Edition 37

July 17, 2009

• Local Box Contents
• Best of Austin & Updates
• Recipe Corner
• Greenling Tidbits

• New - Flavored Basil & Mint! from Pure Luck
• New -Coffee, multiple varieties, one good for cold-brew or iced coffee, from Austin Java
• New -Wholegrain Shortbread & Rock Buns from Full English (Local)
• Short Supply - Raw Agave - we're searching for a new source
• Back in Stock, kinda - Vital Farm Certified Organic Local eggs - the heat is torturing these ladies and they're not laying much. Rinnger farms will help fill the orders

Did you know how much you're helping the planet by supporting Greenling?

The amount of fuel Greenling uses in a day is 86% less than all of our customers from that day driving to the grocery store and back! No kidding! Because we go to one area of town a day and drop up to 200 baskets, we use very little fuel per delivery.

Greenling of course uses renewable energy for all of its electricity and its web servers are powered directly by solar panels.

Greenling recycles everything it can (the shredded paper in your bin is recycled office paper) and almost never throws away food - if we can't eat it we donate it to soup kitchens, animal rescue operations, and compost companies. - check out this video of one of our food partners -

Newsletter Tip - Font a little too small for you? On a PC just hit 'Ctrl'and '+' to zoom in

Awesome Independent Blog Review by a New Greenling Customer

Excerpt from littleaustinite.com...

My kids are an easy sell for vegetables and fruits, and for that I am truly grateful that I do not have picky eaters. Hubby on the other hand grimaces at vegetables and fruits, and though he can always be persuaded to eat something in the name of good health, he does so in a completely forced manner.

When the box first arrived at our doorstep, I unpacked all items and decided to slice up one peach for the kids to share. I offered a piece to hubby, and to my surprise he was fighting the kids for the peach. This was either a dream where I was in Bizarro World, or the peach was something special. I snagged a piece for myself, and hubby kept saying that this was the best peach that he had EVER eaten. We grew up with a peach tree in our backyard, and I know what fresh peaches taste like straight from the tree at the height of the season. Greenling packed us two seriously awesome peaches. We had not even had our box opened for ten minutes, and both peaches were gone.

This is just a tidbit..read the whole, awesome review here -

http://littleaustinite.com/?p=3057

Opportunity of a Lifetime

November 2004 I called up a friend of mine and said I was ready to start another Sustainability company and asked if he could get together and help me figure out what to do. Well, almost 5 years later and the company that was born from that phone call is an award-winning business that is helping revitalize local food systems in Central Texas. Greenling is entering an exciting new phase in its life and I’m looking for an operating partner to help us grow to new levels. I look forward to continuing to help lead the company, just in a business development role.

The best person to lead Greenling is an experienced manager who likes metrics and incremental improvements. You’ve got a passion for Sustainability, some entrepreneurial experience, and are willing to invest in Greenling’s growth ($30k+; there’s no motivation quite like having some skin in the game). Email me if you’re interested or know someone who would be - mason AT greenling DOT com.

Mason Arnold

Bake Sale Still Cookin'

TNow that we got the sale fever, we're going to spread the love to some other items to help you beat the heat.

Check out these hot specials (baking hot....we're not actually baking for the sale) and see Recipe Corner below for a recipe using all of them:

10% off all Wine & Beer (20% off Frog's Leap) - Travis county only

Annie's French Dressing - $1.99 - ok people, this is the 3rd time we've reduced the price. This is now about 50% off the cheapest price you can find anywhere ($3.50-$4.50 in stores).

Pinto Beans, Eden Foods - $1.79

Shredded Cheese, Mexican Blend, OV - $5.20

Corn Chips, Garden of Eatin - $4.09

Ground Beef, Local Grass-fed, Bastrop Cattle Co - $6.89/lb

And many, many more! Just browse awesome.greenling.com to find them (hint - they'll say 'SALE' next to them)!

Summer Bin Round-up

Please remember to leave out your bins. If you forget, just give us a call and we'll come pick them up another time. Thanks!

This Week's Box Contents & Local Items

We've been receiving an amazing assortment of heirloom pepper varieties. We've decided to combine some different varieties and give you a bag of mixed sweet peppers.

Peaches are back (last week some came in with rot on the inside - we had to cut into them to find it, but had to pull from the box) and this week you'll find some delicious figs! They will be picked and delivered to us daily and you should enjoy them quickly as they're very perishable.

Here's what's 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 (July 20-24):

• Blueberries - Berry Best Farm
• Purple Hull Peas - Animal Farm
• Beefsteak/Heirloom Tomatoes - Tecolote
• Mixed Sweet Peppers - Various
• Figs - Oasis Gardens
• Cucumbers - Buena Tierra
• Sweet Onion - Tecolote
• Red Potatoes - Naegelin
• Basil - Pure Luck
• Jalapeños - Lundgren
• Peaches - Caskey Orchard

Last Week's (July 13-17) Local Box Video

In Farmstead & Local Produce Boxes ($49.99) this week (July 20-24):

• Babaganush - The Mediterranean Chef
• Lemon Pound Cake - Little Bluestem Bakery
• Moroccan Mint Tea - Zhi Tea

Produce from Local Farms

• Arugula, Baby - Animal Farm
• Watermelon - Acadian Family Farm
• Berries, Blueberries-Berry Best Farms
• Poblano Peppers - Acadian Family Farm
• Garlic - Naegelin
• Grapefruit - G&S Grove
• Herb, Asst - Pure Luck
• Herbs, Basil, Live - Bella Verdi
• Lentil Sprouts - Groovy Greens
• Tomatoes, Slicing - Various
• Sunflower Sprouts - Groovy Greens
• Purple Potatoes - Tecolote
• Anaheim - Arnold Organics
• Elephant Garlic cloves - Green Gate
• Yukon potatoes - Tecolote
• Lettuce, Baby - Animal Farm
• Lettuce, Bibb - Bella Verdi
• Italian Peppers - Lundgren/Acadian Family Farm
• Green Bell peppers - Various Farms

Produce from Local Farms

• Limes - G&S Grove
• 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, White - Acadian Family Farm/Tecolote
• Onion, Yellow - Naegelin
• Onion, Red - Acadian
• Orange, Valencia - G&S Grove
• Peaches - Cooper Orchards
• Potatoes, Red - Naegelin
• Squash, Yellow - Naegelin
• Squash, Zucchini - Texas Natural
• Cantaloupe - Acadian Family Farm
• Shallots - Lundgren Farm
• Jalapeno - Lungren
• Banana Peppers - Naegelin
• Serrano - Lungren
• Eggplant - Various Farms

Vote For Us Pretty Please (Voting Ends July 21)

Austin Chronicle Reader's Poll

-Vote us Best Local Food Company (We are the 2-year reigning champ)

And not just because we ask nicely. Greenling has been delivering the best quality and selection of Local food for 4 years. We have 2x-3x the selection of local produce items of ANY grocery store. More local cheeses, more local meat, more local everything. We're you're best source for local goodness, guaranteed!

We can support local artisan producers in ways no one else can. Because of our online ordering, if they want to sell a new product we can try the samples and offer it on the website to see if you're interested in it before they invest in all the supplies needed to make that new product in large quantities - saving them time and money. We can, and do, work with local vendors of all sizes - from the 6-dozen yard eggs we get from Smiling Frog Farm to the thousands of pounds of melons we get from Buena Tierra. We help local food producers grow (pun most certainly intended).

So vote for us and make us the Best Local Food Company in Austin for the 3rd year in a row! And get your friends to vote for us too! We appreciate every vote and we'd be so honored to win this again.

Vote Here

Recipe Corner - Winning Soiree Recipes

We had a local food tasting last Friday evening where about 75 people tried different local food dishes and voted on their favorites. These two dishes won the Best Use of Local and the Easy Gourmet categories (the Best Overall will be a surprise in the Cookbook):

Best Use of Local - Sweet Summer Salad

By Cote Catering

Ingredients:

• 3 zucchini, shaved (from Texas Natural)
  
• 3 summer squash, shaved (from Naegelin Farms)
  
• 1/2 red onion, shaved (from Acadian Family Farm)
  
• 1/2c Texas Olive Ranch olive oil
  
• 1/3c Good Flow honey
  
• 1/3c red wine vinegar
  
• kosher salt & fresh black pepper

Instructions:

On a mandolin, shave zucchini, summer squash & red onion as thin as you can, place in a bowl & set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together olive oil, vinegar & honey, toss with vegetable until evenly coated. Add salt & pepper to taste. Can be refrigerated for up to three days. Serves 10.

Easy Gourmet - Garlicky Basil Dip

By Mylie Arnold

Ingredients:

• 1 head garlic (from Naegelin)
  
• 1 (14/15 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (from Texas Olive Ranch)
  
• 4 teaspoons white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• 1 bunch fresh basil (from Buena Tierra)
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions:

Peel garlic. Remove basil leaves from stems. Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Easy Sale Items Recipe (not a soiree winner) - Mexican Salad

Make the best, and cheapest, organic salad you've ever had using items that are on sale from Greenling

Ingredients:

• 1# Bastrop Beef Co Ground beef
  
• 1 14.5oz can Eden Foods Pinto Beans, drained
  
• 1 head chopped romaine lettuce
  
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Organic Valley Mexican Cheese Blend
  
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
  
• 1 package Garden of Eatin' Yellow corn chips, lightly crushed
  
• 1 bottle Annies French salad dressing

Instructions:

In a skillet brown the ground meat, than drain. In a large bowl, combine the romaine, cheese, pinto beans,and tomatoes. Add the corn chips and enough dressing to coat; toss and serve.

For More Recipes Check Out The Eating Out of the Local Box Blog