Burkart Farms is just under 300 miles from Long Beach.  They are one of the furthest away farms that we buy from.  While I wish they could be closer, I have grown to define the definition of local for beachgreens to include that of transparency.  Saying this…buying local is about food miles (how far away your food is coming from), but it’s also about accessibility, transparency in growing practices, and relationships.  The guys of Burkart farms (Oliver and Josh, and owner Richard) have always been an absolute pleasure to work with.  They welcomed us for a farm tour with open arms, taking the time on a Saturday to show us around.  They understand what beachgreens is doing as a business, and are a partner in education for the company.  While there might be other farms closer to Long Beach, finding a farm with enough volume, that is easy to work with, is something to be cherished.  Enjoy some of these beautiful pics!

The beautiful view from the fields of Burkart Farms. The snowy mountains are Sequoia National Park.

Rows of Navel Orange Trees

Bin of Oranges, with the cooler door behind.

How the oranges are cleaned. These are rollers with a rough surface that dry scrubs the oranges.

Oranges are loaded into here, then dumped and sorted (hand built machine!)

Fruit Sorting Area

Stone Fruit Trees in Blossom

Aprium trees Blossoms and Fruit. They are the 1st Stone Fruit to Ripen at the farm.

We learned about flood irrigation.

Wouldn't be a trip to the farm without a ride on the tractor!

Standing in the Orange Tree Groves

Grape vines are just starting to come out. I can't get over that view!

I start by separating the chard stems from the leaves.  Both will be used in this recipe.  This can be done by chopping them out, or just ripping the stems out with your hands.

The chard stems can be roughly chopped.

Then I chop the onion.  1st in half, then a rough chop.

Next rough chop some garlic.  Be sure to smash those garlic cloves to peel them!

Go ahead and put the onions and chard stems and garlic into a bowl to get them out of your way.

Back to the chard leaves.  Below is what the leaf will look like with the stem removed.

Make them easier to work with, by cutting them in half again.

Then stack and roll the leaf halves, and chop.  (This is called a chiffonade).

You will end up with a pile of chopped chard leaves.  Feel free to run your knife through them one more time.

Toast some pinenuts in a dry skillet over medium heat.  Be sure to watch them closely, as they can burn quickly.  You want a little bit of color on them and they will become fragrant.

Be sure to remove toasted pinenuts to a bowl or plate, if you leave them in the hot pan, they will continue to cook, and most likely burn.

Back to the chard.  Heat up the 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet, and add onion, garlic, chard stems, and salt.

Add cinnamon.  Stir well.

Add half of the chopped chard leaves.  Don’t worry, they will cook down.

Then add the 2nd half of the chopped chard leaves.

Cook until wilted, and add toasted pinenuts.

Turn off heat, and add crumbled feta cheese.  

I packed the finished dish in a container to take for lunch, but had a little snack in a bowl first!  This can be enjoyed hot, room temperature, or cold.  One bunch of chard serves 4 people.    

While heating a large cast iron skillet (12″ size), over medium-high heat, I start by cutting 2 sweet potatoes into small cubes:

Once the cast iron pan is heated, I throw in the fat (bacon fat in this case), and the potatoes.  It’s important to WAIT until the pan heats up before adding the fat and then the potatoes.  If you don’t wait, they will STICK to the pan.  We don’t want that.  In order to test the pan to see if it is hot enough, I splash a drop of water on it.  If it evaporates immediately, you’re good to go.  Also, make sure your pan is big enough to  fit all the sweet potatoes in one layer.  This will help them brown properly.  

While these are cooking, I cut up some onion and garlic:

Next I cut up some frozen red bell pepper that I have in the freezer.  They freeze wonderfully, and I have them throughout the winter to fancy up what I’m cooking.  You may also use jarred roasted red peppers, or leave it out altogether.  The original recipe actually calls for pickled jalapenos, which I left out, because my 3-year-old daughter can’t handle that

Once the sweet potatoes have been cooking for awhile, about 10-15 minutes, they look like this.  Notice how the color is changing, and the edges of the potatoes are becoming rounded.  I have been stirring them periodically.

At this point, after the sweet potatoes have browned up a bit, I add the onions, garlic, and pepper.

I stir it, in and let it cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are done.  At this point is when I add salt and pepper, and ground cumin.

I served it up with some grilled fish and braised cabbage.  Yum!

NOTE: The original recipe calls for bacon, which I didn’t have on hand.  I used bacon fat to cook with, which made it delicious.  Feel free to make this with just olive oil or butter too.

Leeks

I like to start by chopping off the root end of the leek, the ‘hairy’ part.

Then I separate the dark green tops from the white and lighter green part of the leek. This is where a lot of the dirt is, so don’t be alarmed when your cutting board gets dirty.  We will be washing! Most recipes call for just using the white and light green part of the leek, as this is the most tender part. Wash off the dark green parts and save them for homemade stock, or compost.

Then I cut the leeks in half lengthwise.  This is to help clean them.  I don’t cut them all the way through, as you can see in the photo below.  This makes them easier to clean and chop later.

Next I find a long container to submerge the leeks in water, as they need a bit of a soak.  An old yogurt container works just fine.  I ended up using 4-5 leeks.  Some were bigger and some were smaller.

As I let the leeks soak, I get the rest of the ingredients ready, namely half an onion and some carrots.  I just chop them up into rough chunks.

I also get the oil ready in the pan.  A shallow wide pan works best, over medium heat.  You don’t want any of the ingredients to brown in this dish, so make sure that heat isn’t up too high!  I add about 1/4 cup olive oil to the heating pan.  Use your best oil here, as the taste will come through in this simple dish.

Wait until the oil starts to shimmer before adding the onion and carrot.  If you add them to cold oil, they will soak up the oil, which is not what you want in this case.

I add salt (about 3/4-1 teaspoon) at this point, and stir it in.  I like to add salt from the beginning, to build flavor.  I will taste it again at the end and add more if needed.

Back to the leeks.  I’ve let them soak in the water in the yogurt container until all the dirt has fallen to the bottom.  At this point, don’t pour the water off, but give the leeks a good swish and lift them out of the water.  You will see the dirt at the bottom of the container.

Now you have some clean leeks and are ready to chop!  Inspect the leeks first, and rinse off any extra dirt under running water.

Go ahead and chop them up…

And add them to the pan!

I also like to add 2-3 Tablespoons white rice to this dish.  You can also use brown rice, but cooking time will be longer.

I then added about 1/2 cup water, turned the heat to low, covered it, and let it simmer.  Check it every few minutes at first to make sure there is enough water in there, and it doesn’t burn.  Add more water if needed.  After about 20 minutes or so, remove the lid, and test the rice to see if it is soft.  When it’s soft, it’s done!

Add the juice of 1 lemon.  I used a Meyer lemon, because it’s what I had, but you can also use a regular Eureka Lemon.  Make sure you taste, and add more olive oil or salt as needed.

Dish it up and enjoy!  This recipe serves about 4. 

I started off by 1st chopping the sweet potatoes into large chunks.  I chopped up some red onion (because it was what I had on hand, white or yellow would be fine too), and added it to the pot in some coconut oil.  After that I added some chopped red bell pepper.

Although, the recipe calls for fresh garlic and ginger, I used granulated garlic, and powdered ginger, because it was what I had on hand .  I also added ground ancho chili, cumin, and fresh mexican oregano from the garden (pictured below on the cutting board.)  I was staying away from any spicy flavors that the recipe called for (jalapeno, crushed red pepper), to make the dish palatable for my 3-year-old daughter.  I figured we could add the spice separately into our dishes at the end if we wanted it.  I added the sweet potatoes to the pot, along with 1 cup or so frozen diced tomatoes (I didn’t have any tomato paste on hand).  And salt and pepper to taste.    

Then I added just enough water to cover everything, and started simmering. 

In a separate pan, I began browning the ground beef.  (Grass fed of course!)  This can absolutely be left out for a vegetarian, and even vegan version, or ground turkey can also be substituted.

After some simmering, the recipe also called for some chopped zucchini (pictured below is the last zucchini of the season!)

After the sweet potato mixture had simmered for about 45 minutes, I added the zucchini, and browned meat.

After this simmered for about 15 minutes, I added the peanut butter.  I did this by putting 1/2 cup peanut butter into a small bowl, adding about 1 cup of the hot stew liquid, and mixed it until a paste formed.  I then added it back into the pot, and simmered for another 15 minutes.

I served the stew over white rice, with a side of wilted chard from the garden.  It was delicious, there were rave reviews, and happy and full tummies!

Recipe from Joy of Cooking:

Heat in a large heavy sauce pan over medium-low heat:

1/4 cup peanut oil (I used coconut oil)

Add:

1 onion, chopped

1 red or green bell pepper, chopped

1 fresh jalapeno or serrano pepper, seeded and minced (I left this out)

Cook until vegetables are tender, but not brown, 7 to 10  minutes.  Add:

4 cloves garlic (I used 1-2 teaspoons granulated)

1 Tablespoon minced fresh peeled ginger (I used 1-2 teaspoons dried)

Cook for another 2-3 minutes and stir in:

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I omitted)

Cook for 1 minute and add:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1/3 cup tomato paste (I added ~1 cup diced frozen tomatoes)

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Add enough water to barely cover the vegetables and mix well.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the stew cooks, heat in a medium skillet over medium heat:

1 teaspoon peanut oil (I used coconut oil)

Add:

12 ounces ground beef or turkey (I think I used a pound)

Saute, turning often, until browned.  Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside until the stew has cooked for 45 minutes.  When ready, add the meat to the stew, along with:

2 small zucchini, trimmed and sliced

Cook for another 15 minutes.  Place in a small bowl:

1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth), preferably unsalted (mine was salted, didn’t matter)

Stir in 1 cup of the stewing liquid until smooth and add the peanut butter mixture to the pot.  Mix well and cook another 15 minutes.  Season with:

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Serve plain or with:

Hot cooked rice or couscous

It is fall, and the season of hard winter squash is here!  Besides being a beautiful decoration, the many varieties of winter squashes we send throughout the season in deliveries are highly edible, delicious and nutritious!  They have a huge amount of vitamin A, as well as Vitamin C, as well as fiber, calcium, iron, manganese, potassium, and B vitamins.  Many people are intimidated by hard winter squashes, but they really are quite easy to prepare. 

Simple Roasted Squash

Preparation time: Depends on size of squash, see directions
2 ½ pounds of winter squash makes 2-3 cups of cooked squash or 4 servings

1 winter squash 
Butter or Oil
Sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut the stem end and bottom off so that you have a flat surface to steady the vegetable when you bi-sect it.  Cut squash in half. Be sure to use a strong, sharp knife – a serrated utility knife (click here) works well.  Scoop out the pith and seeds.  Rub butter on the face of the squash, sprinkle with a few grains of salt and lay flat on a lightly oiled baking dish. Bake until tender.  Test by inserting a fork; it should slide in easily and feel soft.  Small squashes, such as delicata will only take 35-45 minutes to bake, while a squash weighing 3 pounds may take up to 90 minutes.  This cooked squash may then be scooped out and used for many different recipes, or just eaten straight!

This simple dish becomes even more magical when baked with a little cinnamon and brown sugar. You can also roast it with chopped fresh rosemary and olive oil or flip them over and dress with sage and butter or maple syrup and tamari during the last 5 minutes of roasting time. 

We are starting to see Fuji apples and Pink Ladies this week as well.  Farmers still have crops of zucchini.  We have also been lucky to try some of the tropical fruit from Charles Moore of Gladys Ave Urban Farm.  Longans, Bananas, Jujubes just to name a few.  Persimmons, surely a sign of fall, are just starting to appear as well.  Most farmers are telling me that the crop is late this year.  This week was the last for figs, and citrus season will begin sometime in November.  Keep enjoying those heirloom tomatoes and peppers, freezing what you don’t use fresh.  Come February, you’ll be glad you did!

This week brings our 1st cherry tomatoes, Sungold variety, from Tutti Frutti Farms.  We also will be including Heirloom Tomatoes in the boxes from them in upcoming weeks.  Also lots and lots of zucchini!

Sungold Tomatoes

The unseasonably cool weather is terrific growing conditions for lots of greens, like the delicious bunched spinach from Rutiz Farms this week. Located near Pismo Beach, in Arroyo Grande, Jerry’ Rutiz’s farm is absolutely worth a summer field trip–for the farm stand, U-Pick berry days, and the overall beauty of the area in general.  Strawberries from Rutiz Farms will be slowing down this summer, as we focus on other delicious summer fruits.  

We will have blueberries through the 4th of July (I’m told!) from Whitney Ranch in Carpinteria, CA.  Enjoy them while they last!

One of my favorite summer recipes has got to be Zucchini Fritters.  Easy and quick to make, and a crowd pleaser for sure!