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Athens Locally Grown
http://athens.locallygrown.net
Recipes
Steamed Asparagus with Balsamic Butter and Pine Nuts
Perhaps the best way to honor the delectable simplicity of tender-crisp, just-steamed asparagus spears is to prepare them with a light touch. In this recipe a touch of butter makes the bright green spears glisten, a sprinkling of tangy-sweet balsamic vinegar brings out their sweetness, and a scattering of crispy nuts complements their unique silky-firm texture. This is elegant—and a cinch to prepare. From Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt On Vegetables
Serves 3 to 4
1 1/2 tablespoons pine nuts or slivered almonds
1 pound asparagus, tough ends peeled or snapped off
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1. Place a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the pine nuts or slivered almonds. Toast the nuts on the dry skillet, stirring constantly, until they are lightly browned and begin to smell toasty, 3 to 5 minutes. (Be careful not to overtoast them, as they will burn very quickly once toasted.) Remove the skillet from heat and immediately transfer the nuts to a heatproof dish. Set the dish aside to let the nuts cool completely.
2. Place the asparagus in a steamer basket, set over 1 1/2 inches boiling water, and cover. Steam until the spears are tender-firm, 4 to 7 minutes depending on thickness. Remove spears from the water and arrange on individual plates.
3. Combine the melted butter and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Pour this mixture over the asparagus and sprinkle on the toasted nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Market News
Thank you everyone for the overwhelming response to my call for volunteers to help fill orders on Thursdays. There are over 1800 accounts receiving this email, and I’m pretty sure half of you offered to help. If I haven’t responded personally to your reply to me, I have put you on my “interested” list, but have already filled our immediate needs. I’ll call more of you in later in the season, though. It’s nice to have a large pool of trained people to call to when the need arises. My goal is to have enough workers so that no one has to wait more than 15 minutes to get their order filled. There is always a rush right at 4:30, though, so if you arrive right then, your wait might be longer. Keep in mind that orders are filled in the order they are placed and not in the order you arrive, so there’s no need to get there right when we open. If your schedule if flexible, there is often no wait at all from 6pm to 7:30.
Our first “Farmer for a Day” event was scheduled for today at Roots Farm, but it was postponed due to the weather. When it gets rescheduled, we’ll give preferential spots to those registered for today, and if there are still slots open, I’ll let the rest of you know. Our next one is only a few weeks away at Greendale Farm in Madison.
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We’ve seen an upswing in the number of no-shows on Thursday. Remember that you’re responsible for what you order, even if you forget or otherwise are unable to pick them up on Thursday. I’ll try calling everyone who hasn’t arrived by 7:30, using the phone number for the account (check or change yours on the Your Account page of the site), but I usually reach only one out of every ten people I call, with the rest getting answering machines and voice mail. I am not legally allowed to take your items home with me to try and deliver them to you later, so if I haven’t reached you by 8pm and your things are still there, I am forced to give them away to anyone who can use them. And, since I’ve already paid the growers on your behalf, I have to charge your account for the items.
Please take a spin through the New Products carousel on the website. There are lots of new items, a new grower, and plenty of goodies to go around.
Thank you all for your continued support of our local growers and for doing your part to cultivate the thriving local food system we have here in Athens. We’ll see you on Thursday from 4:30 to 8pm at the old market on Broad Street!
Coming Events
Our guest this week for Meet the Grower is Ed Lane from GranCoffee Roasting Co. in Bogart. GranCoffee has been selling through Athens Locally Grown only a few weeks, and is our second supplier of direct trade coffee beans, which they roast themselves in small batches.
Our second Farmer for a Day event is on Saturday, June 6th at Greendale Farm in Madison, where they pasture raise chickens for both eggs and meat. You can make reservations for this event by adding them to your order. Look in the “Event Reservations” category.
The Athens Farmers Market has re-opened for the season, and is every Saturday morning at Bishop Park. It’s a totally separate entity from Athens Locally Grown, but you’ll find many of the same growers at both. And of course, you can learn more about that market on their website.
We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!