D'Acquisto Farms

06/07/2026

As many of you know, I am an old soul. As lifelong San Diegan, I have a passion for all things local history especially as it pertains to agriculture and how our region was farmed during the late 1800s and Early 1900s. If you think it’s challenging to do today you can only imagine the difficulty and hardship the early residents of our county experienced just to produce a crop.

Today I met up with one of my favorite local historians and authors Vincent Rossi a . I have been following him for years since I met him about 14 years ago at the archeological center in the San Pascual Valley.

Today, He was kind enough to include me in his blog post on his website sandiegohistoryseekers.com

I hadn’t seen Vince in about 7 years or so. The last time I saw him he gifted me a biography about Ben Hillebrect A prominent San Diego County third generation Family farmer whose legacy lives on through the farm stand at 15 and Citricado in Escondido.

It’s local historians like Vince who continue to preserve the story of Ag in San Diego county through his writings. It’s a pleasure to know him and to own his literary gems in my collection.

Great seeing you again Vince. I’m looking forward to reading your updated work on “The lost town of Bernardo”

06/02/2026

What to do with D’Acquisto Farms Carrots? 🥕 😋

Dark Chocolate Drizzled Carrot Bites 🍫🥕 Your new favorite sweet snack!

Total time: 30 minutes
Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients for 12 bites:
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup almond butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 oz dark chocolate (70% or higher)
1 tsp coconut oil

Step 1/4
1 cup rolled oats - 1/2 cup shredded carrot - 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut - 1/2 tsp cinnamon - 1/4 tsp salt.
In a mixing bowl, combine oats, shredded carrot, coconut, cinnamon, and salt.

Step 2/4
1/4 cup maple syrup - 1/4 cup almond butter - 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
Add maple syrup, almond butter, and vanilla to the dry mixture. Stir until a sticky dough forms.

Step 3/4
Form the mixture into 12 compact balls. Place them on a parchment-lined tray and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Step 4/4
2 oz dark chocolate - 1 tsp coconut oil.
Melt chocolate and coconut oil together until smooth. Drizzle over chilled bites and return to fridge for 5 minutes to set.

05/31/2026

Just like our ancestors on the fertile coastal hillsides of Sicily, eating what you grow—or what is grown in your own locale and in season—is truly special.

As a grower and an amateur home chef, having access to hyper-local, high-quality ingredients takes even the simplest kitchen creations to the next level. Summer dinners on our farm typically include grilled, salted sweet onions on top of a ribeye steak, char-grilled summer squash, fresh garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper green beans like Mom used to make, caprese salad with the very first vine-ripened heirloom tomato of the season, D’Acquisto Farms Genovese basil, and whole, skin-on oven-roasted Austrian Crescent potatoes seasoned with Herbes de Provence.

It’s simple ingredients, not overdone—fresh and cooked to perfection—with a glass of Merlot in hand and some Johnny Mathis in the background that makes it feel like summer in San Diego County.

Bon Appetito Tutti.

05/30/2026

Summer is officially here!

05/13/2026

This has turned out to be another epic year for our sweet onions crop. Onions thrive in places with cool dry winters like Coachella and imperial valley because they do not like moisture on their leaves. Since we’ve had such an incredibly dry spring and late winter, we have seen unprecedented yields and 2026 will forever be remembered as the year without a spring and the largest onion crop we’ve ever grown. Not to mention, they are one of the parent varietals used to breed Vidalia sweet onions so they are so sweet you can eat them like an apple. The carmelize so good on the grill and pair amazing with our summer squash selection. We may not see onions like this for awhile - it’s looking like a heavy El Niño year is on the horizon for the 26-27 grow year. Get them and enjoy while you can. Bloomin Onions in the air fryer here we gooo!!

05/02/2026

Goodbye April, Hello May:))

04/24/2026

🔥 Honey-Roasted Parsnip Fries & Paprika Aioli: A crispy twist you need to try!

Total time: 45 minutes
Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients for 4 servings:
1 ½ lbs parsnips, peeled and cut into fries
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced

Step 1/4
1 ½ lbs parsnips
Peel and cut the parsnips into fry shapes, trying to keep them evenly sized for uniform roasting.

Step 2/4
2 tbsp olive oil - 1 tbsp honey - ½ tsp sea salt - ¼ tsp black pepper.
Toss parsnip fries with olive oil, honey, sea salt, and black pepper until evenly coated. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer.

Step 3/4
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F for 25–30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until fries are golden and edges are crispy.

Step 4/4
½ cup mayonnaise - 1 tsp smoked paprika - 1 tsp lemon juice - 1 garlic clove.
In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, smoked paprika, lemon juice, and minced garlic until smooth. Serve fries hot with aioli for dipping.

04/22/2026

t’s shaping up to be a great year for our signature jumbo sweet onions and potatoes. From year to year, some crops do better than others due to weather and pests. This is the part of farming that forces us to live in the present, focus on, and enjoy the bounty of what is thriving in season.

Our sweet onions are finishing up nicely—we have about three to four weeks left of marketing bunched spring onions with green tops before they start to die back. In the following months, we’ll see those same onions become fully cured, with light blond paper wrapping and bursting with sweetness, without their green tops.

We have an array of amazing potato varieties this year that we are trialing. Staying on top of hilling the potatoes in a way that reduces manual labor has been a big part of the equation. To account for the cost of seed potato input, we are shooting for yield to offset that tremendous cost. Your support at the markets as well as our whole sale customers and chefs mean the world to us and allow us to keep going

smallbusiness

03/26/2026

Farming feels like a negotiation with time.
Some punch a clock, trading days for stability and a paycheck. Others chase passion. But passion isn’t simple—less money, fewer vacations, long stretches of isolation. It can take over your life until you look up and wonder where the rest of it went.
At the core, most of us want the same things: time with loved ones, a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, a little breathing room, a chance to just live. On a farm, the farm usually comes first—often at the expense of those very things.
You wake early. Work until your body reminds you it’s tired. Comfort and convenience are rare. Time with friends and family is scarce. And yet, there’s something you gain that can’t be measured: growth. Not just of crops, but of yourself—patience, resilience, humility, understanding your place in the world, and becoming your most authentic self.
I didn’t grow up on a farm, but something in me always wanted it. Open space, the scent of freshly tilled earth under the California sun, the patient wait for seeds to push through the soil—it’s possibly the closest glimpse of heaven on earth. Childhood loves often hint at the work our hearts are meant to do. You just have to listen, ask God, and be brave enough to follow.
Then there are moments that make it all worth it: watching someone savor the food you grew, mentoring someone just starting out, connecting with your community, sharing a meal or a story, seeing an idea you nurtured come to life. The list goes on.
The reward isn’t in paychecks, convenience, or benefits—it’s in knowing the work matters. That your time, sweat, patience, and love touch someone else. Every season, every new skill, every passing year brings hope—hope that we can make this journey sustainable, fulfilling, and meaningful. It’s a life of learning. A life of hope. A life of better days.

12/05/2025

All is well in the world as long as our babies are happy healthy and thriving :)