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WELCOME TO RUTIZ FARMS
With Memorial Day weekend coming up, be sure to stop by the farm stand for some tasty fruits, veggies, and fresh flower bouquets for your holiday table.
Once again our strawberry field will be open for u-pick each Tuesday and Friday from noon to 6 pm and Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm. 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 $2.50 per pound, which works out to be about $2.50 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 at The Stand, along with all our other veggies and fruits.
WHAT'S IN YOUR HARVEST BOX THIS WEEK
Our first of the season's fingerling potatoes are in this week's box. The fun thing about the fingerlings is that you can roast them up whole and put a few on everyone's dinner plate. Also include in this week's box is a bunch of thyme...so as you can guess, here's a simple recipe for using the thyme with the potatoes....
Remove the small leaves and flowers from the stem of the thyme, discard the stems. Wash the potatoes ( don't remove the skins ), toss the potatoes in a large bowl with the thyme, salt and olive oil. Put a roasting pan in the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees, put the potatoes on the hot roasting pan and return to the oven, lower the heat to 400 degrees and cook until the outsides of the potatoes are a little crispy and the insides are soft.
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
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. Add a little balsamic vinegar to the chard near the end of cooking if you wish.
PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT OUR STAND FROM OTHER FARMERS AND BUSINESSES:
Blueberries from Gary Teixeira in Santa Maria
Pomegranate juice and sweet potatoes from Rocky Canyon Farm in Atascadero
Almond Brittle from Paso Almonds of SLO...freshly made each week by Rusty and his crew.
Vine-ripened tomatoes from Phillip and Nancy of SLO Grown Produce in Arroyo Grande ( pesticide free, greenhouse grown)
Persian Cucumbers from Ocean Breeze Greenhouse Farm in
Nipomo.
Goat Cheese from Steve of Happy Acres Farm in Templeton.
Oranges, lemons, avocados, and mandarins from Bob Polito of Valley Center, California.
Sweet Pea Bakery is at the farm every Friday, a little something to take care of your sweet tooth!
"Artisan" breads from the Eclair Bakery of The Village of Arroyo Grande every Friday and The Little Red Hen Bakery every Tuesday and Saturday.
Vegetable and herb starts from The Transitions Mental Health Growing Grounds of Santa Maria...pesticide free!
Fresh fish and canned albacore for sale every Friday. 100% wild caught by San Luis Obispo County commercial fishermen. Or join the Fish CSA and get weekly deliveries; contact Margie at slofreshcatch@gmail.com or 481-5827."
Honey from Alisha of Rock Front Ranch near Cuyama Valley.
Sunflower "sprouts" from Carl and Ruth...one of our neighbors at the farm. "At Rutiz Farms, our goal is to provide the highest quality fresh produce while using sustainable farming practices, including legume green manure cover cropping, organic fertilizers, no pesticides and no GMO crops." Our goal is simple...to bring to our customers ( and their families ).. fresh, nutritious, and safe food at a reasonable price and good value.
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Available at the Stand
Here are the items that we should have on the "table" for this Friday:
strawberries--$3/ basket
sugar snap peas and English Shelling peas--$4/ pound "Sierra Gold" potatoes--$1.50/ pound
Italian "sprouting" baby broccoli--$4 / pound
"bloomsdale" baby spinach--$2/ bag
broccoli--$2.50/ pound
carrots--$2 / bunch
beets--$2/ bunch
leeks--$2/ bunch
onions-$1.50/lb
baby mixed salad greens--$2/ bag of about 1/2 pound cucumbers--$2/lb
fennel bulb--$1 each fresh herbs--$1/ bunch...basil, Italian flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, rosemary, arugula, chives, thyme, oregano, sage, dill
Mandarin oranges--$2.50/ pound
blueberries--$4/ basket
Navel oranges--$1/ pound
Honey: $13 for a 1 pound jar, Rock Front Ranch
Eggs-Free Range $6/doz
Flowers: $5 to $7/ 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
EASY TIPS FOR PERFECT ROASTED VEGETABLESadapted 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: a head of red lettuce and a head of green lettuce sweet yellow onions "Russian Banana" fingerling potatoes a bunch of thyme "Rainbow colored" chard baby broccoli carrots fennel bulb Mandarin Oranges "Persian" Cucumbers PLEASE bring back the empty boxes each week.
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Stand Hours
OPEN RAIN/SHINE
Tuesdays and Fridays
noon to 6pm
SATURDAYS: 10-4
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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