Welcome to Rutiz Farms NEWS OF THE FARM
Happenings at the farm this Friday, April 1....
President Barack Obama will be making a short visit to our farm stand at 2:06 pm this Friday. He will be listening to your ideas of how to implement this year's farm policies...so feel free to express your opinions. Governor Brown will stop by at 3:21 pm to discuss the state's budgetary issues and Michael Pollon ( the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma ) will come by later in the afternoon to interview our staff for his new book on sustainable farming practices. Don't miss out on these important events happening this Friday, APRIL 1st!
(Don't believe everything you read!) Spring has finally come to Arroyo Grande...so beginning this week we are returning to our regular stand hours:
Tuesdays and Fridays...1 pm to 6 pm
Saturdays...10 am to 3 pm
I only wish last week's rains hadn't wiped out an entire picking of our strawberries...we had to pick and drop in the field any fruit that had any degree of ripeness...because of rot brought on by the late winter rains. This Friday we may have a very few berries at the stand....but the crop still looks great in a week or two down the road.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX THIS WEEK
Use the "Bloomsdale" spinach as the base for a simple spinach salad or saute the leaves lightly in a little olive oil and garlic...but don't overcook, keep it a little "crunchy"!
The snap peas are the edible pod type, a little fat and crunchy. Use them cut up raw in salads, or saute in a stir fry. This week's green garlic...this is a true garlic plant, just harvested early, before it makes a bulb and dries out. They are the size of a large scallion and have a sweet and mild garlic flavor. Use them the same as a onion scallion or regular garlic...raw cut up and added to salad, sauted in a stir-fry with carrots, broccoli, snap peas, chard or potatoes... or coat them with a little olive oil and roast them on a bar-b-que or under a broiler. Use the bottom 3 to 4 inches, but not the leaves as they can be a bit tough.Here's a quick and easy way to prepare this week's chard:
wash off the leaves and cut them in 1 inch wide ribbons
when you get to the ribs of the leaves, cut them into 1/2 inch pieces, heat some olive oil in a skillet and add the chard, season with a little sea salt and garlic powder, cook until the leaves are "wilted" and the stem portion are soft. If you want to make a saute using the chard, broccoli and snap peas, add the broccoli and the snap peas first ( before the chard) as they take a bit longer to cook. Also available at our stand from other farmers and businesses: We are proud to again offer freshly made "artisan" breads from the Eclair Bakery of The Village of Arroyo Grande. Every Friday afternoon, we will have for sale such creations as blue cheese pecan, Asiago cheese onion, sourdough, honey whole wheat and baguettes. These breads are a real treat, coming hot out of the Bakery's oven on Friday mornings, great to accompany our veggies for your Friday night dinner! Most loaves will run about $5, with the baguettes about $3.
The Transitions Mental Health Growing Grounds of Santa Maria, a non profit organization that uses growing of potted plants as therapy for their clients, is supplying us with bedding plants to sell at our stand. Vegetable and herb starts in 4 packs and 4 inch pots of perennial herbs, along with herb bowls are currently available for purchase. Help to support their worthwhile work programs by using their potted plant starts in your garden this spring. You might think that if our customers have their own gardens, it might take away business from the stand...but I think quite the opposite...when people realize how much work it is to raise their own vegetables, they have a greater appreciation for the work we put in every day at the farm.
Heirloom Sonora Whole Wheat Flour from Huasna Valley Farm.
"Locally Grown, Freshly Milled"
The price will be $6.75 for a 21/2 pound bag of freshly milled flour.
Recipes will be available at www.huasnavalleyfarm.com.
Do you have interest in joining the fish CSA with pick ups at our stand each Friday ( weather permitting that the fisherman can get out to catch fish!) ?... "Margie the fish lady is taking sign-ups for the spring season. Call her at 481-5827 or email her at slofreshcatch@hughes.net."
DO YOU WANT TO SIGN UP FOR DELIVERIES OF OUR HARVEST BOXES FOR THE SLO CITY AREA?
We are now taking sign up for those of you who are interested to receive our weekly Harvest Box delivered to pick up locations in the SLO city area. The current drop sites are planned to be :
1) Avila Bay Club near Avila Beach ( available for the public)
2)The Montessori Childrens School ( available only for staff and families of the school)
3)Equilibrium Fitness Center located in the Marigold Shopping Center ( available for the public )
4) Pacheco School and Bishop's Peak School ( available only for staff and families of the school)...see your school coordinator for schedules as they are influenced by school holidays and the box costs are slightly higher to allow for fund raising opportuinties.
I would be open to new drop off points in SLO area if anyone wanted to get 10 or more box subscriptions at one place!
This spring's delivery program will start April 7 and run through June 9. You will receive a Harvest Box delivered to your pick up location each Thursday afternoon for the 10 week period for the cost of $180. If interested, please contact your school coordinator ( if you are at Pacheco, Bishop's Peak or Montessori ) or if you want to use the Avila Bay Club or the Equilibrium Fitness Center...send me an email ( to info@RutizFarms.com ) stating where you want to pick up and then send a check for $180 ( made out to Rutiz Farms ) to:
Rutiz Farms
333 Miller Way
Arroyo Grande Ca 93420
I must hear from you at least 5 days before the start date...so we can prepare...also, if we don't have at least 10 subscribers at any one location, we may have to cancel the use of that location.
Be sure to check out our "new and improved" web site at www.Rutizfarms.com. You will find many of our recipes and past newsletters archived and a "blog" page where you can see pictures and discussion of current and past events at the farm!
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Available at the Stand
Here are the items that we should have on the "table" for this Friday along with the prices so you may plan your meals and your budget
strawberries--$3/ basket asparagus--$2.50/ bunch snap peas, snow peas and shelling peas--$4/ pound "Sierra Gold" potatoes--$1.50/ pound
winter squashes---$1/ pound, butternut,
"rainbow" colored chard--$2 / bunch
broccoli--$2.50/ pound
Italian "sprouting" baby broccoli--$4 / pound
radishes--$1 / bunch
artichokes--50c to $1.50 each
cauliflower--$2/ pound for white, $3/ pound for the orange color
carrots--$2 / bunch
baby mixed salad greens--$2/ bag of about 1/2 pound
baby spinach--$2/ bag of about 1/2 pound
fennel bulb--$1 each Italian flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, rosemary, arugula, -$1/ bunch
sunflower sprouts--$3 / 1/4 pound
Mandarin oranges--$2.50/ pound
kiwis--2 for $1
"Haas" avocados--$1 each
honey: 1 pound--$10 / jar
honey with comb--$16/ jar
flavored creamed honey--$10/ jar, raspberry or lemon flavor
( all honey products from David's Blue Ribbon Honey, Arroyo Grande)
fresh flowers: $5 to $9 per bunch
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Harvest Box Info
You are welcome to come by and pick out individual items from the table or continue to pick up your reserved Harvest box or both( add items that may not be included in your Box that week)..The Harvest Boxes, which cost $15 / week , will be available for pick up during the Stand hours on Fridays only. I would ask you to kindly let me know by Thursday evening of each week, with a E mail response( use the link in the right hand column of this newsletter where it says Order Your Harvest Box) if you want a Box for the week. Please take note: this ordering link is only usable for the current week's newsletter....After Friday morning of each week, the ordering link becomes unusable!
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RECIPES
for more recipe ideas, go to our web page at www.Rutizfarms.com and click on the "recipe" section
EASY TIPS FOR PERFECT ROASTED VEGETABLES
adapted from The Santa Monica Farmer's Cookbook by Amelia Saltsman
Roasting vegetables concentrates their flavors, develops and caramelizes natural sugars, and gives them that appetizing crisped look. Best of all, the same technique works for just about any vegetable you've got on hand, any time of the year. Follow these simple steps for great results.
Keep vegetables or vegetables pieces a uniform size for even cooking.
Toss cleaned, trimmed vegetables with 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, kosher or sea salt, and freshly ground pepper. For convenience, do this directly in the pan.
Always preheat the oven.
Roast dense vegetables, such as beets or potatoes, at 400 degrees, quick-cooking ones, such as asparagus or tomatoes, at 425 to 450 degrees.
Don't crowd the pan, or your vegetables will steam rather than brown. Large baking sheets and heatproof-glass dishes are ideal for roasting.
Roast vegetables uncovered in the upper third of the oven for better browning.
Halfway through the cooking time, remove the pan from the oven and give it a shake or use a spatula to loosen and turn the vegetables.
When the vegetables are browned and tender, season again with your favorite seasonings...salt, pepper, garlic powder.
If serving the vegetables at room temperature, allow them to cool before piling them onto a serving dish( so they won't steam themselves and get soft).
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Order Your Harvest Box
Produce in the Harvest Box this week:
carrots
"rainbow" colored chard
broccoli
snap peas
a bag of salad mix
a bag of "Bloomsdale" savoy spinach
spring "green" garlic
"Sierra Gold" potatoes
navel oranges
PLEASE bring back the empty boxes each week.
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| Stand Hours
Tuesdays and Fridays.. 1 to 6 pm
Saturdays..10am to 3pm
FARM STAND LOCATION: 1075 "The Pike" in Arroyo Grande. We are located on the south side of The Pike, between Halcyon Road and Elm Street. Visit our web site at www.Rutizfarms.com for a map to the farm. Our mailing address is: Rutiz Farms 333 Miller Way Arroyo Grande, Ca 93420
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