Baby Maui Onions – These onions are very sweet. You can cut the tops up and put them in salads, soups, salsa, and tacos. Cut the bulbs up and sauté them to eat with other foods.
Tomatoes - Some good old fashioned tomatoes. The winter has been very mild, so we still have some tomatoes, not as flavorful as I would like, but considering it is January, they aren’t bad. Have the kids eat them whole like an apple.
Carrots – if you have been on any of our Farm Tours, you will know that carrots are usually a favorite with the kids. Wash and leave in a baggie for the kids to munch on any time of the day.
Red Beets - You can eat the tops like spinach, I don’t really care for them. But I do like the bottoms. Boil them until fork tender, peel and put in the refrigerator. Eat cold with some mayo. Make sure to warn your children that when they go to the restroom, their urine and stool will be red from the beets!
Broccoli – I don’t really care for this particular vegetable raw, but steamed broccoli and a little mayo is one of my favorites!
Butternut Squash – Probably something that you would not normally purchase from the store, but this is what it is all about, making time to try new things. Cut in half, take out the seeds, sprinkle w/brown sugar, cinnamon, spread butter & honey. Bake at 350 until tender, about 20 minutes.
Cauliflower – Great raw, break up the head and wash, some ranch dressing and you are ready! Start asking around and find that recipe for mashed cauliflower! Supposed to look and taste just like mashed potatoes!!!! Someone try it out and let us know.
Cilantro – Doesn’t matter what you do with this, it just smells wonderful. Salads, sandwich spreads, soups, or just let it sit in the kitchen.
STRAWBERRIES - These are what we have been waiting for! Our sweet, organically grown strawberries. It is very early in the season yet and we don’t have very many, so savor the flavor of each one.
Snap Peas – One of my favorites, wash and eat these raw. When they are fresh, they are crisp, juicy and sweet. Steam them a few minutes until they are tender, a little mayo and they make a great addition to any main dish.
Lettuce – Tear them up into a salad, use them in your sandwiches or use them like tortillas to wrap other vegetables or meat.
Radishes – I like to eat these raw and enjoy the way that they crunch when you bite into them. I put them in everything, sliced or diced, they provide a little zing in salads, sandwiches and as condiments alone.
Romanesco- NEW NEW NEW!!! Looks like cauliflower, has the color of broccoli, and has a different taste. Steam or cook like cauliflower. Let me know what you think. Just something different.
French Melons- NEW NEW NEW!!! This melon may look small and weird but it is very sweet. Much sweeter than a regular cantaloupe. Cut and enjoy.
Green Cauliflower- The same as white cauliflower but can add a different color to your plate. Eat raw or steamed. It is a great addition to any vegetable platter
Mild Mesclun Mix - A custom mix of mild leafy greens and lettuces. Includes international ingredients such as Kyona Mizuna, Black Summer Pac CHoi, Tatsoi, Red Russian Kale, Red Sails, Saladbowl and Rouge d'Hiver. Mix with your regular salad for added flavor.
These are the various Fruits and vegetables that can be in your boxes depending on the season
Purple Carrots -
Purple Cabbage -
Cucumbers -
Sunflowers -
Maui Onions -
Participants in our CSA Program by city:
LONG BEACH - Alpert Jewish Community Center, Birney Elementary, Cal Heights Methodist Church Children's Center, Christ Lutheran Preschool, Emerson Parkside Academy, Fremont Elementary, Halpert Hargrove Company, Long Beach Food Cooperation, LBCC Culinary Arts, Long Beach Unified School District Office, Los Cerritos Elementary Roots & Shoots, Lowell Elementary, Maple Village, Naples Bayside Academy, Newcomb Academy, Patrick Henry Elementary, Prisk Elementary, Kettering Elementary, Tincher Prepatory
RANCHO PALOS VERDES - Cornerstone School, Peninsula Montessori, Pointe Vicente Elementary
SANTA ANA - OCEAA
HUNTINGTON BEACH - Circle View Elementary, Golden View Elementary, Hope View Elementary, North Huntington Beach Preschool, Ocean View School District, Patti's Preschool, Pegasus School, Petterson Elementary, St. Bonaventure, Surf City Christian, Village View Elementary
LAKE FOREST- Abiding Savior Lutheran Church Preschool, La Madera Elementary
ORANGE - The Creek Preschool, McPherson Elementary, St. John Lutheran, Santiago Middle School, Silverado Children's Center,
WESTMINSTER - Westminster
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA - Community Lutheran Church, Trabuco Mesa Elementary
TUSTIN - Aldersgate Methodist Church, Spirit Academy, Tustin Presbyterian Church,
CERRITOS - Concordia Lutheran School, Leal Elementary
ANAHEIM HILLS - Anaheim Hills Elementary, Canyon Rim Elementary, Hephatha Lutheran School, Hillsborough School
DOWNEY - East Middle School
TORRANCE - Arnold Elementary, Fern Elementary, Hickory Elementary
FOUNTAIN VALLEY- Courreges Elementary, Hilltop Preschool, MemorialCare, Orange Coast Memorial,Vista Middle School
IRVINE - Culverdale Elementary, ICF Jones & Stokes, JCC Preschool, Northwood High School, Plaza Vista Elementary, Vista Verde Elementary
LAGUNA NIGUEL- Faith Episcopal Church, Laguna Niguel Parent Participation Preschool, Mission Lutheran Preschool
REDONDO BEACH - Jefferson Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Madison Elementary, St. Lawrence Martyr School, Temple Menorah
FULLERTON - Acacia Elementary, Rolling HIlls Elementary, Emmanuel Episcopal Preschool, Fullerton Community Nursery School, Rolling Hills Elementary, Sunset Lane Elementary
LOS ALAMITOS - Hopkinson Elementary, Rossmoor Elementary, Weaver Elementary
Baby Bok Choy. - This is a asian vegetable. Very hearty and lots of nutrients. Steam, saute, or eat raw. Can be used like spinach. Don't be afraid if you have never tried this before. This is what the CSA program is all about. New and exciting things.
“What might be in your CSA box this week?”
We hope you are enjoying your CSA boxes. We're very happy that you’ve joined the Tanaka Farms CSA program. We are looking forward to deliver seasonal veggies and fruits to you each and every week or every other week, however you have signed up for. We are always trying to bring you the freshest fruits and veggies that are in season.
This is what might be in your CSA box for the week of March 7,2010;
~ Oranges* ~ Apples*~ Avocados* ~ Lemons*
~ Apples*~ Avocados* ~ Lemons*This is what might be in your CSA box for the week of February 28, 2010;
This is what might be in your CSA box for the week of February 21, 2010;
~ Lemons*~ Apples*
~ Apples* *These fruits are grown by our local CA farmers.
Its always fun to try a new recipe with the family and friends. For your interest, we have a collection of recipes. If you would like to try the recipes, please click here. Have fun with the recipes, and when you get a chance, please let us know how the recipe turned out, by emailing us at TanakaFarmsCSA@aol.com.
Honey Orange - A unique orange flesh honeydew. Personally I do not care for the crunchy flesh but it does have a nice flavor. Cut in halve, clean out the seeds and put a mix of berries in the center (or a scoop of ice cream!)
Honey Yellow - A pretty, yellow skinned melon that has a sweet, juicy, orange flesh. At least that is what the seed catalog says. I don't know if I will be planting this melon again next year. Some of you really like it, others aren't sure what to think about it.
Japanese Eggplant - Slice cross ways or long ways and fry or grill until soft. Season to your liking or some soy sauce and enjoy.
3/8/10
Thank you to everyone that came out to CSA day at the farm on Saturday! The weather turned out to be just right and I think that everyone had a great time. Subscribers that have been out to the farm before were just as excited as the firstimers. I know that many families did not show up with the threat of wet weather and I debated whether or not to reschedule the event. But after a lot of conversations it was decided that it would go on rain or shine. This event is about what it is like on the farm and weather is all a part of it. Our workers have to battle through the cold, wind, rain, sweltering heat and long days to bring you the food that you eat, so we thought that if you truly want to see and be appreciative of where your food comes from, this is the way that it is. So again, thank you to everyone that braved the weather and joined us on a great day.
It looks like we will be coming into a stretch of some beautiful weather. Hopefully it will be a chance for the soil to dry out enough to get our equipment in the field to get rid of some of those weeds. If we don't cut those weeds down soon, they will start to flower and go to seed and once that happens the next generation of weeds will soon follow causing more work. If you have a garden, remember, get rid of those weeds as soon as possible.
We dropped seedless watermelon seed in the greenhouse this past weekend. The seed is extremely expensive and has a very poor germination rate. A bad combination. I am guessing that in about six weeks they will be ready to plant in the field so that we can have some watermelons by the fourth of July! It takes a long time from seed to fruit, but I think it is well woirth the wait! Next to strawberries, watermelon is my favorite!
Oh, sorry, no strawberries in your box this week. If you were out on CSA day, you probably noticed that there was not a lot of fruit hanging on the plants. We went through the field and stripped off all of the damaged fruit from the rains and there was a lot of damage. We will have a limited supply for a couple of weeks but I am looking for other fruits to fill your box with.
Enjoy!
3/1/10
Isn't technology wonderful????!!!!!! I know I wrote a blog last week, I wrote it, I saw it on the web site, where is it???? As usual, operator error or more correctly, the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing. I did post a blog last week but after I did it, John, my nephew was on the website making some updates and somehow my blog was deleted. Sorry about that.
Today is Kenny's (my son) 27th birthday. He was home sick......poor guy.
So what's new on the farm? We just finished putting the hoops up on the strawberries. We did have half of the field covered prior to Saturday's rain and just finished covering the other half today. We are now ready! Bring on the RAIN!!!!!!
Speaking of strawberries, what do you think of them? Not as sweet as they were in January but hopefully as soon as we get some dry weather, the flavor will be back. Be patient.
You may have noticed the Washington apples in your boxes last week and a little this week. I am trying very hard to keep things local or at least from California, but finding a good supply and a good variety of organic fruits at this time of the year is a little difficult. I am working on it. In fact, the oranges in this weeks box comes from Glen Ivy Farms out in Corona. This variety of navels don't seem to peel real well, but slice them into quarters and they are juicy and sweet.
Don't forget about CSA day at the farm this weekend, Saturday, March 6th at either 10:00am or 12:00pm. Contact your school rep to let them know how many of you are attending. Let's hope for clear weather!
2/16/10
Is it summer time????? It was sure warm this past weekend. In fact it was tooooooooo warm! All of that wet weather that we had the preivious week has damaged the skin of not only the red ripe strawberries, but also of the pink a and white ones. The skin of the fruit is tender and when the hot sun beats down on them, they blister!!! The only good thing is that we threw away sooo many berries because of rain damge, there aren't that many berries to throw away from the sun damage!!!!!! I know that I talk about the weather alot, but this is why.
Even though we have had some warm weather this weekend, they are predicting rain for the next weekend. It is still technically winter and we still are filling your boxes with an abundance of winter crops. The good news is that we are and have been dropping seed for late spring, early summer crops like, tomatoes, peppers and melons. In fact in December we dropped seed in our green house for tomatoes and now those seedlings are about 10" tall and are ready to pbe planted in the field. Unfortunately, we have had so much rain that I have not been able to get a tractor into the muddy field to prep the ground! Hopefully I will try to begin ground prep tomorrow and by Friday, before Saturday's predicted rain, I will have the beds ready to plant the tomatoes. HOPEFULLY!
I hope that you have been enjoying the produce from my farm. I personally think that it has been terrific. One of the reasons that it has been so good is that this past summer my best friend Jimmy Otsuka has been helping me out. Some of you may know him, he owned the infamous Otsuka Farms in Santa Ana until he decided to retire four years ago.. He was featured about twelve years ago on Huel Howser's California Gold. Like myself, he is also a third generation Japanese American Farmer. Our families go way back, in fact his father and my father were the best of friends. I am lucky to have him here.
Back to what I was saying, I hope that you have been enjoying the produce. If you have, I need your help. I need you to spread the word about this program and all of its benefits to your friends and family. Let me review the benefits:
- First off it is a great fundraiser for your school/organization!- As a fundraiser, it is great value for your money, not like selling that $10.00 Christmas wrapping paper that will wrap two small gifts!- As a fundraiser, it is a healthy one, not like selling candy.- As a fundraiser, it is actually something that you can use.- As a product, it is fresh, most of the time harvested less then 24 hours prior to you receiving it- As a product, the produce is harvested when they taste the best.- For yourself, you are supporting a local farmer and helping the local economy.I understand that this program is defenitely not for everyone, but I guarantee that there are MORE than ten people at your school that would like to be a part of this! If your school has more than 300 students I find it hard to believe that between the families and the teachers that there are not at least 30 families that want to be a part of this program! If you have 600 students, there should be at least 60 families and teachers that want to be a part of this! But I need your help to spread the word and actively solicit your friends and family. Remember that $5 of every box sold goes back to your school/organization. Please, recruit a friend!
Enjoy this great weather and I will talk to you soon.
Peas Shelling This is a great way to get your children involved. These peas need to be removed from their shells. Have your child break the end off and pull the string down the side of the pod and push the peas out with their thumb into a bowl. Add them to a salad raw or steam, boil or saute them by themselves or with other vegetables..
Fuyu Persimmons - There is a very small window for this Japanese fruit, so enjoy them while you can. There are two main types of persimmons, the Fuyu (short and squat, shaped very much like tomatoes) and the Hachiyas (more acorn shaped). Unlike the Hachiyas, Fuyus are eaten much like apples. Peel or don't peel them, slice them, eat them. You may also eat them when they are soft and mushy which is how the Hachiyas have to be eaten. ENJOY!!
Butternut squash - also known in Australia as Butternut pumpkin, is a type of winter squash. It has a sweet, nutty taste that is similar to pumpkin. Butternut squash is a fruit that can be roasted and toasted and also be puréed or mashed into soups, casseroles, breads, and muffins.
Kabocha is a Japanese variety of winter squash. In some cultures it is revered as an aphrodisiac.It's popular for its strong yet sweet flavor and moist, fluffy texture, which is like chestnuts.Like other squash-family members, it is commonly mixed in side dishes and soups or anywhere pumpkin, potato, or other squash would be. It is a common ingredient in vegetable tempura and makes a wonderful soup by adding a small amount of rice or wheat starch.
Salad Mix Wildfire - A truly beautiful mix of lettuces. High-contrast mix with a high percentage of red-leaved varieties. The darkest reds, like Outredgeous, Garrison and Blackjack make up the bulk of this mix, com[plemented by vibrant greens such as Tango, Royal Oak, Parris Island and Saladbowl. Throw in any other fresh greens that you may have on hand and you have a fantastic salad!
Kohlrabi - Description: Kohlrabi consists of a long stalk and large leaves protruding from a spherical base. This base, a root, tastes like radishes when raw and broccoli when cooked. Varieties include purple and pale green. The leaves can also be eaten like spinach.
Swiss Chard - This is in the same species as the garden beet which are primarilay grown for their edible roots. Swiss Chard is a leafy vegetable that are grown for their edible leaveThe ribs not only come in white but also red and yellow.. Young chard can be eaten raw in salads but get bitter the older the plant is. Mature chard leaves and stalks are typically cooked or sauted, their bitterness fades with cooking, leaving a refined flavor which is more delicate than that of cooked spinach.
Chinese Broccoli ("Gai Long") - is a dark green vegetable in the Brassica oleracea group. This vegetable produces characteristic florets of flowers, much like broccoli. The floret, stem and leaves can be eaten raw in salads, steamed, boiled (my favorite) or the most common stir fried with oyster sauce. The oyster sauce compliments the faint bitterness of the plant.
Boston Lettuce - Is a member of the butterhead family of lettuces. As the name of the family imlies, the leaves are considered to be like butter. The flavor usually has no hint of bitterness and the leaves will almost melt in your mouth. Goes very well with fruitier dressings and or with sweeter items such as cherry tomatoes or grated carrots. You might even try them with some sliced strawberries!
COSTA MESA - Back Bay Montessori, Christ Lutheran PTL, Presbyterian Church of the Covenant
LAGUNA BEACH - Church by the Sea
GARDEN GROVE - Crystal Cathedral
NEWPORT BEACH - Health Care Cost Solutions
ROLLING HILLS ESTATES - Rancho Vista Elementary
LAKEWOOD - Del Valle Tot Lot, Riley Elementary
LOS ANGELES - Ocean Charter School
WHITTIER - Ocean View School
Purple Cauliflower (Violet Queen) - An intermidiate type with caulifower leaves and broccoli like heads. Turns green when cooked. The seed catalog says that it tastes like cauliflower but I think that it has more broccoli flavor and definitely consistency like broccoli. Not a real favorite of mine, but it is something different and colorful!
Napa (Chinese Cabbage) - Use the large strong leaves as a wrap for your meats or other vegegetables or stir fry or saute with any combination of things. The Koreans use this as a main ingredient in kimchi (a pickled dish with usuaully spicey seasonings).
Radicchio is an exotic Italian salad ingredient related to chicory. This distinctive plant grows in a rich maroon color and has a peppery flavor that adds a textural bite to salads. I prefer to grill or roast it to take some of the bitterness out of the taste.
Kale is from the cabbage family but does not form a head. I have always thought of this leafy vegetable as a garnish but have found out that kale is considered to be highly nutritous with powerful antioxidant properties. It is so high in vitamin K that patients taking anti-coagulants like warfarin should avoid this veggie. Chp and eat raw or cooked.
Brussel Sprouts belong to the cabbage family. Boil, steam or roast them but whatever you do, AVOID overcooking them! Overcooking releases the glucosinolate sinigrin, which has a sulfurous odor and a sulfuric taste. Generally boiling for 6 to 7 minutes is enough.
Red Leaf Lettuce -
Romaine Lettuce -
Spinach -
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