Posted on May 27, 2011 by ryan la chica
One of our members, Alexandra, is doing a fun natural foods cooking class at Spacecraft on Monday May 30th - a great kid & parent activity for the holiday.
KIDS CHILI COOK ON! 12:00-3:00pm. Spacecraft. 355 Bedford. $45/child+parent. $5 discount for Southside CSA members. Please RSVP to [email protected] or (719) 599-2718.
The Supernatural Kids Cookbook by Nancy Mehagian. Illustrated by Alexandra Conn (local artist/Southside CSA member). Foreword by Bridget Fonda. Like Supernatural Kids Cookbook on Facebook!
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Filed under: Community Events | Tagged: cooking demos, cooking with kids | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 24, 2011 by ryan la chica
It’s early days in the season, so this will be brief. Continue reading →
Filed under: Member Diary | Tagged: asparagus, salad, soup | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 24, 2011 by ryan la chica
Peru may dominate the global asparagus industry, but in the backyard of the Woods, its all about our local haul from Greig Farm. [Feel like some deep thoughts about farm bills, industrial ag, and globalization, check out the article; Asparagus farmers lose to Peruvians]
This week’s Berry Share
- approx 2 lbs of freshly harvested asparagus
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Filed under: Greig Farm Berry Share | Tagged: Eagle St Rooftop Farm, weekly share info | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 23, 2011 by ryan la chica
Let’s get pickled!
Picking up that "Berry" Share
We’ve grilled it, baked it, and even enjoyed it raw. But after three weeks of funny smelling pee we needed a break. This was the perfect time to try our hand at pickling. We purchased a case of Ball Regular Mason Canning Jars from Amazon for $20 and brushed up on the basics of pickling and canning. See recipe below.
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Filed under: Member Diary | Tagged: asparagus, pickling | 1 Comment »
Posted on May 20, 2011 by ryan la chica
Popular for thousands of years, asparagus was grown in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. Stories say that the ancient Romans prized the vegetable so much that they had special fleets, running it in to the tables of the privileged straight from the farm. There is also talk of it being “run” from the farms of Roman Britain up into the Swiss Alps for “freezing” in order to be available for important feasts year round. 
Herbalist John Girard mentioned wild asparagus in the 16th century, and it is found as far back as the 17th century in French cookbooks. The asparagus growing beds in Northern Italy were famous during the Renaissance period. In fact, these graceful spears have always been a sign of elegance, and in times past, were a delicacy only the wealthy could afford. Sounds like thanks to its short growing season, asparagus has always been a highlight in the foodie calendar. Nowadays with globalization, you can get asparagus year-round, typically shipped in from Peru, China, Mexico, & California. However, nothing tastes as good as locally harvested asparagus. So glad that Norman shares his harvest with the Southside CSA!
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Filed under: Recipes | Tagged: asparagus, pesto, pickles, Raw recipes, Savory Ideas, soup | 1 Comment »
Posted on May 20, 2011 by ryan la chica
Monday moanday indeed. What a weekend. Cold and rainy, there hasn’t been much growth out in the asparagus fields and Norman feels like he lives in a giant mudhole. (“All we need is one day of sun” says our farmer wistfully…) As we have discussed, this edible grass absolutely booms with sun, growing inches in an hour. On the flip side, weather like this caused the size drop in this week’s Berry share.
This week’s Berry Share was 1 & 1/4 pound of fresh picked asparagus stalks.
Still, despite the mud, things are looking great up at Greig Farm. The strawberries are as big as a farmer’s thumbnail, nice and green. They should be ripe in a couple weeks, with the first harvest arriving (fingers crossed) on June 6th. The weather we have been having may not be ideal for picnics and suntans BUT it has been pretty ideal for strawberries thereby accounting for the early start. Yup, it may be Spring but those berries at the store are from California; New York’s strawberry season doesn’t start until mid-June. What a great treat it will be to get strawberries on the early side! 
The weather may have been wet and gray, but it was perfect for harvesting micro-greens. We were joined in the backyard by Eagle St Rooftop Farm who were selling their beautiful baby radishes and bags of just-picked greens (for a mere $5 a lb; what a deal for some of the best greens in town!) Super excited to supplement our Spring bounty with food grown in Greenpoint. Continue reading →
Filed under: Circle C Maple Share, Distribution/Pick-up, Greig Farm Berry Share | Tagged: weekly share info | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 12, 2011 by ryan la chica
Posted on May 11, 2011 by ryan la chica
A tasty & tantalizing way to serve up your asparagus from Shannon S: Continue reading →
Filed under: Recipes | Tagged: asparagus, Raw recipes, Savory Ideas | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 11, 2011 by ryan la chica
This week we each got 2 1/2 pounds of asparagus for our Berry Share.
Asparagus thrives in warm weather and can grow 6 inches easy in 80 degree weather. However, they don’t grow at all when it is 40 degrees. it has been cool up in Red Hook and therefore there was less asparagus to harvest. The strawberries are blooming; it takes strawberries about 3 weeks to go from bloom to harvest so Norman is hoping that the weather cooperates and we go smoothly from asparagus to strawberries in a few distributions.
This week was also our Maple Share distribution. It was a great year up at Circle C and they harvested a lot of delicious syrup. So glad they decided to share it with Southside CSA! Can’t wait to start hearing all the yummy was you guys are using up your maple syrup. If you didnt order maple syrup, have no fear, there will be a few more chances to purchase some of the golden elixir. Stay tuned for details! Continue reading →
Filed under: Circle C Maple Share, Distribution/Pick-up, Greig Farm Berry Share | Tagged: weekly share info | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 11, 2011 by ryan la chica
Berry Share!
Right now at least 60 kitchens in Brooklyn are rocking out some serious asparagus thanks to our fab berry share. Here are some fun recipes and pictures our members have been sharing with us.
Roasted Asparagus Salad
by Kirsten O.
An easy way to prepare the vegetable, roasted asparagus is a delightful treat. Dusted with some salt & pepper, squirted with a little lemon juice, roasted with other vegetables (like peppers or mushrooms), or topped with cheeses or butter, roasted asparagus can work as a simple side or the main course.
Pickled asparagus. Raw fermented asps!! by rich a.
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Filed under: Greig Farm Berry Share, Recipes | Tagged: asparagus, pickling, salad, Savory Ideas | 1 Comment »
Southside CSA 