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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*:
1.7 / JULY 15 2009

1 head cabbage
1 bunch green kale
1/2 lb green beans
1 bunch of dill
1 head of lettuce
1 lb of summer squash
1 lb of zucchini
1 eggplant
* Please let us know what you think of the veggies
you are receiving! Our farmers want to know and last week’s share, courtesy of Amy Dreher
will try to adjust accordingly.
Community Potluck!! Mark your calendars. Next Thursday the
23 from 6-9 is our first community potluck, a great chance to get to know
Core Group Meeting July 29 some of your fellow foodies and neighbors. The church has generously
The core group will meet this July 29 and all
subsequent last Wednesdays of the season. agreed to host us, rain or shine, so please sign up at this week’s distribution
If you would like to play a bigger role in the to bring a dish. We’ll have a brief program to meet our organizers and
farm share, please join us. We will meet after non-profit partners, as well as the church minister - who is also a member!
distribution, at 8:15, on site, around the corner To minimize waste, please bring your own plates and utensils (preferably
of the porch!
not disposable)! If you can’t make it to this week’s distribution, just email
A fruit saga... We received apolo- your rsvp and dish to events@flatbushfarmshare.com. Don’t miss this
gies from Breezy Hill Farm this week as a chance to build your Farm Share community!
fire on the Manhattan Bridge detained the
driver. They plan to make it up to us this
week with doubled shares of blueberries News from Chris
and eggs. Blueberries are easy to freeze
and reuse in cereal or smoothies, so you will
and Katie: This has been
a season of weather extremes.
be able to preserve the extra berries if you
That being said, it seems like
can’t make use of all of them all right away.
every year has some sort of
We are hoping for no more extra-share
extreme to contend with. The
incidents, and rest-assured Breezy Hill is
uncharacteristically cool wet
taking the issue of our missing shares seri-
weather has been a constant
ously! If you have concerns, please email
topic for discussion among
extra_shares@flatbushfarmshare.com. the growers we know. After a a blighted tomato
great start to the season, early
Farm Trip to Hearty Roots planting dates, dodging all the hail, things looked pretty good for our early tomato
Farm There are a few spots left for any crop. The labor input for the tomatoes is done, the plants are on black plastic,
member who wants to check out Hearty Roots staked and trellised and represent an investment of thousands of dollars. All that
Farm, the farm that supplies the Emergency was left is picking and selling…until now.
Food Program produce to our distribution site
You have probably heard about it by now, the ominous term “late blight”. It is the
on Wednesdays through Local Produce Link.
same fungus that caused the Irish potato famine in the 1800’s, and it continues to
If you are interested in joining the trip on
haunt farmers today. This spore thrives in cool wet conditions and moves fast and
Monday September 21, email abby@justfood.
furious once it is established and in the right conditions.
org.
Catalina Dressing 3 cups The innoculant is not
submitted by our farmers - recipes of Carol Hargis, The Market Fresh Chef known; some are blam-
ing big box retailers and
Put 1/2 cup each: ketchup, sugar, red wine vinegar, and grated onion
the plants that they sold,
into a food processor bowl. Add 1 tsp. paprika, 1/2 tsp. worchester-
and others are just ac-
shire. Pulse til blended. While running, slowly add 1 cup salad oil.
cepting it as a result of
Salt and pepper to taste. Cover & chill.
the weather we have had
thus far. Regardless, it is
Pesto Squash serves 4 here, on our farm, and it
1/2 cup basil leaves 1 Tbsp. parmesean cheese is not pretty.
1/2 tsp. minced garlic 2 large summer squash, sliced Right now the worst
3 Tbsp. olive oil 1 Tbsp. walnuts case scenario is that all
1/4 cup sliced onion of our tomatoes will
Make pesto: put basil, garlic, 2T. oil, nuts, cheese in food processor. perish before anything
Pulse til coarse paste forms. Heat 1T. oil in skillet. Add squash, onion, is ripe for harvest. Some
mushroom. Sauté til just soft. Toss w/ pesto. S&p to taste. plants are covered with
the spores, and have already succumbed, while others right
next to them seem fine. Regardless, this is not good. We are
Cold Cuke Soup serves 6-8 now beginning to reformulate our summer and fall harvest
Mix: 1 tsp. toasted cumin, 2 large cukes (peeled, seeded, & shredded), plans without tomatoes.
3 cups plain yogurt, 2 cups milk, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1/4 cup
We will try our best to save what we have—First we will try
lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves, salt and pepper.
to remove the infected plants to destroy the fungus hosts, then
Chill. You can use full fat or fat-free dairy!
we will try to spray copper on the plants that are still looking
good. Copper is a fungicide that organic growers are allowed
to use in these situations, but only certain types of copper. We
are desperately seeking some of the correct copper right now,
and hope to begin the rouging , removal, and spraying by the
end of the week.
The problem is we are flat out busy picking, planting, and
weeding. The struggle becomes how much time do you dedi-
cate to a problem like this, which may not have any remedy
regardless of how much work is applied to the problem.
Rosemary Carrots serves 3-4 Our somewhat cooler temperatures along with the heavy dew
Scrub 8-10 big carrots (peel if you like) & slice in 1/4” rounds. Put in and substantial amount of moisture all favor the proliferation
a heavy saucepan w/ 3 tbsp. butter & 1/2 cup water, & cook, covered, of this problem, which can also spread into our potato crop.
on lo til tender, 20 min. Stir in 1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary All of this has been very difficult for Katie and I to accept, but
& remove from heat. Let sit, covered, 2-3 min, salt to taste. it is the reality none the less. We will keep you all posted, and
will do our best to save what we can.
Minnesotan Zucchini Spice Cake (or muffins)
Enjoy the share, Chris
3 eggs 1 tsp. baking soda
1 c canola oil 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 c sugar 1&1/2 tsp. cinnamon ...and a p.s. from your Farm Share: The sit-
1 tsp. vanilla 3 c flour uation Chris describes is an example of how valuable the CSA
1/2 tsp. nutmeg 2 c peeled, grated (or puréed) zucchini structure is for farmers -- all of whom face crop failures from
1 tsp. salt 3/4 c nuts, pecan or walnut (opt) year to year. When our farmers suffer, we share the blow! It
is much easier for us to sacrifice a few tomatoes than for them
Set oven 325. Grease cake pan, loaf pan, or muffin pan. Beat eggs to suffer the loss of an entire crop. By investing in them, we
til foamy in large bowl. Mix in oil, sugar, vanilla. Whisk all the dry help to protect them from potential financial devastation. It’s
ingredients together in another bowl. Add dry to wet til just moist- part of the risk of CSA and a chance for us to appreciate the
ened. Fold in zucchini & nuts. Pour in pan, bake til a toothpick comes effort that goes into the growing of our food! Now let’s keep
out clean: 1hr for cake or loaf; 35min for full-size muffins; 20-25min our fingers crossed for the tomatoes -- !
for mini-muffins.