Apples and Pears of Kiyokowa Family Orchards.

For months ChildRoots has been getting all of our apples and pears for Christina's friends at Kiyokawa Family Orchards. There have been so many varieties I couldn't keep them straight.
Here are some examples.
How many varieties can you name?

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)

Noris Dairy

A very welcome addition to the ChildRoots Family is Noris Dairy. We have started recieving weekly deliveries from this organic dairy out of Crabtree Or. We will be using their milk, cheese, butter and yogurt. If you are a ChildRoots Family then you can join our dairy co-op and take advantage of the wholesales prices, for organic dairy it is an incredible deal. Look for me (Chef Joseph) at CR and ask me about it.

Produce!

Here are the most crops most recently used at ChildRoots.

From the Kiyokawa Family Orchard.
Red Barlett Pears
An Unknown Plum VarietyItalian PlumsKiyokawa Orchards have also been providing us with many varieties of apples, but since we all know what apples look like, I haven't been showing them. Let me know if this bothers you.

Shoot, I forgot to note the farm these gorgeous Ruby Red Grapefruits came from. I do know that they are from California.

Kabocha Squash from Teacher Beverly's garden!

From Gee Creek Farm.
Redbor Kale
Sweat Meat Squash Baby Bok Choy
From Winter Green Farm
Spaghetti Squash
Lacinato Kale
Nikola Yellow Potatoes

How to Prepare...Delicata Squash

Delicata Squash was a smashing success, there were no leftovers that day. High in fiber and vitamins A & C and considered a novelty squash. Delicata have a nutty cornlike flavor, and is one of the few squashes that you can eat the skin on. These squash came from Winter Green Farm.

I decided to roast the squash with the skin, the infant rooms did get them peeled though.

Start by cutting off about 1/2 an inch of the stem end and a quarter inch from the flower end.
Then carefully cut it in half. Use a spoon to scape out the seeds (which can be cleaned and roasted if you so choose). If you want to peel it, now would be the best time.

Lay the squash flat side down, cut it into quarters.

Then slice it as thin as you like, you could even us a food processor with the thick slicing attachment.

The slices are then tossed with olive oil and salt.

Spread onto an oiled baking sheet, and roast in a 450 degree oven until a small knife pierces them easily and they take on a nice color.
Toss with some parsley and serve.

Roasted Delicata goes well with pasta and a soft goat cheese.

Produce Update.

We've been getting a lot of great produce, here are some of the highlights.

From Gee Creek Farms:

Indian Red Mustard Greens

French Red Fingerling Potatoes

Mixed Grapes foraged from Christina's parent's yard.

From the Kiyokawa Family Orchards:

Italian Plums

Hidden Rose Apples!!

Honey Crisp ApplesAn Unknown Variety of giant pears. Some of them were bigger than Cory's head.

From Winter Green Farm:

Delicata Squash - Instructions for these coming soon.

Parsnips - I prepared these the same way i did the roasted carrots. The kids really liked them.