Who's Your Main Squeeze: Eureka or Meyer?

Some of you may have noticed a recent addition to the lemon options when you customize your box: it's Meyer lemon season! Meyer lemons are thought to be a cross between a Eureka lemon (the typical lemon you most likely eat) and a mandarin. Because of this, Meyer lemons are sweeter than Eureka lemons and have little to no seeds. Though you can swap out either lemon for a recipe, there are some recipes that are better for each specific lemon.

Eureka Lemons
Eureka lemons have a more tart flavor than Meyers and are good for salad dressings, marinades, or any recipe that calls for zesting (you can use Meyers too, but Eurekas have a thicker skin). Try Eureka lemons in some of these recipes:

Watercress Salad with Avocado and Hearts of Palm
Clean Green Juice
Fennel Salad with Mint Vinaigrette

Meyer Lemons
As we said above, Meyer lemons are sweeter than Eurekas -- so sweet some people even enjoy eating them raw. We like putting Meyer lemons in water because they have less seeds. They're also delicious squeezed over pasta with garlic and butter or olive oil. Also, because they have a thin skin, you can add sugar and candy the rind for a delicious treat. Try Meyer lemons in some of these recipes:

Meyer Lemon Risotto
Persimmon Lemon Bars (Meyer lemons are our favorite option for lemon bars!)
Kohlrabi, Apple and Hazelnut Salad
Candied Meyer Lemons

How do you like to use your lemons? Do you have a preference between Meyer and Eureka?

How To Add Meyer and Eureka Lemons To Your Delivery: CSA members - head on over to our online Farm Stand Market to customize your upcoming delivery. The Market is open from noon on Thursday until 10 am, 2 days before your scheduled delivery day. After you confirm your produce items, click the orange button "Confirm and Continue To Other Farm Products" to add the products to your delivery. 

Not part of our farm family? Find out if we deliver to your neighborhood.

Farm-Inspired Holiday Gift Ideas

'Tis the season for gift-giving, so we've rounded up some fun, farmy gift ideas that you can get conveniently delivered right to your door. The only thing you have to do is wrap it and give it to your favorite foodie!

Gift Baskets 

Our gift baskets are made with a collection of some of our favorite artisan farm products. You'll find delicacies like wildflower honeycomb that is sustainably gathered from the hills of northern California, flavorful, Candystripe fig jam and heirloom tomato sauce from our farm and hand-crafted goats milk soaps made by a mother-daughter duo at Chivas Skin Care. The baskets themselves are made of recycled paper with recycled paper stuffing inside. We've curated three different gift baskets, sure to delight your family, friends and coworkers.

Capay Organic Gift Basket All of the products in this basket were grown on our farm: Aprium jam, Candystripe Fig jam, Blenheim Apricot jam, Roasted Pistachios, Quartered Heirloom Tomatoes and Heirloom Tomato Sauce.

Small Farm Gift Basket This gift basket contains a collection of our favorite local artisan products including wildflower honey comb from the rolling hills of northern CA, organic sundried peaches from Good Humus farm, organic almond butter and sundried tomatoes from Full Belly farm, goat milk soap from Chivas farm, organic California grown raisins, delicious pickled carrots from Pick-A-Peck, Omnivore salt, two jams from our Capay Organic farm (Candystripe fig and aprium) as well as our home-grown organic pistachios.

Pachamama Coffee Gift Basket The Pachamama Coffee Cooperative it is a unique global cooperative that is wholly-owned by small-scale coffee farmers from around the world. Sample the flavor of six different gourmet coffee selections from all over the world. This is a great gift for your coffee-loving co-worker.

Please note: The exact items in the gift baskets could change depending on availability. Please check the descriptions when you log in to customize your box.

Sustainable Food Wraps

Wrap sandwiches, cheeses, vegetables or cover a bowl with these sustainable, natural alternatives to plastic wrap for food storage. Not only are these Earth-friendly, but we offer a variety of colors and they are pretty, too! Use the warmth of your hands to soften the wrap and create a seal. The wrap holds its shape when cool. Wash in cool water.

Olive Oil Gift Set

These Stonehouse California Olive Oils are awesome! This company prides itself on being part of the farmer’s market revolution, producing delicious award-winning olive oils while maintaining good and sustainable farming practices. Any foodie is sure to love this Cutie Gift Set sampler, which contains five 1-oz bottles of Stonehouse’s bestselling olive oils including their House Blend, Roasted Garlic, Blood Orange, Persian Lime & Hot Chili. And if you still have a few more foodie friends to check off your list, we also have a Stonehouse Olive Oil & Vinegar Gift Set, which any home cook would appreciate.

Holiday Wreaths from Creekside Farms

For more than 25 years, the Umbarger family has owned and operated Creekside Farms. They pride themselves on growing their floral bounty naturally without the use of harmful pesticides. In addition, they believe in taking the extra time and care to hand-harvest their herbs and flowers for their wreaths. We think that their natural beauty makes a lovely holiday gift.

Farm Fresh To You eGift Cards

With our Gift of Health eGift Cards, giving a unique and healthful gift is simple.You choose the gift amount and they select the organic produce box that best fits their needs. Give the gift of organic, fresh-from-the-farm fruits and vegetables delivered to their door!

Spicy Pickled Products from Pick-A-Peck

This family-owned company prides itself on their "super-secret" processing method that keeps their veggies extra crunchy. These all natural pickled asparagus spears, carrots and green beans have a spicy kick to them! Any of these veggies will make the perfect complement to a Bloody Mary, tacos, salad - but are simply amazing enjoyed straight out of the jar too! Do note that the longer they sit, the spicier they get.

Shrubs

Who doesn't enjoy a festive cocktail/mocktail during the holidays? Buy your friend or loved one a tasty shrub to make the perfect cocktail. Shrubs are a very old-fashioned way of preserving fruit with vinegar and spices. With fun, sassy flavors like Grapefruit Sage, Peach Lavender and Tomato Cinnamon, these drink enhancers are sure to be the delight of the party! Add it directly to sparkling water with a 1:5 ratio or add some alcohol to get the party started. They also make great sauces and would be delicious in a vinaigrette. Try all our different flavors and check out our Ever Tried a Shrub Cocktail blog for other cocktail ideas.

How To Add Holiday Gift Items To Your Delivery: CSA members - head on over to our online Farm Stand Market to customize your upcoming delivery. The Market is open from noon on Thursday until 10 am, 2 days before your scheduled delivery day. After you confirm your produce items, click the orange button "Confirm and Continue To Other Farm Products" to add the products to your delivery. 

Not part of our farm family? Find out if we deliver to your neighborhood.

Crisp Fall Colors

From the Fields - Thaddeus

A photo posted by Farm Fresh To You (@farmfreshtoyou) on Nov 25, 2015 at 8:26am PST

I love the change in seasons. I understand that our seasons may not be as extreme as many of the seasons on our planet, but I still love the crisp fall that settles over Capay. The peach and apricot trees are turning amazing colors. Their leaves are an array of oranges, reds and yellows that change by the day until they fall from the tree in a poetic dance to the ground where they mingle with the lush, green shoots of cover crop that are emerging from the soil. More stiff winds are sure to come in the next weeks, leaving only bare branches that are amazingly vibrant with a deep-red color. Soon Ricardo and his team will walk through the orchard with pruning shears, bringing order to the branches that grew this way and that over the summer, setting the trees up to produce the ideal amount of flowers in the spring and fruit in the summer.

A photo posted by Farm Fresh To You (@farmfreshtoyou) on Nov 12, 2015 at 9:43am PST

Below the stone fruit orchard, the whistling of harvest crews picking kale carries in the cold air across the farm. The harvest crews are in full swing. Kales, chards, beets, radishes, lettuce, carrots and cauliflower stand ready to be picked, and our team is working just as fast as they can to get them out of the field.

A photo posted by Farm Fresh To You (@farmfreshtoyou) on Oct 31, 2015 at 9:47am PDT

The kale plants that have just been harvested look a bit different. With the largest leaves trimmed from them, their thick trunks are exposed. On top of these trunks, a small bouquet of baby kale leaves remains. These will grow hopefully before the inevitable aphid crop moves in and with any luck, we will be able to get one more harvest from these plants.

Beyond the field, the creek’s wildlife is bustling with activity of the local flock of wild turkeys who are around more than usual. It is funny to me how they show up and leave without notice. The acorns of the oak trees are on the ground and mostly eaten. The oak leaves are still hanging on to trees, but are deep brown in color. Below the trees, last season’s grass remains yellow, but below it, the effects of the first rain can be seen in the bright green grass sprouts that are emerging from the hills. It will not be long until the color of the hills is painted green with the next season of grass.

A photo posted by Farm Fresh To You (@farmfreshtoyou) on Nov 17, 2015 at 4:04pm PST

Our Satsuma mandarin trees are in full production. The crisp nights have helped to turn the color of the fruit orange. They taste great, and our mandarin crew is picking them just as fast as they can. The office is busy with planning for next year. Fields are being selected for all the crops we plan on growing. My trusty old Excel sheet that holds the history of each field is up on my computer screen. First, we select fields that are ready for a rotation of tomatoes. Then, we find homes for the peppers, eggplants and melons. After those crops are settled, we are sketching out a plan for the winter squash and next fall’s vegetables. Everyone is busy.