Annie works with us for photopolymer plates, and we’re amazed by the printing she’s been doing lately. Click here to visit Filomena Press on Facebook to check out some of Annie’s work!

In 2008, we partnered with Grindstone Farm, a 240 acre organic farm located in Pulaski, NY. Boxcar Press now subsidizes the CSA Shares for all of their employees, and provides a pick up location for the community. Turns out, it was an easy way to make a positive impact for a cause we care about! According to Grindstone owner and farmer Dick de Graff, participating in a CSA is one of the best ways to support local farmers; by purchasing a “share” of the farmer’s crops at the beginning of the season, the buyer shares in the risk and reward of whatever the season brings.

Pictured here are some of the “rewards” of this year’s harvest season, which is about to come to an end.

Interested in finding a CSA in your area? Check out localharvest.com for information on CSAs, U Pick Farms, Farmers Markets, and Co-ops near you!

We want to hear from you! We love how much letterpress community members pitch in to help others. What causes does your letterpress shop support?

Want to see more photos from our trip to Grindstone Farm & our CSA pick-up location here at Boxcar Press? Click here to view our slideshow on Flickr!

So, needless to say, we were beyond psyched to find out that Syracuse First – a local nonprofit dedicated to getting the people of Syracuse to think, buy & be local by supporting independent businesses within the community – did a great feature on us here at Boxcar Press! Visit the Syracuse First Blog to see the full profile, and check out their website to find other great businesses around here.

We thought we’d share some of our favorite Syracuse First businesses – if you’re in the area, check them out!

• Freedom of Espresso: A great coffee shop – they supply the coffee that keeps our company moving!
• Farmshed CNY – A great app for your phone that puts local CNY food producers at your fingertips.
• Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo – The zoo is a popular hangout for the Boxcar babies!
• Lilipad Creations – A line of funky handmade bags (and one of our neighbors in the Delavan Center!)
• Syracuse Soapworks – Fantastic soaps made just down the street.

Big thanks again to Syracuse First for the awesome feature!

(Umm…we may or may not have been really excited to have Amos drop by for a while.)

Of course, it was only fitting for a Boxcar contingency to go visit Amos in action on the opening day of the exhibit where his passion for wood type, bold color and political innuendo took center stage. As a sponsor of the exhibition, one of our old Vandercooks stands proud and at the ready now through April 4. More details can be found at the Community Folk Art Center’s website. If you’re in the Syracuse area, don’t miss the chance to take part in this special event. Thanks for stopping by, Amos!

The teachers come in droves and bring big boxes and hand carts to scoop up as much paper as they can. We roll out big palettes and carts full of paper and envelopes and load them up with as much as they can carry.

Thanks to our esteemed press operator, Carrie, for helping organize our paper donation this year!

Here is a quick peek at today’s share – parsley, patty pan squash, three varieties of tomatoes, baby carrots, two varieties of radishes, lemon basil, lots of tomatillos and the first of this season’s apples.

With tomatillos greeting us week after week, we’ve all been sharing ideas on how to best use them up. The verdict is that a great roasted tomatillo salsa can’t be beat. We love this recipe from epicurious – it’s simple, quick and tasty. Does it get much better?

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos
5 fresh serrano chiles (or sub the peppers of your choice; remove the seeds for less heat)
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons coarse salt

Preheat broiler or grill.

Remove husks from tomatillos and rinse under warm water to remove stickiness. Broil chiles, garlic, onion and tomatillos on rack of a broiler pan 1 to 2 inches from heat (or on the grill), turning once, until tomatillos are softened and slightly charred, about 7 minutes. Peel garlic and pull off tops of chiles. Purée all ingredients in a blender.

Allow to cool to room temperature and serve with your favorite chips or Mexican fare. Enjoy!

Typically, we get an assortment of great lettuces, kale, fresh herbs like cilantro and dill, broccoli so fantastic we never want to eat anything other than organic broccoli again, garlic scapes, cool daikon radishes that resemble white carrots, and lots and lots of bright red radishes. As the season is progressing, so are the crops, and the produce that arrives every week is changing, but we’ve continued to get a lot of radishes, which led a few of us to start looking into recipes that use radishes and ideally the radish greens too. After some hunting around, one of our letterpress printers, Carrie, who is one of the finest artisans we know to ever run an Original Heidelberg windmill, found and tweaked the following recipe that was fantastic. At a loss as to what to do with all of your radishes? Give this recipe a whirl!

Asian Hamburger Skillet

• 1lb lean hamburger (although many of us are vegetarians so we substituted the Morning Star ground “meat” instead)
• 1 medium red onion, sliced about 1/4? thick then cut into 2? lengths
• 1 bunch of radishes, cut in matchsticks
• 1 bunch of radish tops, cut roughly into 1? pieces
• 4 carrots, julienned or cut into 1/4? slices
• 1-1/2 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (although we’ve also tried General Tso’s sauce and it was delicious!)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 lime (optional)
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a large sauté pan, cook hamburger (or meat substitute) over medium high heat, until just beginning to brown, breaking into small bits with spatula. Stir in onion and radishes and cook another 2-3 minutes. Stir in carrots, radish tops, ginger paste and fish sauce and cook 5-10 minutes until onions are softened and hamburger is cooked through. Sprinkle with lime juice (if using) and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.