Recipe by The FruitGuys

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups cooked wheat berries (see box, below)
1/2 cup bell pepper, finely chopped (discard stems, seeds, and membrane)
1/2 cup sweet onion, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Lettuce leaves for serving

PREPARATION

• Whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
• In a mixing bowl, toss together cooked wheat berries, chopped bell pepper, and minced onion.
• Drizzle mixture with desired amount of dressing, then add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in a shallow bowl on a bed of fresh greens.

Serves 2 as a side dish. Prep time, 5–10 minutes; cook time for wheat berries, approximately 1 hour.

Cook’s note: This is an incredibly versatile salad. Try different variations using chopped apple, cucumber, dried cranberries, chopped nuts, or any other ingredients that sound appealing. For a Mediterranean feel, try wheat berries with Greek-style olives, sundried tomatoes, and feta cheese. For a more Asian touch, try drizzling wheat berries with sesame oil and soy sauce and adding chopped green onions, grated carrot, and snow peas.

Recipe by The FruitGuys’ Rachel Schiros

INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons coconut oil (or butter or olive oil)
1–2 medium-size sweet onions, thinly sliced
4–5 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 large sweet potato or small butternut squash (or other hard squash), peeled and cubed
2–3 red, orange, or yellow sweet bell peppers, chopped in large pieces
6 cups vegetable broth
3 ears sweet corn (kernels sliced off of cobs)
1  1/2 cups cooked and drained garbanzo beans, cubed tofu, or cubed cooked chicken
1  1/2 teaspoons paprika powder
1  1/2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
1  1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Garnish, divided between bowls:
6 tablespoons fresh herbs (oregano, cilantro, dill, or chives work well), finely diced
3/4–1 cup sour cream, Greek yogurt, or coconut milk

PREPARATION

• Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot.
• When completely melted, add onions, garlic, and salt. Stir frequently, until onions and garlic begin to brown, about 10 minutes
• Add sweet potato or squash and bell peppers. Stir frequently until sweet potato or squash is tender, about 15 minutes.
• Stirring constantly, increase heat to high until vegetables are sizzling and add vegetable broth.
• Reduce heat to medium-high, and add remaining soup ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Allow to cool slightly and garnish each bowl with 1 tablespoon herbs and 1–2 tablespoons sour cream, Greek yogurt or coconut milk.

Prep time, 20 minutes; cook time, 55 minutes. Serves 5–6.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Padron peppers
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 head kale, washed, stems removed and cut in 1 inch chiffonade (see note*)
3 tablespoons oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 teaspoon Balsamic or red wine vinegar

PREPARATION

• Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit.
• Remove stems and seed from the peppers (unless you really like heat, in which case remove only the stems).
• Place peppers, cherry tomatoes and kale in 3 individual bowls.
• Toss each with 1/3 of the oil, salt and pepper.
• Place peppers on a rimmed baking sheet and place in oven for 5 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and roast for another 10 minutes.
• Add kale and roast until just wilted, about 2 -4 minutes.
• Remove from oven, toss together with the vinegar and serve

Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 18-20 minutes. Serves 2.

Cook’s Note: *To “chiffonade”, roll the kale leaves with stems removed into long cigar type rolls, and cut crosswise to desired width.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar or 1/4 cup agave nectar
3/4 cup grated raw beet (peel first)
3/4 cup chopped nectarine
1 teaspoon finely chopped mint
1 teaspoon orange zest

PREPARATION

• In a small saucepan, heat the water, juice and sugar or agave nectar until the sugar is completely melted.
• Add the beets and cook until soft, about 10-12 minutes.
• Add nectarine and cook an additional 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool to room temperature.
• Puree with a hand blender or in a blender, or with a food processor.
• Mix in the mint and orange peel.
• Pour into a small glass baking dish so it is about 1 inch deep.
• Freeze at least 4 hours, or overnight
• Using a fork, scrape the create crystals.

Prep time, 15 minutes. Cook time, 15 -20 minutes. Serves 4.

This morning, the weather makes it feel more like winter than spring, even though it’s the end of March. It’s pouring down rain, it’s cold and there’s a howling wind on the loose. Cache Creek is raging. Wet fingers are numb in just a few minutes of bunching beets or digging carrots. No one relishes the idea of going out in the driving cold rain to pick vegetables, so we have limited the pick to those things that are necessary to fill CSA boxes and farmers market stands. For the last few days, most of the crew has been done and gone before lunch. That means fewer hours of work for them, which is just a different side of the hardship coin. At least we were able to guarantee them pay for four hours even though they were finishing a bit earlier than that.

The cold, overcast weather is slowing down production of the crops, all of which can respond in some years to longer days and gentle sun of early spring by growing like gangbusters. This year, everyone is wondering about the asparagus — a crop that we always look forward to at this time of year. Well, we’re still waiting. Only a few spears have shown themselves. Perhaps these are the scouts, telling their mother plants that it isn’t time yet. Maybe when you read this note a few days of warmth will have made the asparagus grow. It’s sure to happen soon. That’s how the spring can be. We all know that with just a few days of warmth the fields could dry out, the crops will start to grow, and there will be more work than we can handle. The energy around the farm will change in a snap. Because we want to keep our crew employed all year round, they know that they will have to be here in all kinds of weather.

One of the things that happens during the winter, when there is less work, is that the crew participates in a lot of educational events. Local farm organizations sponsor events that provide information about farm safety and heat stress, and this year local farms, including Full Belly, and several community organizations created a new program, called ¡Que Viva la Vida!

This pilot event was focussed on farm worker quality of life and was designed to promote social wellness within farm worker families. Almost 100 farm worker men from 13 participating farms in Yolo County were gathered for a whole day in February to think about questions like, what is a strong family, how can you help your child do well in school, how physically healthy is your family, how emotionally healthy is your family, and even a conversation about alcohol. In the afternoon there were workshops on home buying, immigration, domestic violence and where to go for social services. A raffle and rally were designed to make the entire day fun and relaxed.

The farm workers were paid for their day at ¡Que Viva la Vida! and there were no employers there. In addition to the local farms, the organizations that participated were a local human service organization called RISE, Esparto Family Practice (medical services), and Esparto Unified School District. The lunch was prepared from products grown and donated by the local farms, and featured an entertaining “cook-off.” Paul Muller of Full Belly Farm played a large part in pulling this wonderful event together saying, “Our goal is to help everyone be better husbands and better fathers!” Participants gave the event high marks, hoping that this would be the first in an annual series. We feel lucky in the Capay Valley to have such great citizen and organizational support for these kinds of events.