12/18/24 Meet your Farmer: Jose
This week we are writing more of a meet who was your farmer as we are saying goodbye to Jose this week. Jose has been working and living on the farm since February.
Jose came to us with a deep well of no-till, market farming experience from his home country of Chile where he worked on and helped start more than one no-till farm with friends. A few years back he met, fell in love with and married friend Heidi and they moved to the States together where she had family.
Prior to coming to the farm, Jose was living with Heidi and family in Southern CA doing landscaping but he needed to get himself on a farm. Heidi was applying to school at both UC Berkeley and UC Davis and he decided to move ahead of her to someplace within easy reach of both. That led him to us. We’re ever so thankful.
Jose loves learning. Having this depth of veggie growing experience Jose wanted to learn something new. So when Elizabeth asked who was interested in flowers, Jose jumped at the opportunity to grow something completely new. Jose grew to love it and because an adept bouquet maker and an integral part of our flower team this year. But of course he also was a key part of our veggie team. It was often Jose who would take on projects, be it irrigation, leading new ideas in direct seeding or planting new crops. Jose is one of those who advocated for building a new caterpillar tunnel and was the lead on the actual construction.
Jose also has a deep respect and love of nature. On his weekends he took on property management jobs this past summer, weedwacking or managing animals. He knows all the corners of the farm second best this year to Elizabeth. Sadly he and Elizabeth ran out of time this autumn as we were hoping to reintroduce a handful of new again to us native species. But the inspiration remains.
Outside of work and the farm, Jose is a musician. He’s a drummer, plays the 10 piece drum set in the unnamed barn band, but has learned this year with the help of Paul and Lucas Kaiser how to turn wood for drum sticks experimenting with various exotic hard woods. Jose is an amazing cook. I wish you could try his sopaipillas (Chilean fry bread) made with winter squash in the dough.
Jose brings a sense of positivity and can-do attitude to any job. He is humble and yet a wealth of sharing. We thank him for his contributions to so many aspects of the farm this year.
Being away from Heidi was too tough. She’s now studying anthropology and linguistics at UC Berkeley. They were able to secure couples student housing. So we are very sad as this week Jose leaves us, first to spend the holidays with family in Southern CA and then to visit family in Chile for a month and then to create a new life in the East Bay. Elizabeth is trying to connect him with farms in the area, but honestly Jose may look into going back to school, also an amazing opportunity.
Last Box of the Year & Holiday Box
This CSA Box is the last regular schedule box until January 8th, 2025! Remember that we take a TWO WEEK BREAK over Winter Solstice and the Winter Holidays so our farmers can have a little break (several are traveling) but also because we know so many of you are traveling.
That said, for those who are here we will have another
Special Order Holiday Box
available NEXT Monday, Dec 23rd.
Tomorrow we’ll be sending out the ordering for that box and the order deadline will be Sunday morning. Remember this is a fully customizable box. It’s just only what you want. You can expect the full compliment of SFF goodies for your holiday cooking as well as to hold you over the two week break if you need.
Produce Notes & Recipes
This Week’s Box
Elegance Greens Mix (SR) OR Baby Kale (WC)
Brussels Greens
Carrots
Green Cabbage
Black Futsu Winter Squash
Elyse Yellow Onion (from West County Community Farm)
Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
Family: Daikon Radishes,
This week we have some beautiful and luscious heads of Panisse Lettuce from the Enterprise (the biggest of our hoop houses). We also have some luscious Pea Shoots! Enjoy them in a salad together.
We are so excited to introduce Masquerade Potatoes to the boxes this week. A few of you have gotten them through our Add-Ons, but this is the first full rotation for the CSA. We purchased a bulk order of these potatoes from Farmer Patrick of Suncatcher Farm in Petaluma. This variety of potato is known for its one-of-a-kind bicolor and brilliant contrast of purple and white. The moist, white flesh is perfect for baking, mashing, and roasting. There are lots of ways to use these versatile potatoes. They are best used roasted, baked, boiled, or mashed. To maintain their unique coloration, keep them whole with the skin on and simply bake with a drizzle of olive oil! Here is another recipe for smashed potatoes:
Smashed Potatoes (via Martha Stewart)
2 pounds small multicolored potatoes
6 tbsp olive oil
Sour Cream
Chopped chives
Coarse salt and pepper to taste
Heat oven to 425.
Bring potatoes to a boil in a large pot of water, seasoned generously with salt. Cook until fork tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly.
Drizzle rimmed baking sheet with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Arrange potatoes on baking sheet and lightly crush each potato with fork until potatoes are about 1/2 inch thick. Brush potatoes with remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast, turning pan halfway through baking time, until golden and crips, about 25 minutes.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives.
We are also excited to be giving our first full round of Red Kuri Winter Squash. This is one of our favorites on the farm. We love it for it’s delicate and mellow nutty flavor. The skin on these is not edible, so I could cook and use accordingly. Many members of the farm have been enjoying them for the past several weeks. The easiest way to prepare is to slice in half, use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and innards. Drizzle in a generous amount of olive oil, salt and pepper, and bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes or until fork tender. After slightly cooled, use a spoon to separate flesh from the skin. Add to a warm salad, winter pasta, soup, etc. The options are truly endless!
Green Peppers, really?? And a few colored ones too. Yes, two weeks ago we cleared the last of our peppers in hoop houses and were astonished at how many peppers were remaining. Peppers are a perennial in some areas and so as the season continues they just keep going until the cold kills them. We’ve been astonished at how good these still are. You may have Bells, Cornos or Jimmy Nardellos. It wasn’t part of the box, just an extra bonus!
For families, the star of the show is our heads of Romanesco Cauliflower. It is a beautiful crop, and often you can find the farm crew spending a few minutes getting lost in the endlessly repeating conical forms that make it look like a fractal galaxy. Romanesco is one of the crops that requires the most space to grow, and as such it is hard to give out to our entire CSA. For non-family boxes, we will have it in our add-on section of the CSA for the next few boxes and I would definitely snag one while we have them! Below is one of my favorites from the Six Seasons cookbook:
Fried Romanesco with Spicy Fish-Sauce
1 medium romanesco, cut into chubby florets
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley or other herb
2 garlic cloves
Extra virgin olive oil
Vegetable oil for deep frying
For spicy fish sauce:
1/4 cup seeded and minced chilis (I use pickled jalapeños)
4 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
Put the romanesco in a bowl large enough to hold all the romanesco and add enough olive oil to cover.
Pour at least 3 inches of oil into a medium saucepan with tall sides. Slowly bring the oil up to 365F on a thermometer.
Arrange a double layer of paper towels on a tray and set near the stove.
Carefully immerse a few of the romanesco florets into the oil and fry until they are really dark brown, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towels. Repeat to all the romanesco.
Toss the fired florets in the bowl with the chopped garlic and its oil, herb, and a big glug of the spicy fish sauce.
Save remainder of spicy fish sauce in air-tight container in the fridge for one to two months.