Rutiz Farms Newsletter for Feb. 10

Rutiz Family Farms
Newsletter

Welcome to Rutiz Farms
HAPPENINGS ON THE FARM . Stand

.Thinking forward to Valentine's Day, next Tuesday, Feb. 14...For your Valentine, we will have plenty of large, beautiful flower bouquets and "sweet pea" ( our baker of delicious treats) will have gift boxes filled with chocolates and cookies specially made for Valentine's Day. No need to go to Walmart or Trader Joes for your Holiday shopping!

Be sure to come by and say hello to our very own chickens...they are thoroughly enjoying being fed all our leftover veggies...their favorite is the fennel ...I only wish that our stand customers would be half as enthusiastic with the fennel! Together with the eggs from our hens and from other "backyard" chicken farmers, we have plenty of delicious eggs for sale at the stand. At $5/ dozen, our eggs are really a great value...when you consider all the work and effort that the hens go through to lay an egg!!!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX THIS WEEK

This Friday we have 2 special treats in the Harvest Box. A basket of blueberries ( they are much sweeter this week than they were a few weeks back..now that we have more sunshine and less freezing weather ) and a package of almond brittle from Paso Almonds...a word of warning...don't open the bag of brittle until you get home, otherwise you will surely finish it and there won't be any left to share with your Valentine!

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.

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.

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 and avocados 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!..

"Artisan" breads from the Eclair Bakery of The Village of Arroyo Grande...every Friday

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!

Available at the Stand strawberry

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.
Brussels Sprout---$2.50/ pound
Snap peas--$4/ pound
Celery root--$1.50 each

"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
cabbage--$1/ pound
carrots--$2 / bunch
"Persian" cucumbers--$2/ pound
beets--$2/ bunch, red or orange
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
Mandarin oranges--$2.50/ pound
Valencia oranges--$1/ pound
Kiwis--3 for $1
Blueberries--$4/ basket
"Zutano" 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 flower bouquets---$5 to $9 / bunch

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!

RECIPES
Please go to our web site at Rutizfarms.com for a listing of recipes for many of the veggies grown on our farm.

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).

Week of Feb. 10, 2012

In This Issue

Available at the Stand

Harvest Box Info

Recipes

Order Your Harvest Box

Click Here

Produce in the Harvest Box this week:

broccoli

sugar snap peas

carrots

potatoes

red butter leaf lettuce

fennel bulb

"Persian" cucumbers

blueberries

almond brittle

PLEASE bring back the empty boxes each week.

Stand Hours

Tuesdays and Fridays.. 1 to 5 pm

Saturdays..closed for the winter, reopen in April

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

Thank you for choosing to support our farm and local, pesticide free, sustainable agriculture.

Jerry Rutiz

Rutiz Family Farms