Getting ready for Spring. Photo by Scott David Gordon

It's only Wednesday, but by the end of the day yesterday, we'd already packed in a week of work!  We raced under a weather-imposed deadline before the rain arrived.

Prepping beds for planting. Photo by Scott David Gordon

We had all tractors going to beat the rain deadline. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Our River Road farm dog calmly watches all of the planting activity. Photo by Scott David Gordon

And our crew kept up the daily harvesting. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Just harvested rainbow chard. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Rainbow chard. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Rainbow chard in the field. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Lettuce head in the field. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Oswaldo harvests lettuce. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Spring crops get their start - they will grow quickly! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Row closeup. Photo by Scott David Gordon

A bee lands in the field. Photo by Scott David Gordon

By Jessye Hipp

This is a great weeknight meal that can be put together in about an hour and is full of healthy nutrients for your family! It is perfect for a Meatless Monday meal! I am a southern girl and was raised on spicy southern collard greens, so I added plenty of spice to this stuffing mixture, but feel free to adjust the spice to fit your family’s needs. Quinoa and cannellini beans add plenty of protein so you won’t notice that it is vegetarian.

Stuffed Collard Greens

Time: 1 hour   Serves: 4

-4 large collard green leaves

-1/2 cup quinoa

-1 cup water

-1/2 onion, diced

-2 small carrots, peeled and diced

-4 garlic cloves, minced

-3 tbls unsalted butter

-2 tbls olive oil

-salt & pepper

-1 tbls red pepper flakes

-1 tsp paprika

-1/2 tsp dried parsley

-1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed & drained

-1/4 cup sunflower seeds

-1/2 cup parmesan

-1 jar of marinara sauce (or your favorite homemade sauce)

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Bring quinoa and water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Allow the quinoa to rest for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Set aside.

Bring a pot of salted water to a low boil. Immerse the collard greens, one at a time, in the water for about 20-30 seconds until they are bright green and softened. Set aside on paper towels to drain. Repeat this same step with all four collard greens.



Over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil together. Add the onion, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, and paprika. Cook until the onion is softened and translucent.

Add the garlic and parsley to the onions. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the carrots. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the cannellini beans, mix gently. Warm the beans through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Add the mixture to a medium mixing bowl. Gently fold in the quinoa, sunflower seeds, and parmesan, until everything is well combined.

Working with one collard green at a time, lay the collard green on a flat surface and add ¼ of the mixture to the center of the leaf. Fold in the sides, and then starting at the bottom, roll the leaf over the mixture until you get a rolled leaf that resembles an eggroll.

Repeat this step with each collard green.

Place the stuffed collard greens, seam side down, in a baking dish that is coated with olive oil on the bottom.

Pour the marinara over the top of the wraps.



Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cover with foil, and bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Allow the dish to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Garnish each stuffed collard green with a spoon of the marinara and an extra sprinkle of parmesan.

Enjoy!

CSA Box Contents Week of March 16th

Early morning at JBG. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Well, I've been bitten - by the grape bug, that is - and - guess what - now, we are going to grow them at JBG!  I am wondering, what took me so long to do this?  David Sides, who lives near the JBG Hergotz location, has been trying to get me interested in grapes for awhile now.  He came to our Fall Potluck over a year ago and introduced himself.  Some of you may have heard of David's former business, Rainbow Lake - it's also possible that you've may have eaten some of his catfish!  With Rainbow Lake, David used to have several fishing ponds stocked with catfish on his land, and he sold to places like Catfish Parlor and HEB.  He said it was a great business 6 months out of the year, but he couldn't make it work financially the rest of the time.

So, David stopped running Rainbow Lake and decided to start growing fruit on his 65-acre plot.  When he first visited JBG, I thought his story was really interesting, but then I got caught up in the craziness of farming and never made it over to see his place.   Luckily, it turns out that David, like me, is persistent, and he returned to JBG last summer with some Victoria Red Grapes that he had grown.  I gave them a try and thought, "these are awesome", but then I forgot about it all again!

Did I mention that David is persistent?  Well, he came back again last week, and this time, I couldn't say no.  I drove over to his land, and I was blown away by what I saw.  Over the course of the last five years, David has taught himself how to grow grapes, and, man, is he good at it!  He's got wine grapes and table grapes growing as well as other fruit trees.  I was so excited by what he'd done that I sped back to Hergotz Lane to pick up our Operations Manager, Krishna.

When I arrived back at David's with Krishna in tow, David said, "I hardly get anyone here to take the whole tour, and now you've come here twice in one day!"  He couldn't believe it.  And I couldn't believe how beautiful the place was - I didn't want to leave.  But then Krishna kept mentioning that he needed to get back to the office, so I reluctantly pulled myself away.

After I left David's place, I couldn't get the vision of those grapes out of my mind.  I wanted to figure out if it made sense for us to grow grapes on our farm, and in particular, the Victoria Red table grapes I'd tasted.  What's amazing about these delicious grapes is that they are one variety in Texas that isn't affected by Pierce Disease.   This disease is spread by sharpshooter bugs and can devastate grape plants.  Victoria Reds, though, are resistant to Pierce's Disease and great for Texas.

Did I mention that I am also persistent?  Once I had the grape idea firmly planted in my brain, I knew I had to find a way to make it happen.  So, I talked it over with Krishna, and he came up with a brilliant idea.  Krishna grew up in India, and he remembered that farmers there would often grow teak trees on the edges of their land.  These trees, in addition to being a very valuable crop when harvested years after planting, would serve as a kind of fence line for properties, helping to block the wind and delineate one farmer's land from a neighbor's.  He said, why don't you use the farm's borders to grow fruit?  As luck would have it, David came over today and gave us a quick lesson on grafting.  Starting tomorrow, we will be cutting and rooting around 1000 figs and pomegranates fruit trees from mother plants we have at our farm.

Our plan is to establish a 1/2 acre vineyard along the River Road entrance to our farm, so now we will be busy building trellises on either side of the entryway so the plants can be supported in their growth.  We are also going to plant the fig and pomegranate cuttings around the edges of the farm.  As you may remember, we've already planted sugarcane around one side of the property, so we are on our way to encircling the farm with an edible fence!

My thanks to David for being persistent - I'm just sorry it took me so long to tour his  property!  Now, I can't wait to plant grapes at our farm.  If you find yourself bitten by the grape bug like me, make sure you come to our Spring Transplant Sale this Saturday from 9am-2pm at River Road (see details below) because we will have some grape transplants for you to try growing too!

Stop by the JBG Spring Transplant Sale this Saturday from 9am to 2pm at River Road. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Annual Spring Organic Transplant Sale

Come on down to JBG this Saturday - we'll get you ready to plant a Spring garden!

Dates: Saturday March 14th and March 21st

Where: JBG, 4008 River Road, Cedar Creek, TX 78612  (10 miles East of ABIA off of 71)

Time: 9am to 2pm

What: Our selection includes lots of Tomatoes (heirlooms, cherries, traditional red slicers, San Marzano romas, and tomatillos), sweet & hot peppers, basil, eggplant, squash, zucchini, watermelons, swiss chard, onions, seed potatoes, lettuces, kale, broccoli, cabbage, okra, cauliflower and spinach

Onestino harvests salad mix in muddy conditions. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Whoa...it's still pretty muddy out there.  Our crew has had it rough with all of this rain and mud - luckily, it looks like Spring is on it's way.

Salad mix soaks up more rain. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Early morning beet harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Roberto and Galdino harvest beets in the mud. Photo by Scott David Gordon

A muddy beet harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon

And muddy carrots! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Harvesting and weeding of cilantro. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Just harvested cilantro. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Our lettuces like the rain. Photo by Scott David Gordon

And our spinach, too. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Growing for Spring. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Despite the rain, we've made progress on the stage for the Spring Hoedown on April 4th. It's coming up soon - we want to see you there! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Who is that masked man?

Whoo-hoo!  It's almost time for the Spring Hoedown!

On Saturday, April 4th, join us for a Spring Hoedown bigger than any party we’ve thrown before!  For the first time, the Hoedown will be held at our River Road Farm along the Colorado River where we grow our vegetables.  This location is just 10 miles East of the airport at 4008 River Road, Cedar Creek, TX 78216.

We will be kicking off the party with our very first Annual 5K Garden Gallop, as well as a ½-mile Kids’ Fun Run around the farm.  Race tickets include admission to the Hoedown, a buffet plate, and a JBG Garden Gallop T-shirt. A portion of this year’s proceeds will be donated to Farmshare Austin, a local non-profit encouraging the expansion of organic farming and food in Central Texas.

Garden Gallop Race Course

After working up an appetite during the run, guests are invited to re-fuel with a special farm-to-table buffet catered by Ironwood Icehouse, as well as live music and dancing. There will BBQ, local beer, and-of course- plenty of veggie options for non-meat eaters. Lick Honest Ice Cream is providing dessert, and we can’t wait.   Keeping with tradition, we will also be turning to you—our community—to bring a sweet dish for our dessert potluck.

Festivities will feature live music from local bands, Gumbo Ce Soir, La Tampiqueña (with a special appearance by Mr. Will), The Show and Tellers, and Out of the Blue — all performing on a brand-new stage, built especially for the occasion. There will also be lessons for those needing a little brush-up before hitting the dance floor. Per usual, we’ll have plenty of activities for the kids, and last (but certainly not least!) we’re having a whiffle-ball raffle where we’ll be giving away loads of great local goodies.

For more information and to get your tickets for the race and/or the Spring Hoedown, please click here.

By Jessye Hipp

Chicken, Asparagus, and Sweet Potato Risotto

Time: 1 hour Serves: 4

-2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into ½ in pieces

-1 chicken breast, diced into 1/2 in pieces

-1/3 cup of flour

-1/2 onion, diced

-4 garlic cloves, minced

-1/2 cup white wine

-1 cup of Arborio rice

-3 cups of chicken stock

-1 cup of parmesan

-3 tbls olive oil

-3 tbls unsalted butter

-salt & pepper

-1 tbls fresh parsley, finely chopped

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-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

-Toss the diced sweet potato with 1 tbls of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Roast at 375 until soft on the inside with some crisp, caramelized edges. About 12-15 minutes.

-In a medium saucepot, over medium-low, warm the chicken stock.

-Heat 2 remaining tbls of olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.

-Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Toss the chicken in the flour until it is lightly coated. Just dusted.

-Add the chicken to the dutch oven. Cook until it is cooked through and lightly browned on the outside. When it is done, remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

-Turn the heat down to medium, add the onions, and cook until they are translucent and soft. 5-7 minutes.

-Add the garlic, and cook for another 2 minutes.

-Add the rice to the onions and garlic. Toast the rice until it gives off a nutty smell. About 5 minutes.

-Add the wine. Allow the rice to completely absorb the wine.

-Slowly, only a few ladles at a time, add the chicken stock. Allow the rice to absorb all of the liquid before adding more. It will take about 20-25 minutes before the rice is done. This is a labor of love, but it is worth it!

-When the rice is cooked, gently fold in the chicken and sweet potato. Cook for a few minutes to allow everything to get warm and come together.

-To finish off the risotto, add the butter and ½ cup of parmesan cheese. Mix well.

-Garnish each plate with more parmesan. Enjoy!