Welcome to Mary Margaret's Blog

Picture this: You have a fridge full of veggies, and you are busy and… Them: Hey what’s for dinner? You: Mmm, I think it’s going to be stir-fry again tonight… Them: Oh, boring! OR That again! Does this ever sound like your house?? Or maybe your husband says he “won’t eat plain stir-fry,” leaving you searching for a more creative way to use up the veggies in your fridge… Well, I totally understand that dilemma! And I feel like it comes up at all times of year… in the summer you’ve got fresh greens and squash piling up in the fridge and in the fall and winter there are things like onions, carrots, and cabbage waiting to be used.  And stir-fry it has got to be!     Here's one long-time CSA member's solution... One of our CSA members gave me this idea that helps her family make stir-fries more interesting.… Read More

Kids love rituals, right? Well, my daughter used to have one every night that when she was ready to go get her father to read a book before bed, she'd run down the hall yelling “WHAT’S THE LOW TONIGHT, DAD?” And even more humorously she invariably answered her own question with something not-so-seasonal-anymore like “probably sixty-six”. We've had a few nights already where Gene answered her question with “29”.  Now that we've reached the second half of October, hard freezes threaten what is left of the garden.   I love garden fresh taste so much! To me, nothing beats it!  It's so hard to think about it being gone... And when I think about it, the garden fresh taste that I miss the most is fresh herbs. Funnily, I don’t even have a favorite… I just love them all! This year I’ve used more fresh herbs than before in my salad dressings, dips, soups, sauces and stir-fries.… Read More

"What do I do with all of this lettuce?”  One thing I can say for sure about most new CSA members, is that you report having to work to eat all of the veggies that come every week in the farm share. That it gets you eating more veggies than you have in your life. And especially the lettuce can be a lot for some people, at first. This is even true of some seasoned CSA members… When I interviewed the most experienced CSA members last winter (think 5, 6, 7 year veterans) the most consistent advice I heard from them was: “Be disciplined to get through everything, especially the lettuce.” Or “Stay on top of the lettuce.” Or “Don’t forget about the lettuce in the back of the fridge until Tuesday.” Of course we all agree that greens are good for you. That is commonly accepted. And that we… Read More

“Hey, this kale is all limp!” "These carrots are all rubbery!" Have you ever said that? If you have, this post is for you! If you haven’t, then either you already know some of this (yay!) or you haven’t had fresh greens or other veggies in your fridge very often. Wilty greens or limp carrots aren't just unappetizing, they're also not as nutritious either.  And they plain just don't last as long or taste as good. Whether you are a gardener or a farmers market shopper or a CSA member, you "get" how special truly fresh veggies are, right?  So that's why we're here to help you not let the freshness go to waste!  At Ripley Farm we take great care to get our CSA farm share vegetables to you in the best condition possible so that they will have maximum freshness for you all week.  We want our CSA… Read More

Frittata? Does the fancy sounding word intimidate you? One of my 3-year-old daughter’s favorite books is 'Fancy Nancy'. Anyone else know the one?? And with this post I feel rather like her… “Frittata is a fancy way of saying an easy egg dish that you can put lots of veggies into and make fast!” I think that the word 'frittata' probably did intimidate me growing up. I thought of frittata or quiche as something only the cutesy French brunch place could do right… But, not anymore! The funny reality now is that I always seem to make a frittata when I have neglected my meal planning and have very little time to prep before a meal. Aka, at very inelegant times in my life. These days frittata is a go-to, at my house, especially after becoming a mom. So much so that I have the formula memorized of how I… Read More

If you are like me, you like to garden. For you, gardening is relaxing and rewarding. You get to take your shoes off and feel the cool soil and grass. It gets you outside the house hands in the dirt growing food. A garden is a great place to unwind when you get home from work or on the weekends on your free time. It is also a great place for kids (and adults!) to learn about food. Many of our CSA members come to the CSA because they love garden fresh so much but don’t quite seem to have enough time or space to grow it all themselves. Because let's be honest, growing ALL your family's veggies is a lot of hard work. Believe me I know.  Hehe!  :)     Why I really understand the satisfaction in having a home garden Now that I’m more of a mom… Read More

Here we are in April waiting for the snow to melt. Waiting for winter to be a distant memory. We got an unusually early first snow, way back on November 10 that just stuck and didn’t ever melt. Six months later we just got another 8” of fresh white stuff on top of the not all the way melted winter snow pack. My daughter says, “the trees have snow on their teeth” aka snow is covering all the trees, the spring bird songs are muted, and the mud is no longer on our boots. And we all know that It happens. But never-the-less it is discouraging!!! As farmers we have had to learn the lesson that things are out of our control over and over again. In fact it is the one thing that seems to be constant about farming. When we’re down in the dumps about whatever thing is… Read More

So you’ve decided that you want to change your diet. Or you aim to influence your husband’s diet. Or get your kids eating better. Maybe its because you or a family member has already had a diagnosis or you are wanting to avoid one. Maybe it’s because you’re unhappy with your health or your weight. Or maybe it’s because you want your kids to grow up knowing where food really comes from…farms rather than grocery stores. Whatever your reason may be, you want to eat more veggies. But you’ve not figured out a way to do that that makes you and your family happy. You’d love to grow all your own, but it’s just not possible for you. Whether you don’t have the space or the time or the sunlight to do it, you know that you can’t grow the diversity and quantity of veggies that you’d like to eat. And,… Read More

One of the most common questions I get from customers, friends, family—basically anyone who ever tries our carrots—is WHY do these carrots taste so good? The truth is our carrots just taste better, and even more so in the winter. It is counter-intuitive, but the starches present at harvest convert into sugars over the course of the storage season. And by March, we say “Wow! These carrots taste amazing!” In fact I know this to be true because many of our CSA members tell us that we’ve “ruined grocery store carrots for them after being Winter CSA members.” Our farm’s soil just seems to love growing carrots. That's why they are our signature crop.  (And my favorite vegetable!) The idea of organic farming is that the quality and health of the soil helps to determine the quality and taste of the vegetables grown in it. About 85 percent of the… Read More

Windy, windy, windy it's been.  Does it seem like this winter has been more windy than usual?  Or maybe I always think that in February! Does the cold wind get you in the mood for soup? It sure does for me! One thing that I do well at my house is make creamy vegetable soups. I love them. Gene loves them. My little one loves them. And guests love them. In fact, my creamy soups are the number one thing I serve that always get compliments. "Mmm… What did you put in this?  Wow, how did you make this?" "Yum, that smells so good!" I smile. It feels good to know people like the food you make.  Don't you think? But, actually it's not a secret. It's not hard or unattainable. It is so easy to make a delicious creamy soup. Anyone can do it! Yes, you can, too!  … Read More