Edition 50

October 16, 2009

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

• New - Local Braeburn & Jonathan Apples, from Apple Country
• New - Too many pantry items to list, from local & non-local sources
• New -Winter Squash, from Local sources
• New -Turkeys & Holiday Baskets, from local & non-local sources
• Coming Soon - Gift Baskets & plantable Gift Certificates, the best eco-gifts in town are not only environmentally friendly, but our gift cards are made of seeds you can plant!
• New -Sandwich Cookies, from Late July
• Coming Soon - Carrots, from Local sources
• Short Supply - Lemons, lettuces, broccoli & more, local & California rains have affected some crops
• New -Verterra Party Plates & Bowls, made from fallen palm leaves with no additives - 100% biodegradable, sturdy, and quite attractive

Delivery Tutorial

Confused at all by our delivery schedule options? Just want to learn a little more about the power of our website? Check out the short, 2-minute tutorial on how to unlock the power of scheduling.

You can create alternating basket deliveries, go on vacation and automatically start back up, alternate cards the box is charged to, and much more.

Click here to watch it

Delivery Tip - If you have more than one empty bin you can open their lids and put them inside of each other. It's called nesting and saves a lot of space compared to stacking the closed bins on top of each other.

Behind The Curtain Spotlight

Candy Hunke - Candied Yams (buyer)

There are two amazing things in the previous line - 1. Yes, her real name is Candy; 2. we just have one buyer who orders our almost 1000 items every week.

I'd like to say it's all in our technology, but really she's a magician and a hero (and a wife & mom). She's also often available via our live chat to answer any product questions you may have.

Candy is from the small town of Rockdale and is not afraid to throw a bag of oats over her shoulder while carrying her daughter Erica (who is 2 1/2 - don't forget the half if you're talking to Erica) in her other arm. Candy loves to read and play. She says she doesn't have an exciting life anymore but she's just gotten used to coyotes attacking chicken farms or tornados wiping out a field of melons.

Read more about the team here

Thanksgiving Turkeys & Baskets

Gobble, Gobble! Gobble, gobble gobble-gobble. Gobble.

Turkeys are here. Well, we actually reserved them early summer, discussing their humane treatment and juicy flavor with the Richardsons who have been raising them just for us out in an open pasture with no chemicals or GMO feed or anything nature never intended. Unfortunately not all of our birds made it, being the Richardson's first year raising turkeys, so we only have 60 of these pasture-fed beauties (reserve now!). We'll have plenty of certified Organic birds from Organic Valley, which is a co-op of small farms. They just won't be local. We'll have small (10-14lb) birds and large (14+lb) for both types. And don't worry, we'll have mostly small birds this year (last year we ran out of small birds very quickly).

You can order Turkeys here and don't forget to schedule delivery the week of Thanksgiving or the week before. Here's a short, video tutorial on how to order a turkey!

We're also bringing you the best Thanksgiving baskets ever! We've been working hard to put together 3 special baskets for you that will be available to schedule Next Week (can be ordered with or without a bird):

Traditional Basket - All the ingredients that have become American staples for the holidays - chicken broth, butter, cranberry sauce, gravy mix, dressing mix, green beans (local), sweet potatoes (local), rolls (local), pies (local), salad mixes & salad dressing

All-Local Basket - We'll include recipes to help you turn local items into traditional holiday treats - green beans, mushrooms, kale & collards, apples & oranges, sweet potatoes, TG herb mix, pies, rolls, lettuce & SASS dressing

All-Prepared Basket - We're partnering with a caterer to create pre-made assortment of side dishes using mostly-local ingredients and may include green bean casserole, stuffing/dressing, sweet potato caseroles, & more

We're still finalizing a few ingredients and these basket will be available for scheduling next week. But relax, we've got your TG dinner covered!

This Week's Box Contents & Local Items

With cooler weather (yes, 90 is cooler) farmers are getting excited about the coming crops. For the first time in a while they're able to grow delicate leafy greens & more sensitive items. Winter squash varieties are coming out of the field now. We'll have Galas again this coming week, but will switch to Fuji after that.

Both locally and non-locally the rains brought by El Nino are causing some problems. Yes we love the rain's attempt to soften our drought, but heavy rains and no sunshine actually damages crops. Lemons, lettuces, and broccoli locally and non-locally are all being affected.

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 (October 19-23):

• Thai Eggplant - Animal Farm
• Corno di Toro Peppers - Lundgren
• Grape Tomatoes - Naegelin
• Green Beans - Lightsey
• Gala Apples - Apple Country
• Cucumbers - Animal Farm
• Sweet Potatoes - Various
• Bibb Lettuce - Bluebonnet
• Bell Peppers - My Father's Farms
• Basil Pot - My Father's Farm
• Meyer Lemons - G&S Groves

Last Week's (Oct 12-16) Local Box Video:

In Farmstead & Local Produce Boxes ($49.99) this week (October 19-23):

• Specialty Cheese - Brazos Valley Cheese
• Exclusive Fara Brownie - Mary Louise
• NY Rye Bread - Sweetish Hill
• Exclusive Spiced Nuts - Austin Nuts

Gluten-free Farmstead Box:

• Specialty Cheese - Brazos Valley Cheese
• Gluten-Free 'Wheat' Boules - Wildwood Bakery
• GF Brownies - Green Brownie Co

Order Here

Fresh, Prepared Meal Selection for this week:

Pasta #1 - Penne Rigate w/ Arugula Gremolata, Feta, & Roasted Cherry Tomatoes (1 pint) - see website for full ingredients

Soup #2 - Fall Squash Soup (1 pint) - see website for full ingredients

Order Here

Produce from Local Farms

• Arugula, Baby - Animal Farm
• Herb, Asst - Pure Luck
• Herbs, Basil, Live - Bella Verdi
• Lentil Sprouts - Groovy Greens
• Sunflower Sprouts - Groovy Greens
• Habanero - Arnold Organics
• Gala Apples - Top of Texas
• Lettuce, Baby - Animal Farm
• Lettuce, Bibb - Bella Verdi
• Green Beans - Animal Farm/Lightsey
• Meyer Lemons - G&S Groves
• Okra - Bradshaw Farms
• Pea Shoots - Bluebonnet
• Watercress - Bluebonnet
• Persimmons
• Red and Green Bell Peppers - My Father's Farm/Walnut Creek

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, Red - Naegelin
• Potatoes, Sweet -Lightsey
• Onion, Yellow - Naegelin
• Potatoes, Red - Naegelin
• Shallots - Lundgren Farm
• Jalapeno - Lundgren
• Serrano - Lundgren
• Eggplant - McCall Creek
• Slicing Cucumbers - Naegelin
• Red Radish - My Father's Farm
• LARGE Watermelon - Lightsey
• Texas Hard Pears - Lightsey

Lunch Bomb Next Week

Greenling Lunch Bomb

-Tue. Oct 20th, 12pm

-Cipollina (map)

-Dutch

Join Greenling and support local businesses supporting local farms. There are lots of restaurants around town striving to use local products and they need us eating there (when we're not cooking at home with our families....which we should all do more of).

This time we'll descend on Cipollina West Austin Bistro where everything is made by hand, from scratch. Their mediterranean-inspired cuisine features the best expressions of central Texas meats, cheese, and vegetables.

So come have lunch with us, get to know some Greenlings, and enjoy some local food prepared by local artisans.

See more details here

Get a Month of Free Local Food Just for Referring 3 People to Greenling!

Tell the most people about us between now and November and win Free Local Boxes for a Year! It's the easiest free food we've ever offered. And to celebrate 3 years of being the 'Best Local Food Company' in the Austin Chronicle tell just 3 people about us and win a month of local food!

See Details on how to do it here

Download the flyer to give people with YOUR coupon code here (read details page to see what your coupon code is)

Community Events

Get out and support local food & Sustainability organizations this fall:

Click here for tickets and details on the Green Corn Project Annual Fund-raiser. Sunday Oct 25th

Click here for more details & click here for tickets to the Slow Food Austin Annual Fund-raiser. Wednesday Oct 21st

Click here to buy tickets to the Slow Food Feast in the Field at Green Gate Farms Benefitting Austin Discovery School. Saturday Oct 24th

Click here for more details on the Keep Austin Beautiful Fall Online Auction. $20 tickets and a grand prize worth over $8,000. Winner selected Oct 24th

Click here to learn more about Raw Food expert speakers coming to San Antonio on Oct 24th. Learn the latest scientific research on raw food diets, the signs of deficiencies & how to avoid them, vegetarian sources of protein, juicing vs blending, & more.

Click here to learn more about a cool new way to give to your favorite organizations - www.givv.org. Just set up an account and pick all your favorite charities. Decide on one monthly donation amount and it will automagically get split between all of your benefactors. Raise or lower the monthly amount at any time to always give what you can. Feel good about supporting all the organizations you like.

Recipe Corner

Winter Squash Soup with Apple Croutons

Ingredients:

FOR THE SQUASH SOUP

• 4 pounds winter squash such as butternut, pumpkin, Blue Hubbard, halved and strings and seeds discarded
  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 4 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 med onions, chopped
• 1 leek (white and pale green part only), halved lengthwise, washed well, and chopped
• 12 cups chicken broth or water
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup heavy cream

FOR THE CROUTONS

• 1 tart apple such as Granny Smith
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  

Instructions:

The following soup can be made with any variety of pumpkin except the traditional jack-o-lantern variety, which is too watery and lacks flavor. Apple Schnitz, time-honored Pennsylvania Dutch preserved apples, make a healthy snack as well as a novel garnish.

Squash Soup:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a shallow baking pan arrange squash, cut sides up, and bake 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until soft. Spoon out pulp (there should be 6 to 8 cups) and purée in a food processor.

In a large heavy kettle heat butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and cook remaining vegetables, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 10 to 12 minutes. Add broth or water, squash purée, cinnamon, and nutmeg and simmer, covered 40 minutes. Stir in syrup and cream and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper.

Cool soup slightly and in a food processor or blender purée in small batches until smooth, transferring to a large bowl. Return soup to kettle and reheat if necessary. Serve soup garnished with croutons.

Apple Schnitz "croutons":

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Peel and core apple and halve lengthwise. In a food processor fitted with 2-millimeter slicing disk or with a mandoline or other hand-held slicing device cut apple into paper-thin slices. On a large non-stick baking sheet or a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper spread slices in one layer and sprinkle evenly with brown sugar. Bake slices in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until crisp and golden, and transfer immediately to racks to cool. Makes about 12 "croutons."

Makes about 16 cups.

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.