Westfield Area CSA

Get fresh, local, organic veggies and fruit delivered weekly. Delicious and healthy!

Westfield Area CSA Blog

Circle Brook Farm

News

14 Jul, 2025

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…)

Green Beans

Featured Produce

14 Jul, 2025

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

Recipies

14 Jul, 2025

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…)

Pasta Sauce with Cabbage and Sausage

Recipies

14 Jul, 2025

Pasta Sauce with Cabbage and Sausage

A few years ago, my share partner and I took a cooking class at Classic Thyme, focused on pasta sauces.  This one is an unusual sauce, hailing from northern Italy, close to the Austrian border.  It is very easy and so delicious, plus, if you make a lot, you can freeze extras for later use.  The recipe as presented serves 6. (more…)

Eggplant and Orzo Salad

Recipies

14 Jul, 2025

Eggplant and Orzo Salad

When in Cape May, stop by George’s Place restaurant on the corner of Beach and Perry Streets for delicious Greek food.  They won’t part with their recipe but I came pretty close to re-creating this delicious side salad they serve with many of their entrees.  This serves 6 nicely as a side. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

News

7 Jul, 2025

Farm News – July 7, 2025

Hi Everyone! We had a few heavy rains over the past week, which set me back some with my planting schedule – other than that the weather has been acceptable. I was finally able to plant the last of the winter squash and pumpkins this morning. These crops need 3+ months to grow and mature, so I have been up against the end of the planting window. I am also running out of time to plant sweet corn, which has a similar “days to maturity” number. (more…)

Savoy cabbage

Featured Produce

7 Jul, 2025

Cabbage

Cabbage is a leafy green or purple biennial plant, grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. Closely related to other cole crops, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.  Smooth-leafed firm-headed green cabbages are the most common, with smooth-leafed red and crinkle-leafed savoy cabbages of both colors seen less frequently.  The cabbage heads are generally picked during the first year of the plants’ life cycles, but those intended for seed are allowed to grow a second year. (more…)

Asian Pickled Cabbage

Recipies

7 Jul, 2025

Asian Pickled Cabbage

Here’s a recipe for Asian Pickled Cabbage from thekitchn.com. It’s tangy from the vinegar, sweet from the sugar, and just a bit spicy from the ginger — a perfect balance of flavors.  It’s super easy and refreshing as a side dish on a hot day.  The recipe serves 2-4 but can easily be doubled.   (more…)

Tzatziki

Members Corner / Recipies

7 Jul, 2025

Tzatziki

Last week, someone asked what she can do with just one cucumber?  Simple – make tzatziki!  This delicious, creamy, Greek cucumber sauce keeps for about a week, and is great with grilled chicken, turkey or lamb.  You can use Greek or plain yogurt (using plain yogurt will result in a slightly “runnier” sauce, but it holds the flavors and texture just as well so don’t panic if you don’t have it handy).  It is a snap to make.  Try it! (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

News

30 Jun, 2025

Farm News – June 30, 2025

Hello All! So we made in through the first heat wave of Summer 2025. We sustained some damage to the crops, but it was minimal. By far the greatest hit was to our pea crop. I love peas, especially sugar snaps. I plant a lot of different cultivars of sugar snap pea, many are dwarf types that flower and produce their crop quickly, but the best are the tall ones that grow six or more feet tall and require trellis. We begin planting as early as possible, with hopes of getting a crop in late June and early July. (more…)