Westfield Area CSA Blog

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – November 6, 2023

Hi All! As expected we were hit quite hard with a freeze last week, three nights in a row with temperatures dipping into the mid 20’s. We harvested a lot of peppers ahead of the cold blast; some green, some ripe, and some in between. They represent the last taste of the summer crops for this season and will be in the shares this week and next (if they hold up well). (more…)

celeriac

Celeriac (aka Celery Root)

Celeriac, aka celery root or knob of celery, is a distinct variety from the plant that produces the green stalks we enjoy in salads and soups; is cultivated specifically for its large, robust, and unfortunately rather ugly root.  It is a distant cousin to anise, carrots, parsley and parsnips.  Celeriac is recognized for its large, round, knobby and deeply gnarled, root ball.

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Potato Celery Root Purée

Potato Celery Root Purée

Here’s another recipe from a Gourmet Magazine cookbook.  This purée could make a good side dish for Thanksgiving, and may be made up to 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled.  Makes about 5½ cups.

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Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes and Basil

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes and Basil

Here’s another great spaghetti squash recipe from steamykitchen.com.  If you’re only feeding 4-6 people, I suggest cooking the spaghetti squash whole, then only using half of the squash when you’re ready to sauté with the tomatoes.  I like my spaghetti squash not too hard, not too soft. It shouldn’t be mushy, you should be able to still separate the strands of squash.  Serves 8-10. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 30, 2023

Hello folks, Happy Halloween! No time for trick or treating for us – we are busy covering crops to protect them from a series of cold nights this week. We have been picking a lot of peppers because they can be stored for a couple of weeks and covering the plants will probably not be sufficient protection. Soon we will have to abandon the more tender crops and concentrate on protecting the hardier ones, which can still sustain some damage if the temperatures drop below 28 degrees. (more…)

Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potato Fries

If you have left over sweet potatoes—and you probably do, these are so fantastic, even your pickiest eater will probably like them. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 23, 2023

Hello Folks! So, there will not be any sweet potatoes in the share this week (they will be back in the mix next round). There will be a tuber that looks a lot like a sweet potato but is not. It is called Yacon and is a member of the sunflower family native to South America. It is sweet and juicy and has a slight orange color (carotene). The sweetness comes from a sugar called an FOS (fructooligosaccharide) which is not digestible and hence does not affect blood sugar level. It is known as a prebiotic and contains beneficial antioxidants. (more…)

Yacon

Yacon

Easy to grow and store, high-yielding, supernutritious and crunchy like an apple, yacon root (pronounced ya-kon) is one of the many “new” vegetables coming to us from South America.  In reality, this fruitlike vegetable has been cultivated throughout the Andes for more than a millennium.  South Americans eat it as a fruit; they also use the huge leaves to wrap foods during cooking, in the same way cabbage leaves are used in Germany, grape leaves in the Mideast and banana leaves in the tropics.  Only recently – thanks to some adventurous green thumbs – have North Americans begun to see yacon in produce markets. (more…)