CSA Box Contents Week of Apr 24th

By Megan Winfrey

Sometimes you just need a big bowl of comfort food. For me, sometimes is more like weekly. Mustard greens add a peppery punch to this classic beef stroganoff, making it even more hearty and satisfying.

Mustard Green Stroganoff

• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 2 tbs. butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 bunch of mustard greens, chopped
• 1 lb. ground beef or venison
• 3 tbs. all purpose flour
• 1 tbs. paprika
• 1/4 cup IPA beer (I used Castaway IPA by Kona Brewing Co.)
• 4 cups beef stock
• 4 cups egg noodles
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• Shredded fresh parmesan, for garnish

Heat the oil and butter, over medium, in a large dutch oven or pasta pot.

Add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add the garlic and beef, season with salt and pepper, and break the meat up with the tip of your wooden spoon.

Cook, stirring throughout, until no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle the flour and paprika over the meat mixture and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes.

Add the beer, stir, and scrape up the crusty pits off the bottom of the pan. Let cook for 1-2 minutes until almost absorbed. Add the broth, more salt and pepper, and stir. Increase the heat and bring to a simmer.

Add the noodles, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are cooked to al dente. Once pasta is cooked, add mustard greens and heat for 1 or so minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream, season as needed. Ladle into deep bowls and top with cheese.

I popped over to Seattle this weekend to see one of my oldest and closest friends, Todd Martin. As a fellow Alabamian, we used to roll around Enterprise on bikes and skateboards when we were young whippersnappers. During the weekends, we would spend a lot of quality time together sailing on my dad’s catamaran. We were both unconventional kids, so when the working world was on our horizon, our entrepreneurial spirits really started to shine. Instead of working under someone else, we decided to start our own yard business and call the shots. We were just two high school kids running the Enterprise yard circuit with riding lawnmowers and all the accoutrement. Fancy that! When it was time to pursue higher learning, we packed up, sold the business, and headed to Auburn. War Eagle!

Seattle dock scene.

Post-college, Todd and I moved to Wyoming, and whilst I worked for the government, he dove into the glass-making world. I often collaborated with him in the studio during my time off, using my engineering sensibilities to help him mix other materials into the glass and create new color blends. We eventually parted ways... I headed to Texas’ fair capital city to bask in warmer temperatures, and he headed to Seattle to establish himself in the Northwest as a bona fide glass artist.

Good ole days with Todd and Co.

Todd and I.

Todd and I.

The last time I visited was 15 years ago, so it was ripe time to give old Todd a visit. We spent the weekend moseying around town, taking in the sights, and eating our way through town. One oyster house we visited had over a hundred different types of oysters, can you believe it? If ever in town, do yourself a favor and visit Elliott’s Oyster House along with The Walrus and the Carpenter... they can do no wrong. Take a friend, savor the extensive array of oyster-offerings, and relish the inimitable ambiance! We had a blast.

Elliott's Oyster House.

The Walrus and the Carpenter.

If you know me, you know that I couldn’t take a trip without checking out the farmers market scene; thus, Sunday was spent navigating the town's markets. West Seattle Farmers Market, Ballard Farmers Market, and Pikes Place Market (which is probably the most recognizable of all markets... picture the giant neon "Public Market Center' sign) were all on Todd's curated Seattle market route.The Ballard Farmers Market is considered one of the best in Washington state, and was in an older area of town. I cherished seeing some of the historical Seattle architecture while browsing the market stands. Despite being the very beginning of their season, the markets were immensely vibrant, the folks were super knowledgeable and friendly, and the menu of fish was incredible. Washington's seafood is hard to rival.

It was such a great trip... What a great town! If ever you find yourself in the Pacific Northwest, give Seattle a visit! 'Til next time!

PS - Scroll down for some awesome upcoming farm events! You won't want to miss 'em!

Fish stand.

Some great oysters!

Yum!

Stunning flowers.

Such a great town.

UPCOMING FARM EVENTS!

THIS WEEKEND: This Saturday, Artfest 2017 will be setup along side the Sunset Valley Farmers Market. We can't think of a better weekend to visit the Sunset Valley Market.

On Sunday, the Edible Austin Children's Picnic will be going on at Rosewood Park, and we will be there slinging veggies. If you've got kiddos, you DO NOT want to miss this free, fun-filled day.

Beginning this Sunday at the Mueller Farmers Market, the City of Austin will be hosting several free chicken keeping classes. If you purchase a coop for a selected retailer, you can even get a $75 rebate from the city!

COMING UP! On Thursday May 18th, we'll be hosting a Meet the Farmer(s) Happy Hour at The ABGB from 6-8pm. Perfect opportunity for all you central and south Austinites to come and hang with your farmers and friends!

Beginning Next Monday (4/24), we will begin to accept volunteers on Mondays at our Hergotz Location. If you've been hankering to put your free Monday to good use, join us!

Also, Happy Earth Day from JBG (4/22), we sure do cherish and love our home planet!

Farmers market bounty. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

By Becky Hume and Montana Stovall

Week 16 was a busy week as always! Our panting crew is currently getting melons, summer squash/zucchini, butternut squash, and okra in the ground.

We just finished planting 49440 tomato plants! We are currently hiring a tomato crew and starting to put out stakes, cages and stringing them up. It is going to be one of JBG's best tomato years yet! Brenton has chosen some exquisite varieties and we are sure to have a bumper crop. We started harvesting cauliflower and cabbage this week and are forecasting a great potato crop this year as well, as growing conditions for them have been almost perfect recently.

Otherwise, we are still in the process of planting pecan, persimmon, pomegranate, fig, and pear trees. It will be a few years before these bear fruit but it is exciting to have begun diversifying. Our grapes are two years old now and have are setting great looking fruit. We are all (literally) looking forward to the fruits of our labor!

We also visited one of our favorite markets this past week, the Texas Farmers' Market at Mueller. Amy, Sagan, Eric, and Adams were slingin' at market as per usual. Be sure to give them a visit and a high five if the Mueller market is on your radar this weekend.

Happy shopper. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Golden beets. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Mueller market set-up. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Radishing reds. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Carrot bunches. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Loot. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Sagan and Amy. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Collards. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Collard harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Lettuce head details. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Rows and rows. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Dandelion green harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Rainbow chard details. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Tomato cages on tomato cages. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Transporting more tomato cages. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Primroses galore out at the farm. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Tomatoes on the way. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Ah, the beauty of beets. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Workin' hard. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Back forty views. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

CSA Box Contents Week of Apr 17th

Photo by Mackenzie Smith**

Howdy farm-friends!

Growing up in Alabama, old-timey and antiquated smokehouses were a common sight. I loved ambling through the countryside, spotting these old wooden and brick structures, and day-dreaming of all the delectable meats that had been cured in these structures. I have been an aficionado of barbeque from the get-go... just consult with my assemblage of meat-laden cookbooks and that will give you an idea! Regardless, hailing from Lower Alabama (or LA as we say), I had an abridged barbeque education; can you believe that I grew up knowing only of hickory-smoked pork BBQ? When I finally landed in Texas, my mind was completely blown. I had not even an inkling of an idea that beef BBQ was a whole new way of life, and what a beautiful life it was/is. Brisket? Ribs? I had never heard some of the sweetest words to grace the English language and more importantly, my stomach.

Smokehouse at Five Oaks Plantation, Madison County, Alabama. Photo courtesy of George Washington University.

Pork BBQ. Photo by Mackenzie Smith**

All that meat talk aside, when I first started farming, one of the farms that really inspired me, Boggy Creek Farm, was selling smoked peppers in olive oil, and I couldn’t get enough of them. Since then, I have dabbled intermittently over the years in smoking peppers and tomatoes, but not until recently have I been swept into a veggie smokin’ fervor. When I happened upon a trio of books all about peppers authored by Jean Andrews, otherwise known as the “The Pepper Lady,” I knew it was a sign from the pepper-lovin’ heavens above that I should ride this pepper-inspired wave to whatever destination it might take me.

Jean Andrew book collection.

One of our farmers, Montana, has quite the knack for smoking peppers, too, and has been graciously sharing his loot with me. I have been ceaselessly integrating them into my meals, and taking notes on his pepper prowess. On top of eating them every night with a pepper book in hand, we decided to plant over 40 varieties of peppers this year, as they not only flourish in the sweltering Texas heat but are also the perfect summertime ingredient to augment any dish. With this maelstrom of veggies monopolizing my mind, my wheels really started to turn. What would be a good way to use all these peppers and satiate my need to smoke veggies!?

Plentiful peppers. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Voila! A smokehouse, of course! I have been doing my fair share of research on construction, and am relishing the prospect of experimenting with smoking vegetables on a small scale this year. We have a ton of exciting projects up our sleeves here at JBG on the back forty for 2017, so this endeavor is just another to add to the list! Once I master the smaller scale smokehouse, I dream of building a larger smokehouse to eventually smoke meats… a lifelong dream! Exciting, eh? Stay posted.

Feeling like it’s about ripe time for some smoked tomatoes and/or peppers in your life? Check out some recipes here. 

• Simple Smoke-Dried Tomatoes
• Smoked Peppers, The Easy Way
• Making Chipotle Chilis
• Larry's Smoke-Dried Tomato Pesto
• Smoked Summer Tomato Basil Butter
• Smoky Tomato Salsa
• Smoked Stuffed Peppers

What might be even more exciting is the new crops that we have headed to market this week: savoy cabbage and red potatoes! We’ve been planting eggplant, summer squash, okra, melons, winter squash, cucumbers, peppers, and last but not least, our last succession of tomatoes! Broccoli, garlic, and cauliflower are not far from harvest, so keep your eyes peeled at the market stands! ‘Til next time, folks!

Cheers, Brenton

**see more of Mackenzie Smith's images here.

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

By Montana Stovall

This week at the farm, we staked and caged our first round of tomatoes! We are continuing to plant summer crops like eggplant, summer squash, okra, melons, winter squash, cucumbers, peppers, and of course tomatoes! Broccoli made a reappearance recently, plus cabbage and cauliflower are not far away from harvest, as they have really enjoyed these recent showers. Our kale is amazing right now, potatoes look fantastic, and the taste of spring carrots and beets are hard to beat.

Dandelion greens harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Spinach. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Radishes in the ground. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Collard contemplation. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Farmscape. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Tractor carpool. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Close-up. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Basil. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

In bloom. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Vineyard. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Grapes in progress. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Harvest toss. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Hoophouse progress. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Green 'maters. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Stunning tomatoes and basil. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Broccoli. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Garlic galore. Photo by Scott David Gordon.