Edition 174

April 9, 2010

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

• New - Meat Categories, you have always been able to see various local meats in the left-hand navigation, but we learned from the main menu they have been hidden.
• New - Cheese Spreads, local from Brazos Valley, for a short time
• New - Fresh Garlic & Dill, from local farms
• Back - Chevre, from Pure Luck
• Back - Tecolote Farms, this Austin original only grows seasonally and is back for the next few months
• Going Away -Turnips, Cilantro, & Collards, from local sources. Ahhh, it was a good collard season. We'll miss you all

Get rewarded for being green!

Did you know you can get $5 off your order by showing us your efforts to be green? Most of your green efforts are thankless so we want to change that by giving you a gift for making the world a little better. Here was Dan's submission -

"Well, I saw the whole $5 off thing for showing off how green you are... So I thought I'd send you a picture of me line drying my cycling gear, which I cycle commute most days that aren't raining (or really cold), and in the back ground you can see our rain barrels which we use to water our organic vegetable and herb garden right next to the house. Oh, plus our back yard is xeriscaped. Hopefully that's green enough to qualify for the $5. :) Thanks! And keep up the great service!"

So, show us YOUR green and get $5 off your next order.

Radish Shmadish

While making most of its appearances in salads, radish can be used in quite a few more recipes. They can be replaced for turnips in most recipes and can add a little crunch and spice as a topping to any dish.

Remove the greens as soon as you get them as they can sap water from the roots. But don't throw them away! Store the tops and bottoms separately in bags in the fridge. Radish don't freeze or dry well, but luckily the bottoms last for over a week.

They're best eaten raw and to reduce their strength just cut into smaller pieces. The leaves are similar to the roots with a bit of a spicy flavor. They can be added to salads as well or sauté the whole mix with some garlic and oil for a spicy side dish.

Now It's a Little Easier to Be Green

One of the things we try to do is help other companies move towards Sustainability. With your help, we can show one of Austin's best cleaning services the benefits of going green! Just in time for Earth Day, Morehands is testing out a non-toxic cleaning product maid service. They'll use Seventh Generation, who has refined their natural cleaning products over 20 years and consumer reviews show they're as effective as chemical cleaners. So what's wrong with chemical cleaners? Personally, I think much is wrong.

Cleaning products have been increasing in strength for decades which means they've also been increasing in toxicity (their logic - toxic=clean so more toxic=more clean). Every year dozens more toxic chemicals are invented and because they're not directly applied to humans don't need to be tested for safety! In addition to the environmental dangers of this, over-exposure to these through the air or skin contact can cause all sorts of well-documented problems like allergies, cancers, and poisonings. Kids and pets are even more sensitive than adults to these chemicals.

There's no debate we're exposed to toxic chemicals from cleaning products. The debate is around how much is too much. I don't know the answer but I'll choose to not be a guinea pig for this debate and I hope you do too. Show Morehands that there's a demand and market for non-toxic cleaning in Austin.

P.S. - I'm not being paid by them and I'm sorry this has little to do with food. It has much to do with the environment and Sustainability and I hope their program succeeds. Send us your Morehands green cleaning receipt and get $5 off your next Greenling basket.

Come to the Slow Money Austin Showcase

Slow Money Austin is a newly formed group I'm helping launch with the goal of bringing our money back down to earth and into our backyard. SMA is hosting a pair of events this April to talk specifics on how to do this and how to help the local food system thrive! On April 21 is a conference at City Hall featuring a keynote by Woody Tasch, author of Slow Money, experts from around the country joining local leaders to help us envision the future of the local food system.

Then on April 22, Earth Day, SMA has teamed up with the award-winning Dai Due supper club and Barr Mansion Organic events center for an amazing local food fundraising dinner. Join us and help support this cause.

Register for either event here

UPDATE - Malverde has offered to host a happy hour after the showcase with free local-food appetizers for showcase attendees. Tickets are 85% sold so buy yours soon.

This Week's Box Contents & Local Items

The ginormous celery is back and with the mild weather the strawberries are still coming out of the fields. Lots of spring planting has been going on for some great summer crops. Melons, squashes, and early-season tomatoes are all in the ground.

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 (Apr 12-16):

• Spring Onions - Montesino
• Dill or Parsley - Animal Farm
• Red Radish - Animal Farm
• Carrots - My Father's Farm
• Green or Bibb Lettuce - Acadian
• Fresh Garlic - Tecolote
• Strawberries - Poteet
• Grapefruit - G&S
• Swiss Chard - Acadian
• Texas Celery - Finca Pura

Last Week's (Apr 5-9) Local Box Video:

In Farmstead Boxes this week (Apr 12-16):

• Spinach Braid - Little Bluestem Bakery
• Special Recipe Brownie - Mary Louise
• Spring Delight Tea - Zhi Tea

Order Here

Fresh, Prepared Meal Selection for this week:

Dish #1 - Classic Chicken Tortilla Soup(1 pint - serves 1 for lunch) - Every culture has their own 'chicken soup for the soul' recipe. This is one of our favorites. Our handmade chicken stock thickened with El Milagro corn tortillas is the base for tender chunks of natural, Dewberry Hills Farm chicken, tomatoes and smokey chipotle peppers. A spicy cure for what ails you.

-Ingredients: chicken stock, chicken, tomato, onion, garlic, corn tortilla, oregano, chipotle, dried chiles, herbs, salt, pepper

Dish #2 - Cranberry Quinoa w/ Almonds, Broccoli & Spinach Pesto(1 pint) - If you haven't heard about quinoa (keen-wah) yet, now's the time to get in the know! A proven superfood, this nutty grain is packed with protein and all nine essential amino acids. Plus, it's high in the nutrients magnesium and manganese, which help relax blood vessels and relieve headaches. And it's tasty! We fold in tart cranberries, crunchy almonds, and sweet Texas broccoli then toss in our tasty spinach pesto for a delicious lunch on the go. Pair it with a fresh green salad, or with an entree as a side dish.

-Ingredients: quinoa, olive oil, broccoli, almond, spinach, cranberry, lemon, vinegar, honey, garlic, herbs, spices, salt, pepper

Produce from Local Farms

• 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
• Meyer Lemons - G&S Groves
• Kale - Naegelin
• Mars Orange - G&S Grove
• Grapefruit - G&S Grove
• Limes - G&S Grove
• Green Leaf Lettuce - The Farm Patch
• Romaine Lettuce - The Farm Patch
• Red Leaf Lettuce - The Farm Patch
• Spinach - Naegelin
• Baby Spinach - Animal Farm
• Green Shallots - Lundgren and Acadian
• Pea Shoots - Bluebonnet
• Watercress - Bluebonnet
• Artichoke - Miguel Farm
• Celery - Finca Pura Vida

Produce from Local Farms

• Microgreens, Arugula - Bella Verdi
• Microgreens, Broccoli - Bella Verdi
• Mushroom, Crimini - Kitchen Pride
• Mushroom, Portabella - Kitchen Pride
• Mushroom, Shiitake - Kitchen Pride
• Mushroom, White - Kitchen Pride
• Potatoes, Sweet -Naegelin
• Red Radish - My Father's Farm
• Daikon Radish - Green Gate
• Green Garlic - Green Gate
• White Spring Onion - My Father's Farm
• Onion, Yellow - Naegelin
• Arugula - Acadian
• Baby Arugula - Acadian
• Green Cabbage - Naegelin
• Tomatoes - Village Farm
• Broccoli - Various
• Collard Greens - Naegelin
• Mustard Greens - Naegelin
• Cilantro - My Father's Farm
• Kohlrabi - My Father's Farm
• Strawberries - Poteet Farm
• Baby Bok Choy - Animal Farm
• Flat Leaf Parsley - Animal Farm

Events & Local Food Happenings Around Town

Stone Soup Party

-April 10th, 3-6pm (kid friendly)

-$10 donation to Sustainable Food Center

-1 vegetarian ingredient

You know this story! It's time to share it with your kids. David Ansel (aka The Soup Peddler) and Mason Arnold of Greenling are throwing a party on April 10th from 3-6pm for friends and families to celebrate together for a cause: healthy, local, affordable food for all - the mission of Sustainable Food Center! Bring a vegetarian ingredient, no more than will fill your belly, to contribute to the pot. Soup Peddler provides the stones and Greenling brings the libations. We’ll have a reading of Stone Soup story for kids. Outdoors, weather-permitting.

RSVP here

Local Box Workshop

-Saturday, Apr 17th

-9:30am - 2:00pm

-$8

-Faraday's Kitchen Store (map)

Join Chef Andrew Brooks (spiritedfood.com) for our Local Box Workshop at Faraday's Kitchen Store, 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

Austin EarthDay Week

-April 14-22

-Free

-Various Locations

The great people at Austin Green Art And Hill Country Conservancy have put together a whole week of events to help celebrate Earth Day (April 22). It kicks off with the Old 97's and Ben Kweller on the 14th at Stubbs and runs through EarthDay festivals on the 21st and Slow Money dinner on the 22nd. Celebrate this planet!

Learn more at http://www.austinearthday.com

Film Screening of The Garden

-April 20th, 7:30pm

-Free thanks to Greenling

-Bob Bullock Museum (map)

Join the Austin Film Festival for a presentation of the Academy Award nominated documentary, The Garden. Greenling is sponsoring this film that tells the story of a fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles – the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community.

But now bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis. The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers.

Admission is free, but you must rsvp to rsvp@austinfilmfestival.com

Recipe Corner

Strawberry Soda

Ingredients

• 2 large limes, quartered
  
• 1/2 bunch mint leaves
  
• 7 strawberries, quartered
  
• 1 cup white sugar
  
• 3 cups carbonated water
  

Instructions:

Squeeze the lime quarters into a sturdy glass pitcher. Toss the juiced limes into the pitcher along with the mint, strawberries, and sugar. Crush the fruits together with a muddler to release the juices from the strawberries and the oil from the mint leaves. Stir in the club soda until the sugar has dissolved. Pour into the sugared glasses over ice cubes to serve.

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.