Edition 61

January 1, 2009

• Local Box Contents
• News & Updates
• Recipe Corner
• Greenling Tidbits

• Short Supply- Olives, from Sandy Olives, be back in a week
• Going, going - Holiday Items, just a few left over
• Not Producing - Goats! turns out they don't like cold. Milk in short supply and Chevre gone for winter.
• New - Flavored Vinegar, from Texas Olive Ranch
• New - Pork cuts, more Tamales, Breads, all from local sources
• Winding Down - Texas Apples, nearing end of season...we'll miss you!
• Slow to Arrive - Citrus & Winter Crops, Texas has winter crops because of our mild winters. We've had some early winter weather that has slowed down production, but most has survived the freezes and will be here soon

Call For Ambassadors

Help us spread the joy of Sustainability & healthy eating!

Last year our Ambassadors helped us with events, improvement ideas & much more. Join the team to get to know us better and help change the world.

See more & Apply here

Website Tip - Have you been on hold over the holidays? After you log-in just go to 'Manage Baskets' to see all of your baskets & order one

Volunteer More This Year

Be the hero of your community by actually volunteering to ORGANIZE volunteers. And you're not obligated to tell people how easy it is with www.volunteerspot.com. This awesome website handles all organizing elements of pulling of a professional volunteer event. Tens of thousands of volunteers have already improved their activities & events.

Check out Volunteerspot here

Citrus Comes Rolling In

I remember as a kid Texsun orange juice. It was a strange juice that would taste horrible if I were used to drinking any other type, but for some reason if I kept drinking only it the flavor would improve. I don't believe there was much organic about Texsun, in it's can with pull-off top. But early in the 1900s it was the largest orange juice company in the world (take that Florida). Farmers chasing profit moved to cotton and grains and Texsun eventually closed. Texas is a great place for citrus, though. Had they any foresight they would have just moved into Organics. Almost all Texas citrus is from the Rio Grande Valley. This is Greenling's only exception to our 150-mile local line. Citrus can play an important nutritional role, it's about the only fruit available in Texas in winter, and almost all of the

Organic citrus comes to Central Texas anyway. So we include this treat in the Local Box. We're happy to exclude it upon request.

Dennis Holbrook helped pioneer Organic citrus in Texas in the 80s with SouthTex Organics. More recently G&S Groves has been planting as fast as they can and adding a wonderful variety of certified citrus and tropical fruits (he brings us the first mangoes grown in Texas as well as avocados). Winter is the biggest part of the citrus season and we'll have some awesome fruit for a couple of months.

Lemons, tangerines, grapefruit, oranges, all will be found at times in the Local Box this winter. The vitamin C in citrus has been marketed well and recent studies confirm consuming this vitamin in foods is 5x more beneficial than supplements (the body doesn't absorb supplement forms). We're also learning that the phytonutrients you get along with the C increase it's potency and do some free radical battling on their own. Ward off colds with Texas citrus and be healthy all winter.

This Week's Box Contents & Local Items

Here's what will be available from local farms on our website this week (the best selection of local produce in the state - guaranteed):

In Local Boxes ($34.99) this week (Jan 4-8):

• Green Cabbage - Naegelin
• Turnips - Acadian
• Parsley - My Father's Farm
• Sweet Potatoes - Naegelin
• Slick Escarole - Acadian
• Red Potatoes - Naegelin
• Rio Grapefruit - G&S
• Tangerines - Orange Blossom Farm
• Broccoli - Naegelin
• Garlic - Various
• Cherry or Slicing Toms - Various
• Yellow Onion - Naegelin
• Marrs Oranges - G&S Groves

Last Week's (Dec 28-31) Local Box Video:

In Farmstead & Local Produce Boxes ($49.99) this week (Jan 4-8):

• Secret Recipe BBQ Sauce - Friends & Family Sauces
• Mighty Mick Brownie - Mary-Louise Brownies
• Fresh Tortillas - Margarita's or Paqui
• Hand-crafted, Aged Cheese - Brazos Valley

Gluten-free Farmstead Box:

• Secret Recipe BBQ Sauce - Friends & Family Sauces
• Green Brownie - Green Brownies
• Fresh Corn Tortillas - Margarita's or Paqui
• Hand-crafted, Aged Cheese - Brazos Valley

Order Here

Fresh, Prepared Meal Selection for this week:

Dish #1 - Surprise! Apparently they're out for New Years too...(1 pint - serves 1 for lunch) - see website for ingredients this weekend

Dish #2 - Surprise! Apparently they're out for New Years too... (1 pint) - see website for full ingredients this weekend

Produce from Local Farms

• Arugula, Baby - Animal Farm
• Herb, Asst - Pure Luck
• Herbs, Basil, Live - Bella Verdi
• Lentil Sprouts - Groovy Greens
• Sunflower Sprouts - Groovy Greens
• Red Bok Choy - Acadian
• Gala and Fuji Apples - Top of Texas
• Lettuce, Baby - Animal Farm and My Father's Farm
• Lettuce, Bibb - Bella Verdi
• Tangerines - Orange Blossom
• Meyer Lemons - G&S Groves
• Kale - Naegelin
• Mars Orange - G&S Grove
• Persimmons - Indian Hill Farm
• Cherry Tomatoes - Naegelin
• Grapefruit - G&S Grove
• Green Garlic - Green Gate
• Scallions - Lundgren and Acadian
• Pea Shoots - Bluebonnet
• Watercress - Bluebonnet
• Ayote - Finca Pura
• Red and Green Bell Peppers - My Father's Farm/Walnut Creek

Produce from Local Farms

• Yams - Naegelin
• Microgreens, Arugula - Bella Verdi
• Microgreens, Broccoli - Bella Verdi
• Mushroom, Crimini - Kitchen Pride
• Mushroom, Portobello - Kitchen Pride
• Mushroom, Shiitake - Kitchen Pride
• Mushroom, White - Kitchen Pride
• Onion, Red - Naegelin
• Potatoes, Sweet -Naegelin
• Onion, Yellow - Naegelin
• Potatoes, Red - Naegelin
• Shallots - Lundgren Farm
• Jalapeno - Lundgren
• Chard - Naegelin
• Tomatoes - Engel Farm
• Red Radish - My Father's Farm
• Collard Greens - Naegelin
• Purple Plum Radish - Millberg
• Watermelon Radish - Ringger
• Mustard Greens - Naegelin

January Events - Soiree, Cooking Class, Farm Tour

Local Food Tasting Soiree

-Location TBD

-January 23rd, 6:30pm

-FREE

Urbanspace Realty, who set us up for the Best of Austin Bash in that very posh downtown loft will treat us again with another spectatular location.

We've confirmed Shane Stark, of Paggi House will prepare some dishes with in-season Greenling Organic products and we invite Greenlings (that's you) to prepare your own, too. The group will decide which ones get to go in the Greenling Central Texas Seasonal cookbook (name to be improved later) and the creator will get featured in the book.

So bring your best recipes and let Greenling make you famous. Or not...it is Austin, after all so there's no pressure or dress code or any of that. All you really need to bring is yourself. We'll also have some Greenling beverages, desserts, and some great company!

RSVP by visiting our Contact Us page and emailing Jessica, or RSVP here (facebook)

Local Box Workshop

-Saturday, January 16th (tentative)

-9:30am - 2:00pm

-$8

-Faraday's Kitchen Store

***We're still waiting on confirmation from Chef Andrew, but pencil us in on that morning.***

Join Chef Andrew Brooks (spiritedfood.com) for our Local Box Workshop, as he shows you easy recipes and storage tips for using fresh, seasonal produce. You'll leave armed with a variety of ways to use what's local and in-season right now!

We will offer three sessions of this workshop with 15-person capacity for each at 9:30 am, 11:15 am, and 1:00 pm (1-hour sessions). Call 266-5666 TODAY to reserve your spot! These classes sell out fast.

Other Events

Yonder Way Farm Tour

-Leaves from Austin

-January 16th, 9am

-$25

Farmer Jason Kramer is opening up his operation and sharing some knowledge on pastured livestock systems in Texas. He follows the Polyface Farms methodology (Joel Salatin's farm, star of Food, Inc. & Omnivore's Dilema). The farm is in Brenham so the group will take a bus from Austin & drive out there for a tour from 11-2pm. Your $25 goes directly to pay for some meats you take home with you.

While we don't currently buy from Yonder Way, their principles are very much in-line with ours and we hope to carry their meats as they grow to handle greater capacity. Their operation is very similar to Richardson's.

For more information & reservations, click here

To read more on Yonder Way, click here

Sign The Petition

Back in 2007 the Austin City Council unanimously signed a resolution that Austin would be a leader in Greenhouse Gas reduction and clean energy. There was a big press release, some great speeches, and everyone felt good. At the moment it's looking like it was all just a publicity stunt. I saw Austin Energy COO Cheryl Mele talk about their plans. No mention of the resolution or of how they would decommission Fayetteville Coal Power Plant, the 5th worst polluter in Texas and the source of 70% of Austin's CO2 emissions and over 50% of our power. There's a group of dedicated citizens fighting to hold the City, and Austin Energy (the City owns the utility), to honor their 2007 commitment. Sign the petition asking them to do just that here:

Sign Petition

Help get the signatures to 500! We're at 352 right now. Every signature counts!

Recipe Corner

Rustic Cabbage Soup (from 101 Cookbooks)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Texas Olive Ranch extra virgin olive oil
  
• a big pinch of salt
  
• 1/2 pound potatoes, skin on, cut 1/4-inch pieces
  
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
  
• 5 cups stock or broth
  
• 1 1/2 cups white beans, precooked or canned (drained & rinsed well)
  
• 1/2 medium cabbage, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch ribbons
• more good-quality extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
  
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  

Instructions:

Warm the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the salt and potatoes. Cover and cook until they are a bit tender and starting to brown a bit, about 5 minutes - it's o.k. to uncover to stir a couple times. Stir in the garlic and onion and cook for another minute or two. Add the stock and the beans and bring the pot to a simmer. Stir in the cabbage and cook for a couple more minutes, until the cabbage softens up a bit. Now adjust the seasoning - getting the seasoning right is important or your soup will taste flat and uninteresting. Taste and add more salt if needed, the amount of salt you will need to add will depend on how salty your stock is (varying widely between brands, homemade, etc)...

Serve drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a generous dusting of cheese.

Serves 4.

For More Recipes Check Out The Eating Out of the Local Box Blog. Also make sure to become a fan of Greenling on Facebook to get weekly recipes from Woman With A Whisk & The Best of Thymes food bloggers.