Welcome to Rutiz Farms 
A FAVOR TO ASK OF OUR CUSTOMERS...Dogs and other animals at the farm...If your pet wants to accompany you to the farm, please leave them in your car while you shop at the stand. As time has gone on, we have seen more and more dogs coming to the stand with their owners. For the safety of our other customers and the safety of the produce that we are selling, we must ask that fido stays in the car.
WHAT'S NEW IN THE BOX THIS WEEK:
The fava beans are a real spring time treat...all of our restaurants that we sell to are currently featuring them on their seasonal menus. The easiest way to prepare them is:
Remove the "beans" from the outer pod.
Blanch the bean for a minute in boiling water, cool, and remove the outer "membrane" from each bean. Then you can use the bean in salads, or add them to your favorite stir-fry.
What to do with the cavolo nero kale??? How about some "kale chips"...
Ingredients:
- kale
- olive oil
- spices to taste: smoked paprika, powdered ginger, chili powder (optional)
- sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 250 F.
- Remove the stems and woody ribbing from the tender leaves.
- Tear the kale into bite-size pieces. Wash and dry.
- Add 1-2Tbsp olive oil to a large bowl.
- Whisk in 1/2 tsp or more of the paprika and ginger. Add a pinch of chili powder (optional).
- Add the Kale leaves to the oil and toss with your hands, coating each leaf, front and back.
- Lay the kale out on a parchment paper-covered cookie sheet.
- Sprinkle with seas salt.
- Wash your hands so you don't rub chili powder into your eyes. Just sayin'.
- Bake in the oven until they are flat and crisp, about 15-20 minutes. (It took about 17 minutes for mine, although the recipe that inspired it online said 33 minutes.)
- Remove with a spatula and let them cool.
- Serve them to someone who will try one and say, "Kale chips?!?" as they bite into one. In about 1 minute, they'll come back for 10 more. You could also grate hard cheese, like Pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano over them for a cheesy treat.
Use the baby artichokes to make crispy artichoke hearts:
wash off the artichoke, remove the outer 2 or 3 set of dark green leaves until the remaining leaves are a lighter shade of green or cream color. Using a sharp knife, cut off the top 1 inch or so of the top of the artichoke, then remove the outer skin from the stem( yes, the inside of the stems are very delicious). Cut the artichoke in half lengthwise, steam 10 to 15 minutes until slightly soft, remove from the steamer, coat with olive oil and garlic powder. Grill on the bar-b-que or under the broiler oven for 5 to 10 minutes on each side until brown and crispy ( or put them under a broiler). At this point, the whole artichoke is edible...enjoy!
Our strawberry field is now open for u-pick each Tuesday and Friday from 1 to 6pm and Saturdays from 10am to 3pm. Bring the family out for a fun time picking our delicious strawberries. Bring your own containers or use our baskets to pick into. The price will be $2 / pound, which works out to be about $2 per one pint basket ( our regular price when purchased already picked at the stand is $3 / basket). We will continue to have plenty of picked berries available on the stand table, along with all our other veggies and fruits.
The ciders and juices from Chadmark Farms are again available on our stand table. We have the apple cider, apple-pomegranate cider blend, and the apple-boysenberry cider blend ...in 1/2 gallons bottles and pint bottles. The pure pomegranate and Zinfandel grape juice is available in pint bottles. Great pride is taken by the farmer to bring you his high quality ciders and juices using the "flash pasteurized" method.
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 and Saturday, 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 and Saturday mornings, great to accompany our veggies for your dinner! Most loaves will run about $5, with the baguettes about $3.
Our blueberries come from the farm of Gary Texiera located just south of Santa Maria. He uses pesticide free farming methods and picks his berries fully ripe...for best flavor!
As many of you know, we travel down to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market every Wednesday. In being down there, I am able to meet other farmers from all over the state... selling all kinds of fruits and vegetables that I may not have growing on our farm. My latest find are " outside" grown tomatoes from Debbie Chamberlain of the Salton Sea ( near Palm Springs). Not being "greenhouse" grown, these tomatoes are pesticide free ( except for a little sulfur dust, which is approved for use on organic farms) and are picked fully vine ripe, having a great tomato flavor...just like a summer grown tomato from your garden!
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 salad "bowls" are currently available for purchase. Help to support their worthwhile work programs by using their potted plant starts in your garden this spring.
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."
Our SLO pick up locations are:
1) The Montessori Childrens School
2) The Equilibrium Fitness Center
3) Pacheco School
4) Bishop's Peak School
5) The Laureate School
6) United Methodists Children's Center
Thank you to all of those who have signed up. The Harvest Boxes should be available for pick up at your location by 2:30pm each Thursday afternoon. Please don't throw away the cartons..either bring a bag with you and transfer the produce at your pick up site and leave the box or take the box home with you ...but bring it back the next week as you pick up your new Harvest Box. If you have signed up for the SLO area deliveries, you do not need to respond back to this newsletter in order to reserve a box each week...you have already done that by prepaying for the deliveries!
If you want to pick up a box on a week by week basis at our Stand in Arroyo Grande, you need to let me know each week by using the "Click Here" link to order your box.
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 fava beans--$2/ pound cabbage---75c/ pound snap peas, snow peas and shelling peas--$4/ pound "Sierra Gold" potatoes--$1.50/ pound
"rainbow" colored chard--$2 / bunch
"calvo nero" kale---$2 / bunch
broccoli--$2.50/ pound
Italian "sprouting" baby broccoli--$4 / pound
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
tomatoes--$3 / pound
blueberries--$4/ basket
"Haas" avocados--$1.25 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 $8 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
fava beans
baby artichokes
a bag of salad mix
"Sierra Gold" potatoes
"cavolo nero" kale
tomatoes from the Salton Sea
"snap" peas
sweet yellow and purple onions
a basket of "Jerry's Berries" strawberries
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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