By Sarah
There is a beautiful cover crop in the field we call Frog this year, mostly crimson clover but also including purple vetch, phacelia, lupine, and various other wildflowers and weeds. We have struggled to grow stands of dense cover crop so I am relishing the success of this one and doing my best to stop and marvel in its splendor whenever I pass by.
Considering the wet winter we have had, all the fields have tilled up excellently this year. It is satisfying to be able to see improvement in our practices and to know that we are beginning to understand this land and how to work with it.
The veggie rocked the first planting of onions, direct seeded crops, and potatoes. It was seamless and we finished ahead of when we had planned. May every planting this year be so smooth!
Upcoming Farm Events: Email coming this week with an updated dates for events!
CSA barn hours:
Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 pm (starts the week after daylight savings in March)
Winter: 2:30-6 pm (starts the week after daylight savings in November)
Pick List:
It will be a couple of months until the pick list starts increasing, usually around July 1st. We will do our best to keep a steady supply of spinach and lettuce from the tunnels.
Strawberries will be much later this year; the plants are just truly starting to grow. They may also be in limited amounts to start as we had many plants die in all the rain. However, I am confident there will be a time this summer when there is an abundance of strawberries.
Eggs
Cortland Yellow Onions
Joan Rutabaga
Mars Celeriac
Finale Fennel
Green garlic
Parade Scallions
Prize Choi
Regiment Spinach
Lettuce Mix
Basil and Cilantro
Spaghetti Winter Squash
Sonora wheat flour and wheat berries
Herbal Tea Blends and Whole Dried Chile peppers (Please bring your own jars!)
Pick your own flowers and herbs
Saltonstall Olive Oil (Please bring your own jars!)
Revolution Bread: Fresh bread on Tuesday and Friday (Frozen bread available if we sell out.)
Open Field Farm 2023 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members
Baked Spinach Rice, from nytimes.com
1 pound spinach (about 2 bunches), washed
1½ cups long-grain white rice, such as Carolina or jasmine
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter, plus more to butter the baking dish
1 cup grated Parmesan
½ cup slivered almonds
1 cup ricotta
1 cup grated Gruyère or other Swiss cheese
¼ cup currants
Pinch of grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1 teaspoon chopped sage
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add spinach and wilt for 30 seconds. Remove with a wire mesh spider or tongs and rinse in a colander with cold water. Squeeze dry and chop roughly.
In the same pot, boil the rice for 10 minutes, keeping it slightly underdone. Drain and spread on a baking sheet to cool, thentransfer to a large bowl.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 2-quart soufflé dish (or other baking dish) and dust with about 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add almonds and cook, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt and add contents of skillet to rice.
Add remaining Parmesan to rice, along with the ricotta, Gruyère, currants, nutmeg, lemon zest, thyme and sage. Season lightly with salt and add pepper to taste. Add chopped spinach and gently toss rice with hands or wooden spoons to distribute ingredients evenly. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. (May be prepared up to this point several hours in advance of baking.)
Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 10 minutes more, until top is browned.