Hola Composters!

So you wonder why composters seem crazy happy all the time?  It’s because we get our high from the pile! Grab a pitchfork, we’re composting this Sunday at the Gowanus salt lot!  It’s been 4 weeks since we last built a pile at the salt lot and we’re ready for more.  Come down and get your fix!  We’ll be processing compostables collected at GrowNYC’s Greenmarkets and with you’re help we’ll keep that material here in NYC for use in our local soil building efforts.

Where: Salt lot @ 2 2nd Ave, 11215
When: Sunday 2/12, noon-4pm

Did you resolve to waste less in 2012?  We were so inspired by the examples some of our neighbors set in 2011 that we turned them into a list of resolutions anyone can use.

# 1: Start a compost collection collaborative
Colleen Grant recognized that busy New Yorkers may not have the time to make it to a compost drop-off every week, so she organized a youth crew to pick up compostables from residents on each floor of her apartment building. It is now called Project Beekman Compost, and they come to C4B regularly!

What you can do: Share the task of transporting compost to C4B or your local drop-off with your neighbors. Start a collection bucket in your building and coordinate duties.

# 2: Start a worm bin at home

Anna Larson and her roommates compost using a worm bin under their kitchen counter (also known as vermicompost). Says Anna: “After carrying the new worm bin, and tupperware full of worms, home on the back of my bike the first evening three years ago I was super excited to prepare their little newspaper home in the kitchen. The next afternoon, the floor was covered with worms.  We called the “Compost Hotline” (212-477-3155) and they said not to worry, that this often happens when they’re adjusting to a new place, but if you put them back in they will get used to it soon enough.  At this point I felt two things: glad the worms were going to hopefully stay in the bin this time and happy to know that when they stay it is because they really like it.  They are not trapped in there working against their will!”

What you can do: Go to the NYC Compost Project’s worm bin workshop on February 1st to learn how to do this at home.

# 3: Compost at work

Kasia Nikhamina brings food scraps home from work in a reusable container a few days a week, and keeps it in the fridge in between. She also removed the waste bin from her cubicle to remind herself to save the food scraps. Added bonus: She is now more aware of her trash because it requires phsyically getting up to throw things out!
What you can do: If you prefer not to bring scraps home, ask your facilities managers about composting in the office. They can always take advantage Compost for Brooklyn’s services  for help!

# 4: Become a Master Composter!

C4B’s Louise, Kate, Abbe, Colleen, and Nancy are all NYC Master composters, and they LOVED the program.

What you can do: The Brooklyn Master Composter Certificate Course starts soon. Submit your application by February 17!

# 5: Use as much of your produce as you can

Beet greens make a great side dish, vegetable scraps make a delicious stock (for soup). Or like our neighbor and herbalist, Kristy Bredin, you can use your orange peels and egg shells to make herbal remedies (check the C4B websitefor information on an upcoming workshop with Kristy).

# 6 Take a close look at what you throw out

What you can do: Consider a symbolic action that would help you think more about your footprint, such as recording everything you throw away for one week. This can help you make more informed decisions about what changes you make (Dishtowels instead of paper towels, reusable water bottles instead of disposable ones, etc.), by giving you information about what waste you’re actually making!

# 7 Become a shift leader for Compost for Brooklyn
Have fun with other volunteers while keeping the project doing what we do best! Email compostforbrooklyn@gmail.com if you are interested.

# 8 Get to know your local composters
Here are a few we know, but there are many more. If you know a composting project we haven’t listed, let us know!
Western Queens Compost Initiative (Queens)
Lower East Side Ecology Center (Lower East Side and Union Square)
Added Value (Red Hook)
6/15 (Park Slope)
GrowNYC (Many locations)
Gowanus Canal Conservancy (Gowanus)

Sustainable Flatbush (Flatbush)

Vokashi (Many locations)

After the first frost, when some farmer’s markets shut down for the season, and the taste of fresh corn and vine-ripe tomatoes seem like a lifetime away, it might seem as if there is little alternative to shopping the big grocery stores for produce trucked or flown in from across the continent – or further – away. However, in the fall, there are sustainable, local veggies that can be found at one of the year-round green markets and stored throughout the winter to be turned into side dishes so delicious that you will forget that the first big snow storm is just around the corner.

Sweet potatoes are a fine storage tuber that can be kept in a cool room or basement (around 55 degrees) for a month or more. These can be served countless ways: sauté-ed with eggs, baked whole or roasted with other root vegetables. However, if you have a little extra time, consider making the Savory Sweet Potato Crumble (recipe below) that uses caramelized onions and bacon fat in place of a in a traditional sweet fruit crumble.

Brussels sprouts are another vegetable that can last through a milder early winter. A bite-sized cousin of cabbage, these vegetables taste best after a frost – which makes them ideal for a winter side dish when you find them. They also freeze well and can last a few weeks stored, with their outer leaves left on, in a paper bag or uncovered bowl at around 35 degrees. Easy to slice and pan fry or roast, brussels sprouts can be gussied up with a quick toss with olive oil and parmesan cheese (recipe below).

Finally, beets are an amazing source of antioxidants, fiber and vitamin C and come in a rainbow of beautiful colors and patterns, from golden to deep red to the painterly pink and white stripes of the chiogga variety. These root vegetables are dense and easy to store in the fridge for up to a month or in a 32 – 36 degree root cellar for a few months – just remove their greens first (and sauté them up and eat them!). Excellent steamed or roasted, a more unique use of this root is to grate it into orzo while cooking to add a sweet earthiness to an otherwise run of the mill pasta dish.

Dressed up for Sunday dinner with friends or family – or whipped up for any Tuesday night in front of the television – these sustainable sides are a great way to eat locally grown vegetables while snow is on the ground.

Recipes:

Sweet Potato Crumble

8 c chopped sweet potatoes (about 3)
1 c caramelized onions
½ lb chopped cooked bacon
2 T chopped fresh sage

topping:
1 c bread crumbs
1 c fat (suggestion: half bacon fat, half softened butter)
1 c chopped walnuts
½ lb chopped cooked bacon
¼ c maple syrup or brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine sweet potatoes, onions, ½ pound of bacon, sage and salt & pepper into a baking pan.
Combine all topping ingredients and mix until it resembles large crumbles. Spread evenly over the contents of the baking pan, cover with foil.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Take off the foil and bake another 20, or until the topping is lightly browned and the sweet potatoes are cooked through.

Brussels Sprouts Tossed with Parmesan
5 cups of brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved
½ c grated parmesan, asagio or pecorino cheese
½ t each dried oregano & dried basil
1 T olive oil (or to taste)
salt & pepper to taste

Place the brussels sprouts in a covered pan or baking dish with half cup of water and roast at 350 degrees.
After 10 minutes remove the top or foil and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Remove from oven after twenty minutes or when lightly browned.
Let cool for 10 – 15 minutes, or until a bit warmer than room temperature.
Combine cheese and herbs. Toss with the cooked brussels sprouts and serve immediately.

Beet Orzo
1 medium beet, grated. (The darker the beet, the more beautiful the color of the final dish.)
2/3 c dried orzo
half cup crumbled feta cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Add the grated beet and 1 ¾ cup water to a sauce pan and bring to a boil. When at a rolling boil, add the orzo and simmer, uncovered, until the pasta and beet are just cooked through. Add more water one tablespoon at a time if needed to fully cook the pasta, and drain excess liquid if the pasta cooks faster than the water evaporates.  This will depend on your pasta and cooking temperature.

When done, top immediately with crumbled feta and serve.

Chopped dill or a drizzle of pesto would also be a great addition to this dish!

Compost for Brooklyn (C4B): Nils, how did you get started making butcher blocks?

Nils Wessell (NW): After college–I studied art–I was banging my head against the wall trying to make art, on a professional track. I was in Portland in a basement and art was going nowhere. So I moved to New York, got a job as the assistant to a knifemaker in Brooklyn, Joel Bukiewicz. That was working in a basement. I went from Portland to Brooklyn to work in a worse basement. And I was still trying to make art on the side, but got no emotional satisfaction from what I was making. So I put that away, and started experimenting with butcher blocks. I learned from Joel about how knives and butcher blocks work togther, went to a food show and sold a few, and then things took off.

Nils Wessell and sawdust

C4B: How did you find Compost for Brooklyn?

NW: I got this big order of 150 butcher blocks and was throwing out the woodchips.  It got expensive, first of all, but I also wanted to keep things regional. The wood (cherry and black walnut, mostly) is sourced regionally, and I wanted to get rid of the wood chips nearby as well. I googled something like “compost Brooklyn” to find out where to go for this and your name came up.

Louise Bruce, C4B co-founder and director: This happened to be the same day that our start-up donation of browns from NYC compost project was running out fast and I was tearing my hair out at the computer. Then up on the screen pops an email from this guy, Nils! We’ve been working together since.

NW: One thing is, though, that the black walnut takes longer to break down than other kinds of wood, so we have to let that sit for 6 months before adding it to the compost bins. So we keep the types separate.

C4B: You have become an integral part of C4B, constructing bins, the shed, and the rainwater collection system among other things. What made you get so involved?

NW: Well, I’m lucky that I got into this strong, open community and this line of work, which is a good fit for me, because I admire people who do a craft really well and are dedicated to a process. I value work, too, and that is what attracted me to C4B–the new organization is kind of like starting a business, and you have to be a pretty serious professional ass-kicker to make something like this happen.

Abbe in the garden

Compost for Brooklyn (C4B): I understand you have been traveling the world, looking for large-scale composting projects. Tell me more.

Abbe J. Penziner-Bokde (AJP-B): (Laughs) Not exactly. On a couple of vacations this year I noticed that there are these cities wtih municipal compost systems within city bounds, like Boulder and Seattle. My husband and I were in a government building in Boulder in August and I saw this sign near a compost bin by the trash: “What to Compost,” and it was basically everything. Stuff that we can’t compost here in New York, like dirty cardboard containers, and they had compostable takeout containers. Basically, there’s very little you’re not throwing in there. Then, I saw posters around Boulder advertising composting, saying, “This is a backyard on compost.” We should have those here.


Boulder, CO poster

C4B: Why can’t we get initiatives like this in New York?

AJP-B: I’m not saying we couldn’t, but you can’t compare the population in New York City and these cities–think about the number of high rises we have, the number of people, the number of businesses here. We’re talking about 500,000 people versus 8 million. Maybe in the future we’d have something on a borough level, but I think we have to keep going at a small scale first. We have to begin by helping people understand how composting works and why to do it. In places that have these big municipal systems, people feel good about doing it, but they don’t understand the process. They put it out, it goes away. I think we can do better than that here.

C4B: You mentioned small scale composting. Do you mean Compost for Brooklyn-sized?

AJP-B: Yeah. It’s hard because at a large facility like Cedar Grove in Seattle, they can sustain heats of 170 degrees, which means they can compost meats, cheese, and cooked foods. We get up to 130 or 140 degrees here [at C4B], but we have to be careful about what we take because some of those foods go rancid and they attract pests. And having lower temperatures means that some things don’t break down. Bigger is better in that case.  Cedar Grove is the largest urban composting model in the world– it runs compostability tests for products to see if they’ll break down. Here, people must be thoughtful about what they put in, and they have to chop it up for the guy who turns it. It’s a whole different thing.

C4B: So, New York has a long way to go before we have something large-scale. Is there anything short-term we can learn from these other cities?

AJP-B: I’ve seen some amazing print and video public education tools, especially in Seattle, in 10 to 15 languages and with pictures. Their general government waste management web page is good too. They’re really sending a message that the city is taking this seriously. I would also recommend visiting Boulder’s recycling and composting web pages to see how they do it.

Last week I went to a conference about food waste recovery. In a highly technical presentation about cutting edge recovery technology, I learned that there is a massive plant in Seoul, South Korea that collects tons of local food waste every week to produce electricity–much of it from Seoul residents bringing it in by bike.

While the speaker talked anaerobic digestion, I pictured hundreds of locals pedaling up to this futuristic plant with their baskets full of egg shells and vegetable trimmings.  And I thought about how this complex system–which ends with the people of Seoul turning on their lights–starts with the simple act of making dinner.

And that made me think about beets. Most of us eat the roots roasted, pickled, or steamed, and most of us throw out the greens (if we even find beets with greens intact).

We shouldn’t. They are delicious–slightly bitter, in need of longer cooking than chard or spinach–and high in Vitamin A and C, iron and calcium. Like most leafy greens, they cook down a lot. And there’s the rub:  One bunch of beets won’t give you enough greens for the recipes below. My solution, other than buying too many beets, is to ask the folks at the farmers’ market to save the greens–either the ones they pull from loose beets,  or the greens customers ask them to remove at purchase.

The first recipe is adapted from a recipe by Greek food expert and author Diane Kochilas (made with spinach at many of the Turkish and Greek restaurants on Coney Island and Emmons Avenues). The second is one i developed for the Food Network. So keep composting the truly inedible stuff in your kitchen, but don’t forget to eat your greens.

Beet Greens with Yogurt

Adapted from The Glorious Foods of Greece by Diane Kochilas

1            lb. beet greens, trimmed and washed

1            large clove garlic, peeled

1            tsp. lemon juice

½            cup Greek yogurt

3            Tbsp. unsalted butter

1            small red onion, chopped, approximately 1 cup

~            Salt

1. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water generously and boil the greens until tender. Drain the greens and plunge them into the ice water, then drain again. Pound the garlic to a paste in a mortar. Or, finely chop the garlic, then work it into a paste by smashing and smearing it with your knife blade at a slight angle to the cutting board. Put the garlic paste into a small bowl, add the lemon juice and let sit 5 minutes. Stir in the yogurt.
2. Heat half the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the greens and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and transfer to a serving platter; set skillet aside. Spoon the yogurt like a sauce over the hot greens.
3. Heat the remaining butter in the same skillet and cook the onions over high heat, stirring, until brown and crisp at the edges. Season with salt and spoon the onions over the yogurt.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Spaghetti with Beet Greens

From Food Network Kitchens

Serves 4

Kosher salt

12 ounces spaghetti

1 1/4 pounds beet greens, stems removed and saved

1/3 cup olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon

6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons fresh ricotta or ricotta salata cheese, or Parmesan shavings, for garnish

1. Bring a large pot of cold water to a boil over high heat and salt it generously. Add the spaghetti and boil, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
2. Cut the beet stems into 2-inch pieces. Cut the larger leaves into wide ribbons; leave the smaller ones whole. Swish the stems and then the leaves in a big bowl of cold water to clean (in batches if necessary); lift them from the bowl with your fingers, shake them off and blot with a paper towel—they don’t have to be really dry.
3. Put the olive oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the garlic until it is golden, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon and save. Turn the heat to medium, add the beet stems and season with salt to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until you can insert the tip of a knife into the stems without resistance, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
4. Turn the heat to medium-high, add the beet greens and cook, tossing occasionally, until the greens are coated with oil and just starting to wilt, then season with salt to taste and cook until the leaves are wilted and tender,  about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
5. Pour the pasta on top of the greens and salt lightly. Toss with tongs, add the reserved pasta water. Divide among 4 pasta bowls and top with reserved garlic slices and desired cheese.

Active Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

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