Green Thumb Farm Huntington CSA

Happy St. Honore Day!

May 16th is the Feast Day of St. Honore, the patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs, and the inspiration for the St. Honore cake! 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Honor%C3%A9_cake

Have to thank first year CSA member (and art teacher) Heather Engle for her idea of having me send the CSA emails to myself to keep everyone’s email address private. We’re looking into finally dealing with a bulk email program like Mail Chimp or Constant Contact which will make this issue sending out multiple emails a (thankfully) moot point! Anybody out there have any experiences, positive or negative, with either of these programs or any like them? Please feel free to share! 

Any gardeners? You can order certified organic herb and vegetable plants for your garden from our farm by calling Green Thumb Farm at 631-726-1900, 7 days a week, from 9:30 to 4pm, place your order with a credit card and they will be delivered to the CSA.

Can you help solve this mystery!!! Last week at the end of the night when we count what food is left over (if any), it appears we had 1 less bunch of Arugula than we should have, and 1 extra bunch of Cilantro, Swiss Chard and Kale. By any chance, did any of you not want the Cilantro, Swiss Chard and/or Kale and either 1) didn’t take it, and/or 2) took an extra Arugula and then didn’t take the Swiss Chard, Cilatro or Kale as an exchange, or 3) did anyone by accident take an extra bunch of Arugula? Please let me know if you can help solve this mystery.

In the future, if you’re not going to take something, please let someone at the front desk or at one of the tables know. And, the CSA system does not allow for any independent exchanges of substituting one food for another within the CSA share as it will end up with someone not getting the food they paid for (not fair and not nice!  ). Since there are a number of first year members, such a mistake could be perfectly understandable (in the past 15 years, it’s happened before).

Lastly, it’s always a good idea to check your bags before you leave the CSA to make sure that you’ve taken the entire CSA share (some people get home and realize they didn’t take something and unless they realize it before 7:30pm, it’s been donated and is gone), and also check to make sure you haven’t taken more than your share (if little ones are involved, sometimes they put something in a bag that was already taken, and sometimes us grownups make mistakes and take the same thing twice).

This email includes…

1. You can still get an Herb Share!
2. How do you feel about McDonald’s?
3. Mushroom Share anyone?
4. This week’s list (subject to change without notice…farming is like that!)
5. Anyone use a leaf blower on your property? Check this out!
6. Farm Bill debate begins…your voice is needed!
7. Event Listings
8. Did you hear about the all vegetarian school lunch program in NYC?
9. What you actually got last week
10. And now for something completely different…



1. You can still get an Herb Share!

If you see the Herb Share today and it looks appealing…you can still get one! Yes, we do get Herbs as part of our regular share (we’re getting Cilantro today), but for some of us…it’s not enough AND believe it or not, Herbs have higher levels of antioxidants than high antioxidant foods like Blueberries (and Berries in general)!
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=news&dbid=35

We Americans don’t use them enough. If you aren’t going to use what Herbs you have within a week or so, you can freeze or dry them (depending on the Herb). So, if you’re interested in an Herb Share, talk to suzanne about how to jump in, and what the pro-rated cost would be. The price to start on May 23rd will be $70 (for 2 bunches of Herbs twice a month).



2. How do you feel about McDonald’s?

If it’s anything like the way Anna Lappe* feels, check out this website if you want to help stop its predatory marketing to children…
http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/momsnotlovinit

*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Lapp%C3%A9



3. Mushroom Share anyone?

Our first Mushroom Share delivery is going to be on May 23rd . We need to be getting the Mushrooms in 5 lb boxes and we’ve filled our first 5 lb order, and now I’ll be taking names for people interested in the next group. As soon as we get enough people interested, we can figure out when the delivery for the next group will start and how much it will cost. Any questions, just ask!

The same matchmaking service is available if anyone wants to share a Mushroom Share. Are you sharing a share and your share partner doesn’t want Mushrooms? Maybe someone else will share a Mushroom Share with you for the weeks you’re not picking up!

If you know anyone who’d be interested, have them get in touch. You can get a Mushroom Share and not be a CSA member. In fact, one of our Mushroom Share members is Nicole, owner of Sip Tea Lounge in Huntington Village…
http://siptealoungeny.com/
Nicole had joined a CSA for this season before she was aware there were other CSA options in the area, but she heard about our Mushroom Share and couldn’t resist! 

Check out where Dr Weil puts Asian Mushrooms (Shiitakes…and Oysters which we might also get in the share from time to time…are indeed that  ) on his Anti-Inflammatory Diet Pyramid (and click on them too)…
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02995/Dr-Weil-Anti-Inflammatory-Food-Pyramid.html



4. This week’s list (subject to change without notice…farming is like that!)

Week #4
May 16, 2013

1. Arugula – 1 bunch
2. Radishes – 1 bunch
3. Chives – 1 bunch
4. Tat Soi – 1 bunch
5. Beans, Black: dried – 1 bag
6. Kale, Russian: White and/or Red – 1 bunch

Total Items: 6 (?)



5. . Anyone use a leaf blower on your property? Check this out!

CSA member Bonnie Sager (sharing with CSA member Joe & Juanita Wetherell) let me know that using a leaf blower is not good if you want to be practicing organic gardening methods on your lawn and in your garden, AND they’re not good for solar panels!

And Dr. Andrew Weil agrees…
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/ART02059



6. Farm Bill debate begins…your voice is needed!

Click here to take action and tell Congress that the Farm Bill should support healthy farms and food, and not processed foods and industrial agriculture (and let me know if it’s a problem because I acted on it already…I’m clueless as to how these things work!)…
http://www.ucsusa.org/action/

And visit the Union of Concerned Scientists interactive healthy farm graphic…
http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/solutions/advance-sustainable-agriculture/healthy-farm-vision/



7. Event Listings

Wednesday, May 1st to Friday, May 31st

The month of May is the Great American Shake Sale! Donate $2 to Share Our Strength to help end childhood hunger, and get a coupon for a free shake ($5 value) to be used on your next visit. Shake Shack uses Fair Trade and local foods (ex - chocolate from Mast Brothers of Brooklyn), and the building is part solar and was built using green building concepts.
For more info:
www.shakeshack.com


Friday, May 10th to Sunday, May 19th

LI Craft Beer Week
For details…
www.longislandcraftbeerweek.com

It’s a 10 day celebration of the making and drinking of local beer!


Friday, May 17th

5pm to 7pm

East End Food Revolution Day
Bridgehampton School Greenhouse
2685 Montauk Hwy
Bridgehampton

Cooking Demos by Bhavani Jaroff (Slow Food Huntington), Bryan Futerman (Foody’s of Water Mill) and Nadia Ernestus (Hampton’s Health Coach) Music provided by the Bridge Marimba Band. Potluck dinner so bring a fresh, local dish (entrée, side or dessert) to feed 6 to 8 people. Local farmers will be on hand to answer questions about growing vegetables.


Saturday, May 18th

10am to 5pm

Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair
Hallockville Museum Farm
6038 Sound Ave
Riverhead
$5
http://www.hallockville.com/fiber_fair.html

CSA member Patti Edwards will be here at her table with her Rare Sheep Breeds display so she’s unable to attend the CSA meeting today but if you go…say hi!

10am to 6pm

The Seed
82 Mercer St
NYC
$22 to $40
For more info and tickets:
http://theseedexperience.com/

2 days of vegan See.. Eat.. Hear.. FEEL VEGAN. Two days of vegan exploration await you. Nourish your taste buds on scrumptious plant-based food from New York’s famed vegan restaurants – the best in the world! Get inspired by world-renowned speakers, champion athletes, and top chefs. Provoke new thoughts with award-winning films and their directors. Discover the vast market of cruelty-free products and services. And much more.

10:30am to noon

Green Thumb CSA – Huntington Monthly Meeting
Cinema Arts Centre
423 Park Ave
Huntington
RSVP (up till Friday afternoon, May 17th but if you show up unannounced you’ll still be most welcome  )…
Respond to this email or call 631-421-4864

10:30am to 10:45am - Gathering (snacks provided but feel free to add to the table)
10:45am to 11:15am – Strawberries
11:15am to noon – CSA member input on most anything but in particular…how to increase membership and suggestions of how to improve the CSA

11am to 4pm

10th Annual Health & Fitness Fair
Audrey Avenue
Oyster Bay
FREE

Massages, holistic health, kids games…if you go, see if you think there’d be a place for our CSA to table next year and let me know!

As part of this event there will be the 8th Annual Brooke Jackman Run for Literacy (you may see CSA member Bob Buhmann there which is why he can’t make it to the CSA meeting this morning)…
http://brookejackmanfoundation.org/events/

Starting at 9:15am there will be entertainment for kids and this event starts at 9:45am.


Sunday, May 19th

10am to 6pm

The Seed
(see Saturday, May 18th)

11am to 3pm

Delta T4X Pop-Up (from 5/19 to 5/22)
376 Broadway
NYC

Free Shake Shack burger coupons being given out as long as they last!


Monday, May 20th

11am to 3pm

Delta T4X Pop-Up (from 5/19 to 5/22)
376 Broadway
NYC

Free Shake Shack burger coupons being given out as long as they last!


Tuesday, May 21st

11am to 3pm

Delta T4X Pop-Up (from 5/19 to 5/22)
376 Broadway
NYC

Free Shake Shack burger coupons being given out as long as they last!


Wednesday, May 22nd

11am to 3pm

Delta T4X Pop-Up (from 5/19 to 5/22)
376 Broadway
NYC

Free Shake Shack burger coupons being given out as long as they last!

6pm to 8pm

Educated Eater: International Cuisine, Local Ingredients
International Culinary Center
462 Broadway (Grand & Broome)
NYC
FREE (suggested donation $10) but reserved tickets are required
To get tickets:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/382423

This panel discussion and tasting will delve into the stories behind dishes that recall flavors from afar but which re-emerge here in the city, made with ingredients grown in the Northeast. Speakers include Romy Dorotan of Purple Yam, Carl Christian Frederiksen of Aamanns, Hiroko Shimbo, author of Hiroko's American Kitchen, and more. This event is hosted in collaboration with Greenmarkets GrowNYC through Slow Food NYC's Snail of Approval Collaboration series.

Saturday, May 25th to Monday, Sept 2nd

Swedish Culinary Summer
East Hampton
For more info:
www.swedishculinarysummer.com

Swedish cuisine, and worldwide interest in it, has grown exponentially over the last 20 years. Zagat just placed Swedish restaurants in the number two and number three positions in the top ten restaurants in the world and there are three Swedish restaurants on Pellegrino's World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Swedish food is now the darling of media worldwide and especially in the U.S. Swedish Culinary Summer uses food as the universal ambassador to "open the doors" at key charity events in the Hamptons during the summer season: a full summer of top Swedish chefs, food, beverages and consumer goods, plus there will be cooking classes and special dinners available at the Maidstone Hotel.


Saturday, May 25th

2pm to 5pm

March Against Monsanto
1. H Lee Dennison Bldg
Hauppauge
2. Union Square
NYC
For more info:
http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/


Wednesday, May 29th

7pm

Slow Food Huntington
Cinema Arts Centre
423 Park Ave
Huntington
FREE

Attend the first open meeting with the new Board of Directors, meet new people, discuss the issues that are the most important to you, find ways in which you can get involved, and share a delicious meal!



8. Did you hear about the all vegetarian school lunch program in NYC?

In Flushing, Queens, PS244 has an all vegetarian lunch program with organic Tofu, and the students are fine with it.

I would have liked to have seen an organic Salad Bar option along with the rest of the menu but just goes to show you…it can be done!
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/garden_variety_school_lunches_J5vR0TscuZi8QMz71kzNsJ



9. What you actually got last week


Week #3
May 9, 2013

1. Arugula (greenhouse grown) – 1 bunch - $3.00
2. Tat Soi (greenhouse grown) – 1 bunch - $3.00
3. Swiss Chard – 1 bunch - $3.50
4. Scallions – 1 bunch - $2.75
5. Kale: Bor, Red – 1 bunch - $3.50
6. Kale Raab/Rabe: Russian, White (last week) – 1 bunch - $3.50
7. Cilantro – 1 bunch - FREE

Total Items: 7
Total Amount: $19.25 (we pay $17.50 for our weekly CSA share so this week we’ve gotten $1.75 worth of food more than we paid for PLUS a bunch of Cilantro on top of that…so the total extra value we’ve gotten so far this season…is $4.75)

Herb Share
May - Week A

Chives & Oregano



10. And now for something completely different…

Two corn chips in a playground…(spoiler alert…it doesn’t exactly have a happy ending)…
http://vimeo.com/65102146

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