Welcome to Rutiz Farms
HAPPENINGS ON THE FARM
Big rain storm scheduled to come on Friday...but the forecasters have been wrong before ( in fact most of the time! ). Never the less, we will be open come rain or sun...just remember that we are now on our "winter " hours..we still open on every Friday and Tuesday at 1pm, but we now close at 5pm ( instead of 6pm ).
Saturdays we are open from 10am to 3pm...with Nov. 19 being our last Saturday that will will be open for this season. We will be closed on Saturdays through the winter, reopening again in April of 2012.
Alan Johansing, from Johansing Farms, will be our guest at the Stand on Friday, Nov. 18 ( not this week...but 1 week from this Friday ), from 1 to 5pm. He will be cooking up and giving out samples of his grass fed beef, raised on his family's farm in San Miguel. His beef comes from 100% grass fed Angus cattle, grazed on the family's pastures and range land. Alan will be there to answer any of your questions about their ranching practices and tips on how to cook and prepare grass fed beef. He will be offering his beef cuts as a "CSA" box of 20 pounds ( which will include an assortment of steaks, roasts, stew meat and ground beef) for $160. Alan will be taking pre-orders and accepting pre-payments for the CSA box set for pick up at our stand December 2.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX THIS WEEK:
A very simple and quick way to prepare the butternut squash: using a vegetable peeler, peel off the outer skin until the color of the squash goes from a cream color to a light orange color, cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the small seed cavity and any "stringiness", at this point you can roast the two halves in a roasting pan with a little water in the pan ( 350 degrees oven until tender) or cut up the skinned squash into small pieces and pan saute in some olive oil until soft...you can throw in some cut up carrots, cut up Brussel Sprouts, broccoli, and green beans for a truly unique stir fry dish.
We are again offering jicama in the boxes this week. The root's exterior is yellow and papery (which you want to peel off using a vegetable peeler or a pairing knife), while its inside is creamy white with a crisp texture that resembles raw potato or pear. The flavor is sweet and starchy, reminiscent of some apples or raw green beans, and it is usually eaten raw, sometimes with salt, lemon, or lime juice and chili powder. It is also cooked in soups and stir-fried dishes. Jícama is often paired with chilli powder, cilantro, ginger, lemon, lime, oranges, red onion, salsa, sesame oil, grilled fish and soy sauce. It can be cut into thin wedges and dipped in salsa. In Mexico, it is popular in salads, fresh fruit combos, fruit bars, soups, and other cooked dishes.
See below under "recipes" for a tasty way to prepare the
Brussels Sprouts .
PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT OUR STAND FROM OTHER FARMERS AND BUSINESSES:
Almond Brittle from Paso Almonds of SLO...freshly made each week by Rusty and his crew.
Tree fruit from Cirone Farms of See Canyon and Huasna Valley Farms Ciders and Juices "flash pasteurized" from Chadmark Farms of Paso Robles....pesticide free!.. "Artisan" breads from the Eclair Bakery of The Village of Arroyo Grande...every Friday and Saturday.
Vegetable and herb starts from The Transitions Mental Health Growing Grounds of Santa Maria...pesticide free!
Fish CSA with pick ups at our stand each Friday..call Margie at 481-5827 or email her at slofreshcatch@gmail.com
David's Blue Ribbon Honey...regular honey, honey with comb and lemon and raspberry flavored creamed honey. Sunflower "sprouts" from Carl and Ruth...one of our neighbors at the farm.
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.
Celery--$1 each
Lipstick sweet peppers--$2.50/ pound blue lake green beans--$2.50/ pound blackberries--$3.50/ basket "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
cauliflower--$2/ pound for white, $3/ pound for the green or orange color
carrots--$2 / bunch
beets--$2/ bunch, red, orange or pink colored
leeks--$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 per 1/4 pound
apples--$1.50/ pound, from Cirone Farms of See Canyon
"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 $7 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
Please go to our web site at Rutizfarms.com for a listing of recipes for many of the veggies grown on our farm.
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1 lb. brussels sprouts
1 1/2 T olive oil +plus about 1 tsp. for brushing roasting pan
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1-2 T coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 T toasted slivered almonds (could use other types of nuts as well)
Preheat oven to 400F/205C. Trim the stem end from brussels sprouts, then cut them crosswise into thin strips about 3/8 inch wide. Put shredded sprouts into a bowl. Whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then toss the brussels sprouts with the oil-vinegar mixture and season with a generous amount of fresh ground black pepper and some salt.
Brush a roasting pan with 1 tsp. of olive oil and arrange the brussels sprouts on the pan in a single layer. Roast until the brussels sprouts are nicely browned on the edges and tender, about 25 minutes. I turned them about every 10 minutes.
During the last few minutes of roasting time, put almonds in a dry pan and toast 1-2 minutes, shaking the pan so they don't burn. Don't walk away because they go from nicely browned to burned in a few seconds.
Wipe out the bowl you used to toss the raw brussels sprouts in, and when they are cooked through and browned as much as you'd like, toss the hot sprouts with the coarsely grated Parmesan. Arrange on serving dish, sprinkle almonds over and serve.
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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:
broccoli
Brussels Sprout
carrots
Jicama
salad mix
avocados
green beans
butternut squash
blackberries or
"Fuji" apples from See Canyon
PLEASE bring back the empty boxes each week.
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| Stand Hours
Tuesdays and Fridays.. 1 to 5 pm
Saturdays..10am to 3pm ( closed on Saturdays after Nov. 19)
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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