Happy Harvest 2012!

We are picking the Apache apricot, our early ripening variety which is the first fruit off our trees this year. The Apache is a big hit at the farmers market, so much so that I sold just about everything I brought with me this last Saturday. We also started picking our Brooks cherry. I expected our Brooks cherry to be ready to ship starting the 15th, but after snacking on a few (as seen in the picture) earlier this week I feel that giving them until Tuesday the 21st on the branch will benefit them...and you!

Our long-time customers know that I take the idea of Tree to Table to a higher standard than other mail order fruit suppliers. Growing and packing what comes from my farm, Tree to Table in 48 hours is my goal. We pick your fruit the same day we ship it, and we never ship out at the end of the week where your precious fruit will end up sweating in a warehouse over the weekend. Freshly picked and properly ripened fruit has no equal, and neither does Frog Hollow Farm fruit!

I hope you enjoy the Apaches this week. We may have some heading into next week, with our new variety, the Kettleman arriving on its heels.

Organically yours,

May Greetings,

Our legendary stone fruits are getting bigger by the minute. We had some visitors to the farm this weekend who have been ordering from us just about as long as we've been shipping, and they found a few red cherries that had ripened early. A stroke of luck when our Brooks cherries are set to start picking in two weeks along with our Apache apricots.

We’ve got a great name with apricots, and with our Blenheim trees certified organic this year, I’m sure even more folks who appreciate the real taste of apricots will come to know our farm. We aren’t the only ones who have had some rough years with ‘cots, and I’ve heard that a lot of California farmers are tearing out their apricot trees. Not me. I’ve got more apricot acres than ever growing here at Frog Hollow and it’s worth it. In celebration of apricots, jars of our Apricot Conserve--our best selling spreadable fruit--are on sale 25% off until the 10th (cases included).

Chef Becky tells me that she’ll be able to keep baking those Meyer Lemon Cakes for another couple weeks, so if you were on the fence about trying her cake, or if you absolutely loved its extra lemony goodness, you might want to order now and plan to freeze them to save for a mid-summer dessert.

I’m looking forward to letting you all know what varieties are picking as soon as the harvest begins. Start counting down the days!

Organically yours,

p.s. The farm kitchen whipped up one last batch of Fruit Cakes for Mother’s Day and they’re already half gone. This is your last chance for a bit of rum-soaked goodness to reward your favorite hard-working Mom. ($25 ea)

Greetings!

Did you do anything for Earth Day this last Sunday? While I’m still getting the hang of Facebook and Twitter, I’d love to hear. Since having turned to organic farming over 20 years ago, I try and treat every day like Earth Day, being out in nature and working on better ways for the farm to reflect my values. I've been checking daily on the orchard and on our composting project where we’re experimenting and doing some exciting things with compost, working to put back into the soil the same quality it provides us through our trees.

Though harvest is rapidly approaching, there’s still time to sign up for our apricot program and cherry program. I urge you to get your name on our list now in case Mother Nature throws us a curveball in the next few weeks. My picks recently have been all about these upcoming early-harvest programs where I've chosen the top varieties for our fans to experience. This week I’m giving you the choice. If four shipments of our best cherries or six shipments of our best apricots is more stone fruit than you can handle, get a taste of our Brooks cherries, Apache apricots, or Kettleman apricots with an individual box pre-order.

Organically yours,

Apache apricots and Brooks cherries are expected to ship May 14th. Kettleman apricots are expected to ship the week following, around May 21st. Dates given are estimates.

Greetings from the farm!

One of my year-round favorites from our kitchen happens to be our farm-fresh granola - in fact, many customers have called it addicting! While working as a baker at Alice Waters' Cafe Fanny, my wife, Chef Becky became a fan of their granola, a Waters family recipe. Becky began experimenting with making granola, and soon came up with her own (and my favorite) recipe.  I've tried a lot of granola in my days, and I haven't had any that I like as much as ours. 

The secret?  It's simple with a toasty flavor and beautiful warm brown color. Our granola features big clusters of organic rolled oats, almonds, raisins, sunflower and sesame seeds all toasted in sweet golden honey.

It's become a staple at our Ferry Building Cafe, where customers line up for our parfaits which feature our fresh organic fruit, granola and yogurt. I know you'll enjoy our granola on its own as a snack - or better yet, add our Seasonal Fruit Sampler or organic conserves to your order and make your own delicious parfait.

Organically Yours,

Mushroom & Leek Empanadas

Our mushroom and leek empanadas are one of our most popular savory veggie flavors. Made in small batches as with all of our pastries, everything begins by brushing the mushrooms clean. Once everything is trimmed and sliced, the empanadas are individually hand-filled and folded, then immediately frozen for easy baking in our ovens here at the farm, at our Ferry Building cafe, or in our customer's homes when shipped mail order. When baked, the richness of the portobellas mingle with spritely zing of thinly sliced leeks in each hearty bite.

Empanadas measure roughly 5.5" x 2.5" inches, making them ideal as a brunch item, or as part of a light lunch (we recommend a side salad of crisp, bitter greens topped with sliced almonds and blood oranges).

This item sells in a pack of 6 for $40 or 12 for $70, and ships frozen, ready to bake. It is also featured as part of our Brunch Collection.

Back again is our limited edition premium handcrafted gift box. This year we've matched up our Warren pears with top some of our favorite artisan producers in The San Francisco Bay Area. Only 50 boxes are available. Shipping is included on this handcrafted reusable wooden gift box - $159