Northeast Georgia Locallygrown Availability list for May 30

Good Evening Locavores,
The market is full of fresh new vegetables. The afternoon showers this week have created an explosion of weeds but, they have been great for the growing vegetables too.
Order early for great selections and check the market again Sunday or Monday for late additions.
Have a wonderful weekend and eat local.

Locally Grown - Availability for May 28, 2014

Hey Local Food Lovers,

Happy Memorial Day! Hopefully everybody is relaxing and enjoying themselves today. We’re fortunate to have a little break at the beach but we been munching on North Georgia treats we packed with us the whole time. In fact our whole family got to enjoy a huge Leah Lake salad with grated carrots and kohlrabi from Taylor Creek Farm. Tomorrow we’re gonna fry up some BG farms sausages, and we’ve been toting fresh strawberries to the beach in a cooler everyday. We’re probably snacking better than anybody down here.

We’re gonna be quick today so there’s just two things we want to mention. First, were preparing for the Locally Grown expansion (Gainesville opens for it’s first sales in less than two weeks) and recently realized we need to invest in a new freezer to accomodate all the ice blocks we need to keep stuff cold, and to keep meat frozen. Before going out and buying a new one we figured we should ask our friends and supporters if they happen to know of anyone trying to get rid of a freezer (or even a fridge with a freezer) that we could acquire for cheap or free. Doesn’t need to be fancy. Any tips would be appreciated. Just send an e-mail to me at soque@windstream.net.

Second, we’re only a month away from the Georgia Mountains Farm Tour on June 28 and 29. In addition to having brochures and passes on sale now (only $30 through June 16, then $35 after – you can just add it to your cart – then right a separate check to GMFN when you pickup on Wedensday) we also are seeking some help to make sure the TOUR is a success.

If you’d like to VOLUNTEER to help one of our FARMS receive guests during the tour it would be a great way to assist the cause and make some good food friends for life. We’re still looking for about 8-9 volunteers for both Saturday and Sunday. If you volunteer for 5 hours on one day, you can attend the tour for free the other day , and get a free FARM TOUR t-shirt! It’s a super cool way to see a bunch of farms that sell through Locally Grown and help our network raise funds that pay for our insurance policies and help market the region as a region with good Local Food! To volunteer e-mail Maggie the day you’d like to volunteer and she’ll let you know which farms we’re still trying to pair with volunteers. Her e-mail is gmfnfarmtour@gmail.com.

For all the details on the TOUR visit the website
http://georgiamfn.blogspot.com/

Keep telling your friends about our Gainesville opening in just a week and a half!

EAT WELL,
Justin in Habersham
and
Chuck in Rabun

Northeast Georgia Locallygrown Availability list for May 23

Good Evening Locavores
The market is open now with loads of great products. The vegetables are starting to come in more every week now and there are still the marvelous breads, meats, and eggs, etc.
The Cub Scouts and the Rabun County High FFA students will be selling lots of vegetable and flower plant starts Saturday morning, at the Simplyhomegrown Farmers Market at the Clayton City Hall From 9:00am until 1:00 pm.
Come on out and stock up on plants to fill your garden and support the Cub Scouts and Future Farmers of America.
Have a great weekend and enjoy local food.

Locally Grown - Availability for May 21, 2014

Hey Local Food Lovers,

We’re inching on up to nearly 400 different items on Locally Grown. That’s some incredible diversity and it just seems to get better all the time. Some notable items this week is Oakcrest Farms here in Habersham is back this week with three different varieties of radishes. I’ve found myself snacking on carrots and radishes more and more, sometime carrying them around in the side of my mouth like a cigar. I don’t know if that’s normal or not, but it just feels right. It feels like each crunch creates a good aura of health all around me. Try it and let me know if you agree.

I also noticed that Melon Head and Shade Creek Farms both have some good jams, Strawberry and Blueberry.

But the big item this week is ASPARAGUS! Since there’s probably no more than three or four weeks left in asparagus season and it’s been an item that is very, very hard to get since only a few farms produce it, I encourage you to go ASPARAGUS crazy and buy a couple of pounds. There are so many things to do with asparagus it’s hard to know where to begin but lately I’ve been in the mood for the vinaigrette salad style. Here’s two options:

Asparagus with Gorgonzola and Hazelnuts
Make a vinaigrette with 3/4 cup of olive oil to 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1 shallot minced, 1 teaspoon Dijon, a squeeze of 1/2 lemon, salt and pepper. Whisk until blended. Pour some of it over your roasted asparagus, crumble up some Gorgonzola and sprinkle on top, garnish with toasted chopped hazelnuts.

Chilled Marinated Asparagus
Ingredients
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup cider vinegar
2/3 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or fresh garlic)
2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Directions
In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, oil, lemon juice and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Refrigerate until cool.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, bring 1/2 in. of water to a boil. Add asparagus. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse in cold water.

Place asparagus in a large container; add marinade. Turn to coat; refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Drain and discard marinade. Place asparagus on a serving plate; sprinkle with pecans. Yield: 8 servings.

My mom used to make this dish growing up and it brings back fond memories.

We’ve also been downing strawberries like crazy around our house b/c they are just too good this year. This weekend we added them atop some ciabatta french toast with fresh whipped whipping cream on top and real maple syrup. Ooh la la.

I also think it’s cool we have pecan and hickory wood listed for those who like to slow smoke their meats. I started smoking roasts packed with herbs last year and realized that’s my favorite way to eat a roast. However, I was using store bought wood chips. I just have a feeling using local wood from local farms is gonna make those roasts taste even better. I also just folded an aluminum container and poked holes in it to turn my gas grill into a smoker. You do want to soak the chips in water for an hour or longer though to prevent a fire.

FARM TOUR brochures are now on sale through Locally Grown! I’ve just added them this morning so even if you’ve already shopped, add a brochure to your order.

If you’re not yet familiar with the Georgia Mountains Farm Tour, this is the best opportunity all year to visit many of the farms featured here on Locally Grown and buy food directly from their farm. The event is on June 28 and 29th this year. We pushed it back two weeks so that we’ll be sure and have summer crops like tomatoes, squash, etc. This event is also great for bringing in friends and family from out town. My mother, aunt and uncle all came last year and it was a great way to share how great the lifestyle, friendships and eating habits are here in the North Georgia Mountains.

For more info about the farm tour visit the WEBSITE

The Gainesville market opens just two weeks from this Friday so continue to spread the word on that to your friends in the area. They can sign up now so that they get the messages and can get familiar with the system in the intervening weeks. To let folks know about it print out a BROCHURE

Well that’s about it for this week. Thanks for supporting local farms and don’t forget to…..

EAT WELL,

Justin in Habersham
and
Chuck in Rabun

Northeast Georgia Locallygrown Availability list for May 16

The market is now open for orders.

Locally Grown Availability for May 14th, 2014

Hey Local Food Lovers,

This is a late message this week but you’ve still got at least 6 hours of ordering time so it’s still worth it for me to give a few interesting updates.

First, I want to welcome some new volunteers to Locally Grown. With the Gainesville Market kick off just 3 more weeks away we are needing to recruit new volunteers both to help down there and to help in Clarkesville since I’ll be helping getting the new location started. Chrissy Garrison helped us out at Clarkesvillle last week and will be volunteering every other week. She joins Lynn Mack who volunteers on the other weeks. Both will be helping Teri Parker who is being promoted to Clarkesville Market Manager starting on June 6th. Teri knows the system as well as Chuck and I do now, and she’s been a steady and strong volunteer for over four years now which is impressive. Everybody let her know how much you appreciate her help because it’s key to our expansion.

Andrew Linker who will be help us co-manage the Gainesville Location will be helping us this week in Clarkesville to get to know our system and the flow of farmer drop offs and customer pickups before we get started down there in a few weeks. We’ll also experiment with using our new shelves and pop up boxes to make sure that it’s quick and efficient. Anybody know where we can find Erasable Markers? We’ll be investing in some of those soon too.

We already have 6 customers signed up for the new Gainesville Location. That’s kind of exciting. In the 3 weeks we have left we’ll be sending e-mails to the master gardeners, Brenau staff and faculty and History Center members to encourage more signups. Our goal is to have at least 40 people signed up and at least 20 customers on the first drop off day.

I haven’t studied the listing this week so can’t adequately plug anything new but I can say that we had leeks and kohlrabi for dinner last night (with some pasta alfredo) that was incredible. My wife steamed the peeled kohlrabi then cut it up and sauteed it in just a splash of water with some chicken bouillon and some onions and olive oil. Yum, Yum, Yum!

One last thing. Be sure and check Locally Grown several times between Friday and Monday as farmers are adding items continously. There have been many weeks where carrots were sold out on Saturday then on Monday I found yes, they are back again.

Ok, get your orders in and we’ll see you this Wednesday.

EAT WELL,
Justin in Habersham
and
Chuck in Rabun

Northeast Georgia Locallygrown Availability list for May 9

Good Evening Locavores,
It is exciting to see the produce availability increasing weekly now.
The strawberries are delicious and such a sweet wonderful spring treat.
All the spring greens seem especially good this year too.
Happy shopping and have a great weekend.

Locally Grown Availability for May 7th, 2014

Hey Local Food Lovers,

It’s an exciting food week. We have a new farm joining Locally Grown this week, Taylor Creek Farms near Toccoa. They’ve been farming for at least 4 or 5 years and Chuck and Michelle Taylor are good friends and great farmers and we’re hoping they enjoy selling to Locally Grown so we get to see them every week. They have 4 items listed this week, red russian kale, concept lettuce, sweet valentine lettuce and one of my favorites Kohlrabi. I have some nordic roots so cool season crops like cabbages are right up my alley and Kohlrabi is one of my favorites both because it is so unusual and so versatile. In addition to eaten raw in salads, roasted in the oven, or cut up and put in soups as a more nutritious and tasty potato substitute, I also started grating them a few years ago for cole slaw. You could just forego cabbage all-together and use these with some fresh radishes this week, and chopped spring onion for a non-traditional cole slaw. I like to make my own mayo using simply an egg yolk and oil. Add fennel seed to really blow your mind.

I also want to talk this week about how lucky we are to have an incredibly diverse GLUTEN-FREE Bakery here on Locally Grown. Christy Bowen of Keep It Simple has a whopping 27 products listed this week that make it possible for those avoiding or reducing their gluten intake to enjoy a different delicious product every day of the week, breakfast, lunch and dinner. She makes granola bars (I love that their called “Crazy Good”…..and I agree), muffins, 4 different breads, cinnamon roll bread, bagels, hamburger buns and pizza crust just to name a few.

One of the things that makes this bakery unique is that in addition to providing finished products, she also understands that baking for oneself and being able to add a few extra ingredients that suit your unique tastes can really make your day. That’s why items like the pancake mix, muffin mix, brownie mix, biscuit mix and flour make it possible to take some credit for the finished product. As you bake these gluten free mixes up you can throw in some blueberries to your muffins, or some flax seed in your bread mix allowing you to make it just the way you like. As more and more people realize that unfortunately our bodies have not adapted well to the changes we’ve made to wheat and other flours over the decades, it’s great to have such alternatives being developed by cooking innovators like Christy. Even if you’re not gluten-free try one of her products. And if you know of others who are on a gluten-free diet, do something nice for them and buy a couple of Christy’s mixes to give them as a gift. Nothing beats the thoughtful gift of fresh local
food.

Before we go we just want to give a quick update on our Gainesville expansion that’ll start up in about a month. We went and met with some of our partners last Friday and did a practice setup at the new Market Location at the Northeast Georgia History Center. We couldn’t be more excited about this expansion and the location is just perfect. Over the next several weeks we’re going to start recruiting new customers to sign up so if you have friends in the Gainesville area encourage them to sign up now. We’re hoping to have at least 40 people signed up over the next month, with at least 15-20 customers for our opening day. That should be very easy to meet that goal, but word of mouth is always the most effective means of communication so talk us up.

Here’s what our new pickup site looks like. And meet our new market manager for the Gainesville Pick-Up, Andrew Linker.

We got to know Andrew really well last year when he shot the video for our Georgia Mountains Farm Tour (which is a really great video). This is the part of the message where I realize we have more going on than I have time to talk about but we have scheduled this year’s farm tour for June 28th and 29th and tickets are on sale. It’ll be a few more days before we’ve printed the brochures that describe all the farms but if you want to pre-order we’ll mail you the brochure when it’s complete. We’ll also sell brochures right here on Locally Grown. Here’s a link to where all the tour information will be posted.

http://georgiamfn.blogspot.com/

Ok, I’d better go. Don’t forget to…
EAT WELL,
Justin in Habersham
and
Chuck in Raubn

Northeast Georgia Locallygrown Availability list for May 2

Good Evening Locavores,
Wow, market time is here already. It seems like a very short week here in Tiger.
This week we welcome Chuck and Michele Taylor of Taylor Creek Farm in Stephens County to Locallygrown. Be sure to look for their listings including Purple Kohrabi.
Another announcement is, The Main Street Farmers Market opens tomorrow. The market is at 74N Main street in Clayton and is open from 9:00am until 12:00 noon on Saturdays.
Locallygrown is now open for orders.
Have a great weekend and enjoy fresh, healthy, local food.

Locally Grown Availability for April 30th, 2014

Hey Local Food Lovers,

More great weather this week. In fact it was hot. That’s good for plants trying to grow. The asparagus is coming on strong, I picked my own this morning. That said it’s still a luxury item on the market as most farms just have a very small spot dedicated. Asparagus takes a lot of space as it’s a perennial that comes back year after year. I’ve only got about 12 plants but that’s enough to get all the asparagus you could want. This year I covered the plants with mulch during that cold spell a few weeks ago, and when I pulled the mulch back all the spears were completely white. You might have seen white asparagus in the store before. Apparently some farms mound earth up the entire spear to keep them white. I’m not quite sure why you’d bother but it is was kind of a novelty.

The carrots were sweet and delicious this week. I’ve been munching on them raw and adding them to every recipe I can think of. Local eggs went in my french toast this morning. Kale was long stewed with carrots, onions and red pepper. More roasted beets (in the pan with foil and water) and the beet greens with the sour cream/cilantro/lime garnish this week. I also enjoyed some fresh oregano with my chicken tonight.

The diversity of pork products is boggling to the mind. I’m purchasing some cuts I’ve never purchased before this week to expand my knowledge and my pleasure. I really like some of the details and cooking instructions that accompany many of the items on our market. They are informative and often times instructive on what one may do with an unusual item. Such details are highly encouraged. I don’t know what the word count cut off for describing an item is but I know I haven’t reached it yet. Those farmers that are willing to tell a story are likely to get an extra sale or two out of it. And if the story is good, be bold, try something you’ve never had before.

Markets are opening up! Chuck mentioned that Simply Homegrown started this past weekend. Clarkesville’s Farmers Market starts this weekend. We encourage you to go check these out, even if you order here. There’s many vendors that go to those markets that don’t list here (and vice versa of course) and if you go you’re likely to bump up the percentage of local food you’re eating to a better . I think 50 would be a pretty good goal. That would definitely be doable over the next 4 months if you really put your mind to it.

Well, that’s all I can think of for tonight. I hope this new week is a great one for you.

EAT WELL,
Justin in Habersham
and
Chuck in Rabun