Week of June 1st

My dear Community,

I had the opportunity to give a farm tour this weekend. In preparation, I decided to sit down with and informally interview my father-in-law, John Givens. I wanted to solidify my knowledge of the history of the farm and learn his intentions about its future. The story of the farm was quite an interesting one filled with ups and downs. John attended Cal Poly to become an engineer, and was hired by Raytheon upon graduation. In 1979, after 6 years of employement he quit Raytheon without a real plan, he just knew he was more interested in gardening and wanted to pursue that passion. He was interested in recycling and helping to make a positive impact on the planet. He attended a few classes Community Enviornmental Council to learn more about gardening. In 1983 John started farming organically in Goleta with 6 others on a 1-acre piece of property and sold the produce mostly to small local health food stores. He was one of the first vendors at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market when it started in 1984. In 1990 he expanded to our main farm on Ward Dr. Wanting to further increase the business, in 1993 he was able to purchase 10 acres of land on Fairview where he and his wife currently reside. Then he purchased 100 acres of land in Buellton where most of our spring through late summer crops come from due to the warmer climate in the valley. 

Some of the things that make John’s farm continually stand out are his rich composting program and his tremendous crop diversity. “You don’t have to think as much about rotating crops when you’re planting so many different things,” he added.  “There are big challenges in being an organic farm and keeping records is probably the biggest,” he said. The future of our farm is shrinking with the pressures of new “food safety” laws, increasing minimum wage and no rain. As our farm gets smaller, we continue to increase diversity and ramp up practices that big farms don’t have time for – like special attention to our soil, roaming animals on our land and diverse crop rotation. The future of the farm is small, but the heart behind this family business is huge. A drive to feed his kids and the community in a healthy and meaningful way is the foundation of this business. It was so fun to connect the community with this information via a farm tour and now share it in detail with you. It’s an honor to be a part of this family business and bring you this box each week.

Be good to each other.

CSA Contains:
CARROTS
STRAWBERRIES
RED TOMATOES
GREEN ZUCCHINI
RED BUTTER LETTUCE
WHITE CAULIFLOWER
LACINATO KALE
RED ONIONS
CILANTRO
ACORN SQUASH
BIG BOX ADD: CARROTS, STRAWBERRIES, RED CHERRY TOMATOES, GREEN LEAF LETTUCE, EASTER EGG RADISHES

JUST the BASICS:
CARROTS
RED LEAF LETTUCE
STRAWBERRIES
ZUCCHINI
BROCCOLI**
ACORN SQUASH

JUICE FEAST:
CARROTS x2
ROMAINE LETTUCE
LACINATO KALE
FENNEL
CILANTRO
STRAWBERRIES
RED BEETS
CUCUMBERS
GREEN CABBAGE

FRUIT EXPANSION: double STRAWBERRIES
LETTUCE of the WEEK: GREEN LEAF
MUSHROOM MIX: Picked fresh from Golden State Papaya in Goleta

**After picking through our tomato greenhouse we came up short for the whole CSA crew. Our Basic Boxes were subbed with broccoli.

Ultimate Stuffed Roasted Acorn Squash

(I made this recipe without the apples/raisins and celery because I didn’t have them on hand. This is super versitile. Ground tempeh would be a delicious veg substitution.)
Ingredients:
3 acorn squash small/med*
2 tsp organic coconut oil or ghee, plus sea salt, for roasting
1 Tbsp organic coconut oil or ghee, plus more, if needed
1 lb pork sausage casings removed if necessary, sugar-free for Whole30
4 oz mushrooms any kind, chopped
1 small onion diced
2 celery stalks diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 apple diced (pink lady is my favorite for cooking)
1 Tbsp fresh sage leaves minced**
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves minced**
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves minced**
1/3 cup raisins organic, or dried cranberries(fruit-sweetened for Whole30)
sea salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley for garnish, if desired
(Find the full recipe and inspiration here at Paleo Running Momma)

Zucchini Ribbon Salad with with Lemon, Parmesan, and Pine Nuts

Ingredients:
3 medium zucchini
1 tablespoon mayonnaise see notes
2 tablespoons lemon juice from about 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese shaved
1/4 cup pine nuts toasted
(Find the full recipe and inspiration here at Bowl of Delicious)

Kale and Heirloom Tomato Crustless Quiche

(I know heirlooms aren’t in the box! But our red tomatoes are so sweet and will work perfect as a substitution)
Ingredients:
8 large eggs
⅓ cup heavy cream
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon black pepper
5 leaves of kale
½ cup fresh basil, loosely packed
5 medium-sized tomatoes, various colors
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
(Find the full recipe and inspiration here at Family Spice)

Curried Cauliflower Steaks with Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients:
1 large head of cauliflower (should give you 4 steaks)
1/2 tbsp of mild curry spice (I used frontier organic curry powder with turmeric and mustard) see notes.
1 tbsp of avocado oil
tap here
2 garlic cloves
juice of half a lime
1 cup dry Quinoa
2 cups of vegetable broth
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 bunch of cilantro
1 heaping tablespoon of hemp hearts
1/8-1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1/2 lime
(Find the full recipe and inspiration here at Heartfully Nourished)

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