Spring CSA

Bag Three contains the following local produce: Kale, Mesclun Salad Greens, Bok Choi or Escarole, Spinach, Cilantro, Pinto Potatoes, Bosc Pears, Apples, Carrots, Radishes, and Celeriac.

Store any greens in your fridge, if they are not wrapped, definitely put them in a bag or something to retain moisture. We notice greens grown indoors are a lot “softer” and are very prone to wilting. The roots and apples should live in the fridge as well. Store the potatoes and (when you get) onions in a cool, dark place – I mean, the onions would be fine on your counter, but might sprout in the light this time of year

You are part of a 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! 

This weekly letter SHOULD 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.

Pinto Potatoes.

Pinto Gold Potatoes are a two-toned medium sized gold potato that is by far one of my very favorite varieties – I use them for just about everything!  Developed at the University of Maine and features a skin pattern of red with white eyes, inspiring the pinto name. The gold refers to the yellow flesh which is buttery and delicious. These high-yield tubers are excellent roasted, steamed, or fried.

Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Farmer Egg Bake.  We have a bit of down time now, so I’ve had more time to cook.  As always, I am pregaming “emergency meals” for market season, when we are too tired to cook good nutritious meals.  I’ve been making this filling egg bake, freezing some for later and enjoying the rest these cool mornings.  You can literally use anything in your CSA bag (or fridge/pantry).  Here’s the basic thought process.

Ingredients.

• Potatoes
• Cheese
• Eggs
• Meat — whatever you have — sausage, ham, bacon, etc.
• Veggies – whatever you have – shallots, leeks, root veggies, greens, mushrooms, etc.

Whole roast your potatoes (the Pintos are perfect for this because they are smaller in size and super easy to deal with).  While your potatoes are cooking, cook up your meat and chop into bite size pieces.  Also, sauté your veggies a bit so they are lightly cooked.  Once the potatoes are soft, I get my baking pan.  I use my 9×13” pan, but you could use your cast iron skillet or whatever you like.  Put down some EVOO in the pan to avoid sticking.  Smash the potatoes with a fork to form a crust at the bottom of the pan.  Put down a layer of meat over the potatoes.  Add a layer of cheese, followed by the sautéed veggie mix, followed by another layer of cheese. Scramble the eggs with heavy cream, S&P – I use 9 eggs and ¼ cup cream for the above-mentioned size.  Pour the eggs over everything.  Bake in the oven between 350-375 degrees F for 40 minutes plus, until the egg looks cooked.  Enjoy, and if you have extra, freeze individual slices for those days that you don’t want to adult but want good food.

Stillman’s Farm.  The first guys from Jamaica finally arrived last Tuesday! Woo!!! The weather has not been cooperative for outside work, so they are providing extra hands to our local greenhouse crew…looking forward to some temperate weather so we can get busy pruning. The pansies and violas are blooming so we can now free up much needed greenhouse space by moving them into a cold frame. Though they will take a frost, it is still too cold to put them outside without damaging the bloom.  In the meantime, Reid and Kirsten knocked out seeding all our interesting heirloom tomato varieties – over 150 to choose from!

Still Life Farm.  Curtis had Achilles tendon surgery on Friday, March 14^th to reconstruct an injury he sustained playing basketball.  The recover is a bit tough – no weight on the injured leg for one month, and then two to five months of additional healing – but as always, Curt is a trooper, doing everything possible to help out at the farm and coming up with creative ways to ‘make it work’ (our favorite saying here on the farm).  The past few weeks we have been busy transplanting and direct seeding crops into our high tunnels, pruning orchards and berry bushes, and attending to farm clean up jobs that have been left for far too long.  I’ve also been busy launching the Supporting Members Drive for the Farmers Guild of Hardwick, a 501c3 non-profit created in our town to protect and promote agriculture.  If you would like to join the Guild as a Supporting Member, we would love to have you.  Click here to read more and sign up: https://farmersguildofhardwick.org/pages/supporting-membership 

Combo Dirt. Other exciting news for the combined farms:

• SLF & SF will be at the brand-new WORCESTER Farmers Market on Brussels…big news for our greater Worcester customers. Market on Brussels will be held on Sundays, from 11am to 3pm, at 3 Brussels Street (the mills behind the old Rotman Furniture).  Opening day is May 18^th.  PS: There is plenty of parking!  AND,
• SLF & SF are changing how we (respectively) manage our CSA accounts. We are both in the process of onboarding with a company called Farmhand, where all our members and customers will be able to login to their account and see everything in one place! So, one account per user, and it will reflect all purchases from Stillman’s Farm and Still Life Farm. We are hoping this will eliminate confusion for our combined customers. There are several other fun features we will be trying out too – which is hopefully add to your overall CSA experience for the better!  Stay tuned for the transition.

Eat well & love your food,

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