✨Open Field Farm Fairies✨

By Stephanie

Delaney: Hi there, my name is Twyla! As a garden fairy, I spend my mornings in the flower garden tending to the growing flora and fauna. In the afternoon, I take my skills to the produce, guiding the growth of the farm’s food (in collaboration with the farmers). In my free time, I enjoy lounging on leaves, flying to the pond, and hanging with my friends Gretta, Orla, and Mertyl  in the eucalyptus grove. A typical outfit for me is composed of whatever fresh blooms I can fashion into a skirt as well as a blossom tube top! My friends and I are also in a band called The Dirty Spoons where I play the stand up base. Our hit single is called “That Cow Is My Cow,” inspired by Gretta’s time as a herding fairy.

Ava: Ah hello my friend, it’s Gretta here! You can spot me on the hillside with all my cow friends. It is my job to lead the herd to greener pastures, but in all honesty, if you came to visit, you would most likely find me resting in the grass, sunbathing, as the cows graze around me! While I soak up the sun, I love to paint black spots on the cows, I just think it makes them so cute! When the sun begins to fall I fly over to the pond. There I met fairy friends and Bandmates, Orla, Mertyl, and Twyla, together we make “The Dirty Spoons”. I play the harmonica or eclectic guitar, depending on the vibe of the night. Every night is a hoot and everyday is a dream, life sure is sweet here on Open Field Farm!

Stephanie: Hello my humans, it's me, Mertyl! I call the old oak tree on the top of the hill home, keeping a watchful eye on the farm, and carrying out a few important jobs. One of them is taking flight and embarking on a long journey to the ocean where I collect shells, rocks, and seaweed to bring back as food for the grandmother oak I call home. Another important job I have is to share with humans the important wisdom grandmother oak has shared with me. If you want to hear the secrets and whispers me and the other fairies and nymphs hold, all you have to do is look, listen, and appreciate the places all around the farm that we call home.

Peri: Hi, my name is Orla and I live at the pond. It's my duty to keep the water clean and act as a mediator when arguments break out amongst the Geese that share my home. However, work doesn’t take up too much of my time and I end up spending the majority of my day catching a ride on my fish bestie, Glorp. We love to dive and look for treasures. I like to wrap up my days playing fiddle on the dock with my band, The Dirty Spoons. Sometimes the geese like to listen. I am grateful to have been born with the ability to breathe underwater so I can truly enjoy all the pond has to offer.

Upcoming Event: Farm BBQ and Baseball Sunday August 3rd at 4:30 pm

Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• New potatoes

• Merlin Beets

• Yaya Carrots

• Pink Beauty Radishes

• Gold Princess Onions

• Parade Scallions

• Alto Leeks

• Cocozelle, Goldini, and Dark Star Summer Squash

• Cucumbers

• Shelling Peas

• Lettuce

• Rhubarb Chard

• Parsley, Cilantro, and Dill

• Albion Strawberries

• Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs

• Sonora Wheat Flour and Berries

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

• Open Field Farm Swag!

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

• 1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt  (I used Whole fat and it was perfect.)

• ¾ cup olive oil

• 2 large eggs room temperature

• Zest of a lemon

• ¼ cup juice of a lemon

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 ½ cups flour

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 tsp vanilla 

For The Lemon Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 3-4 lemons for juice 

In a large bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt, olive oil, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar until well combined.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl. Add the salt.

Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together. Stop when the flour is almost mixed in—a few streaks of flour are okay!

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

The Mother Tree

By AJ

I am currently reading “Finding the Mother Tree” by Suzanne Simard.

The author recollects her journey working for the forest service and then on to her research on forest ecology and the interdependence therein. Her research goes on to show that “hub” or “mother” trees are intricately connected to younger trees by underground networks of mycelium.

This all takes place from the 90’s onward, when we “knew” less about how forests and trees work. I think many of us don’t need science to tell us that plants live, communicate and work together to form complicated social networks to accomplish healthy communities. At the time, however, the author is fighting tooth and nail to prove this to policymakers and male coworkers who dismiss her every step of the way.  

Primarily, I’m finding the book deeply sad. I don’t necessarily think it’s supposed to be deeply sad, but it brings up a certain desperation in my body. Feeling the love and respect that the author feels for the forest– and the subsequent frustration when she is dismissed–hits hard. 

Her research ends up having a positive impact on forestry practices. But looking at where we are today, I don’t feel like her experience is outdated at all. It still seems like an uphill battle to convince people of the intrinsic value of the forest community, a far cry to protect and nurture it. 

Reading this book has also brought up complicated feelings about my everyday work. I value what we do and how we do it. I value the community, human and otherwise, and the ethos behind how we interact. I also wonder, as humans, if we are capable of and willing to choose community over convenience. If, just because we don’t want to do harm, does that mean that we aren’t? I can’t say, With a history of misguided ecological decisions, we aren’t always the most observant species. We’ve made decisions that, at the time, seemed ingenious and positive but turned out to have problematic and negative outcomes down the road. The history of agriculture is a blaring example of this. (And I won’t get into capitalism and patriarchy and it’s role in driving these decisions here.)

In addition to feeling sad, I also feel fueled. I want to be more observant, I want to choose interdependence, I want to exude respect and positivity toward the plants (cultivated or not), animals and soil  we work with,  holding dear the things that matter. And I hope this intention is seen. And I hope it is enough.  

Upcoming Event: Farm BBQ and Baseball Sunday August 3rd at 4:30 pm

Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Merlin Beets

• Pink Beauty Radishes

• Gold Princess Onions

• Parade Scallions

• Alto Leeks

• Lettuce

• Rhubarb Chard

• Kale

• Champion Collards

• Parsley, Cilantro, and Dill

• Albion Strawberries

• Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs

• Sonora Wheat Flour and Berries

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

• Open Field Farm Swag!

KEXP

By Seda

The other day someone asked me what music I had been listening to recently. At that moment I racked my brain and couldn’t come up with an answer. I thought about it more and realized I haven't been listening to music in my usual manner, streaming a curated playlist or album I have picked out through Spotify. Instead, I've been tuning into the radio, so old school! The soundtrack for my typical weekend morning comes from KEXP, a local Seattle radio station that now broadcasts from Oakland as well. KEXP is nostalgic for me, growing up visiting my dad in Seattle, he constantly had it playing in the background and still does today. It's something I associate with him and also the Seattle/Pacific Northwest area. So living far from my family, I too have started tuning to KEXP mostly for the 9am till noon shows like Positive Vibrations and The Roadhouse. My dad and I text back and forth asking each other if we just heard so-so's song, and he is always writing in, bugging the DJ’s to play something. On occasion they will and I'll hear it two states away. 

KEXP definitely holds a special spot in my heart, but in general I find radio to be such a great community centered resource. There's something about turning in and not knowing what you are in for that I find exhilarating (kind of how I feel about farming). Beyond music, another great radio program I remember from growing up in Mendocino county was called Trading Time. Essentially the craigslist or facebook marketplace in radio show form, local people calling in about what they had to offer or what they were looking to buy or trade. Music, trades, news, stories, all this to say that I’m a fan of local public community radio and you should be too! 

If you're interested in KEXP, listen in at 92.7FM in the bay, 90.3FM in the Seattle area, you can also stream it from the app. 

Upcoming Event: Farm BBQ and Baseball Sunday August 3rd at 4:30 pm

Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Pink Beauty Radishes

• Scallions

• Leeks

• Fennel

• Head Lettuce

• Chard

• Parsley, Cilantro, and Dill

• Strawberries

• Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs

• Sonora Wheat Flour

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

We also have new items for sale in the barn!

Open Field Farm youth t-shirts, adult sweatshirts, and tote bags with a new log designed by Cici. We love them and hope you do too. We are also open to suggestions about other items: adult tees, hats, and more.

Strawberry Gallette

Filling and baking directions from https://teatimecreative.com/simple-strawberry-galette/

Dough recipe from me. 

Dough Recipe:

• 2 cups flour

• 1.5 sticks unsalted butter

• 1 T sugar

• 1/2 t salt

Mix flour, sugar, and salt. Cut butter into cubes and work into flour mixture until pea sized or smaller, mixing it pretty well into flour. Then add ice water a bit at a time until it easily comes into a ball. 

Filling:

3 C chopped strawberries, 1/2 C sugar, 2 Tbsp flour

Chop the strawberries into pieces and toss them with the sugar and vanilla and flour. Set aside to rest while you roll out the dough.

Shape:

Preheat the oven to 400F (C) while you roll out the crust.

You can make one large or two smaller galettes with this recipe. Lightly flour the counter and the dough. You can roll your crust out on seran wrap to make it easier to move as you go.

If you’re making two divide the dough in half and roll out each half into a rough circle about 10″ across. Roll from the middle out to keep the dough even.

Put a large piece of parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and lay the crusts out on it.

Divide the filling between the two crusts and spread the fruit out to about 2-3″ from the edge.

Fold the edges up to cover the fruit, folding it as you go around.

Optional: Brush with an egg wash (1 egg + 1 Tbsp water beaten together in a bowl) and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake:

Bake for 40-45 mins or until the crust is nicely golden brown. Serve immediately.

Optional: Chopped fresh mint, honey for drizzling

The State of Things

By Kelsey

Its been a hard week. My family all came down with an illness that had us in bed for days, during which time I could not look away from the relentless flood of increasingly dark and dystopian news stories around the world. I know, we all know. No need to remind anyone. So I won’t talk about it, I will just share this poem, which feels like a very small sliver of relief, a calming breath, when the magnitude of human suffering feels impossible to accept.

The Peace of Wild Things
by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

May you find some peace in the wildness of this land this week!

Upcoming Event: Farm Potluck Tuesday July 7/1 at 6:00 pm

Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Hakurei Turnips

• Fresh Garlic

• Scallions

• Leeks

• Fennel

• Head Lettuce

• Parsley, Cilantro, Basil, and Dill

• Strawberries

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

We also have new items for sale in the barn!

Open Field Farm youth t-shirts, adult sweatshirts, and tote bags with a new log designed by Cici. We love them and hope you do too. We are also open to suggestions about other items: adult tees, hats, and more.

Rack of Lamb on a Bed of Spinach
from Peace, Love, and Pasta by Scott Conant

• 2 racks of lamb, frenched

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 6 cloves garlic, peeling and lightly crushed

• 1 stalk fresh basil

• Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil

• ½ cup balsamic vinegar

• 1 pound spinach leaves

• Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Score the fat caps to just above the meat so thaat the fat can release during cooking and the meat cooks evenly. Liberally salt the lamb and crack fresh black pepper over the racks to taste.

Sear the racks fat side down in a large cast-iron skillet until they become a deep golden color (about 3-4 minutes), then stand the rack up so the bones are upright and sear the rest of the meat of the rack (another 2-3 minutes). Intertwine the two rack bones to create the shape of a tent and place the pan in the oven.

When the racks are at about 115 degrees F, or 5 minutes before the end of your cook time, place the garlic cloves and basil stalk in between the racks, drizzle a little olive oil over the meat, and continue to cook the lamb racks until the temperature reaches 125 degrees F, or until the end of your cook time. When the lamb reached 125 degrees F, remove the racks from the oven, drizzle the vinegar over the meat, then place the racks on a cutting board and let them rest for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the temperature carries over to 130 degrees F.

While the racks are resting, place the spinach in the saute pan the lamb was cooked in, with the garlic, basil, balsamic vinegar, and any fat drippings, and set over high heat on the stovetop.

Once the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes, put the spinach on a baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain the excess water. Then place the spinach on a serving platter and add the cooked garlic and pan drippings on top. Slice the lamb into chops, place them on top of the spinach, then serve immediately while hot.

For the love of machines

By Sarah

Quite surprisingly to myself, I have noticed that over the years I have developed a deep appreciation, and almost affection, for 2 machines on the farm: the Yanmar tractor with which I direct seed and the irrigation pump. To be honest, I eschew most other machines, preferring to bike or walk, and to skip tractor driving as much as I can. I have never become too attached to any of my cars, although I do still miss my first car at times (an 80’s blue Volvo station wagon with turbo).

The Yanmar tractor is about as old as I am and was one of the first tractors we purchased. I love how petite it is and how much I can see the beds around me when driving it. It talks to me as I drive, with the little flap on the exhaust pipe bouncing up and down. Others might say that it is loud (you can hear me coming from far away), that it is stinky (it might blow a little), that it is bouncy and uncomfortable, but I love it.

The irrigation pump is a bit of a mystery as the working parts are all enclosed. I mostly understand it by listening. The sound of it humming away makes me so happy, knowing that all the vegetables are getting the water they need. Even though we have a back up tractor pump, there is little that causes me more stress during the season than the pump breaking down. All of the plants depend on the water that it delivers.

So here’s to 2 great machines! May they keep rocking for a long time.

Upcoming Event: Farm Potluck Tuesday July 7/1 at 6:00 pm

Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Pink Beauty Radishes

• Hakurei Turnips

• Fresh Garlic

• Scallions

• Chard

• Head Lettuce

• Parsley, Cilantro, and Dill

• Strawberries

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

We also have new items for sale in the barn!

Open Field Farm youth t-shirts, adult sweatshirts, and tote bags with a new log designed by Cici. We love them and hope you do too. We are also open to suggestions about other items: adult tees, hats, and more.

For dinner tonight, we are having open faced cream cheese toast with a salad of radishes, cucumbers, dill, and lemon piled on top. It is one of our favorite easy summer dinners: so fresh, crispy, and satisfying.

Adulting

By Ellie

I graduated college in 2023 then WWOOF’ed in Hawaii with Seda for 6 months, then came here which means this is my first full time job as an adult out of college. As we all know, being an adult is hard. Luckily I have this amazing job where I am taken care of so now all I have to worry about is taking care of myself. 

My partner Seda is very driven with her extracurricular activities; she does aerial silks once a week and now is thinking about taking classes or picking up another hobby. When we were talking about her endeavors, she said to me, “so what will you do?” Great question. 

I do yoga once a week, I love reading and I like to bake too. As a farmer my full time job is also a lot of people’s hobby (gardening) but I still want to commit to something that will make me happy and keep me busy. I won’t publicly commit to anything on here to everyone but these are just the thoughts I’ve been having lately. Basically, being an independent adult with interests and hobbies is hard but I love having a partner who inspires me to be one!

Upcoming Event: Farm Potluck Tuesday July 7/1 at 6:00 pm

Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Pink Beauty Radishes

• Fresh Garlic

• Scallions

• Chard

• Head Lettuce

• Basil

• Parsley

• Strawberries

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

We also have new items for sale in the barn!

Open Field Farm youth t-shirts, adult sweatshirts, and tote bags with a new log designed by Cici. We love them and hope you do too. We are also open to suggestions about other items: adult tees, hats, and more.

Plus we have gorgeous naturally tanned sheepskins!

Carrot Cake Muffins from inquiringchef.com
adjusted recipe for use of farm flour

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup butter

• 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1.5 cups flour

• 1.5 cups finely shredded carrots

Struesel topping:

• 1/3 cup flour

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 4 tablespoons butter

-Mix eggs, brown sugar and butter then add cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder. Gradually mix in flour then carrots 
-Put batter into muffin trays then sprinkle streusel topping on top
-Bake at 350 for 20 min

As Flowers Bloom, the Weeds Boom

By Celeste

Now that our flowers are in full swing, it’s official: weeds are out… of control!

From here on out, the rest of the season is pretty much a full-on weeding marathon—left, right, up, down, and every inch in between. There are so many weeds right now, I can’t help but believe that old Mexican saying my abuela used to say: “Hierba mala nunca muere,” which translates to “Weeds never die.” Honestly, she wasn’t wrong.

Here’s my personal confession: I don’t love weeding when the weeds are small. I like the drama. I like when they’re big and bold, and I can grab a whole handful, give it a strong pull, and shake off that satisfying clump of dirt. It’s weirdly therapeutic!

Scuffle hoes? Not my favorite. Especially when the weeds are tiny and dangerously close to the flowers—I always seem to take out more petals than weeds .
I stick to hand-weeding. It feels gentler, and I like to pretend it’s better for the plants. (No science to back that up, but hey, we all need our farm fables.)

We will be dealing with quite a cast of characters out here: pigweed, dandelions, thistles, purslane, and a variety of grasses that I haven’t even named yet. They’re persistent, resilient, and honestly, kind of impressive. But so are we so the game is ON.

So here’s to strong backs, dirty hands, and the constant tug-of-war between beauty and chaos in the flower field.

Upcoming Event: Farm Potluck Tuesday July 7/1 at 6:00 pm

Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Cortland Yellow Onions

• Carrots

• Potatoes

• Fresh garlic

• Scallions

• Parsley

• Strawberries

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

We also have new items for sale in the barn!

Open Field Farm youth t-shirts, adult sweatshirts, and tote bags with a new log designed by Cici. We love them and hope you do too. We are also open to suggestions about other items: adult tees, hats, and more.

Plus we have gorgeous naturally tanned sheepskins!

Mashed Potato Salad with Scallions and Herbs from nytimes.com

6 to 8 servings

• 2pounds potatoes, cut into 1½-inch chunks

• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon, plus more lemon juice for serving

• 2teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

• 1teaspoon fine sea salt, more as needed

• 1teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

• Dash or two of hot sauce, to taste

• ⅓cup extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling

• 2tablespoons mayonnaise, sour cream or crème fraîche

• 1tablespoon Dijon or whole-grain mustard

• ½cup thinly sliced scallions (white and green parts)

• ¼cup chopped parsley

• 2tablespoons chopped basil or dill

  Step 1

  Cook the potatoes in a pot of well-salted water until they are very tender but not mushy, 15 to 22 minutes. Drain well.

  Step 2

  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together lemon zest and juice, rosemary, salt, pepper and hot sauce. When the salt is dissolved, whisk in the olive oil, mayonnaise and mustard.

  Step 3

  Add potatoes to the bowl and mix them very well, until well coated with dressing. Then use the spoon to mash about a quarter of them. You want 1-inch (or so) chunks of potatoes coated in some mashed potatoes. Add scallions and parsley and toss well. Taste and add more salt, lemon juice, hot sauce and olive oil, if needed. Scatter chopped basil or dill over dressed potatoes. Serve warm or at room temperature, but not cold.

What the Hawk

By Cici

Well, you may not know it from the look of the CSA barn, but we’ve been deep in the swing of our spring plantings. The past few weeks have felt like a massive push to get as much as we can into the ground. The season really snuck up on me this year—like I’d been in a daze at the beginning, my body carrying me through the motions. But now, as I watch the plants dwindle in the greenhouse and fill the fields, I’ve finally made the connection: it’s all happening. It’s only a matter of weeks before these full weeks of planting turn into full weeks of harvest.

We encountered some pretty difficult plantings this year, especially in one of our fields: Hawk. This field seems eager to humble, revealing our weaknesses and oversights. It has quite literally brought us to our knees, trowel in hand, to exhume the losses and start anew.

I could hash out the details, but this is all I’ll say of Hawk for now. I know she will do great things, but she bites —and I need to lovingly forget her until I have to return. You really do have to love this work to do it; otherwise, you’re just a masochist (though I suppose both can be true—no judgment here). It can be hard to love the individual moments, but you need just enough love to allow for patience, to trust that the scales will balance, the pendulum will swing, homeostasis will be achieved, and equilibrium will be reached—when you finally bite into the perfect tomato with just a little added salt and olive oil.

Upcoming Event: Farm Potluck Tuesday July 7/1 at 6:00 pm

Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Cortland Yellow Onions

• Carrots

• Potatoes

• Fresh garlic

• Fava Beans

• Scallions

• Parsley

• Strawberries

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

We also have new items for sale in the barn!

Open Field Farm youth t-shirts, adult sweatshirts, and tote bags with a new log designed by Cici. We love them and hope you do too. We are also open to suggestions about other items: adult tees, hats, and more.

Plus we have gorgeous naturally tanned sheepskins!

Fettuccine With Merguez and Mint Pesto, from the nytimes.com

For the Pesto

• 2 large cloves garlic

• ¼ cup pine nuts

• ⅔ cup, packed, fresh mint leaves (about 2 small bunches)

• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• Salt

For the Fettuccine

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• 1large onion, finely chopped

• 1teaspoon ground cumin

• ½ pound fresh merguez sausage, casing removed

• 6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely slivered

• 15 Kalamata olives, pitted

• 8 ounces dried fettuccine, preferably spinach

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Make the pesto: Turn on food processor, and drop garlic through feed tube to mince. Add pine nuts through the tube and grind. Add mint leaves and process until mixture is combined. Scrape down bowl, and with machine running, slowly drizzle in the ⅓ cup olive oil. Process until blended. Transfer to a small bowl and season to taste with salt. Set aside.

Make the pasta: Heat 3 quarts water in a large pot. As water comes to boil, heat oil in a large sauté pan, and sauté onion on medium-low until soft. Stir in cumin. Add merguez, increase heat to medium and cook, using two forks to break up the sausage and stirring all the while, until the meat is nubbly and no longer looks raw. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes, olives and 2 tablespoons of the pesto. Reduce heat to low.

Add fettuccine to boiling water and cook about 5 minutes, until nearly al dente. Drain, reserving ¾ cup of the pasta water, and set pasta aside. Add pasta water to the merguez mixture and let cook until liquid in the pan just coats the ingredients. Stir in lemon juice. Add fettuccine to sauté pan, tossing with other ingredients over low heat. Add salt to taste. Transfer to individual bowls or a serving dish and serve with remaining pesto alongside.

Neighbors

By Alyssa

Last night, driving home in the dark, I saw a badger in the driveway! At first, I thought it was an opossum because of its shape and size, but as it turned toward my headlights I saw its squat little face and its black-and-white striped snout. It seemed to be having a conversation over dinner with a large owl, who flew away as I approached. I was on the phone with a friend, and they started laughing at me because I was so excited. I have lived and worked in several places where badger signs are present. But I had never seen a badger! They are nocturnal and live underground, so it is far more common to see signs of their lives than it is to see the animals themselves.

This time of year, when we are tilling and planting and rushing to fill the fields, it is especially easy for me to get laser-focused on the goings-on of the farm. My attention is on the fields and the lives being lived in those spaces. But there are so many other lives being lived here, in all those nooks of the farm to which my daily labors never bring me: in the grasslands; in the groves of eucalyptus; in the ponds, the creeks, the ditches. Like the little wild mint that grows in the drainage ditches here that smells like my childhood – it grew in the creek and the old road behind my grandparents’ house where we would look for tadpoles after school.

The last time I was up at the pond, there were strings of frog eggs floating in the shallows. As they hatch into tadpoles and become frogs, they may never know I exist. They may live out all the dramas of their lives right there on the muddy shore without ever knowing what we do in the fields below. But the way we do our work here matters. The choices that Seth and Sarah have made throughout the years to work with the land rather than against it – to work without pesticides, to practice rotational grazing, to maintain biodiversity in the fields, to restore the watershed that flows out by the tunnels... All those choices and more are what hold the space for all those other lives, all those other worlds. Our work, our stewardship of this land, feeds far more than just you and me. I may never cross paths with all of our neighbors, but when I do, I hold those meetings close to my heart.

Upcoming Event: Farm Potluck Friday May 5/30 at 6:00 pm

Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Cabernet Red and Cortland Yellow Onions

• Fresh garlic

• Fava Beans

• Scallions

• Kale

• Lettuce Mix Tuesday, Spinach Friday

• Parsley

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

We also have new items for sale in the barn!

Open Field Farm youth t-shirts, adult sweatshirts, and tote bags with a new log designed by Cici. We love them and hope you do too. We are also open to suggestions about other items: adult tees, hats, and more.

Plus we have gorgeous naturally tanned sheepskins!

Fava beans and greens with ground lamb and onions

I love fava beans in the spring. They come when we have little other food, and they are so verdant and delicious. While laborious, the shelling of them can either be a lovely meditative solo task, or a festive communal effort. This weekend, my friend did the fava bean labor while I cooked the rest of the meal. I stir fried some blanched and shelled favas with whatever greens I had on hand, a lot of garlic, and a lot of mint and parsley. I served that over rice with ground lamb that I had cooked with a massive onion, some sumac, and my favorite spice blend to use with our meats, Sonoma Spice Queen’s Ethiopian berbere blend. It is a splurgey spice, but worth it! I love it with both our lamb and our beef. Some more herbs to garnish, and some toasted pine nuts, too. 

Blue

By Alexis

I have spent a lot of hours weeding in the perennials lately. This is one area of the farm that does not get grazed upon by our livestock - nor does it get mulched, mowed or tilled. It is home to the plants that die back every winter, and come back every spring. They grow back in various ways; some grow back on old dead branches that appear dead, or others from mature, hardened rhizome roots. Most people identify plants from their flowers, but currently, the only way to know our plant friends is by the leaves - as they have not yet flowered into spring. The weeding is tedious yet in this time I have witnessed the portal of death as a renewal. 

While in the perennials a few weeks ago I lost my water bottle, and the next morning I was feeling… blue.  While doing chores, our farm baby Julio came up to me, from what seemed out of nowhere (I’m easily caught off guard). He was holding up my water bottle to me. I was so happy and thought it was so funny because Julio already has a fixation with water bottles. Then, while he was looking at my waterproof apron, I heard him say his third (or fourth.. or fifth) word. He said “blue” - the color of my apron. This made me smile real big and changed my mood for the rest of the day. I listened to music and danced for a while, looking up at the vast sky - blue. 

On another note, we have begun to plant herbs and flowers in the flower field! The first thing we planted in the soil was Dahlias. This was my first time planting Dahlias, and Celeste guided me through it. When we finished planting Celeste said a few prayers, one of which made me kinda emotional - I feel there’s a common theme here about me being emotional, which is weird because my zodiac is mostly fire, earth and air. Anyways, get ready for flower season! We are also planting lots of herbs for your tea pleasures! One herb we plant is marshmallow, which is one of my favorite herbs. This plant dates back to Egypt and was used to make the original fluffy marshmallow treat we all love. It has a medicinal affinity for your mucous membrane, the first line of defense in your immune system. Below is a recipe for actual marshmallow!

Upcoming Event: Farm Potluck Friday May 5/30 at 6:00 pm

Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Yaya Carrots

• Cabernet Red and Cortland Yellow Onions

• Fresh garlic

• Fava Beans

• Scallions

• Kale

• Spinach

• Parsley

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

Homemade Marshmallow

• 1 cup water divided

• 3 tbsp grass fed gelatin

• 1 cup raw honey

• 1/2 tsp salt

• ½ tsp vanilla bean powder

• 1 tbsp marshmallow root powder

• 1/2 cup arrowroot powder

Pour half (½ cup) of the water into the bowl of a stand mixer and pour the gelatin on top to bloom. It will take about 10 minutes to fully bloom.

In the meantime, add the second ½ cup of water, honey, and salt into a small pot on the stovetop with a candy thermometer. Toggle the heat between medium to high, also avoid stirring the mixture after the first minute to prevent the mixture from boiling over. You want the temperature to get between 230°-240°F (110-115° C), this will take an estimate of 10-14 minutes.

Turn the stand mixer on low to mix the gelatin, and slowly pour the honey mixture into the stand mixer. Slowly increase the speed to high and whip until the mixture has reached “peak” meaning your mixture will look and feel like pure marshmallow fluff. This takes an estimate of 6-10 minutes, in the last minute add in the marshmallow root powder, and vanilla bean powder.

During the 6-10 minutes your marshmallows are beating, prepare a 9x9 pan with parchment paper. Dust the parchment paper with half (¼ cup) of the arrowroot powder.

When the marshmallow is at its peak, quickly scoop it into the pan and flatten the top with an offset spatula. Dust the rest of the arrowroot powder onto the top of the parchment paper.

Gently place parchment paper over the 9x9 pan, and let the marshmallow set overnight.

The following day, take out the parchment paper by flipping the pan over onto a cutting board. Take off the parchment paper from the marshmallow, and use a sharp knife to cut the marshmallows into squares.

Enjoy the marshmallows right away, or place them into a glass jar and store them in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.

Sheep Profiles

By AJ

Here is a close-up of some of the sheep in our herd (i will probably do more of these):

Anya-Lets start with the star of the show. IF you glace out at the herd, the first thing most folx notice is the singular black sheep in our flock of seemingly homogeneous beings. Anya is a classic trope, in that she carries the characteristics of a “black sheep”-- she likes to deviate from the homogeneity. She also seems to enjoy imparting the black sheep wisdom onto her offspring. 

Aster- Anya’s offspring. She was the first lamb born this year and one of the few lambs we will bebe keeping from this lambing season.

Ugg- Aster’s sire (her biological father). And the sire of all the lambs from the last two years. Ugg is a butthead. And a majesty. He was showing signs of aggression last season and we’ve had to put a lot of work into making sure he stays calm and safe (including infrastructure). In his new environment, with his new friends, he has been thriving and responding well to our efforts to work with him. He as grown on me, immensely. Even so, Ugg is not going to continue to procreate in our herd and he is also the reason why we are not keeping most of the lambs from the past 2 years. 

Olivia- Olivia is one of the three of the “elders” of the herd. I fondly refer to her as a “trash baby”. Primarily because when she is shorn, it really brings out all her bumps and funks, resulting in a rather scrappy vibe. I dig a scrappy vibe.

Upcoming Event: Farm Potluck Friday May 5/30 at 6:00 pm

Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Yaya Carrots

• Celeriac

• Cabernet Red and Cortland Yellow Onions

• Fresh garlic

• Asparagus ( Last week.)

• Fava Beans

• Scallions

• Kale

• Lettuce Mix

• Spinach

• Parsley and Cilantro

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

Recipe: Fava beans!

I have no recipe for fava beans, but i have been using them in lieu of peas, as a side or in fried rice. I pop them out of the shells and then boil them for a couple minutes until I see small cracks in the skin. Then I pop them out and salt them or toss them in my dish. 

Mindset

By Stephanie

Yesterday, while harvesting asparagus I was not in the best mood. It was hot, it was the end of the day and we were rushing to get as much done as we could before the day ended. My bare hands were scrapping against last years brittle asparagus stocks and the wood chips we’ve laid down as mulch, and as I received my fifth splinter in my hand, I caught myself whispering cuss words at the stock that got me. I realized that this is not the way I want to be talking to the plants and not the mindset I want to have while harvesting food. I took a moment to look at the green hills around me, the little white wispy clouds in the sky and remembered that there actually no where else I’d rather be than being cut up by wood chips. “Enjoy the work” is something I’ve been trying to embody going into this farming season and felt like this was a time where I was able to change my energy and end interacting with the plants in a more positive way. Going into this farming season, I’m anticipating having days and tasks much harder than my experience in the asparagus, but I’m going in confident that I do enjoy the work even if it just sometimes takes a second to remember that. 

Upcoming Event: Farm Potluck Friday May 5/30 at 6:00 pm

Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Yaya Carrots

• Celeriac

• Cabernet Red and Cortland Yellow Onions

• Fresh garlic

• Asparagus ( We are hoping we have enough to give a limited quantity both days.)

• Fava Beans

• Fennel

• Scallions

• Kale

• Lettuce Mix

• Spinach

• Parsley

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

Fresh Fava Beans

•  fava beans with their pod

• 3 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 medium size onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 cup water

• ¼ cup fresh dill or parsley chopped

Optional Garnish:

• Red pepper flakes

• Fresh dill

• Lemon

Remove the fava beans from their pods.

Make a small slit on each bean.

Fill a saucepan with boiling water. Add in salt and stir.

Soak the beans in this hot salty water for about 10 minutes. Then peel their shells.

Heat olive oil in a pan and cook onions and garlic until translucent.

Add in shelled fava beans and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add in salt and water. Cook over medium low heat until tender, for about 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let it cool a bit. Then add in chopped fresh dill or parsley and give it a good stir.

Serve with red pepper flakes, fresh dill and lemon slices.

Picture Books

By Seda

One thing I love to reminisce about are all the picture books I read when I was young. Some of them expressed morals and lessons, some were adventure tales, my favorites were the ones full of interesting detailed illustrations. Some of my most memorable include Ferdinand the Bull and Strega Nona, among many others. 

Seeing all the lupine flowers out in the rolling green hills reminded me of a book I totally forgot about. It's about Miss Rumphius, who, after a life of travels, returns to her seaside community in Maine where she takes long walks over the hills next to the sea spreading lupine seeds everywhere she goes. Everyone thinks she's crazy until spring rolls around and the hills are blooming with lupine. She is thereafter dubbed the Lupine Lady. 

I incorrectly assumed this story took place in California, as we have rolling green hills sprinkled with lupine but apparently we are not the only ones so privileged. I do like to imagine that here on the west coast we have our own version of the Lupine Lady, though she might take the form of the birds and the wind spreading the seed of lupine across the hills. 

Open Field Farm 2024 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Yaya Carrots

• Rutabaga

• Parsnips

• Celeriac

• Cabernet Red and Cortland Yellow Onions

• Green Cabbage

• Green garlic

• Asparagus ( We are hoping we have enough to give a limited quantity both days.)

• Kale

• Rhubarb Chard

• Lettuce Mix

• Spinach

• Fava Greens

• Cilantro and Parsley

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

What I’ve been having for lunch lately:

Eggs salad on bed of mixed greens

• 2 hard boiled eggs 

• 3 Tbsp mayo

• 1 tbs mustard

• 1 tsp ACV

• Pinch of cayenne 

• Pinch of paprika 

• Salt and pepper to taste 

• Dash of olive oil 

• 1/2 green garlic chopped

• Pickled beets

• 1/4 cup Chopped parsley

Combined and serve over greens:

Half cup chopped fava greens 
Half cup chicores or lettuce

Little Garden Limbo (a.k.a. the Best Kind of Break)

By Celeste

There’s this funny little window of time every year—after I’ve finished processing peppers but before I head over to the flower field to get to work. It’s kind of a limbo, but in the best way. Lately, I’ve been spending that in-between time helping Kelsey and Alexis.

We recently gave the herb circle a full refresh: weeded, added compost, mulched it up—the whole spa treatment. If you’ve walked by recently, you’ve probably noticed how good it’s looking .

It’s open for harvesting, so feel free to snip some chives or grab a handful of spearmint next time you’re nearby.

With the herb circle thriving, our attention has shifted to the perennial garden, tucked right next to the flower field. We’re deep in the weeding phase and clearing space to tuck in more herbs soon. The dream is to get it just as beautiful and functional as the herb circle—another little pocket of the farm for you to enjoy and gather from.

Even the “in-between” moments on the farm end up being full of life. It’s all part of the rhythm out here—pepper hands, herbal limbo, then flowers.

Speaking of flowers! Our first sowing was back on March 17, and today we’re already onto our third. This round includes rudbeckias, snapdragons, sweet peas, strawflowers, gomphrena, and hibiscus—just to name a few. I’ll drop a couple pictures below of the sprouts from that first sowing so you can see how things are growing.

Thanks for following along—we can’t wait to share more bloom magic with you soon.

Open Field Farm 2024 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Yaya Carrots

• Rutabaga

• Parsnips

• Celeriac

• Cabernet Red and Cortland Yellow Onions

• Green Cabbage

• Kossack Kohlrabi

• Green garlic

• Asparagus ( We are hoping we have enough to give a limited quantity both days.)

• Kale

• Rhubarb Chard

• Chicory Mix

• Lettuce Mix

• Spinach

• Fava Greens

• Cilantro and Parsley

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour and Cornmeal

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

Toasted Sesame and Furikake Cabbage Salad, from food52.com

• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

• 1/4 cup Japanese mayo

• 1 1/2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon tahini

• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• 1 medium green cabbage, thinly sliced

• 3 to 4 tablespoons furikake, plus more for garnish

Add the sesame seeds to a large skillet and set over medium heat. Toast, tossing frequently, until deeply golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until sandy in texture. There should still be some whole seeds present in the mixture.

In a medium bowl combine the crushed seeds, mayo, rice vinegar, tahini, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar. Whisk until fully combined, then set aside.

Add the cabbage to a very large bowl and sprinkle over with your desired amount of furikake and dressing. Toss thoroughly until the cabbage is fully coated, transfer to a platter, top with more furikake and serve.

What is a farmer?

By Ellie

Whenever I tell someone that I’m a farmer they say, “You don’t look like a farmer!” And I never know what to say back. What do you think people mean by that? It’s made me reflect on what it means to be a farmer. I believe that anybody can farm if they want to.

The first season that I farmed, I honestly hated it because it was so hard. I was exhausted, I was hot, I didn’t know what I was doing and did I say I was exhausted? After my first week I remember telling my roommates that I’ll never do this again but I pushed through the season until it was over in the winter. When I looked back on my first season throughout that winter I found myself appreciating the things I learned and did and decided to do it again the following spring and summer. Now here I am, 5 years later. 

I learned to appreciate the hard work that is farming because I believe that it’s worth it. I farm because I provide good, local and nutritious food for my community. I farm because it’s a tangible step I can take to fight climate change. I farm because I want to learn about plants, climate, seasons, soil and people. To me being a farmer is so much more than work and I can’t wait to share another season with all of you. 

Open Field Farm 2024 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours start this week: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Harvest Moon Purple

• Yaya Carrots

• Rutabaga

• Parsnips

• Celeriac

• Sweet Spanish Colorado #6, Cabernet Red, and Cortland Yellow Onions

• Red and Green Cabbage

• Kossack Kohlrabi

• Asparagus ( We are hoping we have enough to give a limited quantity both days.)

• Kale

• Rhubarb Chard

• Chicory Mix

• Lettuce Mix

• Spinach

• Arugula

• Fava Greens

• Cilantro and Parsley

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour and Cornmeal

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

Recipe: I’ve been making a lot of biscuits lately and farm flour works great!

• 2 cups farm flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup cold butter

• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt 

Cut in cold butter until crumbly

Make a well in the middle of the bowl and pour in milk then mix with a fork until the batter pulls away from the bowl

Knead 10 times on a floured surface then roll out to 1 inch thick

Cut into circles (I use a mason jar)

Place onto a cast iron and bake for 12-13 min

Website

By Kelsey

I love it when Sarah gives me writing projects. Especially on rainy gray days, I like to get cozy with a pot of coffee and my laptop and let the words flow. It's a welcome change of pace after a busy season of fieldwork. I think in another life perhaps I could have been a writer. But in this one, I hate the feeling of having homework constantly looming, so I chose a job that, most of the time, requires me to stop working when the sun sets, at the very latest. Still, it's fun to dip my toes into a different lifestyle every now and then.  

One of my winter projects has been updating the Open Field Farm website. As I've been writing about different aspects of the farm over the last few months, I've noticed my appreciation for this land and this community deepening (which is saying something, because it was already pretty deep!). Please excuse me while I sing our own praises here for a second, but trying craft into words the full scope of what this Open Field Farm project aims to do, our guiding principles, the contours of the land, and the fundamental desire for growth and connection that underlies it all, instills me with feelings of hope and awe. And though you'll never hear Sarah saying these things, self-effacing and humble as she is, it is her vision, leadership, and generosity that are the guiding forces behind what makes this place so special. I feel most in my element when I am helping her realize some aspect of her dream for the farm (sorry Sarah, but its true).

Anyway, this is all to say: go check out the website! We are still putting the finishing touches on, but please feel free to peruse the updated content and photos. Note: I recommend checking it out on your laptop or desktop because it does not look good in the mobile version... maybe there's someone reading this who could help us with that??

Open Field Farm 2024 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours start this week: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Harvest Moon Purple

• Yaya Carrots

• Rutabaga

• Parsnips

• Celeriac

• Sweet Spanish Colorado #6, Cabernet Red, and Cortland Yellow Onions

• Red and Green Cabbage

• Kossack Kohlrabi

• Asparagus ( We are hoping we have enough to give a limited quantity both days.)

• Kale

• Rhubarb Chard

• Chicory Mix

• Lettuce Mix

• Fava Greens

• Cilantro and Parsley

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour and Cornmeal

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

Parmesan Baked Rutabaga, from https://www.peelwithzeal.com/parmesan-baked-rutabaga/

• 2 pounds rutabagas

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic minced

• 8 sprigs fresh thyme leaves removed

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon black pepper

• ½ cup fresh grated parmesan divided

• ⅓ cup stock

Preheat the oven to 375°. Peel and slice the rutabagas crosswise into rounds, about ⅛ inch thick.

Place the oil in a large bowl, and stir in half the parmesan, the garlic, chopped thyme, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat.

Layer the rutabaga slices into sideways stacks in the baking dish. They should be tight enough that the slices stay upright. Pour over the stock. Cover with foil and bake until the edges and tops are golden brown and the center is tender, about 45 to 55 minutes.

Remove the foil, sprinkle on the remaining parmesan, cook 5 to 10 minutes to melt. Garnish with extra thyme

Cleaning Projects

By Alyssa

One of the things farmers do in the winter is clean and fix everything. This year, I have spent a chunk of my winter hours deep-cleaning some of our barns. It was on the docket last year, but we were too short-staffed in the winter to do much. This year, since we have kept on our whole crew, we have had time to do so much!

First up was the straw barn, where we store not only straw, but also all of our tarps and sandbags, all of our row covers, and many other odd bits and bobs. I swept and reorganized and scraped all the dirt and growing weeds up off the concrete in front of the barn. Jesse rebuilt part of the floor and put in a new support beam, so that it is safer and easier for us to bring things in and out from the barn.

Second up has been the storage barn aka Danny’s barn aka the milk barn (no name has ever really stuck). It is the barn right next to the bathroom and the herb room. Holy cow, did we have a lot of junk in there! Not just trash, but things we’ve saved for a rainy day, equipment we no longer use, and so. much. raccoon poop. There was a pile of old electric fencing that has been back there since I started working here, just covered in raccoon poop. Throwing that out was one of the grosser things I’ve done at this job, and that’s saying a lot! But it has been deeply satisfying.

We have also deep-cleaned the potting shed, including sharpening all our hoes and oiling all our tool handles. I have begun to reorganize the irrigation shed, where we keep all our little irrigation pieces and trellising supplies. I’ve been able to sell some of our old equipment to other local farms, and offer other things to the community for free. I’ve learned so much about how to properly dispose of different types of waste – Zero Waste Sonoma is awesome. I miss touching plants, but the inside spaces of the farm are looking a lot cleaner these days, which will make the rest of our season so much more pleasant. Happy spring cleaning!

Open Field Farm 2024 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours start this week: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Harvest Moon Purple and Yellow Finn Potatoes

• Yaya Carrots

• Purple Daikon Radish

• Rutabaga

• Parsnips

• Celeriac

• Sweet Spanish Colorado #6, Cabernet Red, and Cortland Yellow Onions

• Leeks

• Red and Green Cabbage

• Kossack Kohlrabi

• Kale

• Rhubarb Chard

• Chicory Mix

• Lettuce Mix

• Fava Greens

• Cilantro and Parsley

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour and Cornmeal

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

Carrot Leek Soup with Miso, from nytimes.com

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 4 cups peeled, cubed carrots (from about 6 medium carrots)

• 2 medium leeks, white part only, chopped

• Salt and black pepper

• 8 cups water or vegetable broth

• 2 tablespoons yellow or white miso

• 1 small lime

• Thinly sliced chives, for garnish (optional)

Melt butter in a pot over medium heat. When the butter starts to sizzle, add carrots and leeks. Season generously with salt and pepper, and stir to coat well. Sauté for a minute or 2, then add water (or broth, if using). Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. As soup simmers, taste and add salt as needed. Cook until carrots are soft, about 15 minutes.

Once the soup is cooled, reserve 2 cups liquid, then purée the remaining contents of the pot in a blender. (Alternatively, use an immersion blender in the pot.) Use reserved liquid to adjust the purée’s thickness, adding just enough so the consistency is that of a thin milkshake.

To serve, heat soup and whisk in miso. Divide among 4 bowls. Grate a little lime zest over each bowl. Quarter the lime and add a good squeeze of lime juice into each bowl. Scatter with chives, if using.

In Defense of Bugs

By Cici

While I was at Davis, I took a vegetable and crop production course that focused on large-scale conventional vegetable farming practices. As part of the class, we took a trip to the Central Valley to visit farms and see real-world applications of what we had been learning. One farm we toured stood out—it deviated slightly from conventional practices while still operating on a large scale. They dedicated significant acreage to experimenting with less disruptive tillage methods, cover crop rotations, and new technologies aimed at reducing weed pressure with minimal herbicide use.

During a Q&A after the tour, the farm manager said something that stuck with me:
"Really, we wouldn’t need to do this much if consumers were just more okay with finding bugs in their greens from time to time."

As someone more interested in small-scale, organic farming, I’ve kept this quote in my back pocket. Many people dismiss anything that doesn’t align with conventional agriculture, arguing well you can expect to feed everyone with that. And yes, the system is complex—cycles of pests and disease maintained by wartime chemical interventions, the socioeconomics of government subsidies, food treated as stock. But amidst all this complexity, there are simple, no-strings-attached solutions—like just being okay with a bug.

The days of subsistence farming are long gone, and with so many people working indoors, few encounter these bugs daily—except for maybe us, your farmers! So, a bug in your greens is a thread connecting our work to you. It’s proof of all the little worlds outside of us, proof of all that lives in spite of us, and proof that no invisible, insidious substance is left behind on your vegetables—because otherwise, they wouldn’t be there!

If you still find yourself uncomfortable with the creepy crawlies that may hitch a ride into your home, think about removing those bugs from your veg the way you would remove an eyelash from the face, no biggie —and maybe even make a wish on that little bug.

Open Field Farm 2024 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours start this week: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Harvest Moon Purple and Yellow Finn Potatoes

• Yaya Carrots

• Purple Daikon Radish

• Rutabaga

• Parsnips

• Celeriac

• Sweet Spanish Colorado #6, Cabernet Red, and Cortland Yellow Onions

• Leeks

• Red and Green Cabbage

• Kossack Kohlrabi

• Rubro

• Kale

• Rhubarb Chard

• Lettuce Mix

• Fava Greens

• Cilantro and Parsley

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour and Cornmeal

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

Irish Colcannon, from billyparisi.com

• 8 ounces unsalted butter

• 1/3 cup whole milk

• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

• 8 ounces sliced bacon, thickly sliced

• 1 thinly sliced leek

• 1 head thinly sliced savoy cabbage, stem removed

• 2 pounds peeled and thinly sliced russet potatoes

• 2 pounds peeled and thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes

• 1 bunch thinly sliced green onions

• salt and ground white pepper to taste

Add the butter, milk, and cream to a medium size pot, and heat over very low heat. Keep warm.

Next, add the bacon to a large rondeau pot or frying pan over medium heat and cook until very crispy and browned, which takes about 5 to 6 minutes.

Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside, and then add the leeks to the pan and cook them in the rendered bacon fat for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add in the cabbage, season with salt, and cook over medium-low heat for 6-7 minutes or until very tender. Keep warm.

Boil the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water for 5-7 minutes or until tender. They should cook in that amount of time if you thinly slice them.

Before removing the potatoes, quickly mix in the green onions with the warm milk and butter mixture just to heat them up.

Strain the potatoes completely and then mash them through a food mill.

Fold in the butter-milk and green onion mixture until combined and then fold in the cabbage, bacon, salt, and pepper until combined. Serve.

Brief Overview

By Alexis

Anytime I mention to someone, and I mean anytime, that i work on a farm the response is always the same, "oh, what do you do there?". Today I decided to give you all a VERY brief overview of the labor that goes into your food. This does not include any of the meat. 

Spring

Filling seed trays with soil and spend hours sowing trays of seeds,  making sure they are labeled, watered, and in an adequate location within the greenhouse. 

Water greenhouse (yearround) - as we get into the season the greenhouse and shadehouse become so full it can take an up to an hour to water everything. 

Start transplanting into tunnels. This means we must prepare the plant beds by broadforking, wheelhoe-ing, and raking each bed. Then placing compost at the start of the season. 

Cover fields with tarp using tractor and sandbags to prepare for planting. This helps to kill weeds, grass and make a new clean slate of soil. When its time to plant, we will uncover the tarp/sandbags as we go. 

Redig multiple field trenches for main irrigation lines. Re- establish 200 ft irrigation lines, making sure all the connections are accurate and lines are drained and inspected for holes/leaks. 

Summer/Fall 

Use tractor and attachments to transplant greenhouse babies into the fields. Sitting on the attachment that places plants in the soil  is an arm workout! But the use of the tractor makes a big difference on a farm of this scale. We also have a water tractor to heavy water plants directly after being planted. Some plants are hand planted.*  

Spend hours weeding the fields and chatting about anything under the sun, listening to podcasts/audiobooks/music. 

Harvest, harvest, harvest. CLEAN tons and tons of fresh produce from the field. Some of these are preserved in the freezer to use throughout the year so we will also bag/store some. 

 We also carry these 50+ lb bags from the freezer to the CSA barn every week of the year for your CSA shares. 

Winter

Clean up everything we put into fields, including irrigation, trellises and other. Clean the barn, office space and other spaces. 

Make soil potting mix. Combine material from several resources to make a nutrient dense bed for seeds. Haul over huge bag of soil to potting shed with forklift, as needed throughout the year. 

Order new seeds. Prune back perennials. Process Dahlias. 

Process all the herbs and make tea blends. Sow seeds for spring plantings/greenhouse plantings. 

Like I said, this is brief and I'm sure that I am missing many activities. But I hope this helps! 

Open Field Farm 2024 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

CSA Barn Hours:

• Summer hours start this week: 2:30-6:30 pm!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Sangre Red, Harvest Moon Purple, La Ratte Fingerling, and Yellow Finn Potatoes

• Yaya Carrots

• Purple Daikon and Watermelon Radish Radish

• Rutabaga

• Parsnips

• Celeriac

• Sweet Spanish Colorado #6, Cabernet Red, and Cortland Yellow Onions

• Leeks

• Red and Green Cabbage

• Kossack Kohlrabi

• Scallions

• Rubro and Rosalba

• Kale

• Rhubarb Chard

• Regiment Spinach

• Lettuce Mix

• Fava Greens

• Cilantro and Parsley

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour and Cornmeal

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

FAVA beans are very versatile, you can replace them for spinach in your recipes. And you can replace them for basil in your pesto! They are rich in vitamins and minerals like folate, manganese, copper and phosphorus. 

Pasta With Fava Greens

1. Bring a large stockpot 2/3 full of water to a boil. Salt liberally. Cook pasta according to box instructions. In the last 30 seconds of cooking, add in the fava greens. As soon as they turn bright green (this should only take a few seconds), immediately strain and transfer the pasta and fava greens to a bowl.

2. Garnish with olive oil, grated cheese, and pepper to taste. 

Veggie Crew

By Seda

I have been here at Open Field Farm for coming up on a year. Crazy, it went by fast. For me, last season was full of flowers and herbs, barn chores, sorting and washing veggies, and of course getting to know CSA members. One of the highlights this past season was working in the CSA barn twice a week, seeing where all the food goes and witnessing the community hub that is the CSA barn. I enjoyed the liveness of Tuesdays and Fridays, seeing the parking lot start to fill around 2:30, and the crunch of having everything set up in time. While I won’t miss the stress dreams about sorting endless amounts of peppers, I will miss not being around the barn all the time, sharing recipes and chatting with all of you! 

As I transition to veggie crew this season, I get to learn a whole other side of the farm, oh there's so much to learn! I am a little nervous, rumor has it veggie crew kicks your butt, but I am nevertheless excited to learn what really goes on in all those fields and I feel good knowing that everything that we grow is going into good and appreciative hands. 

Open Field Farm 2024 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members

Upcoming Farm Events:

• Pancake Breakfast: This Saturday March 8, Hike at 9 am, Pancakes at 10 am (Email with details sent, please RSVP)

CSA Barn Hours:

• Last week of winter hours: 2:30-6:00 PM!

Pick List:

• Eggs

• Sangre Red, Harvest Moon Purple, La Ratte Fingerling, and Yellow Finn Potatoes

• Yaya Carrots

• Purple Daikon and Watermelon Radish Radish

• Rutabaga

• Purple Top Turnips

• Parsnips

• Celeriac

• Sweet Spanish Colorado #6, Cabernet Red, and Cortland Yellow Onions

• Leeks

• Red and Green Cabbage

• Kossack Kohlrabi

• Fennel

• Scallions

• Rubro and Rosalba

• Kale

• Rhubarb Chard

• Regiment Spinach

• Fava Greens

• Cilantro and Parsley

• Tetsukabuto Winter Squash

• Ground and Whole Dried Hot Peppers

• Herbal Tea Blends

• Pick your own flowers and herbs (from the herb garden and perennial field)

• Sonora Wheat Flour and Cornmeal

• Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)

• Saltonstahl Olive Oil

• Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday

Korean Sweet Potatoes (I used regular potatoes and it turned out great!)

• 2 large sweet potatoes peeled and cubed

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

• 1 tablespoon gochujang

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar

• Black sesame seeds (optional for garnish)

• Salt (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Cut the sweet potatoes into 1 ½ inch pieces.

Toss the potatoes in the coconut oil and place on a parchment paper line baking sheet.

Roast for 20-25 minutes, until they are golden brown and caramelized on the outside and can be pierced with a fork.

While the potatoes are roasting, combine the honey, coconut sugar and gochujang in a bowl and heat in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds, until the ingredients can be stirred together. DO NOT OVERHEAT OR THE SUGAR WILL BURN

Place the roasted sweet potatoes in a large bowl and toss with the honey mixture.

Place them back on the baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes, or until bubbling and caramelized on the outside.

Remove from the oven and serve sprinkled with black sesame seeds and a pinch of flaky salt (optional).