CSA Box Contents Week of June 27th

by Megan Winfrey

Unless you're totally crazy like I apparently am, this is a stash away recipe for colder months. In my defense, the onions we've been getting lately are just so beautiful and plentiful! I blame that and a nagging nostalgia for my study abroad days in France. So, join me in cranking up that A/C and enjoying those onions the way nature (and Julia Child) intended.

French Onion Soup

• 6 medium yellow onions, sliced thin
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 (large) cup of dry white wine
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups beef broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 French baguette, sliced thick
• 5 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated

 

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Melt the butter in a heavy dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onions, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

Adjust the lid to be slightly ajar, then place the onions into the preheated oven. Leaving the lid cracked will help the onions brown. Let cook for an hour in the oven, stirring at least once to prevent sticking and burning.

Next, remove the pot from the oven and return to the stovetop over medium heat. Stir well, scraping up all of the brown bits. Turn off the heat, pour in wine, then return the heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes, allowing the wine to reduce. Add the broths, Worcestershire, and garlic then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30-45 minutes.

While the soup comes together, butter both sides of the sliced bread and broil on LOW, allowing it to get nice and crispy. The crispier you can get it without it burning, the better it will hold up in the soup.

When the soup in finished, ladle it into oven safe bowls or ramekins. Place crispy bread on top, then finish with grated Gruyere cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly, serve immediately.



YUM.

'Maters, 'maters, 'maters!  This week, we are swimming in a sea of beautiful, succulent tomatoes.  The field crew has been bringing in hundreds of pounds of these lovelies, so grab 'em while they're hot at our market stands or order some through our Bulk Tomato Sale!  We visited the Sunset Valley Farmers market last weekend, and had the pleasure of the Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts' students come and volunteer with us.  A huge thanks to Scott David Gordon for all the beautiful photos this week!

Juliets for days! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

A bustling Sunset Valley Farmer's Market stand. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Workin' hard at the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market. A huge thanks to our farmer's market crew! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Some of the delectable market spread. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

The Sunset Valley Market crew. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Tractor work. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Tossin' dandelion greens. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Squash harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Did you know that okra is a close relative of hibiscus? Okra growing with a beautiful bloom. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Ripening sweet Italian Carmen peppers, coming soon! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Leeks, YUM! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

The harvest trailer filling up with cukes. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Patty pan squash with it's beautiful coloring. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Orange you glad these lovely guys are around all year? Photo by Scott David Gordon.

The Natural Epicurean students helping us with seeding. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Thanks to the Natural Epicurean Academy students for volunteering! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

With the Summer Solstice and the June full moon, known as the “Strawberry Moon,” coinciding a couple of days ago, the Summer season is off to a running start.  A stark contrast from the mild Spring that central Texas experienced, the quickly rising temperatures have some of us Austinites in a daze.  It’s that time of year where the only solace from the unrelenting heat is jumping into the cool spring-fed Barton Springs, or settling down right smack-dab in front of your beloved AC with an ice-cold Topo Chico pressed against your face.

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Our crops, on the other hand, have had no reprieve from the beaming sun as of late.  The constant deluge in the Spring had the crops growing at a creeping pace, which significantly slowed the harvest schedule.  However, with the sudden swelter, the plants have been in a sort of heat-shock this week.  The heat spell had one crop in particular, the Juliet tomatoes, ripening abruptly and rapidly.  Placing us in the midst of quite a predicament… a voluminous harvest, we’re talkin’ hundreds of pounds, of very ripe tomatoes that needed to be utilized STAT.  Thankfully, when we sent the S.O.S. to our local food-lovin’ community, we got a strong response. Restaurants like the ABGB and Bufalina among others, happily came to our rescue, and enlisted a portion of our tomato bounty for some of their delectable menu items.

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Internally, the JBG community has been making all the sauces, salsas, and salads you can imagine at home AND in the office. Over 300 pounds of these tomatoes were also delivered to the Central Texas Food Bank (formerly known as Capital Area Food Bank), a delivery that was made possible through a food drive organized by Music Tech and Food that took place at a recent Chris Robinson show at The Parish.  As you can tell, we had this plenitude of oh-so-sweet and delicious Juliet tomatoes truckin’ all over Austin-town this week, sharing the summertime wealth.  

With the myriad of ‘maters, there is a slew of recipes to explore.  Gazpacho?  Salsa?  Ketchup?  Pasta sauce?  Canning galore?  The possibilities are endless.  Tim, the head chef at The ABGB created this savory Gazpacho recipe below with their order of JBG tomatoes.  They are also using our tomatoes to top some of their pizzas with red sauce!

ABGB JBG GAZPACHO

 

• 8 cups JBG Juliet tomatoes
• 4 JBG cucumbers seeded, but not peeled
• 2 JBG red onions
• 3 red bell peppers, corded and seeded
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup sherry (or white wine vinegar)
• 1/2 cup good olive oil (we use Texas Olive Ranch Arbequina EVOO)
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 JBG jalapenos

Additional (for garnish)

• two tomatoes
• 1 cucumber
• 1 jalapeño
• 1 Avocado
• Toasted day old bread

 

Blend tomatoes in a food processor then strain through fine mesh sieve. Separately blend cucumbers, red onions, bell peppers, garlic, and jalapeños. After everything is smooth, combine all with olive oil, vinegar, s & p.

Chill (overnight is better). Serve chilled with a garnish of seasoned toasted bread, diced tomato and cucumber, sliver of jalapeño, a slice of avocado.... and a drizzle of Olive Oil.

100% Vegan. For those who love meat, add cold crabmeat or shrimp!

ABGB JBG GAZPACHO, image courtesy of Mark Jensen.

As the summer continues to heat up, we want to remind our CSA community to arrive at your pick-up location earlier rather than later so that your veggies don’t sit out in the heat for too long.  If you have home delivery, you can always leave out a cooler to keep your vegetables in peak condition until you can transport them into your refrigerator.  Stay cool and eat your ‘maters, folks!  Until next time.  

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

If you are contemplating joining our CSA, there’s no better time than the present!  Sign up for the CSA now, enter “tomato” at checkout, and you’ll receive a free flat of Juliet tomatoes with your first delivery (while supplies last)!

Two more days until the Farm Yoga Summer Series begins!  Join us this Sunday (6/26) for our first gathering, hosted by Practice Yoga with gratis refreshments provided by People’s RX.  All you need is your mat and a friend with a suggested $6 donation!  Also, have you marked your calendar yet for the Rolling Roadshow event at the farm on July 9? Tickets for The Seer are available here!

by Megan Winfrey

Raise your hand if you secretly (or not so secretly) love those "Tasty" videos on Facebook? You know, the ones where the camera is set perfectly above a cutting board or stove top and you can watch, mesmerized, as a pair of hands act out each step of a recipe. Yeah, you know. While I thoroughly enjoy watching these little recipe shorts, I've never actually made one of the recipes. This is a loose version of one that I threw together - but with a certain video clearly in mind. I'm sure you'll know the one I'm talking about, I saw it shared in my news feed at least 5 times!

Goat Cheese & Basil Baked Chicken with Heirloom Tomato

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 6 large basil leaves
• 1/2 cup goat cheese
• 1 large heirloom tomato
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Using a sharp knife, cut a pocket into the middle of each chicken breast. Don't butterfly the breast, just open up the center, like a canoe. Split the goat cheese evenly between each breast, spreading it throughout the cavity. Add the basil leaves to the opening, 3 leaves per breast.  Close the opening in the chicken, gently pressing it shut using the goat cheese as glue.  Drizzle each breast with olive oil, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

Place the chicken in an oiled baking dish and top with one thick slice of tomato. Bake, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes.  Remove from the oven, top each breast with mozzarella cheese, then broil on high for another 5 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown.

I served this dish with garlic sautéed spinach and lemon wedges. Enjoy!

CSA Box Contents Week of June 20th

Photo by Scott David Gordon

We told ya it was coming - all this heat has really kicked JBG's tomato crop into high gear this week, and we're stoked to announce that it's time for the annual Bulk Tomato Sale! Orders are open now at jbgorganic.com/tomatoes - get your canning supplies ready!

Beginning this Tuesday, June 21st, your order can be picked up at any of our farmers' markets, as an add-on to your existing CSA home delivery, or picked up at our Hergotz Farm located just east of town near ABIA. If you're a current CSA member, you can select your own delivery site, whether it be home delivery of community pickup, after logging in at the top of the page.

The star of the show this year has to be our Juliet Tomatoes - these delicious plum style tomatoes are coming in by the bucketload, and are great fresh, roasted, or even for salsa and pasta sauce - we tried and the results were awesome. We've got a load of varieties for you to choose from (make note - some are limited availability), but they won't be here for long. Once the heat really sets in Texas, these tomatoes will stop setting fruit and our short, but sweet season will be over. Order now before they're gone!