In case it hasn't been on your radar, we publish this fabulous staff-favorite-centric post every first Friday of each month! This is the inaugural picks post of 2018, and we thought it deserved a highlight since it's one of our long-time favorites and definitely a skim-worthy feature if you're in the market for new ideas and inspiration. 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!

Ryan and the radishes. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Farm, in general

Mark your calendars! Our Spring Potluck is Saturday, March 31... it'll be a bundle of fun with a Garden Gallop, music, tons of kids' activities, and veggies galore, of course.

Our transplant sale is also coming up fast! It will take place over three Saturdays: February 24, March 3, March 10th. On the March 3rd weekend, we will be having a Spring Gardening Workshop with Becky + Brenton from 10am-noon. The workshop will be from 10am-11:30, with either a wagon ride or walking tour the last 30 minutes. Please note: we are doing things a bit differently this year with regard to the transplant sale! We won't be doing any online sales... we will only be selling transplants in person at the farm; however, for the weekend of March 3rd, we will take online orders and deliver them to farmers' markets only.

ALSO, PRE-TRANSPLANT SALE! Curly kale, tuscano kale, cabbage (red, green, and savoy), plus onions... all for sale. Prices below:

Price for everything (except onions): Trays of 100 plants for $20/tray. If you buy five or more, the price per tray is $15.

Onion price: Onions are available in bunches of 50-75 plants. We have 3 varieties: our favorite red short-day, Texas Early White and yellow Texas super sweet 1015Y, all well adapted to central Texas.

Prices are as follows:

• # of Bunches
• 1 $15
• 5 $37
• 10 $60
• 15 $73
• 20 $86
• 30 $105 (full case)

To order, please e-mail or call Noemi at: noemi@jbgorganic.com or (512) 666-3460. All transplants must be picked up at the farm location (4008 River Rd, Cedar Creek TX, 78612) OR HERGOTZ M-F 8-4:30pm. Please schedule your pick-up time with me at least 24 hrs in advance. We accept cash, check or credit card. Payment due at time of pick-up.

Becky (Farm Manager)

In the theme of culinary explorations, I have to take a moment to admit how smitten I am with the Instapot. Instapot came into my world at Christmas time, and at first I was skeptical... usually anything that claims to do everything actually does nothing well. BUT, this wonderful kitchen gadget is the exception. About 40% of my meals are now coming out of this pot. Because pressure cooking speeds up the cooking time; I can get home, throw a bunch of veggies in the pot, and have it be done cooking by the time I'm done getting cleaned up from work. Also, It sautes well, if I want to start out by browning onions or meat before pressure cooking without getting another pan dirty. *Swoon* Plus, did I mention it makes yogurt, steams veggies, works like a classic slow cooker and makes rice in 10 min? Yes, I know being this smitten with a cooking gadget is really uncool-- and NO, I am not an Instapot sales rep. Just a very busy farm manager who likes a good hot stew at the end of the day.

Here's a recipe I made last night that came out well:

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 5 heads of garlic, minced
• 1 quart of stock
• 2 small heads of cauliflower, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch of swiss chard or beet greens, chopped
• 1 scarlet turnip, cubed
• 5 carrots, sliced
• 1 tbs of Ghee or other cooking oil
• 1 bay leaf
• Curry powder (to taste)
• Salt (to taste)

First cook the onions and garlic on the "Saute" Function.

Then, throw everything else in the Instapot, close it and press "Pressure cook" function for 20 min.

Come back in 20 min, tweak salt and curry powder to taste. and ENJOY! (You can also make this in a regular pot ?)

Montana (Direct Seed Lead)

Coffee. Dark roasted, French pressed, and blended with coconut oil and grass-fed butter. By the quart. It's plantin' season, y'all!

Brenton (Head Farmer)

Oh, my picks?! RUNNING. I've been on a health kick. After I heard about the US News and World Reports best diets, I've been diving deep into the Mediterranean diet and Dash diet.

I've been CRAZY into smoothies. I've been making the worst smoothies you can imagine. So, I've always loved the taste of V8 and Bloody Marys, so for awhile, I was on a kick of recreating that: celery, cherry tomatoes, garlic, carrots, and spicy chili pequin peppers, ground, white vinegar, black pepper, parsley. YUM! [gross]. I drank those for a few weeks and then couldn't take it anymore. Then, I moved onto my next gross smoothie creation... take your standard banana-yogurt-blueberry smoothie, and kick it up with a huge handful of salad mix. Kale would've been the obvious choice, but I had a bag of salad greens on hand. Juiceland, you hiring? Most people do a fridge clean-out with a soup or stew, but I just throw mine in a blender and drink it. All this running and smoothie-drinking is paying off. I've lost 10 lbs!

But I did make these awesome Dutch donuts called Oliebollin for New Years. The literal translation is oily balls. Seriously! Grease splashed all over my face and I got a little burned! I also went to L'oca D'oro and it was really top notch. The food was really enjoyable, I had beet ravioli. It was awesome. It reminded him of my trip to Italy. Plus, every month they focus on different regions of Italy. I love to cook and am really picky most of the time. I've been eating out a lot lately and it really was a standout.  Highly recommended!

Taylor (Spray Team)

My dream came true this past month! all I've wanted was to own a restaurant on the beach, listen to reggae, cook on the beach, and meet people. This happened! On a getaway to Costa Rica this past weekend, we befriended the owner of a local spot who gave us a cooking lesson and let us work in his restaurant for the day (we weren't doing anything else!). This restaurant was incredible. I was only in Costa Rica for 4 days, and we ate here for at least four meals. Cool and Calm Cafe! "Welcome to Cool and Calm, Treat it like it's your home!" - That's the motto, and how the owner would greet everyone who entered. I made coconut milk from scratch! We also made Caribbean chicken, rice and peas, fish tacos, patacones (fried plantains), and this delicious mixed-cabbage salad with a mustard vinaigrette that is served on everything.



Wanna try your hand at some patacones? Here's a basic recipe.

Andrew (CSA Line Lead)

My second show this month is a heavy hitter. It's on Sunday, February 18th from 3 to 6 PM at Work Well Austin. WE ARE is a collaborative effort blending the photographic eye of "Magnetic Focus Photography" Nikki Acosta with the concepts of Cindie "Stormie" Corbin. Drinks, fire spinning, and yours truly serving crunchy riffs. Maybe even a radical beagle named Butters.

Photos by Magnetic Focus Photography.

Megan (Recipe Blogger)

I've made a lot of fun plans in February that I'm super stoked on. First, there's the Jay Farrar (Son Volt) set at ACL Live this Saturday (2/3). Son Volt is a classic Americana/alt-country band whose tunes elevate the summertime-backyard-BBQ or river float. I'm excited to see them stripped down to a duo, for a softer take on some of my all-time fav summer jams. Next up is the Pop Up Magazine show at Hogg Auditorium on the 21st. The Pop Up Mag crew has been through Austin before - my oldest and dearest friend is one of the producers - but this will be my first time seeing the show in person. And my only expectation is to be completely blown away. Having never witnessed a live storytelling performance with an orchestra, visuals, and incredibly moving content - I'm riding this wave of glowing reviews and awe-stricken friends right into my seat. And you should, too!

Last on the docket, and arguably the most exciting, is seeing Daniel Tiger LIVE at Bass Concert Hall on the 24th. I have an almost 3-year old, and she's going to lose her freakin' mind! And Daniel Tiger is actually one of my favorite kid's shows, Ugga Mugga!

Ada (CSA + Marketing Manager)

I just finished a "30 at home" challenge, where I cooked all my meals at home for 30 days. The idea is simple, and mostly it was, but it did make me aware of some of my serious taco-grabbing tendencies. Although it wasn't necessarily the goal, I ended up saving a lot of money, which made purchasing really nice proteins (thanks, Salt + Time) a no-brainer. Finished up the month with a posole-inspired soup and used up the rest of my Thanksgiving chicken/turkey stock, and some delicious smoked pork that was also hanging out in my freezer. Top with half a perfectly ripe avocado and a very generous squeeze of lime, and boom-shaka-laka. If you're reading this, I invite you to check out this challenge!



Just got my new favorite pair of jeans from @loyalvintage. No picture to share, but they look just like these Wranglers. My kinda pants.

Mike (Wholesale Manager)

All things Fareground!

Henbit - The Pork Sando. Just eat it!

Dai Due Taqueria - all the tacos, but get an extra of anything with the wild boar.

Contigo - the burger with a start of kimchi flavored wings with any of the sauces.

Farground Austin. Photo by Robert J. Lerma. Courtesy of the EATER Austin website.

Heydon (Farm Blogger)

Music: Kendrick Lamar's performance at the Grammys this year, holy moly. His unparalleled musical stylings paired with Dave Chappelle and incredible choreography... I had chills and jaw dropped the entire time.

Movies: I, Tonya, Lady Bird, Call Me by Your Name, Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri, The Shape of Water, The Post... I've been going to the movies a ridiculous amount the past month thanks to my newly acquired MoviePass membership.

This picture of my beau by his really good friend, roommate + bandmate, and incredibly talented photographer, Tamir Kalifa. This is an oldie from one of their Mother Falcon tours... speaking of, all the band members host a music camp for kids every summer called Mother Falcon Music Lab. "Diversity and accessibility are central to the Mother Falcon Music Lab’s mission. Each year, the summer music camp has aimed to provide need-based scholarships for up to 50% of its attendees. Through their membership in the Austin Creative Alliance and a generous grant from the City of Austin, MFML has the wonderful opportunity to offer a creative learning experience to any applicant." So think about donating to MFML and helping sponsor a really unique and life-changing experience for a music-loving kiddo? It's really an incredible camp, plus, they have a showcase at the end of both sessions, so you can come see the campers slay at a venue in town. Watch the video here to get a better idea of what the camp is really like.

Photo by Tamir Kalifa.

I just finished Yoga with Adriene's TRUE: 30 Day Yoga Journey yesterday and am feeling psyched about my home practice. Check it out here, maybe a little yoga revamp is just what you needed.

Marc (Farmers' Market Manager)

I wanna give a shoutout to my Instapot that I got for Christmas. It goes with our veggies, you know? You can make your bone broth in an hour, roast a pork shoulder in two. It makes my life easy when I'm really busy. (Shout out to Becky - I totally understand the Instapot fervor).

Missoula (Farm Dog 1)

Sneaks. Sneakers and jeans. I've always had a positive association with sneakers (they usually mean walks, but here at Hergotz they just mean straight comfort and tender arch support). I'm just loving all the sneaks and jeans popping up at the barn. Pictured here are Brenton's (left) and Andrew's (right).



My other staff pick: Mike Mo. I know I sound like a broken record here, but this guy really knows how to pamper a pup. Pictured here is my daily neck massage. Not pictured was the spiral dog chew he treated me to this week from @daidue. I've never had a treat which such deliciously tough and chewy texture. I could smell the hog from whence it came. Plus, I don't feel bad about those extra calories knowing I'm doing my part to support local ranchers and keep the hog population at bay. As me and Jesse Griffiths say, #eatahogsavetheworld.

Rocky + Chooch (Farm Dogs 2 + 3)

Lena. That gal always has our backs and, dare we say, understands us.