Organically Grown Company

Since the end of farmers market season we ChildRoots need to find a new way to access, good quality, organic, local(ish) produce. Our old produce company wasn't much help so we switched to Organically Grown Company. They are a local distributor with a strong focus on organics and sustainability. They are also the people behind the Ladybug truck you see all over town.

Blue Ballet Squash
Spaghetti SquashChiogga Beets
Carvival Squash
Celery Root
Sugar Pie Pumpkins
Acorn Squash
Crenshaw Melons - These were tremendously popular.
Mangoes - Now is the time.

Produce of Late.

It's been a while since I've done a produce round up. Now that we're getting into the winter, produce is going to become a bit familiar. We just have to make it through to spring.

With the farms winding down for the season, I've had to rely more on a distributor. Soon I'll have everything set up with a new distributor which focuses on local(ish) seasonal produce, and they'll have all the information about the farms. These following veggies are all from California farms.

Brussel Sprouts

Galia Melons - a honey/cantaloupe hybrid

Ruby Garnet Yams

These are from Gee Creek Farm

Butterball Potatoes
German Giant Radishes - they were sent instead of the French Breakfast Radishes, which were wiped out in a frost.

And from Winter Green Farm.

Lacinato Kale
Acorn Squash
Purple Topped Turnips
Romanesco (recipe coming soon)

How to Prepare...Kale.

This batch of Redbor Kale came to us from Gee Creek Farm. As Lyle the farmer said "they have been frost kissed to make them nice and sweet." I believe that the various kales are the most successful of the greens, the kids seem to gobble it up. I know the Christina and Teacher Beth especially love the kale days. Loaded with vitamins A, C, and K, and packed with fiber, calcium and potassium, kale should be staple of everyone's winter diet.

There are so many ways to cook kale; braising, steaming, stirfry, or it can just be eaten raw. At ChildRoots I've found that roasting is the way go. I love the effect that roasting has on kale, it gives it a little more sweetness and you don't lose so much of the texture.

After soaking the kale in cold water, let it drain for a few minutes.
Then lay it flat on a large cutting board. Notice how I pulled the twisty tie ends toward the end of the stems.
Then slice the kale in a width the you like, being aware of the twisty tie. We feed the stem ends to the guinea pig, rats, and Bunny FuFu.
Toss the kale strips with olive oil, thyme and salt.
Find a sheet pan that makes the kale looks crowded. Then place in a hot oven, I use a 450 oven at CR.
Roast until the top layer is brownish, and you can start to smell the kale. It take about 15-20 minutes.
At CR the kale then gets moved to the steam table until service. At home I would turn the oven off and leave it in there until you're ready.
When bowling up for service I toss in some more olive oil and salt.
I can't reccommend enough that roasted kale goes fantastically well with roasted sweet potatoes or squash.