Spring CSA

Week Fourteen of the Spring CSA will include a hodge-podge of items, we definitely hope to include Strawberries, Spinach, Lettuce, Onions, and Hakurei Turnips or Zucchini with a few other goodies mixed in.  (Please note that the weekly photo is not an exact depiction of what is in your share, but rather a reference image.)

A gigantic THANK YOU goes out to all of our amazing Spring CSA members who braved our first Spring season with us.  Thanks for always making it a priority to eat local and seasonal, and to support small business and local economy.  You guys are the best!

Summer CSA.  Summer CSA kicks off in just a couple weeks.  If you haven’t signed up yet, be sure to grab a spot before they’re gone.  If a traditional summer CSA is not for you, be sure to check out a few of our other options, like our A-La-Carte CSA or our Fruit CSA.  Stillman’s Summer CSA Options.

Winter CSA.  Interested in eating local all year round?  Visit the Still Life Farm website to read more about Winter CSA .  Sign up for Winter CSA!

Weekly Featured Item: Strawberries

Strawberries in New England.  In Central Massachusetts (particularly in our area) we have very stony wet fields.  These types of fields make it almost impossible to use mechanical cultivation techniques (it’s really hard to stay in a tight straight line to cultivate when you are hitting a rock every two inches), so at our farms we tend to our strawberry crops using plasticulture.  Plasticulture is the practice of creating raised beds, covered with plastic mulch, with drip tape irrigation underneath the plastic.  The raised beds allow for better drainage in our wet fields, making sure our crops don’t have “wet feet”.  The plastic mulch does two things – weed control and warmer soil temperatures. Strawberry plants are hand planted the previous spring, tended over the next year.  Over the winter the berry plants are mulched with straw to protect the tender shoots from the cold temperatures. The following spring, if all goes well, we can expect to start picking summer’s first delicious berries any where from Memorial day onwards.

You probably don’t need any ideas on how to enjoy your strawberries, but just in case…

Mexican Strawberry Water

• 4 cups strawberries, sliced
• 1 cup white sugar
• 8 cups cold water
• 1 lime, sliced into 8 wedges
• 8 fresh mint sprigs

In a medium bowl, mix together sliced strawberries, sugar, and 1 cup of water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

Remove the strawberry mixture from the refrigerator and pour into a blender. Blend on high until smooth. Pour the blended berry mixture through a wire mesh strainer set over a large mixing bowl; discard the pulp and seeds.

Add the remaining 7 cups cold water to the pureed strawberries and mix well. Place the Aqua de Fresa in the refrigerator to chill for several hours or pour over ice and serve immediately. Garnish with lime slices or mint leaves.

#cookingwithStillmans

A big thank you to everyone who played along for our #cookingwithStillmans competition over the Spring CSA season!

Farm Dirt

Stillman’s Farm. “The Sheep Pasture” farmer’s garden is looking amazing this spring!  A magical place to unwind after a long day of farm work.  Market season is reaching full swing, we started the Lexington Market this past Tuesday, and Brookline is starting on Thursday.  Strawberries made their first appearance this week and that makes everyone happy!  Gearing up for Summer CSA, which is starting in just a couple weeks.

Still Life Farm.  Finn and Spencer decided to chase a skunk out of the barn last night after we returned from Copley market, so we got to spend our “wind-down wine hour” washing those two trouble makers.  There is a beautiful fruit set in the sweet cherry orchard and the gooseberry bushes are loaded with fruit as well! We sold out of tickets for our very first Farm Dinner, featuring the amazing flavors of spring served up by Chef Jesse Drewniak.

Thank you for an amazing first season of Spring CSA!

Eat well & love your food,

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