www.flatbushfarmshare.
com a partnership of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, Hunger Action Network, and Just Food
FLATBUSH FARM SHARE
NEWS
This week’s eats*:
1 head of lettuce
2 garlic heads
1 bunch parsley
1/4 lb green beans
1 bunch carrots
1.5 lb cukes
1 lb zucchinni
1 lb summer squash
* Please let us know what you think of the veggies
you are receiving! Our farmers want to know and
will try to adjust accordingly.
Communityy Potluck July 23!
Thursday July 23, 6-9 p.m. on the lawn outside
the gray house (if rain, inside the church
auditorium). What better way to meet other
members of the CSA than over some delicious
home-cooked food? There will be a sign up
sheet for the potluck at the volunteer check-
in table, so you can see what we might need.
There will also be sign-up slots for volunteer
help at the potluck. To minimize waste and
costs, we ask that you bring your own (prefer-
ably not disposable) plates/bowls, utensils and
cups. Any questions: events@flatbushfarm-
share.com
Dear CSA Coffee Lovers, Thanks
for all of your interest in Crop to Cup’s CSA
Coffee program thus far! We’re honored to
be able to bring farmer direct coffees directly
to your kitchens and we look forward to a
great season with you all. We’d like to remind
everybody to always return the reusable plastic
containers used for the coffee.
coffee Please leave any
empty containers with your CSA staff onsite
and we’ll make sure to pick them up the next
time we deliver coffee. Thanks for helping us
achieve ZERO PACKAGING! As always, any
questions about the coffee program can be
directed to me at csa@croptocup.com. Best
regards, Fernando Aguilar & The Crop to Cup
Team
What’s in a Share?
Price Comparison
1.6 / JULY 8 2009
with Local Competi-
tors: While many people
join CSAs for the fresh, local
produce, it’s interesting (al-
beit difficult) to compare share
prices with prices at the regular
groceries in the area. Despite
a primary focus on producing
good food, our farmers also keep
a spreadsheet of market prices
and make every effort to stay
competitive. A few of us on
the newsletter team (thank you
Nadia and Adelia) are undertak-
ing to compare the prices we
last week’s share! courtesy of Amy Dreher
pay as FFS members to what we
might pay were we shopping at Whole Foods or Key Foods or the Flatbush
Co-op. This week, we compared a half-share from July 1 distribution with
similar products, when available, at four different groceries.
The four groceries studied were Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Natural Fron-
tier Market, and Flatbush Food Co-op. Whole Foods and Trader Joes offer
many of the organic and/or local foods comparable to the quality of our
share produce, while Flatbush Food Co-op and Natural Frontier Market of-
fer the convenience of being close-by. In many cases, however, foods were
not available or were available but of poor quality or conventionally grown,
making a fair comparison difficult.
Notwithstanding a certain margin of error, we found that at every income
level, a half share at FFS is significantly less expensive than comparable
produce at local groceries:
Whole Foods: $19.63
Trader Joe’s: $21.68
Nat. Frontier Market: $21.74
Flatbush Food Coop: $23.49
FFS (upper income): $11.45
FFS is not only less expensive, but offers the added values of community,
knowing our farmer, preserving local farmland, and freshly harvested pro-
duce. Stay tuned for additional price comparisons throughout the season!
We’ll perfect our methods and make additional comparisons as our share
sizes vary.
Beet-Red Velvet Cake makes 1 9” double layer cake Swiss Chard + Green Beans
(adapted from a recipe from Amy’s Bread by FFS member Dianne Chia) Contributed by Katarzyna Nikhamina
I have always been loathe to use the copious amounts of food coloring that red velvet I just made the following dish using swiss chard and green beans from this
requires. The last time I made a red velvet, I chickened out and ended up calling week’s share! I found the recipe on simplyrecipes.com but I added chopped
it brown velvet. Not as sexy. This time around, I decided to take advantage of green beans at the very end and then tossed the entire thing over some bowtie
the natural color of the beets. I boiled them until soft and pureed them for the Red pasta. The beans added a nice element of crunchiness to contrast with the
Velvet Cake recipe from Amy’s Bread. This is my favourite red velvet in the city, and soft chard. -KN
has been on my to-do list ever since the recipe was reprinted in the Daily News last
year. Not quite as healthy as a beet salad, but hey, it’s a legitimate reason to serve 1 bunch fresh Swiss chard Pinch crushed red pepper
vegetables in dessert. - DC 1 small clove garlic, sliced 1 tsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil Salt
1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp water
1-1/2 Tbsp Valrhona cocoa powder 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda 5 large eggs Rinse out the Swiss chard leaves thoroughly. Remove the toughest
1-1/2 c steamed + pureed beets 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract third of the stalk, discard or save for another recipe (such as this
1/2 c boiling water 3/4 c unsalted butter, softened Swiss chard ribs with cream and pasta). Roughly chop the leaves into
2-1/2 c sifted cake flour 2-1/2 c packed dark brown sugar inch-wide strips.
Heat a saucepan on a medium heat setting, add olive oil, a few small
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease the cake pans. Line slices of garlic and the crushed red pepper. Sauté for about a minute.
the bottoms with rounds Add the chopped Swiss chard leaves. Cover. Check after about 5
of baking parchment, then minutes. If it looks dry, add a couple tablespoons of water. Flip the
dust them lightly with cocoa leaves over in the pan, so that what was on the bottom, is now on
powder or flour. Shake out the top. Cover again. Check for doneness after another 5 minutes
the excess. (remove a piece and taste it). Add salt to taste, and a small amount of
butter. Remove the swiss chard to a serving dish.
In large bowl, whisk the sour
photo by Dianne Chia cream cocoa, baking soda
and pureed beets to a smooth photo by Katarzyna Nikhamina
paste. Gradually add the boiling water, whisking to fully incorporate. In
another bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder, whisking gently
to mix.Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter
and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the
eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition and scraping the sides and
bottom of bowl often. Add the vanilla. Lower mixing speed to medium-low
and add flour to the butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the liquid
mixture. Mix well.
Divide the batter between the 2 cake pans. Place the pans on the center rack
in the preheated oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until the cake is
almost ready to pull away from the side of the pan and a toothpick inserted
into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. Rotate the
layers carefully from front to back after 20 minutes, for even baking.
Cool pans on rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack sprayed with
cooking spray and lift off the pans. To prevent cracking, carefully right each
layer so the top side is up and the parchment-lined bottom is down. Cool
completely. Be sure to remove parchment from the bottom of each layer
before frosting. Frost sides and top of cake. Store cake at room temperature,
preferably under a cake dome, for up to 3 days. Zucchini/Summer Squash Fritters
Contributed by Melicia Laroco - makes 4 large or 8 small patties
Swiss Buttercream Frosting 2 shredded zucchini or summer squash, drained
1/2 c bread crumbs, finely ground cornmeal, white flour, wheat flour,
1 c sugar 2 sticks + 2 Tbsp butter, softened
or a combo
4 large egg whites
1/2 c parmesan or romano
Whisk egg whites and sugar together in a big metal bowl over a pot of Pinch each of dried parsley and basil (fresh dill is nice as well)
simmering water. Whisk occasionally until you can’t feel the sugar granules Salt and Pepper to taste
when you rub the mixture between your fingers. Transfer mixture into
the mixer and whip until it turns white and about doubles in size, forming Stir all ingredients together and let sit in the refrigerator for an
soft peaks. Add the butter half a stick at a time and whip. There will be a hour to set. When you are ready, preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease
moment when the mixtures looks as if it is about to curdle, but continue to a cookie sheet. Add shaped patties to sheet and place in oven for 20
whip for a few more minutes and the frosting will form. The frosting can minutes, turning once, til golden brown.
be used immediately or stored in an airtight container at room temperature,
but it should be used within 3 days. You may have to stir it briskly to re-
fluff it if it’s been sitting for a long time.