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Availability for April 8


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

Recipes

Braised Lettuces

Tired of munching bunny food? Don’t be afraid to add heat to lettuce. In this recipe, small heads ww. Cooking lettuce this way brings out a natural, delicate sweetness in the leaves. The bunnies don’t know what they’re missing. From Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt On Vegetables.

Serves 3 to 4

3 to 4 small heads lettuce, rinsed whole under running water, tough or bruised outer leaves removed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1–2 tablespoons butter
freshly ground black pepper

1. Tie a piece of string around each head of lettuce, just tightly enough to hold the leaves together and promote even cooking.
2. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil; add the salt and reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the lettuce heads and boil for 3 minutes.
3. Drain the lettuces in a colander and let cool. When cool enough to handle, gently squeeze them in your hands to remove any excess water. Remove the string.
4. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the lettuce heads; cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook, turning them carefully, for another 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Market News

I mentioned a couple weeks ago about the top prize CalyRoad Creamery won at the GeorgiaGrown competition recently. Not to be outdone, the very next week Split Creek won Best In Class for its goat cheese entry in the 2010 World Championship Cheese Contest held in March at Madison, Wisconsin. The contest consisted of 2,313 cheese and butter entries representing 20 nations. Their winning entry was the same Feta in Oil that’s listed right here at Athens Locally Grown. And if you’re a fan of bleu cheeses, be sure to look at the raw milk “Elberton Blue” listed this week by Nature’s Harmony. They began producing cheese last fall, but since raw milk cheese needs to be aged for a lengthy period before being legally offered for sale, this is their first week listing cheese with us. I was lucky enough to get a sneak bite a couple weeks ago, and trust me – it’s very good stuff. Of course, quantities are very limited, since this is their very first week.

One question I’ve been getting a lot recently is “where are all the chickens?” Here we are, in the middle of the biggest chicken producing region in the world, and we have no chicken offered for sale through Athens Locally Grown? Well, we do have several chicken producers, actually. However, like everything else, chicken is a seasonal product. We’ve been conditioned to expect chicken year-round (like strawberries), but that’s only because the industry has moved entirely to indoor climate-controlled crowded chicken barns. The chicken farmers who list through Athens Locally Grown all produce pastured chickens only, which means they’re outside all the time (with appropriate shelter). Our winters are too hard on young chicks, so they start hatching or buying in chicks in early spring, right about now. Then, starting in June and lasting through fall, chicken should be regularly available through ALG.

This week, we have 765 products listed on the website. 150 of those are live plants, so if you’re looking to get plants for your own garden, we’re the first place to look. The spring greens and other veggies are starting to come in strong, and we even have the very first (and very limited) supply of asparagus. It’s really exciting to watch the availability list grow each week. I added an RSS feed of new products, so those of you who use RSS readers can use the link at the bottom left of the Market page to watch the new products come in. GRowers list on Thursday through Sunday evening, so you can get several days notice before we open the market Sunday night.

The Athens Permaculture group has gotten of the ground. They’re holding a potluck meeting tomorrow, Monday evening, at 6:30 at Ben’s Bikes is you’d like to join in. They’ll be giving a presentation on “Permaculture 101” so this would be a great meeting to attend and meet like-minded Athens gardeners. They’ve also been hard at work breaking ground and planting the first fruit trees and other things at a new community garden, in the kudzu-covered area just behind Ben’s Bikes. There are several initiatives on or near the property that dovetail right in with what we’re doing there with Athens Locally Grown, which is great to see. It’s going to be an exciting spring there.

One last thing. The folks over at Microsoft’s Hotmail have recently begun blocking mail from Athens Locally Grown. They’ve admitted this to me, but couldn’t say why they were doing it. They’ve had me jumping through hoops this week to prove to them that we don’t send junk mail, and they seem to believe me, but they couldn’t say when they might stop blocking our emails. They may have released the block already, but I have no way of knowing. If you have a hotmail address and get this, could you let me know? If you’re reading this on the website and wondering why you haven’t been getting the emails, well, this is why. There’s a reason, I’m afraid, why Hotmail has a reputation for being a terrible mail provider and why other free services, such as Google’s GMail have gotten so popular.

Thanks so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our 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

Farmer for a Day: MAY 15, Saturday, at Darby Farms (Walton County)

Certified Naturally Grown. Darby Farms is a family owned pasture-based, beyond organic, local-market farm and informational outreach in Walton County. We produce: pastured poultry (eggs, chicken, turkeys, ducks and guinea fowl) and will soon be offering pastured pork. We are in the redemption business: healing the land, healing the food, healing the economy, and healing the culture. Experience the satisfaction of knowing your food and your farmer and building community. We are your clean meat connection. This farm is approximately 27 miles from Athens and it’ll take about 40 minutes to get there. Space is limited, so please make reservations by adding them to your order. You’ll find it under the “Events Reservations” category on the website.

The Athens Farmers Market has closed for the winter. You can watch for news during the offseason on their website. The other area markets are also all closed for the season too. All but Athens Locally Grown, that is.

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

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!