…or the flowers that grow year-round here… Saw this rose on a run the other day and went back with my camera. …but it’s a blessing that fruits and vegetables of all kinds, including avocados, are grown locally here. Including the four, locally grown avocados that I received from California Avocados Direct.
The California Avocados Direct farm is a family-owned and operated farm of the Holtz family. It has been in operation for decades, spanning three generations, and it’s located about a half hour north of where I live. The farm in 1973
The farm in 2010 Photo Source Do you know what’s amazing about these avocados? And I’m not just talking about their taste…
…but these avocados were only touched by Ben Holtz and no one else! Here is a photo of him hand-picking my avocados from the orchard last week with this caption: “Today is a rather mild cool day on the ranch. I am hoping for more warmer weather so the bee’s are excited to get out and pollinate the avocado blossoms.” Does that just blow your mind that I can literally see where my food came from just up the road from me? It does mine, in a wonderful way! In this era of food flown in from California (if you don’t live here), Mexico, South America, or all over the world, and touched by dozens or hundreds of people in the food supply chain from field to grocery store, the fact that no one else touched these avocados besides Ben, and Mother Nature, until I opened the box, is amazing to me. It makes me want to do more to support local agriculture and local farmers and because I do live in San Diego, I can do that with great ease. For example, here are some pictures I took last summer from the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market. Every Sunday, year round, this amazing market is open offering locally grown and organic or pesticide-free food. But back to my avocados. What should I make with my avocados? They are still ripening so I have time to decide.
I could make guacamole. Or my “Cheater’s” Guacamole with them. They would probably make wonderful Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse No one ever suspects that avocados are the staple ingredient in the mousse. No one. I bring it to parties and fool everyone who thinks the mousse is full of eggs and butter or that it took a long time to make. Wrong! Four ingredients, five minutes, vegan. Avocados are a source of healthy fats and do a body good.
If you’re interested in buying avocados and supporting the Holtz family farm and California Avocados Direct, please see their website and they can ship them to you.
Also, Matt Armendariz, photographer extraordinaire, with whom I did the food styling and photography workshop, also posted about a recent trip that he took to the California Avocados Direct farm. And my friend Gaby of What’s Gaby Cooking, was with Matt on that trip to the farm and she also posted about it. They both have great pictures of their day at the farm in their posts. From my last post about Whirling Around, yes, it was a manic day, indeed. Questions:
- Do you support local agriculture in any way? Having a CSA share (community supported agriculture), shopping at your local farmer’s market, buying from local fruit or vegetable stands, or even growing your own produce? If you’re interesting in CSA’s or joining one in your area, here’s a great link. As I said, I do what I can do buy locally. However, we all must do what we can given the constraints of our budgets. For example, there are times when TJ’s sells blueberries at half the cost of what blueberries at the farmer’s market are, but that reinforces that sometimes it is more expensive to buy locally grown, pesticide-free food that isn’t flown in from 5000 miles away where the standards are much different on everything from paying the laborers living wages to crop spraying practices. Also, I realize it’s not easy to eat local if you live in North Dakota in the winter. It’s a good thought, but again, you have to do what you can and what works for you given your geographical area, needs, budget, and so forth. I am not much of a gardener, and have tried container gardening, but so far, I have been bitten by the gardening bug. The photography bug is more like it.
- Do you like avocados? Yes! Silly question!
- What’s your favorite way to use avocados or fave recipes? I admit, other than guac, chocolate mousse, massaging them into greens as a salad dressing, or making other basic sauces/dressings with them, I just like to slice them and eat them plain on salads. Simplicity is best for me. Any great avo recipes or creative uses?
