Archive for July, 2012

Sweet Italian Frying Peppers

July 5, 2012 | Susan

Sweet Italian Frying Peppers are delicious in salads, sandwiches or fry them in olive oil packed close together in a cast iron pan. Turn the peppers until all sides are blistered and then enjoy!

Celebrating the 4th Of July On The Safeway Float

| Susan

Earl’s Organic, representing Tutti Frutti Farms in Lompoc, CA, helped Safeway celebrate Independence Day at the Danville 4^thof July Parade. Susan Simitz from Earl’s was joined by her family. The parade lasted over 2 hours, had over 130 entrants and an estimated whopping 30,000 people attended.

Norman, Susan, Carolyn, Lauren, Carole and Miles Simitz

Safeway Floats

Safeway had a huge turnout of growers and employees for their two floats. The first float celebrated local growers from California and was decorated with a bountiful display of fresh produce in crates including peaches, grapes, colorful bell peppers, strawberries, broccoli, artichokes and watermelons. At least 5 growers were represented on the local grower float. The majority of the crowd was waving the U.S. flag and broke into smiles when they saw the beautiful display of fruits and vegetables surrounding the float. Many children were dressed in red, white and blue and were the most excited by the crate of strawberries on the float “Look at those strawberries Mom!!” was heard yelled out by many children.

Safeway local growers float

The second float had two Lucerne cows on board with the Safeway “Ingredients for Life” sign as a backdrop. There were 2 dancers on either side of the floats dancing to music sung live by one of the Lucerne float members. A group of Safeway employees pushed Safeway carts next to the floats and handed out water to the crowd to help them get through the 90 degree weather a little easier.

Safeway Lucerne float

Everyone on the floats had a great time waving to the crowds and it was fun to see so many people excited about celebrating Independence Day and about the Safeway floats. A group of us walked back to our cars and were able to enjoy seeing the rest of the parade along the way. What a great way to spend the 4^thof July!

Lauren, Carole, Carolyn, Miles, Susan and Mark Simitz

California Blueberry Season Ending

July 2, 2012 | Susan

Blueberries are winding down this week from Southern California and the Central Valley. There will be still be some Northern California Blueberry growers picking and packing but the majority of the blueberries will now be coming out of Washington in the Pacific Northwest. Currently Earl’s Organic is carrying Duke blueberries from Washington, one of the best all around eating and shipping varieties.

Washington Blueberry Growers

When the blueberries finish in the Pacific Northwest production will continue to head up north into British Columbia, Canada. Blueberries are also grown commercially in Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina and Washington.

The state of Michigan is the nation’s leading producer of cultivated blueberries including the highbush variety which is very aromatic and is tart to mildly sweet tasting. Their blueberry season starts in July and goes through August. Maine is the leading producer of lowbush blueberries in the world, known for their intense color and sweet taste. The season starts in July and continues into Mid-September.

California increases their blueberry production each year but is still not a major player in distribution across the United States. On the West Coast we may see some early blueberries in March and April with the majority of the production coming on in May and ending around July 1^st.

Frozen blueberries are a great snack or toss a few handfuls in a spring salad mix with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Washington Duke Blueberries