Picking out organic transplants at last year's sale. Photo by Scott David Gordon

From the Farmer’s Perspective

This Saturday, March 3rd, we will host our Annual Organic Spring Transplant Sale!

Where: JBG Greenhouse at 9515 Hergotz Lane, Austin, TX 78742

Time: 10am to 2pm

We’ll have lots of transplants for your garden, including an especially large selection of heirloom tomatoes.  At this on-site sale, we will offer a wider selection of transplants including lettuces, chicories such as dandelion, escarole, endive and radicchio, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, cabbage, parsley, and chard.   We’ll also have an Heirloom Tomato Mix, Celebrity Tomatoes, San Marzano Italian Roma Tomatoes, Cherokee Purple Tomatoes,Brandywine Red Tomatoes, Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes, Verde Tomatillos, Sweet Pepper Mix, Hot Pepper Mix, Carmen Peppers, Jalapeno Pepper, Genovese Basil, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Sangre Potatoes, All Blue Potatoes, Purple Majesty Potatoes, Banana Potatoes, La Ratte Potatoes, Rose Finn Apple Potatoes, and Red Thumb Potatoes.

Spring is in the air, and it’s a great time to start your own backyard garden.   I hope to see you at the greenhouse this Saturday picking out your transplants – all are welcome.  I have included directions below:

Directions from Airport Road, 7th Street or 183 South:

Merge onto 183 South and get in left-hand lane.  Turn left onto Thompson Lane at the 2nd traffic light after you cross the Colorado River Bridge. Callahan’s General Store and a Shell gas station will also be on the left. Take Thompson Lane until it dead ends into Hergotz Lane. Turn right onto Hergotz Lane and continue for a couple of miles until the road makes a sharp left hand turn.  After going around the curve, continue for about ¼ mile and turn right to stay on Hergotz Lane.  The greenhouse is located on the right hand side just before the road dead-ends.

Directions from Ben White/Hwy 71:

Heading towards the Airport on Hwy 71, turn north on 183. Go about 1 mile to the first traffic light. Turn right onto Thompson Lane. Callahan’s and a Shell gas station will also be on your right. Take Thompson Lane until it dead ends into Hergotz Lane. Turn right onto Hergotz Lane and continue for a couple of miles until the road makes a sharp left hand turn.  After going around the curve, continue for about ¼ mile and turn right to stay on Hergotz Lane.  The greenhouse is located on the right hand side just before the road.dead-ends.

Can’t make the sale on Saturday?  You can still order transplants on line by clicking here or going to http://www.jbgorganic.com/transplants/. CSA members who order transplants online can have them delivered to their pickup sites.  The general community can also order online and schedule a pickup here at the farm.

Ian unloads tranplants ready to go in the ground at River Road. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

* Week of February 28th CSA Box Photo & Contents List
* The Nitty Gritty: Eggs

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

* Pickling with Kate Payne: Waterbath Canning Beets
* JBG Hosts Annual Citrus Sale
* Give Fresh Organic Produce to Children in Need

3) Recipes by Dishalicious

* in the DISH kitchen: A Good Veggie Stock in 45 Minutes

A full greenhouse. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

Week of February 28th CSA Box Contents. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Week of February 28th CSA Box Contents

Carrots
Beets
Scallions
Salad Mix
Chard
Spinach
Kohlrabi
Brussels Sprouts Greens
Citrus

Eggs

I like having eggs in the house. If I have eggs, I can cook – and eat, which is my ultimate goal!

The whole egg can be scrambled, fried, hard boiled or poached. In combination with veggies and cheese, eggs turn into quiches, frittatas, or migas. Mixed with butter, sugar and flour, they build the base of almost any cake, tea bread or torte.

A whole new array of cooking possibilities opens up when separating white and yolk. For a souffle or mousse, the white is treated for structure and the yolk for flavor. Then they are mixed back together. The whites by themselves, when stiffened, turn into lofty baise pie tops or crunchy meringue. Egg yolks are good at soaking up all sorts of things, oil for mayonnaise and flour for pasta.

Egg are a nutritionally very dense food. After all, one (fertilized) egg contains all the nutrients and building blocks to make a whole new baby chick, with beak, eyes, feathers, claws and everything.

This is what Jessica Prentice, the author of Full Moon Feasts, has to say about eggs: “Eggs are the original fast food, and my kitchen would be bereft without them. I could not whip up frittatas for a quick supper as I often do, or soft-boil, fry, or scramble them for a quick breakfast with toast. I couldn’t make the sauces that make so many other dishes delicious. My cooking would be impoverished indeed.” I couldn’t agree more. Cheers to the egg, one of our most versatile ingredient in the kitchen!

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

Beets on the washing table. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Pickling with Kate Payne: Waterbath Canning Beets

Kate Payne of The Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking will be teaching a class on the method and process for making sweet, tangy beets that are delicious on their own or as an accompaniment in salads, with appetizer/cheese plates or even added to main dishes.  The method we’ll cover in class is very similar to the process of pickling peaches and watermelon rinds, or any other sweet pickles.

Participants will learn how to seal the jars for room-temp, shelf storage (in the waterbath canner pot) and learn alternative storage methods, like refrigerator pickling. Each participant will also leave with 3lbs of Johnson’s Backyard Garden local organic beets to get a jumpstart on using your new home canning skills!

Light snacks will be served.

When: Thursday, March 29, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (CT)

Where: Natural Epicurean of Culinary Arts
1700 S. Lamar
Suite 316
Austin, TX 78704

For more information and to reserve your spot, click here or go to http://katepaynepicklesbeets.eventbrite.com/

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

JBG Hosts Annual 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's delivery truck makes weekly stops at the Settlement Home. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Give Fresh Organic Produce to Children in Need

Thanks to the support of CSA members, we have been able to deliver fresh produce to the children at the Settlement Home on a weekly basis.

We need your help to keep this great program going! Each week, JBG delivers fresh produce to the Settlement Home for Children, a wonderful local non-profit and residential program that cares for and promotes the healing of abused and neglected children.  With the organic produce they receive from JBG, the Settlement Home provides nutritious meals and teaches the girls how to cook with all of these different kinds of vegetables.

To donate, click here or go to http://www.jbgorganic.com/settlementhome.  Participation at any level is greatly appreciated.

CSA members can also make a one-time contribution when they sign up or renew their CSA membership. Please consider contributing to our partnership with the Settlement Home.  The more who give, the more produce we can provide these children in need.

Many, many thanks to everyone who has already contributed!  You are making this program a success!

3) Recipes by Dishalicious

A Good Veggie Stock in 45 Minutes
by Louis Singh | dishalicious.com

These days boxed stock is all the rage.  But there’s only one problem:  most of them are terrible.  Especially when compared to homemade.  For chicken and beef stock, I get it.  It’s pretty laborious for a busy body, and super convenient to buy it.  I’m not knocking that.

But out of all the boxed stocks, veggie stocks are the worst!  Usually bland, one-noted, and super unexciting.  Plus, it’s so quick and easy to make that I can’t justify the convenience in buying it, when you can make a far superior-tasting stock in 30-45 minutes.

Plus, it’s a great way to use up any veggies from your JBG CSA box that might be heading south.  It’s a very versatile recipe, suitable to whatever you might have in that crisper drawer.

Here’s what we had on hand:

2 onions
4-6 medium sized carrots
¼ head napa cabbage
1” piece of ginger

So that’s what we used.  Here’s how:

Cut the onions in half, down the length.  Keeping the root intact will keep all the layers together and make it easier to handle.

Peel and cut the carrots into coins of equal width, about ½”.

Cut a small knob off the ginger and peel it.  Ginger’s full of flavorful oils and juices, so we only need about an inch piece to give our stock some character.  Our napa cabbage was leftover and already quartered, but if you have a whole one, just cut it lengthwise into four pieces.

You could stop here and put all these wonderful veggies in a pot, cover them with water and simmer for 30 minutes and have a tasty stock.  Easy as that.

But, if you want a killer stock, there are a few techniques we can employ to amp up the flavor.

Broiling the onions will caramelize all those natural sugars and bring a depth and complexity to the party, not to mention a deep amber color.  Rub a little olive oil on the cut side of each onion, and broil until the onions are charred and smokey.

Like pretty little cappuccinos, right?  Set the onions aside for now.

Next, heat a pot (large enough to hold at least 3 quarts liquid) over medium high with just enough olive oil to coat the bottom, about a tablespoon.  When the oil is rippling and moving easily around the pan, add the carrots and ginger and sauté for 3 minutes.  The olive oil will add richness to the stock, and sautéing will begin to coax flavors out of the carrots and ginger.

Add the onions to the pot, followed by the 1½ quarts of water.  You want just enough water to cover the vegetables.

Nestle the ¼ head napa cabbage into the pot and bring to a gentle simmer.

Simmer the stock for 30-45 minutes.  We taste along the way, usually starting around 15 minutes in, to see how it’s progressing.  If we want a lighter stock, we’ll simmer for less time.  A more intense stock, we simmer for the full 45 minutes.  Anything beyond that and the stock will get too muddy, and sometimes overly sweet from the carrots and caramelized onion.

And that’s it.  Strain your stock through a mesh strainer and use right away, refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to a month.

Now that’s a nice stock.  Drinkable on it’s own, but sure to make any soups or braises sing.  Now you have the technique, play with it.  Adapt it to any aromatic veggies you might have in the fridge.  Try it with fennel, celery, green garlic.  Take this technique and make it your own.  Break away from the box and make your own stock.  Get cooking!

Any cooking quandaries you’d like us to tackle?  Let us know at DISHALICIOUS.COM

Come to our greenhouse on Hergotz this Saturday to get transplants for your garden. Photo by Scott David Gordon

A volunteer works in the field at Hergotz location in 2007. This field is where the greenhouses are located now.

From the Farmer’s Perspective

Last week, Jerri Berry, a JBG volunteer from a few years ago, emailed me some photos of the Hergotz farm taken back in 2007 and 2008.  When I looked at these photos, I was amazed to see how much had changed in a relatively short amount of time. Her pictures of the fields also made me realize how much I’ve learned about farming in the last five years!  Jerri wrote a short piece about her experience as a volunteer with JBG, and I’ve included it below.  She certainly captured the enthusiasm I had for farming back then!  What’s great is I am still so excited about it – this is one thing that hasn’t changed at all.  I am amazed by the energy and joy I bring to farming every day.  I feel blessed to work with such a wonderful group of employees and volunteers and to serve a community as great as Austin.  Thank you, Jerri, for this look back at the early days of JBG.

Memories from a Former Workshare by Jerri Berry

Back in the fall of 2007, I went out to the Triangle farmers market to do some shopping.   As I was walking up to the market, a guy ran out to me and said excitedly, “Did you see my picture on the front of this magazine!” I remember laughing at how enthusiastic this guy was and how funny that a total stranger would run up to me at the market.  As it turns out, the guy was Brenton Johnson, the magazine was Edible Austin, and the cover was a picture of Brenton with his daughter Ada.  After chatting a little bit and then buying some vegetables, I headed home to read the article and then did some research online about his new farm called Johnson’s Backyard Garden.  My husband and I had been seriously thinking about starting our own farm, so I took this as a sign that I should commit to a 10-week workshare at JBG to get some experience. L ater that week, I met Brenton at the farm after work (he was still working full time at an outside job then) and he drove me around, showed me the fields, the new tractor, and talked about his farm and future plans.  I met Beth and baby Jim who was only a few weeks old.

Jerri shows off the Hergotz fields in this photo taken in 2008

At that time, the CSA had 60 members. There was no greenhouse, no cold storage, no office, no washing or packing station, and no employees, except for one full time intern.  There were about 7-8 of us who met on Saturday mornings at 8:00 a.m. to volunteer.  Brenton handed out assignments, and we went to work for about three hours harvesting the vegetables for that day. We used a garden hose and an old bathtub to wash the vegetables and then packed them in boxes that we had laid out in and around the old barn. The CSA shares were delivered in an old truck with vertical pieces of plywood in the bed to make walls.  By the next year, the CSA had grown to over 150 members and things were taking shape to expand the barn and build an office, greenhouse and a washing/packing station. It was then and still is now incredible how fast JBG has grown and how far it has reached into the Austin community.

In 2007, Matt Pelkey (left), now Packing Shed Manager, worked as a volunteer for JBG

Before the packing line was built, we lined up the CSA boxes on the ground and filled them up.

Now, my husband and I are beginning our own small CSA (Good Roots Garden) in East Texas and I appreciate how much I learned from that experience at JBG. Although we are not in Austin anymore, I am still subscribed to the JBG newsletter and continue to pick up valuable tips we can use such as information on irrigation, greenhouse structures, vegetable varieties, equipment, and so many other details. So I send a huge thank you to Brenton and Beth for their hard work and vision to create JBG, and also for helping two new farmers get started with their own farm.

Hergotz fields in 2008. Photo by Jerri Berry

River Road fields today. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

* Week of February 22nd CSA Box Photo & Contents List
* The Nitty Gritty: Opening the Box
* JBG Organic Transplant Sale Begins

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

* JBG Hosts Annual Citrus Sale
* Help JBG Bring Fresh Produce to Children in Need

3) Recipes by Dishalicious

* in the DISH kitchen: Gluten-free Coconut Flatbread

JBG uses old materials to construct a new storage shed next to the greenhouses. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

Week of February 22nd CSA Box Contents. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Week of February 22nd CSA Box Contents

Beets
Salad Mix
Scallions
Chard
Spinach
Carrots
Broccoli
Citrus
Mystery Item

Tomato transplants. Photo by Scott David Gordon

JBG Organic Transplant Sale Begins

Prepare your gardens -  our Annual Spring Organic Transplant Sale has begun!  Here’s a list of what we have available now:

* Heirloom Tomato Mix
* Celebrity Tomatoes
* San Marzano Italian Roma Tomatoes
* Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
* Brandywine Red Tomatoes
* Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes
* Verde Tomatillos
* Sweet Pepper Mix
* Hot Pepper Mix
* Carmen Peppers
* Jalapeno Pepper
* Genovese Basil
* Yukon Gold Potatoes
* Sangre Potatoes
* All Blue Potatoes
* Purple Majesty Potatoes
* Banana Potatoes
* La Ratte Potatoes
* Rose Finn Apple Potatoes
* Red Thumb Potatoes

To place your order, just click here or go to our website at jbgorganic.com and click on the Spring Transplant Sale banner.  CSA members can order transplants online and have them delivered to their pickup sites.  The general community can also order online and schedule a pickup here at the farm.  On Saturday, March 3 from 10am to 1pm, we will host an organic transplant sale at our farm greenhouse at 9515 Hergotz Lane, Austin, TX 78742.  All are invited!  At this on-site sale, we will offer a wider selection of transplants including lettuces, chicories such as dandelion, escarole, endive and radicchio, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, cabbage, parsley, and chard.  I hope to see you on the 3rd!

Christian makes labels for transplant sale. Photo by Scott David Gordon

A full greenhouse. Photo by Scott David Gordon

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

Oranges from G&S Groves. Photo by Scott David Gordon

JBG Hosts Annual 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.

Help JBG Bring Vegetables to Children in Need

Thanks to the support of CSA members, our program to bring fresh produce to the children at the Settlement Home is off to a great start.  Meg Mattingly, Support Service Coordinator at the Settlement Home, writes:

“The staff and residents here at The Settlement Home have been able to make some new and exciting meals with the assortment of veggies provided each week. Some of the dishes the girls have really enjoyed eating are homemade beet fries, fennel and greens salad, stir fry, kohlrabi mashed potatoes, and, of course, the simple joy of snacking on raw carrots!  Its been a great experience thus far exposing our girls to new vegetables and tasty recipes! We are so appreciative of having the opportunity to expose our girls to local and healthy foods!”

We need your help to keep this great program going! Each week, JBG delivers fresh produce to the Settlement Home for Children, a wonderful local non-profit and residential program that cares for and promotes the healing of abused and neglected children.  With the organic vegetables they receive from JBG, the Settlement Home can provide nutritious meals.

To donate, click here or go to http://www.jbgorganic.com/settlementhome.  Participation at any level is greatly appreciated.

CSA members can also make a one-time contribution when they sign up or renew their CSA membership. Please consider contributing to our partnership with the Settlement Home.  The more who give, the more produce we can provide these children in need.

Many, many thanks to everyone who has already contributed!  You are making this program a success!

Photo by Scott David Gordon

3) Recipes by Dishalicious

The Quickest Quick Bread: Gluten-free Coconut Flatbread
by Louis Singh | photos by Matthew C. Wright

This recipe is a triple threat.  Super easy, minimal ingredients, and extremely tasty.  And it’s gluten-free!  So actually, a quadruple threat.  Boom.

You’ll need:

1 cup buckwheat flour (or any flour)
1 ½  cups coconut milk (or any liquid)
¼ cup of cooked quinoa (completely optional)
kosher salt to taste

And that’s it.  Really, all you need is the flour, liquid and a pinch of salt.  The rest is just for flavor kicks.

Here’s how:

Pour one cup of flour and the salt into a bowl.

Add about a cup of coconut milk and whisk.

We’re looking for a loose pancake batter, like a crepe batter.  Slightly runny, but not watery. If it’s too thick, add the rest of the coconut milk.

Now add in some flavor.  We go with about ¼ cup of cooked quinoa.  But you could add toasted sesame seeds, golden raisins, chopped garlic, herbs, spices, whatever you like.  Play with it.

Warm an 8-10” skillet over medium high heat, with about 1/2 -1 tablespoon of olive oil (or any fat) in it, just enough to coat the bottom.  This batch did enough to fill two 9” cast iron pans.  Keep in mind you can make these however thick you would like.  If they’re thicker, they’ll just take a little longer to cook.

When the oil is shimmering and hot, pour half the batter in.  Save the other half for a second batch, or do two pans at time.

The batter should sizzle and bubble around the edges.  Then pop it into a 425° oven for about 10-15 minutes.

When it’s crisp on the bottom, give it a flip.

Back into the oven for 5-10 minutes, until it feels bouncy and firm, and that’s it.

Try it with guacamole, salsa, hummus or any kind of dip.  It’s great on veggie & cheese boards.  Makes great sandwiches.  And awesome with curry (like last week’s Korma post) for a gluten-free alternative to naan.

Now you have the technique, play with the flavors.  Try different flours, different liquids, different flavors to match whatever dish you’re making.  Get cooking!

Any cooking quandaries you’d like us to tackle?  Let us know at DISHALICIOUS.COM

A sign of Spring. What happened to Winter? Photo by Scott David Gordon

Community members choose transplants from last year's sale. Photo by Scott David Gordon

From the Farmer’s Perspective

Start preparing your gardens -  our Annual Spring Organic Transplant Sale has begun!  Here’s a list of what we have available now:

* Heirloom Tomato Mix
* Celebrity Tomatoes
* San Marzano Italian Roma Tomatoes
* Brandywine Red Tomatoes
* Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes
* Verde Tomatillos
* Sweet Pepper Mix
* Hot Pepper Mix
* Carmen Peppers
* Jalapeno Pepper
* Genovese Basil
* Yukon Gold Potatoes
* Sangre Potatoes
* All Blue Potatoes
* Purple Majesty Potatoes
* Banana Potatoes
* La Ratte Potatoes
* Rose Finn Apple Potatoes
* Red Thumb Potatoes

To place your order, just click here or go to our website at jbgorganic.com and click on the Spring Transplant Sale banner.

Fields wet from rain. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

* Week of February 14th CSA Box Photo & Contents List
* Attention Home Delivery Customers: Schedule Changes
* The Nitty Gritty: Opening the Box

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

* Help JBG Bring Vegetables to Children in Need
* JBG Hosts Annual Citrus Sale

3) Recipes by Dishalicious

* in the DISH kitchen: The Keys to Curry

Week of February 14th CSA box contents. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Week of February 14th CSA Box Contents

Lettuce wet from rain. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Attention Home Delivery Customers: Schedule Changes

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Wesley Mattern, 7 months

James Potoplyak, 10 months

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

JBG Hosts Annual Citrus Sale

BG 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.

3) Recipes by DISHALICIOUS

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Transplants grow in the greenhouse. Photo by Scott David Gordon

From the Farmer’s Perspective

Mark your calendars – the JBG Annual Organic Transplant Sale is getting close!  Starting next week,  CSA members can order transplants online and have them delivered to their pickup sites when ready.  The general community can also order online and schedule a pickup here at the farm.  On Saturday, March 3rd, we will hold an on-site sale in our greenhouse that’s open to the public.  We will have lots of organic transplants for your garden, including an especially large selection of heirloom tomatoes and an assortment of sweet and hot peppers and basil.  It’s not too early to start thinking about what you’d like to have in your Spring garden – and about how great those tomatoes are going to taste!

A full greenhouse. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Here at the farm, we’ve loaded up the trucks with transplants and are eager to start planting.  The recent rains have delayed our field preparation – as soon as it dries out, we’ll have to work hard to catch up.  With all of the planting we have lined up, I’ve been worried about how to best handle the coming influx of Spring produce.  I decided to turn our large office at Hergotz  into a walk-in-cooler and to  built two more at the other side of the barn.  This meant moving out the work stations for Leslie, our Wholesale Coordinator, and Kim, our Greenhouse Manager.  But don’t worry – their offices are now set up in the mobile homes.  We’ve fixed these up, too,  and added AC.   I am looking forward to having three coolers that are all bigger than a milk truck body!  This increase in size will make it a lot easier for us to move produce in and out.  We’ve needed more cooler space for awhile now, but I’ve put off adding this because of our long-term plan to build a new barn/storage  facility next to our fields at River Road.  However, building this new facility is such a huge endeavor that we need the temporary solution afforded by these three coolers in the interim.  There’s no way we can build this new barn/storage facility alone, so I am putting together a team of fundraisers to help us raise the needed capital.  If you have experience running a capital campaign or with fund-raising in general and would like to give JBG a hand with this, please email us at farm@jbgorganic.com.  Thanks so much for considering lending us your time and talents.

Lettuce transplants. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

* Week of February 7th CSA Box Photo & Contents List
* Attention Home Delivery Customers: Schedule Changes
* The Nitty-Gritty: A Brief History of the FDA

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

* Partnership with the Settlement Home Thrives
* JBG Hosts Annual Citrus Sale

3) Recipes by Dishalicious

* in the DISH kitchen: Knife Skills

Workshare volunteers Lisa Quintero & Carla Cox bag broccoli. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

Week of February 7th CSA Box Photo & Contents List

Week of February 7th CSA box contents. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Week of February 7th CSA Box Contents

Kale
Beets
Spinach
Salad Mix
Broccoli
Carrots
Rainbow Chard
Cabbage
Scallions
Citrus

Attention Home Delivery Customers: Schedule Changes

Many thanks to all of our home delivery customers for making this service such a success!  We’ve had so many sign-ups for this convenient way to get your vegetables that we have expanded to four delivery days.  This expansion will enable us to fit in more homes without having to deliver well into the night!  Delivery days will continue to be determined by zip code.  If your day has been changed, we will call or email you directly within the next few days.  As always, if you have any questions about your schedule, please call the farm at 512-386-5273 or email us at farm@jbgorganic.com.  We thank you so much for helping make home delivery a success!

A Brief History of the FDA

Food safety oversight is basically divided between two government entities, the FDA and the USDA. Generally, the USDA is in charge of meat and poultry and the FDA of pretty much everything else. This includes pet food and feed for farm animals. While this division of labor leaves the FDA responsible for the safety of 80% of the food supply, it receives only 20% of the federal budget. The USDA however, which is responsible for 20% of the food supply, receives 80% of the budget. Maybe the USDA receives more funding because the human food chain is deemed more important. The great oversight with this thinking is of course that it doesn’t account for the intricate connection between the animal and human food chain that Nestle unveiled in her book Pet Food Politics. This uneven distribution, writes Nestle, is the result of a little history and a lot of politics.

In 1906 the FDA started out as a unit within the USDA. But then it got moved around from one agency to another until it ended up in what is known today as the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA’s funding, however, stayed behind and remained under the authority of the original agricultural committees. Because agriculture committees tend to support agriculture, not health, they routinely assign higher priority to the demands of the USDA. Food safety oversight between the FDA and USDA is unequal in another way: the rank of their leaders within the federal hierarchy. The chief food safety official within the USDA is an assistant secretary, whereas the highest official at the FDA is a lower ranking assistant or associate commissioner. He has to first report to the commissioner, who reports to the assistant secretary for health, who in turn reports to the secretary of Health and Human Services. It simply takes the FDA longer to make a decision and hence to get a job done.

Although the food supplies for pets, farm animals and humans are impossible to keep separate, within the FDA there are distinctly separate units for regulating each, including different rules for each. The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) is in charge of foods for humans, but the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) oversees foods for pets and feed for farm animals. And again the USDA with its own separate ways of doing things is responsible for the safety of pigs, cattle and chickens that are eaten by humans but eat feed regulated by the FDA. The results of this dispersal of functions are gaps in oversight.

During the major pet food recall in 2007, the FDA could not order recalls of potentially harmful foods, only request them. This finally changed with the passing of the Food Safety Modernization Act in early 2011. The bill provided the FDA with a mandatory food recall authority. I don’t know if the FDA always had an office in China, but their website lists one today.

The Food Safety Modernization Act also known as S.510 was passed as an attempt to give the FDA more jurisdiction over monitoring and preventing food-borne illness outbreaks. However, critics believe that starting from scratch and building a single oversight agency that consolidates all food safety functions will be the only way to fix the FDA’s short comings. This one agency needs to have enough legislative, personnel and financial resources to do its job. In a world where importing food and feed is a daily practice, we need a single agency that can ensure its safety.

Sources:
Pet Food Politics by Marion Nestle
http://www.grist.org/article/food-2010-11-15-food-fight-safety-modernization-act-harm-small-farms
http://www.fda.gov

Photo by Scott David Gordon

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

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

JBG’s Partnership with Settlement Home Thrives

Thanks to the support of CSA members, our program to bring fresh produce to the children at the Settlement Home is off to a great start.  Meg Mattingly, Support Service Coordinator at the Settlement Home, writes:

“The staff and residents here at The Settlement Home have been able to make some new and exciting meals with the assortment of veggies provided each week. Some of the dishes the girls have really enjoyed eating are homemade beet fries, fennel and greens salad, stir fry, kohlrabi mashed potatoes, and, of course, the simple joy of snacking on raw carrots!  Its been a great experience thus far exposing our girls to new vegetables and tasty recipes! We are so appreciative of having the opportunity to expose our girls to local and healthy foods!”

We need your help to keep this great program going!  Each week, JBG delivers fresh produce to the Settlement Home for Children, a wonderful local non-profit and residential program that cares for and promotes the healing of abused and neglected children.  With the organic vegetables they receive from JBG, the Settlement Home can provide nutritious meals.

To donate, click here or go to http://www.jbgorganic.com/settlementhome.  Participation at any level is greatly appreciated.

CSA members can also make a one-time contribution when they sign up or renew their CSA membership. Please consider contributing to our partnership with the Settlement Home.  The more who give, the more produce we can provide these children in need.

Many, many thanks to everyone who has already contributed!  You are making this program a success!

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

JBG Hosts Annual 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.

3) Recipes by Dishalicious

Knife Skills 201

by Louis Singh | photos by Daniel Abrego | dishalicious.com

When Zach told me he wanted to learn knife skills, I was psyched.  That is where cooking starts.  To feel comfortable cooking, you have to feel comfortable cutting.  And understand how and why we cut things they way we do.

By now, there are plenty of TV shows, online articles and YouTube videos about the basic knife skills:  Choose a knife you’re comfortable with.  Curl your fingers under so you don’t cut them off.  Start slowly and practice, practice, practice.  We don’t need to add another blog about how to dice an onion.  Google it.

What we are focusing on, is how to change a single ingredient into a plethora of dishes, just by the way you cut it.  Learn a few simple techniques and you can change the cooking time, texture, taste & experience of any ingredient.

Tonight, we make nachos.  Swiss chard nachos.  With carrot pico de gallo.  Simple?  Yes.  But it’s a good example of what we’re talking about.  What makes this dish fast and easy, is knife skills.  It can literally be made in less than 10 minutes, if you know how to wield your blade.

Really, you could cook swiss chard leaves whole, no problem.  Put them in a soup or simmer them in a flavorful liquid, and you’d have big, supple leaves to enjoy.  But, we’re going for quick cooking here.

For that, we julienne.  Cut the chard into nice, thin strips, and they’ll cook in minutes.  Cut super thin, into chiffonade, and you can even enjoy it raw.  Put in a salad, in a taco, on a burger, or…on nachos.  Here’s how:

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Prep the chard first.  Wash and dry the leaves well.  Trim the stems off the leaves, but don’t discard, there’s lots of flavor in those.  Cut the leaves in half long-ways, down the stem, then turn them and cut across the leaf into a julienne, or fine strips, about 1/8 – 1/4” wide.

Take the stems and cut very finely across the stalk, about 1/8” wide.

Toss the chard strips and stem pieces in a little olive oil to coat, and season with salt & pepper.  Set aside.

Now, a quick lesson in pico.  The rule is simple.  Cut everything in a small dice and marinate in lime & salt.  That’s it.  Cutting them into small cubes, or brunoise, not only allows them to stay on the chips easily and absorb the lime & salt, but it also looks pretty sexy.

The usual recipe is tomatoes, onions & jalapenos.  But we’re working with our CSA bounty, so we’re replacing tomatoes with heirloom carrots.  Why not?  Use what you got.

Here’s a cool technique for dicing carrots.  Give it a shot when you feel comfortable enough.  Cut the carrot on a large-angled bias, so you end up with large planks.  Stack those planks up and cut them into matchsticks.  Turn the matchsticks 90° and cut them into neat little cubes.  Tuck those fingers!  Or get a band-aid.

For the jalapenos, slice them in half longitudinally and remove the stem & seeds.  Or leave them in if you like it hot.  Then the same process.  Cut them into matchsticks, then turn and cut them into cubes.  Dice the onion in the same size and mix well with lime & salt.  Add cilantro if you’d like.

Grab a sheet tray and spread the tortilla chips out in a nice, single layer.  Sprinkle the cheese on the chips to cover, as much or as little as you’d like.  Pop them into the hot oven for about 5-6 minutes, until cheese is melted and just starting to bubble.

Working quickly, pull the sheet tray out and sprinkle the chard leaves & stems in an even layer across the nachos.  Pop them back in the oven for 2-3 minutes, or until the chard has just wilted.

Take them out, top with the carrot pico and devour.  It’s great with guacamole & salsa, of course.

Louis, Chelsea, Stacey, Zach & Danny

Now we’ve got killer knife skills!  Cook more, and you will, too.

And always play with your food.  Use kale instead of chard.  Top it with fresh, thin-sliced chiles, or candied jalapenos.  Add pulled pork, chicken or bacon.  Use whatever you have on hand, whatever is fresh at the moment.  Take this technique and make the recipe your own!

Got any cooking quandaries you want us to tackle?  Let us know at info@dishalicious.com

A cabbage soaks up the morning dew. Photo by Scott David Gordon

SFC Farmers Market at Downtown Austin. Photo by Scott David Gordon

From the Farmer’s Perspective:

I have a few CSA announcements to make this week.  First,  the trade box is back! Due to recent feedback from our customer surveys, we are bringing back the trade box for community pickup locations at people’s homes.  This doesn’t include any retail , commercial, or church pickup locations.  This is how it works: we fill the trade box with an assortment of vegetables, and you can trade out any vegetable in your CSA box for another kind in the trade box.  That way, if there’s a vegetable in your share you know you won’t eat, you can swap it out for one you like better.  Second, I wanted to remind everyone about the benefits of picking up your produce at any one of the farmers markets we attend. If you pickup your share at one of the farmer’s markets, you can trade out any vegetables in your share for ones in our booth.  By picking up at the farmers market, you get the savings benefit of being a CSA member plus the ability to customize your box by exchanging any CSA share items for vegetables in our booth (it’s a one-for-one swap, but you can swap as many items as you’d like).  Here’s a list of all the farmers markets we attend:

Saturdays from 8am to 1pm: SFC Farmers Market at Downtown Austin, SFC Farmers Market at Sunset Valley, Barton Creek Farmers Market, Cedar Park Farmers Market, and Burnet Road Farmers Market

Sundays from 9am to 1pm: Lakeway Farmers Market

Sundays from 11am to 3pm: HOPE Farmers Market in East Austin

Wednesdays from 3pm to 7pm: SFC Farmers Market at the Triangle

My third announcement is that we now have three more community pickup sites to choose from:

The Monument Cafe (in Georgetown): Thursdays from 4:30pm-6pm

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Galleria Oaks (near 183 & Anderson Mill Rd):  Thursdays from 3:45pm to 8pm

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Circle C (near Slaughter & Mopac): Tuesdays from 5pm-8pm

If you’d are a new member and would like to sign up for one of these locations, just click here or go to our website at jbgorganic.com.  If you are an existing member and would like to change to one of these new sites, please email us at farm@jbgorganic.com or call the office at 512-386-5273.

Thank you to all of our CSA members – you really are the heart of JBG,  and you keep us going!

Checking out the broccoli at the farmers market. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

* Calling All Fundraisers: We Need You
* Week of January 31st CSA Box Photo & Contents List
* Attention Home Delivery Customers: Schedule Changes
* The Nitty-Gritty: Pet Food Politics

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

* Help JBG Provide Vegetables to Children in Need
* Annual Citrus Sale Continues

3) Recipes

* Double Broccoli Quinoa
* Broccoli Cheddar Soup

JBG farmers market offerings. Photo by Scott David Gordon

1) Farm News

Calling All Fundraisers! We’re Putting Together a Team

barn raising: n., A social event in which members of a community assist in the building of a new barn.

We have been working for now months on designing a new barn and cold storage facility next to our fields over at River Road.  Such a facility is greatly needed as we are bursting at the seams over here on Hergotz; however, we do not have the capital we need to build this barn alone.  Like an old-fashioned barn raising, we want to make the building of this barn a community effort.  If you have experience running a capital campaign or with fundraising in general and would like to give JBG a hand with this, please email us at farm@jbgorganic.com.

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Attention Home Delivery Customers

Many thanks to all of our home delivery customers for making this service such a success!  We’ve had so many sign-ups for this convenient way to get your vegetables that we need to expand from two to four delivery days.  This expansion will enable us to fit in more homes without having to deliver well into the night!  Delivery days will continue to be determined by zip code.  If your day has been changed, we will call or email you directly within the next few days.  As always, if you have any questions about your schedule, please call the farm at 512-386-5273 or email us at farm@jbgorganic.com.  We thank you so much for helping make home delivery a success!

Week of January 31st CSA Box Photo and Contents List

Week of January 31st CSA Box Contents. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Week of January 31st CSA Box Contents

Spinach
Carrots
Salad Mix
Scallions
Broccoli
Cabbage
Rutabaga
Chard
Fennel
Oranges

Book Summary: Pet Food Politics
Implications of the biggest pet food recall in history

In early 2007, a pet food manufacturer started receiving phone calls from distressed pet owners. They were reporting kidney problems in their cats that started soon after the consumption of the company’s cat food. The company started investigating and a few weeks later notified the FDA of its intention to issue a recall. Most likely it was the wheat gluten within the cat food that was making the animals sick.

After a couple weeks of additional investigations the culprit was found. The wheat gluten, a common pet-food additive due to its high protein content, was found to be tainted with melamine and cyanuric acid. Wheat gluten is expensive to produce, but melamine and cyanuric acid, by-products of plastic manufacturing, are not. Even though melamine and cyanuric acid are not proteins, they contain nitrogen, the desired element in protein. By mixing wheat flour, which contains about 10% protein, with melamine, the protein content can be driven up to 75%. While the protein content of animal feed undergoes inspection, it is often tested with a method that counts the amount of nitrogen present. Since nitrogen from protein and non-protein sources looks alike, the fraudulent nitrogen source was able to slip through security.

The pet food manufacturer purchased the wheat gluten from another company who imported it from a supplier in China. As the FDA banned all further imports from the Chinese supplier, other pet food manufacturers using wheat gluten from the same source issued recalls as well. Once the scandal in China was unraveled, the CEO of the Chinese company was executed.

One reason the FDA feverishly investigated the case was to ensure none of the contaminated products entered the human food chain. However, it had already done so before the contamination became known. It’s common practice to feed salvaged pet food to hogs and poultry. When tested, traces of melamine showed up in the urine of those animals. Because the USDA is in charge of regulating meat and poultry production, the issue now became part of their responsibility as well. In the meantime, the public was reassured that the melamine levels found in farmed animals were safe for human consumption.

Throughout the months dealing with this case, the FDA came under intense criticism for being understaffed and underfunded and thus incapable of doing its job – insuring food safety. With 18,000 telephone calls from concerned consumers and only two full-time staffers to answer them, the agency was simply overrun. Since at the time FDA could only request voluntary recalls, it didn’t mention the names of the pet food manufacturers that opted not to recall. Critics proclaimed the FDA was no longer had the capacity to protect the food supply. At the time (and probably to this day) the agency still operates under food and drug laws passed in 1906 and modified in 1938, when the food supply chain was very different than it is today. The system was designed for whole foods brought in from a 50 mile radius. Now we have food products that may contain ingredients from 50 countries. The US currently imports about 80% of its seafood, 32% of its fruit and nuts, 13% of its vegetables and 10% of its meats. In 2007, these foods arrived in 25,000 shipments a day from about 100 countries. In 2007, the FDA was able to inspect about 1%.

What began with a few customer complaints turned into the largest food recall in history. It resulted in at least 4000 dead pets as well as one dead human. It exposed major shortcomings within the FDA and international food safety. It also illuminated the impossibility of separating the animal food chain from our own.

To read and discuss books like this, join the Food Think Book Club.

Source: Pet food politics – The Chihuahua In The Coal Mine by Marion Nestle

Sweet cat looking for a home.

Sweet Cat to Give Away

Soleily’s shelter name was Sweetie which couldn’t have been a more fitting name. Sweetness is a major part of her character. She enjoys sitting on your lap for as long as you can hold out and is always up for rubs — the longer the petting sessions last, the better.

She is a verbal cat with a full repertoire of different meows which she uses readily.

With other people or anything new, she is timid and shy. However, with her primary one to two caregivers she will develop a strong, devoted and loving relationship. Because she easily scared and somewhat indecisive I kept her as an indoor cat only. She is around 5 to 6 years old by now and still playful and active.

Please email or call me if you are interested in taking her. Also, email me with all further questions about her you may have.

Grit

Phone: 512-775-8463
Email: email@gritramuschkat.com

Lettuce head close up. Photo by Scott David Gordon

2) Updates, Meetings, and Events

Help Us Bring Vegetables to Children in Need

We need your help to bring fresh produce to the Settlement Home for Children, a wonderful local non-profit and residential program that cares for and promotes the healing of abused and neglected children.  With the organic vegetables they receive from JBG, the Settlement Home  can provide nutritious meals to these children.  We are asking for your help in making this valuable partnership a long-term success.  We’ve created a special webpage where you can purchase vegetables for the Settlement Home.  Then, JBG will deliver this produce straight to their kitchen.

To donate, click here or go to http://www.jbgorganic.com/settlementhome.  No amount is too small. We would greatly appreciate your participation at any level.

CSA members can also make a one-time contribution when they sign up or renew their CSA membership. Please consider contributing to our partnership with the Settlement Home.  The more who give, the more produce we can provide these children in need.

Many, many thanks to everyone who has already contributed!  Your assistance is making this program a success.

Photo by Scott David Gordon

JBG Hosts Annual 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.

Photo by Scott David Gordon

3) Recipes

From 101cookbooks.c0m

Double Broccoli Quinoa

3 cups cooked quinoa*
5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems

3 medium garlic cloves
2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 big pinches salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream

Optional toppings: slivered basil, fire oil (optional)**, sliced avocado
crumbled feta or goat cheese

Heat the quinoa and set aside.

Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside.

To make the broccoli pesto puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.

Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed, you might want to add more of the pest a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil, and some sliced avocado or any of the other optional toppings.

Serves 4 – 6.

*To cook quinoa: rinse one cup of quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer. In a medium saucepan heat the quinoa, two cups of water (or broth if you like), and a few big pinches of salt until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15 minutes. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain, and it is tender with a bit of pop to each bite. Drain any extra water and set aside.

**To make the red chile oil: You’ll need 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes. If you can, make the chile oil a day or so ahead of time by heating the olive oil in a small saucepan for a couple minutes – until it is about as hot as you would need it to saute some onions, but not so hot that it smokes or smells acrid or burned. Turn off the heat and stir in the crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside and let cool, then store in refrigerator. Bring to room temp again before using.

Prep time: 10 min – Cook time: 10 min

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe

Look for deeply green, tight heads of broccoli. I typically avoid any heads that have yellowing florets or seem died out. If you like a slightly creamier soup, stir in a generous dollop of creme fraiche after pureeing. You can easily make this soup vegan by using olive oil and omitting the cheese/creme fraiche, and you can make it gluten-free by doing something in place of the croutons.

croutons
5-6 ounce chunk of artisan whole wheat bread, torn into little pieces (less than 1-inch), roughly 3 cups total

1/4 cup butter or olive oil (I like 1/2 and 1/2)
1 1/2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

soup:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (1 1/2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 1/2 cups light, good-tasting vegetable broth
1 large head of broccoli (12 ounces or 3/4 lb.), cut into small florets

2/3 cup freshly grated aged Cheddar, plus more for topping
1 – 3 teaspoons whole grain mustard, to taste
smoked paprika, more olive oil, creme fraiche (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees and place the torn bread in a large bowl. In a small saucepan heat the butter until it has melted. Whisk the mustard and salt into the butter and pour the mixture over the bread. Toss well, then turn the bread onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 – 15 minutes, or until the croutons are golden and crunchy. Toss them once or twice with a metal spatula along the way.

While the croutons are toasting, melt the butter (or olive oil) in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the shallots, onion, and a big pinch of salt. Saute for a couple minutes. Stir in the potatoes, cover, and cook for about four minutes, just long enough for them to soften up a bit. Uncover, stir in the garlic, then the broth. Bring to a boil, taste to make sure the potatoes are tender, and if they are stir in the broccoli. Simmer just long enough for the broccoli to get tender throughout, 2 – 4 minutes.

Immediately remove the soup from heat and puree with an immersion blender. Add half the cheddar cheese and the mustard (a little bit a a time). If you are going to add any creme fraiche, this would be the time to do it. Now add more water or broth if you feel the need to thin out the soup at all. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Serve sprinkled with croutons, the remaining cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and a tiny pinch of smoked paprika.

Serves 4 – 6.

Prep time: 15 min – Cook time: 20 min

Sarah, Brenton, & Kim give the slide at "Ada's" playhouse a try. Photos by Scott David Gordon