Rio Gozo Farm's Logo

Rio Gozo Farm's new logo is coming out soon, and guess what image we're going with?

The one we love the most, the Beet.

Ironically, it's the one thing we've had trouble growing from seed this year at Rio Gozo Farm. It's the good kind of trouble... there's a soil borne pest that occurs in rich, healthy soils containing a lot of decomposed material. Lately, we've been transplanting our beets and it has resulted in Rio Gozo Farm beets in the CSA once again.

One of Rio Gozo Farm Ventura CSA's members is Alison Soens, a hip graphic designer from Ventura.

She does design, paintings, and illustrations- her whimsical paintings often incorporate recycled and reclaimed materials. You can find her work on her website www.kasleberry.com or on her blogs here and here. But most impressive is how she manages two blogs?

Stay tuned for the unveiling of our new logo.

But while you're waiting- eat your beets. Here's a couple more recipes adapted from Andrea Chesman's book, Serving up the Harvest.

Beets with Chocolate Mint

2 to 4 beets, cooked, peeled, and sliced (boiled till you can pierce it with a fork)

1/4 cup rice or apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1/4 tsp orange zest

1 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice (try tangerine or blood orange for a variation)

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Whisk all the wet ingredients together with the mint, salt, and pepper. Toss the cooked beets in the dressing. Garnish with goat cheese, zest, and more freshly ground pepper.

Borscht

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

6 beets, tops and roots removed

1 onion, diced

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

3 cups vegetable or chicken broth

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus additional for garnish

2 Tbsp lemon juice, or to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sour cream or plain yogurt, to garnish

Preheat oven to 400

Roast beets, whole and un-peeled 50- 60 minutes until soft enough to pierce with a fork. Let cool, when they are soft enough to handle peel and cut into shoestrings or bite-sized chunks.

You may like to sauté the beet greens in oil and garlic and add them to the borscht as a garnish.

Meanwhile, combine the onion, potatoes, broth, and dill in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are completely tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the beets, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Serve hot or chilled, garnishing each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of dill.

Enjoy