HAPPY ST. PADDY's DAY!! White potatoes are featured this week.

Believe it or not, we are getting to the end of our storage crops (I say that sarcastically, as of course, we have all been eating these items for what feels like an eternal winter) like potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and apples.

WHAT THAT MEANS IS….wait for it….SPRING is right around the corner. There are three items that we are always looking for to signify that SPRING is actually here and this week we heard reports that one of them has been sighted.

Have we made it? Are we out of the woods? Is Winter officially behind us?

I’ll believe it in July.

This week is a radical break from the norm in our boxes as we gearing up for one of our favorite “unofficial” holidays...Pi day.

WINTER SPINACH!!

This is the “sexy” item of the week…

Side Bar...was I right about those yellow tater’s last week? Winter spinach is some of the most flavorful and nutrient dense greens we can be eating this time of year. It also has a “sweet” flavor that only develops in cold temperatures.

When we started this company in 2014, there was one other group that was doing a similar project that was completely local food. They were called Great River Organics and then had a really nice program and following.

Over the years, they decided to do what they do best which is GROW FOOD. They no longer have a membership base, but they sell wholesale to places like Whole Foods, and over the last 18 months or so they have brought us MANY wonderful foods from their collection of Ohio Organic Farms.

What a week it’s been!

Hopefully this email finds you with food, warmth, and health. As you can imagine, when you are in the fresh food industry, bad weather can sure throw a wrench in your plans. Hopefully (as I type this on Tuesday), everything will have gone off without a hitch throughout the week. We continue to bring a mix of greens, roots, citrus, and storage crops. It is such a luxury to walk through the warehouse and look at the gorgeous colors as the food arrives each week. I am keenly aware that we might literally be a part of the most impactful food system (foodshed) in this part of the country.

Keep eating consciously. Keep improving the planet by improving what’s on your plate!

Random fact: Almost everyday, for as long as I can remember, I have spilled something. Trust me, that is a LOT of spills. Spilled my drink twice today already.

Side bar from the random fact: I still get mad almost every time I do it.

Moving on: We are doing a segment each week called “Mailbag Monday”. Here is the first one about plastic usage.

School this week has us learning about SWEET POTATOES! First, what it is NOT.
It is NOT
-part of the potato family
-a yam
-a member of the nightshade family

What it IS
-a bindweed
-part of the morning glory family
-tuber
-one of most nutrient dense vegetables with high Vitamin A, C and a great source of antioxidants

"Me and Jenny goes together like peas and carrots." ~ Forrest Gump

Carrots folks. That’s what we are learning about this week. The Dutch first domesticated carrot roots to make them sweeter, and they have been selectively bred to be more palatable ever since. Most vegetables are most nutritious when eaten raw, but carrot need cooked to unlock their nutrients. They have tough cellular walls that have to be broken down in order to best absorb through digestion. Heavy doses of Vitamin A, Potassium, and antioxidants. It can help to balance intestinal gas, prevent constipation, and treat indigestion.

Alright, folks...moving right throw our education here let’s look at PARSLEY this week.

Parsley is the most widely used herb on planet earth! It stands up well to heat, makes a great base for dressings and marinades, and is the key ingredient in tabbouleh and salsa verde. Incredible source of vitamins A and K, as well as high in vitamin C (3X’s as much C as oranges!), and twice as much iron as spinach!!! WHAT?!?!

It even freshens breath!

Last week we took a in depth look at dandelion greens, this week I would like to continue the education with onions.

In ancient Egypt the onion was a symbol of eternal life. In ancient Greece, athletes ate them raw and in juice form, even rubbing them on their bodies believing it gave them strength. Onions range in flavor from sweet to spicy and can be pickled, stewed, jammed, raw, and most commonly as a base for many dishes. Onions have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and are high in antioxidants, therefore used in many home cold remedies. I know in our house, 85% of our meals start by dicing and onion...and even if it is purely coincidental, we have VERY FEW COLDS.

Here we are at the end of our favorite year to date! 2020 was AMAZING!!

JUST KIDDING...

HOWEVER, the continual bright spot for us has been the continued response of our YB members. You all are making this bearable as you continue to seek change in your own lives, the people and companies that make up our FOODSHED*, and the life of our planet.

REMEMBER**No deliveries next week. Christmas Break!!

BUT ALSO REMEMBER**We will be back the following week (New Years’ week), with our normally scheduled programming.

Folks, you have been with us through thick and thin this year. It’s unprecedented what we have endured as a society. Through it all, I never lost hope and it’s literally due to the response that our community has shown to:

The biggest question we got the last 2 weeks was, “Who is growing grapefruits in Ohio?”

Answer: “No one”.

Last winter, we met an awesome family from Florida. The Thorpes are a 3 generation organic family farm and they are the ones that we are buying the citrus and fun fruit from. (say that 5 times fast) They work with us the same way our Ohio growers do, but they have things that we can’t get up here, so we have loved their stuff, especially through the dark months.

If you take nothing else away from this newsletter, let it be this.

WE ONLY HAVE 2 WEEKS (including this one) to order food before Christmas.

WE WILL NOT BE DELIVERING FOOD CHRISTMAS WEEK.

This week’s deliveries will make 47 straight weeks for the YB team! We have been blessed enough to stay healthy and open through all the craziness of 2020. That being said, we will be taking the week of Thanksgiving COMPLETELY OFF!

First thing I want to mention this week is HOME DELIVERIES. With Covid numbers being so high, I wanted to let everyone know that you are more than welcome to switch to home deliveries if you are not already doing that. In the Spring, we grew so fast that we asked people to pick up off the truck if possible, but we have since added vehicles and drivers to our fleet so we are more than ready to bring your food straight to your door...in a mask. Email erin@yellowbirdfs.com to have her get you set up.

We have been wanting to team up with Chef Meagan all year and we finally were able to make it happen. These salsa's and soups are going to be made fresh to order each week and we are going to start rotating the menu through the holidays. This is the type of thing I will be ordering a lot of and then freezing it for later in the winter. Ingredients are almost entirely YB sourced.

The following items have been added to the list of things that you can put on “recurring” for that “set it and forget it” option. This means that it will automatically be added to your order each week. You can also do this as usual with eggs and all the milk products as well.

1) Sweet Grass Chicken Breast Boneless and Skinless

2) Grass-Fed Ground Beef

3) Thorpe's Organic Orange Juice Fresh Frozen

- 11.2 fl oz.

- 60 fl oz.

4) RC Pork Sausage

5) Sweet Grass Sliced Bacon

6) Sweet Grass Pork Loin Chops (Boneless)

If the temperature is droppin', don’t come a knockin'…

(That doesn’t even make sense but I couldn’t think of anything to relate to the cold, gray, wet weather moving in.)

EXCEPT maybe comfort food!

Think squash, sweet potatoes, beets, and apples...slow cook, oven roast, add some spices like cinnamon and cardamom and nutmeg and you will start to smell and taste the flavors of the season.