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FIRST FRIDAY STAFF PICKS: SUMMER 2020 EDITION
08/07/20 — Ada Broussard
In case it hasn't been on your radar, this post featuring our staff's favorite things has been a regular slot in the blog schedule for quite some time. Ever wonder what your local farmers do off the fields? Cue: FIRST FRIDAY STAFF PICKS!
We think that our staff is the best in the business (okay, okay, we are a little biased), but the JBG family hails from all over the place and covers the gamut in talents and interests. We love sharing events, adventures, and side projects that inspire and excite our JBG-ers (food-related or not) with the community. Check out the staff-curated list of favorites below!FAITH:
Austin Film Society is hosting virtual screenings, and proceeds from ticket sales will help support efforts to open AFS Cinemas.If you're feeling deprived of experiences and interactions, this article about a man who spent weeks in a totally blacked out room offers some wonderful perspective.
Also, this article from The Cut about fridges of free food in New York City... just like the project that has popped up in Austin.
From left: Paperboy the Prince, Briana Calderon Navarro, Jazmin R., Francisco Ramirez, and Vie Darling at the Friendly Fridge, 190 Knickerbocker Ave., Bushwick. Photo: Jonathan Bumble, courtesy of The Cut.
BRENTON:
When I'm not at the farm, I've been spending almost all of my time on the lake this summer learning to wake surf. No better way to cool off from a day at the farm! (Checkout our Instagram to see a slow-mo video of Brenton in action!)
THE FARM:
The farm has recently started to get involved with two new-to-Austin food access iniatives. First, we are very excited to be donating produce and stocking the shelves of ATX Free Fridge Project whose mission is to feed the community through mutual aid in a spirit of solidarity, not charity. Checkout their Instagram Page for the latest updates and organizational needs. Currently, they are looking for more businesses and individuals to host a fridge! They are well established in the Central East area, but are specifically looking for hosts in the following neighborhoods: Highland, St. Johns, Windsor Park, Riverside, and Montopolis. All you need is an outlet, and they will do the rest. If you're worried about the cost of running a fridge, the cost is only around $20 a month. Can't host a fridge but want to get involved? Feel free to swing by one of their fridges and donate food. To get involved, head to Instagram or Twitter (@atxfreefridge) or email communityempowermentatx@gmail.com .
Second, we are working with UT and The Spirit Golf Association in their Stay Home, Stay Healthy program which helps at-risk adults stay safe by avoiding grocery stores and food pantries, and instead bringing food directly to them. This program provides an important sales outlet for some of our b-grade produce, which we are able to sell at a reduced cost because of cosmetic reasons. Read the full story here.
COURTNEY:
A couple from Georgetown has been sweet and made this from the produce they bought from us at market.
Thank you Kim and Dennis!!! We absolutely love seeing all of your impressive culinary creations!
MARY, NED, & GIANNA (OUR GREENHOUSE CREW!):
Lather on some sunscreen, grab the ol' hound dog, and hit up a park! Mayfield, Walnut Creek, and Emma long are some favorites. Be sure to check if you need to make reservations beforehand!Checkout Loro's takeout menu for a new take on central Texas cuisine.
Escape town for a day and drive through the hill country to Fredericksburg or Enchanted Rock (where you do, in fact, need a reservation).
MACKENZIE:
I am so excited to be participating in #sharethemicnowtx, an initiative to share space on well-developed platforms to shine a light on Black women in Texas.Next week, I'll be hosting Tyeschea West (@mytycreations), a multi-disciplinary artist with a focus on human emotion and architecture. Ty and I are going to turn my instagram feed into a gallery of her work, which several mediums, including photography, paint, charcoal, and mirrors.
We'll also have an IG live discussion to talk more about Ty's blog, humanation. "Humanation is empathy machine, filled with honesty and vulnerability where viewers learn about people who are on a journey to change their community or raise themselves up with the help of others. It's a space is for people who care about their fellow neighbors and want to learn more about human beings with different experiences. Connecting to a person or a cause will be the ultimate goal for all who visit."
Follow @sharethemicnowtx for the full lineup of cross-platform collaborations of women in Texas this month. And make sure to follow Tyeschea West on instagram & check out @mackannecheese next week for a curated view of Ty's art.
LUCAS:
I recently got this record and have been listening to this on repeat lately. Now I gotta beef up the rest of my NIN record collection.
HECTOR:
I arrived to the Lego game only a couple of years ago. My first model was for the 1969 Saturn V rocket and I have fallen a bit on the deep end of this world.
Lego has an online platform called IDEAS, where brick enthusiasts create worlds and objects, which potentially could be made into an official Lego product. One that immediately captured my imagination was a piano, THAT WAS ACTUALLY PLAYABLE. This project got enough support and was chosen as a winning model. You can see the initial submission here.
The LEGO piano is out of stock, but Hector was luck enough to order one before they sold out! LEGO fanatics, only!
After over a year, the product is available on August 1st. It looks AMAZING. AND YOU CAN PLAY IT TOO! My August will be dedicated to assembling my first piano ever and, hopefully, learning how to play it. Wish me luck!
Prince George's Community College Center for Performing Arts had a conversation on July 20th between Dr. Charlene Dukes, president of Prince George's Community College, and "How to Be an Antiracist" author Ibram X. Kendi. I highly recommend watching this talk, as it gives a valuable information for everyone. Follow this link to view their resources and other talks .
ADA:
I've been spending a lot of time recently thinking and reading about the sheer complexity of our country's food system, my minuscule role in this machine, and all of the ways we, as a community, can create a more equitable and just food system. I was so happy when I found a catalog of articles written by Chris Newman, a Black farmer in Virginia who runs Sylvanaqua Farms that I've followed on Instagram for a while. In addition to working as a full-time farmer (how are there any more hours left in the day!?), Chris writes a lot about what a sustainable future can and can't look like. Chris's writing and views are unapologetic and honest, and he's often addressing the elephant in the room of many conversations about local food: how to scale, the limitations of small farming, and the inequitable systems we're working within. Here is a catalog of articles Chris has written here with titles like "I Lost an Argument with a Vegan" and "Clean Food: If You Want to Save the World, Get Over Yourself". I especially love the photos he chooses to go along with his articles. Checkout the writing here, and follow the farming here.
Photo courtesy of Sylvanaqua Farms Instagram.
Also! My friend Monica is selling TONS of original art and illustrations via her Instagram right now (check out the story highlight titled "Available Art"). Many of these illustrations are small pen and ink pieces... intimate drawings that just about anyone should be able to find a space for in their home. She's purging some of her collection, and all of the pieces are very affordable. I bought one pen and ink drawing of a cobblestone street for myself, and another small flower study for a friend... but my favorite thing that came in the mail with Monica's order might just be this llama and road runner sticker. Now what to stick them on!?
Monica threw these stickers into my order. But what she didn't know is that I recently came upon a llama that now lives at my house... among the roadrunners.
LUKE:
Hop on a bike! Discover some of the awesome bike routes that wind their way through Austin.
MICHELLE:
Making a sweet potato stew with chicken thights, a recipe inspired by Liberian rubbed greens. I'm trying to social isatne an dstay safe, so I've been waking up early to spend time on walks with my dog and staying cool during the hot times of the day. I'm working on a robert Crumb jigsaw puzzle which I got from Half Priced Books. Lots of melon and jalapeno margarits, as well. Watermelon and basil salads, too. Tonights menu is a hash made of bacon, eggs, and zucchini.
LAUREN ELIZABETH:
I have been making some delicious aguas frescas: cucumber + lime, watermelon + mint, cantaloupe + lemon, and pineapple + sage. If people aren’t sure what to do with the herbs in their CSA boxes, basil, mint, and sage are fantastic in simple syrups (to then add to aguas frescas or cocktails, or aguas frescas turned into cocktails ).
HEYDON:
The latest at my household is that we adopted a new puppy dog from Austin Pets Alive! about two months ago now. Her name is Baby and she is the best little six-month-old lab-shepherd-of-some-sort mutt. We are in love. We also went to Llano a couple of weekends ago and had some much-needed river time which I highly recommend. Baby got her paws wet.
NAO:
My boyfriend and I started watching Crash Landing on You. It's a kdrama (Korean drama) on Netflix, and has suspense, love, comedy, and really intricate plotlines that come together super nicely. I've also been slacklining when it's not too hot. (I've attached a photo - if you look closely, I'm throwing a "hook 'em!)
What a stately slackline! Photo submitted by Nao.
MIKE MO:
I've been watching the Netflix docuseries Immigration Nation.
JON:
Midnight River Choir is one of the many Central Texas bands that hails from San Marcos. Checkout their tunes on Youtube or Spotify!
