CSA Box Contents Week of July 2nd

CSA Box Contents Week of July 2nd

Large Box
Carrot, Orange
Cucumber
Eggplant, Medley
Greens, Arugula
Herb, Parsley, Curly
Melon, Farmers Choice
Onion, Ball
Pepper, Sweet Medley
Potato, Red
Squash, Butternut
Squash, Zucchini
Tomato

Servings: 4 / Total Time: 35 minutes / Author: The Migoni Kitchen

If you are still looking for a healthy side to accompany all those summer barbecues, I highly recommend you try out these zucchini chips!! They are so addicting and incredibly tasty with this honey mustard dipping sauce. It’s also a great way to get your kids and/or picky eaters to get some veggies in their diet and the perfect replacement for all those potato chips at backyard BBQ parties.



Ingredients:

Zucchini Chips Ingredients:

• 2 Medium Zucchini, sliced very thin
• 2 Medium Yellow Squash, sliced very thin
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Parsley, chopped

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:

• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Whole Grain Mustard
• 1 Tablespoon Yellow Mustard
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• ¼ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper

Instructions:

Using a mandolin slicer on the thinnest setting, slice all the zucchini and squash into rounds. Place into large ziplock bag or bowl and add olive oil, salt and pepper. Shake to coat well. Preheat the oven to 325F.





Line a large baking pan with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.

Place zucchini and squash rounds onto baking pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until they start to get golden brown.



While the chips are cooking, mix together all the ingredients for the honey mustard in a small bowl and whisk together.

Top chips with chopped parsley and serve with honey mustard dipping sauce.

Golden hour.

Hi, farm fam! Brenton here for a little summertime update. I just got back from a road trip/boat trip with Ada and Jimmy, two of my kiddos. We made the 13-hour drive to Alabama to see my 92-year-old grandmother, Mama Nell, and my pops. They both live in Dothan which is located in the Southeastern corner of the state. Fun fact: Dothan is the self-proclaimed “Peanut Capital of the World” (though residents of Sylvester, GA would say otherwise), because a fourth of the US peanut crop is produced nearby. That being said, we obviously had to stock up on boiled peanuts, an Alabama staple.

Boiled peanuts.

Once we had some quality time with Mama Nell, we headed down to the Florida Panhandle for some serious boat exploration. We took my dad’s sailboat out in Saint Joseph Bay for three days and two nights. Talk about a time! We fished, slept on the boat, snorkeled, and swam our hearts out. We caught two mackerel and Jimmy caught a stingray that was five feet across. It jumped out of the water and unhooked itself, but man, what a sight.

Mackerel catch.

The beaches on the panhandle are glorious. White sand as far as the eye can see. The area around Port St. Joe isn’t super developed, so we got to enjoy relatively empty beaches when we were ashore. Saint Joseph Bay is notorious for its delicious scallops, so you can imagine we definitely grubbed down on some insanely good seafood. The oysters were my favorite.

YUM.

Swim time.

It was an incredible trip, but I’m excited to be back in scorchin’ hot Texas, especially during this transitional phase at the farm. We are finishing up with tomatoes and starting to plant fall crops. This week we are seeding parsley, we already planted some broccoli, and cabbage, collards, and kale won’t be far behind in the planting schedule.

Have you had one of our watermelons yet? We tried two new varieties and they are exceptional. This has been JBG’s best watermelon crop yet, and we are elated! The cucumbers, eggplants, and tomatoes have been wonderful crops, too. Spaghetti squash will be showing up in your CSA boxes soon! So get those recipes ready.

In other news, we are finally starting the construction of a new barn which means that all of the JBG operations will be moving out to River Road in Garfield! Currently, our distribution center and office are in a separate location (what we refer to as Hergotz) from the 200-acre Garfield farm, where the growing and harvesting happens. So, this means that all the office staff, delivery drivers, and packing crew will finally all be at the farm with us. This is going to be a huge and exciting change! Yeehaw! Can’t wait. That’s all I got for y’all this week. See you at the markets this weekend? Stay cool!

One more beach pic for the road.

Eggplant harvesting. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

It's been yet another busy week. We're hiring for our PM pack crew, so if you're looking to learn more about restaurants and veggies, this might just be your dream job! Though we were all technically working on the fourth of July, it was luckily a light day for the farm. At Hergotz, things ended early and we all enjoyed the quick reprieve from the heat that the rain brought.

We are officially entering the dog days of summer where crops like melons and eggplant are gorgeous and delicious show-stoppers. So get your hands on some of these crops at the markets this weekend! Check out this incredible zucchini chip recipe that one of our bloggers, Summer, posted this week. It's a delectable and fun new way to utilize those summer squashes.

Harvest mobile. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Graffiti eggplant. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Bodacious eggplant. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Sunn hemp beauties. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Cover crop gorgeousness. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Glamour shot. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

'Maters. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Yellow tomatoes. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Bell peps. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Cherry bombs. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Pepper harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

CSA packing line-up. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Andrew, master of all things CSA. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Happy first Friday! 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!

JBG STAFF RULES. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Hector (Social Media Manager) - My Mexican Thumbs Up video recommendation for the month is the Hannah Gadsby Netflix special "Nanette." It's an emotional rollercoaster that you NEED to watch. It's a comedy in both the modern and classic Greek sense.

If you are a bit puzzled about what to make with your eggplants, allow me to recommend Mutabal. It is a delightful recipe that I can't have enough. Simple and very flavorful, it will be one of your new favorites. You can thank me later.

Frankie (Delivery Driver) - Went on a vacation with my family to Vegas. Here is me and my parents, and me and my new friend.



Ada (CSA and Marketing Manager) - It's cucumber season! And that means that this video is finally relevant.

Peach Season: I'm actually allergic to raw peaches, so during peach season I always enjoy the fruit baked, simmered, or grilled. My most recent grilled peach recipe did NOT disappoint.

Quick Grilled Peaches: Half peaches and remove stone. Soak in whiskey for at least 20 minutes, ideally longer. Dust cut halves with cinnamon and sugar and lay cut side down on a lightly oiled grill. Grill, flipping once, until soft. Lay on a bed of ricotta or other soft cheese, top with basil and some spoons of your leftover whiskey/peach juice, and a bit of salt. We poured a little Poirier's Real Cane Syrup (or Steen's) on top and throw on some chamomile flowers because why not. Share with friends, and don't forget to pass around the peach juice/ whiskey leftovers. C'est bon!



Like so many, I was deeply saddened by the death of Anthony Bourdain. His visceral and raw approach to food through travel and travel through food.... his worldly insights and smart sarcasm, his reverence of slow-cooked meats and fried pig skins was more that lovable - it was truly inspiring and soul-stirring at times. The last episode of Parts Unknown that recently aired was filmed in and around my hometown in Lafayette, and highlighted a Courir de Mardi Gras and the surrounding hype that I know and love. This episode is my pick! The episode truly did the region and my culture justice, and for the most part, I think he got it right. At least he died having experienced a bit of true Cajun and Creole hospitality and ceremony. More on that episode here.

Missoula (Farm Dog) - Just got back from a trip to Louisiana and made the ritualistic visit to The Best Stop.  My favorite boudin in town! Mom won't let me have an entire link, but I get plenty of nibs. Next time you're driving east on 1-10, make sure you pitstop in Scott, Louisiana. This is me in a car. Always wear your seatbelt.



Mike Mo (Wholesale Manager) - Goliath (season 2) and the docu-series, The Fourth Estate.

Krishna (Operations Manager) - My backyard garden is finally producing. I grew a few different things, but in this picture is my first Japanese eggplant and ridga gourd. [We had to look up what a ridga gourd was. More on that interesting gourd and some Indian recipes here.]



Brenton (Head Farmer) - It's firework season.

CSA Box Contents Week of July 9th

CSA Box Contents Week of July 9th

Large Box
Carrot, Orange
Cucumber
Eggplant, Medley
Greens, Amaranth
Herb, Parsley, Curly
Leek
Melon, Farmers Choice
Pepper, Shishito
Potato, Yukon Gold
Squash, Spaghetti
Squash. Summer Medley
Tomato, Farmers Choice

Photo and Recipe by Nadia Tamby

Have you ever had the green papaya salad (Som Tum) at a Thai restaurant? It’s one of my favorite Thai dishes. I love the balance in Thai food and especially in the papaya salad-- it is sweet, sour, spicy, salty, and bitter. I took a cooking class at Thai Fresh once where the chef/restaurant owner described all of these quintessential Thai flavors and what ingredients contribute to each flavor category. Unfortunately, some Thai ingredients can be difficult to get a hold of unless you’ve done some planning or have a pretty well-stocked pantry. I recommend visiting an Asian market to buy fish sauce, tamarind and Thai chilies (which you can freeze). Luckily, most of the ingredients can be found at your local grocery store, though the quality and flavor of fish sauce likely will not compare to an authentic brand. One (major) ingredient of Som Tum is incredibly difficult to find – green papaya. When I was tasked with using a spaghetti squash for this week’s recipe, I knew I wanted to do a spin on a cold noodle salad, but spaghetti squash, despite its name, really doesn’t have the taste or texture of a noodle. Though, I’ll admit I’ve had some delicious Bolognese sauces on spaghetti squash and thoroughly enjoyed it. Its vegetal flavor and almost crunchy texture made me think of the shredded green papaya in Som Tum – without having to do the work of shredding an entire green papaya! I add a little more tamarind and lime juice in this recipe than I normally would since the spaghetti squash lacks the tartness that green papaya naturally has. I also added some cucumber for a little crunch and color rather than the traditional few smashed green beans.



Ingredients:

• 1 approximately 2 lb spaghetti squash
• 1 cucumber
• A handful of cherry tomatoes
• 3-4 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon of palm sugar (or honey or brown sugar)
• 1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate (optional)
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 thinly sliced Thai green chili (sub serrano pepper if you can’t find Thai chilies)
• 1 garlic clove, grated or very finely chopped
• Fresh herbs such as mint, basil (Thai if you can find it), or cilantro (or a combination)

Instructions:

Set your oven to 400F and line a large baking sheet with foil (this helps with clean up). Cut your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise (be careful!) and scoop out the seeds with a spoon, then drizzle some neutral flavored oil on the cut side of the squash and on your baking sheet.

Arrange the squash halves in cut-side down on the baking sheet, and bake for about 45 minutes until the flesh is soft (it may be slightly caramelized in places and maybe browned on top). Once your squash is cooked, turn the halves over and let them cool off. When they are cool enough to handle, use a fork to scrape out the flesh and refrigerate it. This step can be done up to a couple days in advance.

While your squash is in the oven, make the sauce:

Combine the fish sauce, tamarind paste (if using), lime juice, garlic, palm sugar and thai chili in a bowl and whisk to dissolve the tamarind paste and the palm sugar. Taste and adjust to your liking.

Partially peel the cucumber (I peel in alternating strips to reduce some of the bitterness from the peel) and cut out some of the seeds if you prefer, then cut into half moons. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half.

Toss the cooled spaghetti squash in the sauce and top with sliced cucumber, tomatoes, and fresh herbs. I like to serve this with a side of fish sauce with a few slices of Thai chili in it, so my guests can adjust the saltiness/spiciness to their liking.

Okra and the bee. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

We are at the end of the beloved tomato season! If you are at markets this weekend, get the last of this summer crop. Out at the farm, we have been planting a lot. Cabbage and broccoli are in the ground as of the past couple of days, and we have been seeding a lot of parsley. Fall crops are on the way...

Okra as far as the eye can see. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Planting! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Montana working on the tractor. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

End of tomato season pickings. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Zucchini harvest trailer. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Blue + green. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Harvesting sweet potato greens. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

'Mater sortings. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Packing up CSA deliveries. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Carrot sorting with our volunteers. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Peppers on peppers! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

We love our volunteers! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Getting the rundown on IFCOs. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Watermelons! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Carrot packing. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

As spaghetti squash becomes more prevalent at the market stand, we thought we would highlight this versatile Cucurbitaceae family member, and briefly touch on some of its cousin squashes. This unique winter squash will be in season for a quick month, so get yours while you can!

Spaghetti squashes. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

What’s the deal with “winter” squash in the summertime?

Well first off, when we are talking winter squash, we are talking about the more hardy, rigid-skinned gourds like spaghetti, butternut, acorn, and kabocha squashes. We grow winter squash in the summer here in Texas because we can, and in large part, because the bug/disease pressure is too much in the fall. We do have some of the squashes, like butternut in the wintertime. However, if you are looking for more squash variety in your wintertime Central Texas local diet, blanch and freeze it! These puppies have quite a long shelf life, they can be stored for months on your kitchen counter, waiting patiently to be utilized in a massive variety of plates. These guys also take their sweet time and ripen on the vine for up to 120 days. Whereas, summer squashes like yellow squash, green zucchini, and yellow patty pan are on the vine for a third to half that ripening time (40-60 days). Summer squash is also more tender, fragile, and needs to be kept chilled when stored (usually keeping for a week or two at most).

Summer and winter squash rundown. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Spaghetti Squash Lowdown

This squash usually has yellow to orange flesh with quite large seeds in the center of the fruit (squash is technically a fruit). They are chockful of folic acid, potassium, vitamin A, and beta-carotene. Fun fact: the more orange the flesh, the more carotene content! Spaghetti squash can be microwaved, boiled, steamed, or baked. When cooked, the flesh falls away in strands like spaghetti. Low in calories and carbs, but high in versatility, here are some ways to utilize your squash in a fun, new, unique way.

Spaghetti Squash in Baking

From muffins to pie, this squash shines bright in a gamut of sweeter plates.

Spaghetti Squash Cake. Compliments of PCC Community Markets.

Spiced Spaghetti Squash Cake

Sweet Spaghetti Squash Muffins

Mock Coconut Pie with Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash as Gluten-Free

The perfect gluten-free substitute for any plate that warrants more gluten-laden ingredients.

Creamy Garlic S. Squash Casserole. Compliments of Further Food.

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Crust

Creamy Garlic Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Low Carb/High Protein Spaghetti Squash Pancakes

Spaghetti Squash as Dessert

A healthier take on sweet treats.

Dessert spaghetti squash. Compliments of Sara Tane.

Sweet Spaghetti Squash Noodles with Toasted Pecan Crumble

Dessert Spaghetti Squash with Apples, Walnuts, Cinnamon, and Goat Cheese

Spaghetti Squash in Traditional Pasta/Noodle Dishes

The more traditional way to use this squash with some new ideas.

S. Squash Bolognese. Compliments of Love & Risotto.

Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

There are so many ways to use this squash... sweet and savory! Grab one this weekend and explore the many possibilities. Also, check out this Tom Sum recipe by our blogger, Nadia, using spaghetti squash as a substitute for green papaya. ‘Til next time!

CSA Box Contents Week of July 16th

CSA Box Contents Week of July 16th

Large Box
Beet, Red
Carrot, Orange
Eggplant, Medley
Greens, Sweet Potato
Herb, Basil
Herb, Lemongrass
Melon, Farmers Choice
Okra
Onion, Ball
Pepper, Hot Medley
Potato, Yukon Gold
Squash, Butternut
Squash, Zucchini

Recipe and Photos by Megan Winfrey

When our CSA box came this week, I still hadn't used any of the red potatoes from the week prior, so suddenly I was looking at A LOT of potatoes. This recipe cut my potato inventory in half, is super easy, delicious, vegetarian, and gluten free!! You could easily make it vegan by omitting the cheese. Ready for your newest dinner-time-go-to? Because this is IT!



Potato Supreme Pizza

Crust:

• 6-7 small-medium red potatoes
• coconut oil spray
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Toppings:

• red sauce (or white)
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• whatever else your heart desires!

Preheat the oven to 375.

Set a mandolin to the 2nd thinnest setting and slice all of the potatoes. Mind your fingertips! Spray a baking dish or pizza stone with coconut oil, and lay the potatoes out in a large rectangle, edges overlapping. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese.

Lay a second layer of sliced potatoes right on top of the first. Spray the top layer with coconut oil and top with salt and pepper.



Stick it in the oven and let bake for about 20 minutes. Once the potatoes have started to cook down, place another sheet pan on top of the potato crust to flatten it. Let it bake that way for another 20 minutes.

When you remove the potato crust from the oven, the potatoes should be brown on top, fork tender, and nice and flat.

Now for the toppings. First, spread sauce evenly across the potato crust, leaving a 1" border. Next add all of the sliced veggies you want, spreading them out for perfect bites. Last, top with cheese, if using. Bake for another 10-20 minutes, slice, and serve!

Bell pepper harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

It's hot, hot, hot! Our mantra this week has been, "have you thanked a Texas farmer lately?" We are melting out in the fields. Our peppers are thriving, and we are getting those fall crops in the ground as fast as we can. See you at the markets this weekend!

Pepper gradient. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Bell pepper rouge. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Lemongrass harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Lemongrass. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

More lemongrass! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Gettin' fall crops in the ground. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

CSA packing line. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Shishito sorting. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Taking a break from the heat. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Tracy, our barn manager, stackin' boxes. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Shishito showstoppers. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

This week, we had the privilege of meeting up with local musician and native Austinite, Alejandro Rose-Garcia otherwise known as Shakey Graves, before he heads off on tour for the rest of the year. He has been donning our farm caps on and off the stage for a hot minute, and we thought it due time to talk hats with this world-traveling and immensely hard-working artist. We gathered on a sun-laden, scorching-hot afternoon, enjoyed some coffee, and delved into the nitty-gritty on his hat preferences, food faves, and just general Austin city livin’. Check out the full interview below.

Ale. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Growing up in Austin, a town that has transformed into a mecca for health nuts, did you ever think about farms?

Yeah! My parents are pretty classic Austin in the sense that, I wouldn’t say that they are full on 1960s hippies, but my family has always been new-age-ish, I suppose? I grew up going to Montessori school, and I lived in a big trippy house with a bunch of modern dance people and vegans. The organic world, health food, and just kind of non-traditional nutrition was always something that was a part of my childhood and growing up. So, yeah, I was aware of it existing in Austin. I’ve tried many foods that now don’t seem strange, but when I was younger… it was more like… ‘what is going on!?’

What did you grow up eating?

My family went through a vegetarian spat for a little while. I grew up in two households. My dad is kind of a more all-American diet guy (or at least in the past he was). When I would go to his house I would eat more stuff like burgers, and he would get a kick out of making pies and stuff like that. My mother has always been a little more specific with her diet. To this day, if I could eat anything it would be rice, chicken, and vegetables. It's been in different variations throughout the years, but that’s my favorite thing in the world. I’ve sustained off of that for far too long.

It can be difficult to eat healthy while you’re touring, right? What do you usually end up eating?

Yes, definitely. Luckily now, the touring setup is different, at least in the format of how I do it. Now, we travel in a bus. So, we have a fridge and I usually have more time during the day to go and check out the places that I want to. Instead of showing up at the last minute in a van and eating on the way like we’ve done in the past. That’s helped a lot, it doesn’t really help us make better choices though, because I’ll still devour a bag of chips at 3 in the morning when I don’t need to. Now when I’m traveling, with my taste for specific foods and with restaurant culture getting bigger and wilder, when I go to a town, I try to find an amazing restaurant nearby and check something new out. Whereas, I used to not be able to do that at all.

We also get a rider these days. It’s part of your budget, where you say that you want certain things in the dressing room when you arrive. Which is a big learning curve, too. At first, you’re like ‘YEAH, get us... SKITTLES!’ My tour manager was managing a band that was on tour with Justin Bieber, and he was saying that all their food was gummy bears, troughs of breakfast cereal, a surplus of pizza and spaghetti-os.

We’re figuring it out though… we have certain days where we get a rotisserie chicken and salad fixings, some days where we get sandwich stuff. Then you have a surplus that you can kind of dive into. I’ve seen other people do incredible things that are a lot smarter, like Wednesday is taco day, Thursday is prepackaged Indian food day, and then you can have variety in your diet.

Ale, hatless. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

How much are you touring?

It feels like 60% of the year, but that’s impossible... that’s like what Elton John does. At its worst, it's around 3 weeks out of the month. Yeah, maybe six months out of the year? Something like that at it’s craziest.

Do you cook? What do you like to cook?

I like to cook whatever. I’m just trying to get more and more adventurous with cooking food in general. If I don’t know how to make something - that becomes the reason to try and make it. I made my first potato salad yesterday.

Oh man, how’d it go?

It went great. I’m proud to report that I didn’t kill anybody! I decided to use the little red russet potatoes. So instead of taking bigger potatoes, chopping them up, and boiling them down, every bite was a little half a potato. It kept potato consistency. I used a certain type of mustard that I love… I tried to go a little sideways on the recipe because I like the more vinegary-ish potato salads. I’m not really a heavy dairy person. Although, dairy rules.

What’s your favorite vegetable?

My favorite vegetable might be the shallot because I love onions so much and I love garlic equally. Shallots are the perfect blend of both.

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

If you were a vegetable, what would you be and why?

I would probably be some sort of squash. I’m kind of oddly shaped and sort of sweet in a savory kind of way.

Let’s dive into the hat questions. We’ve sent quite a few hats to you over the years, do you remember where and when you got your first JBG hat?

It was the blue one with the red label. Honestly, I don’t really remember exactly where and when. I think it was at a festival or something like that, and I met someone from JBG and they gave me a hat!

I love hats. I have a bad habit of hats… I have way too many. I don’t want to throw them away or give them away because a lot of them are tied up with memories, and then it becomes a hoarding thing.

How many hats do you have?

I would say right now, I have somewhere in the realm of 35-40 hats. But, I don’t really know… there are hats everywhere. There are hats hidden. I’m sure there’s a box in my house that if I popped it open, it would just be full of random hats. Some of them are just useless, I don’t even wear them.

What musical era of yours was your JBG hat a part of?

My JBG hat was a mainstay of my costume for SXSW 2014. That whole SX I think I wore it at every show and everywhere I went. I wore a suit and that hat. It was when my second album was coming out, which was my most commercially successful album up to that point. One of the press photos that I used was taken during that SX and I’m wearing that hat.

Shakey performing. Photos compliments of Brittany Teuber and the world wide web.

We know you like our hats, do you like our vegetables?

I do! My girlfriend has gone out to the farm before and brought home a CSA box that we tore through.

Do you have any thoughts when you see a JBG hat out in the wild on someone else’s head?

My bass player still wears one all the time, he’s kind of re-fashioned the hat though. He took the black label off of the camo hat and put it on a black hat. It’s Halloween-ed out. It’s very classy and looks really good. I feel personally engaged in the JBG hat. I was thinking about it on the way over here… it’s a very stylish hat. The colors and everything. I have 5. I like the camo, red on blue, and the kind of denim and white one.

Any tips for the kiddos out there on how to break in a JBG hat?

I prefer not to break it in too much. Once it loses its structural consistency, it kind of breaks my heart. I also have a weird-shaped head, so hats help my dome look a little more traditional. The softer the hat gets, the more folks can see my strange head.

What percentage of your waking life do you wear a hat?

First off, I never wore hats until the summer of 2007. I was going to this store to get something to grill after a night I’d had a party at my house. There was an old straw hat sitting in the back window of my friend’s car and I put it on and didn’t take it off until pretty much now. I wore a hat all the time. I wore that straw hat for a whole summer... that was my hat.

Then I found a brown falconer/kind of a fedora hat at a vintage store on Congress. I saw it sitting on a manikin and had to have it. That was the hat that I wore in New York City and that’s when I first started telling people my name was Shakey Graves. I would wear that hat exclusively when I played. When I didn’t wear that hat, no one would recognize me. The power of the hat. It’s like putting on a mask. I’ve worn hats around 70% of the time that I’ve played shows.

Is it part of your stage persona?

Yeah, I think so. I think it’s also a comfort thing for me, too. It keeps sweat out of my eyes. The hat is definitely a part of something - it definitely has some sort of power to it.

We’ve seen you in a pretty cool cowboy hat, can you tell us about it?

I have many cowboy hats. I have one that was made for me by a woman named Cate Havstad who lives in Oregon. She’s a young, incredible hatmaker who learned her art from another haberdasher. I don’t know how she did it, but somehow she found this storage unit full of old Stetson hat molds from the ‘30s on the internet. So, she bought it and now she has all these incredible old hat molds, trains horses, makes hats, and blows people’s minds.

Shakey in his Havstad hat. Photo by Eric Kucinski.

Any other favorite hats? Shapes of hats? Most meaningful hat?

Usually, I remember where I got them or where I wore them. There’s sometimes seasons where I wear one hat all the time. I remember the first big, white, straw, kind of 10-gallon-y cowboy hat that I got. I bought it from a western wear shop in Santa Fe that was going out of business. It was very cheap. I never wore a big cowboy hat here in Austin, but when I moved to LA I wore it. I could be like, “I’m a cowboy! Everyone in Texas wears one of these!” and nobody would really know. I still have that one… it’s all crunched up and messed up now, but I don’t want to throw it out.

One style that I really like is the little, super-tight, tiny Ranchero cowboy hat. Some of my South Texas relatives wear those. Real sharp and straight up. They are pretty hard to find.

Back to music. What’s the hardest part about being a musician in Austin?

Staying focused. In Austin, it’s really easy to just hang out, do nothing, and feel totally fulfilled. I have so many friends that I would just sit in a backyard under a sprinkler for 9 hours and feel like I had a really productive day. I guess that happens in a lot of places, but Austin has a je ne sais quoi about wasting time.

Music takes a lot of focus. At least for me, it takes long periods of isolation or just unbroken concentration. It can seem like it’s just all fun and games and going and playing with your friends, but that’s just one part of it. Also, no one’s jaw falls to the floor if you tell them you're a musician from Austin, you know. Folks are like, aw, that’s cute.

Besides that, it’s great. It’s hard to challenge yourself, I suppose. It’s easy to just be here. It’s also easy to just not go see shows, which sucks. It takes me effort to go and see other people play in town. It always has. I love music, and I get lazy about going downtown. Why do I expect other people to do that for me? I don’t know, I don’t get it.

Is there something fulfilling about seeing other people play music?

Oh, yeah! At the very bare minimum, you get envious. If you go and see someone and they blow your mind, you think "what am I doing?" In a lot of artistic endeavors, you have to go see other people doing great stuff to light that fire in yourself or to want to do something special or something interesting… or to be a part of a scene. It’s important to know where you are.

Ale, hatless. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Best and worst thing about this growing/new Austin?

I guess one of the best things is the food revolution going on here. It’s kind of happening everywhere. There’s a lot of interesting new tastes, and there’s a lot of great stuff to check out. Especially in this part of town (South 1st), it's getting really crazy. That’s also the downside. There are no more dive bars in this neighborhood. Not that that is what makes a neighborhood great, but at the same time everywhere you go is kind of an event or a scene. The whole thing now… instead of just going to get some coffee and going home, it’s all a little more of a presentation. That’s kind of stressful… and expensive.

What are your go-to Austin spots when you’re home?

I go to the Alamo Drafthouse a lot. I see a lot of movies. I love watching movies and I love eating food. So eating food while watching movies is just my favorite thing to do. I hang out there a lot. I go to Sap’s Thai Food on Westgate a lot. I love Sap’s. There’s a private bowling alley over by the capitol behind Scholz’s, it’s the oldest bowling alley in Texas, I think. I like to hang out there. I’ve gotten to know the people who run it. Taqueria Aranda’s #5 is a classic. Polvo’s is great if you want to have a really intense margarita day.

Do you have any favorite places to play in town?

I like playing at the Hole in the Wall. I haven’t played there in a long time, but I always like being in there.

If you were stuck on a deserted island, what three things would you bring (food and fresh water excluded)?

• an endless supply of paper
• pencils
• another person that I like

A huge thank you to Alejandro for taking the time out of his busy schedule to hang with us, and also for donning our JBG gear around the world. 'Til next time!

CSA Box Contents Week of July 23rd

CSA Box Contents Week of July 23rd

Large Box
Beet, Red
Carrot, Rainbow
Cucumber
Greens, Amaranth
Herb, Parsley, Curly
Leek
Okra
Onion, Ball
Pepper, Sweet Medley
Potato, Red
Radish, Watermelon
Squash, Spaghetti
Squash. Summer Medley

Servings: 4 / Total Time: 6 hours / Author: The Migoni Kitchen

The ultimate way to cool down on a hot summer day is with a granita! Granita hails from Sicily and is essentially a fancier shaved ice typically made with fresh fruit. You can make granita with any fruit, but we got a perfect mini watermelon + a bunch of fresh basil in our CSA box this past week and this idea was born.

The beauty of a granita is that no fancy equipment or gadgets are needed other than a blender! It does require a bit of monitoring, as you do need to agitate/scrape the ice every few hours to get the right consistency, but only takes minutes to prep. Simply blend up your watermelon with juice of 1 lime, a teaspoon of honey, and a few leaves of fresh basil. Pour into a shallow dish and place into freezer! So easy!

It's the perfect light dessert for summer BBQs and can be made into a refreshing adult treat by adding your choice of liquor (we prefer tequila or rum!). Happy summer!



 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups watermelon, seeds removed
• Juice of 1 lime
• 6-7 leaves of basil
• 1 teaspoon honey

Instructions:

Add watermelon, juice of 1 lime, basil, and honey to blender.

Blend on high for until all ingredients are well mixed.

Pour into a large pyrex container, cover, and place in freezer.

Every 1-2 hours, check on the granita and mix using a fork to create a slush type consistency.

Do this 3-4 times or until desired texture is reached.

Serve with fresh basil on top.

Optional: Can add your liquor of choice before freezing. Tequila, Rum or Gin would go well. I would start with 1-2 ounces and adjust for taste.

Kirby watering the veggies. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Sweet potatoes are about a month out! We are officially out of tomatoes until the September harvest. We hope you love butternut squash because we have had sizable harvests this past week. See you at markets this weekend!

The dog days of summer sure are scorchers! A reminder to home delivery CSA members to leave out a cooler complete with ice packs! It will help ensure the integrity of your veggies while you are out and about living your life.

Montana at work. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Endless okra. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Readying the beds. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Rainbow of peppers. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Bell pepper harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

En route. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Basil. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Barn happenings. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Mike Mo, wholesaling very hard. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

This is what Casey, Krishna, and Ada look like. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Nate, your neighborhood veggie delivery man. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Farm meetings aren't complete without the pups. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

POTATOES! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

The dog days of summer are upon us. The heat is so oppressive, it can be hard to cool yourself down. Thankfully, this week, we have an arsenal of lifestyle tips, foods, and recipes aimed to beat this blistering Texas summer.

Austin-native health + lifestyle coach, acupuncturist, herbalist, yoga + meditation instructor, and Chinese medicine guru, Anne Woods-Miller, advised us on 10 lifestyle pro-tips to keep you cool when all you feel is HOT.

Dog days. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

10 Ways to Beat the Texas Heat

1. When cooking at home, change the way you cook to focus more on fermenting, sprouting, steaming, simmering, and marinating meals instead of frying, grilling or baking. Or eat food cold!
2. This might seem counterintuitive, but don’t eat too many frozen foods. It is harmful to the digestive system (extreme cold meeting extreme heat can cause issues). Enjoy a frozen treat here and there, but keep it to a minimum. Think about keeping things chilled instead of frozen, and even skipping ice in your water.
3. Add 1 drop of peppermint oil to your water bottle.
4. Stop using black pepper and switch it out with white pepper. White pepper is more neutral for the body. Black pepper heats the body, and can make you feel warmer in the heat.
5. Add more foods with blue, green, and purple colors. It’s simple, cooling colors cool the body. Reach for a green salsa at the grocery store instead of a red salsa!
6. Introduce more raw foods, salads, smoothies, and juices - they are all cooling and refreshing.
7. Avoid red meat, smoking, excessive alcohol, too much coffee, fried and greasy foods, and excessive dairy. These are all inflammatory foods. Smoking is literally the act of adding smoke + fire to the body.
8. Wear a cap or a cool bandana around your neck. Put one drop of peppermint oil into a bucket of water, douse bandanas in it, put them into the freezer overnight, and wear around your neck when you go outside for long periods of time.
9. Avoid running midday and hot yoga. Running during yin time (yin time = early morning and late night) is best. Also get good sleep. Good sleep will cool and rejuvenate the body, and also aid in the healing process.
10. Use the cooling yoga breath. Inhale through teeth or rolled (like a taco) tongue for a count of 5, and exhale with a relaxed jaw. Do this for 10 breaths up to 4 times a day. It cools your insides down
11. Bonus tip: go swimming!

Go get in some water! Photo by Anne Woods-Miller.

Anne's Top Cooling Recipes:

Healthy Homestyle Okra and Tomatoes

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 large plum tomatoes, diced (or 28 oz can of fire roasted organic tomatoes)
• 1lb fresh okra
• 2 tsp gumbo file
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt, white pepper
• 1 cup short grain brown rice, 2 cups water

Make your brown rice first. 1 cup of washed and drained brown rice, to 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and set on low for 40 min.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven on medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 min. Add the garlic, and saute until fragrant. Add okra and salt, and cook for about 3 min, or until soft. Stir in the tomatoes and gumbo file seasoning with the bay leaf, and cook for 5 min. Add salt and white pepper to taste.

Okra. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Lemongrass Shrimp Skewers with Coconut Rice

Marinade: 1 stalk of diced lemongrass, diced 1 inch ginger, 1 clove garlic diced, sesame oil, rice vinegar, gluten free tamari (soy sauce), melted coconut oil or olive oil. Marinate the shrimp in the fridge for minimum 1 hr (can do this step overnight).

Shrimp skewers: Grill, or heat on a skillet until cooked through, chill the shrimp in the fridge.

Lay the chilled shrimp on top of a bed of fresh arugula or salad greens. Toss with a little olive oil, salt, and white pepper. Garnish with thinly sliced watermelon radish, cucumber, and shredded carrot.

Lemongrass-coconut rice: Soak 1 cup white rice, rinse and drain. Use half coconut milk and half water that equals 1 ½ cups, tie the lemongrass into knots. Lay them on top. Cook rice for 20 min. Remove lemongrass knots before serving.

Farm Fresh Pesto Pasta

• 3 zucchinis (or a spaghetti squash)
• 1/2 bunch amaranth greens, 1/2 bunch basil, 1/2 bunch parsley
• 1/2 cup of pine nuts (or a variation)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup - 1 cup olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1/4 tsp of salt

Spiralize zucchini into noodles. (or if no spiralizer, bake your JBG CSA spaghetti squash at 425 for 40 minutes, and use as spaghetti!)

Pesto: amaranth greens, parsley, basil, lemon juice, olive oil, small garlic clove, salt, and pine nuts (or substitute with walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, or almonds). Add all those ingredients into a food processor, and process until smooth. Add more oil, lemon juice, or salt to taste.

Mix the zucchini with the pesto, and top with fresh cut tomatoes, salt, and white pepper, and a few chopped nuts that you added in your pesto.

Greens in Anne's garden. Courtesy of Anne's instagram @woods.acupuncture.

Chilled Hibiscus Herbal Lemonade

• 1 Tbs loose Hibiscus tea
• 1 Tbs loose Tulsi tea
• 1 Tbs Goji berries
• 1 Tbs Spearmint leaves
• 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (to add at the end) water

Check the bulk section at your local grocery store for these ingredients. Add enough boiling water to your tea to steep for 1 hr. Or, place herbs in a large jar or covered pitcher of water, and leave out in the hot sun for 2-3hrs for sun tea (a fun project for kids!). Work with the seasons to your benefit! Strain, and reserve the herbs to make a 2nd batch, if you wish. Once cooled off a bit, add ¾ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Store herbal lemonade in the fridge for up to a week. Enjoy chilled with sparkling water, or add a little honey and enjoy hot in the morning.

Lemonade makings. Photo by Anne Woods-Miller. Courtesy of Anne's instagram @woods.acupuncture.

Cool as a Cucumber Green Juice

• Sweet potato greens
• Romaine lettuce
• Cucumber
• Spinach (chard or kale would work here, also)
• Celery
• Mint
• Lemon

Can be made either in a juicer or your blender. Drink at room temperature. Can save extra for up to one week in a sealed jar or container in the fridge.

A huge thanks to Anne for keeping us cool! Check out Anne’s website and Instagram and to learn more about booking health coaching sessions and more!

A huge thanks to Anne Woods-Miller! Thanks again for taking the time to talk to us.

CSA Box Contents Week of July 30th

CSA Box Contents Week of July 30th

Large Box
Beet, Chioggia
Carrot, Orange
Cucumber
Eggplant, Medley
Greens, Sweet Potato
Herb, Basil
Herb, Parsley, Curly
Okra
Onion, Ball
Pepper, Sweet Medley
Potato, Yukon Gold
Squash, Butternut
Squash, Zucchini