Westfield Area CSA Blog

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 26, 2020

Hello Everyone! The weather continues to be good for growing, although it looks like a dreary week ahead. The forecast for Friday night to Saturday has been fluctuating in the mid-twenties, what we’d refer to as a hard freeze as opposed to just a frost. At that point we will be giving up on protecting the more tender crops and covering the hardier ones to protect them from damage. Even crops like kale and spinach, which are quite tough, can sustain damage that reduces their quality and marketability. We will have to cut any broccoli or cauliflower that is heading regardless of the size, because if the heads freeze they are ruined. Lettuce is amazingly resistant to the cold, but if the tender center of the plant freezes it will no longer continue to grow and size up. There are only a few weeks until the end of the CSA season, but the challenges never end! (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 19, 2020

Hi Folks! The weather continues to be reasonably good for the crops. We had almost two inches of rain and another ¾ inch on Friday. We had a light frost Sunday morning. We continue to cover the beans and a few other more delicate crops to protect them from cold nights. We are getting a good harvest from the beans now, so our efforts have paid off. (more…)

Winter Squash

Winter Squash

Winter squash is really a misnomer, as these delicious treats are grown in the summer. They are edible well into the winter, however, thanks to their ability to last for months in storage.  First, be sure to check for any soft spots. If there are any, cook that squash right away. Soft spots can easily be cut out and the rest of the squash is usually fine. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 12, 2020

Hello Folks, the weather has been copacetic this past week – one cold night but no frost.  We are currently getting some rain, but it is not expected to be excessive.  We are still waiting for a large planting of string beans to size up.  They are growing very slowly but we should have enough for some groups this week and for the rest by next week.  This will be the gasp for the summer vegetables. (more…)

Broccoli Raab

Broccoli Raab

Commonly known in the United States as broccoli raab, it is truly a vegetable with many names around the world.  A few of the many names are raab, rabe, rapa, rapine, rappi, rappone, turnip broccoli, taitcat, Italian or Chinese broccoli, broccoli rape, or broccoli de rabe. (more…)

Sauteed Broccoli Raab

Broccoli Raab with Caramelized Onions

This recipe, found at simplyrecipes.com is the classic Italian way to prepare broccoli raab.  It’s also great served with Italian sausage and pasta.

Note that this recipe also includes the blanching steps, which is the key to removing much of the natural bitterness in broccoli raab.  Some people blanch their raab, some do not — so if your raab isn’t particularly bitter, or you like bitter greens, you can easily skip the blanching steps. (more…)

Beet Cake

Beet Cake

Yes, this cake is made with beets!  Very highly reviewed on food.com.  According to the recipe, the batter looks red, but the red bakes out.  Try it with almond flavored frosting, or serve it with homemade whipped cream. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 5, 2020

Hello everyone, so after three weeks without rain we received a little over three inches last week. We have gone from bone-dry to muddy conditions, but at least we have a respite from moving the sprinklers around. Nighttime temperatures have been dropping, but we have not had any more frosts. At this point we are covering anything tender and worth saving anytime the forecast calls for temps in the thirties. We have a large planting of beans which have been flowering profusely and are loaded with small pods. They are growing very slowly with the shorter days and cool nights, but we hope to have beans for next week. (more…)