Upcoming Events

• Strawberry U-Pick Opens Tuesday, April 7th!
• Spring Bird Walk on the Farm Sunday, May 3 at 9AM. Join our expert guides and other bird lovers as we leisurely stroll around the farm checking out the many species of birds on the farm. Bring your binoculars! Cost of $20 will be donated to our local Morro Coast Audubon Society. Spots are limited. Sign up at the farm stand.
• Everything Edible Plant Sale: Begins Tuesday, April 28th

Today's broccoli harvest is stacked so high in our cooler that I decided I needed to find out where all the broccoli came from - not where on the farm, but where in the world! Like so many good things, it turns out that broccoli originates in Italy, specifically the region now known as Tuscany. About 3,000 years ago, a people called the Etruscans inhabited the region. These Etruscans were curious and resourceful people, and they liked to eat a wild leafy plant that grew along the seaside. They liked it - what we would come to find out was wild cabbage - so much that they began to cultivate it and even to produce new cultivars from it. Perhaps their greatest success would be Brassica oleracea Italica, otherwise known as broccoli.

I like to think that it could have been the nutritional power of broccoli that fueled the Etruscan culture and then the Roman civilization that followed! Fortunately, broccoli didn't end with the fall of the Roman Empire. Those Italians were so smitten they kept on eating broccoli and even brought it with them all the way to the "new world." But it took awhile for them to get here! Enter the Sicilian D'Arrigo brothers who in 1925 began growing broccoli on an initial 28 acres in San Jose, later adding acreage in the Salinas Valley. They shipped the broccoli back to Boston where a large Italian immigrant community welcomed this favorite veggie from the old country. Credited with the commercial introduction of broccoli to the United States, the D'Arrigo Brothers Company is still in business today, cultivating more than 30,000 acres of crops annually! That's way more acres than we have here, but I'm telling you, our walls of broccoli stand high! Mangiamo broccoli!

Walking into our cooler is like being at the bottom of a gorge with walls extending high up on both sides. A little claustrophobic, but in a good way because those walls are made of fruits and vegetables! We have plenty of broccoli, baby broccoli, asparagus, and artichokes. Artichokes are on their way out so stock up before they are gone! Lettuces are of good size and continue to look amazing. Arugula and our spicy greens mix are also in great form. Fava beans are truly spring green and oh so tender. We're waiting on leeks to get bigger, but fennel is ready now. Blueberries will be available Tuesday. We'll have the "Spring High" variety again - big and sweet. We have just a couple more weeks for this first wave of the blueberry season, and then a gap before they come again. Strawberries are abundant! U-pick is open! More passion fruit this week, but this fruit is also winding down. Citrus is not winding down! We have beautiful and flavorful gold nugget mandarins. These are easy to peel and are nicely sweet, yet still refreshing. Large navel oranges are available too - juicy and sweet to eat. Join us when you can for lots of good stuff!

Eileen

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Harvest Bag

all for $25

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Halcyon Gold Potatoes (see recipes)

Romaine Lettuce

2 Bunches Asparagus (see recipes)

Rainbow Carrots (see recipes)

Fennel (see recipes)

Broccoli (see recipes)

Spinach

Strawberries

Chickpea Broccoli Bowl with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 medium or 1 large heads broccoli, chopped (florets only, 4 cups)
• 5-6 medium carrots, chopped (2 heaping cups)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2-3 cups cooked brown rice
• optional garnishes: chopped green onions, sesame seeds

Dressing

• ⅓ cup natural peanut butter
• ¼ cup unsweetened almond or soy milk, or water
• 2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 ½ tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 ½ tsp rice vinegar, more to taste
• 1 tsp minced fresh ginger (or ½ tsp dried)
• 1 tsp sriracha, more to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Cook rice according to package directions.
3. Spray one extra large baking sheet or two regular ones with cooking spray. Place chickpeas, broccoli, and carrots on baking sheet. Make sure veggies have room to roast (if they're too close together they will steam and not get that yummy brownness). Add olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper, tossing to combine. Roast for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through.
4. Meanwhile, make peanut sauce. Place all dressing ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth and adjust flavor to taste, adding more rice vinegar if you want more brightness, more soy sauce for umami/salty, or even garlic if you fancy. It will thicken in the fridge.
5. Assemble bowls by placing rice at the bottom and topping with veggie mixture plus plenty of peanut sauce. Devour!

Thanks to https://www.hummusapien.com

Asparagus-Fennel Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 medium fennel bulb, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups diced Halcyon Gold potatoes, peeled
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 2 bunches fresh asparagus, trimmed and chopped (tips reserved)
• ¼ cup fresh tarragon leaves
• ½ cup sour cream
• Garnish: fresh tarragon leaves, extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and fennel; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth, potatoes, wine, 1 cup water, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Reserve ¼ cup asparagus tips for garnish. Add remaining asparagus; cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Remove soup from heat, and let cool for 5 minutes; add tarragon.
3. Working in batches, transfer soup to the container of a blender; blend until smooth. Return soup to Dutch oven, and heat over low heat; whisk in sour cream. Garnish with reserved ¼ cup asparagus tips, tarragon, and oil, if desired.

Adapted from https://southernladymagazine.com

Halcyon Farms | 1075 The Pike in Arroyo Grande | www.halcyonfarmsag.com