Edition 59

December 18, 2009

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

• New- Sea Salt & Soy Sauce, from non-local sources
• New - Coconut Butter, Barley, and more baking items
• New - Black-eyed Peas, for a short time, local
• New - Baby Food, stage 1 & 3 from Earth's Best
• New - Chestnuts & Macadamia Nuts
• Supply Disruption - Non-local Produce, Cali and Arizona were hit by the freeze, some items are in short supply
• End of Season - the freeze ended any chance of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, & more
• New - Avocados, from local sources

Farmer Survey

Wayne Lundgren has been growing some grains and he's wondering if it's worth the large investment to get machinery to refine these organic grains for breads & baking. I'm excited he's thinking about it and he needs our help. Please take a moment to fill out this survey and let him know that you want local, organic grains in your breads (he specializes in low-gluten ancient varieties). It's a quick, 5-question survey:

Take the Survey here

Website Tip - Have you tried our Live Chat yet? It's a great way to ask us a quick question or just chat with your favorite food fairies

Click here to try it

Happy Holidays from  Greenling

From Everyone here at Greenling, we wish you a very merry holiday season!

Be Happy, Eat Well, & Change the World

Mason & the Greenling Team

Holiday Schedule

Greenling will not be making deliveries on Christmas Day (12/25) or New Year's Day (Jan 1). You will still receive your delivery. Everyone's delivery will move up one day. If you normally receive your delivery on Friday for the next two weeks it will come on Thursday. If you normally receive it on Tuesday, you will receive it on Monday. For Friday deliveries arriving on Thursday, everything will be delivered by 2pm, so you can plan your Christmas Eve dinner with Greenling goodies!

Feeling Good About Your Food

It was around the holiday season, 5 years ago, that I started talking with friends about how we can help fix the broken food system and help the environment. Five months later Greenling made its first delivery. We've helped connect thousands of people with local, organically grown food since then. We've learned so much through our experiences and your stories about the power of local, organic food. We've heard your stories of it curing your diabetes, cancer, heart disease, & more. We're truly inspired. This holiday season don't forget to celebrate what you've done for your body and our local food system through your support of Greenling. 'Local' and 'Organic' are not fads; they're essential to healthy, long lives and critical to Sustainability. Give yourself a round of applause!

Holiday Hams & Roasts

Give your holiday party a very special treat - flavor! We took an Organic Valley ham and put it right next to the best Honey-baked Ham and one other premium ham that my aunt brought and the whole family agreed the Organic Valley ham was the easy favorite. Such amazing flavors, they're completely worth every penny. We also have some special, very limited quantity, beef prime rib roasts and pork loin roasts from Richardson Farms.

This Week's Box Contents & Local Items

Some interesting winter items are starting to come out of the fields. Farmers are getting a bit frosty out there, but they much prefer this to 110F in the summer. many greens varieties, lettuces, beets, & radishes. We're also getting some citrus and will soon start to see grapefruit ripening on trees south of San Antonio.

Here's what will be 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 (Dec 21-24):

• Louisiana Scallions - Acadian
• Red Leaf Lettuce - Acadian
• French Breakfast Radish - My Father's Farm
• Gala Apples - Top of Texas
• Mushrooms - Kitchen Pride
• Beets - My Father's Farm
• Chard/Spinach - Naegelin
• Cilantro - Acadian
• Red Potatoes - Naegelin
• Yellow Onion - Naegelin
• Tangerines - G&S Groves

Last Week's (Dec 14-18) Local Box Video:

In Farmstead & Local Produce Boxes ($49.99) this week (Dec 21-24):

• Cranberry Loaves - Little Bluestem Bakery
• Fresh, Hand-Roasted Coffee - Summermoon
• Chocolate Covered Crackers - Dr. Kracker
• Bojangles Cheese (Cinnamon/Vanilla) - Brazos Valley

Gluten-free Farmstead Box:

• Breakfast Bread - Wildwood Bakery
• Innocent Chocolate Bar - Riverside Botanicals
• Fresh, Hand-Roasted Coffee - Summermoon
• Bojangles Cheese (Cinnamon/Vanilla) - Brazos Valley

Order Here

Fresh, Prepared Meal Selection for this week:

Dish #1 - Hearty Market Minestrone w/ ham (1 pint - serves 1 for lunch) - see website for ingredients

Dish #2 - Savory Lentil Tomato Soup (1 pint) - see website for full ingredients

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
• Red Bok Choy - Acadian
• Gala and Fuji Apples - Top of Texas
• Lettuce, Baby - Animal Farm and My Father's Farm
• Lettuce, Bibb - Bella Verdi
• Tangerines - Orange Blossom
• Meyer Lemons - G&S Groves
• Kale - Naegelin
• Mars Orange - G&S Grove
• Persimmons - Indian Hill Farm
• Cherry Tomatoes - Naegelin
• Grapefruit - G&S Grove
• Green Garlic - Green Gate
• Scallions - Lundgren and Acadian
• Pea Shoots - Bluebonnet
• Watercress - Bluebonnet
• Ayote - Finca Pura
• Red and Green Bell Peppers - My Father's Farm/Walnut Creek

Produce from Local Farms

• Yams - Naegelin
• 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
• Chard - Naegelin
• Tomatoes - Engel Farm
• Red Radish - My Father's Farm
• Collard Greens - Naegelin
• Purple Plum Radish - Millberg
• Watermelon Radish - Ringger
• Mustard Greens - Naegelin

Turkey Raffle Winner

Hot off the press! Thanks to everyone who participated. I'm sad we can't give everyone a turkey, but there was only 1. And the winner is..............Sarah Mitchell! She'll have trouble fitting the bird in her oven, but they'll eat well for many meals. Turns out it's a great fit cause Sarah is one of 6 children in her family and they're all in town for the holidays. So she has to prepare a huge feast anyway and Greenling just made it a whole lot easier. Congratulations Sarah! We'll also sponsor a family through Foundation Communities in her name.

The Perfect Last-Minute Gift

Still wondering what to get that person that has everything? Go to www.Greenling.com/gift and order gift baskets & wildflower certificates (even without placing an order yourself). Just enter the recipient's shipping information and your billing information (we're not quite hooked up to read your existing info) and you can send the gift of health as easy as ever!

Sign The Petition

Back in 2007 the Austin City Council unanimously signed a resolution that Austin would be a leader in Greenhouse Gas reduction and clean energy. There was a big press release, some great speeches, and everyone felt good. At the moment it's looking like it was all just a publicity stunt. I saw Austin Energy COO Cheryl Mele talk about their plans. No mention of the resolution or of how they would decommission Fayetteville Coal Power Plant, the 5th worst polluter in Texas and the source of 70% of Austin's CO2 emissions and over 50% of our power. There's a group of dedicated citizens fighting to hold the City, and Austin Energy (the City owns the utility), to honor their 2007 commitment. Sign the petition asking them to do just that here:

Sign Petition

Non-local Produce Supply Issues

As you know, all of our non-local produce is certified Organic. Most of it comes from California, the countries produce department. Well California and Arizona have been hit by the same winter storm that gave us our hard freezes. Their temps were in the low 20s last week. This has caused a big disruption in supply. With Organic being so small compared to conventional produce, it's much more susceptible to things like this and supply can get very volatile. Please be patient with us as we work through this.

Recipe Corner

Meyer Lemon Risotto

The recipe calls for 6 cups of stock/water. This can vary quite a bit depending on your pot and the grains, but you are likely to need between 4 1/2 - 6 cups. You can throw in a handful of chopped Meyer lemon segments in for added flavor and texture, but be sure to remove all the seeds.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
  
• 2 shallots, chopped
  
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
  
• 2 cups lightly pearled barley or pearled farro
  
• 1 cup good quality dry white wine
  
• 6 cups light vegetable stock (or water)
  
• Grated zest of 4 Meyer lemons (more to taste if you like)
  
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
  
• 1/2 cup crème fraiche (or sour cream)
  
• 3 big handfuls of greens, chopped
  
• Handful of toasted pine nuts, for garnish

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, then add the onions, shallots, garlic, and salt and saute, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.

Add the barley to the pot and stir until coated with a nice sheen, then add the white wine and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, until the barley has absorbed the liquid a bit. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle, active simmer.

In increments, add about 6 cups of water or stock, 1 cup at a time, letting the barley absorb most of the liquid between additions; this should take around 40 minutes altogether. Stir regularly so the grains on the bottom of the pan don't scorch. You will know when the barley is cooked because it won't offer up much resistance when chewing (it will, however, be chewier than Arborio rice).

When the barley is tender remove the pot from heat. Stir in the lemon zest, Parmesan, and crème fraiche. Taste and adjust - add more salt if needed, more lemon zest. Then stir in the greens. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and a dusting of extra Parmesan before serving.

Easily serves 4 to 6.

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.