By AJ
We will have so much produce in the barn this week, all packed into one day.
This is my favorite time of year, as far as what we can provide in the fields-- i love the fall crops like chicories, parsnips, herbs, winter squash.
It is also a great time for foraging.
I don't celebrate thanksgiving and I don't live near family, so I have a quiet week at the farm, taking care of animals and thinking up a wild-forage recipe or two. This has become my practice around this time of year. I venture out into the fields, not for our cultivated crops, but for dock seeds and acorns.
A lot of wild foods can take lots of processing. And while canning and preserving crops from the fields feels like a daunting task for me, the quiet of the week and shifting my mindset from "harvest" to "forage" (or glean) allows me to feel more spacious in brewing up some interesting and nutritious foods. Below are a couple things I plan to get into this week.
Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members
CSA Barn Hours:
Winter hours: 2:30-6:00 pm
Reminder: We are closed this Friday 11/28!
Pick List:
Eggs
Nicola Yellow, Harvest Moon Purple, Red, and Fingerling potatoes
Merlin Beets
Yaya Carrots
Hablange Parsnips
Fehmel Steig Yellow, Spanish Sweet, and Red Onions
Shallots
Verdonnet Leeks
Purple Top Turnips
Purple Daikon Radish
Rutabaga
Mars Celeriac
Passat Green and Kilmaro Red Cabbage
Brussel Sprouts
Kohlrabi
Song Cauliflower
Rasmus Broccoli
Celery
Lettuce Heads and Lettuce Mix
Champion Collards
Rainbow Lacinato and Dazzling Blue Kale
Rhubarb Chard
Regiment Spinach
Parsley, Dill, and Cilantro
Hot Peppers (Last week!)
Frisee, Chioggia, Radicchio, Sugarloaf, and Escarole
Delicata, Acorn, Blue Kuri, Butternut, and Spaghetti Winter Squash
Winter Luxury Pumpkins
Whole Dried Hot Peppers
Herbal Tea Blends
Pick your own flowers and herbs
Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)
Saltonstahl Olive Oil
Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday
Open Field Farm Swag!
DOCK: An easy and abundant forage for right now is dock seeds. These are ready when they are brown, not green, and they are easy to slip off the stalk. To prepare them, all I do is make sure they are clean and dry. The seeds have a papery sheath but I don't usually bother with discarding that bit. I find that if I toast them for my granola or grind them up for flour or porridge, they incorporate nicely.
While my primary consumption of dock seeds comes from adding them to my granola (which I can't exactly give a recipe for, as I generally make it up every time), here is a recipe from "The Wild Wisdom of Weeds" by Katrina Blair*:
Dock Seed Breakfast Cereal:
1/4 C dock seeds
1/2 C sunflower seeds
1/4 C flaxseeds
1/2 C raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbls honey or surgar
-Grind seeds finely in coffee/spice grinder or blender until flour-like consistency. Place this and raisins in a bowl. Add enough boiling water to cover the mix and let sit for 5 minutes. Add more hot water as needed.
* I often use these recipes for inspiration and almost always tweak them for flavor or consistency. So good luck and have fun!
DIY VERMOUTH:
There is also an abundance of gleaning and harvesting from our fields and our herb gardens that is great inspiration for fun drinks and cocktails. We often have herbs that go to seed in the fields, such as cilantro and dill. I usually collect coriander seeds from the fields this time of year.
Here is a recipe from Botanical Bar Craft by Cassandra Elizabeth Sears:
Makes about 1 quart.
(The quantities listed below are for dried botanicals)
1 standard bottle (750 mL) of dry white wine
4 Tablespoons of coriander seeds
2 Tablespoons chamomile flowers
2 Tablespoons fennel seeds
2 Tablespoons rose petals
Peel of organic grapefruit.
1 C Fino sherry
-Gently heat the wine in a pot. When it has been warmed, add the botanicals and grapefruit peel. Cover and leave at a low heat for about 20 minutes.
Strain and bottle. Add the sherry to fortify (raise alcohol content and improve longevity). Store in refrigerator and use within 1-3 months.