Blog

Hello Everybody! Welcome to the White Barn Farm Boxed CSA program! Your support makes our operation possible and we are so grateful to have you behind us. We hope that your adventures in veggie land keep your meals fresh and tasty, expose you to vegetables you may not have otherwise had the opportunity to try, and push your imagination and creativity to elevate vegetables you see a lot by finding new and different preparations. Please do share any killer recipes, tips, or ideas you have for the veggies you find in your box - all of us will benefit!

A note about keeping things clean and fresh: We dunk our greens to cool them down and sometimes bag cut greens to portion them out, but really you should wash them and dry them in a salad spinner and store them in the refrigerator in a plastic bag so they stay fresh. Lots of people say “green bags” work really well and can be reused quite a few times – I think they can be found at Ocean State Job Lot. Others swear by special tupperware containers that keep veggies fresh for a long time. Do not expect your veggies to stay luscious without some sort of protection from the dehydrating action of the refrigerator. Herbs and things with stems in general will keep pretty well in a jar of water (like cut flowers, they'd like a fresh cut at the bottom of the stems before going in) - you can put the jar in the fridge, some people add a plastic bag tent over them also. At least toss them in a plastic bag before placing in the fridge. To prolong the crispness of roots that arrive to you with their tops on, twist or cut them off of their tops right at the crown (where the stem meets the root) and store in a plastic bag, separate from the greens. I tend to save clean tortilla bags, bread bags, produce bags that are perfectly clean - I usually shake them dry by turning them inside out and standing up to dry. 

Green Garlic. The bundle of tall green and white stalks that resemble leeks.  Use the white part just like garlic. This is the immature garlic plant. At this stage it is tender enough to dice up and use fresh (but it's still spicy). I just throw a few slices in the pan wherever I would have used a clove of garlic. The big green tops could go in a stock pot for a lovely soup base or stock for making risotto.  If you feel adventurous, try making this green garlic aioli.

Bok Choy. The big bundle of thick white stemmed veggies with green leaves. Bok Choy is excellent sauteed in olive oil with a touch of fresh garlic, ginger, soy sauce and stock. One new member told me she blanches them first and then sautees them with chicken stock and the kids fight her for it! It's a nice accompaniment to white fish. There is a great recipe for glazed bok choy. It is a natural for a stir fry - I usually cut across the base to get little half moons of stem to throw in earlier and then more coarsely chop the greens to add later. A popular perennial favorite is this crunchy raw bok choy salad.

Red Russian Kale. This I like to prepare with olive oil and slices of garlic (don't even worry about mincing). Add salt immediately so the garlic doesn't get too brown. when it starts to smell great, add the coarsely chopped kale. Toss to coat the leaves with oil and stir occasionally.  When it is bright green and tender, it is done. Sop up any textra oil with good bread. Note: when kale gets more mature the stems can get tough, in which case it is better to strip the leaves off the stems. If you'd still like to use the stems, you can always chop them small and start cooking them first. We think this week's primo first-picking kale is still tender enough to just coarsely chop the whole bunch. A second note: this method of sauteeing greens with olive oil, garlic, and a pinch of salt is the same method to use for any other cooking greens as well.

Spinach. I like to use my standard greens treatment: olive oil and garlic. Hot tip: after the spinach turns bright green and softens, turn off the heat and tilt the pan, shoving all the spinach to the high and dry side. drain the watery stuff. unless you wanted that moisture for something you were adding it to. It is great in a pasta, lasagna. This tender bunch would also be great raw, chopped in a veggie sandwich, or melted into a grilled cheese or quesadilla, featured in an omelet (maybe with feta and red onion).  even topping a pizza (make sure to squeeze out excess liquid if you add cooked spinach – no soggy bottom pizzas!)

Cilantro. This herb is fabulous and versatile. It can really pull together a tray of nachos or some bean and cheese burritos. But cilantro is also the perfect finish for Thai curries or fish tacos. I find white onions, finely diced with chopped cilantro, salt, and a squeeze of lime is a wonderful addition to any sort of taco, burrito, or even as a condiment with grilled fish or meat. Fresh chopped cilantro is also the secret to stepping up a jar of salsa to enjoy with tortilla chips.

Crunchy Royale Radishes. The bright red globes. i recommend thinly sliced. if you have a mandoline (the culinary, not musical instrument) this is a perfect opportunity to make paper thin slices of radishes served on little slices of good bread with butter and a pinch of salt (maybe a grind of some special salt you've picked up somewhere). They'd also be good shaved on a salad and dressed with white balsamic vinaigrette. Try them quartered for a crudite or sauteed briefly in butter if you'd prefer a milder version.

Arugula. the bunch of greens with thinner, more serrated leaves.  Chopped arugula is an excellent addition to a salad. A really simple and delicious salad is created by tossing arugula leaves with a pinch of salt, some grinds of black pepper, the juice of a half lemon, and a spash or two of tasty extra-virgin olive oil. Finish that with Parmigiano Reggiano peeled on top with a vegetable peeler and you should be in food heaven. Quesadillas with thinly sliced spicy salami and coarsely chopped arugula and a good melting cheese are so tasty and were my favorite meal to find at train stops in Italy.

Three Heads of Lettuce. To wash these, I like to fill a large bowl: the bottom of the salad spinner, the sink, whatever -  with cold water and twist the core off the bottom of the lettuce, push in the leaves, swish for a minute and after a few moments lift them out (so the dirt settles) and put in the spinner. Dry and store in a plastic bag, including a paper towel if you think there is still a lot of water left (pools of water cause rot). I like to store the leaves whole and tear them into a salad or put on a sandwich as needed. We've been enjoying the crunch of the early little romaine lettuces, chopped into ribbons and served on tacos.

Hakurei Turnips. The bunch of little round white roots are Hakurei turnips, a Japanese salad turnip. They are tender and crunchy and can be treated just like a radish. Slice onto some salad greens for a nice salad. I recommend the White Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing linked above to balance the slight spice of arugula, radishes, or turnips. Although these are mild enough to eat raw, you also got radishes this week, so I recommend treating them as a starch, sliced and sauteed with butter, finished with salt and pepper. we've had great meals of grilled steaks (from our buddy James' Liberty Farm), turnips w/ butter, and turnip greens sauteed w/ olive oil and green garlic.

If you're not away for the holiday weekend, come by the farmstand tomorrow!

WE ARE OPEN! Saturday, May 24th, 10am to 2pm.

We'll have the usual Iggy's Bread, Sheldonville Coffee Beans, and Jordan Brothers Seafood Truck AND Plants that still look good from last week! The inventory online has been updated since last weekend's plant sale, so check it out and see if there's something you'd like to add to your garden!

PLUS, we'll have:

Bunches of Spinach, Bok Choy, and Broccoli Raab

Lettuce Mix, Head Lettuce, Arugula, and Mustard Mix

and Shiny Red Radishes to top it all off.

We are sold out of our bagged compost, but there are a few bags of potting soil remaining.

We have High Mowing seeds for your direct seeded crops.

It's been perfect transplanting conditions the last few days. Random showers to welcome plant roots to their new homes! We are trying to get all of our warm weather crops in for the season and working madly to do it. 

Thanks for all of your amazing support!

Take Care!

Christy at WBF

Hello 2014 Members of our Community Supported Agriculture program!

You have all taken a leap of faith in your local farmers and decided to invest in our farm in exchange for a share of whatever we're harvesting for the 2014 growing season. You've paid us during the lean winter months, allowing us to get the farm started and now . . . It is finally time for the Boxed CSA to begin.

The First Pick-Up will be at the Farmstand on Tuesday, May 27th, 2pm to 7pm.

The farmstand will not be open during the first pick-up, but normally it will be (regular weekday farmstand hours begin Tuesday, June 3rd, and will be Tuesday to Friday, 12pm to 7pm - note that we do not promise to have your box ready until 2pm). When the farmstand is open we will have eggs, coffee, honey, Iggy's Bread, and more produce from the farm available for purchase. Also, Jordan Brothers Seafood will be at the farmstand on Tuesdays from 2pm to 6pm, beginning  June 3rd.

The pick-up area is on the north side (towards Wrentham Center) of the farmstand shed. We have a built-in fold-down table where you sign in, check out the display share, and observe any notes or instructions for the week. Sometimes there is an item that is not packed into the box and we put up a sign asking you to take one from a crate or basket at the pick-up site. This often happens for hot peppers and melons, for example.

The boxes are normally packed into our white cargo van ("Savanna White") and parked at the pick-up site. We usually cover the boxes in wet burlap to keep them as cool as possible. Just open the back doors, move the burlap aside and grab a box. Each share is the same, so you can take any box. Whoever is working the farmstand is meant to check the van occasionally and slide the remaining boxes to the back so you can easily reach them. Sometimes things get busy and this job gets neglected. Do not get into the van to get your box! I am sorry to say that in past years, more than one unlucky CSA member has been temporarily, accidentally locked in the van. Although somewhat humorous, I am sure it is not funny when it is happening to you. Just ask the farmstand employee for assistance :)

Your CSA share is packed into a one bushel waxed box. The wax coating resists water so your freshly rinsed veggies don't melt a regular cardboard box to tatters as you try to carry it away. However, the wax coating makes the box UNrecyclable. BUT - it is still REUSEABLE as long as it does not become mangled as you try to open it or break it down to lay flat. The boxes are also expensive so we would appreciate your efforts to keep them in good shape and bring them back each week (if you forget one week just bring it the next time - no big deal as long as they come back eventually). Thanks in advance! And here is a video to explain how to open and break it down without ripping the flaps.

If you are going to miss a pick-up, feel free to send someone in your place. Just make sure they sign your name in.  We cannot make you a box on another day of the week, since now we are only packing boxes on Tuesdays.   If you forget to pick-up, send us a text or email by Wed noon and you can get it at the farmstand on Wednesday (no later).  If you are running a little late and can't get to the farmstand by closing time, call or text and we can leave it at the sign-in table for you to pick up after we close. If you don't call or text, we will not leave extra shares out. We will donate all unclaimed forgotten shares. Hopefully, you won't forget!

Okay! With logistics out of the way, let's prepare to eat some fresh produce! Although I try to send an email each week describing the share and some ideas for using it, writing emails is a task that is hard to get to when field work and adorable one year old sons are pressing. There are years of archived CSA emails on our blog archive and we have a recipe page on our website that you can search by ingredient.  Obviously, the internet is full of excellent ideas, too. Also, we sell the Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook at the farmstand for $20. It was put together by a CSA coalition in Wisconsin and is an awesome resource for anyone getting a mystery box of fresh veggies each week.  It is important that you at least know what vegetable to search for, so look at the display share as you pick up and ask the farmstand employee to help you identify anything unfamiliar.

No need to buy salad or cooking greens at the grocery store next week . . . . 

Looking forward to meeting you all!

Thank you!

Christy, Chris and the White Barn Crew

Hi Everyone!!!

It's our Annual Plant Sale Weekend. For the first time in six years, it is predicted to rain. Thankfully, the forecast is seeming friendlier than it has all week. Looks like the heaviest rains should be over by late morning on Saturday. We also made a last minute tent purchase at Job Lot and ran over to Franklin Honey to borrow their 20 x 30 tent. There will be some cover. But come decked out in your raingear best just in case!

The final up-to-date inventory has been posted on the Plant Sale page of our website.

There should be something for everyone this weekend!

Jordan Brothers Seafood. Excellently sourced fresh fish. Lately they've had live lobsters! Order shellfish in advance. Saturday Only: 10am to 2pm

Franklin Honey. Bee-based soaps, lip balm, hand cream, and HONEY!! Saturday and Sunday.

WMR Woodworking. Lovely Kitchen-Related Wooden Treasures. Will Raymond's beautiful handcrafted cutting boards (and more) made from reclaimed hardwood scraps of the staircase shop he works at. Awesome for gifts. Saturday and Sunday.

AND OF COURSE! The White Barn Farmstand. Saturday & Sunday: 

• Grown here at White Barn Farm:
  • Pea tendrils, spinach, arugula, & mustard mix
  • NEW this week: Lettuce Mix
  • Bunches of broccoli raab, bok choy, & radishes
  • Fresh Eggs from our laying hen flock (fed organic grain & on pasture)
• Sheldonville Roasters coffee beans & his new "cow cups" - freshly roasted k-cup packs with recyclable cartridges
• Iggy's Bread & Pastries
• Puddingstone Organic Eggs certified organic & humane
• High Mowing Organic Seeds ($2.75/packet) lots of seeds, including crops we don't sell at the plant sale because they can be direct seeded (cilantro, carrots, beets, dill, beans, corn, for example) or crops that it's not too late to sow now 
• McEnroe Organic Potting Soil ($15 for 22QT bag)
• McEnroe Organic Compost ($10 for 40LB bag)

The excitement is building! Don't forget the Wrentham Sohoanno Garden Club has their annual Plant Sale on Saturday from 9 to 12 (mostly perennial ornamentals). It's at the Wrentham Fiske Public Library, alongside the library's annual Book Sale.

Wrentham will be alive with activity. Don't forget to bring some patience if you come early Saturday :)

We could not do this without all of you! And all of our incredibly hardworking and generous employees, family, and volunteers!

Thanks and See You this Weekend!!

Christy and Chris at White Barn Farm

Hello Everybody!

First of all, thank you to everyone who came to Opening Day last Saturday. It was a beautiful day, a great turnout, and we really appreciate your patience as we try to hurdle into the modern age with an ipad Point of Sale system (don't worry we still have our ancient little metal cashbox alongside). Your appetite for greens was impressive and we are hoping it is still strong this week! We have pulled an amazing quantity of greens out of our high tunnels - time for greenhouse tomatoes and cukes to go in!

Regarding last week's technical difficulty . . . I felt so embarassed that our Farmstand CSA debit cards would not swipe last Saturday. The problem was repaired in approximately 25 seconds once I had a moment to sit down and call the ecard folks. It turns out that when we upgraded and installed the new version of the app, we selected that the swiper was in the data port not the audio port. Darn! All we had to do was click on the other bubble. Anyway, it is all set now and I've adjusted everyone's card balance and issued and mailed the cards that we received payments for by Tuesday. If you have sent your payment but don't have your card yet, we should be able to look it up by your name (just have an i.d. to corroborate) or issue your card right at the farmstand - for real this time.

Gift Cards for Mother's Day (or any occassion, really) will also be available. Not sure if we will get to the little dried flower arrangements I was fantasizing about making. Time will tell . . . .

Farmstand Goodies: Jordan Brothers Seafood will be joining us. I remembered to call in the Iggy's pastries order early so we should have plenty of croissants and sticky buns. Sheldonville Roasters brought more coffee AND . . . 

We have a somewhat enormous harvest to share with you all. Hope you're in the mood for some greens!!!! and eggs.

Spinach, Arugula, Baby Romaine - red & green, baby bok choy, Radishes, Tokyo Bekana, Tatsoi & Vitamin Green Mix, and a little Swiss Chard

Our Plant Sale Poster has hit the town! The originals have a "lift the flap" feature. Heather Willey has done it again! I think she's ready to write some kids books! She made our Open flag last summer and used the images of that to create flaps that you open to reveal a drawing of a little boy (Graham?) peeking out from behind tables full of seedlings. We printed up a bunch of postcards and posters that look like the image below, but keep a lookout for the fun originals around town (I know I dropped one at Cafe Assisi, Cataldo's Hardware, the Plainville Library, the Alternative Market in downtown North Attleboro, Northworks).

The current plant sale inventory is not complete, but we have a start, so I'll try to get that posted on the Plant Sale page ASAP.

It's supposed to be a little drizzly tomorrow so don those adorable rubber boots you've been waiting to show off and come on down!

Thanks to each and every one of you for your dedication to our farm!

Chris and Christy at WBF

www.whitebarnfarm.org

P.S. Boxed CSA Members! Although we have tons of greens right now, we begin the CSA distributions the last week in May or first week in June. We want to have the critical mass to make a well-rounded share with a value between $20 - $35. You are welcome, of course, to shop at the farmstand in the meantime.  We are hoping we are on point for the first pick-up to be Tuesday, May 28th. Pick-ups are at the farmstand on Tuesdays from 2pm to 7pm. We will send an official email a week in advance of the first pick up.

Hello Farm Lovers!!! Happy Beltane, May Day, May 1st! 

Save Space in your Fridge for FRESH WBF GREENS!!!!

This Saturday, May 3rd is our Official Opening Day.

We'll be open from 10am to 2pm every Saturday in May. (We'll even have produce during that time while our Plant Sale is going on - more on that further down).

This Saturday we expect to have:

• Bunches of Broccoli Raab, Bok Choy, Radishes, and Swiss Chard
• Bags of Fresh Cut Arugula, Mustard Mix, Spinach and Pea Tendrils
• plus Dozens of EGGS from our own White Barn Farm Hens!

Gardeners Take Note!! Don't get stuck buying "organic" Miracle-Gro Potting Soil at a big box store. Let's do this:

McEnroe Organic Compost ($10/bag) and Organic Potting Soil ($15/bag)

High Mowing Organic Seeds, plus seed potatoes and a few early veggie starts (peas & little pots of basil)

- - - - - - - - - - -

• Jordan Brothers Seafood will be back!!!!!! 10 to 2 on Saturdays.
• We'll also have Iggy's Bread - those delicious French Rolls and artisan breads baked daily.
• and the freshest roasted coffee beans around from Sheldonville Roasters
  

Ahoy Farmstand Hearties!

The Swiss Chard has taken off. The pea tendrils are aspiring toward the top of the high tunnel.

We've got "parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme"

Glorious spring-dug parsnips from Vanguarden CSA in Dover (organic methods, like us)

 plus spinach and a sampling of microgreens we've grown in the greenhouse.

These tasty tidbits will be the perfect flourish to add to that dish you are preparing for something special this weekend!

more and more of the ladies in our new laying hen flock seem to be laying eggs every day!

If the gardening bug took hold of you last Saturday, we've got your compost to enrich your gardens and planters and Your organic potting soil for seed starting or container gardening. And we have a selection of High Mowing organic seeds to begin sowing! Actually we have some little sugarsnap pea seedlings and tiny basil seedlings too.

We are still setting up on a random basis. We're just Farmstand Ninjas briefly setting up for a few hours on Saturday morning. Saturday, April 19th, 10am to 12pm.

Come by for something fresh!!

There's a picture of me in 2008 showing my cousin's kids how to pick peas. Just to get you moms out there pumped to grow food with your kids!!!

See you soon!!

the White Barneys

chris & christy & graham

www.whitebarnfarm.org

Yikes! I just hate to bother you all with another email! I put down the wrong date for our Meet Your Farmer talk at the Wrentham Library. It is this Tuesday, April 15th, 7pm - 8pm. 

Also, people have been asking us when Jordan Brothers Seafood will be back. Bobby will be back with us beginning on our opening day, Saturday, May 3rd.

Thanks to all of you who ventured to the Lions Club Fair yesterday! Great to see you! Hope your greens were delicious :)

Take Care!!!

Christy at White Barn Farm

Things are moving and shaking at White Barn Farm. Peas got planted April 4th to christen the soil with seeds for 2014! We've also got carrots, radishes, salad turnips, arugula, and mustard mix in the ground. Yesterday we had our first transplanting session and got spinach, broccoli raab, and bok choy seedlings planted. Today lettuce seedlings will go into our high tunnel. Our seed starting greenhouse is getting full and fat for the Plant Sale! The season is underway and it feels good. Last night before I went to bed, I noted from the color of my face that it is now time to start putting on sunblock. It's hard to believe, but spring is finally here. 

Here are some last minute notices, as usual!!

April 12th - 10am to 3pm - Norfolk Lions Club Health & Wellness Fair - Freeman Kennedy School in Norfolk. Blood Drive, Eye Screenings, tons of booths with interesting vendors/organizations dedicated to wellness, including White Barn Farm. We will have a small sampling of early spring greens (spinach, kale, parsley), black radishes, popcorn, cookbooks, pint glasses (for two delicious servings of water, of course!). We'll also bring along organic seeds, compost and potting soil for your garden or containers. Bring a check and we can do Farmstand CSA Sign-Ups, too! Hope to see you there. Yes! It's tomorrow!

April 15th - 7pm to 8pm - Meet Your Farmer Night - Fiske Public Library in Wrentham. Come meet Chris and Christy, check out a slideshow, ask questions, find out why and how we do what we do. We can take Farmstand CSA Sign-Ups at the end. Yes! That is this Tuesday!

May 1st - Farmstand CSA Sign-Up Deadline to get an extra 10% added to your debit card. You commit to shop at the farmstand at the $200, $400, or $600 level and we will issue you a debit card with an extra 10%. You can use it anytime the farmstand is open to buy just what you want. This is a great option for people who would like to be CSA members at the farm, but think the Boxed share could be too much, or go on vacation for a few weeks, or want to choose exactly what to buy rather than pick up a "mystery box." Also, we have a Waiting List for the Boxed CSA right now, so this is a way to still commit yourself to a season of healthy, fresh produce. Just pick a day to come to the farmstand each week! You can buy or reload a card after May 1st and still get 5% extra value added.

May 3rd - 10am to 2pm - Official Opening Day at White Barn Farm. We will be open every Saturday in May, 10 to 2. We will even have produce available during the Plant Sale, amid all the excitement.

May 17th and 18th - 10am to 4pm - 6th Annual Plant Sale!  Vegetable, Herb, and Flower Starts for your garden. Plus we have bags of McEnroe Organic Potting Soil and Compost and High Mowing Organic Seeds for your direct seeded crops. Always an energizing and fun event!

June 3rd - 12pm to 7pm - Summer Hours Begin at the Farmstand. Tuesday to Friday 12 to 7. Saturdays 10 to 2. 

September 2nd - 12pm to 6pm - Back-to-School Hours Begin at the Farmstand. Tuesday to Friday 12 to 6. Saturdays 10 to 2.

October 25th - 10am to 2pm - Harvestween - Final Farmstand of the Regular Season

November 1st - Fall Hours Begin at the Farmstand. Saturdays 10 to 2. We move into the barn and hope to be open every Saturday until December 20th!

 Take Care, Everybody!!! See you Soon!

Chris and Christy at WBF

www.whitebarnfarm.org

We also got our delivery of McEnroe Organic Potting Soil in. We always order some of the organic compost-based soil we use to provide to the local gardeners at our Plant Sale (May 17 & 18, by the way). I remember in my gardening days how impossible it was to find a good organic potting mix. Since we are open this early, all you die-hard seed starting gardeners should come pick some up, too!

Unfortunately, NO JORDAN BROTHERS SEAFOOD this week and maybe until we are open for the season. 

It was the vernal equinox yesterday. Today the day will be slightly longer than the night. Now if we can get snowflakes and below freezing temperatures out of the ten day forecasts, I would feel a little more spring-y. But the sun is definitely intense when it's shining, warming our greenhouses, and making plants grow! The first day of spring was actually pretty lovely. Our son Graham has been loving being outside, "driving" the trucks and tractors, discovering puddles, and visiting the chickens.

We picked up our order of 100 laying hens yesterday. Red Star chickens from Moyers Hatchery in Pennsylvania. We shared an order with Pat's Pastured Poultry and some other farmers. Chris took the van to pick them up, making a stop at Lowe's for giant pieces of cardboard to line the floor and make a barrier between birds and driver. We still have 25 birds from previous years so they will all be integrating with eachother and Cider, our beautiful livestock guardian dog, for the next few days. Let's hope it's a success! We are hoping to provide more of our own eggs this season . . . the pullets we just got should be laying in 6 weeks.

That reminds me! We will probably have eggs for sale at the farmstand on Saturday. Michelle, at New Heritage Farm in Wrentham, said she'd like to sell her eggs. I haven't received a definite confirmation, but I feel pretty confident we'll have 'em.

Thanks to everyone for your support! Hope to see you Saturday!

Christy, Chris, and Graham