First Share Pickup

The first share from Brooklyn Beet CSA today was not disappointing:

• 1 head red leaf lettuce
  
• 1 head green leaf lettuce
  
• 1 bunch turnips
  
• 1 bunch radishes
  
• 1 bunch carrots
  
• 1 beet root
  
• 1 bunch thyme
  
• 1 bunch parsley
  
• 1 bunch mint
  
• 3/4 pound shell peas
  
• 2 quarts strawberries
  
• 3 apples - need to verify which type! *update: they were mutsu apples
  
• And of course I picked up my share of eggs - 1/2 dozen for now
  

It was interesting to hear how the excessive rain has impacted the spring crops. Let's hope the weather improves for the next few months, but we can't really complain about this haul!

Sydney's 3rd solid food is shaping up to be fresh shell peas! More on that tomorrow, as well as some recipes that include these delicious foods. My thanks, as always, to the wonderful people who organized Brooklyn Beet CSA. And Magdalena, it was very nice to meet you. Some highlights from the food section:

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The New Logo

I've been getting varied feedback about the logo I've recently added to CookDaddie. Since it's important to me that this blog is responsive to readers, I'd love to know what you think. I've added a poll right on the right side of the page. See it? It looks like this:


But that's just a screenshot, so you'll need to vote over there on the right. If you don't see it, then the poll has already closed, but you can still email me. And, of course, you can always leave a comment :)

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Thought For Food: What's On Your Plate?

As part of the of BAMcinemaFEST and Afro-Punk Festival, enjoy live music and an outdoor screening of What's On Your Plate in Fort Greene Park tomorrow! As you may recall, this documentary featured the farmers at Angel Farm, who provide the vegetables to our very own Brooklyn Beet CSA.

More information from BAM:

Sat, Jun 27 at 8:30
Doors & live music at 6pm / Screening at 8:30pm
Outdoor screening in Fort Greene Park
Free!

Directed by Catherine Gund
With Sadie Hope-Gund, Safiyah Riddle

2009, 73min

You’ve read Omnivore's Dilemma and Fast Food Nation and you try to buy local and organic produce at your neighborhood farmer's market. But do you really know how what you're eating ended up on your table? Through the eyes of two intelligent and inquisitive eleven-year-old girls from New York City, we follow the many paths, the conflicting economics, and the disparate decision makers who all play a part in what we eat. Ideal for families to watch together, the film presents a variety of perspectives on how food reaches our urban community and its associated challenges. An introduction by the filmmakers will precede the screening. Presented in conjunction with The Afro-Punk Festival, July 3—12.

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Baby Choices: First Solid Food

While I do plan on cooking most of the food Syd the Kyd will eat during childhood, the idea of making brown rice cereal seemed a bit... impossible. But since so many doctors suggest starting with brown rice cereal, we did!

We decided on HappyBellies organic brown rice cereal largely because we couldn't find anything negative about it. Reviews are overwhelmingly positive, and of the two negative reviews on Amazon, one was do to misunderstanding the ingredients, and the other was replied to by one of the owner's of the company, Jessica Rolph. Bonus. (This item is also for sale in Whole Foods and at Diapers.com

We mixed the cereal with a bit of breast milk, and the event was as messy as expected! I'm very happy to report that Sydney seemed to enjoy her first sit-down meal. (She had tasted banana and carrot in small finger feedings already.)

And what they say about the baby growth byproduct becoming more "interesting" with solids... it's true.

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Greenwich St farmer's market, TriBeCa

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Baby Cooking

Two weeks ago, I took a class on how to cook for baby humans.

Please forgive the little Simpsons/Twilight Zone reference... I had to make it.

Next week we will get our first share from our CSA: Brooklyn Beet CSA. I'm pretty excited and looking forward to preparing little meals for Sydney to eat... so when my friend Randyhate clued me into a class at The Brooklyn Kitchen, I jumped at it.

I attended the Cooking For Baby class on a Wednesday after work. The Brooklyn Kitchen is located on the corner of Lorimer & Skillman, in Williamsburg, just off the Lorimer/Metropolitan stop of the G/L. The shop maintains the perfect merchandise for city chefs.

The class was taught by a chef, and her child was strapped to her chest for most of the time. Good form. It reminded me of chopping up salad while Sydney was in the Baby Bjorn. The focus of the class was technique for cooking for both a couple and baby. She prepared several meals, from which all students snacked upon. I was the only male in the class, so I held back on devouring entire plates until others had their fill. Seriously, no one was eating! If that class were full of men, we'd be breaking each other's kneecaps for a tablespoon of pureed carrots & dates.

The class gave me some extra confidence that I am able to cook for Sydney, so I recommend it for any parent looking to prepare baby food. Keep in mind that the class does seem to be geared towards those without much cooking experience to begin with.

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Brooklyn Beet CSA

Back in April, Dana and I signed up to join a newly-formed CSA that was accepting members from Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, locals: Brooklyn Beet CSA.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Members buy a share or half share and pay for the season up-front or in installments throughout the season. This arrangements ensures that the farmer will have some money in hand during spring and a guaranteed income during the summer and early fall. CSA members take on some risk, since the season's crops may not yield as much as expected, but they also benefit from healthy crops. Not to mention the benefit of weekly deliveries of fresh, local produce.

I had been looking for a CSA to join since we moved back to Brooklyn. Our diet had been evolving for a while - far less meat and much more fruits and vegetables. Whole Foods is great, but can get a bit pricey when the right things are not on sale. Farmer's markets are awesome, and fun to peruse, but we can't get to them frequently enough to get all the produce we need. Plus, CSA have the added benefit of the community of members along with the farmers.

It seems lots of people were reaching the same conclusion, and no CSAs were accepting additional members, so joining Brooklyn Beet was a no-brainer.

We opted into a full share of vegetables, which come from the Angel Family Farm in Goshen, NY. The veggies are not certified organic, but they are grown pesticide-free. (Besides, as Mark Bittman has pointed out in the New York Times, "certified organic" means less and less.) I've read that the farm is featured in the documentary What's On Your Plate, but I have not yet seen the film. The family was at the initial sign-up meeting, and they seemed enthusiastic.

And went for a full share of fruit, from Hepworth Farms. This farm is also up the Hudson, in Milton, but has been around for much longer. Amy Hepworth, an interesting personality, is a seventh generation farmer, and her farm has been around since 1818. Amy was also at the sign-up meeting - she said she had cleaned her fingernails for the event. Word on the street is that their fruit is amazing, so I can't wait. (Photo from NY Mag)

We'll be picking up our share just a few blocks away at the YWCA, and the fun begins in just a few weeks. I'll be posting about the food that comes in, the recipes that come to mind, and the meals that come out.

Also, our baby girl, Sydney, will start eating solids very soon. I'll be making much of her food from the goods we pick of from the CSA. I'll be posting comments and notes about this as well.

Leftover fruits and vegetables - if there are any - will be pickled or jammed... stay tuned! ...If your interested.

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