Thursday, May 20, 2010

Happy spring!

Congratulations to everyone on filling the spring session of the CSA season! Now we have about 60 spots to fill, hopefully, by June 1st! This is the link to the contract for new CSA members who’d be starting to pick up at the CSA on June 3rd http://www.tiny9.com/u/CSA_June_2010_Contract , the CSA brochure http://www.tiny9.com/u/CSA_Brochure and the
Seedlings FOR SALE http://www.tiny9.com/u/Seedlings_FOR_SALE_June_2010. Please feel free to pass these on to friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives who might be interested in joining the CSA this season! If we all were able to find one person to join…we’d be done in a minute. Please feel free to suggest places to leave the CSA brochures or names of individuals/groups to contact about CSA (either just to give info or to give a talk about CSA/local eating).

This is a great post submitted by Jeff Tanenbaum, keeper of the CSA blog…
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/05/10-secrets-tips-for-making-the-most-of-your-csa.html

This email includes…
1. Your CSA doesn’t need you! At least not this week  .
2. What you’re getting at the CSA this week (subject to change without notice…farming is like that!)
3. Order now for Honey in June!
4. BRING BAGS!
5. Order Certified Organic Plants/Seedlings (grown at Green Thumb Farm) for your garden this season…
6. What you actually got last week
7. Event Calendar
8. CSA member, Lisa Valentine is the founder/organizer for the one-year-old LI Single Parents Meet-up Group!
9. Hope you’re not offended but…
10. Win a new fridge…
11. Everything you always wanted to know about Burdock (if you still have some lurking in the back of your fridge)
12. Kale recipe submitted by CSA member (and UUFH member) Dove Thomas
13. CSA member Lisa Fascilla has a tip about cooking Greens and for Asparagus…


1. Your CSA doesn’t need you! At least not this week  .

If you were sent an email from Judi or myself, you are scheduled to work this week. If not, you’re not. However…you can always just show up a little before 3:30 or 5:30pm at the CSA and offer to work if help is still needed…you never know!



2. What you’re getting at the CSA this week (subject to change without notice…farming is like that!)

May 20, 2010
Week #5

1. Scallions
2. Asparagus
3. Kale: Russian, White
4. Mibuna (greenhouse grown)
5. Oregano
6. Jerusalem Artichokes
7. Greens, Mustard: Green OR Red
Total Items: 7



3. Order now for Honey in June!

What…Honey - not organic…organic Honey is not really doable…ask me to explain if you want to know…however she is using biodynamic and organic beekeeping techniques to keep the bees healthy –

Where…not local - the Honey is from NY waaayyyy up north by the St. Lawrence River in a rural area – so if you’re using it for allergy issues, this is too far away…but for anything else…yum!

Who…the beekeeper is the daughter of Bill Halsey, our farmer…he is trying to get her back to the farm by supporting her beekeeping project and I think he’d like her to come home and be the beekeeper on the farm

How…$10 per 1 lb glass container…pay by check made out to Halseys Green Thumb OR in cash…bring to the CSA Sign-In desk and leave with the person there

When…till Bill tells me to stop but I imagine we can order for the next two weeks and when will it arrive? By the end of June.

Why…bees are dying and it takes good natural beekeepers like Bill’s daughter to help replenish the bee population



4. BRING BAGS!

What more can you say about this?

At the CSA, we bag our own food. I’d suggest to bring a selection of plastic bags (especially for things that are dripping wet like Lettuces and other Greens which we get later in the season when they are picked from out in the fields…as opposed to the greenhouse where they are probably coming from now) AND paper bags (for things that don’t like plastic like Tomatoes…the moisture that plastic attracts will make them rot faster).

Keep a stash of bags in every vehicle you own, and replenish when the stash gets low! That way you’ll never be without. AND, if anyone is picking up for you…please tell them about needing bags!



5. Order Certified Organic Plants/Seedlings (grown at Green Thumb Farm) for your garden this season…

Check out the attachment for instructions and plant list.



6. What you actually got last week…

May 13th
Week #4

1. Leeks – 1 bunch - $3.50
2. Asparagus – ½ lb - $2.75
3. Swiss Chard – 1 bunch - $2.75
4. Kale – 1 bunch - $2.75
5. Tarragon, French – 1 bunch - $2.25
6. Tat Soi – 1 bunch - $2.75

Total Items: 6
Total Amount: $16.75

Herb Share
Week #1

Oregano AND Thyme



7. Fun, Cool & Interesting Stuff to Do (new events added weekly)

If you don’t mind trekking into the city, these are two email lists to get on that have a lot of very cool food-based (local/organic) events…
http://brooklynbased.net/
http://www.eatingintranslation.com/


Saturday, June 26th

Green Thumb CSA Member’s Annual Strawberry Farm Tour
Details to be announced


Saturday, August 13th to Sunday, August 15th

The 36th NOFA (Northeast Organic Farmer’s Association) Summer Conference
University of Massachusetts Amherst
N Amherst, MA
For more info and to register…
http://www.nofasummerconference.org/

Be there or be squarer than square! Featured speakers this year are Sally Fallon of the Weston Price Institute and Dr. Fernando Funes, father of the Cuban organic agriculture movement.


Saturday, September 4th

12:30pm to 3:30pm

Wildman Steve Brill
Sunken Meadow Park
Parking lot by the Sunken Meadow Bathhouse
Suggested Donation: $15, under 10 years old $10
For more info and to reserve a spot…
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/

If you’ve never experienced Wildman Steve Brill and you like eating locally and/or organically…this is a must! You will leave with interesting things to cook for dinner, and may start to look differently at the “weeds” that come up in your backyard. You MUST read his website carefully and follow the instructions if you are to maximize your experience by dressing properly and bringing what you need to bring on this adventure. I’ve been told he’s corny…well, that’s true…but he’s also brilliant, and knows about eating and foraging in the wild like nobody’s business. Since he’s a fairly recent father, the event is a family friendly experience.


Saturday, October 16th

Green Thumb CSA Member’s Annual Tractor-pulled Hayride & Pumpkin Picking Farm Tour
Details to be announced


Sunday, October 24th

12:30 to 3:30pm

Wildman Steve Brill
Sunken Meadow Park
Suggested Donation: $15, under 10 years old $10
For more info and to reserve a spot…
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/

If you’ve never experienced Wildman Steve Brill and you like eating locally and/or organically…this is a must! You will leave with interesting things to cook for dinner, and may start to look differently at the “weeds” that come up in your backyard. You MUST read his website carefully and follow the instructions if you are to maximize your experience by dressing properly and bringing what you need to bring on this adventure. I’ve been told he’s corny…well, that’s true…but he’s also brilliant, and knows about eating and foraging in the wild like nobody’s business. Since he’s a fairly recent father, the event is a family friendly experience.



8. CSA member, Lisa Valentine is the founder/organizer for the one-year-old LI Single Parents Meet-up Group!

It’s free to join so check it out! They have over 130 members and the group gathers for parent dinners, socials and also kid-friendly cultural and recreational events.

http://www.meetup.com/LI-singleparents



9. Hope you’re not offended but…

Got this recipe for this week…includes Asparagus/Leeks (if you have one from last week)/Oregano…
http://www.recipe.com/mushroom-asparagus-fettuccine/

from this interesting website (if you’re not happy with foul language…don’t go here!)…
http://www.whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com/



10. Win a new fridge…

And check out these “healthy” snacks for your kids (or you!)…
http://snack.maketimeforchange.com/index.html



11. Everything you always wanted to know about Burdock (if you still have some lurking in the back of your fridge)

In Japanese it’s called Gobo and is considered medicinal in Asian medicine (especially as a blood cleanser).

My fave, and classic, way to serve it…
I julienne the carrots and burdock and just use a vegetable scrubber to clean both and pull off the hairy bits off the burdock.
http://japanesefood.about.com/od/vegetable/r/kinpiragobo.htm

I like this recipe better as the Sesame Oil will make it taste really good…
Good source of funky food (the kind the CSA gets) recipes…
http://nymag.com/restaurants/recipes/inseason/16765/

different and yet the same…I’d put the spicy stuff on it...it’s called togarashi something or other…
http://www.mitoku.com/recipes/index/burdockkinpira.html

new website to bookmark!
http://www.japanfoodaddict.com/vegetables/kinpira-gobou/

Not sure if they are talking more about supplements or large doses but I’m very curious to ask a Japanese person if they know about eating Burdock during pregnancy or not. The problem with us Americans is that we always think that if something is good, we should eat a lot of it or eat it all the time which may cause some of the problems mentioned here. This is from the federal government…
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-burdock.html

This is from a very respected source of natural medical info…notice what book this is from…interesting…
http://www.herbcompanion.com/herb-profiles/Burdock-Does-It-All.aspx



12. Kale recipe submitted by CSA member (and UUFH member) Dove Thomas

Dove tried and liked…CSA member tested…
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/health/nutrition/21recipehealth.html?_r=2

AND the general recipe section which I never knew about (thanks Dove!)…Recipes for Health…good for CSAers…
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/series/recipes_for_health/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=recipes%20for%20health&st=cse



13. CSA member Lisa Fascilla has a tip about cooking Greens and for Asparagus…

Hi friends! Just sauteed some of my greens to be served under my steak from dines farms...can't wait to dig in. Just wanted to let you know a little tidbit of advice when preparing greens with garlic & olive oil. You may know already, but if not, add a good pinch of nutmeg--it brings out the nutty earthyness in the greens. Going to throw leftovers into a omlette for lunch tomorrow--yummy!

Also, truffle salt really good on asparagus!

See you all soon--Lisa

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