Today, I finally did something I’ve been saying I’m going to do every week for the past few months or so. I jaunted down to Rutiz Family Farms off of the Pike in Arroyo Grande for their weekly harvest box pickup. This small family farm consists of other small vendors selling fresh fish and crab, baked goodies and bunches of flowers. And each week, the farm sends out an email listing produce and such that they’ll be selling along with their pre-packaged Harvest Box that you order ahead of time and pick-up on Friday afternoons.
The Farmstand!
I get the email every week and I always tell Andy, “this stuff looks good, I’m ordering one!” and then I fail to follow through! But this week, I couldn’t resist! I mean, a small loaf of sourdough bread, vine ripened tomatoes, white cauliflower, French breakfast radishes, Delicata squash, broccoli, Persian cucumbers, red butter lettuce, a bulb of fennel and Pink Lady apples- all for just 15 bucks!!! I expected small quantities of each but I have like six cucumbers, four tomatoes, a huge head of lettuce, and bread! Score!
The Harvest Boxes ready to go!
Other farms on the Central Coast pre package Harvest Boxes too (like Talley Farms) but Rutiz is so special. In each email, Jerry, the owner, makes sure he lists where everything is coming from so you know the name of the farm and how it’s grown. Also, they have Kelli from Sweat Pea Bakery set up each week so you can’t leave without getting a cookie or danish! Oh! And all their eggs are from their happy, free range chickens who are located at the back of the farm. And it’s cheap! They aim to keep the prices reasonable and from the amount of people there today, I think they are succeeding.
Sweet Pea Bakery’s table!
My main reason for shopping at Rutiz Farms and the Farmer’s Market in general is to help keep local businesses and farms alive and flourishing. When the economy spiraled, I was living in Chicago and instantly I saw my Mom and Pop dry-cleaning store close, the convenience store where I bought greeting cards closed, our favorite local restaurant closed, just to name a few. So now I try to do what’s right and support these small guys any way I can and the easiest way I’ve found so far is through food! Those of you living in the Midwest and on the East Coast, I’m sure you can find these boxes around you too, in the summer and fall, and with a little research that is! But it’s worth it… just look at all this gorgeous, fresh produce! This is why I look forward to dinner every night!
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I just want to take the time today to remember one of my closest friends who passed away 13 years ago today in a fatal car accident. I met Kristina, Tina as I affectionally called her, when I was really young, on the tennis court. She was the only other player at Tennis Rhode Island who could really hit a ball and keep it in play. And she had this contagious laugh and she would yell “YUP” at the top of her lungs whenever she felt like it. We became instant friends. Over the years, we spent countless hours driving around in her Mustang, her priced possession, even though her dad kept a close eye on the milage each week. We would swim at Quidnessett Country Club, where our families belonged and our dad’s golfed, and we would order expensive lunches with our friend Lindsay and charge them to our dad’s accounts! We thought we were so cool!
What I remember and miss the most about Tina though was her smile. The corners of her mouth never turned downward, and she couldn’t say no. It’s probably why we got in so much trouble together… especially that famous incident involving a high school party at John Capiro’s that we definitely shouldn’t have been at, and the price we paid when our mothers found out! She died much too young and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t remember her and our times together, on and off the court. I love you girl. And I miss you dearly.
