Edition 165

January 29, 2010

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

• Back, but volatile - Local Meat, sorry for the craziness, the meat processor got backed up with deer and put our ranchers at the back of the line, but meat is aging and some is back
• New - Freshly-chopped Bell Peppers & Onions, It can be an emotional experience to chop onions (well, make you cry at least) - so let us do it for you the morning of your delivery
• Gone -Tangeries, the yummy local ones were cut short by the weather
• Gone for Now -Local Herbes, Pure Luck wiped out by freeze, will be back in a few weeks
• Help for the Hopeless - Romantic Items, in the Seasonal category you'll find many things to help celebrate Valentine's
• Limited & Magical -Cheese Spreads, from Brazos Valley, here for a short time
• Back - Milk, from Way Back When Dairy (Ganske farm)
• Back! - Olives, from Sandy Oaks (local)

Help Your Kid's School Learn to Garden

-Feb 6th, 8am - 4pm

-1600 Chicon (Austin)

Get Growing & Keep Going (GGKG) is a symposium that will provide teachers, administrators and parents with the tools to integrate gardens and nature areas into the school environment.

The symposium is themed "Greening Our Schools", and features keynote speaker Kevin Coyle, National Wildlife Federation Vice President of Education. Field experts will lead a variety of sectionals on topics including rainwater harvesting, vermiculture, double digging, schoolyard habitats, entomology, environmental stewardship, fundraising, and building a garden community.

Learn More Here

Register Here

Website Tip - Coming Soon - Product Search. It's within a week or two now. Until then browse over to All-products and hit ctrl-F

Have you met our Lemon Aide?

A huge part of our Customer Service team, Jessica is here to help you with whatever ails you - cut into a lemon and discover it wasn't sour? She can credit your account. Want to rave about the young collards? She can share your enthusiasm. Just want to vent about that co-worker who keeps interrupting your real work to tell you the latest Tiger Woods joke? She's here to listen.

Watch her intro video here

A Spoonful of Local Honey Keeps the Allergies Away

Every year it seems that seasonal allergies (especially cedar, right now) get worse in people. Some try to blame the trees while others seem to think they're 'just the way it is.' I've never actually had cedar allergies (coincidence that I eat primarily organic and local foods?) so I can't speak from experience, but I've also heard many people tell me their cures.

While not a complete cure, many people say that a daily regimen of local honey significantly reduces the severity of their allergies. The theory is that ingesting the pollen (assimilated into honey by bees) helps your body recognize it as food and not a foreign protein so you don't react as such. Now, there's something very important to this remedy - pollen count. Some tests have been run on all local honeys and Round Rock Honey has by far the most diverse pollen profile and the most local pollens of any of the honeys. One tablespoon a day of this yummy goodness and in a couple of weeks you may notice pollen allergies subsiding.

I hear stories of acupuncture being effective for some and not for others (maybe depends on the practitioner?), but one treatment that has worked for everyone who has tried it is The Love Cleanse. A guided cleanse by Kim Love, she helps you identify underlying food allergies (which are present in 90% of seasonal allergy sufferers) and balances your body chemistry to better handle all environmental toxins. Her program works.

I do not believe allergies are simply a way of life in Texas. They're a symptom of an underlying issue in the body. Until you find and treat the issue, nasal sprays and pills for the symptoms are just an expensive way to put off dealing with it. And just in case you're getting confused - I'm not a doctor and this is not medical advice. Just my opinion, that's all.

Know Your Local Farmer - Pedro From My Father's Farm

As noble as a farm can get, we think, this amazing operation not only aspires to repair the environment with certified Organic agriculture, but all of the profits of the farm go to an orphanage in Columbia. Read more about Pedro & My Father's Farm in last week's newsletter.

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 (Feb 1-5):

• Broccoli - Acadian
• Cilantro - Acadian
• Radish - My Father's Farm
• Sweet Carrots - Various
• Swiss Chard (finally!) - Naegelin
• Red Spring Onion - My Father's Farm
• Baby Beets w/ greens - My Father's Farm
• Grapefruit - G&S Groves
• Arugula - Acadian
• Sweet Potatoes - Naegelin

Last Week's (Jan 25-29) Local Box Video:

In Farmstead & Local Produce Boxes ($49.99) this week (Feb 1-5):

• Onion Bread Sticks - Little Bluestem Bakery
• Hand-crafted Savory Cheese Spread - Brazos Valley
• Ginger Snap Cookie Tub - Sweetish Hill Bakery

Gluten-free Farmstead Box:

• There is no Gluten-free Farmstead this week

Order Here

Fresh, Prepared Meal Selection for this week:

Dish #1 - Coconut Chickpea Curry w/ Basmati Rice (1 pint - serves 1 for lunch) - see website for ingredients this weekend

Dish #2 - Couscous w/ Caramelized Sweet Potato & Herbs (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
• Sunflower Sprouts - Groovy Greens
• Lettuce, Baby - Animal Farm and My Father's Farm
• Lettuce, Bibb - Bella Verdi
• Cauliflower - Ope's Farm
• Meyer Lemons - G&S Groves
• Kale - Naegelin
• Mars Orange - G&S Grove
• Cherry Tomatoes - Naegelin
• Grapefruit - G&S Grove
• Green Garlic - Green Gate
• Scallions - Lundgren and Acadian
• Pea Shoots - Bluebonnet
• Watercress - Bluebonnet

Produce from Local Farms

• Microgreens, Arugula - Bella Verdi
• Microgreens, Broccoli - Bella Verdi
• Mushroom, Crimini - Kitchen Pride
• Mushroom, Portobello - Kitchen Pride
• Mushroom, Shiitake - Kitchen Pride
• Mushroom, White - Kitchen Pride
• Potatoes, Sweet -Naegelin
• Red Radish - My Father's Farm
• Red Spring Onion - My Father's Farm
• Onion, Yellow - Naegelin
• Potatoes, Red - Naegelin
• Cabbage - Naegelin
• Tomatoes - Village Farm
• Red Radish - My Father's Farm
• Collard Greens - Naegelin
• Mustard Greens - Naegelin
• Cilantro - My Father's Farm
• Kohlrabi - My Father's Farm

Events & Local Food Happenings Around Town

February Local Food Tasting Soiree

-Feb 19th, 6:30 pm

-Rio's Brazilian Cafe (map)

The January Soiree was so much fun and we've got another event planned at the super-cool East Village. For February we'll head down the street to the brand new Rio's Brazilian Cafe. Ben & Eli have been making awesome Brazilian treats for us and now they have a restaurant for everyone to enjoy! Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner you can get their sauces and Yuca recipes anytime. And we'll gather there for a Soiree where you can pair your favorite winter recipe with their yuca fries! 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)

Bad to the Bone Chef Smackdown

-Stubbs Austin

-RESCHEDULED - Feb 27

-$35

Three of Texas' youngest and most acclaimed chefs - David Bull, Shawn Cirkiel, and Paul Petersen will go head to head in a high-energy, fun event with great food, live music and a competition that's interactive and exciting. DJ, el john Selector will spin bad-to-the-bone soul, funk and world beats to keep the tempo going until final votes for the chefs have been cast. Once the winner is announced, the evening melds into a rockin' live concert with Charanga Cakewalk, a seven-piece Latin band. This event benefits the Sustainable Food Center

For more information & reservations, click here

The Petition Reaches 500!

Thanks to your help the petition has reached its goal and will be presented to the city as proof that it's citizens want action on climate change! You can still sign the petition if you're just now seeing this.

Sign Petition

Recipe Corner

Broccoli-Cheese Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs
  
• 4 large Vital Farms eggs
  
• 1 1/4 cups 1% milk
  
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Kala's
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
  
• 2 cups cubed Sweetish Hill whole-wheat country bread, (about 2 slices, crusts removed)
  
• 3 cups broccoli florets
  
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin Texas Olive Ranch olive oil
  
• 4 slices Canadian bacon, diced (about 2 1/2 ounces)
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
  
• 1 cup grated Monterey Jack, or part-skim mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
  

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (6-cup capacity) with cooking spray. Add bread crumbs, tilting to coat bottom and sides.

Whisk eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add bread and stir to coat. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Steam broccoli until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Refresh under cold water and drain well. Chop coarsely.

Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and onion; cook, stirring often, until softened and light golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add onion mixture and broccoli to the egg mixture; stir in cheese. Pour into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.

Bake the pie until light golden and set, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool slightly, cut into wedges and serve.
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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.