By Alyssa
Last week, I sprained my right wrist playing volleyball. It’s a silly little sprain – nothing serious – but it’s annoying when you work with your hands, and you happen to be right-handed. Over the years, I have grown more ambidextrous in various farming tasks, not only as a way to work faster (picking or weeding with two hands simultaneously is always faster than one), but also as a way to spread the impact of our work across my body. I can keep shoveling a lot longer if I switch sides every few minutes. But in the last few days, I have discovered that my ambidexterity only goes so far. Cabbage has challenged me to become better at using a harvest knife left-handed. And when I’m driving the big tractor and spading, most of the controls are on the right-hand side.
I think a lot about how many of the tools we use every day are developed and built for supposedly “average” people, who are often considered to be right-handed and six feet tall. My current predicament aside, different pieces of farm equipment can be challenging or uncomfortable to operate depending on your height and weight. Weight-based safety features sometimes require us to drive with a sandbag on our laps or on the seat behind us, so that the equipment can sense there is someone in the seat. The counter height in the wash station and the handle on one of our wheel hoes is taller than is ergonomic for some of our crew.
Conversations about inclusivity in agriculture often focus on industry and workplace culture, educational opportunities, and hiring practices. But sometimes it’s simpler than that. Sometimes it is literally structural. I appreciate that at Open Field, we try to think about these things and figure out safe and reasonable accommodations. It makes the work more sustainable for us all. But workplace culture can’t fix the problem. I don’t have a great closing statement here – mostly, this is just something I think about a lot, especially when training new crew.
Other exciting news – we have tomatillos this week! We are growing them in our veggies this year, and the plants look a lot healthier than when they were in the pick-your-own garden.
Open Field Farm 2024 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members
CSA Barn Hours:
Current Summer hours: 2:30-6:30 PM
(Winter hours: 2:30-6PM)
Pick List:
Eggs
Yaya Carrots
Rhonda Beets
Ailsa Criag and Red Long Onions
Parade Scallions
Alto Leeks
Mideast Peace and Silver Slicer Cucumbers
Mutabile, Goldini, and Cocozelle Summer Squash
Diamond and Annina Eggplant
Lettuce
Cabbage
Dazzling Blue Kale
Champion Collard
Rhubarb Chard
Tomatilloes
Basil, Dill, Parsley, and Cilantro
Strawberries
Pick your own raspberries, flowers, and herbs
Sonora Wheat Flour
Tea Blends (Please BYO jars!)
Beef Bone Broth for sale! (Made by Olla Products)
Saltonstall Olive Oil for sale (Please BYO jars!)
Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday
Gaji-Namul (Korean Marinated Eggplant Banchan)
By Sunny Lee on Serious Eats
This is one of my favorite eggplant recipes to make in the summertime. It makes a big batch, but I like to eat it cold out of the fridge all week with rice and eggs.
· 2 pounds (910g) Japanese eggplant (4 to 6 eggplants, depending on size), ends trimmed and halved lengthwise
· 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
· 1 teaspoon (4g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt use half as much by volume or an equal amount by weight
· 3 tablespoons (45ml) honey
· 3 tablespoons (45ml) distilled white vinegar
· 3 tablespoons (45ml) toasted sesame oil
· 2 tablespoons (30ml) fish sauce
· 1 tablespoon (15g) doenjang
· 2 medium garlic cloves (10g), finely chopped
· 1 1/2 teaspoons (6g) coarsely ground black pepper
· 1/4 cup (30g) toasted sesame seeds
· 2 scallions (30g), sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss eggplant with vegetable oil and salt until evenly coated on all sides. Arrange eggplant, cut side down, on prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 1/2-inch of space between each piece; set bowl aside, but don’t clean. Roast eggplant until it is browned all over and completely tender, offering little resistance when poked with a paring knife, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating baking sheets back to front and top to bottom halfway through roasting. Set aside until cool enough to handle, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in the now-empty bowl, whisk together honey, vinegar, sesame oil, fish sauce, doenjang, garlic, and pepper until well combined (dressing will not be fully emulsified). Stir in sesame seeds.
3. Once eggplant is cool enough to handle, using clean hands, tear eggplant pieces lengthwise into 1/2- to 3/4-inch-wide ribbons, and add to bowl with dressing.
4. With one hand, form your fingers into a claw and gently massage dressing into eggplant, swirling your hand around the contents of the bowl but without squeezing the eggplant, until the dressing has been fully absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently fold in scallions. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve chilled.