Westfield Area CSA Blog

Hakurei turnips

Hakurei Salad Turnips

Hakurei turnips are a Japanese salad turnip.  They are sweet and much softer than a regular turnip, and rarely need to be peeled; just wash and trim the root ends.  The leaves are also edible but should be eaten within 1-2 days.  Wrapped tightly in plastic, the turnips can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. (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…)

Southern-Style Collard Greens

Southern-Style Collard Greens

There are many delicious ways to cook collard greens, but this is best-known way to do it in the South – low and slow in a stockpot (or slow cooker) with plenty of bold, smoky ingredients to amp up the flavor of the greens. This recipe from Southern Living Magazine takes a few hours to simmer, but only requires a few minutes of hands-on cooking time. Serves 10-12. (more…)

Vegetable Fritters

Kohlrabi Fritters

If you’ve still got those funny looking bulbs staring you down on your counter, here’s a new take on kohlrabi.  I’ll admit that for 6 years of the CSA, I never dared try them.  This recipe made me a convert.  They will never go on the swap table again! (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – June 9, 2025

Hello Folks! Well, here we go – the moment you have all been waiting for! I apologize for the delayed start, but the dry spring and late arrival of my crew set us back a bit. We have been working hard for you, racing to get ground prepped, seeds sown and seedlings transplanted, in between the bouts of rain. April was dry, which gave us a chance to plow and prepare fields but quickly required moving irrigation around the fields to germinate the seeds and keep tender young plants alive. (more…)

Lettuce

Lettuce

It is true, eating all that salad is good for you!  While the nutritional value of lettuce varies with the variety, the following excerpt from the University of Illinois website sets the record straight:  Lettuce in general provides small amounts of dietary fiber, some carbohydrates, a little protein and a trace of fat. Its most important nutrients are vitamin A and potassium.   (more…)

Spring Garden Soup

Spring Garden Soup

Another great soup recipe from The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash.  It serves 4-6.  Use 2 leeks (white and light green parts only) in lieu of scallions.  For herbs, parsley, thyme, or tarragon is recommended. (more…)

Zucchini Butter

Zucchini Butter

If Farmer John’s predictions come true, we may be in for more summer squash so here is a simple recipe for making Zucchini Butter. While the recipe as is yields about 2 cups, you can halve the recipe and make less. Give it a try if you have already made your fair share of breads, muffins, and gratins. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

2025 Registration

Happy winter everyone! It is time to register for the 2025 CSA season!   Know your farmer. Know your food.

Our season is 24 weeks long, June-November.

Click here to register online!

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