Veggie Starts Available this weekend   20 varieties of Tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, yellow squash, zucchini, four winter squash varieties, sweet corn, beets, chard, lettuce, basil, Thai basil, dill, three kinds of beans, pumpkins, cucumbers, hot peppers, peas, and more!

On Saturday we will be at Beaver Lake Nature center in Baldwinsville from 9am-2pm.

OR

from 1pm- 6pm we will be at 435 Buckingham near Berry Park in Syracuse for the Lost Girl Metal Works open house on Saturday afternoon.

click here to see the full flyer: Lostgirl Launch

Congratulations to Greg Sevik and Dawn Lammert- the winners of The Maple Fest Photo Contest!

A quick Maple Fest Entry courtesy of our winners:

On a recent Sunday, Dawn and I traveled to Cedarvale Maple Syrup Co., a pleasantly rustic maple farm on the outskirts of Syracuse. Being a native Southern Californian, I found this a rather exotic journey. (You cannot draw much syrup from dry brush or palm trees.) Dawn, being a Wisconsonite by birth, found it perhaps somewhat less exotic but no less fascinating. Dawn had been monitoring the Slow Food CNY website for some time, and when she found out about the Maple Fest Contest, she viewed it as opportunity both to experience some authentic Northeastern culture and to indulge her unrelenting sweet tooth. At Cedarvale, we learned the basics of maple syrup production, about which we knew nothing. We learned, for instance, that raw maple sap is clear and colorless and that the characteristic “maple” flavor comes about only through the heating and condensing process. We discovered, also, that Cedarvale is the maple syrup provider for Mary’s Maple Porter, a beer produced by Brooklyn Brewery. We actually got to meet the beer’s namesake, Mary Wiles, who leads a double life as a master brewer and maple farmer (lucky her!). Perhaps most importantly, we learned of the virtues of maple cream, a beige-colored maple concentrate with the consistency of thick honey. (If angels exist, they almost certainly eat maple cream in heaven.) All in all, Dawn and I had a wonderful Sunday outing, an experience we likely would not have undertaken without the encouragement of Slow Food CNY. Thanks!

1. Go to the Maple Fest anytime this weekend or next Sat / Sun 11-4 pm each day.(There are multiple participating locations in our area and they are all doing educational demos, tastings and tours for FREE!  What could be sweeter, I  mean really… nothing is sweeter than this delicious syrupy treat. See our list below )

2. Next- take a photo at the event and submit it to us, telling us which location you went to ( Actually 2 photos, one that you submit and one proving that you are actually there! ) Email them to www.slowfoodcny@gmail.com

3. We will sort through the photos and announce our winner on March 26th, after the last of the Ceremonious Maple Festivities come to a close.  Easy Peasy.

Go Forth and Eat Local.  We look forward to seeing your maple-festive photos!

~Slow Food CNY

Cedarvale Maple Syrup Co.

Pied Piper Maple Products

Critz Farms

We know it’s been a while since our last community feast- the time has come to Meet Up and Eat Up:

March 4th 3:00PM 5:30 PM

North Syracuse Public Library

Bring a dish to pass – and hear from Meg Backus on what’s going on down the road at the Cicero Library Garden. We will also have Bread and Roses there to explain to us the concept behind seed exchange. 

Bring a dish, grab a friend and CONNECT.  Our Food Community needs you.

Requirements:

live in Onondaga County

be a member of the CNY Slow Food Chapter (Not a member? Not a problem!  Apply Here

Must attend a monthly board meeting

Please select from one of the open positions below

Send us an email with your name, and nomination referral to slowfoodcny@gmail.com

February 1-29: Nominations

Mar 1st- 15th:  Nominated candidates will have the opportunity to campaign and our Slow Food Community will be given the                     opportunity to vote.

Open Positions

Secretary: Handles internal communication, Writes and distributes minutes of meetings to all members through our web-site and group list.  Construct agenda for meetings.  Schedule meetings.  Utilize group lists to maintain communication with chapter members at large.

Event Committee Chair: Develop events that promote SFCNY and are open to the public.  Provide SFCNY presence at appropriate events.  Recruit 2-3 event volunteer helpers.  Seek out events that may be a vehicle for SFCNY sponsorship and bring them to the board for approval.

Treasurer: Maintain charge of financial affairs including receipt, deposit and disbursement of funds from the SFCNY bank account.  Compile the year-end report for the national office.  Present a monthly financial report to the board members.  Maintain an up to date list of paid (current) members.

* These are volunteer positions*

Happy Nominating!
Sincerely,
CNY’s Slow Foodies

Food Day: A day of appreciation for food! This year Food Day falls on Monday- October 24th but in order to give it the kick off it deserves for it’s inaugural year- we are doing three big days of celebrating!

“Appetizer”  Saturday Oct. 22nd at BC Restaurant 247 West Fayette Street in Armory Square- a handful of Syracuse restaurants will have an app to pass.  Come check out BC’s new back room art gallery- learn more about local food day, and connect with other food lovers in the community that will be joining together to celebrate from 12-3pm.   $7 dollar admission- 100% of proceeds go back into FOOD DAY!

“Entree” Sunday Oct. 23rd Tim’s Pumpkin Patch- we will be sponsoring a bus load of kids from Syracuse out to the patch, watching Nourish, short food film documentary about why it’s important for us to know where our food comes from.  Tim’s Pumpkin Patch 1 to 4 p.m.  - Located at 2901 Rosehill Road, Marietta, NY 13110

“Dessert” Monday Oct. 24th 5pm- 8pm at the Palace Theater a Food Day Film Featuring Food Inc. – Dessert samples from alternative dessert companies such as Sweet Praxis, Wild Flour, Karma Bakery and Strong Hearts Cafe- followed by a screening of film and short discussion.

There is still time to sign up for NOFA- NY’s BITE SIZED CHALLENGE

Challenge yourself to eat everything from a 250 mile radius for one day! 

Dont forget that this month we are accepting members at any dontation amount!  Sign up to become a member today- get involved, be part of the Slow Food Crew!

We also talked about a fun new way to locate local food by using the farmshed application- download it now- it will put you in the right direction

Thank you Marcellus Library for hosting a Slow Food CNY event!

Recipes from the demo below:

Kale Salad

kale salad:
2 bunches of Kale
Grape Tomatoes
Fine Sea Salt
1 Lemon, juiced
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Dressing
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
1/8 Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/3 cup Olive Oil
 
Hand tear kale off main stem into bite sized pieces, sprinkle lightly with sea salt.  Massage the salt into the leaves for one minute and allow to sit for 5.  Pour lemon juice onto leaves, enough to coat all leaves.  Message again for another minute or two, let rest for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, mince garlic.  In separate bowl add garlic, vinegar, cayenne, black pepper.  While whisking these items together, drizzle in olive oil.  Pour over kale and toss to coat evenly.  Grape tomatoes optional, add as many as you’d like for a pop of color.

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Warm Wheat Berry Cruciferous Salad

Ingredients

2 Cups Soft Wheat Berries (Gianforte Farms)

½ Head Cauliflower, roughly chopped into medium bite sized pieces

½ Head Broccoli, roughly chopped into medium bite sized pieces

½ lemon

2 tablespoons Stony Brook Butternut Squash Oil

1 tsp. Sea salt

Pepper

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375 F

In medium pot bring water to a boil, add sea salt, add 2 cups of wheat berry.  Boil for about 30 minutes and drain- should be soft but still have resistance to chew. Strain, add Butternut Squash Oil.

In a medium bowl toss cauliflower and broccoli with olive oil salt and pepper.  Transfer to roasting pan, roast until florets begin to appear golden brown, approximately 35-40 minutes.  Take out of oven and let cool slightly. 

Transfer roasted  vegetables to food processor.  Squeeze half lemon, and zest ¼-1/2 teaspoon lemon peel on microplane into food processor.  Pulse 4 or 5 times until florets combined and almost resemble crumbles. 

Combine with wheat berries. 

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ABC Juice

2 carrots

2 small beets

3 apples

Procedure

Cut into small enough size to fit into opening of  juicer.  Juice to combine flavors. 

 Butternut-Vanilla Rooibos Warm Tea Smoothie

Ingredients

Water

6 Numi Rooibos Tea Bags

1 butternut squash

2 cups almond, soy, or coconut milk

¼ cup silken tofu

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 table spoon honey

2 teaspoons vanilla

 Procedure

Preheat oven to 375.

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, turn off flame, insert tea bags.  Steep for 8 minutes.  Extract and dispose of tea bags.  Set aside

Cut butternut squash in ½ .  Place flesh side down on baking tray, bake until you can easily make indent on skin with finger- about 35-45 minutes.  Take out, let cool slightly.  Scrape out seeds with a spoon, then spoon the flesh out into a bowl.

Place tea back on medium heat.  Add squash, tofu, honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and almond milk.  Place in blender by batches, blend each batch for at least 3 minutes and return to separate pot to keep warm on stove.  Consistency should be thin enough to drink but thick enough to provide substance. Serve warm with drop of coconut milk and dash of cinnamon.

South West Community Farm

3:30-5:30

The Harvest Potluck this year will be memorable as we celebrate the success of the Southwest Community Farm right on site with Syracuse Grows, Grindstone Farm, Jubilee Homes, and Urban Delights . If you haven’t seen the beautiful raised beds of Swiss chard and green beans in the formerly vacant lot on the corner of Bellevue and Midler in Syracuse, you are in for a delight!

Please join us next Sunday afternoon September 25th and bring a dish to pass of your favorite food–hopefully locally grown, but all food made with care is welcome! We look forward to seeing you and catching up…we welcome any volunteers who wish to show up early to help with the set up.

SFCNY Board Members

Emily, Meredith, Abigail, Jonathan, and Kimberly