Monthly Archive: July 2020

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – July 27, 2020

Hello everyone, we received about 6/10 of an inch of precipitation this past week from 2 light overnight rains.  It seems Mother Nature is doling out the moisture with an eye dropper!  These light rains help a little, especially when they occur at night and have a chance to seep in.  We really need a good soaking rain, and our best chance for the week is tomorrow – 50%. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – July 20, 2020

Hi Folks, I guess I do not need to tell you how hot and humid it is!  It’s July in New Jersey!  We are once again waiting and hoping that some summer thunderstorms bring us some much-needed rain.  In the meantime, we are moving the sprinklers around and laying out old drip tape to trickle some water on a few crops and help the germination of recently seeded plantings. (more…)

Quick Pickling Anything

Quick Pickling Anything!

An easy pickling recipe, not for die-hard canners, but more for the “refrigerator” kind of pickling. It takes a few minutes to make and you can relish eating them in about 3 days. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – July 13, 2020

Hi Everyone, we received 3½ inches of rain on Friday from Tropical storm Fay.  It is a lot of water in a short time, but fortunately it fell at a steady rate here on the farm and was not accompanied by heavy winds.  The ground was very dry after a month with almost no rain, and it soaked it up easily.  We are now able to get back to planting and caring for the tomatoes and other crops without the added burden of moving sprinklers around. (more…)

Grilled Eggplant Salad

Grilled Eggplant Salad

Here is a deeply flavored salad that can be prepared entirely outdoors, keeping the heat out of the kitchen.  This eggplant salad recipe comes from Melissa Clark of the New York Times.  It is fairly simple, tastes delicious, and impresses guests.  Yields about 1½ cups. (more…)

Pasta with Broccoli and Garlic

Pasta with Broccoli and Garlic

This southern Italian dish works great as a side dish or vegetarian main entrée.  You can double or half the recipe if we receive more or less broccoli in any given week.  Recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking.

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Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – July 6, 2020

Hello Folks, So we still have not received any rain.  The 90% chance of precipitation we had on Friday did not happen.  The storms moved to the north of the farm, and we got only a brief dust storm.  The storms that we thought we might get Monday afternoon also passed around the farm.  We are working hard to keep everything growing and newly planted crops germinating.  I have purchased more sprinklers, and we are reusing old drip tape to trickle water onto seed beds and crops on bars ground.  We will be mulching certain crops with straw to retain the soil moisture.  (more…)

Sautéed Hakurei Turnips With Turnip Greens

Sautéed Hakurei Turnips With Turnip Greens

Japanese baby turnips are tender, sweet, and juicy as can be.  By taking advantage of both their leaves and their bulbs, this easy and delicious recipe from seriouseats.com requires very few other ingredients, allowing the turnip flavor to shine through.  Because the cooking process is divided into two steps (blanching and sautéing), the turnip bulbs come out beautifully browned, while the greens stay plump and tender.  Serves 4 as a side dish. (more…)