Westfield Area CSA Blog

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…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 28, 2019

Hello Folks, I guess you probably noticed that it was a rainy Sunday! We received nearly 2 inches here on the farm and we are back to the muddy conditions to which we have grown accustomed. We are looking at some pretty cold nights as we head into the weekend, but then it will be November so it’s to be expected. The weather is the most critical factor in farming and of course it is completely beyond our control. After 25 years in this business I am still waiting for that perfect weather year! All we can do is make the best of what we are given. As the climate changes it’s certain we will face more challenges, but people need to eat, and so we will continue to adapt. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 21, 2019

Hi Folks, it was a wet week here on the farm with just over 3 inches of rain falling between Wednesday’s torrential squalls and Sunday’s dismal drizzle. We also had our second frost of the fall season on Friday night. As previously mentioned, most of what is left in the fields is fairly hardy, and we try to cover a few crops to keep them going a bit longer. But as the days get shorter and the nights get cooler, growth becomes much slower. Beans, peppers and zucchini are now definitely done for this year. As the cold becomes more intense in the coming weeks, we will switch to covering hardy crops which, while not being outright killed by low temperatures, can still be damaged. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 14, 2019

Hi Folks! So, we received just under an inch of rain this past week and the forecast is calling for a wet Wednesday. All of the crops are getting the water and the sunshine they need and are growing and maturing nicely. We have begun digging the sweet potatoes and they look very nice and more importantly they taste great too! (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 7, 2019

Hi Folks! So, on the weather front we have good news and bad news. We received 0.8 of an inch of rain which has alleviated the dry state we were in. Overnight on Friday we had our first frost of the season. This is about 10 days earlier than the average first frost for our area and was most unwelcome. It was a fairly light frost and we were expecting it, so we did what we could to protect some of the more tender crops. We covered some of the peppers, beans, and the summer squash and I got up in the wee hours to turn on the sprinklers to protect a few other crops. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – September 30, 2019

Hello Everyone! We continue to experience dry conditions here on the farm. This past week we received a scant 0.2 inches of rain. We were hoping for a bit more overnight Saturday but it never arrived. I was anxiously watching the radar as bands of rain moved across Pennsylvania, but the storms either dropped all their moisture to the west of us or passed to the north. Our next chance for precipitation is on Thursday – fingers crossed. Meanwhile, we continue to move the sprinklers around the field to get the most important crops the water that they need. (more…)

Fried Oniony, Garlicky Green Beans

Fried Oniony, Garlicky Green Beans

This is a pretty simple recipe, via the Food52 food blog, that tastes great no matter how you serve it — hot, at room temperature, or even cold, the beans are so tasty you’ll be surprised. The timing on this will depend on how fresh and tender your beans are and whether you are using regular beans or haricots verts, which will take less time to cook. The beans should be cooked so that they’re neither mushy nor too hard, but somewhere in the middle. There will be some reliance on intuition here, so the estimates on browning time are just that — estimates. Use your eyes and taste buds before deciding when these are done. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – September 23, 2019

Hello Everyone! So, we received no rain at all this past week. After a wet spring and summer, fall is looking to be on the dry side. We have a chance for some showers early Monday evening which we are hoping will materialize. I am in the final week of seeding fall crops – spinach, turnips, radishes, cilantro, arugula, and other mustard greens. Since we have sandy soil the surface dries out quickly, and we have been moving the sprinklers around to ensure good germination of these plantings. We are also expecting broccoli and cauliflower to begin heading up soon and these crops need a lot of water. It appears that we will need to utilize the overhead irrigation on these crops to ensure good head size. (more…)