Spring CSA

Bag 5/Week 9 of the Spring CSA should include the following: Ramps! fiddleheads, Mizuna, potatoes, cabbage, leeks, turnip, bok choi, lettuce or mesclun mix, pink onions, carrots…and we are trying really hard to get our hydroponic strawberries in the bag too!!! Please note that the weekly photo is not an exact depiction of what is in your share, but rather a reference image.

This looks like a phenomenal soup and stir fry bag!

The 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.  

If you cannot recycle or reuse them, we are accepting returned CSA bags.  Please be sure that returned bags are clean and in good condition.

Spring CSA schedule:  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

Weekly Featured Item: Ramps

Sometimes called Wild Leeks, Ramps are our native wild allium. They are related to garlic and onions and can be enjoyed in anything you wanted that flavor profile in. I think of them more like leeks because I love them sautéed in butter and served up with scrambled eggs. Simply trim off the roots, rinse carefully, and use the entire stem and leaf. Sautee whole or chop them up, it’s all good. Ramps are high in vitamins A and C.  Our ramps have been sourced from a partner farm in the Connecticut Valley (that’s still in MA) that sustainably harvests these delightful alliums.

Wild Ramp and Swiss Chard Pesto from Domestic Dreamboat

With a rich, garlicky flavor and thick, spreadable texture, this Wild Ramp and Swiss Chard Pesto is a great springtime addition to all your favorite foods.

• ½ cup walnuts
• 4 ounces Swiss chard, washed
• 2 ounces wild ramps, cleaned, root ends trimmed
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• tap here
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Toast walnuts in a small, dry skillet over medium heat until they are lightly browned and fragrant. Remove from heat and cool.

Coarsely chop the Swiss chard leaves and stems and the ramps. Add them both to the bowl of a food processor with the walnuts, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Process until everything is finely chopped, about 10-15 seconds. Slowly stream in the olive oil until the mixture forms a thick paste, using a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Serve with pasta, as a sandwich spread, as a raw vegetable dip, or in any other way you think might be delicious. One of my favorite ways to eat it is spread on crusty toast with a fried egg on top. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze.

I worked out on typing up my recipe for a quiche and never saved it, so I think I am going to just share the crust and you can make whatever filling you want with all the glorious things in your bag this week. I used spinach, ramps, onions and feta as my filling 🙂 If I’d had mizuna, totally would have used that!

Potato Crust Quiche

• ~ 1lb potatoes, sliced very thin (break out your mandoline or food processor for this)
• 1 TB EVOO
• S & P

Preheat oven to 350. Toss potatoes with oil, S & P to coat. Grease 9 inch pie plate and arrange slices, overlapping, covering bottom and up the sides , extending over rim a little because not only will they will shrink a little, they will get super crispy and extra yummy. Bake until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. While it is baking, prep your filling. After crust is baked, fill, but don’t over fill the crust and bake until egg is set.

And I just came across this that I am going to try out: https://www.sweetashoney.co/healthy-sweet-potato-crust-spinach-quiche/

Second featured item 🙂  Fiddleheads

As Spring is fully upon us we don’t want to miss the short season for fiddleheads either.

This local delicacy is best described as the “tightly coiled tips of early spring ostrich ferns with a tender texture and mild nutty flavor”.  Stillman’s Farm has sustainably foraged for some of your fiddleheads, and the rest are coming from our partner farm in the CT valley.  Fiddleheads are best simply eaten as a spring side, sautéed with EVOO/butter and lemon.

Preparation and cooking are important when dealing with this spring treat.  To prepare, remove any papery brown skin and trim away any brown stem ends.  Soak thoroughly in water to remove any dirt or grit.  Fiddleheads contain a toxin that can cause mild stomach discomfort, so they must be cooked thoroughly.  To cook, boil or steam for 10-15 minutes.  Then blanch in cold water to avoid overcooking.  After that you can do whatever you like with them, but a simple sauté with EVOO/butter and lemon will really allow their mild spring flavor to shine.

For more information and recipes check out “The Spruce Eats”.

Farm Dirt

Stillman’s Farm. Seed! Till! Plant!  Rinse and repeat. We are still doing loads of transplanting in the greenhouses AND we are transplanting outside now too. The most exciting time (and stressful for weather reasons) is the actual planting. When those plants go in the ground, they not only free up space for new plants in the greenhouse, but they have also made it to their final growing destination, which is the exciting part – PLUS it is very rewarding to see the beautifully grown plants we have been fussing over all Spring get into the ground. Any of you who garden know how satisfying planting is on a number of levels.  We have plants at the JP and BPM markets, but a drive out to the New Braintree farm is worth the trip.  Looks like we will have plenty of baskets ready for Mother’s Day and for those who aren’t into hanging baskets, we have loads of herbs, veggies, and colorful annuals.

The other exciting and stressful event on the farm is the peaches are blooming! We had a couple nights that were in the danger zone for causing damage, but I think we are mostly okay. Now we need to focus on it warming up and not dropping into sub freezing weather 😉

Still Life Farm.  The first of our H2A labor, has arrived back at the farm and our farm crew is busier than ever with spring projects, picking, planting, pruning, and more. Our new greenhouses have been delivered and are waiting to be erected. The NRCS archeologist visited the proposed greenhouse site to ensure that we were not building on anything particularly special. We’re rocking and rolling with spring crops in our already existing greenhouses, including zucchini, cucumbers, beets, scallions, herbs, greens, and more. The orchards and berries are in full bloom and the bees are out in numbers. I saw a beautiful orange oriole flying out of the fully blooming cherry orchard this morning – very vibrant!

And…Winter CSA 2024-25 Membership Drive.  Sign up by June 1, 2024 and save money with our Early Bird Discount!  Still Life Farm CSA

Eat well & love your food,

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

Kipling our chicken whisperer

https://stilllifefarm.com/csa.html