Author: Bryan Housel

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 20, 2025

Hello Folks! As we head into the final weeks of the season we will be relying on the cool weather crops-spinach, brassicas, greens in the mustard family, as well as root crops and storage crops like potatoes and winter squash. We may double up on the root vegetables and there may be both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes in a share. Since the frost, which killed the vines, we have been busy harvesting the sweet potatoes and we have a nice crop. There are a lot of tubers to dig, and we would love to have help with the harvest. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 13, 2025

Hey All! So, it has been raining now for two and half days and you would think that I’d be happy. Unfortunately, you would be wrong, because the drizzle that we have been receiving has still not reached half an inch. On top of that, the frost that came last Thursday night was far colder than predicted or anticipated. We experienced substantial damage on crops that should have tolerated light frost. Oh well, that’s farming! We covered what we could, battened down the greenhouses, and harvested some things we knew would not survive. We took a serious financial hit, but we still have plenty of good veggies for the shares. (more…)

Yacón

Yacón

Easy to grow and store, high-yielding, supernutritious and crunchy like an apple, yacón 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 yacón in produce markets. (more…)

Yacón Sauce

Yacón Sauce

Found on the Attainable Sustainable food blog, this “yacón sauce” recipe is a twist on apple sauce.  It’s not exactly like applesauce, but it’s “pretty darned good”!  Cooked yacón takes on the flavor of what you add to it; it’s not a very distinct flavor on its own. Consider this a base recipe and play with it a bit. I could see it working well with dried apricots, too, or maybe even mixed with fresh berries. (more…)

Mashed Cauliflower

Mashed Cauliflower

You’ve made mashed potatoes before, but have you ever tried mashed cauliflower?  This recipe, found on foodnetwork.com, is a delicious low carb alternative to your traditional mashed potatoes.  Try pre-roasting the garlic and adding a little fresh rosemary for an even bigger taste.  Serves 4. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 6, 2025

Hello Folks! So, it was another beautiful weather week with no rain. We have a chance of getting some showers Tuesday night into Wednesday morning- we can only hope. We may also have our first frost of the fall later this week. If we do it only be a light one, affecting only the most sensitive plants such as basil and sweet potatoes. We have already begun digging the sweet potatoes and this week you will be digging them too! (more…)

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is an oblong yellow colored winter squash that is named for the spaghetti like nature of its flesh.  When raw, the flesh is hard and generally orange or yellow in color.  When cooked, it comes apart in ribbons, giving it the appearance of spaghetti. (more…)

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…)