Welcome to Rutiz Farms
HAPPENINGS ON THE FARM  . 

. CHICKENS AT THE FARM!

We have finally gotten our own chickens..18 laying hens arrived last week.  They are 5 to 6 months old, so they are just starting to lay eggs.  When you come by the farm stand on Fridays or Tuesday be sure to say hello to the "girls".  We should have some food around that you and your kids could give them...a real "farm yard" experience right here in Arroyo Grande.  Our eggs, together with eggs that we receive from local "backyard" chicken lovers, are available for sale at our stand for $5/dozen.  These eggs are from "free range", happy chickens...no caged, unhappy hens at our farm.  The yokes on the eggs are bright orange in color, the eggs are freshly layed and taste great.  

 WHAT'S  IN THE BOX THIS WEEK

Sugar snap peas...sweet and crunchy!  These are the "edible" pod peas...so you eat the whole pod, no need to shell them.  Great to use in a saute or stir-fry or raw with your favorite dip...put a few in the kid's lunch...they might really eat them.
The "Persian" cucumbers come from Ocean Breeze Farms in Nipomo.  They are grown using pesticide- free farming practices.  . The "Persian" cucumber is unique among cucumbers in that it has a thin skin that doesn't require peeling and has no bitter aftertaste.

The sprouting baby broccoli is an old fashion variety of broccoli that forms many small side shoots instead of one large main head ( like the broccoli in the supermarkets that may have a big, woody stem and sometimes bitter tasting ).  The stems on the sprouting broccoli are small and thin, with a sweet flavor throughout.  No need to cut off any portion, use the whole stalk and head in your saute or stir fry.  

 Use the fennel bulb as you might use an onion...cut up the white bulb portion and add to a stir fry...it will give you a mildly, sweet licorices flavor.

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.
This week's kiwis come from Mallard Lake Farm of Nipomo.
The Mandarin Oranges come from Mike Cirone of See Canyon and Bob Polito of San Diego County...all of our fruit growers follow pesticide-free farming practices.
      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 Polito Family Farms of San Diego County
Kiwis from Mallard Lake Farms of Nipomo

Blueberries from Gary Teixeria of Santa Maria 

Ciders and Juices "flash pasteurized" from Chadmark Farms of Paso Robles....pesticide free!..

David's Blue Ribbon Honey...regular honey, honey with comb and lemon and raspberry flavored creamed honey.