Westfield Area CSA Blog

English Peas

Garden Peas (aka English Peas)

Garden, or English peas, are your standard “pea in a pod.”  They have more nutrients and calories than snow or sugar snap peas and are a bit more work as they need to be shelled. Garden peas are sweet and succulent for three to four days after they are picked, but turn mushy and starchy very quickly after harvesting.  So use them fast! (more…)

Sugar snap peas

Sugar Snap Peas

Sugar snap peas, unlike last week’s garden peas, have edible pods that are filled with plump sweet peas.  Use them quickly as they lose their flavor and structure when stored.  They can be eaten raw, but are best when cooked, requiring little time:  steam sugar snaps for about 4 minutes.

Sugar snap peas are a member of the legume family and are a good source of folate, vitamins A and C, and zinc.

Risi e Bisi

Risi e Bisi

Rice with peas is a Venetian specialty.  Containing few ingredients, this recipe makes a fairly quick and filling meal or side dish. The recipe serves 4. (more…)

Fresh Arugula Pesto

Fresh Arugula Pesto

This recipe, found on simplyfreshcooking.com is a great way to use arugula.  The great thing about pesto is that it’s so versatile.  You can literally use any kind of leafy green in place of the arugula – even spinach, mustard greens, swiss chard. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – June 6, 2022

Hello Everyone, so here we go… lettuce begin! We are off to a good start with the first delivery of the season. As most of you know the first few deliveries in the spring are a bit smaller and heavy on the greens. The shares will build steadily over the next few weeks. We always try to have peas ready for the first round, but the cool spring slowed them down. It is possible there may be some English(shell) peas in shares toward the end of the week. If this is the case, we will make it up to the early week groups when we are coming to the end of the pea season. We have lots of sugar snap peas planted, so you should see these 2 or 3 times over the next month or so. (more…)

Stewed Escarole with Feta

Stewed Escarole with Feta

Besides using escarole in soups, this is one of my favorite recipes for this veggie. We included it a few years ago in one of our CSA newsletters and it got good reviews so whether you are a new, or even a more “seasoned” member, give it a try. I hope you will like it, too. The recipe serves about 6 as a side but you can also serve with pasta as a main dish.
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Circle Brook Farm

2022 Registration

Happy winter everyone! It is time to register for the 2022 CSA season!   Know your farmer. Know your food. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – November 15, 2021

Hello Folks, So we have arrived at the end of the line for this CSA season. A sad time perhaps, for the members, but honestly a relief for my crew and me. My workers are looking forward to escaping the cold and getting back to their families, and I could use a bit of R and R myself! I suspect that some of you may be relieved as well – the shares were fairly abundant, and in conversations with some of the members the word, overwhelming, was frequently used. We try our best to give our members an excellent value, I guess sometimes we outdo ourselves! Despite the weather-related challenges we faced, the harvest was abundant and we were happy to share it with you all. (more…)

Maple Ginger Roasted Butternut Squash

Maple Ginger Roasted Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is typically on most people’s dinner tables so here is a fairly simple side dish that isn’t too time consuming.  This recipe comes from Diane Imrie and Richard Jarmusz book “Cooking Close to Home: A Year of Seasonal Recipes”, and can also be found on sugartreemaplefarm.com.  The recipe as is serves 6; you can double the recipe, but cook each batch in separate pans to allow for proper roasting.  Extras freeze nicely, too. (more…)

Barley-Sweet Potato Hash

Barley-Sweet Potato Hash

Another fantastic recipe from the Simply Organic cookbook by Jesse Ziff Cool.  Serves 4.  Variations:  stir in ham, smoked tofu, or cooked chicken or shrimp into a bowl of the hash for a hearty meal.  Or top the hash with poached eggs.

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