Brooklyn Feed

Today we went to the Guggenheim to see the Maurizio Cattelan show. The show was interesting and I think it’s worth seeing. But it is the subway ride home that I’m writing about. We were riding home and there was a very conservative young woman wearing a pea coat and scarf. And that seemed to be it. Her legs were completely bare and we kind of subtly craned our peripheral vision (this is a very New York maneuver) to see if she had anything on under her coat. It turns out she had bright pink panties. Our first thought was that she was a dancer and was just clueless to the look she was presenting to the public. We were kind of snickering to ourselves saying things like, “I know I forgot something. Let’s see…I have my purse, keys, phone…what could it be? Oh yes, my PANTS!”

Then another young woman came onto our subway car with no pants on. We were openly smiling at this point and the woman next to Neil said that it was No Pants day today. We had to get off our train to switch trains and in the 14th Street station we saw about 8 more men and women walking around without their pants. It brought surprise and smiles to everyone around them.

It’s organized by Improv Everywhere. They describes themselves as a New York City-based prank collective that cause scenes of chaos and joy in public places. You should definitely take a peek at some of their videos on their site. I particularly love the shirtless men shopping in Abercrombie and Fitch and the frozen Grand Central. You can subscribe to be alerted of their upcoming missions.

Oh yes, and I have a total New Yorker for a daughter. She was sitting reading on the train when I pointed out the first pantsless woman. She looked up at her, agreed that she had no pants on, smiled, and just went back to reading. It takes a whole lot more than that to surprise her I guess.

It’s that time of year again! The time where the streets are littered with old Christmas trees. I find this unutterably depressing. Something that caused so much joy and wonder is just tossed out with the garbage. But, I’m not asking you to mulch your tree to keep me from getting gloomy, there are plenty of more pressing ecological reasons why you should do it. Take some time to search your community to see what kind of programs there are for old Christmas trees.

In NYC we have mulchfest Jan. 7 & 8th. You can click on this link to see which parks near you are accepting trees. We have a cart that we use to bring our tree, and we try and pick up as many other trees we find on our way.

Many areas come up with creative uses for old trees such as New Orleans using them to restore coastlines and The Pacific Northwest Christmas tree association using them in lakes for aquatic habitat projects. You can read a NY Times article on the subject here. Rose over at OnThePondFarm feeds hers to her goats.

Click on this link to see events all over the country. Scroll down and you can enter your zipcode or city to find events near you.

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day?

Don’t dump your Christmas tree out on the street! Give it new life by bringing it to one of many city parks this weekend to be chipped. Here’s the NYC site that shows which parks are participating in the different boros. Many sites offer free mulch as well.

If you don’t live in NYC, check with your local government or sanitation department to see if they have a similar program. And if you are lucky enough to have a good-sized yard, just chop the tree up yourself and leave in an unused area. The animals and plants will love you for it. Here’s a link to a woman who keeps goats, who’s neighbor drop their trees off for her goats to munch on.

Just remember, remove all lights, tinsel and other stuff that isn’t part of the tree. I always think this is a super-obvious thing to say, but a couple of days ago I saw a tree on the curb with all the lights still on it. What the heck? You had such a bad Christmas you can’t imagine ever stringing your lights again? Or just a gross example of our disposable society?

On June 26th join hands with others to protest offshore oil drilling. This is an international peaceful protest. At 11am, go to your beach and at 12, join hands with others. Here’s the website that can help connect you with others in your area and give you more information about Hands Across the Sand.

On Thursday, May 13th at 6:30pm, Green Screens film society of Lincoln Center will screen Fowl Play by Adam Durand, 2009, USA; 50m

Most Americans are opposed to the inhumane treatment of animals—which is why the egg industry is so secretive about the operations that yield food for our breakfast tables. Fowl Play investigates hen abuse in the industry, drawing on the dedicated documentation of activists. Interviews with rescuers, veterinarians, and animal behaviorists challenge us to consider the politics of ethical eating.

with

Cows Are Nice (Kor ar Fina), Stephan Jarl, 2007, Sweden; 13m

A gentle look at the last day at a small Swedish dairy unable to compete with EU factory farms. While local farms shut down, Sweden is now importing milk.

Following the screening there will be a Q&A with Matt Rice, Mercy for Animals; Jenny Brown, Founder, Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary; Martha Lazar, chicken keeper and blogger (brooklynfeed.com)  and Elizabeth Ayer, BK Farmyard’s farmer /consultant, Farm Director and Caretaker at Wyckoff Community Garden and Farmers Market.  Followed by a reception in the Furman Gallery.

Walter Reade Theater, 165 W 65^th Street, upper level

Tickets available at the box office or online here.

The Film Society’s Green Screens program addresses through film the vital environmental concerns of global warming, the safety of our food supply, sustainable living, and more. Programmed by Isa Cucinotta and Marian Masone.

After my sister-in-law told us that her 3 year-old son wanted to sleep under his Christmas tree, my husband and I remembered our daughter’s love of our Christmas tree when she was about the same age. When our tree was dry and brittle, we started to break the news to Lindsay that we were going to take it down. She was really upset and kept hugging the tree, which of course just added to the already alarming loss of needles. Every year we take our tree to a local park, where they have a chipping program called Mulchfest. We brought our tree there, much to Lindsay’s skepticism to “be with it’s friends”. She bid it a tearful farewell and fortunately didn’t notice the crew feeding trees into the huge chipper.

I always find it a little sad to see Christmas trees tossed out with the trash. The fact that they were once a treasured part of the holiday and are now tossed out on the street with the garbage bags always startles me. Plus it’s hard to wrap my head around all that organic matter going to a landfill with old batteries, diapers, etc. So, let’s try and come up with some great uses for old Christmas trees to prevent them from going into landfills. TREECYCLE!

• Find out if your community has a tree collection or chipping program. Here in NYC we have mulchfest this coming Sat. 1/9 from 10am-2pm. You can look at this site to find a park in your area that will take your tree. And while you are dragging your tree down the street, why not stop and grab one or two others that are just lying on the sidewalk waiting for trash pick up? A lot of these programs allow you to bring some wood chips home with you for your garden.
• If you don’t have a mulching/chipping program in your community, do it yourself. Prune branches off your tree and lay them down in your garden beds. Pine branches can look nice arranged around a tree on a city sidewalk. You can add them to your compost pile, although pine needles can take a while to break down.
• You can prune branches and make small bundles. These are great to help start fires in your fireplace.
• If you have the land, drag your tree out into a woodsy area to be used as a wildlife refuge for birds and small animals.
• If you have a pond, weigh your tree down and put it in the water. It becomes a nice home for fish.
• If you live near a beach, see if your community uses old Christmas trees in an effort to restore dunes like Bradley Beach in New Jersey.
• You can save the needles and make potpourri or sachets.

If you have a great use for an old Christmas tree, please post!

Tomorrow is the 24th annual international coastal clean up. You can join millions of volunteers to pick up trash you see along the ocean’s edge. Spending a day at the beach and feeling good about helping the planet – what could be better??

Sign up for the 24th annual international coastal clean up here.

Sustainable Flatbush's space from 2008. photo © Sustainable Flatbush

Tomorrow is the 3rd annual Park(ing) Day in NYC. It’s a day when people take over parking spots in creative ways to raise awareness to the extra public space that is normally hogged by cars. People play music, lay down sod, have kid’s activities, hold environmental workshops, etc.

Sustainable Flatbush will have a space on Cortelyou & Argyle this year with a puppet show, worm composting demo, a solar-powered cell phone charging station, etc. To find a Park(ing) Day space near you, visit the Park(ing) Day NYC site and look at their map.

It’s too late to register for this year, but I’m dying to make a park next year!!

Right around lunch time we headed over to the Greenpoint Food Market in Brooklyn. The market is inspired by all foods fresh and local, artisanal and homemade and encourages community involvement and DIY methods of food production. Sounded great, plus our friend Megan of Brooklyn Honey was going to be there and we hadn’t tasted her honey yet. Megan keeps bees on her roof in Brooklyn. She gardens and recently got chickens. Plus, who can look as cute as she does in overalls!?!

Our timing was great, because we were getting hungry and the food looked amazing. Our first stop was, of course, to see Megan. She sells honey that is still in the wax comb. It’s a totally different honey eating experience because once you taste the honey, you can chew on the wax like gum. She had other products made with her honey including nuts and the most delicious granola ever! I’ve tried making granola a couple of times and it is always the same recipe. “Bake the granola until it’s dark brown, then throw it in the trash and try not to think about how wasteful that was”

Soup from The Soup Spoon

We got soup from the very sweet ladies at The Soup Spoon. We shared a delicious gazpacho and a curried cauliflower puree. It was a drizzly day, so there was nothing better! I usually make gazpacho a few times during the summer, which is Neil’s favorite soup. Neil got cheated out of it this summer as I never got around to making it. Theirs was chunky and tangy and delicious, so Neil was very happy. They are looking to get a food truck, so keep an eye out for them.

We also had yummy kimchi pancakes, cookies and cinnamony mandelbrot. There was so much more to try – like the most beautifully decorated cookies from Sugarbuilt. Take a peek at their website to see what I mean. You need to scroll to see the different designs. Their Day of the Dead faces are amazing. I also love the architectural details they incorporate into their designs.

If you live in the area, I recommend going. It is going to be held every Saturday from 12-6. You can get more info on their site.

Seriously, where else are you going to get delicious food from fabulous Brooklynites? She’s selling angel food cupcakes and deviled eggs.