Easy Fingerling Potatoes
Fingerling potatoes are quick and easy to prepare on the stove-top. Because of their size, they cook quickly, and don’t need to be peeled. Try any of these variations! (more…)
Westfield Area CSA Blog
Summer Succotash
If you’re tired of traditional succotash, try this recipe from Simply Organic by Jesse Ziff Cool. It deviates from the classic style of succotash by substituting green beans for lima beans, and adding hot peppers, cumin, and lime for a southwestern twist. (more…)
Farm News – July 21, 2025
Hi Folks! So, how do you know when summer is in full swing? When your CSA share contains peppers, sweet corn, and TOMATOES! Yippee! The peppers and tomatoes are just getting started, so there will not be a huge quantity, but they will be more abundant with each passing week. The sweet corn ears are smallish – typical of the early varieties. We are hoping for a second planting to begin to mature for the end of the week. If the ears are not ready in time, we will substitute fingerling potatoes and make it up next week. (more…)
Swiss Chard
Swiss chard, along with kale, mustard greens, and collard greens, is one of several leafy, green vegetables often referred to as “greens.” It belongs to the same family as beets and spinach and shares a similar taste profile. Chard is a tall, leafy vegetable with a thick, crunchy stalk (akin to celery but less stringy) that comes in white, red, or yellow, with wide, fan-like, ruffled leaves that are similar to spinach but chewier. Regardless of the stalks’ color, they have similar flavors and cooking properties, although the white stalks are most tender. Very tender leaves can be added directly to green salads. (more…)
Swiss Chard with Garbanzo Beans and Tomatoes
This recipe is an alternative to the “traditional” sautéed Swiss chard with garlic. Depending on whether you want to use the chard stems as well in the recipe (you can cut them up finely, or dice them), you may need about a quarter to half a cup of chicken stock. Start with ¼ cup and add more as needed to get the chard wilted, before adding the tomatoes and lemon juice. Serves 4 as a side dish. Enjoy!
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Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake
This recipe, from Penzey’s Spice catalog, serves 4 easily and uses several squash and some of the herbs we should be getting this week. (more…)
Baingan Bharta – Roasted Eggplant Purée
Found in Rani Sidhu’s Menus and Memories from Punjab cookbook, this is a classic recipe for Baingan Bharta, a roasted eggplant purée. The word ‘Bharta’ (pronounced BHURR-taah) refers to dishes in which the ingredients are roughly mashed either before or after the dish is prepared. Bhartas are largely North Indian in origin and made from all sorts of vegetables. Yields 10 half-cup servings. (more…)
Farm News – July 14, 2025
Hello Folks! It has been a little dry on the farm this past week. We have sandy soil, so it dries out quickly, and we are still sowing seeds and transplanting brassicas for the fall crop. We are in the part of the summer when rainfall typically depends on scattered thunderstorms, where scattered is the operative word. As I write this update, we are receiving a light rain and hoping for more overnight, otherwise we will be moving the sprinklers around tomorrow. Fortunately, the temperatures have been moderate and are forecast to remain so for the next ten days. (more…)
Beans
Green beans, also known as snap beans because they “snap” when broken, are harvested when young, when the beans inside the pod are small and tender and the pods are thin. They are very low in calories and loaded with vitamins K, A, and C, fiber, folate and anti-oxidants. Interestingly, green beans were originally cultivated in Peru and were then spread throughout Central and South America by Indian tribes. Spanish explorers brought them back from the “New World” to Europe in the 16th century, and from there they spread around the world. (more…)
Chinese Dry-Fried Green Beans
This Sichuan-style (also spelled Szechuan) green beans recipe, found on The Modern Proper food blog, is inspired by the deliciously blistered green beans just like you can get from your favorite Chinese takeout restaurant. The dry-fry is a technique that intentionally dries out the food that’s being cooked—in this case to make our spicy green beans recipe. Stir frying the green beans in hot oil causes them to release moisture and take on a crisp-chewy texture. Serves 4. (more…)