Edition 42

August 21, 2009

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

• New -Rock Buns by Full English
• New -Cold Toddy, Ready To Drink, from Summermoon
• New -Sirloin Steaks, from Betsy Ross
• New -Patty Pan Squash, from various farmers
• Limited -Duck Eggs, we're reaching the end of duck egg 'season'
• New - Mango Kombucha - from GT's, highly requested
• New -String Cheese (cheddar & colby jack)- from Organic Valley

Govt Worried About Mega-Ag Monopolies!

I was so excited when I read this I could hardly contain myself. No matter your politics or views on economics, what's going on right now with Agri-business is NOT healthy for America's food system.

Through subsidies and ridiculous legislation, agri-business has tried hard to destroy the small farmer. We've been fighting back on a grass-roots level, but we're reaching a very important inflection point and without a fair playing field the battle gets much tougher (i.e. once small farms emerge from exemption limits, they are treated just like mega-ag). The current administration wants to help -

NPR Story

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

Past Event Recap & Photos?

I'm still working on a photo carousel for the website, but until then all recaps and photos from events are going to be posted on Facebook. You don't have to have an account to view our page, events or photos.

So, just go to www.facebook.com/greenling to learn more about what's going on. The Thai Fresh day was tons of fun and pictures from both the lunch bomb and cooking class have been posted. Also, Becca Stawartz (Woman with a Whisk & Eating Out of the Local Box) was in attendance and wrote an awesome blog about the class. Check it out here -

Local Box Cooking Class at Thai Fresh

Back to School (Lunches)

Back in the good ole days I had to walk to school uphill both ways, in the snow, with no shoes. Well, none of that is true. I rode the bus, had shoes, and couldn't wait for pizza day each week in the cafeteria. I had little appreciation for the rest of the food, but as it turns out we had real cooks who actually cooked lunch from ingredients. I'm told this practice is no longer. That school lunches arrive at the school in a box and all the cafeteria does is heat up industrial, empty-calorie food-like products.

How can we expect our kids to thrive without proper nutrition? It can be a scary thought. Studies are showing the Flintstone vitamins don't cut it. We need to feed kids real food.

Check out these Organic Lunch Box stuffers (along with the featured items)-

Sweetish Hill Whole Wheat (with Organic flour) - $5.49

Milk, Single-serve, (Choc, Straw, Vanilla) - $4.99/4-pack

Yogurt Squeezers, Cherry & Strawberry, Stonyfield - $4.45

Cheddar Bunnies, Annie's - $5.39

Peanut Butter, Creamy, Santa Cruz - $5.49

Meet Your Packing Crew

At the risk of bursting your bubble that your weekly present is pure magic, we'd like to introduce you to the people behind those notes and carefully packed bundles of joy.

This crew is like a well-oiled machine. They pack 600-800 baskets of local and/or Organic goodness each week. Isn't that amazing?! And they don't just pack - they receive shipments from farmers, prepare the bins & ice packs, and prep all sorts of things to keep the warehouse and food in tip-top shape. We have a second crew (we'll introduce later) that first goes through every pea and melon to ensure only pristine quality.

So meet (from the left) Paul, Devon (formerly Sage Advisor), Chris, Beth, Jeffrey, and Michelle. Scroll down to read their notes directly to you or check out the rest of the team here - Greenling Bios

This Week's Box Contents & Local Items

The summer heat is still blazing, but the occasional rains and clouds lately have given farmers some relief.  This will be the last week of peaches. It's been tough for melons and mid-season melons mostly failed. We had an early abundance and a couple of farmers who are confident about late-season melons coming in soon. Peppers, eggplant, okra, and squash are in full-force and at their best flavor now. We have both squash blossoms and Texas pears, but not enough of either for everyone so local boxes will get one or the other. Dried figs are also available from Purple Goose Farm.

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 (August 24-28):

• Blueberries - Berry Best Farm
• Eggplant - Tecolote
• Squash Blossoms (or Pears) - Montesino/Oasis Gardens
• Bell Peppers - Lundgren
• Cucumber or Canary Melon - Tecolote/Ringger
• Yellow Squash - Naegelin
• Baby Leeks - Animal Farm
• Lettuce - Bluebonnet
• Garlic - Montesino
• Mint - Pure Luck
• Limes - G&S Groves

Last Week's (August 17-21) Local Box Video

In Farmstead & Local Produce Boxes ($49.99) this week (August 24-28):

• Pasta! - The Pasta Co
• Focaccia x3 - Texas French Bread
• Mediterranean Cheddar - Brazos Valley
• Texas Butter Cookies x3 - Texas French Bread

Gluten Free Farmstead

• Prepared Lasagna - Wildwood Bakery
• Mediterranean Cheddar - Brazos Valley
• Cookies x3 - Wildwood Bakery

Produce from Local Farms

• Arugula, Baby - Animal Farm
• Berries, Blueberries-Berry Best Farms
• Herb, Asst - Pure Luck
• Herbs, Basil, Live - Bella Verdi
• Lentil Sprouts - Groovy Greens
• Sunflower Sprouts - Groovy Greens
• Anaheim - Arnold Organics/Lundgren
• Purple Hull Peas - Animal Farm
• Elephant Garlic cloves - Green Gate
• Lettuce, Baby - Animal Farm
• Lettuce, Bibb - Bella Verdi
• New Mexican Chilis - Tecolote
• Red Bell peppers - My Father's Farm
• Okra - Bradshaw Farms
• Parsley - Bluebonnet

Produce from Local Farms

• Limes - G&S Grove
• Microgreens, Arugula - Bella Verdi
• Microgreens, Broccoli - Bella Verdi
• Mushroom, Crimini - Kitchen Pride
• Mushroom, Portabella - Kitchen Pride
• Mushroom, Shiitake - Kitchen Pride
• Mushroom, White - Kitchen Pride
• Onion, Yellow - Naegelin
• Peaches - Cooper Orchards
• Potatoes, Red - Naegelin
• Cantaloupe - Tecolote
• Shallots - Lundgren Farm
• Jalapeno - Lundgren
• Serrano - Lundgren
• Eggplant - Ringger

News & Events

Local Food Tasting Soiree

-Aug 28th, 7pm

-Rockroom Labs (map)

-FREE

This is the 6th in our series of Soirees where we highlight your best in-season cooking recipes along with some chef-created ones and vote on which are good enough to go in the Greenling Cookbook. This month we have a very special venue as Scott Collier invites us into his Rockroom Experimental Labs where he dreams up and plays with different wine-making methods and grapes. He'll feature some of his best wines and Greenling will bring some beverages too. Kid friendly event, we'll mingle in this awesome wine room and make a few local food creations famous!

-UPDATE - Shane Stark, Executive Chef at Paggi House, will prepare some local goodness for us. Also, Cafe Caffeine will bring some beverages and salsas.

See more info here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=137692594151

Notes from your packing crew

---So, what do you do and do you have anything to say to our customers?

Paul - I start the bins rolling every morning. Thanks everyone! Without y'all we wouldn't be here.

Devon - After a year of being the 'face' of Greenling, I have moved to the warehouse alongside our passionate packing team and reside as the wizard behind the curtain of all Greenling orders. Pyrotechnics aside, we are able to get down to the best part of Greenling - the FOOD! Consider me your personal grocery shopper ready to deliver the local and Organic makeover of your dreams. Oh, and we also like to draw pictures on your packing slips. Yes, they are originals and hot the creation of munchkins.

Chris - Let's face it, no one around here has any clear job descriptions, but I was the original warehouse worker and have done everything back here. Now I mainly keep an eye on the rest of them. Thanks to all of you! I don't often get a chance to talk to you, but we love you. Bringing you good food and getting feedback keeps us going and it's a very interesting place to work to say the least.

Beth - Greetings, and thanks for getting to know who we are. I've been packing delicious, mostly local and Organic food at Greenling since March. I love working here because I believe eating high-quality food results in a high-quality life. And I love how eating can be an event that brings people closer together. May all your meals from Greenling be filled with love, health, and happiness!

Jeffrey - Hello Greenling customers. I appreciate all of your business and as I make sure your cold stuff stays cold (as best I can with ice bottles in this heat). Getting up early can be hard, but being done early afternoon means I can take more college courses. Thanks again!

Michelle - It's my pleasure to pick out quality produce for Greenling's supporters. It's a great feeling to pass along produce from the local farms of Central Texas. Thank you for making it possible. Enjoy, and as always, happy abundance!

Recipe Corner

Summer Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise then into 1/4-inch slices
• 3 small yellow squash, cut in half lengthwise then into 1/4-inch slices
• 2 green bell peppers, cut into bite-size strips
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into bite-size strips
• 3 banana (or hot) peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 sweet onions, sliced
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
• 2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• garlic powder to taste (optional)
• onion powder to taste (optional)
• seasoned salt to taste (optional)
• black pepper to taste (optional)

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C). Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add zucchini, yellow squash, green and red bell pepper, and onions; cook, stirring occasionally until slightly softened.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, and flour. Season as desired with seasonings of choice. When vegetables are tender, drain skillet of excess liquid and arrange in the bottom of a large glass baking dish. Distribute cheese evenly over the vegetables. Pour

in the egg mixture, and spread bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese over the top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until bubbling hot. Remove cover during the last 15 minutes to brown top lightly. Serve immediately.

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