CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 3rd

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 3rd

Large Box
Beets
Cucumber
Eggplant
Farmers Choice
Greens, Amaranth
Greens, Sweet Potato
Herb, Farmers Choice
Herb, Fennel
Leek
Melon, Farmers Choice
Okra
Pepper, Hot Medley

Oh la la is right! Photo by Heydon.

By Heydon

Greetings from Ono Island, Alabama! My quarantine pod has successfully traversed to a more beachy locale. The change of scenery has been life-giving and reviving in a very unexpected way. We are enjoying the normal COVID day to day but inserting more crabbing off the dock, afternoon dips, and casual bushwackers (a mainstay cocktail of southern Alabama). This week’s recipe capitalizes on the Triple Tail we acquired from the local seafood shop down the street and my dear friend’s nage that she made a week ago, which is a beautifully rich and concentrated seafood stock. What really pulls the dish together is the chow chow, a deliciously crunchy and sharp foundation. Augmenting this punchy side with JBG produce, we used end of season tomatoes, bright bell peppers, and jalapenos which deviates slightly from the recipe, but brought the spice we all craved. Check out the recipe here. Enjoy and stay safe, friends.

Each August, our farm undergoes a major transition. Our crews begin prepping for the fall, both in the greenhouse and the fields. Below you'll see hints of this transition - beds being prepped, and seeds planted.

Big sky, big harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Once a row is picked, the produce immediately gets put onto our harvest tailor. The shade provided by this trailer is an important tool on our farm! It cools down the veggies, removing some of the field heat preparing them for storage in our cooler. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Graffiti eggplant doesn't mind this heat. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Vicente, our Harvest Manager. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

When one of our delivery vehicles becomes no longer highway-worthy, it spends its retirement at the farm. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Removing tomato stakes and saying our tomato goodbyes. Until next summer! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Yellow stars in a mess of green. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Sometimes we use the transplanter to direct seed crops. Why walk when you can ride? Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Hello beautiful germination! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Amaranth sitting nice and pretty. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Vicente harvesting watermelon. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Secret handshake or tool sharing? Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Repairing shade cloth. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Lucious lemongrass. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Our pump controller was hit by lightning and quit working! Here, a crew is taking a look at our electrical box to survey the damage. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Tracy going over the weekly numbers with our Barn Crew. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Often, Tracy will run into Krishna on his way to the office, and Krishna will run into Tracy on his way to the barn. The result? Lots of parking lot meetings. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

 

In case it hasn't been on your radar, this post featuring our staff's favorite things has been a regular slot in the blog schedule for quite some time. Ever wonder what your local farmers do off the fields? Cue: FIRST FRIDAY STAFF PICKS!

We think that our staff is the best in the business (okay, okay, we are a little biased), but the JBG family hails from all over the place and covers the gamut in talents and interests. We love sharing events, adventures, and side projects that inspire and excite our JBG-ers (food-related or not) with the community. Check out the staff-curated list of favorites below!

FAITH:

Austin Film Society is hosting virtual screenings, and proceeds from ticket sales will help support efforts to open AFS Cinemas.

MARY, NED, & GIANNA (OUR GREENHOUSE CREW!):

Lather on some sunscreen, grab the ol' hound dog, and hit up a park! Mayfield, Walnut Creek, and Emma long are some favorites.  Be sure to check if you need to make reservations beforehand!

Checkout Loro's takeout menu for a new take on central Texas cuisine.

Escape town for a day and drive through the hill country to Fredericksburg or Enchanted Rock (where you do, in fact, need a reservation).

MACKENZIE:

I am so excited to be participating in #sharethemicnowtx, an initiative to share space on well-developed platforms to shine a light on Black women in Texas.

LUCAS:

ADA:

I've been spending a lot of time recently thinking and reading about the sheer complexity of our country's food system, my minuscule role in this machine, and all of the ways we, as a community, can create a more equitable and just food system. I was so happy when I found a catalog of articles written by  Chris Newman, a Black farmer in Virginia who runs Sylvanaqua Farms that I've followed on Instagram for a while. In addition to working as a full-time farmer (how are there any more hours left in the day!?), Chris writes a lot about what a sustainable future can and can't look like. Chris's writing and views are unapologetic and honest, and he's often addressing the elephant in the room of many conversations about local food: how to scale, the limitations of small farming, and the inequitable systems we're working within. Here is a catalog of articles Chris has written here with titles like "I Lost an Argument with a Vegan" and "Clean Food: If You Want to Save the World, Get Over Yourself". I especially love the photos he chooses to go along with his articles. Checkout the writing here, and follow the farming here.

Photo courtesy of Sylvanaqua Farms Instagram.

 

Also! My friend Monica is selling TONS of original art and illustrations via her Instagram right now (check out the story highlight titled "Available Art"). Many of these illustrations are small pen and ink pieces... intimate drawings that just about anyone should be able to find a space for in their home. She's purging some of her collection, and all of the pieces are very affordable. I bought one pen and ink drawing of a cobblestone street for myself, and another small flower study for a friend... but my favorite thing that came in the mail with Monica's order might just be this llama and road runner sticker. Now what to stick them on!?

Monica threw these stickers into my order. But what she didn't know is that I recently came upon a llama that now lives at my house... among the roadrunners.

LUKE:

Hop on a bike! Discover some of the awesome bike routes that wind their way through Austin.

MICHELLE:

Making a sweet potato stew with chicken thights, a recipe inspired by Liberian rubbed greens. I'm trying to social isatne an dstay safe, so I've been waking up early to spend time on walks with my dog and staying cool during the hot times of the day. I'm working on a robert Crumb jigsaw puzzle which I got from Half Priced Books. Lots of melon and jalapeno margarits, as well. Watermelon and basil salads, too. Tonights menu is a hash made of bacon, eggs, and zucchini.

LAUREN ELIZABETH:

HEYDON:

MIKE MO:

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 10th

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 10th

Large Box
Beets
Cucumber
Greens, Dandelion
Greens, Sweet Potato
Herb, Farmers Choice
Herb, Fennel
Melon, Farmers Choice
Okra
Pepper, Sweet
Potato, Sweet
Squash, Farmer's Choice
Winter Squash

Spicy Watermelon Cucumber Salad Serves 1 Author: The Migoni Kitchen

As a new mom, I can really appreciate meals that don’t really require measuring or recipes at all. Not to mention no cooking! The quantities in this recipe are all suggestions. You can add extra/less of any item and still enjoy this deliciously refreshing summer salad. It really feels like Texas summer in a bowl!

Note - if you cannot find tajin seasoning, they sell a similar product at Trader Joes that is labeled as “Chili Lime Seasoning Blend”.

Ingredients: 1-2 cups watermelon, cubed 1 small cucumber, sliced 2 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled ½ jalapeno, sliced thinly 1 small handful fresh mint, chopped 2 tablespoons lime juice 1 teaspoon Tajin or chili lime seasoning Salt to taste

Toss watermelon, cucumber, jalapeno, mint and feta into a large salad bowl. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the salad and season with Tajin and salt to taste.

This week's blog post was written by one of our CSA Members, Delaney Marie, and first appeared on her blog - Joyful Balance.  Thank you Delaney for sharing your experience joining the CSA, and for being such a friendly face at the farmers market every weekend.

Delaney is excited about an extra-large tomato she found in her CSA box. Photo from Delaney's blog.

Today I want to talk about one of my favorite topics – VEGETABLES.

If you follow me on social media, you may know by now that my husband and I joined a CSA a few months ago. If you aren’t familiar with what a CSA is, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture. A lot of small farms have CSA programs, and basically, if you join you are paying to get a regular share of produce. It’s kind of like getting a subscription box to your local farm!

There are various ways that each farm may structure their CSA programs – each program may differ on how often you get your box of produce, different sizes of boxes, and different methods of getting your box to you. For example, some may drop your box straight on your doorstep, while others may require you to pick it up from a specific place at a specific time.

Our CSA is through Johnson’s Backyard Garden in Austin. They are local and organic, which we love! This particular program has a few different CSA options, but we signed up for a weekly “small” box that we pick up from the farmers market, which is just across the street from us! The small box is perfect for our house since it’s just me and my husband.

Every Saturday morning, my husband and I grab a reusable grocery bag and walk across the street to the farmers market. It’s always a fun way to start off the weekend! We grab our box of veggies, and sometimes if we need any specific produce that week that isn’t in our box, we will wander the market and find a booth that sells whatever we are looking for. Typically we get plenty in our box, but being a food blogger means that I sometimes have plans that require specific things ?

Overall, I couldn’t be happier with our decision to join the CSA. So today I want to share with you why you should consider looking into local CSA programs in your area!

5 Reasons You Should Join a CSA

1. You don’t have to go grocery shopping as often

I used to go to the grocery store weekly. However, now that we get our fresh produce from the CSA, I really only have to go to the grocery store when I need to stock up on pantry staples – which is really only once every 3 weeks or so! Whenever I do go to the store I stock up on pantry staples to last me a while (such as whole grains, beans, flours, and spices), and that’s really my only main focus at the store!

There are a few veggies or fruits that I still rely on the store for, but not many. Things that we don’t get from our local farm, like bananas, I still get at the store. However, for the most part, I can rely on our weekly box and a couple other occasional purchases at the farmers market for all of my produce needs!

2. You get to eat organic foods (in most cases)

Most farms that offer CSAs are often organic, though this isn’t always the case so be sure to ask if this is important to you! When I used to buy everything at the store I didn’t buy everything organic, but I did try my best! Sometimes it’s hard to find organic options at the store though, so I love knowing that we always get organic in our weekly box.

In the idea of being transparent, I do know that there is some debate out there as to how many health benefits organic options actually bring us – but my personal belief is that it definitely can’t hurt! Some potential benefits of organic foods include more nutrients and significantly less pesticide residue. Plus, organic means that fewer harmful chemicals are used, so it’s also a great choice for the earth!

Even if your local farm isn’t organic, I would argue that this is still a kind contribution to the earth. Your veggies don’t have to be transported nearly as far, so less resources are used to get them to your table. AND your veggies are likely not individually packaged by the farm, so you’re using less plastic and packaging as well. Yay earth!

3. Farm fresh food just tastes better

Look, if you haven’t experienced many farm fresh veggies, you probably think I’m a little crazy. But I kid you not, farm-fresh food JUST TASTES BETTER. Over the last few months, my husband and I have noticed that the dishes I make with our CSA veggies are more flavorful and delicious than ever before. I theorize that this is partially because they are organic. However, another factor is that you’re actually eating what is in season, so it’s at its peak yumminess! In addition, the veggies don’t have to be transported over long distances to get to you – so they are as fresh as possible!

Ever notice that you can buy most veggies at the grocery store year-round? There are a few exceptions to this rule, but for the most part the grocery stores are able to get their hands on fruits and veggies any time they want by transporting them from all over – which means that your veggies aren’t as fresh and may not be as tasty!

4. You’re supporting local

By joining a CSA with a local farm you are basically voting with your dollars on something you believe in. You’re basically saying “THIS. THIS IS A GOOD THING FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND WE WANT MORE THINGS LIKE THIS”.

You are supporting your local economy and contributing to your very own community. You are investing in your future by supporting a local farm today so that it can continue to exist tomorrow (cue the inspirational music). CSAs let you support your local farmer while they, in turn, support your family with fresh produce – it’s really a win-win!

5. You will start experimenting with your food (and make fun new discoveries!)

One thing that is a little odd about a CSA when you first start is the idea that you aren’t sure what you’ll get each week. It’s a wild card! Our CSA has a helpful link on their website to give us a general idea of what may be in our box each week, but sometimes it gets switched up a bit just depending on what they have. The good thing about the wild card concept though is that you get to experiment with new things!

Whenever I get a fruit or veggie that I haven’t had before, I usually do some online research to find recipe inspiration – I always figure something out and I haven’t been disappointed yet! Here are some of the fun things I have discovered in my experiments –

• Beets: I never used to eat beets, but now I love them! I’ve learned that they make great soups and I can also turn them into veggie burger patties!
• Fennel: I’ve learned that the large bulb part of the fennel can be thrown into a stir fry and the green fronds make delicious iced tea.
• Okra: I didn’t have any strong opinions or previous experiences with okra before getting it in our box, but now I love making air fried okra! Cucumbers: I like cucumbers, but we’ve been getting a lot of them – so I’ve recently started making pickles! It’s fun to have homemade pickles in our fridge to top sandwiches or veggie burgers with. A jar of homemade pickles is also a fun little gift for a friend or loved one!
• Shishito peppers: These ones are a little spicy for my personal taste (though I should say that I’m a baby when it comes to spice), but I’ve learned how to roast them up easily and my husband enjoys them on things like tacos and fajitas.
• Eggplant: Okay, I’ve always loved eggplant. But we’ve been getting so much of it that I needed to expand my eggplant horizons so I didn’t make the same eggplant lasagna recipe every single week! I have discovered that eggplant works great in stovetop curry, and I plan on experimenting with babaganoush as well next time we get some. Korean Melon: I had NEVER heard of this before our CSA – but it’s delicious! This one I just peel, chop up, and eat as a tasty snack!

So… are there any cons?

If having little to no control over the contents of your box every week isn’t something that floats your boat, maybe a CSA isn’t for you. HOWEVER, I will say that at first I was worried about this – and I very quickly adapted! I realized early on that I was able to find creative ways to use our produce every week and that it was totally worth it. I still plan out our meals for the week the way I always have, but I plan them out after I get our box for the week – that way I can create that week’s plan based on the contents!

I know I haven’t addressed price yet, so I guess I should! I do think that overall we may be spending a little bit more on our veggies than we used to at the store – but to be completely honest, it’s so worth it. I’m a big believer in the idea that if I’m going to splurge on something, it should be something that is good for my physical and mental wellbeing – and this definitely is! I know that I am eating fresh, organic, nutritious produce every week, which definitely contributes to my physical health. It also contributes to my mental health because it brings me joy – I love knowing that I’m supporting local, I love our weekly dates to the farmers market, I love experimenting with our produce each week, and I love eating yummy food!

As far as the price goes, I will say that there is also a cheaper “personal” sized box option through our CSA, so if we ever feel that we need to save a little more we could switch to that option, pay less, and still get a good amount of veggies! But for now, we are happy “splurging” on our small box ? Some farms may also strike up a deal with you if you are willing to volunteer with them – so if you want some cheaper veg I would definitely recommend asking if you could volunteer once a week in exchange for some produce!

If you are interested to see what types of produce I get from my CSA, be sure to follow me on Instagram – I often post “farmers market hauls” on my stories after getting our weekly box!

I hope this was a good summary of the many perks to joining a local CSA! If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, I encourage you to do some research and see if there is a CSA program in your area! And be sure to check out Johnson’s Backyard Garden if you are in the Austin area!

Until next time, stay well!

-Delaney

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 17th

This smashed eggplant dip is as versatile as it is delicious. Photo by Runnan Li.

Smashed Eggplants with Chiles Photos and Recipe by: Runnan Li Serves 2-4 people.

This is one of my favorite dishes on my summer table. It originated in Hunan, China, which is hot and humid in summer and people loves spicy food that makes them sweat and release the heat. It’s more like an appetizer but so versatile that it almost goes with anything. I’ve tried it on rice, on a fried egg, as a spread in my sandwich, in a grilled cheese …. the list goes on. In this recipe I presented it as a dip for chips.

INGREDIENTS:

•  Two mid-sized eggplants
•  Three jalapeno peppers
•  Two serrano peppers
•  Three cloves of garlic
•  ½ tablespoon of sesame oil
•  ½ tablespoon of soy sauce
•  ½ teaspoon of Chinese extra aged vinegar (optional)
•  Salt and pepper to taste

 

Roasted eggplants and peppers, ready to be smashed. Photos by Runnan Li.

 

DIRECTIONS:

Roast the peppers your own way until the skin is blackened and blistered. Immediately cover the peppers with aluminum foil or plastic wrap to help them steam. Let sit for 5 minutes. Stem and seed the peppers and rub off the loose skin of the peppers as much as possible. Cut off stem of the eggplants and slice in half. Roast in 400 F for 20 minutes or until soft that a fork can easily go through. Similar to the peppers, wrap, let sit and scrap the eggplant meat off from the skin. In a mortar and pestle set, smash together the garlic, pepper and eggplant. Mix in the seasonings.

If a mortar and pestle set is not available, simply chop up the garlics and smash everything in a sturdy large bowl with a large wood spoon or potato masher.

Side note: a must have in the authentic recipe is thousand-year egg. Thousand-year eggs are typically preserved duck eggs with dark brown insides, somehow stinky smell and unique flavors. You will either love it or hate it! If you’re feeling adventurous, I strongly recommend trying to add one in this dish. Prepare to be surprised! They are available in most Asian grocery stores.

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 17th

Large Box
Cucumber
Eggplant
Greens, Sweet Potato
Herb, Farmers Choice
Herb, Fennel
Melon, Farmers Choice
Okra
Pepper, Hot Medley
Potato
Potato, Sweet
Squash, Farmer's Choice

Position Title: Barn Crew

Location: 9515 Hergotz Lane, Austin, TX 78742

Position Summary:

Johnson’s Backyard Garden (JBG) is seeking a new team member to work in our Hergotz barn. Barn employees are responsible for washing, processing, and packing vegetables. This position is also responsible for ensuring produce quality and compliance with health regulations. The barn worker will work closely with the packing shed manager and wholesale coordinator to guarantee that operations and orders are completed correctly and in a timely manner.

JBG offers the community high quality, locally grown, and organic vegetables. In just 10 years, the farm went from a 30x50ft garden in an urban backyard in East Austin to a now 205-acre organic vegetable farm based on a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model.  Our CSA has now grown to more than 1,700 members in four major metropolises and we provide fresh, year-round, organic produce to CSA members, multiple farmers markets, local restaurants and grocery retailers, including major chains like Whole Foods and HEB/Central Market.

Responsibilities:

• Receive, process, and package vegetables harvested on the farm
• Pack CSA boxes based on size and contents
• Maintain a clean and sanitary working environment
• Ensure quality of all produce
• Wash, sort, and pack vegetables and prepare them for various departments
• Occasionally drive and pickup harvests from farm

Qualifications:

• No previous experience required, only a desire for farm work

Preferred: Previous experience in a warehouse setting and/or with produce standards.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to repeatedly lift 50 lbs
• Ability to repeatedly kneel, bend, and squat
• Ability to withstand exposure to varying weather conditions
• Ability to withstand prolonged standing or walking

Schedule: Monday-Friday 8 AM - 4 PM. Candidates for this position must be flexible as hours may sometimes vary depending on daily orders.

Compensation & Benefits: Payment is $13 / hour, paid bi-weekly. All JBG employees receive a weekly share of vegetables. Permanent full time employees are eligible for Individual Health Plan benefits. 

Directions for Applying: Please send an email with the subject "Barn Crew" to jobs@jbgorganic.com with your resume + a bit about yourself. 

Johnson’s Backyard Garden’s provides equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sex, age, national origin, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation.  The duties listed above are general and not an exhaustive list of tasks performed on the farm. We are committed to training, developing, and promoting from within the company based on performance.

 

Johnson’s Backyard Garden (JBG) is seeking an experienced candidate to join our team of delivery drivers. This position will include a wide variety of deliveries including CSA Home Delivery, CSA Pickup, and Restaurant Deliveries and will include deliveries in the Austin and Houston areas. This driver will work closely with our CSA Managers as well as Wholesale Managers to ensure that all deliveries are made in a timely manner. The Saturday driver shift will be comprised of either a restaurant delivery shift or a farmers' market shift.

JBG offers the opportunity for community members to be provided with the best quality, locally grown, organic vegetables possible. In just 10 years, the farm went from a 30 x 50 ft garden in an urban backyard in East Austin to a now 205-acre organic vegetable farm based on a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model. Our CSA has now grown to more than 1,700 members in four major metropolises and we provide fresh, year-round, organic produce to CSA members, multiple farmers markets, local restaurants, and grocery retailers, including major chains like Whole Foods and HEB/Central Market.

This position is a full time Tuesday-Friday, occasional Saturday job.

Responsibilities

• Depending on route, delivers vegetables to CSA members' homes, community pickup locations, or local restaurants
• Safely operates JBG box truck or cargo van and delivers produce in a timely manner
• Follows all company policies to ensure food safety and quality of produce
• Shows up for shift on time, sometimes beginning as early as 5:30 am
• Checks all invoices to ensure order is complete before delivering
• Comfortable driving locally in Austin, as well as out of town shift to Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio
• Occasionally helps pack late orders for customers and delivers
• Communicates any delivery or vehicle issues to office staff in timely manner

Qualifications

• Valid TX driver’s license with a clean driving record (required)
• Ability and experience driving a variety of vehicles including box trucks and cargo vans
• Experience operating very large trucks (including manual or automatic transmission) is not required but preferred
• All drivers must have a working cell phone and are expected to carry it with them during shifts
• Experience using a forklift and a pallet jack is not required but preferred
• Self-directed and independent worker
• Strong work ethic
• An interest in agriculture and promotion of local and organic farming is preferred

Physical Requirements

• Ability to lift 60 pounds and mobility to ascend and descend the rear end of a box truck.
• Ability to load trucks in a timely manner to ensure earliest delivery possible
• Ability to work outdoors in a variety of weather conditions

Compensation and Benefits

Pay starts at $13/hour. All full-time JBG employees are eligible for our group health insurance policy.  Employees also receive a weekly share of vegetables and eggs bi-weekly.

To apply, please send a resume and letter of interest to jobs@jbgorganic.com with “Delivery Driver” in the subject line.

Johnson’s Backyard Garden’s provides equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sex, age, national origin, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation. The duties listed above are general and not an exhaustive list of tasks performed on the farm. We are committed to training, developing, and promoting from within the company based on performance.

We sometimes feel like a broken record when we say "It was a busy week at the farm", but this past week was extraordinarily busy, especially for our planting crew who are keeping an incredible planting pace, making sure to stay on schedule for a bountiful fall to come. It's so easy to get behind in planting, but so far this year, we're right on time.

August is a very busy seeding month. Here, to crew members catch a ride on the transplanter to place one individual seed in the whole that was just punched by the wheel in front of them. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

A meeting of the minds: Ricky, Tracy, and Andrew gathered around a harvest of arugula, likely discussing the harvest available for CSA packing for the day, but maybe discussing the current book on their nightstand. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Healthy and vibrant squash plants, ready to transition us to fall Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Farmer Brenton cheesing on the Landini, one of the farm's high-crop tractors, with wheels so high it can drive over rows of crops without damaging them! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Is there any job where you're required to troubleshoot more often? Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Old vans and trucks, hand-painted with love for time on the highway and now spending their retirement in a more pastoral setting. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

A freshly sprayed loading dock is a beautiful thing. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

More. Watermelon. Augua fresca, anyone? Photo by Scott David Gordon.

The inside of our greenhouse is reaching capacity. Fall crops are coming! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Outside, we have an area that we call "the shade structure". Here, shade cloth is stretched above these metal poles, providing a cooler environment for even more fall transplants. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

If farm vehicles could talk... Photo by Scott David Gordon.

 

For those of you who have kids, Fall might as well be the official start of the year. Under normal circumstances, that transition from late nights and all-day snackathons to early bedtimes and homework can be tough. This year? It’s only the beginning of school season and we’re already throwing our straw hats wildly into the air for the parents among you. We wish you grace and humor as you gear up for the 2020 school year. For some of you, that may mean you’re full-on homeschooling for the first time. For others, perhaps you’re navigating hybrid models and block scheduling filled with synchronous Zooms and online assignments. Maybe it means sending your kiddo to school in a mask, fingers crossed that they stay safe and are able to feel like a normal 3rd grader after the summer that never seemed to end. Wherever, exactly, you are… we see you. What to feed your family shouldn’t be a source of shame or worry for you, ever, but especially as you gear up for school. Your farmers are proud advocates of pizza nights, two nights in a row, if that’s what feels right after a long day. 

If you’re reading this, chances are you value incorporating seasonal produce into your cooking. There is no doubt that cooking with fresh ingredients will yield wholesome and delicious food. We're here to remind you that this food can also be painfully simple.  The start of school for folks with kids will undoubtedly invite a bit of chaos… don’t let the questions of what’s for dinner to illicit additional stress. At the most basic level, it just needs to be edible. 

Our friend Martha knew the age old trick of making leftovers new: put an egg on it!

On our busy weeks at the farm, we farmers turn to simple, hearty, and veggie-filled meals that involve lots of carryover to the next day, little brain power, and in this instance - lots of rice.  We thought we’d share what a week of really easy cooking can look like.

MONDAY: BURGERS + ROASTED VEGGIES AND AIOLI DIPPING SAUCE. 

 

We’re keeping it simple for Monday while also knocking out some meal prep for the rest of the week. On Monday, make one anchor protein and serve it with a side of roasted veggies and aioli dipping sauce. Your anchor can be burgers, as we suggested, but it can also maybe be a piece of fish, roasted chicken thighs, or something else that feels easy and filling.  Here, you have a choice on the amount of time you want to invest in this meal: buy pre-made burger patties or an already cooked rotisserie chicken if you’re feeling like your time is best spent outside the kitchen, or go for broke and make it all from scratch. You can also dance somewhere in between: roast chicken thighs, but skip the part where you read a bunch of recipes and simply season them with salt, pepper, and olive oil and roast in a hot oven until done. 

 

Veggies: Use whatever you have! Sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, beets, okra, eggplant and squash are all in season right now and are all very roast-able. Roast veggies of similar densities with similar cooking times on the same tray. Leave some space between each veggie on the tray so they brown vs. steam. Sweet potatoes, regular potatoes and beets, for example, could all be roasted together as long as you cut them in similar sized shapes. Eggplant and okra take about the same amount of time, and squash can be done in almost no time. Roasting veggies should happen in a 400-425 degree oven. The veggies are fresh, and so seasoning with just oil, salt, and pepper is a-okay. 

 

MONDAY NOTES: You may already be used to cooking this way, but if not, we encourage you to really hear us: this week’s sample meal plan necessitates cooking more than you need for that night. Channel your inner church-lady and at least double (or more) the amount of some of your meal’s components. These leftovers should really be considered nextovers in your mind - prepped food that will seamlessly carry over to tomorrow night’s dinner (and beyond), jazzed up in a way that will make you forget Monday ever happened. 

 

On Monday, we suggest you double or triple the amount of veggies you roast. If you’re roasting sweet potatoes, for example, roast all of the ones that came in your CSA box! A cubed, roasted potato in the fridge is a way easier ingredient to incorporate into a future meal than a raw potato on the counter. Plus, your oven is on anyway... so you may as well only heat up your kitchen once this week. If you've got a lot of veggies to roast, do them in batches making sure to not crowd your pan. Yes, this method may take a bit longer to cook all of your veggies, but the end result will yield way better nextovers. 

 

If you’re making hamburgers, buy extra meat and before you cook burgers for the night, roll the extra meat into quick meatballs, cook, and let cool in a glass tupperware on the counter while you cook the actual burgers. Store the meatballs in the fridge for tomorrow. The same goes for any protein, if you’d like. Make extra chicken or a few additional filets of fish, and thank us later. 

 

 

A NOTE ON THE AOILI: Okay, we know, we said simple, and making your own aioli  might feel somewhat extra (but it’s really not that hard). If that’s the case, skip this part and simply zhuzh up some mayo with grated garlic, lemon, and maybe some chopped herbs. But whatever you do, don’t skip the dipping sauce all together. We think this sauce may just be the key to getting your kiddos excited about the idea of a roasted tray of veggies. And if dipping veggies in mayo feels weird, go ahead and just make the aioli and see if we can’t change your mind. (Homemade aioli is delicious and is the perfect partner to any roasted, steamed, or boiled veggie!)  Feeling particularly patient? Involve your kiddo in the sauce-making itself. Vocab word: emulsion. If you’re making your own aioli, make double what you thin you need, and then some more, because home made aioli goes with everything.  

A little (or a lot) of upfront prep means very quick meals for the rest of the week.

TUESDAY: GRAIN BOWLS 

 

Entering Tuesday, you should have several tupperwares full of leftover roasted veggies in your fridge including things like sweet potatoes, beets, and maybe some okra. Tonight, you’re eating these veggies over rice and calling it a grain bowl, buddha bowl, or whatever. The only major cooking you’re doing tonight is making rice! Steam a big pot of rice, ideally about three times more than you think your family will eat on Tuesday, and ideally flavored with lots of butter. We like white Jasmine rice. Protip: If you're making a large quantity of rice, the usual 2.1 water to rice ratio should be slightly tweaked and the amount of water reduced. Here's an explanation on why. 

 

You can take this simple idea of veggies over rice in many different directions. Direction one: just eat the re-heated veggies over the warm rice, topped with some of that leftover aioli. Perhaps you do about 20 seconds more of cooking and add siracha to your aioli, call it spicy mayo, and pretend like eating a poke bowl on the sands of Hawaii.  Or, you can add a can of black beans and corn plus loads of lime juice and avocado (and tortilla chips?) for a more Mexican take on the bowl. A grain bowl like this is also a wonderful opportunity to incorporate any raw vegetables you received in your CSA box like sliced cucumber or tomato, sliced sweet peppers, and a handful of salad greens. If you’re out of aioli but feel like your rice bowl needs a sauce, follow your heart and don’t over think it. Maybe it’s as simple as another pad of butter, some dashes of soy, some chili crisp, or a miso vinaigrette. Got a jar of pesto? Dollop that on top. If you have leftover protein from Monday, add this to your rice bowls, too.  If you want to make this rice bowl more exciting, batter and fry some okra or eggplant (if you didn’t roast it all), and top the bowl with that! Pickled things lining the doors of your fridge? Those would work well, also. We strongly support the addition of any fresh and finely chopped herb like cilantro, dill, parsley, or green onions. 

When in doubt, roast it up!

WEDNESDAY: FRIED RICE

 

Leftover rice that’s been sitting in the fridge dries out a bit, making the perfect case to be fried. Tonight, you’re making a ginormous batch of fried rice and the only cooking you’re doing is chopping some veggies and making a quick sauce. 

Begin your friend rice by gathering all of your ingredients and making a simple sauce with ingredients like soy, mirin, sesame oil and maybe some oyster or hoisin. We’re not necessarily shooting for authenticity here, but are instead imparting flavor to rice in a way that feels intuitive. Soy sauce will add salt, umami, and color to your fried rice, mirin (or lemon or lime juice) some acidity, and oyster or hoisin some sweetness. We so regularly cook a quick, veggie-filled fried rice that we buy green onions at the store every time we go. Chop these up, too.

 

Locate the biggest skillet you own. Fried rice comes together quickly, so before you turn on the heat, chop whatever seasonal veggies you’d like to use. Hopefully you have some onions on hand, and can add that, too. Just about anything goes; be mindful that if you’re using red beets, these are better cooked separately and added on top of each bowl because fuchsia rice isn’t that appetizing. Start cooking your fried rice by sautéing some onions and aromatics like ginger and garlic in a generous amount of high-heat oil. Next, add any other raw vegetables that came in your CSA haul - chopped peppers, squash, okra, bok choy, finely chopped sweet potato greens… they’d all work perfectly! Once your veggies are cooked but still have some bite (al dente), it’s time to turn up the heat, add your rice, sauce, and any other leftover roasted veggies and protein from Monday and Tuesday. Hopefully you bought the green onions; add these too. Cook until incorporated and warmed through, on higher heat than you may think. Taste, and don’t be afraid to adjust, adding more soy if it needs salt, or acid or sugar. Give everyone big bowls of piping hot fried rice (and chop sticks, if you’ve got ‘em) and if you do it right, it’s more than more than enough. 

THURSDAY: FRIED RICE 2.0

 

We know. You had fried rice last night. And maybe your family has expectations of having something different every night, but maybe everyone should just embrace the idea of glorified nextovers  and minimal dishes to wash? 

 

Thursday night’s fried rice can be stretched or made-new by additional veggies like frozen peas or grated carrots. Our favorite trick for fried-rice embellishment is the egg: fry an egg to top each bowl, or incorporate scrambled eggs into the rice itself during the reheating process. Bean sprouts, corn, and pineapple are great canned goods to keep in the pantry for fried rice 2.0, or maybe you rehydrate a bag of seaweed. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds or roasted peanuts on 2.0, or go crazy and top with some crispy bacon or sauteed mushrooms or fried tofu or anything else that you will. Congrats, tonight you fed your family a nourishing bowl of fried rice that took almost no time. 

 

*FRIDAY: PIZZA

Order pizza and have it delivered to your home. If the adults among you feel like they need something more, toss that lingering arugula from your CSA box with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and top each pizza slice with a big handful of dressed arugula, shoving the greens and pizza into your both all in one. It’s like a salad, except without the dishes. Lingering cucumbers, carrots, or tomatoes? Chop ‘em up and serve with ranch dressing while you wait for the pizza to arrive. Dip pizza in leftover ranch, but did we really need to specify that bit?

*If having fried rice two nights in a row feels wrong to you, feel free to change the order of Thursday and Friday.

Our blog and recipe archive is full of creative, diverse, and exciting dishes to make. And yes, cooking new things and Instagram-worthy meals is very fun. But also? It’s just food, there to nourish your body and give you the calories you need to navigate asynchronous learning sessions and spotty internet connections. When in doubt, roast veggies, make rice, and order pizza. Cheers! 

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 24th

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 24th

Large Box
Beets
Bok Choy
Eggplant
Greens, Arugula
Greens, Farmers Choice
Greens, Sweet Potato
Herb, Farmers Choice
Melon, Farmers Choice
Okra
Pepper, Hot Medley
Potato, Sweet
Squash, Patty Pan

Recipe and photo by Mackenzie Smith Kelley

Bring a 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water, and 4 tablespoons of honey to a boil, then add 3-4 peeled and sliced beets, a sliced onion, a teaspoon of whole peppercorns, a teaspoon of whole coriander and a dried chile pepper.

Cook until beets are soft. While the beet mixture is cooling, peel a dozen hard-boiled eggs. Pour beet mixture over peeled eggs, and let sit for as little as one hour (pictured here) to a few days. The longer the pickle, the more the color of the beets will permeate the eggs.

Enjoy as-is, or devil if you’re feeling fancy.

If deviling, slice eggs in half and remove yolks, smash with a fork, and add 1/2 cup labne or sour cream, a heaping tablespoon of roasted garlic achaar or sriracha and a pinch of salt. Taste, and salt as needed. Spoon yolk mixture back into egg whites and top with fresh chopped chives. The remaining pickled beets and onions will keep for about a week.

Hello JBG newsletter readers! Ada here. I’ve worked at JBG for around 7 years in a variety of roles, most recently working on our newsletter. I hope you enjoy reading the farm blog each week! It’s one of the things that first attracted me to JBG so many years ago.  It’s been a long while since I’ve set my boots on the soil at our Garfield, Texas farm, and this past week I made the trek east to catch-up and mask-up with Farmer Brenton. 

 

These days, Brenton spends the mornings (and often the afternoons) on the tractor. The farm is busy preparing and planting for the fall season, and it’s an all-hands on deck sorta situation. Driving a tractor, especially some of or more antique models, is a very skilled job, and so having Brenton aboard helps ensure we stay on our planting schedule. I planned to meet Brenton at lunchtime (an understood 12 sharp), and when I arrived I found him under our butterfly pavilion in a metal folding chair, talking to Jack (our planting manager) who was in a coordinating metal chair about 10 feet away, clipboard, radio, and cell phone in hand. 

Brenton coordinating with Angel and Luke. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

I have missed the incessant buzz of the farm and was so content to sit in my own metal chair, and for about 5 minutes, simply observe the whirling conversations, tasks, radio calls, and questions Brenton and Jack were fielding. This farmy hum of energy is palpable most days at JBG and it doesn’t really have an off season. Brenton was apologetic that he wasn’t quite ready to meet with me, but I knew that the buzz of his cell phone and exchanges with managers all needed to be addressed - they fuel the momentum that would keep the day, and week, and entire planting season rolling. At the time, Brenton and Jack were discussing the missing top link that was needed to get the tine weeder hooked up to tractor number 5. I learned that the top link was the upper portion of the three point hitch used to attach an implement and help it move backwards and forwards. With so many implements and tools at the farm, and so many different people using this equipment, we have some pretty established systems on what goes where. Despite all this, a top link can still go missing. (Spoiler: Temo knew where the link was.)

 

After chatting with Brenton and Jack for a while and meeting a few new faces, it was clear that lunch hour was ending. And so after masking up, I jumped in the backseat of Brenton’s truck so he could show me what was on his mind: several weeds and the thoughtfully orchestrated plan in place to get them under control. It’s been months since I’ve ridden in Brenton’s truck, but I was glad to see that not much has changed. Irrigation hoses and couplers, wrenches, mason jars stained with coffee, and who knows what else were pushed over so I could squeeze in the back seat. 

A farmer, his truck, and his coffee. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

For the past year or two, a few  types of weeds from the amaranth genus, including pigweed, have taken up shop in the JBG fields. These weeds can be voracious, and to be honest, we’ve let them get a little too comfortable. Over the past couple of years, there have been several moments in the season where we simply did not have the labor nor time to weed-out these plants like we would have wanted, and left untended, these crops grew, thrived, and dropped their seed... only compounding the problem and pressure. 

Pigweed at the farm. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

On a farm our size, weeds are particularly pesky: they can inhibit the growth of crops by competing for water, space, and nutrients. They can reduce the yield and quality of our crops and dramatically increase labor costs simply by existing - their presence among valuable row crops usually slows down the harvesting and sorting processes. To boot, big swaths of weeds on the farm can serve as a wonderful wintering ground for disease and harmful pests who would love nothing more than to hunkerdown amid the pigweed. In the business of growing vegetables on 184 acres, weeds like this are worrisome. 

 

Heading into this fall season, Brenton and the Garfield crew knew we had to get the pigweed under control. As Temo put it - “We don’t really have a choice.” And so, Brenton and I drove his navy Nissan across the creek to the far side of the farm where he could show me how we were tackling the weeds using the tried and true technique known as stale seed bedding. 

 

A stale seed bed is simply a method of weed control in which the bed and the soil are prepped weeks before the crop’s seed is planted. This prepped bed is watered, either by rain, sprinklers,  or drip irrigation, allowing all of the weed seeds that are stealthy hiding in the top 2-3 inches of the seed bank to germinate and show themselves. After the weeds poke their heads out, they’re eliminated either by flame weeding or mechanical cultivation with our tine weeder- essentially a huge rake. This entire process can take about 3-5 weeks, but the end result is a prepped bed that is relatively weed-free, ready to absorb our direct-seeded fall crops…. Or our “cool-season direct” crops, for short. This includes vegetables like beets, carrots, turnips, chard, spinach, and radishes… aka everything you’d ever need for a massive harvest salad. 

Don't mock us for the weeds, okay? Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Though we’ve occasionally used this method of weed control on the farm before, we’ve never done it on such a scale. Stale seed bedding acres upon acres of our farm means hours and hours (and hours) on the tractor, passing over one bed many additional times to list, shape, and cultivate the row all before the actual crop is ever planted. Stale seed bedding necessitates an impressive degree of foresight. In order to make sure our direct seeded crops get in the ground at the earliest possible moment (and keep the CSA box interesting!), we have to germinate the weed seeds about 4 weeks before that, and turn over the previous row or cover crop about a week before that, and schedule labor and order drip tape and prepare tools weeks before that, and so on and so forth.. Multiply that thought-processes by the whole farm, across all seasons, but most notably right now. In certain areas where the weeds are particularly rampant, we may even do the entire stale seed bed process twice.  I’ve worked at JBG for many years, and I’m particularly proud of the farm this season. I can honestly say that we’ve reached a moment in our operational history in which we’re farming more and more proactively and less and less reactively. Way to go, team! 

 

As we drove around the farm, Brenton showed me beds in various stages of the stale seedbed process. One bed was covered in a thin green blanket of freshly germinated sprouts… weeds, soon to be bid adieu. Another area had uniformly sculpted rows of rich looking soil, with only a few large weeds scattered about, blowing in the wind like easy targets. These beds had already been stale seed bedded, and the lingering couple of weeds were simply missed, but they were so few and far between that they could be easily removed by hand. These beds were practically weed-free, and were ready to be sown with orange carrots late successions of squash. I saw John and Ned laying drip tape in yet another set of beds that had just been turned over and shaped, ready to welcome the weeds weeks before beds of rainbow chard are sown. 

Okra flowers, pointing towards the sun. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

After thoroughly assessing all the beds in progress, Brenton and I drove around to look at some of the crops currently thriving in the ground. There were several rows of pristine baby bok choy, making their seasonal debut notably early. The okra plants are now over 5 feet tall, each topped with pale yellow flowers, pointed at the sun and standing high against the wide blue sky. We also saw rows of red radishes, and white Japanese turnips almost ready for snacking. A few beds over, Vicente and his team were harvesting watermelons. By this point of our visit, I could tell Brenton was itching to get back on the tractor, and so I took the cue and joined Vicente and his team for a while because I missed Vicente and I love watermelon. Later, I followed my nose to the wafting smell of basil and found Temo, who was disguised in a large hat, mask, and sunglasses, busy with the ambrosial tasks of removing basil plants which had gotten tangled in the metal blades of one of our cultivators. Later after that, I had a watermelon and basil salad, and thought of all the weed-free beds that will soon be brimming with cool season crops. Thanks Brenton, Jack, Adam, Giana, Temo, and Vicente for the visit. Till next time!

Personal watermelon, brought to you by weed-free beds. Harvested by Israel, photographed by Scott.

 

CSA Box Contents Week of Aug 31st