Author: Bryan Housel

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – August 12, 2024

Hi Folks, We were spared by the remnants of Hurricane Debby last week. Another two inches of rain fell but the worst of the winds seemed to have passed to our north. The plastic was ripped off one of our small greenhouses, but no other damage was sustained.

This week’s share will be much like the last – we are continuing to send ground cherries to those who have not yet received them. Beans are back for everyone, and we have some nice lettuce. Those who received melons last time will get corn this time around and vice versa. We are holding off on the peppers to allow them to start ripening to red, yellow, and orange. After eight weeks straight of summer squash, we will give it a rest this time. (more…)

Tomatoes

Tomatoes

The tomato, like the eggplant, is a member of the Solanaceae, or Nightshade family.  Tomatoes are native to western South America, but were cultivated in Mexico by Mexican Indians, who were intrigued by its resemblance to the tomatillo – a staple in their cuisine.  With the discovery of the New World, tomato seeds were brought back to Spain, beginning the introduction of the fruit into Europe.  Tomatoes made their way to North America with the colonists who first settled in Virginia. (more…)

Southern-Style Green Beans

Southern-Style Green Beans

These Southern-style green beans, found on the Spicy Southern Kitchen food blog, are flavored with lots of bacon, and cooked long and slow until they’re melt-in-your-mouth tender. You’ll want to cook them for at least an hour, preferably closer to 2 hours, to get them really soft, but not mushy.  Just before serving, you can mix in a Tablespoon or so of butter to give the green beans a buttery coating.  Serves 6. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – August 5, 2024

Hello Folks! So, we have quickly gone from not enough rain to way too much. We received nearly two inches in the past 4 days, and the worst part is that it has come with powerful storms and damaging winds. One of our greenhouses was severely damaged and two exceptionally large and many smaller trees have fallen on our fences. Additionally, the trellising for our tomatoes and cucumbers has been damaged, as has the netting we suspended over the watermelons to keep the crows from destroying the crop. The saturated ground makes it impossible to seed fall crops and difficult to dig the potato crop. But we do what we must- we have already partially repaired the greenhouse and are working on clearing the trees and mending the fences. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – July 29, 2024

Hi Everyone! We have not had much rain this past week, but at least the temperatures have been moderate. We have a few chances for precipitation during the week ahead, which would be appreciated. We add another member of the Solanums to the line up this week – peppers. We will be sending green ones for the next few weeks until they begin to ripen to red, yellow, and orange. (more…)

Peppers

Bell Peppers

Bell peppers belong to the nightshade (Solanaceae) family of plants, along with chili pepper, cayenne pepper, eggplant, tomatoes and potatoes (except sweet potatoes and yams).  Their scientific name is Capsicum annuum.  This scientific name, however, is used to refer not only to bell peppers, but also to wax peppers, cayenne peppers, chili peppers, and jalapeño peppers. (more…)

Ratatouille

Ratatouille

It’s that time in the summer when our CSA shares give us everything we need to make ratatouille!  There are many recipes for this classic French stew, but one our our favorites comes from The New Laurel’s Kitchen Cookbook. It is so simple, and with fresh ingredients the flavors just shine through. (more…)

Carrot Cake

Great Grandma’s Sheep-Wagon Carrot Cake

If you find yourself with extra carrot culls, try Great Grandma’s Sheep-Wagon Carrot Cake (found at Cooks.com).  My recipe is more than 30 years old and was given me by my sister-in-law. I googled the name on an off chance and there it was, almost identical.  I always used a bit less sugar, and maybe a touch more butter but it makes great muffins too (just shorten baking time).  The cake doesn’t need a frosting, but if you like frosting you can add this one from Allrecipes.com. (more…)