TOUR: Ocean Mist artichokes field to fork

CASTROVILLE, CA – I rarely miss an opportunity to get out in the field, so when I was in town for the Organic Produce Summit, I took the family to “work” to see some artichokes.

We stopped by the headquarters of Ocean Mist Farms BB #:111742, which had just celebrated its 100th birthday two weeks prior. The company’s new branding and logo was displayed out front and in the form of some new swag, which my people thought was pretty great. Uli, my 10-year-old, put all of the buttons on at once. He’s definitely my kid.

This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen an artichoke field, but it was the first time for my family. It was neat to hear the questions and observations they had about how one of their favorite vegetables is grown and harvested.

They were also surprised at how big artichoke plants get. My 15-year-old is a tall kid at about 6’6″ and some of the plants were well above his head. He also thought harvesting, with the canastas that easily get up to 80 pounds, would be a good challenge.

The kids nabbed a few artichokes for the road and we made our way home. I picked up a couple at H-E-B to supplement what we had in the fridge (noting the 100th anniversary branding), and made them our favorite way, with homemade chicken piccata the way we like it: extra garlic, extra lemons.

Special thanks to Ocean Mist Farms for the invite, and Happy 100th Anniversary!

Image sources are either licensed or customer-provided.