Los Osos Valley Organic Farm

01/21/2022

so important! excerpt: Explaining climate and food issues in forms like art and poetry can enable them to reach people who are neurodivergent or from different backgrounds and better enable mass change, a radical new research project has found.

The project, run by sustainable food campaign group Feedback and based on Participatory Action Research (which uses participants as researchers), questioned a group of primarily young people from different backgrounds to on their shopping habits, understanding of food issues and the link with the climate crisis.

A third of respondents said they did not think about the climate when shopping, and others did not think about the farmers who had produced their food.

But a significant result of the research, which was presented at last week’s Oxford Real Farming Conference, was realising the need to cater to different neurological strengths and social backgrounds in the format of any discussion or research.

Participant-researcher Saraya Haddad said: “We came from a mixture of backgrounds. I came from a background of literature. Another participant spoke about how school meals were affecting Islamaphobia by not offering halal meat. Another member is neurodivergent and spoke about how the world was not set up to work with or be aligned with them.”

Prior to joining the project, Haddad said she “never really thought about farmers and “associated food with supermarkets”.

“I am naturally creative and I struggled to understand climate info growing up as it was using lots of scientific jargon and stats,” she explained.

“We need to consider the climate crisis and food system issues from an inter disciplinary basis and invite people from different backgrounds."

Explaining climate and food issues in ways that reach people from diverse backgrounds, including neurodivergent and multicultural, could enable greater change, a project has found.

04/12/2021

yum!!

This simple pasta primavera uses a combination of the earliest vegetables available in spring — asparagus, peas and spring onions — making it a true celebration of the season The sauce works best with springy egg pasta, preferably homemade or a good purchased brand Make sure not to overcook it; ...

03/21/2021

*Cheesy Dandelion Spirals*
INGREDIENTS:

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 &1/2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fresh dandelion leaves, roughly chopped
Salt & pepper, to taste
Approx. 1 ounce finely grated Parmesan cheese,
Approx. 1 & 1/2 ounces crumbled Manchego cheese
DIRECTIONS:

Roll out your sheet of defrosted puff pastry into a 10”x14” rectangle of even thickness.

In a large frying pan, bring the butter to medium heat. Add dandelion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whir your greens in the food processor. Add grated cheeses and salt & pepper to taste.

Spread your cheesy dandelion mixture evenly over top of your rolled out pastry. Roll it up, then wrap it in parchment paper and place it in the freezer for 30-40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.

When you take the pastry roll out of the freezer, use a serrated knife to slice it into thin slices about 1/2 – to 3/4 inch thick. Place each spiral onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. If you want, just loosen the end of dough from the spiral and shape into the head of snake! Bake them in the oven for 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Serve warm.

10/04/2020

Some new things to do with apples? Yum!

This Veg Hack recipe combines three straightforward ways of using apples into one breakfast dish to celebrate the best of the British apple season.

09/27/2020

Some great ideas for something hearty from over the pond, where they know a thing or two about kale! ;)

As the days cool and autumn colours emerge, fresh British-grown kale comes into season offering a delicious splash of green in these top five kale recipes.

08/07/2020

You'll have to peel our cucumbers for this, but our heirloom variety should hold up beautifully well in this make ahead and assemble on the spot festival of summer freshness!

This recipe brings together two contrasting components to create a bright summer dish A simple yogurt sauce is dressed up with herbs and zest, then topped with cucumbers that have marinated in a spicy oil Coriander, cumin and red-pepper flakes bloom in a neutral oil, and the cucumbers take on the fl...

07/31/2020

Fantastically good. I used half n half, mixed cheeses I had on hand, 3 eggs not 4, and pattypan squash - it is divinely good!! Save this for the rest of the summer squash we'll be seeing this season!!

“Why don’t you just cook something that tastes really good?” Julia Reed’s mother said that, chiding her daughter, a writer of uncommon style and wit who used to contribute food essays and recipes to The New York Times Magazine, for spending too much time thinking about complicated, over-the-...

07/13/2020

A wonderful use for summer squash and slightly over ripe tomatoes!! And basil!!

Some of the tomatoes in this gratin are cooked down to a savory sauce, while the rest are sliced and used to decorate the top.

07/06/2020

Some fresh approaches to salads from across the pond! Check out this light but tasty zucchini, fennel and kohlrabi salad. Perfect for what we've got in the bags!

Riverford Cook Anna is a big fan of using courgettes, fennel and kohlrabi raw, so this simple salad pairs the crunchy raw veg with citrus and spice. The fennel seeds accentuate the fennel bulb's natural flavour, while the caraway is a good match for the brassica flavour of the kohlrabi. If you don't...

06/22/2020

Yum yum!!

Chill out on hot days with these easy recipes for homemade ice cream made from raspberries, watermelon, basil and other seasonal stars.

06/08/2020

Here's a thought for our scrumptious dandelion greens!

This tart tastes rich and creamy, though there is no cream in it When you blanch the dandelion greens, they lose some of their bitterness.