IT’S JUNE!!! And you know what else? This little birdie told me next week we’ll have organic corn in our boxes (maybe) and for sure available for add ons! When corn is here I say it’s officially summer! So I’m just going to act like it’s NOT raining outside and celebrate all the summer bounty. Corn is 100% my favorite thing in the world. I’m not sure if if it’s the taste or the memories I have growing up. And now with all the GMO corn, organic corn is extremely hard to come by. The season is only about 3-4 weeks. Maybe that’s why I love it so much!
Now let’s talk about kale. We’ve been in business for almost seven years. During this time I’ve learned that people either LOVE kale or HATE IT. I hear that people either toss it at their chickens, or guinea pigs or it’s the first thing they want to eat when they see it in their farm box. So last week while packing boxes, I snapped some pictures of our team. I asked each of them what’s their favorite way to eat kale. And it seems that everyone loves it! There is a very VERY brief description but I’m hoping you understand the idea of what they make with kale. I love how most of these answers are mostly different… that’s why I think kale is so rad. YOU CAN DO SO MUCH WITH IT! Soup? Salad? Smoothies? Kale chips? DONE. Here are their answers and an introduction to who packs your farm box.
This is Mikaela Hamilton Steinwedell. She’s a full time photographer (http://www.mikaelahamilton.com), red head, she just got engaged and she likes to adventure in her decked out Ford Connect. If you get a home delivery, you have probably seen this cutie deliver your house. She’s our main home delivery gal and will smoke the job. Her favorite thing to do with kale is to make a kale caesar salad.
This is Kate Nelson. Kate’s has been helping us out for a little over a year now. Fun fact about Kate is that she doesn’t like cheese and we always give her a hard time about it. Kate is awesome and no matter how early it is in the morning, she’ll arrive with her green cup full of smoothie. So can you guess what her favorite thing to do with kale is? MAKE A KALE SMOOTHIE! The base of her smoothie is kale, almond milk, frozen strawberries & kefir. Then she adds in super foods like spirulina, mushroom powder, aloe vera, bee pollen and other exotic mixtures!
This is Chris Johnston. We call Chris the garbage tank because he loves to eat anyone’s leftover breakfast burritos. Chris is super rad, tall, and helpful and you’d never knows he’s covered in tattoos because he wears a jacket and beanie no matter how hot it is outside. Chris says that his wife makes him a smoothie that goes like this: 2 bananas, little bit of ice, handful of kale, cinnamon, honey, spirulina, and almond milk. What a great wife!
This is Corey Stafford. She’s new to the team but we like her. She lives on a cherimoya farm in Carpinteria and works at the Saturday Farmers Market. Next time you see her at Hilltop Canyon Farm make sure to say what up! Corey likes to keep it minimal and so her favorite thing to do with kale is make an easy and simple breakfast. This is kind of how it goes… first she sautés half a yellow onion, then adds diced potatoes and last sautés kale. No eggs, just veggies because it’s just that great.
This is Chandler Davis. She’s extra special because she shares the same unique name as our daughter. Chandler is a professional soup maker and launched her own business this year. Ladle Soup Company is an organic soup delivery service in SB. She uses all organic ingredients that are mostly sourced from us and everything is delivered in glass jars, NO PLASTIC!! Chandler’s favorite thing to do with kale is to make a sauté with sweet potatoes and black beans. Then have it with rice and make a bowl.
This is Jose Cardiel. Jose is our full time farm hand! He rocks a good flower bouquet and has a magical touch with the plants. Jose said he doesn’t eat kale that much but when he does he likes to make a kale salad. He adds in other lettuces or arugula or whatever he has laying around. He says the secret to a good salad is texture so he adds in sunflower and pumpkin seeds. His salad dressings varies but usually he adds olive oil, lemon, and pepper. Sounds good to me!
This is Katie. Katie and I became friends thru our farm stand in Carpinteria maybe two years ago now. Katie is our muffin girl. She literally bakes two dozen muffins and brings them on Tuesdays for us to enjoy. Her muffins are so good that we’re forcing her into opening her own muffin shop called Stud Muffins or Muffin Tops... the name isn’t final yet. On top of making great muffins, she is known for her unique salads. Her go to salad is a kale salad with lemon dressing, parmesan cheese, and pomegranate seeds. Here’s the deal, you cut up the kale extremely extremely thin, like angel hair pasta style. The dressing is about 1/4 cup olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, zest of 1/2 lemon, and sea salt and pepper. Then toss with the kale. Finally add the parmesan, slivered almonds and pomegranate seeds.
This is our Lacey girl. Lacey holds it down at our farm stand most days of the week. She’s fricken awesome and we thank our stars for her. Lacey has worked some of the toughest days out there at The Farm Cart in the rain and does so with a smile and an upbeat. Her favorite thing to do with kale is to make kale chips in her air fryer! She seasons it with soy sauce, olive oil and “everything but the bagel” seasoning!