those in a bit.  Strain all of the aromats out of the pot, reserving the flavorful & gelatinous stock.

Now the messy part.  Carefully remove the skin from the head, setting it aside in large pieces if you can.  Remove all of the meat from the head and place it into a bowl to season.  We add a little more fresh-grated long peppercorns, and that’s it.  The brine really infused the meat with lots of flavor, so we don’t have to add much.

Grab your terrine, or any kind of vessel:  a bread pan, ceramic baking dish, anything fairly deep and narrow that will hold the meat and gelatinous stock.  Mr. Supercook Craig had a fancy little number with removable sides.

Layer the meat into the terrine, packed down but not too tight.  You want some room for the liquid to be able to groove between all the meat.  Pack about halfway up the terrine, and then you can add the pig’s tongue for a little texture and visual effect.  Make sure to peel the tongue and slice it in half length-wise.

Once you get to the top of the terrine, it’s into the fridge for the magic.  The gelatin-rich stock will solidify in the cool climate of your icebox, and we’ll be able to slide it out and slice.

Now we can have some crunchy fun with the skin & ears.  Cut the skin into 1” square pieces, if you can, and pat them as dry as possible.  Grab a deep, narrow pot and fill it halfway up with frying oil (vegetable, canola, peanut, etc.).  You want at least 2-3” inches of oil to fry in.

Bring your oil up to around 375° and drop the skin in.  It should sizzle and pop.  Be careful, because it will sizzle and pop oil right up out of the pot and you don’t want that hot oil on you.  Use a splatter screen, if you have one, or you can tent it with a piece of foil.

Listen for the sizzling to slow it’s pace, meaning most of the moisture has left the skin, leaving a crisp, golden-golden brown chicharrone.

Remove them to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt.  Revel in its deliciousness.  But save some for garnishing the headcheese!

Repeat the same process for the ears, but cut them into strips and dredge them in a little cornmeal or flour first.

Headcheese, check.  Chicharrones, check.  Crispy pig ears, check.  All of that out of one head.  Now the fun part, pairing it with something fresh and delicious to balance out all of that porkiness.

Our CSA box, to the rescue!

We roast delicious baby fennel, for a succulent match to our headcheese.  Cut the stem and root end off, and halve the bulb down the center.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper and roast at 350° until soft & tender.

Next, we make a delicious slaw with JBG’s red cabbage, ringo peppers, pickled red onions & frawns from our fennel stocks.  The key here:  slicing everything as thin as possible.  Since it’s raw, you want to give everything a chance to breakdown in the salt and dressing.  Toss the slaw in a bit of olive oil, acid (we use the pickling liquid from the red onions, but lemon juice or vinegar will do) and season with salt & pepper.

After the headcheese has chilled comfortably for at least 6 hours, check it.  If it’s very firm to the touch, you’re ready to unmold.  Slip it out of the terrine carefully and slice.
Taste the victory in your hard work.

Finally, it all comes together.  The tender, sweet roasted fennel.  The fresh, bright slaw.  Crispy pig ears & skin.  And the beautiful headcheese topped with a touch of crunchy sea salt.

Mangia!  Now you have the skills, go forth and enjoy nose-to-tail eating.  It can be tackled at home, if you desire.  Craig is obviously enraptured in the magic of charcuterie.  Peasant techniques, regal taste.

Now, get cooking!

Bonus track:

Cut the chilled headcheese into cubes, bread & fry them for an insanely decedent treat with some Chili Aioli, made with JBG’s serranos!

Any cooking quandaries you’d like us to tackle?  Let us know at info@dishalicious.com!

A JBG Workshare helps wash beets. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Help us spread the word! Click here to join.

Kohlrabi

With with arrival of nearly each week’s new CSA box comes a new cooking challenge as well! Digging through the tightly packed box with its vibrant colors and lushness, I search for the vegetable that will do it. Soon, I encounter what I have never seen before or at least, never conceived of eating before. Often, it is this odd one that expands my horizon the most. An adventure for my taste buds lies ahead!

One of these oddities for me used to be kohlrabi. I recognized its form, but eating it? No way. My dislike stemmed, as things so often do, from a childhood experience. My aunt used to feed my brother and me—or rather tried to feed us—open-faced, raw kohlrabi sandwiches. The sandwich consisted of one chunky slab of kohlrabi on a piece of bread with butter. What repulsed me was the look of the deathly white slab combined with a pungent horseradish smell. I never dared to take a bite.

So when I found kohlrabi in my CSA box for the first time a couple of years ago, eating it raw on a sandwich was certainly not an option. Instead, I sliced the kohlrabi into thin (!) slices and simply sauteed them in olive oil. A little salt and pepper and the adventure got started. The kohlrabi was so tender and delicious that I changed my attitude with the first bite. Yes, there was a hint of horseradish which was acceptable, even pleasant, to my adult palate. Looking back, my aunt’s kohlrabi was always much larger than Brent’s and therefore the flavors may have been more mature. In the summer, my favorite way of eating zucchini is sliced and sauteed in olive oil. I have to say that kohlrabi has become my winter equivalent.

Following are two recipes featuring kohlrabi. The first one I invented, the second one I adapted from Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors cookbook. Both of them utilize the veggies from our current winter CSA boxes.

Kohlrabi and Fennel Dish

Kohlrabi
Fennel (plus tops for decoration)
Potatoes
Onions

all cut into bite size

salt, pepper
olive oil
butter
brown sugar
pink whole peppercorns
parmesan cheese

Preparation:
Fry onions in butter and oil, season with salt and pepper. Add remaining veggies and fry on high heat such that veggies develop a nice brown crust. Stir every so often. Lower the heat as soon as veggies have reached desired brown color. Cook them completely through on low heat (for approximately 5 minutes). Season with more salt. Add the chopped fennel tops and pink peppercorns when the dish is just about done. Great parmesan over the veggies and serve.

Market Ragout of Turnips, Kohlrabi, Potatoes and more

2 to 3 small kohlrabi
6 or more small turnips
3 to 4 small potatoes
1 C peas, fresh or frozen
a handful of spinach
6 spring onions
an herb such as basil, parsley or dill
sour creme
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preparation:
Cut all veggies in bite-size pieces.
Saute the onions in olive oil in a pan and after a few minutes, add the turnips, kohlrabi and potato slices to it. Saute for another minute, then add water to cover the veggies halfway and a tsp of salt. Simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Now add the peas and spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a little olive oil and a sprinkle of your herb of choice.
In order to make a main dish out of this, add orzo pasta or ravioli or serve on a buttered toast.

Kohlrabi. Photo by Scott David Gordon

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

G&S Grove orange close-up. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Citrus Sale Begins

JBG is again 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.   Deliveries will begin the week of November 15th and continue through the end of February.  To order, please click here or go to our website at jbgorganic.com.

Wholesale coordinator Leslie Lilly stays warm while taking a carrot break. Photo by Carrie Kenny

JBG Hats Now Available!

JBG hats make great gifts!   Hats are $12.00 each, and we can ship them within 48 hours of your order.  If you’d like us to send it as a present, we can also include a gift message.  To order, click here.

JBG hats designed by Ryan Rhodes

Slow Food Austin Slow Session: Masa Mojo

Date: Monday December 12th 2011, 7 pm – 9 pm
Location: The Natural Epicurean Academy, 1700 S. Lamar Blvd. Suite #316, Austin, TX 78704
RSVP: anneh@slowfoodaustin.org

Join us as Hector Gonzalez, outstanding Interior Mexican cook and instructor, teaches us the fine art of masa preparation. The session will cover the culinary history of masa and tortillas; the different types of corn available in Austin and which are the best for tortilla making. Hector will also demonstrate:

• How to nixtamalize the corn and grind it using both old methods and new ones
• The basic method for making tortillas with different corns (yellow, white, blue)
• How to make other Mexican specialties using masa.

The Natural Epicurean Culinary Academy will be providing house salsa and guacamole to accompany the masa dishes made and the session will end with a raffle to give away of some of the materials used during the class.  For more information or to sign up, click here or go to http://slowfoodaustin.org/2011/11/21/slow-session-masa-mojo-12122011/.

3) Recipes by Dish a Licious

Pig’s Head Part I

by Louis Singh | photos by Daniel Abrego & Jeff Stockton | dishalicious.com

This week, Craig cooks pig’s head!  This is a two-part series on simple charcuterie techniques.

First, a disclaimer for the queasy.  There’s a pig head in this blog.  Don’t look if you don’t want to.

As always, we’re not here to tell you how to eat.  But understanding how to utilize something like a pig’s head, which these days most people would deem as trash, is a valuable technique for those interested in ultimate nose-to-tail resourcefulness.

Thanks to Sebastian from Countryside Farm for our pig’s head.  Find him at the Downtown Farmers’ Market!

Tonight we’re cooking our pig’s head to make headcheese.  Why such an unattractive name for something so tasty?  It’s translated from the French “fromage de tête”, or “cheese of the head”, because of the finished product’s uncanny similarity to a loaf of cheese.  But almost every country has their own version.  From Vietnamese “giò thu” to the South’s “souse”.  From Poland’s  “salceson” to Portugal’s “cabeça de xara”, this technique is worldly like a sailor.

First up, Craig brines the pig’s head overnight.  Brining is basically marinating, on sterioids.  The salty, flavorful water surrounds the meat and delivers flavor through cell walls by osmosis.  Necessary?  No.  Awesome?  Yes.

Our brine ratio is 1 quart water : 3 tablespoons kosher salt : 1 tablespoon sugar, plus any aromatics you’d like to add.  You’ll most likely need at least a gallon of water for a pig’s head.  (1 gallon water : ¾ cup salt : ¼ cup sugar).  Dissolve the salt/sugar in the water and cool, then submerge your head.  Craig didn’t have a pot large enough to submerge the entire head, so its snout suffered a little fridge-burn.  No worries, it’ll still be delicious.

Then it’s out of the brine for a good rinse.  Pat the head dry and set it on a clean surface to prep it for simmering.

If your pig has a five o’ clock shadow, it’s nice to clean him/her up a bit.  A butane torch makes quick work of any stubble.  Frankly, we were amazed Craig had one, but he’s not your average home cook.  If you’re like us and don’t have a junk drawer filled with infrared thermometers and butane torches, you could use a disposable razor or sharp knife to trim away any unsightly hair.

We remove the pig ears for easy retrieval later.  They’ll be a great garnish for our headcheese.

Now you could just simmer your pig’s head in water, but it’s going to cook for a good 3-4 hours, so why not add some flavor?  We go with a classic bouquet garni:  herbs & aromatics wrapped in a leek leaf, fastened with twine.  You could also use cheesecloth, or just dump everything in the pot and pick it out later.

We add more leeks, a halved onion, celery and carrots into the broth, as well as some super sexy Indonesian long peppercorns & Chloe peppers graciously donated by Akesson’s.

To the stove!  Bring it up to a boil then keep it at a gentle simmer.  Skim religiously for the first 30 minutes to remove any foam that rises to the top to keep your broth nice and clean.

We got three hours to kill, so we get to simmering ourselves in Jester King’s new Black Metal Imperial Stout.   Always simmer responsibly, folks.

After about 3 hours, your house should be smelling pretty wonderful and the meat on the head should be pulling away from the skull.  If you can stick a fork in it, it’s probably done.

Let the head cool to room temperature in the broth, so that it’s easy to handle and doesn’t fall apart into a million pieces.  At this point, we parked it in the fridge overnight to continue our conquest the next day.  We have day jobs, you know?

Join us next week for Pig’s Head: Part Deux!  We’ll show you how to build and finish the headcheese, what to serve it with and how to create more tasty dishes from your braised pig’s head.

Until next week, get cooking!

Any cooking quandaries you’d like us to tackle?  Let us know at info@dishalicious.com !

JBG crew suited up for the rain. Photo by Scott David Gordon