2018 has arrived! A new year offers the opportunity to start fresh and assess old habits. Why not join our CSA in the New Year?

CSA bounty. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Let’s create intentions that set us up to attain overall better well-being. We could all do a little more for our bodies, and in 2018, why don’t we all aim to brighten our plates, make more meals, become more in tune with our environment, and ameliorate our diets once and for all. Easy enough, right? As we all strive for health in the new year, consider one life hack that is sure to bring welcome and easy change, our CSA! A simple and painless delivery service that ensures organic and fresh produce will be integrated into your diet week after week!

If you are a new customer or have been taking a hiatus, sign up now through the end of January and get your first box free! Yep, you heard us right, FREE! A new year means a new you. It’s a great way to integrate fresh, organic produce into your daily regimen. It’s the perfect nudge you’ve been waiting for, so don’t dally, the offer ends January 31st! To join (or rejoin) the CSA click here and use the promo code: getcookin2 or call the farm at 512.386.5273.

Farmers Market CSA pickup. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Cultivated in East Austin and harvested no more than a day or two before reaching your doorstep, our certified organic fruits and vegetables (Over 200 varieties) are at peak nutrition and flavor. Getting a CSA share with JBG means you know exactly where your food is coming from and how it's grown. GMO? Heck no! You might even see a bunch of flowers in your share during certain months!

Eating locally connects you to the seasons, to the land, and to your own health and wellness. Cucumbers will cool you down in the summer, while braised collards will warm you up when the temperatures start to drop. Enjoy the best pico de gallo of your life during the short window when cilantro, onions, peppers, and tomatoes all overlap, and we promise you'll never go back to the store-bought stuff again. You'll get acclimated with the seasons on a whole new level, and learn about what naturally grows when and why. speaking of cooking: we love this challenge The idea is simple - cook all your meals at home for 30 days, and refrain from going out to eat or picking anything up, and with a weekly CSA the recipe options are endless!

Longtime CSA Member, E. McQueen, enjoying her box at home. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Beautifully put by our farm friend, Johannes Courtens: “'Community Supported Agriculture' is a commitment by people, not just for getting food as a reward for paying money, but it’s the idea that they are behind you, and believe in what you are doing. If the farm fails with something during the season, the finances are going to be okay since you have people backing the farm. By providing funds up front, the farm is able to run as efficiently as possible, and not being tied up by all the other clutter, like building the capital.

Trying to grow food first and then sell it is kind of an insane thing. Food is not a commodity, it’s a living thing, but it is a commodity in our economy. What CSA says is that it’s not a commodity, it’s a commitment. It’s something that’s hard to do. If people rally around a farm, it’s like crowdfunding. People are saying, I really think this product idea is awesome. It’s crowdfunding for food. The reward is high quality vegetables for weeks on end.”

Beautiful watermelon radishes. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

That being said, behind the veggies, are people. When you support our farm, you are supporting the people that toil ceaselessly week after week to plant, harvest, clean, pack, and deliver your veggies. In honor of those people, we thought that we would share some of our favorite seasonal recipes that utilize our favorite wintertime crops.

Ada. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

ADA (Marketing and CSA Manager):

Thai flavors strike a cord with my pallet. The mixture of sweet, spicy, and sour when coupled with any degree of coconut milk is really like instant bliss in my mouth. A flavor party, perfect for winter nights. Growing up in a somewhat-traditional Cajun kitchen, everything gets served over short-grained rice. Sub the short-grain for jasmine or even brown, and you've got instant comfort food in my opinion. Cooking traditional Thai food intimidates me, but cooking with Thai flavors is something I do often. Below is less of a recipe, and more of a technique for emptying out your CSA box. Any melange of vegetables, cooked with coconut milk and a few "special" spices, and you've got dinner (and lunch for the next day if you're lucky).

Winter Thai-ish Curry

All of the ingredients and measurements are suggestions! This recipe works best when you use it as a clean-out technique. Use what you have!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups of rice. brown, jasmine, or otherwise. I always make extra rice: leftover and somewhat stale rices makes the best stir fry, and believe it or not, cooked rice freezes well. Steam it in the microwave, top with veggies and a fried egg for a back-pocket meal.
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or vegetable oil.1 onion or 1 bunch of JBG spring onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of ginger, grated. Fresh works best, but I usually use a tablespoon of this that stays stocked in my fridge.
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced.
• 3 carrots, washed and sliced (rounds or matchsticks!)
• About 1/2 cup of sweet potatoes, washed and cubed
• 1-2 cups of kale, collards, or spinach (even cabbage!), chopped.
• Broccoli? Cauliflower? Gold Beets? Kohlrabi? These could all get thrown in as well!
• 2 tablespoons of Thai curry paste
• 1 can of regular coconut milk (not the reduced fat bs). I try to keep this stocked in my pantry for this very dish.
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• Several dashes of fish sauce
• A generous glug of rice vinegar or fresh lime juice (preferable)
• Garnish with cilantro, green onions, or even a sliced watermelon radish. Basil if it's in season.

1. Make your rice! This gal is coming up on her 1 year anniversary of buying herself a rice-cooker. I've never looked back.

2. To make the curry, cook your onions in the oil. After soft, add the ginger and garlic and cook for another half minute, or so.

3. Add your carrots and sweet potatoes to the onion mixture. Add a dash of water to help steam those veggies and to prevent burning. After your carrots are about half-way done, add your curry paste and stir to combine.

4. Next, plop in the coconut milk, as well as a 1/2-1 cup of water or broth and a skimpy tablespoon of sugar. Add your greens, and any remaining vegetables. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, and cook until all vegetables are tender-to your liking. Shouldn't be longer than 20 minutes, probably somewhere around 10.

5. Remove pot from the heat, and add the magic! Season with lime juice, soy sauce, and fish sauce. If it needs more sweet, add some honey or agave nectar. More spice? Top with yellowbird, chili oil, or red pepper flakes.

Fawn at the Farmers Market. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

FAWN (Farmers Market Manager):

It's soup season! Attached: creamy carrot soup recipe! Using my own veggie broth, which includes JBG carrots, green onions, parsley, turnips, lemongrass, and really any "leftover" parts of veggies like rutabaga peelings, broccoli stems, fennel stems, carrot tops! Etc.

Creamy Carrot Soup

• 1 tbsp butter or vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 lb carrots, diced (about 6 medium carrots)
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp raw white rice
• 1 tsp salt
• Pepper to taste
• ½ tsp crumbled dried thyme
• Bay leaf
• ½ cup of milk
• Sour cream
• 1 tbsp chopped chives for garnish
• Lemongrass and garlic

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter or vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, until softened -- about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, broth, rice, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until the carrots and rice are tender. Fish out the bay leaf and discard.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the carrots and rice to the container of a blender or food processor, leaving as much of the cooking liquid behind you as you can. Puree the mixture. Then, with the machine still running, pour the cooking liquid in through the feed tube or hole in the lid of the container. Blend until the soup is very smooth. Pour the blended soup back into the saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring. Add the milk and heat through without boiling.

Serve soup sprinkled with chopped chives.

**Makes 4 servings

Taylor spraying down the veggies. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

TAYLOR (Spray Crew):

BBQ Black Eyed Pea Collard Rolls

Black Eyed Pea Collard Rolls are hearty, healthy, tangy and plant-based! Bring on the BBQ y'all!

**Vegan + GF **Prep Time 45 minutes **Cook Time 25 minutes **Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes **Servings 8 -9 Rolls

**Author Traci York | Vanilla And Bean

Ingredients

For the Rolls:

• 2 Bunches of Collards enough for 9 Whole Large Leaves, and 3 C Chopped Collards (about
• 1.2lbs / 616g total)
• 1 tsp Coconut Oil
• 1 1/2 C (430g) Slow Cooked Black Eyed Peas drained*
• 2 C (150g) Crimini Mushrooms, stemmed and chopped in small dice
• 3 dashes of Tabasco, or to taste
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 1/8 tsp Pepper

For the BBQ Sauce:

• 1 BBQ Sauce of choice, we used King's Hawaiian Kona Coffee BBQ Sauce

Instructions

For the Filling:

Fill a large stockpot 2/3 full of water and bring to a boil. Rinse the collards well and chop off the stem at the base of all the collards. Choose the most intact 9 leaves available for the rolls, set aside. Chop enough of the remaining collards for 3 C packed to be used in the filling. Rinse these in a colander with plenty of water as collards tend to be a bit dirty. Set aside. Place the 9 whole collard leaves in the boiling water and boil for about 6 minutes. If you have a few whole leaves left, you can boil those too, using them to line the casserole dish. Carefully drain the whole leaves in a colander and rinse with cold water. Place a few kitchen towels or paper towels on the counter. Place each leaf, flat, on the towel. Be careful here as the leaves are tender and tear easily.

In a large sauté pan, melt down 1 Tbs of coconut oil. Cook the mushrooms on medium heat until softened and fragrant, stirring only occassionally for about 5 minutes, then add the chopped collards. Cook until just wilted. Turn the heat down to low and add the black eyed peas to the pan and stir to combine ingredients. Add 1/4 C (86g) of the BBQ sauce to the collard mixture. Now is a good time to adjust seasoning to taste. Include Tabasco and salt and pepper.

To Assemble the Rolls:

Preheat oven to 350F. Use pan spray (coconut oil) to coat the bottom and sides of a medium casserole dish. Line the casserole with any extra leaves. Take one collard leaf and place it flat on your work surface. Test the collard to see if the stem will easily bend, as if you're rolling up the collard. If not, gently slice the stem out of slice it so it's thinner. Take about 4 1/2 Tbs of the collard/mushroom/pea mixture and place it towards the base of the collard leaf. Very carefully, begin to roll up the collard leaf, folding the sides over the mixture while continuing to roll (think burrito). If the collard tears a bit, just keep folding and rolling. It will come together. Place the roll into the prepared casserole dish.

Repeat this process until all of the leaves and filling is used up. Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes, or until the inside of each roll is heated throughly (use a fork to heat-test a roll). If they bake too long, the leaves will begin to lose their vibrant green color. Meanwhile, warm the remaining BBQ sauce in a pan on low for 5 minutes. Drizzle 1/2 of the remaining sauce on rolls and use the final 1/2 for anyone who wants extra! Serve with a side of Jalepenos Cheese Grits.

JALAPEÑO CHEESE GRITS

• 1/4 cup tamed jalapeños
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
• I box Quick Cooking Grits
• 1/2-1 cup shredded cheese of choice
• Fiesta Brand Jalapeño Salt (optional)

1. Place butter into sauce pan on med/high.

2. Add jalapeños and garlic and lightly smash with a fork into the butter.

3. Add box recommendations for preferred serving of chicken broth and Grits and cook according to box directions.

4. Once Grits have boiled and simmered, remove from heat and stir in cheese. Add Jalapeño Salt to taste and serve warm.

For a vegan option try substituting the broth with a Not Chik'n Bouillion cube mixed to package directions and Nutritional Yeast for the cheese.

Mike Mo. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

MIKE MO (Wholesale Manager):

This Kohlrabi and Apple Salad by Cookie and Kate is incredible and super simple. Check it out here. It’s yummy.

Casey working hard, delivering food donations. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

CASEY (Customer Service Extraordinaire):

My mom is a CSA member in Houston and she sent me a recipe she likes using our fennel and carrots.

Carrot-Fennel Salad

**Makes 8 servings

**Prep time: 20 minutes

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp black pepper
• 1 large fennel bulb or 2 small bulbs, very thinly sliced
• 1 lb carrots, shaved with vegetable peeler
• ½ cup shelled, unsalted pistachios
• ⅓ cup fresh parsley, chopped

In a large bowl, whisk oil, vinegar, mustard, ¼ tsp of the salt and the pepper. Toss in fennel, carrots, pistachios and parsley. Season with remaining ¼ tsp salt.

Also, here's a bit about simple veggie fermenting:

Take a mix of whatever veggies you have on hand, I used broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots and garlic.

Add whatever seasoning you want. I did crushed red pepper and black pepper.

Add all the veggies and seasoning to a jar with a tight sealing lid.

Make a brine (enough to cover all the veggies) of a ratio of 2 cups of water to 1.5 Tbsp of sea salt.

Pour the brine into the jar and seal it tightly.

Let it sit at room temperature for 3-5 days. The longer it ferments, the more flavor and softer the veggies will be.

Be sure to de-gas the mason jar by opening it a couple times during the process since gas will build up inside the jar.

ENJOY!

Your commitment provides so much for the farm - upfront costs for seeds, fuel, and labor to grow the best organic vegetables around, improvements to our CSA offerings like customization and flex scheduling, and wiggle room to invest in larger improvements. There are so many more projects we'd love to take on to continue improving, but we can't do it without your support. Here's to a healthy and happy 2018! 'Til next time!