By Alyssa
I can’t believe it is August already. Weather patterns have become like another hand on my internal clock, and this cool spring and summer we’ve been having is throwing me off. But with the turn of the month, we have had a little more sunshine, a little more heat. The hot crops are finally starting to come in, albeit still slowly, and the CSA fridge is filling up again. And the Canadian geese are starting their migration, big groups flying overhead as they go south for the winter.
Additionally, as of yesterday, I am finally embracing all of the summer recipes of that food media told me I should have begun eating in June. One of the funniest lessons of farming for me, especially in this particular place, has been that our seasons of food do not really line up with the recipe newsletters that show up in my inbox. It is an exercise in anticipation, salivating over images of juicy tomatoes and melons while watching the tomatoes slowly climb their trellis.
I get a lucky little preview of the season, by way of my mother. My parents still live in Novato, my hometown, which usually enjoys (or suffers) warmer weather and a little less fog. Every spring, my mom goes to the master gardeners’ plant start sale and buys a half dozen or so tomato plants, which she plants in raised beds in her front yard. Her plants are already escaping their cages by the time ours are about knee height, and she generously shares some of her early harvest with me. I love the tomatoes that we grow – the Crushed Heart variety is first in my heart, and our New Girls make the best tomato sauce – but for straight eating, nothing compares to my mother’s tomatoes. Hers have always been better and sweeter than any tomato I’ve ever grown on any farm I’ve ever worked. It feels mean to tell you this without sharing, but there are just some things that your parents will always do better than you, and this is one of my mom’s things.
Upcoming Event: Potluck Friday August 22nd at 6 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
Gold Princess and Red Long of Tropea Onions
Parade Scallions
Cocozelle, Goldini, and Dark Star Summer Squash
Cucumbers
Farao and Caraflex Cabbage
Fennel
Jade Green Beans (The plants surprised us and there was less this week. They will be limited.)
Lettuce
Rhubarb Chard
Champion Collards
Rainbow Lacinato and Dazzling Blue Kale
Parsley, Cilantro, Basil, and Dill
Albion Strawberries
New Girl Tomatoes (limited amounts)
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!
Soft Tofu, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Chili Crisp
I just found out that Jupiter Foods in Petaluma sells the best tofu I’ve ever had – Dooboo from Joodooboo, a Korean restaurant in Oakland with freshly made tofu and banchan. The tofu is fresh, so it is a little pricey. For me it is worth it, but you can really make this with any tofu, the softer the better. I usually put a Chinese spin on the toppings because that is what is in my pantry, but you could take it in a lot of directions. This is what I am having for dinner tonight:
Scoop half a block tofu out of the package and into a bowl. Top with a diced tomato, a diced cucumber, a drizzle of soy sauce and Chinese black vinegar, and a healthy spoonful of chili crisp*. Boom, dinner.
*There are so many awesome chili crisps out there these days, but I want to shout out Big Spoon Sauce Co, a small Sonoma County business that makes a bunch of different chili crisps with ingredients from local farms. Their regular chili crisp is my favorite to eat with eggs, but they also do fun seasonal recipes – and I do love a seasonal food product.