S U M M E R S H A R E 2 0 1 5 : W E E K 1

Welcome to Week 1 of the Summer Share with Fresh Fork Market!

We're so excited to see some familiar faces and meet all our new subscribers at the trucks this week. It was a long Winter, and this warm Spring has been a welcome change, indeed.

This week's newsletter is a day early-- normally you'll spot them in your inbox by Tuesdays at noon-- but we wanted to give everyone a chance to get acclimated and place any extra orders.

Many of you were with us over Winter or last Summer, however a bunch of you are new to the program, so we'd like to cover a few important bases in this first newsletter before we get to the good stuff (ie, what's in the bag!?)

Not all weeks are created equal, but they will even out over the Summer.

We work with our farmers on a budget for the season. Some weeks come in larger (particularly mid season), while other weeks are more scarce. To balance the lack of available produce in the early weeks, we try to include staples like flour and beans.

The weather might cause a change in the bag.

We are at the mercy of the weather, and we'd like to thank you in advance for working with us through a few weather nuances. For example, we were expecting strawberries for all this week. With the strong rains and cold weather this weekend, some berries were damaged and others never ripened. This week we'll provide strawberries to our Large subscribers with some extras for sale à la carte. Next week there should be enough for all bags.

Every week's bag is different.

We always joke that the season starts green (lettuce, kale, spinach, etc), gets colorful (zucchini, tomatoes, corn, berries), and ends heavy (potatoes, cauliflower, winter squash, etc). Every week the bag will shift as different crops come to harvest, and we try to match the accompanying items so you make a couple great meals.

Place a special order for milk.

Many of our customers rely on us for their farm fresh milk. During these early weeks we are usually guessing at how much milk to order. While you can purchase milk at the back of the truck, we do encourage you to preorder to guarantee you get what you want.

Orders should be placed by Tuesday at midnight by logging into your account here. If you need a tutorial on how to place a special order, click here and scroll down for the step-by-step photo instructions.

If you miss your stop, head to another one.

Sometimes it's weather, school pick ups, work, or whatever that might cause you to miss your stop. Don't panic, just refer back to your "Welcome to Summer, Fresh Forker!" email you got over the weekend to see where your truck is headed next, or head to our website to check out the list of all our Summer Stops.

Remember, that unless you've placed a Special Order, you can pick up at any of our stops and you do not need to let us know ahead of time.

Tremont is the last pick up of the week, so if you're going to miss that one, best bet is to ask a friend or neighbor to pick up for you.

Fresh Forkin' Tip

If you're new to the program, we thought we'd let you in on a little tip: our bags are color coded!

Light Green is the Small Omnivore

Dark Brown is the Large Omnivore

Orange is for Vegetarian (Large and Small)

Tan/Khaki for Vegan

Attn: Vegan & Vegetarian Subscribers-- if the bag contents are the same in both bags any given week, you might be given an orange or a khaki-colored bag. When you pick up the following week, just let your Greeter know if you get a different colored bag than the one you are returning.

Every week, please return your bag from the previous week. If it's really dirty please be courteous to your fellow Forkers and give it a quick rinse and hang it to dry.

We do keep count of the number of bags you take vs return and there is a reckoning towards the end of the season if we find out you're hoarding them in the trunk of your car. Kidding, but actually these are pretty expensive to keep replacing, so please remember to bring them back every week.

Announcements & Events

Featured Item: Ramp Linguine 

We are very excited about this week's pasta.  We work with Ohio City Pasta and they are very accommodating to adapt to our standards of using only local inputs.  This week's pasta includes fresh eggs from Wholesome Valley Farm in Wilmot, whole wheat flour from Stutzman Farms in Fredericksburg, and ramps (that we put up in the freezer last month) from Healthy Harvest Farm in Middlefield.  For those of you not familiar with a ramp, it is a wild onion that pops up in the spring.  They are quite a treat. 

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Butcher Series: Best Burgers TOMORROW NIGHT!

Get ready for grilling season with Chef Adam Lambert and perfect your patty technique.

We'll be going through burgers from A-Z: picking the best cuts of meat, grinding, seasoning, forming a tender patty that doesn't break apart on the grill, and then cooking. We'll also go through veggie burgers and excellent sides.

The event will be held outside (weather permitting) on Market Garden Brewery's patio.

$45 per participant includes instruction, lots of delicious food, recipe packet and a sample flight of three (3) beers included.

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Chicken 101 With Parker Bosley

This is one of my favorite classes every year, because I have a soft spot for our whole, pasture raised chicken. Join us from 6:00-8:30pm on Monday, June 8th
at Market Garden Brewery's lower level area as we demonstrate:

How to debone your chicken, including making boneless chicken breasts, boneless thighs, and generally quartering a chicken.
Learn a few techniques from Parker, including cooking methods and a few recipes
Sample some chicken dishes
Hands-on cut a chicken. Please bring a sharp kitchen knife and a cutting board. We'll provide the meat.
Attendees will receive a pamphlet of recipes, instructions, and notes so that you can recreate this experience at home..

$30 per participant covers instruction, food to sample, recipe packet, and whole chicken to take home.

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Pop Up Dinner @ the Zoo

We have another stop at Fresh Fork Market that you might not know about- we make deliveries of fresh fruits and vegetables to the Zoo! Turns out the animals love tasty local food as much as you do.

We will provide a delicious plated dinner paired with craft beer in the Zoo's new banquet facility, Stillwater Place. You will also hear from Chris Kuhar, Ph.D., the Zoo's Executive Director, as he explains the importance of a healthy diet for humans AND animals.

June 22nd from 6:00-8:00pm

Stillwater Place at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres served at 6:00

Seated dinner begins at 6:30

Reservations $100 per person

Vegetarian options available.

$50 from each reservation will help underwrite the Zoo's grocery bill so that the Zoo may continue to purchase fresh, local fruits and vegetables for its animal residents.

What's in this Week's Bag
Summer Share 2015: Bag Contents Week 1 

Small Omnivore

Large Omnivore

Berkshire Pork Chops - 2 per pack, appx 1 #
Ramp Linguine - 1 #
Pasture Raised Eggs - 1 dozen
Whole Spelt Flour - 2#
Red Russian Kale - 1 bunch
Radishes - 1 bunch
Spinach - 1 bunch
Leaf Lettuce - 8 oz
Asparagus - 1 lb
Rhubarb - 1 lb
Strawberries - 1 quart
Chicken Bratwursts - 1 pack (4 links)
Sorghum Syrup - 1 half pint

Small Vegetarian

Ramp Linguine - 1 #
Pasture Raised Eggs - 1 dozen
Whole Spelt Flour - 2#
Red Russian Kale - 1 bunch
Radishes - 1 bunch
Spinach - 1 bunch
Leaf Lettuce - 8 oz
Asparagus - 1 lb
Rhubarb - 1 lb

Large Vegetarian

Ramp Linguine - 1 #
Pasture Raised Eggs - 1 dozen
Whole Spelt Flour - 2#
Red Russian Kale - 1 bunch
Radishes - 1 bunch
Spinach - 1 bunch
Leaf Lettuce - 8 oz
Asparagus - 1 lb
Rhubarb - 1 lb
Strawberries - 1 quart
Sorghum Syrup - 1 half pint
Broccoli - 1 head
Bunching Onions - 1 bunch
Caraflex Cabbage - 1 head (like a small, loose leaf cabbage)

Vegan

Whole Spelt Flour - 2#
Red Russian Kale - 1 bunch
Radishes - 1 bunch
Spinach - 1 bunch
Leaf Lettuce - 8 oz
Asparagus - 1 lb
Rhubarb - 1 lb
Broccoli - 1 head
Bunching Onions - 1 bunch
Caraflex Cabbage - 1 head (like a small, loose leaf cabbage)

Need to get something extra? Place an order before Tuesday at Midnight!

PLACE A SPECIAL ORDER

What's Cooking? 
Recipes Featuring this Week's Share

Bag Contents in recipe: Pork Chops, Rhubarb, Kale or Spinach

Pork Chops with Rhubarb-Onion Jam & Braised Kale

The savory tang of the onion-rhubarb sauce and deliciously simple pork chops all cuddled up next to some wilted greens makes for an easy family dinner! 