“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”   Virginia Woolf

We have always thought of organic as food to live by. Which means it’s really also food to love by, this being Valentine’s Day week and all. So if you’re looking to treat your Valentine to something special, we’ve got both a deliciously nourishing suggestion and a slightly indulgent but still organic suggestion.

On Valentine’s Day — or any day — this Tropical Green Smoothie made with organic ingredients, developed by our founder Myra Goodman for her third cookbook (Straight from the Earth: Irresistible Vegan Recipes for Everyone) has the power to delight the palate, satisfy hunger, and set the table for loving well.

On the indulgent side….our super sweet Farm Stand in Carmel Valley is famous for many things, including our sweet organic treats. As our Valentine’s Day gift to you, we’re sharing this special recipe for our Farm Stand Organic Chocolate Chip Cookies. Scroll down for the full recipe.

 

 

The Sunday Supper Solution –$65 for All Organic Dinner for Four!

 

The culinary creatives at our Carmel Valley Farm Stand are at it again! If you’re local or even visiting, their new Sunday Supper menu solves an age-old Sunday dilemma: too much going on to cook during the weekend but wanting a great family meal.

Starting this week, for $65, you can come pick up a delicious, nourishing, all-organic ready-to-eat meal for four people. Each meal will include a salad, an entrée, a side dish, a pie and some cookies – enough for four people. Orders must be placed Monday through Friday at the Farm Stand (either in person or by calling the main line: 831-625-6219) and will be available for pick up between 3pm and closing on Sunday.

Check out the menus for the next four weeks…and try not to drool. And we apologize in advance for the insatiable cravings we’re causing for those of you who don’t live within “to-go distance” of our Farm Stand.

  • Sunday 2/16: Whole Roasted and Brined Chicken, Spinach Salad, Cheesy Zucchini, Apple Pie, Ginger Snap Cookies
  • Sunday 2/23: Brined and Roasted Turkey Breast, Caesar Salad, Creamed Spinach, Mixed Berry Pie, Ginger Snap Cookies
  • Sunday 3/1: Herbed Turkey Meatloaf, Ranch Salad with Mixed Vegetables, Grilled Vegetables with Basil Oil, Apple Pie, Ginger Snap Cookies
  • Sunday 3/8: Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Asian Salad, Stir Fry Tofu with Shiitake Mushrooms, Strawberry-Peach Pie, Ginger Snap Cookies

Notes from the Farm

 

Janna Jo Williams has been caring for the on-site farm at our Carmel Valley Farm Stand for many, many years. Here’s a peek into what’s happening on the farm in the winter and what you can do in your own gardens.

Here at our beautiful Carmel Valley Farm Stand, there is no slowing down in the wintertime.

In the Fields: It’s time to regenerate our soil. It’s always a race with the weather to get the cover crops planted between rains. I’m using a soil builder mix of field peas, bell beans, rye, and vetch. This combination will help build up more organic matter in our soil, choke out weeds, fix nitrogen, sequester carbon, and prevent erosion. In our plots without the cover crop, we have been busy planting Tulips, Ranunculus, and Iris every week since the end of December.  We are looking forward to our first big harvest of Tulips just in time for Valentine’s Day. Also, in the ground:  broccoli, cabbage kohlrabi, and Romanesco. Did I mention the 100 new artichoke plants both Green Globe and Purple of Romagna?

In the Gardens: Pruning, pruning, pruning! We have added tons of gorgeous sages to all areas of the Farm Stand landscaping and gardens. In order to keep the hummingbirds and bees happy, we always leave some with flowers to cut back later. This week in the Kitchen Garden raised beds, we are plucking out perfect radishes. I like to plant them mixed with carrots. The radishes mark the rows by popping up quickly while we wait for the slower germinating carrots to arrive. As the radishes mature and are harvested it makes room for the carrots to plump up. Less thinning too. If you are big salad eaters like we are around here, you’ll want to plant lettuce every other week with more radishes. And we always make sure to have our edible flowers to add that special touch to our garden and our salads. Some of my favorites are calendula, bachelor buttons, and the wonderfully spicy nasturtiums.

Love,

Janna Jo

 

RECIPE: Farm Stand Organic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: Two Dozen

1¼ cups unsalted organic butter, room temperature

1 ¼ cups organic granulated sugar

5 whole large organic eggs

1½ tablespoons organic pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose organic flour, sifted

2½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon organic ground cinnamon

3 cups organic chocolate chips

Please note that in order for these cookies to be truly organic, you have to use organic ingredients — except salt and baking soda, since those cannot be certified organic. What? That’s right. Since salt is a mineral and baking soda is made from mineral, these are not agricultural products and thus cannot be certified organic according to the USDA organic regulations.

Make the Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Mix on medium speed until the butter and sugar have fully incorporated and the butter turns pale in color, about 2 minutes.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and turn on low speed. Mix until combined, about 1-2 minutes. Stopping the mixer half-way through to scrape down the sides in order to make sure all ingredients get mixed in.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add this dry mixture to the egg and butter mixture and turn on speed 1. Mix just until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Once more, stop and scrape down the sides of the mixer with a spatula. Add the chocolate chips and mix on low for 10-15 seconds.

NOTE: Be careful not to overmix once the dry ingredients have been added, as it will change the texture and the bake of the cookie.

Remove the cookie dough from the mixer and wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap to rest for at least 1 hour. Once rested, use a small scoop and portion out the cookies (about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie) onto a piece of parchment paper and place in the freezer.

 Bake the Cookies

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees with fan on (325 if you don’t have a convection oven).

Place the portioned frozen cookie dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with non-stick pan spray.  Make sure to spread them out evenly and create plenty of space for the cookie to spread as they are baking.

Bake for 5 minutes then rotate the pan, so the cookies that were facing the back of the oven will now face the front. Continue baking for another 5 minutes.

Serve warm and enjoy!