People picking up their CSA box at the Mueller market. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Springtime has us exhilarated and full of energy! The spring crops are here and summer crops are arriving just around the corner. The CSA boxes are vibrant and varied, and we can't get enough of these gorgeous vegetables!

We popped by the Mueller market this past Sunday to capture some of the market excitement and catch up with our CSA community. If you love this market, we have some awesome news for you! Texas Farmers Market at Mueller will be starting up a Wednesday night market this coming week, debuting May 2nd from 5 to 8 pm. Yeehaw!

Golden beets. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

The JBG market stand at Mueller. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Gorgeous day at the Mueller market. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Pond hangs at the Mueller market. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Meanwhile, at the farm... peppers growing! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Harvesting. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Packing up the harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

'Maters shaping up. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Harvesting carrots on a beautiful spring day. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Tomatoes shaping up. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Sticker fridge at the barn really filling up. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Potato harvest! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Carrot rainbows. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Ada setting up the CSA box photo. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Recipes and Photos by Megan Winfrey

• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 8 oz. baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 4 tbs. olive oil
• 8 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup cheddar, shredded
• 1/2 cup parmesan, shredded
• 3 cups torn kale leaves
• salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a heavy bottomed skillet, preferably cast iron, heat 2 tbs. olive oil over medium-high. Add the mushrooms and onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until golden brown and then remove to a plate and set aside.

Whisk the eggs and sour cream with a bit of salt and pepper. Whisk in the cheddar and half of the parmesan. In a small bowl, toss the kale with a bit of olive oil and massage it into the leaves.

In the same heavy skilled, add the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add the egg mixture followed by the mushrooms and onions, the kale, and finally the rest of the parmesan on top.

Cook until the frittata is set around the edges, about 2-3 minutes.

Transfer to the oven and bake until completely set, about 20-25 minutes.

Once baked, loosen the edges with a knife and turn the frittata onto a plate. Slice and serve with Yellowbird hot sauce.

BONUS RECIPE

It's officially spring and the bugs are OUT. Since we compost at home, we tend to struggle with fruit flies, and I know we're not alone! I'd like to share with y'all this ingenious fruit fly trap that my good friend Kathryn shared with me. It will take out an entire fruit fly population overnight!!

Here's what you need:

• a wide mouth mason jar
• dish soap
• apple cider vinegar
• very ripe fruit
• coffee filter
• tape

In the bottom of the jar, mash up the ripe fruit. Add just a splash of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap. The fruit needs to be above the liquid line, as it is what attracts the fruit flies.

Pinch the center of the coffee filter and fold the rest upwards into a sort-of cone shape. Cut the tip to make a small hole in the center of the filter. Push the hole down into the jar while folding the sides around the rim.

It won't be perfect and the filter will bunch up in places, it's okay. Tape the edges of the filter to the outside rim, so that the cone won't move out of place.

THAT'S IT!

The flies will smell the ripe/decomposing fruit and fly into the little hole, where they will get stuck. When they eventually fall into the liquid, the dish soap keeps them from being able to fly/crawl out. Trust me, by morning you will have a little fruit fly graveyard to marvel at.

CSA Box Contents Week of Apr 23rd

Ever heard of the Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), WIC, or SNAP? What about the SFC and how they are contributing in a major way to food access in our fair city? Well, this week we want to give these forces of good in our community a little highlight.

Downtown Farmers Market. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

FMNP + WIC

Founded by Congress in 1992, the FMNP expands WIC participants’ access to fresh, local, and seasonal fruits and veggies while simultaneously supporting local farmers by increasing sales at farmers markets. What is WIC, you might wonder? “The WIC Program [or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children] provides supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutrition education at no cost to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding post-partum women, and to infants and children up to 5 years of age, who are found to be at nutritional risk” according to the USDA website. The grants that fund the FMNP are distributed from the federal government and divvied up from state to state. This program runs every year from April to October, and almost 2 million WIC participants receive FMNP benefits. Around 14 million dollars in revenue are redeemed by farmers nationwide annually! Talk about an incredible program and food justice being served!

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

SNAP

Another food access miracle is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, this is one of the largest initiatives currently at work in the federal government to address food access to low to no-income people in the US. As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities aptly states: “SNAP provides important nutritional support for low-wage working families, low-income seniors, and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes. Close to 70 percent of SNAP participants are in families with children; nearly a third are in households with seniors or people with disabilities. After unemployment insurance, it is the most responsive federal program providing additional assistance during economic downturns.” The federal government provides all of the money for this initiative, while individual states operate and administrate the program. Here in Texas, folks receive a monthly stipend meant for specifically for nutritious food. This sum is made available through the Lone Star card, which works like a debit card and is used at markets for groceries.

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

How SFC is Majorly Contributing to Austin’s Food Access

One of the Sustainable Food Center's core values is justice and “believ[ing] that the community’s inherent power and leadership is the foundation for a truly equitable and sustainable food system.” Thus, it’s no surprise that they are spearheading the implementation of above initiatives in our community and championing food access for all of the Austin population. Because of the SFC, we accept WIC and SNAP payments at all our SFC and Texas Farmers Markets stands (think: Cedar Park, Mueller, Sunset Valley, and Downtown)! All of the WIC and SNAP transactions we receive, the SFC processes. They take care of all the administrative paperwork and let us focus on growing food! According to SFC data, FMNP brought in $63,000 in fruit and vegetable sales last year alone. Talk about food access and safeguarding our local farms! We really are so lucky to have the SFC ensuring that EVERYONE has access to local, healthy, and fresh food in Austin.

Click here to check out more initiatives that the SFC is heading to make sure that folks get the most out of their FMNP benefits.

Sorting beets. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

We're starting to feel the heat! Sunscreen and Gatorade are in high demand. With the soil warming up, all the weeds are really starting to germinate, so we are working hard to get on top of them. Tomatoes are setting their first fruits, and eggplants and peppers are just starting to flower, too! We are finishing up our large bulk harvest of cool weather crops like beets and carrots, and bracing ourselves to get all of the potatoes out of the ground. Sweet potato slips are growing fast... in another week or two we'll be harvesting them to transplant over 11 acres.

Beets! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Tomatoes a-growin'. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Fields of green. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Harvest loot. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Chard! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Tomato fields! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

More fields. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Bok choy. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Photo and Recipe by Nadia Tamby

This is a low-fuss, no-mess way to prepare bok choy as a side dish. You hardly need a cutting board, and from start to finish it only takes about 10 minutes to cook. You can dress it up by playing around with the oil you drizzle on top or let the bok choy shine and use a neutral-tasting oil and sea salt. I made a ginger-scallion-garlic oil to top a piece of oven-roasted salmon in one version, so I wanted to play around with some Asian flavors. Toasted sesame oil is a staple pantry ingredient in my house. I highly recommend Kadoya brand if you are looking for some in the store to have on hand. You can use soy sauce but as I was out, I used Bragg liquid aminos. They taste different, but you just want something with umami and salty flavor, so either one works for this. The soy/sesame combination still worked really well for a quick breakfast of quinoa and fried eggs too!



Ingredients:

• Bok Choy, washed and sliced from the base in half or quarters depending on the size of the bunches (You can use either baby bok choy or a large head for this recipe)
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or toasted sesame oil
• Sea salt or soy sauce (or tamari or liquid aminos)

Equipment:

Make sure you use a pan large enough to fit bok choy pieces or a pot with a steaming basket. Either way, you want the lid to fit or else you’ll have to steam in batches.

Instructions:

Fill the bottom of your pan or pot so that there is about an inch of water in the bottom. If you are using a steaming basket, place the bok choy in the basket and cover with the lid. Place on medium-high heat and check after about 4 minutes. The leaves should be bright green but wilted and the base should be easily pierced with a fork or knife. Err on the side of under-cooked or you’ll have a brownish-green and less fresh tasting dish. If you are using a larger shallow pan without a steaming basket, add the bok choy directly to the water and cover. Strain and let excess water drip out of the bok boy and drizzle with oil and soy sauce. A little toasted sesame oil goes a long way, so don’t use it the way you would olive oil!

CSA Box Contents Week of Apr 16th