Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Happy Spring!
Great first week...yes? Everyone picked up their CSA shares! Will it ever happen again??? Please take note that everyone is guaranteed to completely forget to pick up at least once during the CSA season...new or old CSA member...it happens to everyone.
VERY EXCITING NEWS!!!
Two things...
1. News 12 will be filming at our CSA this week starting at 3:30pm - if you can be at the CSA between 3:30 and 4:30pm, please show up so it looks crowded and they have some CSA members to talk to!
2. Dines Farm will be grilling samples this week...YUM!
Included in this email...
1. Your CSA doesn't need you this week! But you know that won't be for long :) !!!
2. This week's list (subject to change...farming is like that)
3. Fun, Cool & Interesting Stuff (new stuff added weekly...really!)
4. How to cook those dried Black Turtle Beans (keep this around as you might be getting these in the fall along with some garlic...fall being garlic season).
5. What you actually got last week
6. Newsday "Sunchoke"...really Jerusalem Artichoke...Recipe
7. Do you garden? Want organic seedings from your CSA farm???
8. Newsday's Erica Marcus on Cleaning & Tossing Salad Greens...
1. Your CSA doesn't need you this week! But you know that won't be for long :) !!
You can always just show up a little before 3:30 or 5:30pm at the CSA and offer to work if there's still an empty slot on the CSA Work Sign-up Sheet. ALWAYS FILL THE CSA WORK SHEET OUT IN PENCIL!!! Life is too unpredictable for being written in pen!
2. This week's list (subject to change without notice...farming is like that)
Week #2
April 30, 2009
1. Leeks - 1 bunch
2. Burdock (Gobo in Japanese) - 1 bag
3. Kale: White - 1 bunch
4. Turnip Greens - 1 bag
5. Cilantro - 1 bunch
6. Oregano - 1 bunch
Total Items: 6
3. Fun, Cool & Interesting Stuff
Wednesday, April 29th
6pm to 8pm
Jen Chapin House Party to Benefit the Brooklyn Food Conference
Brooklyn, NY
For information and reservations, please e-mail jen@jenchapin.com or call 347.432.0283
$20 suggested donation
Come hear Jen Chapin (yup, daughter of Harry), Stephan Crump, and Jamie Fox and help support the Brooklyn Food Conference (see May 2nd).
Thursday, April 30th
Benefit dinner at Rosewater for the Brooklyn Food Conference (see May 2nd)
Brooklyn, NY
For tickets call 718.783.3800.
$90

Rosewater (one of Brooklyn's premiere local/organic restaurants) will host a benefit dinner with Katy Sparks. Tickets are all inclusive of food, wine, tax, gratuity and donation.
Friday, May 1st
9am to 5pm
HALSEY'S GREEN THUMB FARM FARMSTAND OPENS FOR THE SEASON (every day till the first weekend in December when they close down for the winter)!!! Visit and mention you're a CSA member. If you're talking to Peachy (Halsey matriarch) or Patti (Halsey daughter) or Johanna (Halsey daughter) or Debbie (might as well be a Halsey she's worked at the farmstand so long)...a smile will shortly be visible.
7pm
Screening of "Fresh" with a Q & A with the director Ana Joanes
Park Slope Food Co-Op
782 Union St (between 6th & 7th Ave), 2nd Floor
Brooklyn, NY
FREE
FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system and forging healthier, sustainable alternatives for the future of the planet. Featuring Milwaukee urban farmer and activist, Will Allen who won a 2008 MacArthur Genius Award, and sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
Saturday, May 2nd
9am to 9pm
Brooklyn Food Conference
John Jay High School
327 7th Ave
Brooklyn, NY
To register...
FREE
I'll be there...will you :) ? Come for a day of workshops, food demos, and a kids’ food fair. Speaker's include WNYC’s Leonard Lopate, with Chef Dan Barber (Stone Barns), Chef Peter Hoffman (Savoy), Chef Bill Telepan (Telepan), and Brooklyn’s own David Shea of Applewood and John Tucker of Rosewater, LaDonna Redmond on what people in Chicago have done to change their food system, learn about worldwide food rebellions from author Raj Patel, and find out how climate change can affect the world’s food supply from activist Anna LappĂ©, and discuss milk health risks and benefits with author Nina Planck–plus workshops with many other dedicated activists and professionals. Screen films about food issues, including Fresh, Life and Debt, Unnatural Selection, and Flow. Join your children at a kids’ food fair with cooking demonstrations and other fun activities. Workshops by and for teens plus Teen Iron Chef! Enjoy lunch and dinner created by Brooklyn chefs using sustainable foods. Lunch and dinner will be available for purchase. Dance following dinner ($20 on PayPal).
Friday, August 7 to Sunday, August 9th
NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) Summer Conference
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA
If you're interested in organic gardening, food, farming, holistic health, alternative energy, cleaning up the environment, food politics, good eating, partying, dancing, music, crafts, poetry, yoga, join between 1,500 and 2,000 like minded people in a weekend of fun and education with something for just about everyone from tots and teens to everyone else. There are many Long Islanders who go every year. If you try it once, I bet you'll try it again!
Saturday, Nov 21st
11am to 6pm
Green Living Expo
Suffolk County Community College
Brentwood Campus
Sports/Exhibition Complex
101 Crooked Hill Road
Brentwood, NY 11717
For more info:
$10.00 (under 12 years old free)
The Green Living Expo is a 2-day event designed to provide Long Island residents and business owners with the information they need to support a greener way of life here on Long Island. “Green Living” is a new concept for many Long Islanders, for others it has been a way of life for years. Regardless of which category you fall into, being “green” is a notion that has firmly taken root in our society.

The Green Living Expo will be the catalyst between businesses, organizations, and consumers looking for information, inspiration, and innovation. It will provide information to help move us in the direction of a lifestyle that is both economically viable and ecologically sound.

The Green Living Expo will have two full days of programming to make the event both educational and fun. Speakers have been selected for their passion, commitment, innovation, and authority on their “green” topic. There is no additional fee required to attend the programs/lectures/classes.

Sunday, Nov 22nd
11am to 5pm
Green Living Expo
(see Saturday, Nov 21st)
4. How to cook those dried Black Turtle Beans (keep this around as you might be getting these in the fall along with some Garlic...fall being Garlic season)
See attachment...it's the sheet that was on the Black Turtle Bean pile at the CSA. It's something I cobbled together after researching a bunch of sources on the web.
5. What you actually got last week
Week #1
April 23, 2009
1. Chives - 1 bunch - $2.00
2. Jerusalem Artichokes - 1 lb - $4.00
3. Collard Greens - 1 bunch - $3.00
4. Beans, Black Turtle (dried) - 1 lb - $4.00
5. Turnip Greens - 1 bunch - $3.75
Total Items: 5
Total Amount: $16.75 (+$.25 over what we paid per week...$16.50...not much but over 34 weeks, this all adds up)
6. Newsday "Sunchoke"...really Jerusalem Artichoke...Recipe
7. Do you garden? Want organic seedings from your CSA farm???
You can order certified organic seedlings for your garden from our CSA farm, Halsey's Green Thumb Farm, that will be delivered to you when you pick up your CSA share! AND, the prices are the same as last year! If you want something not on the list, call and ask...there's a decent chance they have, or will have, it. Fliers about this are on the CSA Sign-In Table.
How?
Call the farm (631-726-1900) from 9:30am to 4:30pm, order using a credit card (minimum order of $20) and coordinate when you'll be picking up your seedlings with your CSA pickup.
What?
All the pots are 4 1/2" and the cost of each pot is $5.00
Basil, Green
Marigold: Orange (8" to 10")
Mint, Cat
Oregano, Greek
Parsley, Italian Flat Leaf
Petunias: Blue OR Mixed OR Rose
Rosemary
Sorrel
Strawberries, Alpine (very small)
Swiss Chard: Gold OR Green OR Red
Tarragon, French
More varieties coming soon!
8. Newsday's Erica Marcus on Cleaning & Tossing Salad Greens...
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