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2013 Marks 20 years at Tecolote Farm!

By on December 22, 2012 in

We are thrilled to celebrate 20 full years farming the rich blackland prairie soils of our beloved home farm this year.  So much has happened to us, to Austin, to eastern Travis County in two decades, not the least of which is the community of people that has in one way or another sprung up via an affiliation with our farm.  Buoyed by this network, we are ready to start the next twenty years strong, with many new projects in the wings, and a strong, committed team. Speaking of our Farm Crew of Destiny, we just received this lovely, hand-crafted Christmas present from 2012 crew member and rising manager, Earl, who put this enduring Tecolote Farm philosophy into a physical reminder for the wash area:

Nice work, Earl! Additionally, this pastry chef-turned-farmer co-wrote our grant application to the Austin Food and Wine Alliance , and we were selected! AFWA received 30 applications, from which they had to choose only 3 grant award winners. We were proud to accept the grant, which will help us get our longstanding plans off the ground to 1. raise heritage breeds of pastured pork and 2. offer subsidized CSA shares for low income families in the area. Thank you to the grant selection committee and to the Board of Austin Food and Wine Alliance- we know we were in good company and you had hard choices to make.

These are just a couple of the big things happening in 2013, our 20th anniversary year! We are accepting new CSA members for the 2013 season. Prices are not going up and we’ll be delivering the same Awesome, not Perfect vegetables that have kept Austin happy for 20 years! Check out our CSA page for more information.   Merry Christmas~ Happy New Year!

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Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…

By on July 4, 2012 in

Summertime, and the cookin’ is easy: slice up some cucumbers with tomatoes, sweet onions, and pour on a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Voila! You can find the ingredients for easy Greek Salad or for grilled okra or Roasted New Mexican Chiles at one of the Saturday farmers markets where we go these days: Downtown Austin (SFC famers market downtown) or Sunset Valley Farmers Market. Both are Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm. At the downtown market, find us at the shady northwest corner (on 5th and San Antonio) next to the coffee and breakfast tacos.

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Field and Feast visits Tecolote

By on April 28, 2012 in

Image courtesy fieldandfeast.com

Cecilia Nasti came out to the farm on the same evening that our crew was shooting skeet after work. She wasn’t ruffled, however, to hear gunshots at an organic farm. Her “real job” at Texas Parks and Wildlife has her covering hunting issues as well as natural places of beauty for their radio pieces about Texas Parks.  She recently did a story on nothing other than… skeet shooting. It was a true pleasure to hang out on the back deck with this Austin original and our one-time neighbor. Her love of food, gardening, and cooking is evident: her Field and Feast show, which airs on KUT every weekend and took the place of Growing Concerns, is her own baby. She does it to spread the good word about farm-to-table connections. Her podcast about Tecolote is airing on KUT this Saturday, April 28, at 11:55 a.m., or Sunday, April 30, at 11:01 a.m. You can also hear the podcast anytime from her website.

Cecilia Nasti, fieldandfeast.com

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The Farm Crew of Destiny

By on April 26, 2012 in

We have a fantastic farm crew this season, and we are so grateful. They are smart, engaging, curious, dedicated, funny, and reliable. They have been logging many 9 and 10 plus hour days, yet still they bring smiles and great attitudes to the farm day after day. The Farm Crew of Destiny this spring includes many return farmers. The returnees have wisdom and encouragement to share with the first-time farmhands, or those new to Tecolote’s quick pace and attention to detail.

The crew has been working so efficiently that post-work happy hours are well-deserved and promising to be frequent.  Teamwork, cooperation, group responsibility, and communication are thriving, and it shows. It doesn’t hurt that new manager Lorig has a relentless dedication to smooth sailing and positive feedback, or that Meche has been with us for so many years.

We started the season with an Orientation Day in late March, complete with greenhouse cooling system briefings, doggie distractions,a full “parking lot” of mini-trucks, a few riveting volleyball games, and finally, more time on the porch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Spring Greens Pesto

By on April 25, 2012 in

CSA basketeer Christina found this cool recipe from a gluten-free slow cooking blog, and adds, “Everything  is vegan, but you can substitute parmesan for the nutritional yeast for amore traditional style pesto. It looks so good in that turnip soup too. ”

recipes and images courtesy of:

 Spring Greens Pesto

gluten-free, soy-free

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 4 cups greens (collards, kale, arugula, spinach, etc.), stems removed and chopped
  • ¼ to ½ cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil or extra orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (or plain lemon juice)
  • ½ teaspoon smoked salt (or plain salt to taste and a few drop liquid smoke)

After you prep the greens add the water and orange juice to a sauté pan on medium heat. Add greens and cook until greens are tender, but still bright green (about 10 minutes). You can add extra water in cooking if it gets too dry.

Put all ingredients into a food processor and process until grainy or finely minced but not pureed. Add extra olive oil, water, or orange juice if the mixture is too thick.

Makes 1 to 2 cups pesto   Is recommended as well  in this soup:

Slow Cooker Potato Turnip Soup

  •   2 cups turnips, peeled and chopped
  • 4 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon vegan chick’n bouillon
  • 1 sprigs rosemary, 2 to 3 inch or 1/2 teaspoon ground
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 to 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk, optional

Add everything except salt, pepper, and almond milk to your slow cooker. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours.

Remove rosemary sprig and discard. Puree using an immersion blender. If you want a thinner soup add the non-dairy milk and blend it in also. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a swirl of Spring Greens Pesto on top.

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Sorrel Soufflé

By on April 18, 2012 in

From Monday basketeer Stephanie Johnson.

Hi Katie, Here’s the recipe for the souffle.  It was really good; cheesy and tangy!  I love sorrel.  I had never even seen sorrel before I got my first Tecolote bunch however many years back it’s been.   It was actually quite easy to make, I hope lots of people will try it!   Love, Stephanie

Sorrel Soufflé   (Adapted from Mark Bittman’s Cheese Soufflé in How to Cook Everything)

4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick butter), plus 1 teaspoon

¼ cup flour

1½ cups milk, warmed until hot to the touch

6 eggs, separated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Dash cayenne or 1/8 tsp. dry mustard

1 cup grated Parmesan or other hard cheese, like aged asiago, Pecorino Romano

I small shallot, minced

1 cup sorrel puree (1 bunch, stemmed and sautéed in 1 Tbsp. olive oil until it becomes a puree

 

Preheat the oven to 400°. Use the teaspoon of butter to grease a 2-quart soufflé dish or other deep baking dish, such as a Corningware-type dish. If you want to make individual soufflés, use a little more butter and grease four 1 ½ – to 2-cup ramekins.

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the remaining butter. When it foams,add the flour and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring, until the mixture darkens a bit, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time to avoid lumps, and then cook until the mixture is thick, just a minute or two longer.

Turn off heat and stir in the egg yolks, salt, pepper, cayenne or mustard, cheese, shallots

and sorrel puree. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt, just until they hold soft peaks. Stir a couple of spoonfuls of the beaten whites into the batter, and then very gently—and not overly thoroughly—fold in the remaining whites using a rubber spatula. Be as gentle as possible.

Turn the batter into the prepared dish(es) and bake until the soufflé has risen and is browned on top, about 15 to 40 minutes (the lower timing is for smaller, individual soufflés; a single soufflé will take 30 minutes or more.) Use a thin skewer to check the interior; if it is still quite wet, bake another 5 minutes. If it is just a bit moist, the soufflé is done. Serve immediately.

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Great Story from the Statesman’s Addie Broyles

By on April 16, 2012 in

Photo credit Austin American Statesman

Read Addie Broyles’ Food section cover story from April 11, 2012: After long battle over water, Tecolote Farm finally moving on! It has been a long four years since our wells dried up here at the original farm.  Statesman writer Addie Broyles tells the tale of how we keep on keepin’ on.

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