soup

Spring CSA Bag Two should include the following:

Onions
Sweet Potatoes
Fingerling Potatoes – great roasted
Purple-top Turnips – roasted, soups, au gratin recipes
Hakurei Turnips – sliced fresh in salads or lightly cooked in stir fry
Beets – my favorite way to prepare is wrapped in foil and roasted
Swiss Chard
Curly Green Kale
Spinach
Mesclun Salad Greens
Apples (Cortland and Macoun)
Fresh Greens (cilantro or Italian parsley)

If you are eating with us for Spring CSA, you are really getting to the nitty-gritty of farm food and seasonal eating. Eating local and seasonal during the early spring means lots of overwintered roots, apples, and squashes. We have the additional luxury of greens coming out of our high tunnels and greenhouses!

Correct storage of the items in your CSA share is the key to successfully eating seasonally. Here is a Storage Cheat Sheet that I hand out with Winter CSA that also applies to Spring CSA. Check it out if you need storage tips.

This weekly letter will be coming to your inbox the day before your pickup and is also available at stillmansfarm.com/blog and stilllifefarm.wordpress.com.

We will see you in TWO WEEKS for your next bounty of Spring bag. The schedule is also on our website calendar.

Saturdays:

March 9, March 23, April 6, April 20, May 4, May 18, June 1
Jamaica Plain, 12-3pm

Sundays:

March 10, March 24, April 7, April 21, May 5, May 19, June 2
Lunenburg, 12-1pm

Thursdays:

March 14, March 28, April 11, April 25, May 9, May 23, June 6
Boston (Boston Public Market) 12-5pm
Brookline (Beals Street) 1-6pm
Watertown (City Hall) 12:30-1pm
Natick (Princeton Rd) 1:30-6pm
Worcester (Deadhorse Hill Restaurant) 5-9pm
Hardwick (Still Life Farm) 4-6pm
New Braintree (Stillman’s Farm) 12-6pm

Sweet potato harvest at Still Life Farm – October 2023.

Sweet Potatoes and Greens!

We’re at the strange time of year when we are still eating “storage” produce BUT we have lots of spring greens coming from the greenhouses. How lucky are we that it’s March in New England and we have access to BOTH?!?

Pictured above you can see Still Life Farm’s sweet potato harvest from October 2023 – those are the same sweet potatoes that you have in Spring CSA Bag Two! Sweet potatoes are a wonderful storage crop and are good for you – these high fiber roots are packed with antioxidants and vitamin A.

At our farms we have invested a lot of resources into greenhouses and high tunnels for season extension. This is really paying off. We are now able to supply our customers with fresh greens year-round, even in the deep winter and the early cool months of spring. And the greens are coming in hot, so get eating – Spring CSA Bag Two contains salad mix, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, AND fresh herbs – ALL these are coming from the greenhouses. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you the numerous benefits of eating your dark leafy greens, they are many. Eating like kings – even in March!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos from Flourish Farm.

1 lb. ground meat
3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbsp EVOO
2 cups cooked black beans (or one can)
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
8 flour tortillas (or corn, as you choose)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oil in a large fry pan and sauté onions and sweet potatoes until tender. Add water as needed to keep from sticking. Add black beans, cumin, cinnamon, and salt, then cook until heated through. Spoon this mixture evenly into tortillas, top with cheese and roll up. Place in a lightly oiled 9×13-inch baking dish. Cover with foil and back at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes until warmed through. Serve with your favorite garnish: salsa, fresh cilantro, sour cream.

Hearty Lentil Soup from Edible Pioneer Valley, Winter 2016.

3/4 cup lentils
2 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons EVOO
2 medium onions, diced
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon coriander
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons flour
1 large bunch collards, stemmed and thinly sliced crosswise (I used Swiss chard, but you could literally substitute any type of cooking green)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
3/4 pounds potatoes, quartered
juice of one lemon

Place the lentils, 1 tsp of salt, and 6 cups of water (I substituted chicken stock) in a large pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pan over medium heat, warm the EVOO. Add onions, remaining salt, pepper, and coriander (I also added some chopped carrots). Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are well-browned and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute, then add flour, collards, and cilantro (I chopped the whole bunch, stems and all), and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens have wilted, about two minutes. Stir the onion mixture into the pot with the lentils. Spoon a bit of broth from the soup into the empty pan and use to deglaze pan, scraping up any brown bits. Add the mixture to the soup. Stir in the potatoes and lemon juice and return the soup to a simmer. Continue to cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Stillman’s Farm – Reid and Kirsten seeding heirloom tomatoes.

Farm Dirt:

Stillman’s Farm. Seeding is in full swing. Glenn has been working away all week, seeding over 1,000 trays of tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers. Reid and Kirsten were able to get the extensive heirloom tomato collection organized and seeded. The first group of H2A Jamaican labor – Merrick, Melbourne, and Ali – have returned to the farm. The forward motion of spring is upon us!

If you are planning your gardens, Stillman’s Farm has lots in store for you later this Spring. Genevieve has many available seedlings listed online, be sure to check out what’s available. For the best selection be sure to schedule a trip to the New Braintree farm to pick out all your seedling needs!

Still Life Farm. We have just wrapped up our winter farmers markets, we were absolutely delighted to be vendors at both the Wayland Winter Farmers Market AND the West Brookfield Winter Farmers Market – it was a fabulous winter season! Now it’s on to spring planning. With such a busy winter, we have gotten a bit behind on farm projects, so we are working hard to knock those out while we have some “down time” in March and April. We’ve seeded quite a few flats of early crops, including all the alliums, tomatoes, peppers, hardy herbs, and special crops just for the Spring CSA.

Our town of Hardwick is being put through the wringer yet again (remember the Racetrack issue???). Now Casella Waste is proposing to put a 45-acre regional landfill in town. If approved, the landfill will be just over a mile from the Quabbin Reservoir – the water supply for the greater Boston area and an increasing number of other towns in MA. The horror of hosting a regional landfill in our right-to-farm town is unimaginable and risks damaging our town of Hardwick and the many surrounding farming communities. Curt and I have been spending ample time on this new development. Please stay tuned, it is likely that we will need help from you our customers one more time in order to keep Hardwick farming. More to come on this…

So, that’s some “farm dirt” from two of your two favorite farms.

As always, thanks for choosing to eat local with us – our customers are the best!

Eat well & love your food,

Halley Stillman (Still Life Farm) & Genevieve Stillman (Stillman’s Farm)

Spring flowers bursting into color at Still Life Farm.

Welcome Spring CSA Peeps!

It’s been a rainy week and at this point, we’d all rather see the rain instead of snow. Just not too much rain this year, please! Maybe we can hope for an early planting season???

This week’s bag should include the following:

pea tendrils
potatoes
onions
daikon radish
parsnips
carrots
celeriac
apples
winter squash (Spaghetti or Carnival Squash)
popcorn
something green (Swiss chard, spinach, or kale)

Store any greens in your fridge, if they are not wrapped, definitely put them in a bag or something to retain moisture. The roots and apples should live in the fridge as well. Store the potatoes and onions in a cool, dark place – I mean, the onions would be fine on your counter, but might sprout in the light 😉 Some of the spaghetti squash has some spots on the outside, but I cut open two yesterday and they were perfect inside 🙂

Popcorn! A super fun treat from Still Life Farm, just remove kernels from cob and pop (just like making any other popcorn).

You are part of a relatively new wonderful family collaboration between Stillman’s Farm (Glenn, Genevieve, Reid, Kirsten and sometimes Faith Stillman) and Still Life Farm (Curt, Halley and sometimes Kip Stillman), joining forces to bring you a most satisfying addition to our varied CSA offerings. Family Farm Force! Pretty catchy, right? This weekly letter will be coming to your inbox the day before your pickup, and is also available at stillmansfarm.com/blog and stilllifefarm.wordpress.com.

We will see you in TWO WEEKS for your next bounty of Spring bag. The schedule is also on our website calendar.

Pea shoots

This week’s featured item is pea shoots! Pea shoots are literally the delicate edible tips of the pea plant. This is a wonderful crop that we are able to cultivate in our greenhouses throughout the winter. They have a beautiful, sweet pea flavor that evokes all the happiness of spring. Enjoy them stir fried, steamed, folded into soft scrambled eggs, or raw in salads…they are a nice source of iron, vitamin C and fiber.

I LOVE them piled on top of a grilled chicken sandwich (any sandwich)!

For a quick delectable salad, whip together a dressing of lemon juice, Dijon mustard, shallot, EVOO, S&P, then toss with your pea shoots, thinly sliced apple, and some Parmesan. We enjoyed a salad of pea shoots and spinach with shredded daikon for Faith’s birthday this week.

Roasted Vegetables

Right, I am sure you are all over roasting veggies, but in case you haven’t for a while or just got your first oven, here’s a refresher.

All the roots and bulbs you got today (yes you radish!) and likely will get in the coming months are excellent roasted. Pointers include (but not limited to) cooking in a medium hot oven and using a glass dish to create the best caramelization, cut the veggies into similar sizes, smash garlic cloves if using, add anything juicy (I’m talking to you onions) later in the cooking process.

Preheat oven to somewhere between 390°F and 400°F

Cut your veg – carrots and snips and celeriac should be similar size/thickness as each other. With the exception of butternut, leave the skin on winter squash and cut into chunks.

Toss in oil and herbs – If using onion or less dense winter squash, toss separately in its own so you can add later and not have mushed or burned onion. Toss all the other veg in 3-4 T of EVOO, 1/2 tsp salt and fresh pepper… I love thyme and sage with roasty veg, but they don’t need it.

Roast – I use a large glass baking dish (the one I use for lasagna). Roast 30 minutes and then toss in onion, and winter squash if using. Roast for another 1 hour, OR until everything is all done brown and smells most sentimental – okay, not really, but there should be some nice browned edges happening.

I probably stir the veg around every 15 minutes, which helps them cook evenly and prevents me from overcooking.

If you are ambitious or have several baking dishes, make a lot at once…leftovers are awesome on a salad OR, puree the lot of it with excellent broth or water, add cream or coconut milk and enjoy some silky soup 🙂

Moroccan Carrot Salad

4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp of sugar
2 1/2 TB olive oil
1 TB lemon juice
Fresh parsley, chopped

Cook the carrots to al dente, coat with the mixture above. Wonderful warm, cold, or at room temp.

Farmer Glenn seeding onions at Stillman’s Farm.

Little tidbits from the farms:

The vultures are back, as well as mobs of Blackbirds! I am literally having a “LOOK SQUIRREL!” moment as there is a gray squirrel busy outside my window building a nest. She is quick to run down the Catalpa tree, gather up a wad of leaves, scurry back up the tree, disappear into a hole, then reappear 20 seconds later to rinse and repeat.

Stillman’s Farm Dirt. Filling up the greenhouses! Glenn is sick of seeding of alliums and he’s not done yet. One of our suppliers has back ordered our beloved Sweet Spanish and he has more cippolini to do. Speaking of seeds, good grief, some of the prices have gone through the roof and left me cancelling some varieties and looking for alternatives for some others. On the bright side, I did get the tomato transplant list updated on our website – it is as fabulous as ever, and also have been having fun planting flowers and designing hanging baskets for Spring sales.

The first of our amazing crew from Jamaica arrived last Friday and just in time for some good weather to begin readying the fields and orchards. It is always wonderful when they arrive – in fact, it is like having your family return from an extended trip

Still Life Farm Dirt. Having just wrapped up Winter CSA, Curt and Halley are busy taking inventory of what is remaining in their vegetable storage. Spring seeding has also begun for SLF. They, too, have seeded their onions, leeks, hakurei turnips, herbs and I am sure will be on to cherry tomatoes soon.

SLF farm can also be found at the West Brookfield winter market on Wednesdays, as well as their monthly pop up at Lunenburg.

Eat well & love your food,

Genevieve Stillman (Stillman’s Farm) & Halley Stillman (Still Life Farm)