Edition 54

November 13, 2009

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

• New- Lemongrass, locally grown by Millberg farms
• New - Saurkraut, from Straight from the Vine
• Still here - Green beans, will all be local for Thanksgiving
• Lotsa - Party Foods, for your holiday feasts - Brazos Valley spreads, Full Quiver cheese balls, Fischer & Weiser sauces over cream cheese, tofu dips & more
• Back - Mustard & Collard Greens, from local sources - early season greens are the best!
• Coming Soon -Blueberries, from non-local sources for those who can't wait til summer
• New -Tangerines & Cameo Apples, from local sources

Join Greenling's Kiva Group!

If you haven't heard about it, Kiva's just about the coolest non-profit ever. You get to loan to low income entrepreneurs and make a tangible difference in lives and communities. It's person-to-person micro-lending.

Thanks to Mike Griffin for getting us started. We've been on Kiva for a while but didn't know we could gather under the Greenling banner. Mike generously gave Greenling $25 to lend through Kiva. We've created a team and hope you'll join us -

Greenling Kiva Team

Join Kiva, join Greenling's team, and let's fund entrepreneurs around the world.

Website Tip - Learn more about the delivery schedule and how to set up advanced delivery schedules with our quick video tutorial

Click here to watch it

The Bestest Gifts Ever

Our gift certificates are the only gift you'll buy this year that multiplies and is 2 different gifts in one. First you give the gift of health - local & organic groceries of their choosing, right to their door. Then you give them a follow-up gift of wildflowers. The paper the certificate is printed on is handmade and has wildflower seeds embedded in it. See more here. and Order here

Here's a great idea - get your company to buy them as gifts for employees or clients! We'll also have some great gift baskets coming. Here's a sneak peak at our Italian Dinner gift basket - give someone an entire meal with fresh, local pasta & other local ingredients. They'll remember it forever -

We'll also have wine & cheese baskets, local chocolate sampler baskets, & holiday breakfast baskets. Remember, the way to a person's heart is through their stomach.

Greenling Lends a Hand to Operation Turkey

We are about to embark on a very exciting new experiment and we hope you'll participate! As part of our partnership with Operation Turkey we're asking you to leave donations in your bin for us to pick up. How easy is that?!? Just gather donations and leave them in your bin from now until Thanksgiving! That's it. And you'll help Austin's homeless and needy stay warm & in good health. Here's what they need donated (used clothes is fine, but new toiletries, please):

• Clothing for men
• Clothing for women
• Clothing for kids
• Blankets
• Jackets
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrushes
• Deodorant
• Soap
• Shampoo & conditioner
• Razors and shaving cream

We're up to some other really cool things with Operation Turkey. Come out for the Turkey Tailgate on Wednesday, Nov 25th from 3pm on to help smoke turkeys for the next day, drop off donations, & hangout with Greenling & the OT gang. Then volunteer in the morning on Thanksgiving and help feed over 4000ppl.

Sponsor a bird! You can also feed people directly by sponsoring one of our birds to give to Operation Turkey. Spend an extra $100 sponsoring a large pastured turkey and feed up to 50 people! Just email Jessica to let her know you're interested.

Thanksgiving Delivery Schedule

We won't be delivering on Thanksgiving day or Friday, Nov 27th. For that week, here's the schedule:

• If you normally receive your order on Tuesday or Wednesday, expect it on Monday
• If you normally receive it on Thursday, expect it on Tuesday
• If you normally receive it on Friday, expect it on Wednesday

This is for the week of Thanksgiving, Nov 23-27, only. Thanks for understanding.

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 Richardson's who have been raising them just for us out in an open pasture with no chemicals or GMO feed or anything nature never intended. We'll also have plenty of certified Organic birds from Organic Valley, which is a co-op of small farms. They just won't be local.

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 by itself!

We're also bringing you the best Thanksgiving baskets ever! We've been working hard to put together 3 special baskets for you (don't forget to add a turkey to these baskets, they don't automatically come with one):

Traditional Basket - All the ingredients that have become American staples for the holidays. Start with the basket and adjust quantities as needed.

All-Local Basket - We'll include recipes to help you turn 100% local items into traditional holiday treats.

All-Prepared Basket - We're partnering with a caterer to create pre-made assortment of side dishes using mostly-local ingredients. (ordering available! Just click on the title)

Relax, we've got your TG dinner covered!

****Turkeys are running large again this year (not as bad as last), so please let us know if you have a specific size requirement and we will try to accommodate. Turkeys don't like diets, however, so we can't promise anything.*****

This Week's Box Contents & Local Items

The amazing weather is also creating some very interesting farming trends. Peppers, hot and sweet, are still going strong! The warm days keep them producing and the cool nights are bring in all sorts of tubers and leafy greens. Persimmons make a comeback this week & fennel is arriving. I like my fennel sliced and tossed in oil and baked with parmesan. It has such an interesting flavor, like a pizza french fry or something.

Fall crops are coming in with a wonderful variety of new items. I'm incredibly excited about Collard greens. Last winter we ate them at least 3 times a week. We noticed that the early season collards were the most tender and mild. The flavor gets stronger as the season goes on, which is great, but the early mild collards are a special treat.

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 (November 16-20):

• Fennel - Oak Hill Farm
• Collards - Naegelin
• Mixed Beans - Animal Farm
• Shallot Scallions - Lundgren
• Gala Apples - Apple Country
• Escarole - Acadian Family
• Persimmon - Indian Hill
• Mixed Greens - Hands of the Earth
• Sweet Potatoes - Naegelin
• Sweet & Hot Stuffing Peppers - Green Gate
• Red Onion - Naegelin
• Rosemary - Pure Luck

Last Week's (Nov 9-13) Local Box Video:

In Farmstead & Local Produce Boxes ($49.99) this week (November 16-20):

• 1/2 Dozen Eggs - Rinnger Family
• Fresh Spaghetti - Pasta & Co.
• 1/4 lb Artisan Parmesan - Brazos Valley
• Love Puppies Brownie - Love Puppies (these are awesome!)

Gluten-free Farmstead Box:

• Artisan Aged Cheese - Brazos Valley
• 1/2 Dozen Eggs - Rinnger Family
• Cookies - Wildwood Bakery

Order Here

Fresh, Prepared Meal Selection for this week:

Salad #1 - Black Bean & Quinoa Salad w/ Sweet Potatoes & Herbs (1 pint - serves 1 for lunch) - see website for full ingredients

Salad #2 - Indian Spiced Chickpea Salad w/ Yogurt & Herbs (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
• Tangerines - Orange Blossom
• Meyer Lemons - G&S Groves
• Okra - Bradshaw Farms
• Mars Orange - G&S Grove
• Persimmons - Indian Hill Farm
• Corn - HomeSweetFarm
• Grapefruit - G&S Grove
• Pea Shoots - Bluebonnet
• Watercress - Bluebonnet
• Butternut and Acorn Squash - Massey Farm
• 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 -Naegelin
• Onion, Yellow - Naegelin
• Potatoes, Red - Naegelin
• Shallots - Lundgren Farm
• Jalapeno - Lundgren
• Serrano - Lundgren
• Eggplant - Naegelin
• Pickling Cucumbers - Naegelin
• Red Radish - My Father's Farm
• Collard Greens - Naegelin
• Purple Plum Radish - Millberg
• Lemongrass - Millberg
• Watermelon Radish - Ringger
• Mustard Greens - Naegelin

Thanks Austin for Voting Greenling 'Best Place to Buy Fresh Fruits & Veggies' for the 2nd year!

The last 2 years we have been honored to win this Statesman reader's poll. Thanks so much for all of your votes! We're happy to be Austin's favorite place to get local and organic goodness. We'll high-five each other and then get back to the business of making sure we always deliver on these awards by bringing you only the best of the best. See Michael Barnes' commentary on the poll here. Austin Farmer's Market came in a fairly close second, but we completely blew away every grocery store in town.

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

It's still anyone's contest to win Local Food for a year! There are a few front-runners, but it's far from over. Here are some tips on getting people signed up:

• Host a Greenling soiree! We're still looking for a venue
• Have Mason come speak to your HOA or PTA group
• Have your own dinner party with your Local Box

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)

Celebrate 5 Years with Austin Green Art

Celebrate 5 years, 100 projects, 1000s of participants, infinity of inspiration! One of Austin Green Art's many projects is the annual Earth Day festival downtown. On the 19th, from 6-9pm, at the Daily Juice Cafe at Duval & 45th AGA will host it's inaugural locovore dinner (not sure if the misspelling is intentional...). Do you grow food? Bring it and let the Daily Juice chefs make it into something amazing! They will buy it at $2/lb if you drop between 8am and 2pm on the 19th.

Build a Greenhouse with Urban Roots!

Come on, we know you've always wanted to. Like the cool barn-raising from The Real Dirt on Farmer John, here's your chance to make a lasting contribution to the local food system. You'll get one hour of instruction and lots of time for Q&A. Then you'll get your hands dirty and actually build a greenhouse. This is a 2-day event on the 14th and 21st. See more details here.(big file, wait for it)

Recipe Corner

Spaghetti Carbonara

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh Pasta & Co spaghetti (from the farmstead box)
• 3/4 cup pancetta, diced
• 8 large eggs
• 12 cup grated Brazos Valley parmesan
• 1/4 cup grated pecorino
• 2 tblspoon olive oil
• Sea salt and ground pepper
• 4 scallions, cut on severe bias

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil over medium heat.

Add about 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta a medium heat and cook until it starts to color and become crisp. Turn off the heat and reserve.

Drop the pasta into the salted boiling water and cook it 1 minute less than it says on the package, usually about 6 to 7 minutes. Bite the pasta to check the consistency.

While the pasta is cooking, crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add the grated cheeses and season with salt. Whisk vigorously until it becomes a homogenous. Season generously with black pepper.

When the pasta is just about done, return the pan with the pancetta to medium heat. Remove the pasta from the cooking water. Toss or stir the pasta into the pancetta to coat the pasta with the remaining fat in the skillet. Immediately vigorously stir the egg mixture into the pasta. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly until the egg mixture looks like a cream sauce.

Serve immediately garnished with sliced scallions.

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.