Farmstand Hours:
January - April hours:
Fri, Sat & Sun 9 - 5pm
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Plantains
Plantains can be used for cooking at any stage of ripeness, and very ripe plantain can be eaten raw. As the plantain ripens, it becomes sweeter and its color changes from green to yellow to black, just like its cousin the banana. Green plantains are firm and starchy, and resemble potatoes in flavor. Yellow plantains are softer and starchy and also very sweet. Extremely ripe plantains are softer, deep yellow pulp that is much sweeter than the earlier stages of ripeness.
Plantains in the yellow to black stages can be used in sweet dishes. Steam-cooked plantains are considered a nutritious food for infants and the elderly. Ripe plantain is used as food for infants at weaning: it is mashed with a pinch of salt and is believed to be more easily digestible than ripe banana.
Mashed Green Plantains
Green Plantain Pancakes
Baked Sweet Plantains
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Farmer Andrew's Report
We hope you all had a great holiday break. Mrs. Claus enjoyed reading holiday stories to children (thank you, Mrs. Claus).
We're finally relaxing a bit now at the farm. From now through the end of April, the farmstand will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9am - 5pm. We're fully stocked and have some great produce. Each week our produce offering changes, depending on what high quality organic produce we can buy. This week's winter share is going to feature: cucumbers, mesclun mix, Cider Hill apples, plantains, lemons, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes and local onions and beets. We shoot for approximately ten items for the winter share each week. It's a terrific value for $35 per week and we love seeing such dedicated customers returning week after week to visit us (and the chickens) even when it's snowing. We will continue to have hot soup and fresh bread each day.
Post holiday sale: We are holding a big sale on holiday foods and gifts, so please come by. Markdowns are between 20% and 50% off retail price.
Nate and Chelsea will be taking a month long trip to Peru for their honeymoon, so Diana and I will be in the stand through mid February. Other work on the farm has included chopping wood and cutting down trees, tending the animals, and collecting eggs. The pigs will have their last day on the farm on January 7th (typically the pork won't be ready to go home for another week and the hams and bacon a couple weeks after that).
Meat shares are sold out for 2008, but there are still CSA shares available. |
 New in the Farmstand: "Free Bird" Chickens
We're really excited about this new brand of chickens. They are antibiotic free, all natural chickens, grown without artificial hormones and fed a vegetarian diet. They are humanely raised and the best part is they taste terrific! We're able to sell them at a very competitive price, too. Each chicken is approximately $10, which is a great value for a fresh, all natural chicken. Available in our refrigerated case, near the eggs.
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 More Reasons to Stop Using Plastic Water Bottles
The Boston Globe recently featured a story on the ongoing controversy about hard plastic polycarbonate water bottles, such as the Nalgene brand. Many major US retailers have pulled the bottles, including Patagonia. Whole Foods no longer carries the polycarbonate baby bottles and child sippy cups. We've seen many customers coming to the farmstand specifially looking for the metal bottles because of this article.
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 New! Locally Grown Heirloom Beans
Charley Baer, the last bean grower in Massachusetts, is now supplying the farmstand with "Bear's Best Beans". These beautiful heirloom beans, are grown right around the corner from us at Moraine Farm. We have Jacob's Cattle, Vermont Cranberry, Black Turtle, Flagelots and tri-colored Soldier beans. Each package has cooking instructions and a recipe on the back.
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