We Jammin’ - Raina Member Diary - Week of Aug 4th

Aug

Our share last week = blueberries, peaches, shiro plums, eggs, Swiss chard, red leaf lettuce, carrots, potatoes, lemongrass, onions, leeks and corn. Peaches and plums were quickly eaten as is, I think we washed them.

We’ve found that the best way to use all the produce is to clean and break down as much of it as possible on Monday night. I’m not much of a recipe follower but inspiration usually hits sometime during this process. This week it was a simple potato pancake. Flour, egg, leek, shredded potato, salt, pepper and some Panko and paprika all mixed together and then fried in a shallow pan. It was hard to remember to save some for our daughter! These are really best straight out of the pan, but can also stand up to the fridge for a couple days.
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The highlight of our booty (have always wanted to say that) was blueberry jam.
We used this excellent recipe from Danielle Walker of Against All Grain
  • 3 cups blueberries (frozen and thawed or fresh)
  • 3/4 cup honey (you can use more or less depending on how tart your berries are)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Instructions:

  1. Place the blueberries in a medium sized sauce pan and crush them with the back of a fork or using a potato masher.
  2. Add the honey, lemon juice, and lemon zest, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir frequently while the mixture boils for 15-20 minutes and it starts to thicken. The best way to test if it’s done is to put a spoonful in the freezer for 5 minutes. If it won’t easily pour off of the spoon when you remove it from the freezer, then it’s done.
  3. Skim off any foam, then ladle the jam into a sterilized jar.
  4. Store tightly covered in the fridge for a couple of weeks or you can use canning methods to store in a pantry for longer storage.
We hope you enjoy!

Meeshka Member Diary

berry
We split a Half Monty Deluxe between three households. Two of us have been part of the Southside CSA, so we generally know that once the blueberries start, you are in blueberry heaven for a few weeks, so we use a quick recipe to make some easy breakfast muffins.

meeshka 1-page-001

Continue reading

Blood & Thunder Member Diary - Week of June 2

pickupCSA

Blood & Thunder (aka Mary, Hashem and Xochi - and sometimes more friends)

Southside CSA's sweetest "member"

Southside CSA’s sweetest “member”

We are a household of two (plus a dog). We have signed up for the Full Greig (Berry) Share, Full Egg, ½ Veggie and ½ Meat Shares.

Getting Stuff

Getting Stuff

Meat & Eggs

Meat & Eggs

Eggs, Strawberries, & Asparagus

Eggs, Strawberries, & Asparagus

Share in a Bag

Share in a Bag

Ryan and Xochi

Ryan and Xochi

Here are the meals from my week that I used CSA share stuff: Continue reading

Package Spotlight - Just Jammin’

Greig Farm "Berry" Share 2011

Greig Farm “Berry” Share 2011

We organize the shares offered at Southside CSA into packages. This helps us volunteers keep things organized while meeting our farmer’s sales needs. The earlier you sign up, the more likely you are to get whatever type of package your heart desires. We have crafted a big variety of packages — Full Share Packages & Mixed Full -Half Share Packages & Half Share Packages. We tried to make that list complete BUT if you don’t see the combo that fits your needs, let us know what you would like to purchase. At this point we can pretty much put together any type of combination.

Asparagus

Asparagus

Peas

Peas

 

 

Strawberries

Strawberries

Another great package for the person that likes to eat local fruit, especially berries, but can’t commit to cooking up all those vegetables. The Just Jammin’ Package is a Full Share of the Greig Farm Share which consists of mostly berries. Greig Farm is a pick your own farm in Red Hook. Norm grows asparagus, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, apples, and pumpkins. All are grown without any spraying of any sort of pesticides — not even the natural types approved under the organic moniker. He grows with the ideal that one can walk out into the field, pick the ripest, plumpest berry and pop it right into your mouth without worrying about washing anything off. This share is unlike our other shares in that it follows exactly the ebb and flow of the season, the amount arriving directly related to what is ripe on Monday morning, to the weather, the season, all the factors that can alter a local harvest.

Blueberries & Yellow Raspberries

Blueberries & Yellow Raspberries

Greig Farm Share 2011

Blackberries

 

 

Greig Farm Share 2011

Apple

With all these berries, you can top your morning cereal, bake up a slew of pies, and rock out jams that will make your grandma proud. Experiment with pickled asparagus, rock out strawberry chamomile jams & blueberry maple butters, make your friends swoon by bringing raspberry sorbet to those summer bbqs, stock your pantry with blackberry chutney, and master that apple pumpkin pie by the time the holidays roll around. This share is beyond perfect if you want to enjoy some of the local Hudson Valley harvest, be a part of the Southside CSA, improve your culinary skills, and upgrade your health with a weekly dose of nature’s candy.

Mo's Strawberry Jam

Mo’s Strawberry Jam

Chutney

Chutney

Apple Pie!

Apple Pie!

Package Spotlight - Oh My Pie!

peaches from orchard share. aug 2010

We organize the shares offered at Southside CSA into packages. This helps us volunteers keep things organized while meeting our farmer’s sales needs. The earlier you sign up, the more likely you are to get whatever type of package your heart desires. We have crafted a big variety of packages — Full Share Packages & Mixed Full -Half Share Packages & Half Share Packages. We tried to make that list complete BUT if you don’t see the combo that fits your needs, let us know what you would like to purchase. At this point we can pretty much put together any type of combination.

Orchard Share - Aug 11, 2010

Orchard Share - Aug 11, 2010

Farm Fresh Eggs

Farm Fresh Eggs

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year we have designed the perfect share for those of you who love to support your local farmers but don’t really spend a lot of time cooking up dinners - the OH MY PIE! share. This baker’s combo of the NY Orchard Share & Egg share is the perfect union for those who like to bust out those peach pies, plum cobblers, and egg custards. Of course, you don’t have to be Martha Stewart to rock the Oh MY PIE share. This is also a great purchase for those who like to start their days with a breakfast of local fruits and eggs. Purchase some of our Circle C Maple Syrup and you have the makings of the most perfect Sunday Brunch! Hello apple-cardomon pancakes smothered in maple syrup. Just imagine all the morning glory you can create with your share of local fruits and eggs…

Check out our upcoming events and sign up for the Southside CSA right away!

mimomex eggs, sunny!

local eggs, sunny!

My Oh My Pie!

My Oh My Pie!

NY Orchard Share

NY Orchard Share

December Winter Share Distribution

With these whirlwind weeks of holiday cooking and new years celebrations, it seems like it was just yesterday but it was actually a few weeks ago on December 17th that we had our first distribution of our 5 month Winter season. We figured before we start posting all the amazing things we have been cooking/baking/preserving, it was about time we did an informational post about the December shares….

Dec 2013 Winter Sun Vegetable Share

Dec 2013 Winter Sun Vegetable Share

Winter Sun Vegetable Share

This month’s distribution included 6 frozen items. Typically we get 5 items plus a fresh bag of pea shoots. Unfortunately, early December was a hard one for pea shoots. The farm that we get our pea shoots from, Little Seed Gardens in Chatham, NY, was hit particularly hard with a cold snap and they lost their pea shoots. (The plan as it stands is to have pea shoots again in January and in subsequent months.) Therefore, in December we all got an extra frozen item in place of the pea shoots.

The December share included the following:

  • 24 oz jar of Tomato Puree from Taliaferro Farm & Williams Farm
  • Butternut Squash Puree from Black Horse Farm in Coxsackie, NY
  • Winterbor Kale from Stoneledge Farm in South Cairo, NY
  • Blueberries from Mead Orchards Farm in Tivoli, NY
  • Green Beans from Markristo Farm in Hillsdale, NY
  • Diced Peppers from Hepworth Farm in Milton, NY
  • Sweet Corn from Gills Farm in Hurley, NY
Montrose guarding the eggs

Montrose guarding the eggs

Egg Share

Members picked up their dozen’s of gorgeous eggs…..

Dec 2013 Whole Meat Share

Dec 2013 Whole Meat Share

Northwind Farm Meat Shares

Half Share - The average weight comes to 7.7 lbs per share

  • Barbary Duck
  • Ground Turkey Meat
  • Chicken split Breast
  • Breakfast Sausage
  • Rib Steak

Whole Share - The average weight total comes to 11lbs per share

  • Barbary Duck
  • Turkey Drumsticks
  • Breakfast Sausage
  • Ground Turkey
  • Turkey Tenderloins
  • Rib Steak
Tasting of beers n' hot sauces

Tasting of beers n’ hot sauces

Broken Stove Beer Tasting Club

This month’s selection of homebrew goodness:

3 22 ounce bottles of the following -

  • Dunkelweisen
  • Scotch Ale
  • Smoked Porter

Still time to get in on our winter shares. Prices to join will be updated on the blog later today…..

Dramalama Member Diary - Week #21

Veg + Berry + Orchard + Egg Shares - Week of Sept 16, 2013

Marla + Adam (aka Dramalama) — Our share family size is two, consisting of me and my husband Adam, and we’ve been members of the Southside CSA since 2010. Having just moved from California where the produce is known for being fresh, I was eager to join a local CSA. A long time friend of my husband shared stories about the easy pickups at the Woods, the amazing quality of the fruits and vegetables, and of course the chance to meet other folks interested in healthy farm-fresh cooking. We were sold. The ability to choose from a variety of share packages of different sizes and prices has been very helpful, since our food budget took a hit when we made the transition to New York. This year, we chose the ‘Woods Deluxe’ package, which includes a full vegetable share & berry share and one dozen eggs and orchard share bi-weekly .

Berry Share - July 1, 2013

The berry share kicks in at the beginning of the summer. Each week, we receive *buckets* of fresh blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Due to the quantity of fresh berries we end up freezing a lot of them. But whenever we’re in the mood for a smoothie, we are ready to go. Continue reading

Sebastian Share Member Diary Week #20

I brought in my 2.5 y/o sous chef to help me create some magic in the kitchen today. Our kitchen took a beating but I think the end result was well worth the effort. I included a photo journal of what we were able to achieve.

Outer circle going clockwise from the top left:

  • Diced zucchini ready for an adventure
  • Prepping my ingredients for tea - mint/ lemon/ honey
  • Mint tea
  • Blueberry apple crisp
  • Broiled pork chops over a bed of red quinoa & zucchini
  • Sauteed zucchini with red quinoa

Inner circle from top to bottom:

  • Apple Sauce cooling on the stove top
  • Evan eating apples faster then I can peel them.