Perhaps few things have a greater force on keeping Santa Cruz weird than the Pacific Ocean. We often feel we’re blessed to have always unpredictable weather, especially when it means:

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Hey folks just want to let you know we are closed for ordering until 12/26. Seeya in the new year. If you need to contact us for any reason drop a line to info@santacruzlocalfoods.com. Until then happy holidays and happy new year.

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Our garden is growing! Our rototiller has been out of commission for a couple of months, so all of this work has been by hand! So much digging, but check out the rewards!

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We just returned from a brief trip south to Ojai, where we visited farmer friends and slept beneath the stars of our friend’s mulberry orchard.  There, we enjoyed some of the most local food we had access to: mulberries of course!  We agreed that Santa Cruz could use some more mulberries, and we’ve become quite inspired to plant our own mulberry orchard some day, when we acquire a space to do so!

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We’re turning our backyard into a mini-farm, and so can you!  We started with a yard full of weeds, neglected fruit trees, and trash from previous tenants.  With the help of our housemates and friends, we’re reclaiming the space to make it both beautiful and productive.  Check out the progression thus far:

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Somehow, the extended winter vacation of our dreams to the tropics came true this year — and we didn’t even have to venture beyond our front porches. It was all fun in the sun for weeks on end, but today’s wind chill and patchy clouds, rain, even hail, all remind us that we are still indeed in the middle of winter. The sun was a fantastic treat for all of our late fall plantings at Sprout’s Garden, which finally came to meet their harvests in the past few weeks, and it inspired us to think toward our spring plantings pronto!

Our most local sweet citrus from Arrowhead Farms in Corralitos, which matures on a different schedule from the citrus coming from the valley, is beginning to ripen. Look for their Algerian Mandarins now available, as well as more varieties in the coming weeks. We just received a fresh stock of Serendipity jams yesterday, which we will be getting online shortly. Tempting new flavors include Nectarine (oh stone fruit…) and Strawberry Meyer Lemon Marmalade. Mustard Greens are going off at Fish Princess Farm, as well as Mixed Kale bunches, Arugula, and Chard. Go green!

Here at SCLF, we’re all about the highest quality, best tasting foods — we’ve been out sampling around to build up our selection, but now it’s your turn to do some sampling. This Friday, come try the sweetest, juiciest Organic Raisins from Lone Oak Ranch. Then, the following Tuesday, we will be sampling out rich, creamy yogurt from St. Benoit. We missed ice cream for last Tuesday because Mission Hill sold out after Valentine’s Day — look forward to more ice cream sampling at a future time. See you Friday & Tuesday for some happy sampling!

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Hey everyone. We’re now open for Friday pick-up / delivery. Check our Friday Locations for the details.

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We have spent the past few days restocking and connecting with farms to bring back favorites and gather some new items for you to try.

First, we’re excited to announce that we just connected with Schoch Family Farmstead out of Monterey County! This third generation family farm is one of three remaining dairies in the county (there were hundreds when they began in 1944). The third generation has grown tired of selling off their milk to dairy co-ops for next-to-nothing, so the brothers traveled to Cal Poly to study cheesemaking. They have grown into cheese artists, now able to use a small percentage of their fresh, raw milk to craft some amazing cheeses! They go beyond most other cheeses labeled as “raw” — their cheeses are made from the freshest of milks, straight from the cow, still warm! While the sons make the cheese, their father does the majority of the milkings, remaining connected to the animals. They graze 100 cows on 100 acres in the Salinas Valley, where the rich soil and the temperate coastal climate provide ideal conditions for grazing and milk production. The brothers would love to see much less of their high-quality milk sent away, its integrity lost to homogenization and pasteurization — we’re honored to be bringing this cheese to you so we can all be a part of helping this, one of the last family dairies for miles and miles, continue forward. Let’s get family farms off the endangered species list. Oh and by the way — the cheese is absolutely amazing, and it’s quality speaks for itself!

And another amazing addition: Heirloom squash and pumpkins from Crystal Bay Farm in La Selva Beach! We offered some of these last year, and we’ve lagged a bit in getting them online, but now they are finally here. Jeff and Lori Fiorovich go out of their way to grow some of the coolest looking, best tasting squashes — heirloom varieties on the verge of extinction, crying for a return of customer appreciation! Over 25 varieties! This may be an overload of choices for some, accustomed to the same three or so varieties seen in grocery stores year after year, but these are worth adventuring to try. Lori claims to be one of the toughest squash critics around, passing up anything watery, stringy, mushy… seasons have taught them their favorites, and they also continue to try new varieties as they come across them. One of our favorites is the Thelma Sanders (aka Sweet Potato Squash), which has some of the richest, most dense flesh we’ve had, with a unique nutty sweet flavor. We’ve chosen a handful of other favorites up for your sampling, including Marina di Chioggia, Long Island Cheese, and Sucrine du Berry. Enjoy!

And finally, you’ll find a freshly replenished inventory of Happy Girl Kitchen preserves, as well as a fresh slicing of Garden Variety Cheese wedges. Thank you for your interest in local foods! See you Tuesday!

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Wow — many great new products this week to mention. But first, we want to point out that we narrowed the pick-up time for the Live Oak Grange once again. It will now be from 4:00-5:00pm. We would also like to announce the specifics on our three new locations:

Felton: 4:30 – 5:00pm, The corner of Hihn st and Highway 9, (Near Rite Aid).

Scott’s Valley: 3:50 – 4:20pm, King’s Village shopping center parking lot, In the back near Tony and Albas & next to the bus station

Los Gatos: 4:00 – 5:00 pm, Levy Family Campus APJCC, 14855 Oka Road (Lark Ave. Exit), Far entrance near the back of the building.

Tell your friends!

We’re wandering outside of our radius this week to bring some juicy fruits onto the scene. We can’t seem to find a good supply of citrus close by (let us know if you are aware of one!), so we are hooking up with Twin Girls Farms on their farmers market route. They fall within a 150 mile radius instead — and they are bringing us Satsuma Mandarins, Valencia Oranges, Pomegranates, and Hachiya Persimmons this week!

We’ve also added bottled Apple Juice, Pear Juice, and Apple Cider Vinegar from Nana Mae’s Organics in Sebastopol, which is a few miles outside of a 100 mile radius. They use their estate grown heirloom apples and pears to make their delicious juices and vinegar. Find the juices in the “Preserved Food” section.

Also, noticing our apple selection has gotten slim, we’ve reconnected with Silva Orchards from Watsonville for some Newtown Pippin and Pink Lady apples. We’ll be adding two new cheeses from Garden Variety Cheese by tomorrow — Moonflower and Black-eyed Susan. Rebecca of Garden Variety let us know that she will be out of cheese for the season by next month, so enjoy it while you can. She will spend the winter focusing on nurturing her little lambs (if anyone wants to help, let us know, and we can link you up) and she will return to cheese making in the spring.

See you Tuesday!

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