Week #21 Oct. 22, 2015

Happy Autumn, Breast Cancer Awareness & Farm to School Month!

CSA Weather Report…warm with a possible evening shower.

CSA Basics 101 –
Please read the Wall Chart that the farmer brings in every week, follow the direction on the Wall Chart, and it’s not a bad idea to refer to it before you leave the CSA to make sure you haven’t taken too much OR too little before you leave the CSA.
I can’t tell you how many times I have left the CSA, gotten home, and realized I THOUGHT I took everything in the share for the week, didn’t, and it’s too late to do anything about it as anything left over at the end of the night is donated and gone at 7:31pm (unless prior arrangements have been made by CSA members for late pickups).

If you are going to show up at the CSA later than 7:30pm, but before the Box Office is closing for the night (may be different every week but will probably be open till at least 10pm) and it’s the last minute and you’re running late…call the Cinema Arts Centre Box Office at 631-423-7610 xt 0 and ask them to transfer the call to the café so we can pack a bag for you, put your name on it and leave it at the Box Office. If you don’t get to the Cinema before the Box Office closes, your food will NOT be there the next day. The Cinema is under no obligation to store your food, and we don’t want to be the cause of bugs in the Cinema Arts Centre being attracted to our wonderful CSA food.

This email contains (and keep in mind as far as any info/opinions that are not directly CSA related, you can always take what you like and leave the rest  )…

1.We bag our own!
2.We don’t need your help this week but…
3.This week’s list…occasionally subject to change without prior notice because farming is like that!
4.Click here and help change the world…every click counts!
5.You can help save the world by…not eating/buying Pine Nuts unless they’re grown in the USA (don’t worry…you can still make Pesto)…
6.Events (things to do both near and far) – had to be eliminated from this email because big brother thinks it’s spam…I’m SO not kidding
7.Local food news…
8. What you actually got last week
9.Give yourself a BIG pat on the back for being a parent/grandparent/child caretaker and being a CSA member, since fast food is bad for kid’s bones and more CSA food means less (if not no) fast food…
10.And now for something completely different…


1.We bag our own

CSA basic, for this CSA anyways, is that you need to bring your own supply of bags for packing up your CSA share every week from now till December 10th!

And if you ask anyone to pick up your CSA food for you, please let them know that they need to bring bags to pack the food in.

So, my suggestion…put bags that you’re setting aside for your CSA share in EVERY vehicle you own or might ride in!  Put them in the trunk, or the glove compartment, or in a bigger bag somewhere in the car, or whatever you think will work for your situation. That way, you don’t even have to remember, they’re just there.

The CSA is under no obligation to provide you with bags for your food.

I also recommend a selection of canvas, paper and plastic. I bag my CSA share up in my paper (Strawberries) and plastic bags (most everything else) and put it in my bigger canvas bag so when I get home, everything’s pretty much (with some exceptions…like herbs) ready to be put right into the fridge.



2.We don’t need your help this week but…

You can always show up a little before 3:30pm or 5:30pm and offer to help out just in case someone doesn’t show up (stuff happens  ).

If you didn’t already get an email from Hayley or/and suzanne talking to you about being at the CSA on the Early Shift (3:30pm to 5:30pm) or the Late Shift (5:30pm to 7:30pm) this week, you’re not on the schedule for this week.



3.This week’s list…occasionally subject to change without prior notice because farming is like that!

CSA #101 – The Basics – when trying any new food item, start small and start slow. See how your body and palate reacts. And if you aren’t crazy about the taste, texture, smell, something…try at least SIX completely different ways of preparing it before you give it the heave-ho (raw, steamed, stir-fried, fried …maybe not so healthy but ANYTHING usually tastes good fried, in a salad, in a soup, in a sandwich, in a stew, in a smoothie, and on and on)!  Am glad to provide suggestions for this one.

October 22, 2015
Week #21

1.Squash, Winter*
2.Kale
3.Sweet Potatoes
4.Pak Choi (cook like Bok Choi so you have the Bok Choi Veg Info Sheet)
5.Cilantro
6.Peppers, Sweet
7.Beans, Snap (think String Beans)

Total Items: 7

Herb Share – Oct 2B
Mint AND Summer Savory

*
Butternut, Acorn and Spaghetti…
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/values-matter/kitchen-hack-how-cut-winter-squash?os_ehash=1b42631884e3df4b3816ca2272128ff6&utm_source=NE&utm_medium=email&utm_term=JER&utm_content=&utm_campaign=2015_10_07_Weekly_Newsletter

Being the Lazy Gourmet (I should write a book, shouldn’t I?), with the Butternut, I cut off the ends, cut the bottom part from the top part, cut the top section in ½ circles and put the circles on a baking sheet with Olive Oil/salt/pepper and roast till done (and eat the skin if it’s tender enough), cut the bottom half in half to scoop out the seeds and either cut in half in half moons and cook like the top bits or roast either cut side up or down with Olive Oil/Salt/Pepper till tender (unless I’m going to fill the halves with something and cook them cut side up…and if I do that I may cut a piece off the bottom so it will sit flat on the baking sheet).

Most of the skins of Winter Squash are edible IF YOU COOK THEM TILL THEY ARE TENDER. If it’s like eating the cover of a paperback book, don’t bother eating and put in your compost pile (or consider starting one). This article doesn’t recommend eating Kabocha Squash skin…
http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/article/acorn-squash

Nice article on Winter Squash…
http://whatscookingamerica.net/squash.htm
http://www.epicurious.com/archive/seasonalcooking/farmtotable/visual-guide-winter-squash

To eat the skin or not…
http://www.chowhound.com/post/winter-squashes-wrong-eat-skins-570018?page=1



4. Click here and help change the world…every click counts!

A.Call on Congress to support the Farm to School Act of 2015 to get more locally grown food into the school lunch system…
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5735/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=10969

B.McTeachers night??? Teachers work at a McDonalds and sell Big Macs, etc., to their students and parents as a fundraiser.

If you don’t think this is a good idea…click here…
http://act.stopcorporateabuse.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18559



5.You can help save the world by…not eating/buying Pine Nuts unless they’re grown in the USA (don’t worry…you can still make Pesto since you can use other nuts)…

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/19/opinion/making-pesto-hold-the-pine-nuts.html?_r=0

And a list of who was selling “Pine Nuts” from China that were the cause of Pine Nut Syndrome…scroll down for the United States (PNS…eat these and taste metal for a week or so…UGH!!!)…
https://pinenutsyndrome.wordpress.com/wherefrom/

Sources for American grown Pine Nuts…
Not certified organic but sounds ok (and not cheap either…if people are interested I’m sure you can get a few people from the CSA to split an order)…
http://shop.pinenutusa.com/

Have American and non…no mention of organic anything…
http://www.pinenut.com/pine-nuts-sale/buy-pinon-pinenuts-shell.shtml

Almost seems like the same company as above but no time to investigate…
http://www.americanpinenuts.com/



6.Events (things to do both near and far) - had to be eliminated from this email because big brother thinks it’s spam…I’m SO not kidding



7. Local food news…

A.The Purple Elephant in Northport has a new lunch special…
Tuesday to Friday
Noon to 4pm
½ Sandwich or Wrap, plus Soup or Salad (lunch menu options only) for $10
Gluten Free bread/wrap option costs extra

B.Watch the video…this is excellent…
http://chipotle.com/boorito

Halloween means it’s Boorito time at Chipotle. After 5pm on Halloween, visit a Chipotle in costume, but add something unnecessary to your costume and score a Boorito for $3.00!



8.What you actually got last week

October 15, 2015
Week #20

1.Tomatoes, Mini: Cherry, Red OR Grape, Yellow – 1 pt - $4.75
2.Lettuce: Crisp, Red OR Frisee* – 1 head - $3.00
3.Sweet Potatoes – 2 lbs - $4.75
4.Turnips, White Purple Top – 1 bunch - $3.50
5.Sorrel – 1 bunch - $2.75

Total Items: 5
Total Amount: $18.75
We pay $18.50 per week for the food the farmer is giving us, and this week he’s given us $.25 more than we paid for. Doesn’t sound like much but see how every little bit extra he gives us adds up over the course of the 28 weeks! So far it’s $19.45 total extra (that’s one extra CSA share’s worth of food that we didn’t pay for…yeah!  ).

*Frisee is a member of the Endive family so you have the Endive Veg Info Sheet if you’ve chosen this type of Lettuce



9. Give yourself a BIG pat on the back for being a parent/grandparent/child caretaker and being a CSA member, since fast food is bad for kid’s bones and more CSA food means less (if not no) fast food…

One third of American children are eating fast food every single day!
http://www.grubstreet.com/2015/10/fast-food-bad-for-kids-bones.html?om_rid=AADNgX&om_mid=_BWJTaqB9GuDfL3



10.And now for something completely different…

The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra…seriously!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwOXFOTagSE

Turns out there’s a version of this at the Waldorf School in Garden City inspired by this group!

And here’s their website…
http://www.vegetableorchestra.org/index.php

Concerned about food waste? They wash the produce, make soup, and feed the concert attendees after the show!

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