Westfield Area CSA Blog

Fresh Herbs

Fresh Herbs

Everyone knows that a sprinkle of fresh herbs turns that ordinary family dinner into something extraordinary. But did you know that fresh herbs have a high antioxidant activity?  According to a US Department of Agriculture study, fresh herbs, in particular oregano, beat out fruits, vegetables, and even garlic! (more…)

Pan Fried Smashed Potatoes

Pan Fried Smashed Potatoes

A simple, quick recipe from Gourmet Magazine.  These are everything potatoes should be: crisp-skinned yet pillowy, sprinkled with a generous amount of salty parmesan.  They require no laborious peeling and are much easier to prepare than french fries.  Serves 4. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – September 4, 2023

Hi Folks, Happy Labor Day! It is the unofficial end of summer, but the summer heat is back with a vengeance this week. It’s okay though, we still have a lot of heat loving crops in the field. It has been so cool at night that I have been fretting about an early frost. We usually don’t get hit with a freeze until Mid-October, but it has happened in September, and it is not pretty. (more…)

Rainbow Carrots

Rainbow Carrots

Did you know that carrots are not originally orange?  That’s right.  The original carrot, which dates back more than 4.000 years to Afghanistan, was purple.  The orange carrot didn’t come into being until about 400 years ago, when Dutch farmers bred the carrot to be orange – their country’s color.  Today, carrots have been bred in a rainbow of colors, which makes them much more fun to eat, not to mention, more nutritious. (more…)

Rainbow Carrot Stir Fry

Rainbow Carrot Stir-Fry

This colorful stir fry comes courtesy of the New York Times.  The list of ingredients in stir-fry recipes can look long, even daunting.  But the actual cooking goes very quickly, so it’s important to have everything prepped and within reach of your wok.  Read through the recipe a couple of times before you begin cooking, because once you start, you won’t have time to refer to it.  Serves 4. (more…)

Herbed Summer Squash and Potato Torte

Herbed Summer Squash and Potato Torte

This recipe was originally from Bon Appetit magazine, and found on epicurious.com.  It is easy to assemble by layering the ingredients (although the directions sound complicated!).  The recipe makes two pans so eat one tonight and freeze the other for another day.  A mandolin makes short work of the preparations. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – August 28, 2023

Howdy Y’all! About 2 inches of rain fell last Thursday night into Friday, ensuring that the puddles stay full, and the fields remain muddy. There have been short windows of opportunity to get some seeds sown and beds prepared for transplanting. We are coming to the end of our brassica planting for the fall and are nearly through with the direct seeded crops. I have been planting arugula, tatsoi, daikon, salad turnips and spinach. I will be sowing these crops, as well as cilantro, dill, radishes, and mustard greens every week for the next month. (more…)

Sweet Corn

Sweet Corn

Corn, also known as “maize”, is one of the most important cereal crops grown around the world.  Farmers differentiate “sweet” corn – varieties grown as food – from other varieties used for animal feed, industrial use, or products like flour, corn syrup, and popcorn.  Corn was originally domesticated starting around 9000 years ago in south-central Mexico, with early farmers selecting favorable traits from the wild teosinte plant.  By the time of European colonization in the 15th century, corn had spread across the Americas and become a major food source for the indigenous population. (more…)