By Alyssa
February has arrived sunny. Each day I try to enjoy the sunshine and the green grass. It is perfect working weather, so comfortable I don’t even notice it half the time. But it feels wrong, too. How can it be so beautiful, peaceful, and idyllic here, when such horrible things keep happening across the country?
The warm weather allows us to do so much good work out in the fields. Since this dry spell began, we have been pushing hard to put down wood chips and compost in all our perennial areas, as well as keep up with our normal weeding, seeding, planting, and harvesting. In January, we started by mulching the asparagus pathways, then mulching all the tunnel pathways. Last week, I cut back the blackberries and the raspberries, and we began to mulch there, too. It’s been many hours and days of shoveling, walking, and bucket-carrying. It’s been really good for the plants, and will save us some work in the spring, but it is hard on the body. I’m tired, and sore, and a bit heavy-hearted. I am trying to have faith the rains will come again soon, and we will be able to rest our bodies more deeply.
We sow our first seeds of the season this week – early eggplants and peppers for the tunnels, and spring leeks for the field – and with those seeds I always feel a sense of wonder at the miraculous hope it takes to farm. Regardless of what is happening in the world, we put seeds into soil, and hope that they will grow. We hope that we will be here to tend them. We hope that you will be here to eat the food that may come from those seeds, for us all to receive sustenance both physical and beyond.
Open Field Farm 2025 | The "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW" guide for members
Upcoming Event:
Pancake Breakfast Saturday March 7th (Hike at 9 am, Pancakes at 10 am)
CSA Barn Hours:
Winter hours: 2:30-6:00 pm
Pick List:
Eggs
Nicola Yellow, Harvest Moon Purple, Red, and Fingerling potatoes
Merlin Beets
Yaya Carrots
Hablange Parsnips
Maria Nagy’s Red Onions
Verdonnet Leeks
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga
Mars Celeriac
Passat Green, Kilmaro Red, Deadon Savoy Cabbage
Kohlrabi
Fennel
White Russian and Dazzling Blue Kale
Rhubarb Chard
Castelfranco, Treviso, Sugarloaf, and Radicchio
Lettuce Mix
Cilantro
Delicata, Acorn, Tetsukabota, and Butternut Winter Squash
Winter Luxury Pumpkins
Whole Dried and Ground Hot Peppers
Herbal Tea Blends
Pick your own flowers and herbs
Beef Bone Broth (Made by Olla Products)
Apollo Olive Oil
Revolution Bread for sale on Tuesday and Friday
Open Field Farm Swag!
Citrus-Marinated Steak and Shaved Carrot Salad
I made this last week for a friend, inspired by the memory of a farm lunch that Stephanie and Alexis made a year or so ago. I served this with rice and roasted squash. I think shaved radishes would be a fun addition to the carrot salad, too.
Citrus-Marinated Steak
1 package carne asada
1 lemon
olive oil
soy sauce
1 pat butter (optional)
Place thawed carne asada in a bowl, and squeeze the lemon onto it. Drizzle olive oil and soy sauce onto it, too, then marinade in the fridge, stirring everything around occasionally, for at least one hour. Cook by bringing the steak to room temperature, and searing it in a hot cast iron or on the grill. In a pot on the stove, reduce the remaining marinade into a glaze while the steak is resting; stir in a pat of butter if desired after it has come up to a bubble. Slice steak across the grain, and drizzle with the sauce to serve.
Shaved Carrot Salad
4 big carrots
sesame oil
rice vinegar
maple syrup
salt or soy sauce
mint or sorrel, chiffonaded (optional, find them in the herb garden)
Shave the carrots into long ribbons with a vegetable peeler or a mandolin. Drizzle with rice vinegar, sesame oil, and a little maple syrup. Season to taste with salt or soy sauce. Serve with chiffonaded mint and sorrel for a little pop of color and herby goodness.