Soil Born Farms

Deep in the heart of a neighborhood and between a grassy green field and a school in Rancho Cordova, we discovered a narrow path, leading to a small farm, that delivers to its customers organic produce, in a quaint wood covered shelter, reminiscent of an old country store. There were two nutritionists that day, standing beneath a white canopy tent with a cooking demonstration. An iron skillet was heating on outdoor gas grill, and the aromas of tarragon and butternut squash wafter towards us. the children peered at the small sampling cups on the table, bright yellow orange cubes of diced and roasted squash mixed with spices. They were hesitant patrons, but with a little coaxing, they began eating, ‘mmm, this is good’ with great surprise, after all it looked like it was just vegetables. But the nutritionists has a wining recipe, and the squash was peak season sweet. We walked into the farm store, shelves were lined with organic vegetables, in vibrant colors that didn’t even hint at the sweetness and flavor contained within. This is farm produce that has traveled on average less than 15miles, and the flavors, colors and nutrients reveal this accordingly. We spotted a butternut squash, its familiar hourglass shape, and picked it out, for our own take home trial run of this amazing squash recipe. The 2 children cooked this up, with a pinch of thyme, chopped garlic, onions, and baby greens, sauteed on low heat with olive oil. Once this heated they stirred in the butternut squash, which we had prebaked, to ease its chopping. An amazing meal prepared within minutes, and all the ingredients supplied by this local farm market. Something even children ages 10 and 12 can cook. Had we arrived earlier in the morning, we would have been able to purchase farm eggs, these however, had sold out hours earlier, the golden yolks and flavorful eggs from farm raised chickens a weekly morning sell out.