This week we've transitioned to August, and that means we're at least half way through the summer. In this extreme heat, there is a limited number of vegetable varieties that will produce, meaning our schedules slow down a bit. Brenton took advantage of the slower summer pace and snuck away for a well-deserved vacation. But here's photographic proof that when the farmer's away.... we keep farming! This week we harvested eggplant, peppers, and herbs, just to name a few. As many of you know, earlier plantings of cucumbers and melons fell victim to crop failure, but this week we're happy to see healthy flowering plants on our later successions.

A pollinator playground. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

It's an [eggplant] jungle out there. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

The fruits of our labor. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Have we mentioned how much we love our harvest trailers? They minimize the need to carry heavy bins of produce, helping to create a happier and healthier harvest team. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Our greenhouses are filling up! Thanks to all the volunteers who helped seed these trays! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Jack overseeing some tractor triage. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

A meeting of the minds, if you will. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

An itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, cucumber. Photo by Scott David Gordon.



Jack cultivating for a weed-free mizuna patch. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

 

We'll leave you with this dreamy cantaloupe bed.

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!

Marc (Farmers Market Crew)

I am moving to El Paso next week to start my PhD in Borderlands History at UT-El Paso! I will be doing research on environmental history topics in the Southwest Borderlands. Very thankful to JBG for helping me support myself while I finished taking the last steps to get to this next point in my life. I don’t think I would have been able to to do it without learning the work ethic, team-work, communication, and leadership working with the Market and Barn crews. And of course, without Brenton and Krishna’s mentorship. I worked my first market in December 2015 and had no idea I would end up where I am today. Loved meeting people from all over, getting the chance to start new markets in Houston and Buda, and especially the market family at the Sustainable Food Center’s Downtown Farmer’s Market. Very excited to start living in the high desert along the border and learn a new city’s local, traditional, and sustainable foodways. Goodbye Marc! You will certainly be missed! Thank you for everything you have done for JBG over the years. You will always be a part of our farm family, and we can't wait to see where your adventures in El Paso take you. See you in the desert! Or at market.

Scott (Farm Photographer)

I recently went to see family in Pennsylvania where I got to visit my Great Grandfathers restored 1943 Farmhall H. His name was Alexander Scott Graham. Seeing this tractor was especially exciting since I finally l learned how to drive a tractor, and realized I'm pretty good at it.

Scott on his Great Grandfather's tractor!

Andrew (CSA Pack Manager)

I'm actually curating a monthly beat showcase starting August 23rd at Spokesman on St Elmo. I'm calling it "Lofi Kickback" and will feature several producers cooking up live beats for people to vibe on. The community is so rad and supportive I was looking for a way to give back, and I think this is a good first step for me. Checkout these links for my Spotify and the Do512 page. Really looking forward to seeing some people out there.

We love Andrew's beats, and strongly suggest you give them a listen. Perfect for an afternoon wind-down or meditation session.

Morgan (Farmer's Market Crew)

My friend and brilliant actor/writer/director Molly Fonseca is debuting her play MS at the Broad Theatre starting Aug 1st and running the rest of the month. The play centers around a young woman learning of her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, and is a beautiful look into chronic illness and its impact on one's life. Come to support women's voices in entertainment!  Here is a Facebook link to learn more!

Heydon (Recipe Contributor)

My pick for this month (and every month) is Estes Audiology. I have genetic hearing loss that was initially diagnosed back in 2009, when an incessant ringing paired with a general dulling of sound surfaced and began plaguing my everyday life. I have had a handful of audiologists in the past 10 years, but none compare to Estes here in Austin. Shout out to Gay Wucher for saving my eardrum today, and the biggest shout out to Kelli House for always, always, ALWAYS having my ear health's back. Having hearing loss paired with tinnitus at my age (or at any age tbh) isn't the most fun, but I have never felt so supported and cared for by an audiologist. I am so grateful I could cry. If you or a loved one have hearing issues, get them over to Estes Audiology asap! They have 5 locations in Central Texas. Happy summer!

Carrie (Farmer's Market Crew)

This event! :: “Sing with Me!” An Interactive Vocal Workshop (W/ Jenny Parrott) Saturday August 24^th 1-3:30 at the Museum of Human Achievement. $10 suggested donation.

Local singer Jenny Parrott (Shotgun Party, Loves It!, Meatloaf Spaceship) teaches a vocal workshop to singers of all levels. We will discuss the voice and it’s relationship to power and freedom. A band will lay a foundation while we play with melody, harmony and words in a collaborative creative singing experience. Finally, at the end of the workshop, we will vocalize to aid in a live performance by choreographer Christine Pascoo. Participants will receive a recording of the event.

Jenny Parrott will be teaching a very rad-sounding (open to the public!) vocal workshop. Check it out!

Faith (CSA Extraordinaire)

I'm pretty excited to go to Louisville later this month! I'm going for the first time for my first conference, and I'm very open to any suggestions of must-sees or must-dos in Louisville.

Megan (Recipe Developer)

HAVANA OO NA NA. All of my heart is at the Havana (hotel) oo na na. The agenda: coffee, water, breakfast in bed. Mission Espada, biking to the Alamo, the Pearl, museums, dinner at Ocho and nightcaps at the hotel basement bar. I’m pretty darn happy.

Selfie by Megan Winfrey.

Nate (Tractor Operator)

Humm. Staff Picks... I'm going to see Black Pumas play later in August. And if you aren't up on them, get up on them! My other pick is this puppy that wandered onto the farm the other day. It had unfortunately been chained up in the neighborhood, but then escaped and wandered to the farm. After roaming the neighborhood (and farm) for a few days, we finally were able to get in contact with the owners, who no longer wanted the puppy. But there's a happy ending: one of our harvest crew members took this sweet girl home as a new family pet.

The sweetest farm visitor of the week! Puppy selfie by Nate.

Joyce (Wholesale Sales Team)

Austin Cats and Dogs Rescue has been working really hard these past two months to get all of our puppies and kittens adopted! And we managed to get all the puppies and half of our kittens adopted already! However, we still have 7 adorable and loving kittens ready for their forever homes! In addition, we are still desperately in need of kitten, cat and dog fosters! If you or anyone you know might be interested in fostering or even learning more about fostering, please reach out to my email joyce_ni23@yahoo.com We provide all supplies, you just provide the space and love. Also, I’m still taking donations for the rescue for these super sturdy dog rope toys that I made! So email me and pick up some dog toys and some organic veggies while you’re at it.

Ada (Farm Blogger Lady)

I had a lot of fun working with Scott and all of our drivers to take photos for this week's post. I love this outtake, where I was standing in for Lucas. It feels very Farm and Warehouse meets Law and Order meets girl band album art. Also, my meal prep business - Club Home Made. Fall classes will be listed real soon, so keep a lookout!

Megan, Amy, Ada, Michelle, and Amanda. Love these ladies! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Michelle (Delivery Driver)

I’ve been working on various wearable art pieces and made a line of earrings most recently.  I made a blog about it. If you'd like a pair, message me on Instagram - @magicflute .

Checkout these very cute earrings! If you'd like a pair, message Michelle on Instagram - @magicflute

This week we’re here to spotlight a special group of JBG employees - our delivery drivers. There is a lot of pressure on this group of individuals. The work of an entire farmin’ army is their precious (perishable) cargo! Our delivery drivers are the last runner in a long relay race of JBG employees which begins with our transplant team, who then pass the torch to our cultivation team, who signals to our sales team, who calls our harvest crew, who hand off to our wash crew, who provide veggies to our pack crew, who packs orders for our delivery drivers. The next person in line? You, of course! 

The JBG Delivery Women. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

For the past 15 years we’ve been delivering our vegetables all over town, and throughout JBG’s history we’ve employed an amazing cohort of drivers.  Scott was our very first delivery driver (after Brenton), and he’s still around working as our farm photographer! Frankie, a jovial delivery driver of 5 years, now delivers for Coca Cola, but still stops in occasionally to say hello (or maybe to get vegetables?). Nate, a canine-loving, bmx-riding, delivery driver from seasons past is now back at the farm working as a tractor operator. All this to say, just about all or our past delivery drivers have been special employees (we don’t pick favorites!), but there is something that sets our current driver team apart. Namely, they’re (almost) all women!! This is the first time in JBG history that we’ve had a predominantly women-lead driving team, and thus we decided to celebrate this group of employees with a blog post.  

What makes our delivery drivers exceptional? Our delivery drivers are morning birds. The JBG harvest crew gets started at sunrise, but our delivery drivers often start earlier than that, wearing headlamps to load their vehicles and navigating their way through a still sleepy Austin, before the onset of traffic jams and construction zones. Our delivery drivers are responsible and timely - chefs await their daily arrival to prepare for a lively night’s service, and busy families build dinner plans around the timely delivery of a CSA share. Our drivers face Austin traffic with a state of zen that can only be fueled by a diet of organic vegetables.  

CSA Members, Restaurants, grocery stores - do you know who delivers your vegetables? Perhaps you see a familiar face every week, but it’s been too many deliveries now to ask for a name. We’re here to help. 

AMANDA

Meet, Amanda. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Amanda joined the JBG team already having extensive experience operating large trucks in tight spaces. Specifically, she was delivering for a plant nursery which required her to navigate a 26 foot truck down narrow downtown streets. On the day of Amanda’s interview, it was quickly apparent that she had skills, not to mention sensible footwear, as well as her own personal CB radio... she was hired immediately. Amanda drivers our 26 foot refrigerated truck to the East Austin Whole Food’s distribution center, and also is the driver that makes the long trek to Houston for us. She rounds out her week with a few CSA and restaurant deliveries, as well as one farmers’ market shift.

Favorite vehicle? If given the choice, Amanda would choose vehicle 14, the “little reefer number 14!”. This is the smallest of all of our refrigerated vehicles, and according to Amanda it’s fun to drive and can make tight turns. 

Amanda is the first woman we’ve ever had to consistently do a distribution route, and when pressed about how it feels to drive our largest vehicle, she admitted that, “it feels cool fitting in and feeling confident with all of the semis at distribution and also at the diesel pump. I know my way around a truck stop.” 

Favorite route? “I like driving to Houston for the change in scenery. I also really like restaurant deliveries because you get a behind the scenes look at the inner workings of Austin restaurants. Those folks work so hard… all day! I will also occasionally get to sample delectable morsels from these kitchens, so that’s a definite perk.”

Best aspect of the job? “It’s really great to see and experience the new crops that are coming in… and being a part of the farm to table pipeline. And people are generally really excited about all the seasonal stuff, so they’re excited to see you! Like cherry bomb peppers - restaurants are so excited about those right now. You’re delivering a product that people actually care about."

Favorite veg? “Eggplant!!! Our eggplant is so good and tender, and not bitter at all. Last night I thinly sliced some leftover roasted eggplant, which I then sauteed with oyster mushrooms in some butter and olive oil, and then with, like, a balsamic reduction. Served it over some whole wheat pasta and it was so good.”

Amanda off the farm: When not delivering vegetables, you might find Amanda practicing her zydeco or Cajun two-step skills at Sam’s Town Point or another local dance hall. She’s always looking for dance partners :). 

 

AMY:

Meet, Amy. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Amy is a master carpenter and fabricator (and jeweler, and bike builder, and dog mom, among others!) that found her way to the farm when needing to take a hiatus from carpentry work. She’s the chillest, most skilled, Jill of all trades you’ve ever met, and we’re certainly glad she’s decided to wear a JBG hat for a while. She mostly sticks to the home delivery circuit, and bestows CSA box joy all over town from Travis Heights to Round Rock, to far East Austin.

When asked what her favorite vehicle was, Amy clearly doesn’t pick favorites and had a practical response, “I don’t know. I don’t have one. One that has AC and runs? Is that an answer?” Yes, Amy, it sure is. 

What do you like about this job? “Well, it’s pretty easy, and the access to vegetables are a huge plus. I’m living a high life with all these vegetables! I don’t have to go to the store! And also, I get all these things that I wouldn’t normally buy, but if they’re in my fridge, then I’ll eat em!”

Favorite route? “Probably my Thursday home delivery route. All the stops on this route are really close together, so it feels really efficient. There is this one house with the sweetest little silver pit bull that always attacks me with kisses and wags whenever I delivery. I’ve never actually met these customers, but I’m pretty sure they’ve seen me making out with their dog on their nest cam. That dog just makes my day, every Thursday! We look forward to seeing each other.” 

Favorite veg? “Ohh, well, it’s summer so the pickings are a little slim. Our carrots are still delicious. And tomatoes were a favorite. As well as potatoes, been eatin’ on those a lot. I’m vegan so I’ve been cooking all kinda crazy sh*t since I’ve been working here like HOME MADE TATER TOTS. Grate it all up - potatoes, onions, leeks, herbs, maybe throw in one cherry bomb pepper for the whole batch, and then form them in your hand and bake them. I think we used almond flour as a binder. They were so good. I also will use our beets to make bean-beet burgers.”

What else? “Sugar baby melons!! They are really good. I’ve been slinging those at the markets. If we drop a melon at markets, we usually just snack on those. What the heck were they thinking when they went on to create big watermelon? They already perfected the food when they created sugar babies! They're so good! They’re just all around better than any normal watermelon. It’s sweeter, with the thinnest rind, less seeds, juicer, and a better size.”

Amy off the farm: “Well, right now my living room floor is scattered with the parts of two bikes. I’m dealing with a ubreak from the 80s, and it’s torturing me. I didn’t see this bike get taken apart, and I can’t figure out how to fix it!” When not wrestling with bike parts and looking for missing wrenches, you may find Amy and her girlfriend on their paddleboards looking for secret springs on town lake.  You’ll know them by the dog duo they have in tow - one 8-ish year old pitbull, Kitty, and a 10 year old chihuahua, Mollie. “But don’t let their ages fool you. They act like puppies.” Amy spends some of her free time contemplating the complex sibling relationship between her pups, “I’ve had them together for four years now, but only lately is the chihuahua acting like she wants to be friends. But Kitty, the pit, has been burned by spicy little Mollie, and so is just scared of her! She makes this scared, scrunched up face when Mollie comes up to her. But there has been some cuddling lately.” 

 

MEGAN

Meet, Megan.

Megan is the newest member of the JBG driving team, and she's adopting the composting ways with speed and enthusiasm. You can find Megan doing a number of different deliveries, including home delivery, pickup, and even driving down to San Antonio once a week to deliver CSA shares and restaurant wares across the Alamo City.

Favorite Delivery vehicle? "That would have to be 15 or 16 because of the aux cord. I love being able to listen to my music while driving instead of the radio."

Favorite route? "Probably my Thursday pickup route. I love the routes that bring me through Georgetown the most. It's always beautiful outside and I really enjoy the views. There is also this big bridge that I have to cross every week which goes over the San Gabriel River in Georgetown - that's nice."

Favorite veg? "My all time favorite veggie is spaghetti squash. I haven't had any JBG spaghetti squash yet, but I just learned that we do grow it. I can't wait to try it. Spaghetti squash is so delicious with some olive oil and salt after roasting in the oven." 

Thoughts on the job so far? I absolutely love working for Johnson's Backyard Garden. I love what JBG stands for and how they help the community get local and fresh organic veggies!! I am proud to work for such a beautiful farm. There are always good vibes at work."

Megan off the farm? When I'm not delivering veggies you can most likely catch me by the water at Emma Long or Lady Bird Lake with my dogs - Chester and Lemmy. They are both bit bull mixes and are so sweet.

 

MICHELLE

Meet, Michelle.

Michelle was a friend of the farm’s for a long time before she actually joined us as an employee - first on our farmers’ market crew, and now as a delivery driver. We have Lucas to thank for introducing us to Michelle - the two have been friends for many, many years! You can find Michelle doing home delivery routes in West Lake hills, or maybe even working a farmers’ market. 

Favorite vehicle? "I love the van. It’s easy to navigate, but still has room for a lot of food. Plus, there is cool hand painted art all over it.  It’s fun to drive around the community as a representative of the farm. I’m pretty happy person, so most of the vegetables are delivered with a smile."

Favorite delivery? “I like delivering on the Eastside, and also the west hills. It’s cool to explore neighborhoods I wouldn't normally find myself in. So many of our customers have cute art and gardens and pets. Seeing all these unique houses is an enjoyable perk. I also love those early mornings, on the way to farmers’ markets. On the highway before there is any traffic, transporting vegetables across Texas. I usually go to the Waco Farmers Market.” 

Favorite vegetable? “My favorite vegetable to cook right now is the sweet potato greens. I have a strong affinity for all of our greens and ones that you might not necessarily find at the major retail grocery store.  I have looked up traditional Liberian stews for guidance to cook the greens. Finely chop, massage and sautée with some onion, garlic and broth for a most basic recipe. When they’re really tender  early in the season, they were especially delicious raw.”

Why do you like this job? It’s great to be hands on in my free time and be hands on at my job.  I get to bring that same handmade joy while also representing the farm. It’s awesome.  I have a work life balance that feels really healthy. It’s physical. It’s in the community.   What’s not to love? 

Michelle off the farm? “I like to rent film noirs from I luv video.  I like to spend time on the greenbelt running and walking my dog.  I like to roll around on my skateboard at the skatepark and crochet, weave, and embellish textiles in my free time.  I recently made a huge batch of these pom pom earrings.”

LUCAS

Lucas showed up for the last group shot! What a dude!

Lucas has been delivering our vegetables for a long time. We're coming up on the 6 year mark! Over the past years, he's done every delivery route the farm had to offer. He set the pace for many of our out of town routes, like Houston, and is constantly helping us improve the efficiency of existing routes. These days, you can find Lucas doing a myriad of deliveries - restaurants on Tuesdays, distribution on Wednesday, pickups, home delivery - you name it. Lucas is a fixture in the JBG family, and is sincerely loved by the entire JBG team. He is always willing to lend a helping hand, run a wacky errand, or entertain the office staff with some of his tales of the road. Not much has changed since Lucas's Employee Spotlight, and we strongly encourage you to check that out here. Lucas's favorite vegetable? "Onions. Everything I cook starts with an onion. And garlic." He's not only an exceptional delivery driver, but a wise chef as well.

AUBREY

Shoutout to Aubrey, another amazing part-time member of our delivery team who was off the day we caught up with other drivers.

 

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 5th

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 5th

Large Box
Beets
Carrots
Farmers Choice
Greens, Amaranth
Greens, Sweet Potato
Herb, Dry
Okra
Onion, Bulk
Pepper, Hot Medley
Potato
Radish
Squash, Zucchini

Recipe by Isaac Winburne, Documented by Heydon Hatcher

Cherry Bomb Chili. Photo by Heydon Hatcher.

Cherry Bomb Chili

We only recently discovered the undeniable power of the cherry bomb pepper. Isaac was making quesadillas loaded with these curious capsicums one weeknight while I was queueing up Netflix for a good old-fashioned TV dinner. As we settled in and took our first bites, this cheeky little cherry bomb got the best of us. You can imagine... the imminent welling of eyes, a burning sensation lighting up our taste buds, and BANG, we were enamored and immediately impressed. Spicy peppers augment most if not all of our dishes at home. We ALWAYS stock up on jalapeños at the market stand when they are available; however, this week, we grabbed a little green basket of cherry bomb peppers instead (well, we did grab two small jalapeños, but we just couldn’t help ourselves). Because, hello, they rule.

This spicy soup has a vibrant red hue, packs a flavorful zing, and isn’t too filling. Isaac included beets which is an innovation I’ve never experienced in chili previously, but proved to be an amazing asset. It added an earthy undertone while the carrots brought an easy sweetness. The recipe below serves about 6 folks. Summer soups, y’all! Get into it.

Ingredients

• 3 small yellow JBG onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 6 cherry bomb peppers (more or less depending on your spice sensibilities)
• 1 lb ground chuck
• 1 lb ground sirloin
• 6 oz can of tomato paste
• 2 large red beets
• 4 large carrots
• 1 bottle of Guiness
• 32 oz of beef broth
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 can of pinto beans
• 3 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp harissa
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 4 tbsp salt (may need more, taste test)
• 4 tbsp pepper (may need more, taste test)
• Jalapeños and jack cheese for garnish

Firstly, dice onions and mince cloves of garlic. Finely cut the cherry bomb peppers, and put all into a pot to cook down for 8-10 minutes on medium heat to release flavor.

Peel and cube beets. Peel and grate carrots, set aside.

Add ground chuck and ground sirloin. Season with chili powder, harissa, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook on medium heat, moving the meat around until it’s nice and brown.

After ten minutes, add and stir tomato paste, beets, and carrots into mixture.

After another 15 minutes, add ¾ of a Guinness, beef broth, kidney beans, and pinto beans. Let simmer for 2 hours on low heat.

Slice and toast some Easy Tiger ciabatta for dipping, and garnish the chili bowls with diced jalapenos and shredded jack cheese. If your guest is lactose intolerant like ours was, skip the cheese and give her an extra glass of wine. Cheers!

Another beer, another chili. Photo by Heydon Hatcher.

Did you know it's National Farmers' Market Week this week? Every year from August 4th through the 10th, the National Farmers' Market Coalition calls on farmers' markets around the country to celebrate this holiday worth recognizing. If you're looking for a market to checkout, there are plenty of options in the Austin area on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. In fact, we go to FOURTEEN different farmer's market every week! Checkout the full list of markets that JBG attends here.

The Hope Farmers' Market! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Summer greens (and yellows). Photo by Scott David Gordon.

We're figgin excited about this fruit! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

What a color pallet! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

A cascade of cucumbers. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Everyone is welcome at the HOPE Farmers' Market. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Jalapenos, red and green. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Fawn and Andrew! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Have you visited the HOPE Farmers' Market? Photo by Scott David Gordon.

One Weird Trick That Will Make Your Salsas Better Recipe and Photos by Héctor González

Salsa like you've never made before. Photo by Hector Gonzales.

We all love avocados. If you don't, that's ok. No judgement. If you adore that luscious green fruit, you know that it's expensive at times. Do you know you can trick your guests into thinking they are eating an avocado salsa? Hear me OUT. This method made the rounds (aka breaking thousands of minds) on Mexican Twitter a few weeks back, and now you need to try it.

The secret? Zucchini. Yeah. REALLY.

The steps are simple: Boil tomatillos and zucchini, fry a jalapeño, add garlic, salt and cilantro, blend and presto!

Here are the deets for this FAKE Creamy Green Salsa:

• 1 lb tomatillos
• 1/2 lb zucchini, cut into quarters
• 1 jalapeño or more, depending on your tolerance
• 2-4 cloves of garlic. I suggest more.
• 3 tbsp preferred oil
• 1 tsp salt
• Handful of cilantro

In a pot, put the tomatillos and the zucchini. Set heat on high. When the water is boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 5 minutes, removing the tomatillos and zucchini from the water when done.. In a pan, heat the oil and fry the peppers. Save the oil. Put the tomatillos, zucchini, hot pepper, garlic, salt, oil and cilantro into a blender. Blend until smooth. Break you friends' hearts and lose their confidence* serving with your favorite tortilla chips. *The writer isn't responsible for whatever happens after you serve this to your acquaintances

 

How to Salsa in Pictures:

Gather ingredients.

Fry your jalapeno. Save the oil!

Boil zucchini and tomatillos. No tomatillos? Sub green tomatoes.

Blend tomatillos, zucchini, pepper, oil, and salt with cilantro and garlic.

Grab the chips.

The humble zucchini. It’s a summer vegetable that we all know. If you’re like us, your go-to way to cook this fruit might be a in a simple saute, a way to quickly get something vegetable on the table. And as satisfying as a simple zucchini saute might be, we know that this preparation, just like the week after week appearance of zucchini in your CSA box, might get a little boring. Bland? Boring and bland? After all, zucchini is a vegetable that we all grew up eating. It’s not as novel or exciting as a bunch of purple amaranth or as exotic as graffiti eggplant. Today we’re here to re-introduce you to zucchini. The star of summer, the cucurbit queen, a versatile vegetable which can sneak its way into so many recipes. Compost your preconceived notions of how bland and boring zucchini is, and read on.

Hankering for some zucchini? We've got a few. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

 

We got to thinking about zucchini because of this one recipe that, in the words of our Social Media Manager, Hector, “made the rounds on Mexican Twitter”. Do you know that bright green, creamy salsa served at your favorite taco truck? If you get a taco to-go, it comes in the tiny plastic container, and if you’re dining in, there may be a squirt bottle of it on a counter somewhere. The creamy, avocado-esq salsa. Guess what? There’s no avocado in there. No cream. Only zucchini, emulsified with some jalapeno oil and blended with tomatillos, onions, and cilantro, to make a creamy, eerily-avocado-like sauce. We hope you get over your feelings of deceit, and focus not on the omission of avocado, but instead, on the existence of zucchini. If zucchini can be the unassuming star in this everyday salsa recipe, where else can it transubstantiate from your grandma’s boiled mess to a sexy, secret ingredient?



Zucchini (and all summer squash, for that matter) are a mainstay of Southern summer cuisine because they’re one of the easier vegetables to grow in the unrelenting temperatures. When the sun blazes down from the summer sky, zucchini leaves spread their arms, catching the light’s potential, and initiating a jungle of vines and flowers to erupt beneath the large, scratchy leaves. Given enough water, zucchini plants can be prolific producers, rapidly growing more fruit as soon as the last one was picked.

Zucchini, like many of the vegetables that come to you from the farm, should be stored in your fridge, in some type of produce bag, ideally in the crisper drawer. Zucchini is a juicy fruit, and if it’s left naked in your fridge, that moisture will evaporate, leaving you a limp, sad zucchini. Which, no one wants. Wait to wash your zucchini until right before you’re going to use it.

We promise to grow delicious summer squash for you, if you promise to open you mind to how impressive this seemingly mundane summer vegetable can be. Take your pick from our favorite secret zucchini recipes below, and let us know what you think.

We grow zucchini, you cook zucchini. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

1.Top Secret Taqueria Salsa

Thanks Hector for bringing this recipe to our attention. For the record, you were talking about the wonder of zucchini salsa weeks before NPR’s All Things Considered broke the same story. We don't quite share Ailsa Chang‘s feelings of blasphemy at zucchinis’s impersonation, and are instead proud of this humble vegetable for causing such an uproar. Join the fiesta at this “newly-discovered” sauce which uses multiple ingredients in season at JBG, making it a much more reasonable salsa for a locally sourced meal. If you make one recipe from this list, this is the one we suggest. It’s so easy, VERY delicious, and after you make it once, you’ll be able to whip it together any time with that sad zucchini that is struggling at the bottom of your crisper drawer. No tomatillos? Sub green tomatoes.

Top Secret Salsa. Photo by Hector Gonzales.

 

2.Zucchini Pizza Crust

Whether or not you’re eating a low-carb diet, this seems like a good idea. Cauliflower-cust, begone! Zucchini is here to hold your favorite cheese, tomato sauce, and pizza pie toppings. Unlike a traditional pizza crust, making a crust with zucchini doesn’t require any yeast or pizza-tossing skills, and as long as you drain your zucchini well, this seems like a pretty fool-proof recipe.

3. Zucchini, refined and raw.

We all know about zoodles, but if you don’t have a fancy spiralizer, or don't feel like dirtying the clunky tool, make simple zucchini noodles, to be served raw, using a vegetable peeler. If you’re making a raw zucchini salad, make it soon after you get your zucchini -it’s best with very fresh zucchini that taste so green and bright, like the fields from where it was plucked. This lemony-marinated recipe is one of our favorite raw zucchini salads, but you could also take this salad in a Thai or Italian direction with the addition of some fish sauce and lime or Parmesan and pine nuts, respectively.

4. For the Young. Or, Young at Heart. Zucchini Fries, Tots, and Hash Browns.

Veggie tots. Photo and tots by Megan Winfrey.

We don’t really need to explain here. This looks like a wonderful zucchini “fry” recipe (they’re actually baked), which would be great dipped in zucchini sauce number 1 for the ultimate zucchini takedown. Or, mix grated and drained zucchini with grated and drained potatoes to make these tater tots or these hash browns.

5. Quick Pickle

It’s quick. And it’s a pickle. Who says cucumbers have to be the only cucurbit getting a vinegar bath this summer? The best thing about quick pickles is that they come together in mere minutes, and don’t have to be canned, aka can simply live in the fridge until they get devoured. Which won’t take long. Here is a great pickled zucchini recipe from 101 Cookbooks.

6. Dessert

There are a truly shocking number of ways to incorporate zucchini into baked goods. For those feeling truly inspired by this versatile fruit, try these zucchini dessert squares. Or, if you’re needing a way to more discreetly sneak in our secret ingredient, you could go the zucchini chocolate chip muffin route or even make these decadent looking zucchini brownies.

 

Zucchini Dessert Squares. Photo courtesy of The Splendid Table.

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 12th

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 12th

Large Box
Beets
Carrots
Cucumber
Eggplant
Greens, Mizuna
Herb, Dry
Melon, Farmers Choice
Okra
Pepper, Sweet
Potato
Radish
Squash. Summer Medley
Turnip, White Japanese

Thai Lemongrass Chicken Stir Fry

Author: The Migoni Kitchen Servings: 4 People Total Time: 30 minutes

Photo by The Migoni Kitchen.

We absolutely love a good stir fry recipe. We make stir fries at least once a week because they’re quick, great for using up tons of veggies, and can be easily adaptable with different sides or sauces. This Thai Lemongrass Chicken Stir Fry is a perfect weeknight dinner option. We try to pair ours with cauliflower rice to keep it low carb, but obviously it can be paired with any type of rice you like!

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Canola Oil
• 1½ Pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs, Cut into bite size pieces
• 1 Tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion, Sliced Thinly
• 1 Bell Pepper Red or Green, sliced thinly
• 2 Large Carrots, Julienned
• 2 Cloves Garlic, Thinly Sliced
• 2 Stalks Lemongrass Exterior shell removed, then thinly sliced
• ¼ Cup Thai Basil (Can substitute regular basil)
• 2 Green Onions, Chopped
• 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek or other chili paste
• 1 Tbsp Fish Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Ginger, Minced
• 2 Tbsp Water
• ½ Tbsp Granulated Sugar

Instructions: Heat oil in a large saucepan or wok over high heat. While the oil heats up, make the sauce. Add the soy sauce, Sambal, fish sauce, sugar, water, and ginger in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. Spread chicken evenly onto the pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. While cooking, season with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Remove and set aside in a bowl. Next, add the onions into the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Next, add bell pepper, carrots, garlic, and lemongrass. Continue to cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken back into the saucepan and then add in the sauce. Allow the sauce to reduce for 2-3 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and fold in the Thai basil and green onions. Serve over your prefered rice.

It was especially hot at the farm this week, but unfortunately the heat didn't slow the workload. We're entering into one of the biggest planting seasons of the year, and all of our fall crops are being cared for in the greenhouse or planted in the field. Meanwhile, there are summer melons and bushels of squash that still need to be harvested. We're busy, busy!

Transplant season is upon us. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

The sun rises over the farm, and the cool night's air will soon be a distant memory. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

It's hard to imagine these okra plants started off as tiny seedlings. As we harvest the fruit, the plants get taller and taller, now towering over most of our employees. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Okra shade is better than no shade. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

An okra harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Something amazing happened this week at the farm. Combine some farmers' ingenuity, some broken tent parts, and shade cloth, and behold: the shaded transplanter! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

A mobile tent, that stays with you all day long. This is a game changer for mid-day planting! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Laying drip tape to prepare for transplanting. Our drip tape is located under the soil for optimal water retention! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

We see you, watermelon. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Cucumbers under the Texas sky. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Believe it or not, covering up is the best way to stay cool. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Krishna, usually working from the Hergotz office, dabbles in River Road farm life this week. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

 

Monday through Friday of this week temperatures toppled 100 degrees. Twelve bulk bins of red watermelon were picked from our fields. Each bin is around 450 pounds. Twelve times 450 equates to around 5,400 pounds of watermelon harvested from the JBG fields. By hand. Every summer we find ourselves celebrating the hottest days of the year with a fun game of watermelon toss. Sweat pouring down your face and miss a melon? That's what we call a mandatory snack break. We've found this melon brigade to be the quickest way to harvest our heaviest crop, but watermelons are just the beginning. Korean melons have started to trickle in, and next week we expect cantaloupe, too. If bringing in 5,400 pounds of watermelon in the heat of the summer sounds tough, you're right. And that's just the harvest. After being picked, individual melons are carefully sorted and packed, destined for either a doorstep (via a CSA box), a shopping bag (market), or maybe even a cold paleta on a restaurant menu around town.

Watermelon toss. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Farming in Texas in the heat of the summer is not for the faint of heart. In fact, if you feel faint or have any heart conditions, you should probably consider a field other than one of vegetables. At least for the months of July through September.

There is no doubt that summer is the most difficult season to farm in Texas. The ironic part is, you still can farm in summer. Many farmers across the country enjoy an off season in the winter months when freezing temperatures make it impossible to grow crops outdoors. But our winters are mild, robbing us of a true off season, and the payoff is a brutally hot summer. This summer, in particular, was a tricky one at JBG. Early in the season when our melon, squash, and cucumber plants should have been thriving and beginning to set fruit, we instead were faced with significant crop failure. June was wet, which created heavy bug pressure. A small (but hungry) group of feral hogs feasted their way through our melons... in the course of about one night. Late in the summer season, we realized that our primary planting of these crops wasn't going to produce the volume we needed, and so we crossed our fingers, ordered more seed, and planted more summer crops (and a lot of them).

Starting young transplants in the fields in the middle of summer is a risky move- the intense heat could have thwarted the growth, perhaps even killed the young plants, and we would have lost a lot of money. Luckily, June and early July were relatively cool, and we're now finally harvesting these summer favorites in notable volume. CSA Members, thank you for hanging on. We hope your celebrate this agricultural win with a 5 course zucchini feast (link) and perhaps a watermelon margarita. In addition to the heavy harvest-schedule of this later-than-usual summer bounty, our farm crew is extremely busy with fall planting. In fact, August is the heaviest planting month of the year. Despite the oven-like conditions, beds must be thoughtfully prepped for a successful fall crop. Once the watermelons are picked, the kale must be planted, and the work never truly ends in a Texas August.

Perhaps our best idea of the week, made of some spare tent parts and a bit of shade cloth. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Our shaded harvest trailer helps to begin the cooling process from the moment the vegetables are picked. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Physically, summer is hard on our crew (popsicle sponsorship, anyone?), but the heat is also tough on our vegetables. Many crops are well adapted to grow in 100 degree temperatures, but the heat can take a toll on these vegetables beginning from the moment they're plucked from the vine, separated from their water source. Sales to outlets like Whole Foods are usually an important part of our financial structure, but unfortunately it can be difficult for us to meet the rigorous cosmetic stands of grocery stores in the heat of the summer, rendering this sales outlet unusable. Summer is also a lean time at the farm financially. As you now know, August is the busiest planting month of the year, which also translates to one of the most expensive months of the year - seeds, soil inputs, compost.. it all must be purchased and not a moment too late.

Seeding brassicas. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

This dance between bug pressure and piling expenses, watermelons lost and watermelons gained, is a normal part of the business of farming. We're never truly surprised by the curveballs mother nature throws our way, and equip ourselves the best we can to withstand the summer heat, both literal and metaphorical. And guess what? If you're reading this, you're a big part of this puzzle. Purchasing ugly or "inglorious" produce at the farmers market helps insure we have an outlet for our less-photogenic but just as nutritious and tasty summer produce. CSA Memberships, and the money you pay us up-front, enable us to finance our staggering August expenditures at a time with other cashflow is slow. CSA Members - the friends you refer not only warm our hearts but also help pay our staff. Thank you.

It's going to be a bountiful fall, ya'll, and it can't come a moment too soon. We're sweating out here.



"Inglorious" produce is just as nutritious and delicious as its blemish-free counterparts. Photo by Joyce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 19th

By Mackenzie Smith

Let's talk quesadillas. Photo by Mackenzie Smith.

I get it. The world doesn’t need another quesadilla “recipe”, but we can always use a reminder that a thoughtful meal prep session puts us in a place to make beautiful riffs on the concept of melting cheese inside a tortilla on a hot surface -- and use up the goods from our CSA box. This is no dig on the quesadilla, which makes up about 20% of my diet and has since elementary school, just a hard sell for stuffing as many veggies as you can into the mix.

This past Sunday, I boiled a big pot of potatoes in salty water while also roasting most of the veggies in my CSA -- pretty much the extent of meal prep most weeks. I got pulled away for over 30 minutes to put my baby to bed, and completely forgot about what was going on in the kitchen. Turns out when you boil potatoes for too long, they still work like a boiled potato, but the taste is slightly bitter (nothing grating them into hash browns and serving with fried eggs and a tangy garlic yogurt sauce or turning them into straight up buttery mashed potatoes can’t fix).

When you roast beets and summer squash at 425 tossed in olive oil and salt for “too long” without stirring, they turn into veggie candy. By candy, I mean the sugars in the vegetables caramelize and much of the water evaporates, so what was once a full sheet pan of squash has reduced to ¼ of the original mass. Summer squash, which has a tendency to be a little bitter, is now slightly sweet, chewy and charred around some of the edges. The beets are also chewier than what you’d expect, almost meaty -- both a super tasty pairing for sharp cheddar and a corn tortilla.

Roasted veggies, ready for any application. Photo by Mackenzie Smith.

Unlike their less-cooked counterparts, long-roasted veggies are nice and malleable, making it easy to stuff a LOT of them into a quesadilla. Based on what I started with, I would estimate that the quesadilla in this pic has about 2 medium-sized summer squash packed in, and 2 small beets. Practically health food?

Overstuffed quesadillas are so good because the cheese and veggies that don’t fit into the tortilla melt onto the sides and get a little crispy as the tortilla finishes cooking in the pan.

The dipping sauce here is another version of my spinach stem green sauce, wherein I throw an entire bunch of spinach stems in the blender with a couple of bunches of soft herbs (usually parsley, cilantro and basil), a clove of garlic and a few scallions with lemon juice, pickle juice or vinegar, a few tablespoons of olive oil and salt to taste. Bright green goodness, somewhere between a chutney, a pesto and a chimichuri, and good on anything savory -- especially these quesadillas.

Since getting pulled away to take care of a baby is my new brand of cooking (ha), lukewarm quesadillas are totally a thing around here these days. Sure, oozing hot cheese on a tortilla is one of the world’s greatest pleasures, but an almost warm quesadilla packed full of caramelized local vegetables and sharp cheddar with an herby green sauce is a fine quick summer lunch.

If you need a recipe for quesadillas, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt has a great blog post about them on Serious Eats. As for the vegetables, cook them like this:

Preheat oven to 425 F

• 5-6 medium summer squash or zucchini, cut into ½-inch coins
• 4-5 beets -- peeled and cut into slices
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Place squash on one sheet pan, and beets on the other. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Cook for about 10 minutes and stir. Cook for another 20 or so and stir again, then walk away for 10-15 minutes before removing from the oven.

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 19th

Large Box
Bok Choy
Carrots
Cucumber
Eggplant
Greens, Arugula
Greens, Mizuna
Herb, Basil
Melon, Farmers Choice
Okra
Pepper, Sweet
Potato
Squash, Farmer's Choice
Turnip, White Japanese

Good morning! Farmer Brenton here. Farmers in Central Texas usually don’t get an off season, persay, but two weeks ago I was able to take off two weeks and travel to Thailand and Laos. It was my first time in Asia (and that far away at all) and I literally had the best time ever. It was best trip of my lifetime, if you would believe it, and I feel so lucky to have been able to go. Of course, like any life changing trip it's somewhat hard to describe... but let me try to tell you about it. This vacation was really a food-vacation... which if you know me at all, should be no surprise. If you read the blog, you likely love food… and probably travel, so hopefully you’ll find my travel tales interesting.

Some of the breathtaking views.

A FOOD OBSESSION

As many of you know I love food, especially home-cooked food. Growing up in Southern Alabama, I’ve always been into Southern food, and when I moved to Wyoming after college I got really into interior Mexican food and bought just about every Mexican food cookbook I could get my hands on. When I moved down to Austin, my obsession with Mexican food continued, obviously, and then I got reconnected to my Southern roots, so to speak, and dove deep in to Louisiana cooking, too.

Beautiful red corn varieties as seen on my trip. Remind me of my southern roots!

I didn’t grow up eating Asian food at all, but when I moved back down to Austin, kind of around the same time I started the backyard garden on Holly Street, I started eating more and more Asian food, and pretty immediately fell in love with the bold flavors, use of vegetables, and I’ve always loved spice. Asian food kind of hit all the marks. Specifically, I started to get really into Thai food, and started to cook it more and more. I also built myself a pantry with lots of Thai ingredients, and also some special kitchen tools made just for Thai cooking. I have this huge stone mortar and pestle (that I also use for Mexican cooking) and this sticky rice cooker. It looks like an hour glass, and is made out of aluminum. You put this bamboo basket on top, which is where you steam the rice. I’ve got this tool to shred green mango and papaya to make Som Tum, a Thai salad.

Plus, I have a gigantic library of Thai food cookbooks. I have this one cookbook, that I think is one of the first Thai food cookbooks ever published in the United States. I got this book so long ago, and it was my first introduction to some Thai ingredients. For example, this was the first time I had heard of using cilantro root in food, specifically in green curry. I was already growing cilantro, and soon I began to add more Thai ingredients to our crop plan. We grow Thai basil, lemongrass, and some Thai eggplant varieties. This year, maybe in subconscious excitement for my trip, we’re growing four different Thai chili varieties.

I’ve been planning this trip for about 4 months, but for way longer I’ve been going to Thai restaurants in Austin and talking to the owners about their food and also asking them for recommendations of where I should go. One of our former farm managers, Becky, actually grew up in Thailand (and speaks Thai), and she introduced me to Dee Dee's Thai food truck. This place specialized in Northern Thai food an, and is one of my favorite Thai places in town. Okay, enough about why I wanted to go to Thailand and Laos. Let me tell you about the trip.

Meals to come.

GETTING THERE

The trip was 2 and a half weeks, which is really a long time for me to be away from the farm… luckily Krishna and the rest of the crew held down the fort. It was really an adventure getting there. We boarded a 6am flight from Austin that was LA bound, but we had to make an emergency landing in El Paso because someone on board was having a heart attack (luckily, he was okay). After rerouting and getting to LA, we traveled over the ocean and across time zones and landed in Taiwan, and then to Chiang Mai in Thailand. We finally were in Asia! We had a 4 or so hour layover in Chiang Mai (our final destination was Laos), and were eager to see where we are.

We left the airport, and got a taxi. But the taxis in Chiang Mai are really more like pickup trucks. You get in the bed and share the taxi with several other people. I pretty much felt like I was in one of the harvest trucks at the farm. We had read about this one restaurant that supposedly served the best Khao Soi, this famous dish in Chiang Mai, and so were headed that way. Chiang Mai is a huge city, probably the size of the greater Austin area with several million people around. It’s bustling and busy, but without highway and major roadway infrastructure. From the back of this truck, we were hurried through this town and caught the first glimpses of Buddhist temples, and soo many markets. Everywhere you looked, there was someone selling something. They were all independently run little enterprises… people were grilling everywhere and were selling grilled fish, meat, sausages. More street food than I’ve ever seen before, more vendor booths setup. People were just hustling!

There was so much delicious and diverse street food, some of it recognizable to my Western eye, and some of it a complete mystery.

Again, the inspiration for this whole trip was really food, and our very first meal did not disappoint. We found our Khao Soi eatery, just outside the gates of the old city, and it was spectacular. This is a soup-type dish, specific to northern Thailand. It has a lot of Chinese influences and has two types of home-made noodles - sauce noodles and hard noodles (fried in oil) that float in this chicken-noodle-soup like broth, but more coconut-curry flavored. It’s served with all of these delicious pickled greens and vegetables. This $1.20 bowl of soup was, up to this point, one of the best things I had eaten all year and it set the tone for the rest of the trip.

 

LAOS

Our plane ride to Laos felt like a trip back in time. The entire vibe of the airline was very 1960s. People and flight attendants were very dressed up, and they had the most peaceful music playing on the plane before take off. Even the colors of the inside of the airplane were notable - deep navy blues with turquoise trim. Believe it or not, the airplane food had us excited.

The serenity of the plane ride was pretty different from the roadways we experienced when we touched down in Luang Prabang. In Laos, there really aren’t many cars, and instead everyone drives motorbikes. And these motorbikes, it seems like the drive wherever they want. In the United States, we’ve got pretty strict sides of the road that you’re supposed to stick to, but a “correct” side of the road is not a concept in Laos. Being on the roads there is like you’re swimming in a river, just weaving in and out of oncoming and passing motorbikes. Scooters seem to be coming straight for you, but then suddenly they’re moving out of the way. Amazingly, no one is crashing! Everyone just knows how to swim in this river of motorbikes, and once we were there for a while we got completely used to the flow. No one is even mad in this kinda traffic.

We knew the food was going to be awesome on this trip, but we didn’t expect just how welcoming all the people would be. The trend of amazing, generous, and welcoming locals started off early with our room in Laos. We got there, and after slipping off our shoes (no one wears shoes inside there), we were invited to this beautiful terrace and given smoothies. With whatever fruit we wanted. The place we were staying felt like this beautiful tree-house, with peaceful porches and spectacular views, that if it was in Austin somewhere would cost you a fortune to stay in. But here, everything was so inexpensive...even a farmer could live like a king for a couple of weeks.

Our welcome smoothie, which included copious amounts of passion fruit.

LUANG PRABANG

Luang Prabang is a world heritage city. It used to be controlled by the French, and those influences are everywhere - in the architecture, especially, but also in the great coffee and pastries that can be found on ever corner. I love this city so much. There are markets everywhere you look, in so many different corners of the city. So there are literally so many farmers, growing so many crazy vegetables that you’ve never even seen before. And fruit. The bounty and variety of fruit is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s an agricultural meca. And coffee! They even grow coffee.

Markets with fruit and vegetable offerings unlike anywhere else in the world.

We spent a lot of time at these markets. You can’t go anywhere in the city without stumbling on a new one, and some of them are miles long..occupying one main street, but then every side street seems to be filled with vendors, too. There is so much exotic produce! So many vegetables that I have NO CLUE what they are. One day it rained, and suddenly the next day there were vendors selling 20 different kinds of mushrooms. We saw live frogs, eels, birds (that looked like sparrows to me), bats, live turtles, live shrimp, pincher crabs, muscles… We even saw someone selling something that was like wasp larva. Of course, we had to get some of this to try. It was so good, and the whole time I was eating it, I was like “I can’t believe this wasp larva is so good.” There are desserts everywhere, rice puddings served in banana leaves, and these really really delicious mini coconut pancakes that were about an inch and half across.

Wasp larva, anyone? High in protein, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins, it's not a bad snack.

And the fruit! I found myself addicted to passion fruit and passion fruit smoothies this trip. We also ate a lot of these fruit called mangosteens. These fruit have this purple people (which they use to dye clothes), but it’s white inside, a lobed fruit.. Kind of like an orange with white flesh. It’s hard to even describe the flavor, but it’s good. We also ate lots of custard apples, which taste and smell like honeysuckle. It cost, basically pennies, to eat some of the best fruit in the world, and I couldn’t stop eating it. The fruit was off the hook. Oh! I forgot, there were also a huge selection of bananas, including these really tasty small ones.

Mangosteen.

When not gorging on fruit, we were exploring the outdoors. One day we rented scooters and drove them to these beautiful, cascading waterfalls… probably 200 feet tall... that emptied into this beautiful turquoise pool.

 





A beautiful temple in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The inside is adorned with beautiful murals, but no photos were allowed.

LONGBOAT

The only way to get to Chaing Mai from where we were in Laos was by boat. We spent 2 days on this longboat (it was long.. About 100 feet) that went through the Mekong river… which is kind of like the Mississippi in terms of its importance and usage. These boats were powered by these huge diesel engines on the back, which took us on a tour of national forests and small villages. This boat ride was two nights, and it docked at a tiny village overnight. We didn’t quite have a plan of where we were going to stay, but got very lucky when a fellow boat companion told us his brother recently finished renovating a guest room that he was going to rent out. This room was beautiful, and when we looked out our window the next morning, there was an elephant across the river!

 

This journey through this part of Laos on our way to Chaing Mai felt so rural and undiscovered. On our way, we learned that China is bringing a railway into this area. We passed this huge bridge that was a part of the project… I can’t help but think now is the time to see this region, when the only way to see it is by bumpy car rides or very long boats.

Construction, funded by China, of a bridge that will cross the Mekong.

Chiang Mai was filled with trips to impressive temples, beautiful artwork, more incredible meals, and lots of coffee. We rented a car and left the big city behind, and headed for a small town called Chiang Dao.

OFF THE BEATEN PATH

I’m so glad we found our way to Chiang Dao. Here, we stayed in this very small hut that was surrounded by a towering bamboo forest.. The bamboo was like 8 inches in diameter! There is this world renowned restaurant at the base of the mountain here that we had researched, and so obviously we went. We were the only customers there, and the food was incredible. The folks working at this restaurant told us that we had to go climb the mountain the next day and see the Buddhist monks that live on top. We were told that they don’t allow westerners to eat breakfast with them. They eat breakfast at 8am, but you could go see them before that.

So at 7am the next morning, we were at the base of this mountain ready to start our assent. We met someone at the base who asked us if we could help carry all of this stuff up (at least 1000 steps). There was this huge pile of supplies and food, and so naturally we grabbed as much as we could hold, and helped carry the supplies. When we arrived at the top, there were about 15 people all preparing breakfast for the monks, and they invited us to serve the monks breakfast! In a cave! They only eat once a day, and so this is a really important meal. After we served the monks, we got to eat with all of the volunteers. This was by far my favorite meal of the whole trip. It felt like a Thanksgiving meal - the food was a whole conglomeration of home-cooked dishes, made by home cooks. And of course, the experience of serving the monks, being in the cave, hearing their chants and witnessing the religious ceremony added to the experience.

Our culinary experiences didn’t stop there, that day. After coming off the mountain, we decided to get some coffee at this place we had read about (which happened to be next door to our hut). Little did we know, this coffee roasted and served coffee with beans that were grown on the very hill we had just come down from. The owner said his whole extended family lives on the hill and harvests the beans by hand. He made us the most delicious cappuccino. Some of this delicious coffee made its way home with me, and it will help get me through this planting season.

Home grown beans, roasted and ground on the same property they they are farmed.

MORE ADVENTURE

After leaving Chiang Dao, we ventured even further off the beaten path to this small town that was in the middle of this national forest. We actually had found an airbnb that was run by this indigenous tribe there, and when we met up with our host he said we would be the only visitors for the whole month. We actually couldn’t even drive our rental car the whole way there - we had to meet our host on this pinpoint on a map, leave our rental car in the middle of the national forest, and then ride with him (in his 4 wheel drive vehicle) deeper into the forest. Our home for the next couple of days was next to a waterfall, and on our first night the entire family helped make us dinner.. All while sitting on the floor of this beautiful bamboo hut. This meal is another that sticks out… the eggs they used were so delicious, and it was such simple, yet tasty food.

Hanging out with the whole family at this Airbnb, deep in the jungle.

Our trip concluded back in the city, with more trips to the markets, and more - you guessed it - delicious food. On our last day, we had heard about this family who lived outside of town on a huge tract of land and had some elephants. We weren’t interested in riding elephants or anything, but we did want to see some. So we made arrangements with this guy who picked us up in town and then drove us 3 hours to this small village in the jungle. When we got there, there were no elephants to be seen. But that’s because we had to go find them! This land was the ancestral home of these three elephants, and they weren’t confined in anyway. Once we finally found the elephants, we gave them some fruit, and simply spent some time with them. A family in the village cooked us lunch, shared stories about their lives and their culture, and opened our eyes a little bit more to the wonders of Thailand.



We left Thailand on a Tuesday, and with the time change somehow ended back in Austin on Tuesday. By Wednesday morning I was back on a tractor at JBG, thinking of all the incredible farms I saw in Laos and Thailand. Farmers there were so skilled - growing productive crops on hillsides! They had caterpillar tunnels with electricity run to them that grew speciality flowers, and every farm seemed to be growing vegetables, fruit, and flowers... so diversified! Needless to say, I’m pretty inspired (and very full) and ready for our busy fall at JBG.

These farmers are so advanced! I can't imagine trying to grow produce on such a hilly terrain.

Checkout these pristine fields.

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 26th

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 26th

Large Box
Beets
Bok Choy
Carrots
Cucumber
Greens, Arugula
Greens, Sweet Potato
Herb, Basil
Melon, Farmers Choice
Pepper, Hot Medley
Potato
Squash, Farmer's Choice
Turnips

Be like Megan and Margarita. Recipe and photo by Megan Winfrey.

This week, I'd like to take a moment to thank the good farmers at JBG for their persistence with the melon crop this year. If you've been following along, you know they were thrown some curveballs, but melons are always better late than never! Especially when you live in a state where summer lasts well into fall. During these dog days of summer, there are few things more refreshing than a glass of fresh watermelon juice, besides maybe a plunge into Barton Springs. Watermelon juice is super simple to make at home. The personal melons from JBG yield about 4 cups of juice each, so I used 2 watermelons for this recipe since I would be sharing with the family.

Spicy Watermelon Margarita

 

Slice melons in half and scoop all of the bright pink flesh into a blender. Blend on high until a pureed texture is achieved. If you prefer a pulp free juice, place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl and pour the blender contents through the sieve. The juice can take a few minutes to seep through, but you can help it along by stirring the pulp with a rubber spatula or your fingers. Transfer the juice into a pitcher and chill in the fridge until ready to use. I like to add a few teaspoons of lime juice to enhance the flavor and fridge life, which is about 5 days.

If you'd prefer a pulp-free watermelon juice, strain the watermelon puree through a fine mesh strainer. Photo by Megan Winfrey.

Enjoy it fresh on the rocks or mix up a cocktail with your choice of clear liquor - I recommend tequila but mezcal, gin, or vodka would all be delish. If you're not drinking, you can zhush it up with a sugar, salt, or Tajin rim and a splash of lime juice for a mouth watering mocktail.

I assembled our spicy margaritas in this order:

• A dab of chamoy on my finger then rubbed around the rim of a glass
• Dip the rim in Tajin
• Ice
• 1 shot chilled tequila
• Watermelon juice to fill the glass
• Squeeze of lime
• 2 jalapeno slices
• Quick stir to incorporate
• Lime garnish
• Try not to guzzle
• Repeat

And don't forget the garnish. Photo by Megan Winfrey.

Things feel busy at the farm this week. The 100 degree days are brutal, to be sure, but there is the slightest scent of Autumn in the occasional breeze, and this, combined with the thousands of fall plants we're working to seed, has us feeling optimistic that the heat will eventually subside. If you want to get in on this agricultural sense of optimism, we encourage you to come volunteer with us! We are knee-deep in our busiest planting week of the whole year, and next week will be more of the same. We need your help! Did you know that if you volunteer with us for the day, you get to leave with a Medium CSA share? Help out your local farm and leave with free vegetables. 'Nuff said! To volunteer, you must RSVP by filling out this Google form. Our volunteer coordinator, Angie, will shoot you a confirmation email!

Remember that baby bok choy from a few weeks ago? It's sizing up, and its stark white stems looks beautiful on our dark brown soil. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Jack climbing into his office for the day. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Sometimes it takes climbing on top of a box truck to understand the full scope of our eggplant beds. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Who needs a conference room when you have a tailgate? Photo by Scott David Gordon.

This is where most meetings at the farm take place. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Krishna and Brenton going over seeding plans and planting schedules. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Pretty great germination rates, if you ask us! We spy two empty cells of the hundreds pictured. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Graffiti eggplant has a thin skin and is known for its creamy texture and slightly-fruity insides. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Eggplant overview. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Radishing harvest from the late summer fields. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

To harvest sweet potato greens, one must wade into the greenery. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you know that every year at around this time we wind up talking about back to school routines. Are we a broken farm disk? Maybe. But this is important stuff. We can’t help it - we operate in seasons, and if it's not the literal changing of weather and temperature, it's the metaphorical change of tides. Seasons are us farmers process the world! We know there are a lot of you reading this that are in the throws of a seasonal shift. We're here for you.

The days are still long and temperatures scorching, but the carefree days of summer are gone... school is in session. And that means the reinstitution of things like reasonable bedtimes and after school activities. And even if you don’t have kids or aren't bound by traditional school schedules, you may still be feeling a desire to introduce a little more structure to your routine. The slow pace of summertime grazing no longer feels like an option, and so often our food choices suffer. This week we’re here to just give you a little pep talk. With a little forethought, you can easily eat healthily amid the seasonal chaos! You can do it! Give your body (as well as your family’s) the proper fuel it needs to make this transition!

Back to school. Photo by Casey Degman.

There is a profuse amount of research floating around that touts the benefits of eating shared meals with your family, but it all seems to boil down to this: families that more regularly share meals together (at home) are more connected, have more of an opportunity for communication, are generally less stressed, and make healthier food choices. If it wasn't clear, JBG officially endorses the idea of family supper, and while it may not be something that can feasibly happen all nights, wouldn't it be nice if it happened most nights? If you live with roommates, instituting a weekly “family” meal is a wonderful way to reap these same benefits.

Some thoughts for making home cooked meals more feasible:

Meal Plan. Sit down with a cup of coffee (or glass of wine, depending on the hour) and make a grocery list. Try to think about dishes that can stretch over the course of a couple days, or ones that can double as lunch for the next day. Batch cook! Roast carrots and beets to use in a salad, pasta dish, soup, and quiche. Need help getting into the meal prep groove? Go to a couple fall classes with our friends at Club Home Made and let them show you the path to (meal) prep.

JBG customer Martha Pincoffs uses sticky notes to display the week's menu. Best part? The menu items are movable in case things change. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

One dinner's leftovers yield 3 meal-prepped lunches. Photo by Club Home Made.

Have realistic expectations. Don’t go crazy trying to make a from-scratch lasagna on a Wednesday night; save that kind of cooking for the weekend or maybe for your Italian grandmother. Master some quick recipes, and dismiss the pressure to get gourmet, every night of the week. Beautifully curated food pictures on social media should inspire us, make our mouths water, but not create unrealistic expectations of what our everyday meals should look like.

Share the responsibility. Make sure everyone in the household is involved in the process, from table setting to veggie chopping to dish duty. Ask kids to suggest some types of recipes. Eating with friends? One word: Potluck. Feeling tired of your go-to recipes? The internet is here for you. Checkout the JBG recipe archive, or simply Google the ingredients that need to be used. Wish you cooked more Thai food at home? Search “quick Thai recipes” and you’ve got a reference point. When reading recipes, always consider them as a guide but not a strict formula. Unlike most published cookbooks which have gone through a long edited processed and had recipes tested and retested, recipes that we find on blogs can sometimes be less sure-fire. If something doesn't seem right in a recipe, find another and combine the two! If you’re a CSA member, think outside (except inside) the confines of your CSA box and don't be afraid to substitute CSA veggies for specific ingredients in a recipe.

And when that fails…

Wholesome, home-cooked food won’t always be feasible because life is busy. But you know what? That’s a-okay. It’s all about balance, right? Luckily there are plenty of options in this town for healthy pre-packed lunches and on-the-go food. And this brings us to Beeline Market. We can’t help but highlight this long-time partner of ours. Beeline is the absolute authority on kid-friendly, healthy, and seasonal lunch boxes for kiddos… which they endearingly call Buzz Boxes. We love the fact that they have several Buzz Box options - some for little kids, some for big. There are boxes for the play-it-safe kids, as well as for the kiddos with a bit more adventurous of palates. Best part? Top notch, high quality, local and often organic ingredients make up the majority of these boxes, including, of course, ample JBG vegetables. Like the best farm to table restaurants in town, the Buzz Box menus are always changing based on seasonality and kiddo-feedback. Be sure to follow Beeline Market on Instagram for mesmerizing photos of perfectly portioned lunches. Here are some of our favorite Buzz Boxes of late that featured JBG Produce:

Wouldn't you eat these? Pizza features a rainbow sauce that is packed with veggies. Photo courtesy of Beeline Market's Instagram.

Best of luck to all the parents, students, teachers, faculty and staff out there who might be reading this. May our fresh vegetables and curated recipes help ease your transition into this new school season. Cheers!

When in doubt, encourage your kids to eat from the cafeteria! JBG veggies make a regular appearance! Photo by Scott David Gordon.