Melons are Best in Pairs! For Every Organic Watermelon Sold, We'll Donate One to a Family in Need

The mercury's rising and the Fourth of July is almost here, which means one thing in the land of local goodness- melon season! It's not true that lugging it around the store in your cart, to your car, and finally home actually makes it sweeter. And the first time it crushes that bread or bag of chips it becomes a bittersweet affair. But no longer because we've got awesome, hard-working drivers to carry these amazingly delicious boulders right to your door (and into your kitchen if you like).

We're beating the heat this summer with a Greenling Melon Festival. For the next few weeks, we'll be sharing lots of melon ideas, farmer profiles, and hosting a "Show Us Your Melon Recipe!" contest. We're also helping families in need with a "Buy One, Give One," sale on watermelons next week.

For every watermelon that we sell next week, we'll donate another to the North Texas Food Bank. These local, organic watermelons will surely bring a smile (and lots of nutrition) to a family in need! Plus, we're donating them to the Food Bank in time for the Fourth of July holiday. You don’t need to do anything special to take advantage of this special offer—simply add a watermelon to your grocery order and we’ll send one to the North Texas Food Bank. Kinda like TOMS shoes, but tastes way better!

If you’re traveling next week but still want to help, you can add a $5 donation to the North Texas Food Bank to your next grocery order.

Check out a profile of our melon masters, Highway 19 Produce, plus a recipe for chilled cantaloupe soup in this newsletter, and stay tuned to our Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and blog for more melon-tastic updates!

This Week's Box Contents & Local Items

We're happy to introduce a Texas original the to the Local Box-1015 onions! These special onions were developed at A&M University and are named for their optimum planting time, October 15th.  You can saute them up or add them to a mushroom burger made from a portabella mushroom, another one of our local favorites. Enjoy the summer goodness!

Here's what will be available from local farms on our website this week (the best selection of local produce in the state - guaranteed). Items with a (*) are only available in the Local Box:

In Farmstead Boxes this week:*

• Shortbread - Artisan Baking Co.  
• Honey Bear - Texas Honeybee Guild 
• Half Gallon of Whole Milk - Texas Daily Harvest

Order Here

*please note we are not able to make substitutions in the Farmstead Boxes! Thanks for understanding

Produce from Local Farms Beans, Pinto - Just Peachy Farm Cucumbers, Pickling - Katy Farm Cucumbers, Slicing - Wolf Creek Farm, Katy Farm, Youth Village Resources  Garlic - Good Earth Organic Farm Garlic, Elephant - Wolf Creek Farm Herbs - Generation Farms Lettuce, Bibb - Young's Greenhouse Microgreens - La Casa Verde Mushroom, Crimini - Kitchen Pride Mushroom, Portabello Caps - Kitchen Pride Mushroom, Shiitake - Texas Organic Mushrooms Mushroom, White- Kitchen Pride Okra - Reeves Family Farm Onions, Yellow - Wolf Creek farm Onions, 1015 - Wolf Creek Farm Order Here

Produce from Local Farms Onions, Red - Good Earth Organic Farm Peppers, Hot Mixed - Good Earth Organic Farm Potatoes, Fingerling - Sky View Farm Radish, Watermelon - Paul Quinn College Southern Peas - Just Peachy Farm Squash, Summer - Katy Farm, Larken Farm, Just Peachy Farm Tomatoes, Slicing - Just Peachy Farm Tomatoes, Grape - Just Peachy Farm Tomatillos- Good Earth Organic Farm Wheatgrass - Young's Greenhouse Avocados - G&S Groves Blueberries - Berry Best Farm Cantaloupe - Highway 19 Produce Limes - G&S Groves Oranges - G&S Groves Peaches - Larken Farm Watermelon - Highway 19 Produce Order Here

Events & Local Food Happenings Around Town

Summer Beer Fest
Sat. June 23, 1pm-4pm
FREE
5757 Greenville Ave.[Dallas]

Brewery representatives will be on hand at Sigel's-Greenville on June 23rd, to sample a selection of award winning seasonal craft and specialty beers from around the world and to answer any questions you may have. Enjoy appetizers and special sale prices on these beers. Come learn everything you have always wanted to know about the beers you'll be drinking; whether it's the style, ingredients or brewing techniques.

For more information or to RSVP click here. By RSVPing you will receive an Summer Beer Festival Passport, which will entitle you to taste 20 of the 38 craft and import brews available for sampling.

Coppell Farmer's Market
Sat. June 23, 8am-12pm
FREE
Old Town Coppell at 793 S. Coppell Road [Coppell]

The Coppell Farmer’s Market started in the summer of 2003. The market has grown from a handful to over thirty vendors, with a wide selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables, natural meats, cheeses, eggs, honey, artisan breads, and value added products. Over a thousand customers come to the Coppell Farmers Market on a given Saturday to find local, healthy food, develop a relationship with those providing their food, meet up with friends and neighbors, and be a part of the local food movement.

For more information click here. 

Hops for Habitat, benefiting the Connemara Conservancy
Sat. June 23, 7pm-10pm
$50
Local Yocal – 213 N. Tennessee [McKinney]

Hops for Habitat brings together the community to celebrate the natural originality of North Texas. From local brewmasters and chefs to fun and funky places to party, Hops for Habitat is a great way for you to experience some of the best things North Texas has to offer.

Chefs Mat McCallister and Robert Lyford have prepared a tantalizing menu featuring local and organic ingredients donated by Local Yocal and paired with tasty brews from Franconia Brewing Co. Come out and toast with us!

This is the second of several of Hops events throughout the year, each at a different venue and with a different chef and menu. Proceeds go towards the Connemara Conservancy, working to preserve natural landscapes in North Texas. Purchase tickets here.

Recipe Corner

Chilled Cantaloupe Soup(serves 4)

Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven 

Ingredients

• 1 cantaloupe
• 1 lime
• 1/3 cup of orange juice
• 2 tablespoons honey

Instructions:

Chill the cantaloupe in the refrigeration over night-you want it to be nice and cold. The next day, peel and seed the cantaloupe and cut it into cubes. Place the cantaloupe in a blender, add the orange juice and honey, and puree until well blended. 

Divide the soup evenly among 4 bowls. Squeeze the limes over the soup. Serve chilled on a hot Texas afternoon. 

For More Recipes Check Out:

Eating Out of the Local Box - Menus designed specifically for the local box and ideas on what to do with the wonderful bounty

Vegan Greenling - More recipes for the local box, but all Vegan!

Greenling Facebook - All sorts of recipes and ideas get posted here

Mylie's Kitchen - Real Food. Good for you and the planet.

Psst....Thanks For Telling Your Friends

Remember you can always share the love of Greenling and get free food for doing it. Just download this coupon to give to others and type in your personalized coupon code - first 3 letters of your first and last name and the first 3 numbers of your address (add zeros if you just have 1 or 2 numbers) - where it says 'Go with Greenling and save!', print it and hand it out to your friends and co-workers. You get 10% off your next order after they've joined. They get 10% off, too, by entering your coupon code when they order.