CSA Box Contents Week of Apr 8th

Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

The Spring Harvest Festival has come and gone! A huge thanks to all the farm friends who made it out to such a fun-filled celebration of the change in seasons. We are SO grateful for Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys for making the trip from Lafayette and blowing us away with an amazing performance. Ada certainly got some dancin' in!

Ada dancin'. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Brenton and our trusty volunteers were busy cookin' up a delectable feast of gumbo, jambalaya, and crawfish for the masses. We felt like we'd been transported to Louisiana once we took a bite of his dishes! The kiddos played hard in the sandpile, drew all over Casey's chalkboard car, jumped on the trampoline, and painted to their hearts' content with our art teacher, Kathryn. Our farm community got to wander on self-guided tours of the fields and relish the verdant spring beauty of the farm.

Cooking up a storm. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Thanks again to everyone who made it out and our amazing volunteers! We are so grateful for the support of our community and couldn't do what we do without you!

Chalkboard car. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Farmshare educating the masses! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Longtime farm friends. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Barn manager, Tracy, and his fam. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

The last of the transplant sale. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Trampoline fun! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Barn hangs. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Drummin' hard and singin' too! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Arts corner. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Field tours. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Farm fam! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

More trampoline fun. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Mudbugs going in! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

YUM! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Brenton cooking! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Gorgeous crawdads. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Cuties! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

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 runs 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!

We will miss you, CASEY!!! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Morgan (Farmer's Market Superstar)

Since my days as a farm girl in Nebraska, Jenny Lewis has voiced the soundtrack to my life. As she grows in success and shines, I like to think so do I...or at least try my best to emulate her hair, style, voice, honesty, and self-assuredness.

DON'T MISS her tour as it rolls through Austin on 4/6... On the Line is a solid record (the first she has solo-written since Rabbit Fur Coat) and features bunches of my rock heroes (Beck and Ringo, anyone?). If you're lookin' for your next girl crush, come fall hard with me at the Moody Theatre on Saturday.

Jenny Lewis!

Megan Winfrey (Recipe Developer)

We've entered my favorite time of year, and I'm beyond excited for summer weather, summer produce, swimming, camping, and wearing shorts again! But until we get there I'm savoring these mosquito free evenings by grilling on the porch, getting the yard into shape, and eating all the crawfish. There are two crawfish events coming up that have me super jazzed. First, this Saturday, Hank's is boiling up 1,200 lbs. of crawfish to celebrate their 1st anniversary! There will be a bouncy house and cotton candy for the kids, live music, and it's rain or shine! Hank's is a neighborhood establishment for us, so catch me there in my rainboots, slurpin' on some mudbugs!



Then the weekend of April 26th, we'll be at the Llano Crawfish Open, which we've gone to nearly every year for over a decade. They boil over 18,000 lbs. of crawfish right on the banks of the Llano river. Cheap beer, two-stepping to live country bands, amazing vendors, and supporting the local special education program all make for a great Hill Country weekend.

Hector (Social Media Guru)

The lovely Jenny Lewis will visit our city this Saturday 6th at the Moody Theater. She's on tour for her latest album, On The Line. Perfect for a date night or just to listen to this talented chanteuse live. There are still tickets available!

The Weird Homes Tour is happening again in Austin on April 20th. Check out the strange, funky or just plain unique homes in our lovely city.

BookPeople is hosting T. Kira Madden, an amazing queer biracial essayist, and photographer, for the release of her memoir Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls. The event will be at their store on April 9th at 7 PM.

Fans of Game of Thrones and the Songs of Ice and Fire books should check this pop-up art show in San Antonio's The Brick at Blue Star Arts Complex on 4/17! Hugo Award-winner John Picacio, whose designs were used for casting some of the TV series actors, will be there with works by Hamilton King Award-winner John Jude Palencar and many other amazing artists. Get pumped for the last season of GoT with this exhibit!

Fawn (Farmers Market Coordinator)

This song. It's been around for a while but I recently found it, and it has been playing in my head ever since.

I'm also enjoying listening to an audio copy of Wendell Berry's Jayber Crow. I am whisked away to a mid-20th-century small town community. I can't say I'm not nostalgic for this simpler time, one more connected to the earth.

Heydon (Farm Writer)

I just got back from a 30th b'day Mediterranean cruise that started in Rome, bopped down to Sicily and Malta, over to Spain and France, and then had two more stops in fair Italia. My pick this month is ITALY. I mean, whoa. The food, the people, the wine, the architecture... I can't get enough. I have a newfound respect for the versatility of artichokes, the nuttiness of pesto, all the different kinds of focaccia, and all the nuances of pasta. I'm OBSESSED. We delved into the subtleties of Grappa and I had my drink of choice, Prosecco, for the first time ever in its homeland! I could go on forever.

I brought my camera and had the best time getting lost in the narrow, gorgeous streets of all the amazing European towns. And oh my stars, THE SAGRADA FAMILIA in Barcelona! Stunner, for sure. Definitely ticked off one on the bucket list wandering around in that basilica.

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures. Check more out here.

Isaac in the Sagrada Familia. Photo by Heydon Hatcher.

View from our table in an osteria nestled in La Vucciria, Palermo's oldest open-air market. Photo by Heydon Hatcher.

Vatican Museums. Photo by Heydon Hatcher.

Ada (CSA and Marketing Manager)

I recently celebrated my 30th birthday (woohoo!) and went to the Frio River with some of my dearest friends on this earth. I'm feeling excited and hopeful for this Spring season. My pick is the river, and all of the other bodies of water that I plan to inhabit now that it's warm!!

Ada's b'day peeps!

Shameless plug for my side-hustle Home Made! This is a super cool and super fun meal prep club. Check out our website here, and read more about the project here.

Last, I would just like to give a shout out to our wonderful CSA Administrator Casey. She's been with the farm for several years now but is leaving the farm to start new adventures (a family!). We're excited to welcome our new CSA Admin, Faith, to the crew. CSA Members: please help us welcome Faith to the CSA Family!

We love you, Casey!

Recipe and Photos by Megan Winfrey

Nobody asked anyone to combine spaghetti and collard greens with the concept of enchiladas, but I did it anyway. When you assemble ingredients that already go together in a new way, how could you fail?! This was so fun to make, incredibly tasty, and felt much lighter than eating a bowl full of spaghetti. I will definitely be making this dish all summer long!

Baked Spaghetti Collard Green Wraps

• 1 bunch of collard greens - bigger leaves are best
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tbs. dried oregano
• 1 tbs. dried thyme
• 1 24oz. can whole tomatoes, divided in half
• a handful of fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons
• a handful of fresh oregano leaves, chopped
• 3-4 servings spaghetti noodles
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper, to taste

This recipe requires some multitasking, but nothing too crazy!

Remove the thick stems from the collard greens. I cut the stems out from the middle of each leaf, down, leaving the top half of the leaf whole. Stack the prepped leaves on top of each other and set aside. Separate the whole canned tomatoes into 2 bowls, then squeeze the tomatoes with your hands until they reached a crushed consistency. Mix the fresh herbs into one of the bowls of tomatoes and set both aside.

Next, fill a pasta pot with water and set it on high heat to boil. Then, add the olive oil to a heavy bottom skillet and heat over medium-high. Cook the onions and bell peppers until soft but not yet translucent. Add the turkey and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes or until the turkey is cooked through. Stir in dried herbs with the crushed tomatoes without fresh herbs, lower to a simmer, and let thicken while the rest of the dish comes together and season to taste.

Once the water in the pasta pot is boiling, take the stack of collard greens and lower them into the pot, pushing them down with a spoon to submerge. Let boil for about 5 minutes, submerging the leaves when necessary, until they are tender but still a vibrant green. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool. Keep the water boiling and add the spaghetti noodles to the same pot. Cook to al dente then drain into a colander.

So, the meat sauce is thickening, the collard greens and spaghetti are cooling. Now, add the remaining bowl of crushed tomatoes and fresh herbs to a small saucepan and heat over low. Preheat the oven to 375.

Time to assemble. Clear off your cutting board and lay down a collard leaf. Layer one half of the cut part over the other, effectively closing the gap where the stem was. Lay a small nest of spaghetti noodles down in the middle of the leaf, then top with a spoonful of meat sauce and a sprinkle of shredded cheese. These should all sit right in the center of the leaf with room on all sides. Fold like a burrito, bringing the bottom of the leaf up over the filling, tucking in the sides, then rolling once over to form a log. Continue this process with the rest of the collard greens, laying the wraps side by side in a baking dish as you go.

Once all of the greens have been stuffed and wrapped, cover each one with the warm, herby tomato sauce. Sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheese evenly over everything, then finish off with a dusting of nutritional yeast.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melty and starting to brown a bit. Serve immediately and enjoy!

CSA Box Contents Week of Apr 1st

A huge shout out to our longtime farm friend, Ryan Rhodes of the Land Boys for the design. You might not recognize this lady, but it's Demeter, the goddess of the harvest.

Hey All,

Brenton Johnson here from Johnson’s Backyard Garden. I want to send you a personal invite to come out to our farm this Saturday for a real good time. Ada, our CSA manager, is from Lafayette, Louisiana, and we recruited one of her favorite bands, Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys, from her hometown to come and play. Wait 'til you see her dance!

Dancin' boots! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

I'll be cooking up a big pot of gumbo along with another pot for a crawfish boil with potatoes, corn, lemons, and all the spices for some tasty mudbugs. We hope you enjoy the Louisiana theme this year, and we’re expressly excited to focus attention and educate you all about the nonprofit groups that this event benefits. We here at Johnson's Backyard Garden are trying to build a stronger and more vibrant agricultural community. After the bands are paid and the basic event expenses are covered, all proceeds go to benefit the Texas Young Farmers Coalition, Farmshare Austin, The Sustainable Food Center, and PEAS.

Don't forget to bring a dish for the CSA member potluck. We love desserts! We're gonna have a huge fire pit, so if you wanna bring to meat or vegetables for volunteer grill masters, please do and we will cook it up right... just for you.

Potluck! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

YUM! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

This year, we're creating a new sculpture for the kids, a tractor tire playground. We’ll have the longtime favorite sandpile, the trampoline, the barrel roll, and also some other fun activities, like a scavenger hunt, an art corner with painting + tie-dye, and more.

Arts station. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Entry this year is only $10. Kids, 12 and under, are free! Come on out to Garfield Saturday afternoon from 4 ‘til dark. We love for you to see the hard work we've been putting into the farm this Spring, and for you all to take a tour around the 200-acre farm located right on the banks of the Colorado River! If you're feeling the need to stretch your legs a little, walk over to the edge of the farm and check out Farmshare Austin, located on 10 acres with a beautiful organic fruit orchard. Their mission is training aspiring organic farmers with a 6-month intensive program focusing on farming from seed to sale.

Exploring the farm on foot! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Looking forward to seeing you all again,

Farmer Brenton

Farm sunrise. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

We are busy as ever. Our Spring Harvest Festival is tomorrow from 4 pm until dark! We are harvesting and planting as always, but also preparing the farm for one of our favorite community gatherings. We are spring cleaning and simultaneously making numerous improvements all over the farm. Spring is treating the farm well... we can't wait for you and your family to come out and see all of our hard work!

Harvesting lettuce. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Harvesting lettuce. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Beautiful bunched beets. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Fields of green. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Hydration close-up. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Harvesting curly kale. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Rosemary transplants. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Planting rosemary. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Getting the barn ready for the Harvest Festival! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Working on new offices in the shop. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Luis working on irrigation. Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Phil clearing out the road for the big event! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Delicious kale! Photo by Scott David Gordon.

Making sure the transplants are hydrated! Photo by Scott David Gordon.