Spring CSA

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: Tetsukabuka squash, Napa, Fingerling potatoes, Gala and Empire apples, rutabaga, carrots, daikon and or watermelon radish, celeriac, meclun, spinach and cilantro.  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.  BUT we have the additional luxury of greens coming out of our high tunnels and greenhouses, and the hydroponic lettuce and other greens – to be cherished!

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! Pretty catchy, right? 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.

Napa!

This week’s featured item is Napa!  Napa, aka Chinese cabbage is very versatile – enjoy raw, sautéed, soups or get busy and make some kimchi. Like other cabbages, Napa is full of vitamins A, C, K, B6, B9, and folate, as well as minerals like calcium, potassium, and magnesium. 

1/2 Chinese Cabbage shredded

That’s all you need, though I would def add grated carrot, slivered almonds, sliced water chestnuts, thinly sliced scallions…maybe some grated celeriac…

Combine:

• 1Tbsp peanut oil
• 2 Tbs. sesame oil
• 2Tbsp rice wine or white wine vinegar
• 1-2 Tbs. maple syrup
• 1/2 Tsp. salt
• 3 Tbs. soy sauce

Pour over salad and toss well.  Refrigerate for 1/2 hour.  Strain the salad over a sauce pan and press down on the cabbage until you have collected all the juices.  Boil the juices down to about 1/4 cup and toss into the salad.

If you want to go in a different direction try this similar combo:

• 3 Tb rice vinegar
• 2 Tb sugar
• 2 Tb soy sauce
• 1 healthy dose of minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp grated or ground ginger
• couple shakes cayenne powder
• 1 cup mayo

Mix the above and dress your shredded cabbage and wait for it…all the cilantro leaves. YUMMY!

Roasted Veg

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.

Little tidbits from the farms:

The vultures are back, as well as mobs of Blackbirds! It is still an icy mess out her and causing an even bigger mess in the yard and greenhouses, sigh, but it is melting in this wonderful sun and warmer temps. We spotted several Bluebirds scoping out the Bluebird boxes this morning, so I am going to boot up and start cleaning the mice out, LOL!

Stillman’s Farm Dirt. Filling up the greenhouses! Glenn has been  seeding of alliums and he’s not done yet. He still has some “retail” onions to seed, but he does that by hand and it is less laborious. 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.

Still Life Farm. Curt, Halley, and Kip have been very busy with the first seedings of the year. So far we have seeded our alliums, celery, celeriac, cool weather flowers, and early spring greenhouse crops. We’re thinking and planning for Spring CSA as well, so we’re getting plenty of Spring CSA crops transplanted into big greenhouses like bok choi, mesclun, kale, hakurei turnips, spring radish, etc. to keep us all fed through the spring months.

Still Life Farm has three weeks left of Winter Markets – come visit!

• Wayland Winter FM is every Saturday (last day March 15), 10:30am-2pm, at Russel’s Garden Center located @ 397 Boston Post Road.
• West Brookfield Winter FM is every Wednesday (last day March 12), 3-6pm, in the WB Congo Church located @ 36 North Main Street

Eat well & love your food,

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