Tag: stillman’s farm

Chunky Pumpkin: Time to Enjoy Some Local Pumpkin in Big Pieces

Since Libby started canning pumpkin purée more than 75 years ago, cautious cooks have avoided the work of peeling and cutting this challenging vegetable. I happen to like more texture on my plate, so I researched recipes for fall dining and the holidays where you could actually recognize a few chunks of real pumpkin.

When buying a pumpkin for cooking, be sure to get a sweet, tasty version like these pie pumpkins from Stillman's Farm rather than one grown for display.

We are offered pumpkin flavor this and pumpkin flavor that! But, if you review the ingredients in those products, you may not find pumpkin on the list. Most “pumpkin” items contain what we might call pumpkin pie spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves.

Even when a bit of vegetable is present, it may be processed, canned pumpkin or, in some instances, a different squash. There has been an Internet rumor that all canned pumpkin is really squash. Snopes, a trusted website that investigates such rumors says, “90 percent of pumpkin sold in the U.S. (and 85 percent worldwide) is a proprietary cultivar known as a Dickinson pumpkin …”

Roasted Pumpkin

The first time Ed and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner in our home, we began the meal with a recipe for “Pumpkin Tureen” from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook.

It was a pumpkin filled with a mixture of rye bread, swiss cheese, onion, mustard, horseradish, and milk and then roasted in the oven until the pumpkin pulp was tender enough to scoop out with each serving. This was a mistake. The dish was so rich and filling that it should have been served alone not as part of a large holiday meal.

Today I’m more likely to serve slices of roasted pumpkin as part of a side dish of various root vegetables. Roasting brings out the best in pumpkin.

Stir-Fried Pumpkin from Madhur Jaffrey's Vegetarian India.

Pumpkin Meals from Other Cultures

We think of pumpkin as a harvest season treat. Other cultures embrace this large squash as a filling diet mainstay.

Traditional Indian cooks use pumpkin in curries. Madhur Jaffrey features a pumpkin stir-fry in her latest cookbook, Vegetarian India. She blooms mustard seeds, urad dal, and dried chilis for a few seconds in hot oil before adding onion and then pumpkin cubes. After a few minutes of stir-frying the vegetables, she adds cumin, water, and brown sugar and simmers the dish until glazed and tender.

Another favorite book, “The New Spanish Table” contains a recipe for Olla Gitana or Gypsy Pot. This hearty stew has carrots, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and chicken stock as a typical soup base. But it adds a colorful rhythm section of pumpkin, chickpeas, pears, almonds, and saffron.

Cambridge restaurant Helmand heads their appetizer menu with this tempting photo of Kaddo.

Middle Eastern cooks create Kabak Tatlisi, a pumpkin dessert. They candy the pumpkin by slowly roasting it in sugar and in its own juices. Pumpkin prepared like this is turned into Kaddo Bourani the signature dish at the Cambridge restaurant Helmand. They top the sweet, roasted pumpkin with a rich meat sauce and tangy yogurt.

Gordon Hamersley has a great pumpkin, mango chutney recipe in his cookbook, Bistro Cooking at Home. He pairs it with duck. A quick web search reveals hundreds of variations of this Indian condiment. It might be a great new holiday tradition.

That baked pumpkin that I made for a holiday meal would make a great vegetarian alternative to turkey or ham on a holiday table for guests who prefer vegetarian food. Using small pie pumpkins, you could make two smaller versions using rice instead of bread in one, for anyone who is gluten intolerant.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino ( adapted from one of our Fresh & Local newspaper columns)
Photos: ©2016 Penny Cherubino with photo of Kaddo from the Helmand.

October 26, 2016
August Is Time for a Stillman’s BLT

There is nothing like a mid-summer BLT sandwich.

The one above features Stillman's Farm heirloom tomatoes, salad greens, and Applewood smoked bacon from Sillman Quality Meats. The bread is from a local bakery. That slice of avocado that we use to replace mayo is the only thing not from a local source.

It's an easy build. Slice and toast sourdough bread, top with sliced avocado. You can mash it, if you like, but sliced with a grind of pepper is fine.

There are purists, like Chef Tony Maws, who will only serve tomatoes when they reach their peak of local flavor in August. I admit to accepting lesser tomatoes outside of this month, but I do go out of my way to serve the best of the local ones each season. Here I added slabs of Stillman's full-flavored heirlooms that tempted us at the Boston Public Market.

Next comes slabs of farmer's cut bacon from Stillman Quality Meats.

Finally a handful of lettuce from the big bag of salad greens we picked up at Stillman's stand at the Copley Square Farmers Market.

Put it all together and you have one of the truly great summer season meals.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny Cherubino

August 11, 2016
August Is Time for a Stillman’s BLT

There is nothing like a mid-summer BLT sandwich.

The one above features Stillman's Farm heirloom tomatoes, salad greens, and Applewood smoked bacon from Sillman Quality Meats. The bread is from a local bakery. That slice of avocado that we use to replace mayo is the only thing not from a local source.

It's an easy build. Slice and toast sourdough bread, top with sliced avocado. You can mash it, if you like, but sliced with a grind of pepper is fine.

There are purists, like Chef Tony Maws, who will only serve tomatoes when they reach their peak of local flavor in August. I admit to accepting lesser tomatoes outside of this month, but I do go out of my way to serve the best of the local ones each season. Here I added slabs of Stillman's full-flavored heirlooms that tempted us at the Boston Public Market.

Next comes slabs of farmer's cut bacon from Stillman Quality Meats.

Finally a handful of lettuce from the big bag of salad greens we picked up at Stillman's stand at the Copley Square Farmers Market.

Put it all together and you have one of the truly great summer season meals.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny Cherubino

August 11, 2016
Bountiful Selection at Early Season Farmers Markets

These days you'll find much more than seedlings and a few greens at the first farmers markets of the season.

Just look at what we bought on opening day of the Copley Square Farmers Market!

Clockwise we have scallops and shrimp from Red's Best; white rye bread from Iggy's; almond butter from Fastachi; apples from Stillman's Farm; radishes and asparagus from The Kitchen Garden Farm; plus carrots, cucumbers, and greens purchased with our Atlas Farm market share.

We could have bought a lot more but our backpacks were full and we'll be visiting the market again on Friday.

Stillman's Farm stand at the Boston Public Market supplied shoppers with fruit and vegetables over the winter months.

Thanks to Year-Round Markets

Part of the reason we have more early season offerings is the support that shoppers have given to year-round farmers markets and the Boston Public Market.

Having someplace to sell crops has encouraged investments in cold weather farming infrastructures such as hoop houses and greenhouses.

Photo © 2016 by Halley Terry Stillman, used with permission.

Farmers can also store produce under ideal conditions resulting in crisp, crunchy apples like the Honeycrisps we bought from Stillman's Farm or the sweet spring parsnips that inspired Gordon Hamersley's parsnip soup recipe in the Boston Globe this week.

New Additions to the Market

Early season markets are also good places to get to know new vendors like Caroline from Kitchen Garden Farms who will be at Copley on Tuesdays. We not only added their radishes and asparagus to our shopping bags, we also sampled the Sriracha sauces (regular and habanero) they make with their own peppers. We'll put those on a future shopping list.

Take advantage of these May market days and visit Copley today or Friday. If not Copley, stop by another local market. Here's our List of the Opening Days of Boston area Farmers Markets.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino except as noted the one of the Copley Square Stillman's stand is by Halley Terry Stillman.

May 17, 2016
Bountiful Selection at Early Season Farmers Markets

These days you'll find much more than seedlings and a few greens at the first farmers markets of the season.

Just look at what we bought on opening day of the Copley Square Farmers Market!

Clockwise we have scallops and shrimp from Red's Best; white rye bread from Iggy's; almond butter from Fastachi; apples from Stillman's Farm; radishes and asparagus from The Kitchen Garden Farm; plus carrots, cucumbers, and greens purchased with our Atlas Farm market share.

We could have bought a lot more but our backpacks were full and we'll be visiting the market again on Friday.

Stillman's Farm stand at the Boston Public Market supplied shoppers with fruit and vegetables over the winter months.

Thanks to Year-Round Markets

Part of the reason we have more early season offerings is the support that shoppers have given to year-round farmers markets and the Boston Public Market.

Having someplace to sell crops has encouraged investments in cold weather farming infrastructures such as hoop houses and greenhouses.

Photo © 2016 by Halley Terry Stillman, used with permission.

Farmers can also store produce under ideal conditions resulting in crisp, crunchy apples like the Honeycrisps we bought from Stillman's Farm or the sweet spring parsnips that inspired Gordon Hamersley's parsnip soup recipe in the Boston Globe this week.

New Additions to the Market

Early season markets are also good places to get to know new vendors like Caroline from Kitchen Garden Farms who will be at Copley on Tuesdays. We not only added their radishes and asparagus to our shopping bags, we also sampled the Sriracha sauces (regular and habanero) they make with their own peppers. We'll put those on a future shopping list.

Take advantage of these May market days and visit Copley today or Friday. If not Copley, stop by another local market. Here's our List of the Opening Days of Boston area Farmers Markets.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino except as noted the one of the Copley Square Stillman's stand is by Halley Terry Stillman.

May 17, 2016
At The Market: Berries & Corn!

It's starting to look a lot like summer around Boston's Farmers' Markets with some of our favorite summer crops coming into the city from the farms, orchards, pastures, and ocean. The heavy rain followed by heat has taken its toll on our farmers but they're doing their best to keep planting and harvesting.

This customer is checking out the cherries and raspberries at the Foppema's Farm stand at the Copley Square Farmers' Market.

Stillman's Farm has some of their early corn at their stands at markets throughout the area.

The Word from the Farms & the Commissioner

“The purchasing of locally-grown fruit like blueberries through a wide range of local food markets not only helps support our local growers, but also contributes to the rich agricultural heritage of the Commonwealth,” said DAR Commissioner Greg Watson. “And blueberry season marks the arrival of summer in Massachusetts.”

Lily Carone from Atlas Farm reports that the blueberries are in and, "There is a full array of color on the stand now – including rainbow carrots and chioggia beets!"

Peter Ward, Manager of the Central Square Farmers' Market, did some taste-testing for you. "The sugar snap pea is vastly overlooked. And its reputation isn't enhanced – on the contrary, it's damaged -by the over-chilled tasteless snap peas you might see at the supermarket. I tried sugar snap peas from every vendor at the Farmers Market …and their snap peas are crisp, crunchy and moist and sweet."

In Season, Right Now!

You can see in the photos some of the wonderful produce we've been enjoying.

Get Some Before It's Gone!

Garlic scrapes, radishes, and strawberries are all coming to the end of their spring crops.

Coming Soon!

Lisa from Atlas Farms says, "Peppers, eggplant, heirloom tomatoes…it's all just around the corner."

Plus, more varieties of corn, peppers, and the early stone fruit

Follow all our Local Food/Farmers' Markets and At The Market reports.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your Kitchen & Dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

July 10, 2013
At The Market: Berries & Corn!

It's starting to look a lot like summer around Boston's Farmers' Markets with some of our favorite summer crops coming into the city from the farms, orchards, pastures, and ocean. The heavy rain followed by heat has taken its toll on our farmers but they're doing their best to keep planting and harvesting.

This customer is checking out the cherries and raspberries at the Foppema's Farm stand at the Copley Square Farmers' Market.

Stillman's Farm has some of their early corn at their stands at markets throughout the area.

The Word from the Farms & the Commissioner

“The purchasing of locally-grown fruit like blueberries through a wide range of local food markets not only helps support our local growers, but also contributes to the rich agricultural heritage of the Commonwealth,” said DAR Commissioner Greg Watson. “And blueberry season marks the arrival of summer in Massachusetts.”

Lily Carone from Atlas Farm reports that the blueberries are in and, "There is a full array of color on the stand now – including rainbow carrots and chioggia beets!"

Peter Ward, Manager of the Central Square Farmers' Market, did some taste-testing for you. "The sugar snap pea is vastly overlooked. And its reputation isn't enhanced – on the contrary, it's damaged -by the over-chilled tasteless snap peas you might see at the supermarket. I tried sugar snap peas from every vendor at the Farmers Market …and their snap peas are crisp, crunchy and moist and sweet."

In Season, Right Now!

You can see in the photos some of the wonderful produce we've been enjoying.

Get Some Before It's Gone!

Garlic scrapes, radishes, and strawberries are all coming to the end of their spring crops.

Coming Soon!

Lisa from Atlas Farms says, "Peppers, eggplant, heirloom tomatoes…it's all just around the corner."

Plus, more varieties of corn, peppers, and the early stone fruit

Follow all our Local Food/Farmers' Markets and At The Market reports.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your Kitchen & Dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

July 10, 2013
At The Market: Berries & Corn!

It's starting to look a lot like summer around Boston's Farmers' Markets with some of our favorite summer crops coming into the city from the farms, orchards, pastures, and ocean. The heavy rain followed by heat has taken its toll on our farmers but they're doing their best to keep planting and harvesting.

This customer is checking out the cherries and raspberries at the Foppema's Farm stand at the Copley Square Farmers' Market.

Stillman's Farm has some of their early corn at their stands at markets throughout the area.

The Word from the Farms & the Commissioner

“The purchasing of locally-grown fruit like blueberries through a wide range of local food markets not only helps support our local growers, but also contributes to the rich agricultural heritage of the Commonwealth,” said DAR Commissioner Greg Watson. “And blueberry season marks the arrival of summer in Massachusetts.”

Lily Carone from Atlas Farm reports that the blueberries are in and, "There is a full array of color on the stand now – including rainbow carrots and chioggia beets!"

Peter Ward, Manager of the Central Square Farmers' Market, did some taste-testing for you. "The sugar snap pea is vastly overlooked. And its reputation isn't enhanced – on the contrary, it's damaged -by the over-chilled tasteless snap peas you might see at the supermarket. I tried sugar snap peas from every vendor at the Farmers Market …and their snap peas are crisp, crunchy and moist and sweet."

In Season, Right Now!

You can see in the photos some of the wonderful produce we've been enjoying.

Get Some Before It's Gone!

Garlic scrapes, radishes, and strawberries are all coming to the end of their spring crops.

Coming Soon!

Lisa from Atlas Farms says, "Peppers, eggplant, heirloom tomatoes…it's all just around the corner."

Plus, more varieties of corn, peppers, and the early stone fruit

Follow all our Local Food/Farmers' Markets and At The Market reports.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your Kitchen & Dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

July 10, 2013
At The Market: Old Friends at Copley Square

Our once or twice-a-week visits to the Copley Square Farmers' Market are a combination of shopping and chatting with old friends. Penny has been shopping at this market for more than twenty years and some of the stands we frequent have been there even longer. During the past few years, Ed has joined this wonderful community.

Last week, Ann Starbard of Crystal Brook Farm and Penny chatted between customers and caught up on what's been happening in their city and farm lives. Over the years, Ann has added a great selection of flavors to her goat cheese selections.

Rather than constantly adding more varieties, she tries to suggest matches with current seasonal products from other farms at the market. Last week, she was suggesting her chive cheese with the strawberries that were adding a deep, red pop to the market tables.

We love to offer guests her ginger goat cheese with a fruit platter for snacking or dessert. Last weekend, we enjoyed it spread on an Iggy's baguette with a glass of rosé wine from the South of France.

Ed and Poppy (our Westie puppy) often sit on a bench next to the Cook's Farm and Bakery stand while Penny backtracks through the market to purchase what we spotted on our initial walk around. Simeon Cook welcomes us and supplies Ed with the oatmeal raisin cookies that keep his sweet tooth under control.

This was a much better maple syrup season than last and Cook's has jugs of Grade B syrup on the stand. Penny loves the deep, rich flavor of Grade B syrup and it's one of the secrets of her meltingly delicious lamb shanks in chipotle sauce recipe.

The Word from the Farms

Lily Carone from Atlas Farm said, "Cukes are not far off – cabbage, carrots, peppers, and eggplant too…" "What few plant starts are still making appearances at market will soon be put to rest – so take this opportunity to plant some basil in a window box – or slip some tomatoes in the ground for a late season treat!"

Marshall's Farm tweeted, "Sweet Peas started last week and hopefully Green Beans are right behind them."

In Season, Right Now!

Foppema's Farm/Keown Orchards had the first cabbage we've seen this season. Time to make some cole slaw! They also have some of the best tasting honey we've had from any farm. It's our choice for our daily dose of local honey for allergy relief.

Micro-Greens were at both the Atlas stand from Old Friends Farm and at Silverbook Farm.

Eggs, meat, and fish are always in-season and available at more markets.

We also saw: strawberries, tatsoi, cut herbs (cilantro, parsley, basil, and dill), hakurei turnips, fennel, broccoli, mushrooms, garlic scrapes, salad mix, lettuce, arugula, radishes, beets, scallions, kolrabi, rhubarb, bok choi, chard, small onions with green tops, snap peas, sweet peas, herbs, hot house tomatoes, and honey.

Get Some Before It's Gone!

Strawberries! Enjoy them now. Some farms lost a portion of their crops due to the rain in June.

Coming Soon!

Blueberries and early raspberries – Barbara Hamilton from Hamilton Orchards hopes to have ripe berries around the Fourth of July.

Follow all our Local Food/Farmers' Markets and At The Market reports:

We heard talk about some early hothouse tomatoes. Curtis Stillman said Stillman's Farm would soon have kale and their first peas.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your Kitchen & Dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

June 27, 2013
At The Market: Old Friends at Copley Square

Our once or twice-a-week visits to the Copley Square Farmers' Market are a combination of shopping and chatting with old friends. Penny has been shopping at this market for more than twenty years and some of the stands we frequent have been there even longer. During the past few years, Ed has joined this wonderful community.

Last week, Ann Starbard of Crystal Brook Farm and Penny chatted between customers and caught up on what's been happening in their city and farm lives. Over the years, Ann has added a great selection of flavors to her goat cheese selections.

Rather than constantly adding more varieties, she tries to suggest matches with current seasonal products from other farms at the market. Last week, she was suggesting her chive cheese with the strawberries that were adding a deep, red pop to the market tables.

We love to offer guests her ginger goat cheese with a fruit platter for snacking or dessert. Last weekend, we enjoyed it spread on an Iggy's baguette with a glass of rosé wine from the South of France.

Ed and Poppy (our Westie puppy) often sit on a bench next to the Cook's Farm and Bakery stand while Penny backtracks through the market to purchase what we spotted on our initial walk around. Simeon Cook welcomes us and supplies Ed with the oatmeal raisin cookies that keep his sweet tooth under control.

This was a much better maple syrup season than last and Cook's has jugs of Grade B syrup on the stand. Penny loves the deep, rich flavor of Grade B syrup and it's one of the secrets of her meltingly delicious lamb shanks in chipotle sauce recipe.

The Word from the Farms

Lily Carone from Atlas Farm said, "Cukes are not far off – cabbage, carrots, peppers, and eggplant too…" "What few plant starts are still making appearances at market will soon be put to rest – so take this opportunity to plant some basil in a window box – or slip some tomatoes in the ground for a late season treat!"

Marshall's Farm tweeted, "Sweet Peas started last week and hopefully Green Beans are right behind them."

In Season, Right Now!

Foppema's Farm/Keown Orchards had the first cabbage we've seen this season. Time to make some cole slaw! They also have some of the best tasting honey we've had from any farm. It's our choice for our daily dose of local honey for allergy relief.

Micro-Greens were at both the Atlas stand from Old Friends Farm and at Silverbook Farm.

Eggs, meat, and fish are always in-season and available at more markets.

We also saw: strawberries, tatsoi, cut herbs (cilantro, parsley, basil, and dill), hakurei turnips, fennel, broccoli, mushrooms, garlic scrapes, salad mix, lettuce, arugula, radishes, beets, scallions, kolrabi, rhubarb, bok choi, chard, small onions with green tops, snap peas, sweet peas, herbs, hot house tomatoes, and honey.

Get Some Before It's Gone!

Strawberries! Enjoy them now. Some farms lost a portion of their crops due to the rain in June.

Coming Soon!

Blueberries and early raspberries – Barbara Hamilton from Hamilton Orchards hopes to have ripe berries around the Fourth of July.

Follow all our Local Food/Farmers' Markets and At The Market reports:

We heard talk about some early hothouse tomatoes. Curtis Stillman said Stillman's Farm would soon have kale and their first peas.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your Kitchen & Dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

June 27, 2013