FLATBUSH FARM SHARE
www.flatbushfarmshare.com a partnership of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, Hunger Action Network, and Just Food
NEWS
This week’s eats*:
1 celery
1 bunch of radish
2 garlic
1 bunch of chiogga beets
1 head of lettuce
1 bunch of collards or green kale
1 Sunshine Kabocha wintersquash
1 lb. tomatoes
Peaches and pears from Breezy Hill
* Let us know what you think of the veggies! Our
farmers want to know and will try to adjust accord-
ingly. Email info@flatbushfarmshare.com.
Farm Trip: RSVP ASAP!
Saturday, September 19. Please RSVP to
events@flatbushfarmshare.com (put “Farm Trip”
as the subject of your email) and let us know if you
are definitely coming and with how many people
(including children); if you can provide a ride(s),
need a ride, can drive a rented van, and/or are able
or willing to share the rental cost of a van (about
$25). We need a minimum of 15 people confirmed
and with transportation sorted out by 9/8. Thanks!
Help Plan the End of the Year
Potluck! Committee needed to organize
this important event at the end of the season in
October. We’d like to have another chance for
members to socialize with each other as well as
with our community at large, and it’s also great
time for the general public and potential new
members to meet us and find out the benefits
of belonging to Flatbush Farm Share. Please
contact events@flatbushfarm.com if you’re
interested in helping to make this event happen!
Volunteer Hours We now have two
more jobs you can do to contribute your volunteer
hours outside of distribution: 1) With assistance
from the web committee, data entry of recipes from
previous newsletters on our new, revamped website,
and 2) Earn 2 hours credit for writing an article for
the newsletter. Contact volunteer@flatbushfarm-
sharm.com.
Trader
Joe’s
1.14 / SEP 2 2009
Key Food*
Flatbush
Co-Op
Associated
Markets*
Whole
Foods
Flatbush Farm Share
(high income)
$0.00 $5.00 $10.00 $15.00 $20.00
What’s in a Share, pt 2: Another Price Comparison
Back in July you’ll remember we checked prices at some local grocery
stores and compared them to what we receive in a half-share, and found
that buying the same produce in the same quantity at shops could cost
up to twice as much as the highest level CSA share price. Now further
into the season we have different vegetables available, so we repeated
the comparison. The CSA even at its highest level share price remains
the best bargain for you and your family for fresh and nutritious veg-
etables, and continues to offer the added values of community; eating
organic for the health of your family and the environment; knowing
and supporting a local farmer--and the local economy; preserving local
farmland; and much more. (Special thanks to FFS Members Sarah Falkner and
Amy Seek who diligently compared green peppers, lettuce, leeks, basil/dill, green beans,
swiss chard, potatoes, and tomatoes at all five stores; * denotes not organic)
Breezy Hill Invitation to Grand Opening at Stone
Ridge Orchard, Sept. 5th & 6th We want to extend a special
invitation to our CSA members to join us this weekend for the grand open-
ing at Stone Ridge Orchard for the U-Pick Apple Season! There will be local
artists, local food, and wine & cheese set up in the heart of the orchard. In
the evening we’ll have live music under the full moon. The farm stand and
U-Pick will be open seven days a week with music on Saturday evenings until
November 1st. CSA members will receive a discount on the U-Pick Apples
(tbd). Stone Ridge Orchard is located at 3012 Route 213, Stone Ridge, NY
12484. It’s about two hours north from the heart of New York City. Call
us at 845-266-3979 or email breezyhilloffice@aol.com for more information.
We’d love to have you!
French Onion Soup, with a side of trivia
courtesy of FFS member Diane Chia
Preparation time: 2 hours (it will pay off, trust me!)
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
5 medium onions, sliced finely
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
2 cups broth
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add olive oil and onions,
letting them cook gently at low heat for about 15 minutes,
or until the onions are translucent.
Trivia #1: This is letting the onions “sweat”, as opposed to the
more common term “sauté”, which means cooking at a high heat
with a small amount of oil.
Add the salt and sugar, increase the heat to medium and
cover the saucepan. Let it sit for 30-45 minutes, stirring
occasionally to turn the onions. The onions will slowly
reach a caramel brown as they cook.
Add the broth and thyme and let the pot come to a boil.
Reduce the heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.
Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan or gruyere cheese
and a twist of black pepper.
Trivia #2: A traditional German appetizer is a hand-made
sour milk cheese served with chopped onions. This dish is
poetically named Handkäse mit Musik, or “Hand-cheese with
Music”, because of the flatulence commonly brought on by the
onions. It varies in degree from person to person, but vegetables
such as onions and cabbage contain fiber that the body has some
difficulty digesting, resulting in gas build-up.
So be warned! As delicious as it is, this may not be the
dish to impress a new boy/girlfriend, I’d definitely keep
this for at least the 8th date, or for meals with friends
you wouldn’t feel too self-conscious with if some “music”
escaped.
Some Ideas for Dill
courtesy of FFS member Diane Chia
Every time dill is available at the pick-up table, I see
mounds of it in the swap box. Here’s some ideas for how
to use it.
1. Dill goes very well with fish. Clean a whole fish and
rub the skin with salt and olive oil. Stuff the cavity with
some lemon or orange slices (or both!), dill and parsley,
bake for about 20 minutes at 350F, or until the flesh flakes
when poked with a fork.
2. Fried dill is delicious. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a
pan over medium high heat and throw in small bunches
of dill. Toss them in the oil until crisp, then remove
them to a paper towel to drain. Use the now dill-flavored
oil in the rest of your cooking (pan-fried fish perhaps?)
and serve the fried dill as a side.
3. Spice up your mayonnaise. Mix 2 parts mayonnaise to
1 part dill, by volume. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Spice up your butter too. Mix 1 tablespoon of chopped
dill with 6 tablespoons of softened (not melted) butter.
Store chilled in a covered container. You can substitute
the dill for any herb of your choice. You can also add
peeled roasted garlic for garlic spread.
5. The slight minty taste of dill also goes very well with
the cool juiciness of cucumbers. Add a tablespoon of dill
to your favourite cucumber salad.
6. The coarse dill stems aren’t as delicate as the herb it-
self, but are still very flavourful. Save and add to chicken
soup as it simmers, it adds a great flavour.