Author: Sunnyside CSA Core Group

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Milk Not Jails A La Carte Ordering

Order Deadline: Tuesday, June 10th at 8pm

Delivery to Sunnyside: June 19

Members of participating CSAs can order online here a wide variety of artisanal cheeses, fresh kefirs, goats milk and more for pick-up right here at your CSA. Milk Not Jails brings fresh dairy from seven small farms in the Catskills and Hudson Valley directly to you to sample throughout the season! All of the products available for special monthly order come from small family farms who call their cows by name and make their own small-batch products from one single-source – their own herd – creating unique products with distinct flavors that you cannot buy in the store!

Try amazing whole, local foods from Betty Acres Farm, Tonjes Dairy, Cowbella Creamery, Dirty Girl Farm and more!

Click here to order.

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In the Box–June 5

Baby Bok Choi – 1 bunch
Red Kale – 1 bunch
Lettuce Mix – 3/4 lb bag*
Spinach – 1 bunch
Arugula – 1/2 lb bag*

A note from the farmers on the bagged greens:
We’re using a greens harvester for the first time this year which makes the harvesting faster and allows us to give out a lot more to each member! The downside is that it also harvests some weeds along with the crop. So, we’re asking members to help us by removing the weeds from their bags at home. We’re sending extra poundage in the shares to make up for the weight of the weeds in each bag. We think this is a fair trade off and we’re going to try to reduce the number of weeds as we get more experience working with this harvester over the course of the season. Thanks!

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U-Pick Strawberries at Golden Earthworm Farm

From the farmers:

We know that many of you are anxious for our U-Pick Strawberry season to begin. We are monitoring the crop daily and we’ll post a notice on our website and Facebook page when we are confident that there will be enough to open up the fields to pickers! By next weekend there will be plenty, so you can confidently make plans to come visit us and U-Pick on Friday and Saturday June 13 & 14 and the following week, June 20 & 21. Hours are 10am-6pm on Fridays and 9am-5pm on Saturdays.

And yes, we have a separate field of strawberries planted for the CSA, so you should receive strawberries in your CSA share at some point this month.

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*In the box

Let the Greens Begin! In the Box May 29th

THIS WEEK IN THE SHARES

Mustard Greens Braising Mix – 3/4 lb.
This is a lovely mix of mustard greens delicious in a salad, or like we suggest by the name, braised gently.
Baby Lettuce Mix – 3/4 lb.
Radishes OR Turnips – 1 bunch
Radishes require no explanation. If you’re new to these Japanese white salad turnips, you should know that they are best eaten raw (no peeling needed). The tops are also edible gently steamed or sauteed.
Oregano – 1 bunch
Spinach – 1/2 lb.
Arugula – 1/4 lb.

Wilted Spinach Salad with warm Feta Dressing

STORAGE

All of the bagged greens can be stored in the fridge for several days. Do not wash until you are ready to use them. The turnips or radishes should have their tops (greens) removed before storing in an air-tight bag. They’ll last longer that way!

A Special Note on the bagged greens:

We’re using a greens harvester for the first time this year which makes the harvesting faster and allows us to give out a lot more to each member! The downside is that it also harvests some weeds along with the crop. So, we’re asking members to help us by removing the weeds from their bags at home. We’re sending extra poundage in the shares to make up for the weight of the weeds in each bag. We think this is a fair trade off and we’re going to try to reduce the number of weeds as we get more experience working with this harvester over the course of the season. Thanks!

FARM WEATHER REPORT

Farmers love to talk about weather. And why not? It is the single most important thing in their lives. (Ahem, after their family, of course!) It is the main factor in determining the success of a crop, the timing of a planting and the outcome of a harvest. In other words, not only is it important to your farmers, it is going to be very important to you this year too! The weather will determine what gets harvested and packed into your CSA box, and what you will ultimately be serving up on your table this season. So, how is the weather on the farm? Well, this spring has been unusually cold, as I’m sure you know all too well. Fortunately, this didn’t keep us from our usual seeding schedule in the greenhouses where we start many of our crops. It did delay our strawberry crop, which is now about 2 weeks behind schedule. I saw a few berries blushing in the fields yesterday, so I expect we’ll have them ready to harvest in about a week and a half. We’ll keep you posted!

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Archives

Opening Night Raffle–Taste of LIC!

To kick off our 2013 CSA season, we are raffling off a pair of tickets to this year’s 9th Annual Taste of L.I.C., held Tuesday, June 3th, 2014. That’s a $120 value! A fixture of cultural life in LIC, the event is a fundraiser for the Chocolate Factory Theater in Long Island City. It presents a smorgasbord of food and drink from over fifty Queens restaurants and vendors, including S Prime Steakhouse; M. Wells Dinette; Tom Cat bakery, gelato specialists Manducatis Rustica, Brooklyn Brewery, and many, many others.

The soiree on Tuesday takes place over lovely Gantry Plaza State Park, which sits right on the East River waterfront with stellar views into the city. All of the proceeds from this raffle go directly into our subsidized shares, so please support our subsidy program by purchasing tickets at Thursday’s pickup! The winner’s name will be drawn immediately following the pickup and will be notified on Friday morning.

Ticket prices are $5 for 1, $10 for 3, or $20 for 10. Cash only, please!

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Volunteer

2014 Volunteer Sign Ups Now Open!

A successful 2014 CSA season depends on YOU!

Every aspect of CSA operations relies on volunteers from within the membership–otherwise, things simply can’t happen! Volunteers meet and unload the trucks, distribute veggie and fruit shares and special products, keep Sunnyside Community Services tidy, and perform all kinds of behind the scenes functions.

When you bought your 2014 CSA share, you committed to complete 2 volunteer shifts of 2 hours each. If you also bought any of our special products shares, you also committed to an additional shift.

The simplest way to complete your volunteer hours is to sign up for one of our Thursday distribution shifts. We need help starting at 2:15, when the trucks arrive, all the way up through 8:15 when we close up SCS.

Our first distribution is this coming Thursday, May 29th and sign ups are now open!

To sign up for volunteer shifts:

  1. Go to our invitation page: VolunteerSpot
  2. Enter your email address (You will NOT need to register for an account on VolunteerSpot)
  3. Sign up! Choose your shifts – VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders.

NOTE: According to its privacy policy, VolunteerSpot does not sell our email addresses. If you would prefer not to provide your email address to VolunteerSpot, you may sign up for your volunteer shifts in person at the first pick-up of the season on May 30, from 7-8pm.

We may also have volunteer opportunities for CSA events or special products distribution, so watch the blog, Facebook, Twitter, or the email newsletter for more information. Please note that you must sign up for at least one shift by September 15 or your share will be suspended.

If you have any questions or concerns, please Contact Us.

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Archives

New season is almost here!

I’m dying of anticipation, how about you?
First pick up is just 10 days away, on Thursday May 29th from 5pm-8pm. See you there!

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Events

Sustainable Seafood Week

Village Fishmonger
Village Fishmonger

Our friends at Village Fishmonger are in the midst of Sustainable Seafood Week, with a veritable tidal wave of events, including cooking demos, culinary competitions, and cameos from some truly great chefs.

This one sounds amazing:
Essential Skills: Fish Butchering
In conjunction with Sustainable Seafood Week NYC, Haven’s Kitchen, is producing a pair of cooking lessons dedicated to the preparation and enjoyment of delicious, sustainable, seafood.

In this class, a Haven’s Kitchen instructor will demystify fish butchering and teach students fish fundamentals from selecting a fresh fish to breaking one down. In line with Haven’s Kitchen’s mission, the class will prepare simple recipes and figure out ways to use the entire fish—head to tail.
When: Thursday, May 8th, 7:00pm-9:00pm
Where: Haven’s Kitchen, 109 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011

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Lewis Waite Farms

Lewis Waite Order Deadline + Sale Items

Harissa by Teeny Tiny Spice Co.
Harissa by Teeny Tiny Spice Co.

The last Lewis Waite delivery of the winter season is coming up on Tuesday, May 13th. Order your Lewis Waite products by 11:59 pm on Thursday 5/8 for delivery next Tuesday 5/13. Raw milk cheese products must be ordered by Tuesday 5/6, so if you want those, be sure to submit your order early!

Strafford Organic Creamery has added Smooth Maple to their roster of ice cream flavors.

3 Corner Field Farm has fresh sheep milk cheeses available again now that lambing season is over.

Teeny Tiny Spice Company wants to remind you that their spices come in gift packs and would be lovely for Father’s Day, for end of year teacher gifts or a hostess gift. As the weather warms, you might want to pick up some grilling spices for yourself.

Speaking of grilling, Lewis Waite is having a sale on hot dogs and Mack Brin Farms has a sale on pasture raised chicken livers.

sheeponpasture

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Archives

You Need Mead!

The Village Voice even says so. Check out this great profile of our wine share vendor, Raphael Lyon of Enlightenment Wine in Ulster County.

By the way, I emailed Raphael to ask him about the shelf life of the mead. I’m the only one in my house who will be drinking it, and as a mom of two I don’t think I should be polishing off a whole bottle with my dinner. So I wanted to know if it would last for a few days, or if it would go flat like Champagne or prosecco. He wrote:

“My meads, while natural (I don’t use sulfites) actually are surprisingly stable- more so than grape wines. A week in the fridge should be fine for any bottle. Some can survive for much longer without much noticeable change. I think honey based alcohol is just more stable for some reason.”

I’m looking forward to (slowly) drinking up!