On all four Sundays this September from 11am to 7pm, Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn will be closed off from Clinton Ave to Emerson Avenue.  This busy street will transform into an active, interactive, pedestrian-friendly public space perfect for walking, cycling, dancing, and people-watching.

Partnering up with with DOT’s Weekend Walks initiative to create Move About Myrtle, this event will bring together residents, merchants and visitors in celebration of community and public space. Read the rest of this entry »

New Amsterdam Market will inaugurate its first season of monthly, one-day markets on Sunday, September 13, 2009, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. The markets will take place on South Street, between Beekman Street and Peck Slip in Lower Manhattan, and will also convene at the same time and location on the following Sundays, October 25, November 22, and December 20, 2009. Read the rest of this entry »

Tickets are now available for the second annual Just Food Let Us Eat Local Gala and Award Ceremony, a fundraiser that helps support their programs. More than 30 chefs from NYC’s finest restaurants will be serving up 100% local food paired with local craft beers. The McKinley Hightower-Beyah Awards will honor farmers, organizations, journalists, and gardeners who work to bring fresh, locally grown food to those who need it most.

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So lately, we have been making some really amazing things with our CSA veggies, and mostly vegetarian dishes that can be served as main courses. With our CSA share, we have made fried red potatoes, a zucchini/pepper/eggplant “tart,” a tomato salad, and a tomato and eggplant pasta sauce made from scratch.

First, my husband, Chris, made this zucchini “tart” from the latest issue of Gourmet. In addition to the recipe which consists of sauteed zucchini, roasted onion and peppers (also from our CSA) layered with parmesan cheese, he threw in some sauteed eggplant (CSA) as well. It was wonderful over the course of several days as a side to various dishes we made. We ate it with fried red potatoes and a delicious tomato salad. The zucchini tart was also eaten for breakfast with toast and for another meal with some pate. Read the rest of this entry »

Who are you?
I’m Jamie Yuenger.

What do you do?
I’m an independent documentary radio producer. www.jamieyuenger.wordpress.com

Where do you live?
179 Midwood Street, between Bedford and Rogers.

Where did you grow up?
Colorado, Louisiana, Alabama, Wisconsin, New York.

How long have you been a member?
This is my first, glorious year!

When you do your pickup where are you coming from?
My fiancé Greg, his daugher, Allyson, and I rotate. Often we walk up together after work.

What are you never without at pickup?
Canvas bags. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you ever get stuck in a cooking rut where you cook the same vegetable the same way, each time? This can be one of the pitfalls of a CSA share and eating seasonally–when veggies are in season, that’s what you are getting, week after week.

Such is the case with kale, chard and beans. Beans are technically a fruit of a bean plant and can come in bush or pole (vine) varieties.

Here are four things you can do with beans: Read the rest of this entry »

The PLG Food Coop has started a Meetup Group! Join here. Made up of CSA and non-CSA members, the PLG Food Coop is hoping to address some food issues in PLG and neighboring communities.

The first planning meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at 7 p.m. Location TBA.

We will be discussing:

• Food Coop mission/vision
• Steps for planning a food coop in PLG. (A food coop is a cooperative grocery store that offers healthy foods with a focus on sustainable products at reasonable prices. Some coop models require members to work monthly shifts and aren’t open to outsiders, while others allow anyone to shop there and have no work requirements.)
• Food advocacy in our neighborhoods: Such as assisting local businesses (like Western Beef, Associated, and the various bodegas) in improving their selections; enticing businesses from Manhattan and other parts of Brooklyn to open branches here.
• Planning for a community-wide food issues meeting

We need community support and action to make a food coop on this side of the park a reality. Join Us!

For more information, please email contact@plgfoodcoop.com.

I was sent this interesting article from the New York Times about an organic farm upstate that works with recovering addicts. These patients live at a nearby rehab center and work as farmhands on the 2-acre farm that was donated to them by two local country clubs. They sell the produce back to the country clubs and at their thrift store. An interesting model for sustainable agriculture in more ways than one!

The PLGCSA picnic was held on a beautiful day on August 16, 2009.

Photos by CSA member Heidi Hass.

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We have a subscription to The Sun magazine. It’s an ad-free literary magazine with an interview with a (usually) political or spiritual “expert,” fiction, memoirs and essays and a themed section of short anecdotes submitted by numerous readers. As someone who doesn’t read a lot, this magazine is much to my liking and pacing.

This is where we discovered the magic of mushroom growing. Read the rest of this entry »