To Contact Us

Athens Locally Grown
athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown

Recipes

Carrots with Juniper Berries

These carrots are a good example of thoughtful preparation. The juniper berries highlight the earthy sweetness of the carrots, the touch of honey softens their flavor, and the butter rounds it all out. They make an easy, elegant side dish. From French Farmhouse Cookbook by Susan Herrmann Loomis.

Serves 4

1 1/2 lbs carrots, peeled, trimmed, and cut into thin rounds
1 t sea salt
1 1/2 t honey
2 cups water
1 1/2 T unsalted butter
1 1/2 t juniper berries, finely ground

1. Place the carrots, salt, honey, and water in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat, cover, and bring to a boil. Cook at a good rolling boil until the carrots are nearly soft through, about 15 minutes. Remove the cover and adjust the heat so the water is boiling vigorously. Continue cooking the carrots, shaking the pan frequently so they cook evenly and don’t stick to the pan, until all but about 2 tablespoons of the water has evaporated, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the butter and the juniper berries and toss. Add more salt, if needed, and serve.

Market News

First off this week, let me remind you that Athens Locally Grown IS MOVING to a new location this week. Our Thursday pickups will now be at Ben’s Bikes, located at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets. Their address is 670 W. Broad Street, but their entrance is off Pope Street. That intersection is between downtown and Milledge Avenue. The building is shared by several businesses, including a video store and an alterations shop. Those businesses are right along Broad Street, but Ben’s Bikes has the entire bottom floor of the building, and has an entrance at the rear.

You can find a map here: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=106615564576602772749.000475e974a674ae172ce&ll=33.956033,-83.382432&spn=0.014025,0.01929&z=16.

There is even more parking room than where we have been, but the inside area where we will be is quite a bit smaller. I’m sure it will take us a few weeks to adjust our workflow to the new space, so please bear with us if the line moves slower than usual. We’ll adjust our process as needed to get things moving quickly again.

I’ll send another reminder before Thursday.

There’s not yet anything new to report on the raw milk front, but I did leave out one important part last week. There is one nationwide group dedicated to defending the right to buy and protecting the right to sell nutritious food directly from the farm. This group is the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, and you can read all about them on their website, http://www.ftcldf.org/. I am a member, and would be even if I weren’t managing Athens Locally Grown. Membership dues and donations (they are a 501©3 entity) fund the legal defenses needed to stop overreaching government officials, and unfortunately these overreaches are becoming far too common. If you’re able to join as a consumer or even donate a little bit to their cause. please consider it.

There are lots of new products listed this week, including a wide variety of heirloom lettuces. It’s time to start planning the Thanksgiving meal, if you’ll be the one cooking it, and you’ll be surprised at how much of it can be sourced locally. The heritage turkeys from Nature’s Harmony sold out way back in May, but most everything else can be found through Athens Locally Grown. Don’t wait until the last minute, though… ALG will be taking the week of Thanksgiving itself off.

Further down the calendar, Georgia Organics will be holding its annual conference in Athens on February 18-20. The keynote speaker will be Slow Food Founder and Leader, Carlo Petrini. To make the travel expenses more affordable for farmers who travel from across the state (and beyond), Georgia Organics is looking for Athens households willing to host a farmer in their home during the conference. Check your calendars, see if you have a room you’re willing to share, and I’ll be posting a form on our website next week you can use to offer your space.

Thanks so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and out rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!

Coming Events

The State Botanical Gardens is hosting Sustainability: Bring It Home! It will be a full weekend program November 13 through 15 focusing on ways homeowners can accomplish sustainablity.

“Sustainability: Bring It Home!” is a weekend workshop for people who want to transform their home into a fun and practical part of a more ecological world. This comprehensive workshop is filled with interactive presentations and hands-on sessions that educate and inspire participants to create home systems to meet their needs for food, water, and energy as locally, sustainably, and economically as possible. Topics will include: Home Energy Alternatives; Home Orchards and Forest Gardens; Annual and Perennial Vegetable Gardens; Soil Health and Composting; Raising Animals at Home; Natural Building; Creative Erosion Control; Rainwater Catchment; and Creating an Ecological Neighborhood. Registration is available at www.uga.edu/botgarden/educationalevents.html

The Athens Farmers Market is held every Saturday morning at Bishop Park from 8am to noon. 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.

Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!