A life in produce with Andrea Chavez of Talley Farms Fresh Harvest, Arroyo Grande

Andrea Chavez oversees Talley Farms Fresh Harvest, a community-supported agriculture program with 3,500 subscribers across the Western U.S. Talley Farms has been around for four generations, but when the Talley family wanted to start a weekly subscription-based harvest share program in 2012, they hired Andrea. Her expertise in the produce business is a marvel, as you’ll hear from our conversation. Before the tape started rolling, she walked me around the farm, coolers, and packing areas to see how much goes into getting boxes of fresh fruits and veggies out to members. The logistics of distributing quality produce are challenging in a normal year, but in the time of Covid, it was off the chain. Listen to Andrea talk about her background, her job, and the one thing she and her husband Randy fight about.

Website: talleyfarmsfreshharvest.com

Instagram: @talleyfarmsfreshharvest

Simple Sautéed Sesame Chicken with Broccoli

3-4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp garlic powder

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp sesame oil plus more for skillet

2 tsp honey

1 lb Broccoli

1/2 lb Snap Peas

Combine salt, pepper, flour, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder in a large bowl. Cut chicken breasts in 1–2-inch slices. Add chicken to bowl and toss well. Add soy sauce, sesame oil and honey and stir to coat. Set aside.

Using more sesame oil, stir fry the broccoli florets and snap peas in a large skillet until easily pierced with a fork. Remove broccoli and peas from pan and keep warm.

Heat more sesame oil in the pan and over medium-high heat, cook chicken, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked thru, about 10-15 minutes. (You may need to cook the chicken in 2 batches, depending on how much chicken you have.) Add broccoli and snap peas back to skillet and mix with chicken. Serve with brown rice and a salad.

Source: Allrecipes.com - Revised and tested by Andrea Chavez (and Jaime Lewis!)