Another season is coming to an end.  I think we are all going to miss our Tuesday bounties.  I know this year, I enjoyed the CSA  more because I got to know so many of you.  Going to pick up is way more fun now that I know you better.  Thanks for sharing so many of your stories, recipes and ideas with us.  It is a beautiful community.

I have a bag of hot peppers in the fridge because I still haven’t gotten around to making that hot pepper jam.  But, at long last, I finally found out what all the fuss about kale chips was about.  They’re actually something 3 generations of my family will eat.

This year, I’m more content to have meals that are strictly vegetarian.  I’m learning to use and plan what to do with my share. Next year, l plan on doing even better with less waste.  And I look forward to getting to know even more of you.

Eat well.

For our last profile, meet Rebecca. She’s the good twin.

Who are you? Rebecca Johnson

What do you do? Director of Education at the Center for Environment, Economy, and Society at Columbia U. I develop environmental education programs for middle school teachers, journalists and business students.

Where do you live? Lenox Road (not technically in PLG—sorry!)

Where did you grow up? Glassboro, NJ (south, between Philly and Atlantic City). I was born in Bozeman Montana, though. That sounds cooler.

How long have you been a member? 3 years—since the start!

When you do your pickup ? After work, usually sneak in around 7

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BRRRR!  It’s cold out there and try as I might to eat healthy salads and protein, sometimes I just want starchy warm comfort food.   All these rainy days have me inside cooking things with two of my favorite Ps – potatoes and pork.  Two of my recent hits, I found on epcurious.com also make use of the recent herbs we got.  One is a German potato salad that satisfies the part of me that loves of salt and vinegar potato chips.  Another is a super simple dish sometimes called Dublin coddle.  I think you could probably doctor this to be vegetarian if you wanted to.  Even I left the bacon out of  Potatoes with Sausage and Parsley.  Imagine!  I also substituted spicy Italian sausage for breakfast sausage.  I happen to be a spicy Italian, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make German potato salad and Irish stewy things.   Both recipes claim to make 6 servings.  But I think they serve two hungry adults as a main with another portion leftover. 

German Potato Salad with Bacon-Vinegar Dressing and Dill

2 1/4 pounds medium-size red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

6 bacon slices, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons coarse-grained mustard

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Steam potatoes until tip of knife easily pierces center of slices, about 10 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Cover with foil.

Sauté bacon in large skillet over medium heat until brown, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Discard all but 2 1/2 tablespoons drippings. Heat drippings in skillet over medium heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Whisk in next 6 ingredients. Simmer until mixture is reduced to 2/3 cup, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add potatoes to skillet and toss to coat with dressing. Let stand 3 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped bacon and fresh dill; toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer potato salad to serving platter. Serve warm.

Potatoes and Sausage with Parsley

3 to 3 1/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 tablespoons chopped fresh celery

2 onions, cut into 3/4- to 1-inch pieces

1 pound breakfast sausage links, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 bacon slices, coarsely chopped

1 14 1/2-ounce can beef broth

Arrange potatoes in bottom of heavy large saucepan; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Top with onions; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Top with sausage and bacon. Pour broth over. Season with pepper. Bring to boil over high heat. Cover pan. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until potatoes are tender and sausage is cooked through, about 40 minutes.

Uncover pan. Boil until liquids are slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons parsley.

The time has almost come to say goodbye for the winter.  It’s not easy, but the memories can live on throughout the year.  We want to warm you with them as you go into hibernation.  Tell us:

What was your favorite part of your CSA this year?  What was the best thing you made?  What did you really want to make only to find you waited too long and mold had set in?  What do you love about your pickup routine each week?  A word, a paragraph or a picture, send us your musings on this year for our end of the season wrap-up.

There are only a few weeks left of your CSA share and your CSA newsletter.  We would like to inject a little testosterone into the profiles and feature some men.  To date there have been two single guys, two guys in a couple and a TWO YEAR OLD featured!  We know you’re out there and we know you love your CSA, so please tell us about YOU!  We love all our members!  We believe in girl power!  But we also want to represent, so please, guys, share a little about yourselves.

Earlier in the season, we got some radishes.  I’m just not that into radishes, but this year I was on a mission to use all that I got to the full potential.  I used them in salads - green, tuna and rice salads.  I kind of started to like them.  My friend in Vermont also got radishes from her CSA and told me about this radish top soup.   I was curious, but it was too late, no more radishes.  Until two weeks ago.  I got a small bunch of radishes, not enough to make the soup, but I didn’t use them and then last week in the free bin SCORE!  Radishes!  Loads of radishes!  I made the soup.  It was on one of the chilly fall nights last week.  I didn’t really know what to expect.  Well . . . it was perfect.  Cozy and comforting and a little bit like baby food.  And it was super simple.  I’m hoping for another score this week in the free bin.  I used the tops of four bunches.  Now I have plenty of radishes left over and a little bird told me I can roast them.  We’ll see.  I am going to make this soup again.  I’m hoping for another score this week in the free bin.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 medium red potatoes, diced
• 4 cups raw radish greens
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup milk
• 5 radishes, sliced

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and saute until tender.
2. Mix in potatoes and radish greens, coating them with butter.
3. Pour in chicken broth.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
5. Allow the soup mixture to cool slightly, and transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth.
6. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Mix in the milk.
7. Cook and stir until well blended. Serve with radish slices.

This week meet a CSA family!

Who are you? We are Eric Haber, Gretchen Maneval, our 7-month old son Sebastian, and our dog Winnie (though she doesn’t get to enjoy much of the CSA).

What do you do? Eric is a School Social Worker at Brooklyn Generation School, a new public small high school in Canarsie (www.brooklyngeneration.org). Gretchen in the Director of the Center for the Study of Brooklyn, a Brooklyn-focused think-tank based at Brooklyn College (www.studybrooklyn.org). Sebastian crawls around and loves to laugh, and Winnie gives licks and catches Frisbees.

Where do you live? We live on Lincoln Place in Crown Heights.

Where did you grow up? We both grew up in Maryland, Eric in the DC area and Gretchen in Baltimore.

How long have you been a member? This is our first year with the PLG CSA.

When you do your pickup where are you coming from? Eric typically does our pick-ups, and he is generally coming from a long day at his school.

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This week check out member, Amy Plattsmier’s recipe that uses potatoes, parsnips and a food mill. Yum!

When my packrat husband, Jason, and I were slogging through the process of signing up for a wedding registry 10+ years ago, I nixed many items he wanted to include, one of them being a Williams Sonoma food mill. Not having any idea what a food mill was, I never gave the omission a second thought, that is, until I had a baby. All of the baby books with sections on making one’s own baby food extolled incessantly the virtues of the food mill, but still I stubbornly chose the back of a fork to mash freshly steamed squash or banana for my toothless child.

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If your weekends are starting to slow down now that summer is officially over, check out the ArtMart this Saturday on Lincoln Road between Flatbush and Ocean.  There will be crafts to buy, Maple Street is having the annual fundraiser tag sale and if you haven’t already, you can check out the murals on Flatbush and Lincoln.  They are pretty awesome.

On Sunday, Atlantic Avenue closes down for ten blocks between Hicks and 4th Avenue.  It’s the Atlantic Antic, the annual festival features live FREE music, food and plenty of stuff for kids to do like pony rides and face painting.   It’s also one of your last chances to get summer festival street food.  Mozzarepa anyone?

It’s the perfect weekend to hang out and love living in Brooklyn.  

Happy Fall, all!

This week, meet the artist, Lizzie.

Who are you? Lizzie Scott

What do you do? I’m an artist.

Where do you live? Here!

 Where did you grow up? We moved a lot– I was born in Chicago, lived in North Carolina, Rhode Island, New Jersey. My father moved to NY when I was in High School, so I spent a lot of time here.

 How long have you been a member? This is our first year.

When you do your pickup where are you coming from? The playground or an adventure with the kids. Tuesday is one of my “home days.”

Where are you going to? Home for an early dinner.

What are you never without at pickup?  Nadia, my 18 month old.

What time is it usually? 5:00

Who cooks your veggies/fruits? Mostly me, sometimes my husband, Eric Eisner.

Who eats them? Everyone.

What do you think you use the most? Swiss Chard or tomatoes

What’s your favorite fruit or veggie score? Tomatoes or salad turnips.

What’s the best part of the CSA? Knowing so well where the food comes from.

Is there a fun fact about you that you would like to share? All my fingers bend backward.

 If you were a fruit or veggie what would you be?  Why? All of them sometimes.

Check out Lizzie’s work at lizziescott.net