Edition 187

July 9, 2010

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

• Out, for a while - Dewberry Farms Chicken, and they will only offer whole birds when they come back. Cut up birds are not available at all in Central Texas now. Someone please get us some mobile processing!
• New -Chicken, certified Organic cuts from non-local sources, to replace Dewberry
• New -Local Certified Organic Milk, first ever in Central Texas! Texas Daily Harvest
• Coming Soon -Cottage Cheese, Greek Yogurt, Neufchatel, & hard cheeses, local and certified organic from Texas Daily Harvest
• New -Local Lamb, from a new local, grass-fed source, will add a few cuts and smooth out supply
• New - Rosemary Garlic Jack & Smoked Provolone, from Brazos Valley, by request and verified they are AWESOME!
• New -Condiments & Spreads, from Dai Due

Organic Updates

I am going to always try to give you good news with the bad. We'll start with the good:

Organic Milk linked with reduced heart attack risk - It's all about the CLA's baby! Organic milk has more and CLAs protect against heart disease.

Washington Potato farmers applying most toxic pesticide ever created - Seriously! This sucks because potatoes are so prevalent in our foods, but the way the pesticide, called aldicarb, works is by absorbing into the plants. So it's IN THE POTATOES by design and incredibly toxic to all mammals (that's us). Any detectable level in food poses risks even EPA acknowledges. There's a group trying to get this horrible poison banned. Until then, please only buy sustainably grown or Organic potatoes (all we carry!)

Check out this table on Washington potato farmer chemical applications. It's scary

The Secret to Awesome Tomatoes

The grocery stores don't want you to know this, but there's a simple secret behind great-tasting tomatoes -

Don't refrigerate them and eat them within a couple of days

So, I admit it's not as convenient as throwing them in the refrigerator. But if you're serious about peak tomato flavor, this is all you need to do. Cooling tomatoes below about 55F actually changes the flavor.

The tomatoes in the store are all from the refrigerator in back of the store. Stores just don't turn these morsels around fast enough to leave them out because they'll spoil within a few days. At Greenling, our tomatoes don't get below 55F and arrive almost daily so they still have that off-the-vine taste to them.

Finally, a Local Organic Pastured Milk!

And ohhhh, are we in for a treat. Texas Daily Harvest has started offering low-temperature pasteurized, non-homogenized, certified Organic milks, cheeses & other goodies through Greenling & farmers markets. You'll know it's something special from the first sip because these small-farm happy cows are 100% pastured which gives the milk a distinctively rich and nutty flavor. The cream floats to the top so remember to shake it. It's a glorious day in Central Texas. Now we just need some Organic meat processing so we can have local, Organic meat.

Check out the sidebar note about Organic milk being linked with lower heart attack risk. TDH will only sell whole, but really folks, we should all be drinking whole milk. Organic, grass-fed, whole-milk fat will heal your body and is incredibly good for you. Raw is the best, but that's illegal for us to sell (thanks a lot Texas Dairy Board oligarchy). I think this is the next best thing available to us.

Try it in your order this week

Vote Greenling 'Best Local Food Company' Again!

And not just because we ask nicely (pretty please?). We're working hard to grow the local food movement & are the largest single source for local food anywhere and are still able to work with any size farmer or producer - from a backyard gardener to hundred-acre farms. We also threw an awesome party last year when we won! We collected the best local food and beverages and threw a bash that hundreds of people attended and were able to sample what makes Austin food so good. We'd love to throw another party and need your votes! Here's what makes us the 'Best Local Food Company:'

• We have the largest selection of local, sustainably produced foods of any retail outlet, anywhere!
• We have 2x-10x the local produce of any grocery store
• We bring it all right to your door!
• We're the best outlet for local vendors with flexible receiving and the ability to work with any size producer from a backyard gardener to large local farmers
• We even work with many CSAs and buy crops before and after their CSA season to increase the farm income
• We help new producers get started with purchasing commitments and growing, year-round demand
• We also support local operations through fund-raisers and behind-the-scenes efforts like drafting legislation to make local, Organics easier and helping form Slow Money Austin which aims to bring more investment capital to the local food system

We hope it's an easy vote for you. Go here to cast it and ask your friends to vote for us too!

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). Items with a (*) are only available in the Local Box:

In Local Boxes ($34.99) this week (Jul 12-16):

• French Red Tomatoes - Tecolote
  
• Flat Leaf Parsley - Tecolote
  
• Butternut Squash - Massey Farm
  
• Cherry/Grape Tomatoes - Acadian
  
• Speckled Lima Beans** - Just Peach Farm
  
• Garlic Chives- Tecolote
  
• Banana Peppers - Acadian
  
• Cantaloupe or Blueberries - Orange Blossom or Berry Best
  
• Peaches or Plums - Caskey or Massey
• Curly Mustard - Texas Natural
  
• Pickling Cukes - Acadian

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

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

• Homemade Crunchy Croutons - Little Bluestem
• Aged Parmesan Crumbles - Brazos Valley
• Basil Pesto - My Fathers Farm

Order Here

Fresh, Prepared Meal Selection for this week:

Dish #1 - Coconut Chickpea Curry over Basmati Rice(1 pint - serves 1 for lunch) - A delicious lunch-sized portion of our spiced yellow curry with tender organic chickpeas, delicately sweetned with fresh coconut milk. Served over fragrant basmati rice, this is perfect for a quick lunch or a dinner for one.

-Ingredients: chickpeas, onion, garlic, ginger, scallion, tomato, coconut milk, basmati rice, clarified butter, spices, herbs, salt, pepper

Dish #2 - Summer Corn Soup w/ Sweet Pepper Relish(1 pint) - Deliciously simple corn soup, made with fresh sweet corn from J&B Farms in Hondo, TX. First, we use all the flavor-packed corn cobs to craft a heavenly corn stock for the base of the soup. Yellow onions, fresh garlic and herbs are sauteed until golden, and then the sweet kernels are stirred in and we simmer to bring it all together. The soup is blended until smooth and finished with a sweet pepper and corn relish for a delectable soup any way you enjoy it, warm or chilled.

-Ingredients: corn, water, onion, garlic, tomato, sweet pepper, olive oil, lemon, vinegar, cream, herbs, spices, salt, pepper

Produce from Local Farms

• Arugula-Bluebonnet
  
• Arugula, Baby-Animal Farm
  
• Basil-Various
  
• Basil, Live-BellaVerdi
  
• Beets and Carrots Juicing-My Father's Farm
  
• Carrots with Tops-Various
  
• Chard-Texas Natural
  
• Cucumbers-Acadian Family Farm
  
• Garlic-Ringger Family Farm
  
• Green Cabbage-Naegelin
  
• Herbs-Pure Luck
  
• Parsley-My Father's Farm
  
• Lettuce,Bibb-BellaVerdi
  
• Microgreens-BellaVerdi
  
• Mushroom, Crimini-Kitchen Pride
  
• Mushroom, Oyster-Kitchen Pride
  
• Mushroom, Port caps-Kitchen Pride
  
• Mushroom, White-Kitchen Pride

Produce from Local Farms

• Okra - My Father's Farm, Tecolote
  
• Pepper,Cayenne -
• Pea Shoots-Bluebonnet
  
• Pepper, Green Bell-My Father's Farm, Ringger
• Potatoes, Red-Naegelin
  
• Potatoes, Yukon-Oak Hill
  
• Shallot-Lundgren
  
• Sprouts, All-Groovy Greens
  
• Summer Squash-Various
  
• Tomato, Cherry-Naegelin
  
• Tomato, Slicing - ABJ Farms
• Tomato, Green-Ringger Family Farm
  
• Watercress-Bluebonnet
• Berries, Blueberries -Berry Best Farms
  
• Mango-G&S
• Cantaloupe - Orange Blossom
  
• Peaches-Caskey, Lundgren
• Watermelon - Orange Blossom, ABJ Farm

Events & Local Food Happenings Around Town

Greenling Austin Soiree - Summer Grillin' & Chillin'

-July 24th

-FREE

-chef Dzintra Dzenis' home & supper club (location)

Mix, Mingle and Munch! Join us in downtown Austin this month for our community potluck. You're welcome to bring something, but you don't have to. All dishes should please include at least one ingredient of locally produced, organically grown food. Dishes will be in the running for inclusion is our upcoming cookbook. Plus, the dish that gets the most votes overall that night wins a FREE Local Box!! You get to be famous and get a free box of $34.99 of local, seasonal veggies. RSVP by calling or emailing Greenling.com (512-440-8449) or emailing jevans AT greenling.com.

Exciting Updates:

chef and Next Food Network Star finalist Dzintra Dzenis will host. See her website here

Bastrop Cattle Co & Menzie's Farm are donating beef and lamb for Dzintra to teach us grilling techniques with!

See the facebook event page here

The French Twist w/ Chef Alain Braux

-July 12, 7-8:30pm

-Free, I think

-Habitat Suites, Austin

Join Slow Food for a special session with French chef and Nutritherapist for People’s Pharmacy, Alain Braux. Alain Braux grew up in Southern France where he learned to cultivate a SLOW FOOD lifestyle that laid the foundation of knowledge shared in his award winning book, How to Lower your Cholesterol with French Gourmet Food. We will learn how to choose, prepare, and enjoy foods in ways that preserve their nutrients and healthy benefits as Alain reveals the nourishing qualities of French cuisine and lifestyle. He will also cover gluten food allergies and the discoveries he has made writing new gluten free cookbook. Best of all, everyone will get to sample and take home one of Alain’s tres bonne gluten free recipe in time to celebrate Bastille Day with your friends.

See same info on Slow Food Austin's website here

Hush Hush Summer Dinner Series

-July 18th, 7pm

-$65

-Private Residence

Join us with gastroGIANT, a new Austin start up focusing on custom events, private catering and cooking classes, is hosting a Summer Dinner Series. This collection of small, spontaneous dining events in surprising locations will feature Chef Patrick (formally of La Condesa) and local food from Greenling.com. Yum!

This month's event, "The Midwest," is a celebration of summer bounty including sweet corn, homemade butter, grass fed beef, ice cream and cake. Beer paired with each course. So come make some new friends, enjoy an excellent meal and create another Austin summer memory.

For more information, a detailed menu, and to buy tix via Paypal, please visit www.gastrogiant.wordpress.com or email gastrogiant@gmail.com

RSVP today! Deadline: Wed July 14.
Tickets $65 a person. Location given at time of reservation.

Natural Epicurean Professional Training Program, Open House

-July 24th, 11:30am-2:30pm

-Free

-Natural Epicurean, Austin

The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts is proud to offer one of the only plant based professional chef training programs in the country, training chefs in macrobiotic, classical vegetarian, vegan, Ayurvedic and raw & living foods techniques and recipes.

In this open house session, held at the brand new kitchen facilities at 1700 S. Lamar Blvd, learn about our unique 900-hour chef training program, meet the instructors and directors, and realize your future as a certified chef in the rapidly growing field of natural and whole foods cooking.

This program will give you the education you need to be competitive and savvy in this ever-expanding market. Come experience something uniquely different with The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts.

click here to learn more

Recipe Corner

Grilled Salad - from our partner, Spirited Food

Ingredients

• 2 medium yellow squash
  
• ½ medium sized yellow onion
  
• 1 lb eggplant
  
• 1 lb fresh okra
  
• ½ lb crimini mushrooms
  
• 1 head green leaf lettuce, chopped, washed, and dried
  

  For the vinaigrette:
  

• ¼ cup good quality balsamic vinegar
  
• ½ cup good quality olive oil
  
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
  
• 1 tsp stone ground mustard or dry mustard
  
• Salt & pepper
  
  

Instructions:

1. preheat grill to medium high.

2. trim the ends from the squashes and slice them in half lengthwise. Place them on a sheet pan.

3. slice the onion into ½ “ thick rings and place next to the squash.

4. slice the eggplant into ½ “ thick rounds and place on the sheet pan. Spray the squash, onion, and eggplant with canola oil and season lightly with salt & pepper.

5. add the okra and mushrooms to a medium bowl and toss with enough canola oil to coat. Season with salt & pepper.

6. grill the vegetables just until done and return to the sheet pan. Cool the vegetables in the refrigerator.

7. slice all the vegetables into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the lettuce to the bowl and keep cold until needed.

8. make the vinaigrette: using a hand blender, mix the vinaigrette ingredients until emulsified, about 1 minute.

9. to serve, toss the salad with just enough vinaigrette to coat. Serve immediately.

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.