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 head of lettuce
1 bunch of arugula
1 eggplant
2 heads of garlic
1 lb. of potatoes
1 bunch of Italian Parsley
.5 lb. tatsoi
1 bunch Japanese Turnips
1 lb. cauliflower
* 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.
Attention: distribution site is
moving indoors for the rest
of the season!You will find us through
the side door of the big brick building, the one to
the right of the Grey House. If you walk further
down Kenmore Terrace, passing the path into the
Grey House and turning left into the parking lot,
the brick building is right in front of you. The steps
going up on the right side of the building lead into
the auditorium, where we’ll set up the vegetables.
Look for the signs... and we’ll see you there!
Winter Meat CSA The Brooklyn Kitchen
in Williamsburg has invited the Piggery (““local,
old-world style charcuterie”) to distribute their
Winter meat CSA shares this year. They’ll also
have shares available for the summer 2010 season.
Contact Heather Sanford for information: 607-342-
2245; sandfordheather@yahoo.com
www.thepiggery.net
1.17 / SEP 23 2009
Flatbush Farmshare Farm Trip 2009 reported by FFS member
Sarah Mirza, currently producer at Channel One, an educational news program that airs in
schools.
“How is one supposed to eat that?” I stared at the bulbous stalks sprout-
ing from the ground. I didn’t realize immediately we were looking at brus-
sel sprouts, ones that we will meet again when they appear in a future CSA share.
A dozen Flatbush Farmshare members journeyed to the Hudson Valley on a perfect
Saturday for an unhurried afternoon on the Farm at Miller’s Crossing. Chris and Katie,
their four children, and at least two dogs greeted us with a colander of freshly picked
strawberries before leading us on a jaunt around a manageable portion of the 200-acre
farm.
“Meeting the people who cultivate our vegetables and seeing the fields and plants re-
ally enriched our experience of -- and commitment to -- the CSA,” said Lisa Knauer,
organizer of this year’s visit to the Farm.
We walked around and between rows of vegetables – food we’ve enjoyed eating all
summer and were now seeing for ourselves how it’s grown. When locavores tout the
value of eating within a set radius or the organic versus non-organic debate heats up,
this farm and others like it are at the heart of the discussion. But on Chris and Katie’s
farm, there were no politics, just food. Broccoli, lettuce, radish, potatoes, baby bok choy
and kale, to name a few.
Did you know that the same stalk of kale has provided leaves for several different
shares? Chris explained how he harvests kale by plucking the lower leaves, which al-
lows for the stalk to grow taller and sprout more leaves, all in one season.
“Now that we’ve met Chris, Katie and their children, we will inevitably think of them –
their hard work through bad weather, marauding deer, etc., but also the warm sunshine
at their backs – when we eat the vegetables from the Farmshare,” Kasia Nikhamina said.
“I feel that my life is that much richer!”
Ah, yes. The marauding deer. The current season at the Farm at Miller’s Crossing –
which I think of now as “our farm” – has seen some crop damage. Apparently deer love
romaine lettuce and have enjoyed more than their share of tender greens. But the most
damaging event occurred mid-summer when the Northeast experienced an unusually
large amount of rain. As Chris told us, the fields were waist-deep in water,
and several crops were submerged for days. Those vegetables did not make it.
Deer might be the unwelcome houseguests, but the beef cows are a hospitable herd.
Brassy and bold, some allowed us to scratch their hides as they stopped for water in
between grazing shifts.
After our tour and a relaxing lunch on a grassy hillside, we set to work. Not wanting to
over-tax us city folk, Chris and Katie had us split a box of garlic into individual cloves,
which will be the “seeds” of next year’s crop.
Visiting the farm was like “closing the circle,” Eli Forsythe said. “It was cool to see what
we had eaten and what we would eat” in the future.
For me, being on the Farm at Miller’s Crossing has renewed my energy to chip away at
the mound of produce living in my fridge. I went home and ate the entire bunch of kale.
Farm Trip in Photos credit: Sarah Mirza Simple Potato Leek soup (adapted from the
vegetarian epicure)

“This is a hearty soup to start off the fall season. You

could even use the sweet potatoes we received this week.”

4-6 servings

5-6 large russet potatos peeled and diced

3-4 leeks
3 ½ to four cups chicken or vegetable broth (or enough to
keep it all covered)
1 ½ cups milk (or cream)
3 tbs or more sour cream
2 tables. fresh dill
salt
Delicious strawberries for visitors pepper
1- 2 tables. butter
optional garnish: chopped chives, parsley and/or dill

Peel potatoes and cut into small cubes. Wash leeks and
chop them up well, discarding the tough green ends.
Cook leeks and potatoes in broth about ½ hour until ten-
der. Add milk, dill and salt and pepper to taste. Let soup
simmer another 15-20 minutes or until it begins to take
on a thick consistency and the potatoes begin to fall apart
a little. Stir in sour cream and a table spoon or 2 of butter
and let it heat through, and add garnish. Serve.

CREAMED Kale (adapted from Saveur magazine)

“This delicious dish, is an interesting winter alternative
to creamed spinach”
Gideon playing in the fields
Serves 6

2 heads kale
1 cup Chicken or Vegetable Stock
2 tbsp. butter
Salt and fresh ground white pepper
1. Separate leaves, remove and discard stem ends from
kale. Place kale in a large skillet, add chicken stock and
simmer over medium heat until skillet is almost dry, 10
minutes.
2. Add the butter and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add
cream and sugar, season with salt and white pepper, and
cook for 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a warm serving bowl

The whole family: Chris, Katie, and children Both recipes courtesy of FFS Member Casey Romanick