Happy Autumn!
The CSA hours are from 3:30pm to 7:30pm (and if pre-arranged a pre-packed CSA Share can be picked up at the Box Office from 7:30pm till 10pm). There seems to be some confusion about this as some folks are showing up anywhere from 2:30pm onwards, and think it ends ???
CSA Mystery!!!
No one ever contacted us so it was never solved (3 missing heads of Lettuce I THINK was due to people taking one of everything that looked different, and not reading the CSA Wall Chart and following the directions), but we (everyone working at the CSA) will keep more of an eye on things to try and make sure the veg shortage doesn’t happen again.
CSA Weather report…71 and sunny till the sun sets at 6:30pm when the temp drops to the low 60s (your car is warmer than it is outside so still not ideal for leaving CSA food in it to keep it at its happiest)!
SAVE THE DATE…Saturday, October 22nd is the last time we’ll be able to visit our farm this year and get a behind the scenes tour! See Events Listings below for details (more to come).
Keep in mind…any time you try a food you’ve never eaten before…
1. Do some reading about what it is, and find out if there are medical contraindications if you’re on medication or have health issues
2. Eat a single serving size and give it 24 hours to see how your body reacts (some might be fine, a lot might not)
3. When in doubt how to cook something, look to the countries that have been using it for decades/centuries, and see what they do and don’t do
4. Any questions, don’t hesitate to ask
What happens if you don’t get any CSA emails and Thursday rolls around and it’s time to go to the CSA? GO ANYWAY! There have been times over the years when various things have prevented a CSA email from being sent…computers, storms, health emergencies, etc. However, the thing to do is to come to the Cinema and in all probability, your CSA share will be there (unless there’s weather that’s so treacherous travel would be extremely ill-advised and even then, the farm will show up and drive from Water Mill to Huntington before some CSA members would drive from Huntington…to Huntington). And if not (which I doubt…there was only one snowstorm where the farm showed up on Friday instead of Thursday because no one could drive anywhere), there would be a sign on the door saying something, or you could call me (though with Hurricane Sandy, even my land line was down because of the Verizon battery it’s hooked up to….grrrrrrr…I need to get that detached so I can get phone calls during those times when the power goes out).
Parking suggestion…try parking all the way around the building in the upper parking lot where the day care center play area is. You hopefully will find a spot, and it’s a short walk down the stairs to the entrance from there, and most people don’t seem to think of parking up there. If you park illegally you can get a parking ticket, it does happen!
If you are going to show up at the CSA later than 7:30pm, but before the Box Office is closing for the night (can be different every week but 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 (do NOT leave a message to be given to the CSA because there have been occasions where we didn’t get the message and someone showed up to get their food and was not happy their food wasn’t there) 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 being attracted to our wonderful CSA food.
If you’re sharing a CSA share with someone…it’s possible they’re not on this email list yet (if not email me their full name and email address…or have them do it), so check with them and then forward this if they didn’t get it (and always check the junk/spam folder).
*Keep in mind that anything you read in this email (unless it’s directly related to the functioning and operation of the CSA) is subjective and like they say in the 12 step world…take what you like and leave the rest!
This week’s email includes…
1. The CSA doesn’t need you this week (but I’m sure we will soon enough )
2. CSA 101 – Bring Bags!!!
3. Some options for what to do if you have extra produce
4. We started weighing our produce…not rocket science but there are things to be mindful of!!!
5. Delete to help feed the hungry!
6. The List- subject to change without notice because…farming is like that
7. Event Listings…both near and far
8. It’s not all bad news…
9. What you actually got last week
10. And now for something completely different…
1. The CSA doesn’t need you this week (but I’m sure we will soon enough)
We’re talking about working at the CSA, and we have the help we need for this week. Whoo-hoo!
If you didn’t already get an email from Rene 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 AND you confirmed it with them, you’re not on the schedule for this week.
HOWEVER, 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 (as that thing called life happens).
2.CSA 101…Bring Bags!
CSA basic, for this CSA anyway, is that you need to bring your own supply of bags for packing up your CSA share every week from now till December 8th!
So, my suggestion…put bags that you’re setting aside for your CSA share in EVERY vehicle you own or might ride in! J 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.
And if you send someone to pick up your CSA share for you, you need to tell them to…BRING BAGS!
3.Some options for what to do if you have extra produce…
We’re talking from your garden, our CSA, or an overenthusiastic trip to a local farm or greenmarket…
4.We started weighing our produce…not rocket science but there are things to be mindful of!!!
It’s time to weigh our food!
A. Please be aware that it may take a little more time for you to collect your CSA share when weighing is part of the experience so plan accordingly.
B. Check the CSA Wall Chart that our farmer brings in every week before taking any food so you know what you’re taking and how much to take…assume nothing and please feel free to ask questions!
C. Bring your reading glasses or ask someone to help if you can’t see the numbers on the scale clearly.
D. PLEASE DO NOT GO OVER THE AMOUNT STATED on the Wall Chart.
Please err on the under side of the weight posted…NEVER over. It may not seem like much to you, but we have 56 CSA members this week, and if every person is over by ONE OUNCE (for crying out loud! It’s only an ounce!!!) …that means we’ll be short over 4 1/2 POUNDS of produce and 5 CSA members (and one of them could be you) won’t get the food they paid for.
E. IF you are asked to weigh more than one food item at the same time (and you probably will at some point in the CSA season)…please follow the directions given to you, and weigh in the order you are asked (you might not think there’s any good reason to be doing this but our farmer does, and that should be enough of a reason right there but if you want a further explanation – ask someone working at the CSA or contact suzanne…there is always a method to the madness)
5.Delete to help feed the hungry!
What’s this?
Land O’ Lakes is donating to Feed America for deleting your Instagram food pix through mid-October…
6.The List - subject to change without notice because…farming is like that!
October 6, 2016
Week #19
1.Pak Choi – 1 bunch (use the Bok Choi veg info sheet)
2.Tomatoes, Mini
3.Lettuce – 1 head
4.Squash, Winter: Carnival
5.Beets (if there’s greens on top…cook them the same you would as Kale/Collard Greens/Mustard Greens, or use sparingly in juice/smoothie)
6.Radishes (if there’s greens and they’re not really prickly, stir fry them as you would Spinach, or use sparingly in juice/smoothie)
Total Items: 6
7.Event Listings…both near and far
Thursday, October 6th
10am to 11am
iEat Green online radio show with Bhavani Jaroff
888-874-4888 (to call in during the live show with questions)
And if you miss it, you can listen in the archives.
Friday, October 7th
7pm to 10pm
Food and Film Feast
Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock
48 Shelter Rock Rd.
Manhasset
$40 ($30 if member of Slow Food North Shore or UU Shelter Rock Women’s Group)
For more info and to buy tickets:
Sharyn…
(516) 472-2960
Bhavani Jharoff…
This event feature 6 short films, speakers with each film, and something to eat that has something to do with each film (can check out the menu on the website…there are vegan/gluten free options). The food is being prepared by Bhavani Jharoff of iEat Green (and the founder and head of Slow Food North Shore).
Friday, October 14th to Sunday, October 16th
The Truth about Cancer (online conference)
FREE
To register…
Speakers include Dr. Josh Axe, Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, Dr. Joseph Mercola, Dr. Jonathan Wright, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Jeffrey Smith (GMO expert) and a LOT more.
Thursday, Oct 20th to Sun, Oct 23rd
10th Annual Food Film Festival
AMC Empire 25
234 W 42nd St.
NYC
$60 to $316
For more info and to buy tickets:
Saturday, October 22nd
CSA Pumpkin Picking Hay Ride Tour!
Green Thumb Farm
Water Mill
FREE
Details TBA
Saturday, October 29th and Sunday, October 30th
Saturday - 10am to 6pm/Sunday - 9am to 8pm (exhibit hall 10am to 6pm)
NAVEL Expo
Huntington Hilton
598 Broadhollow Rd (Rt 110)
Melville
$20 (covers admission for both days) or FREE (free tickets may or may not still be available at the Vitamin Shoppe across from the Whitman Mall or at Wild by Nature)
For more info, to see a copy of the lecture schedule, and to purchase tickets:
Featured speaker Kat James and MANY lectures about holistic health and healing, and an exhibit hall with things to eat, massages, all sorts of cool stuff.
Friday, Nov 4th and Saturday, Nov 5th
2016 WFAN (Women Food & Agriculture Network) Annual Conference
Lied Lodge and Conference Center
Nebraska City,NE
$80 – Student/beginning Farmer/$100 General Public (plus food/lodging and optional events)
For more info and to register…
Keynote speaker is Karryn Olson-Ramanujum, permaculture educator and teacher at Ithaca College, NY (co-founder of the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute in NY).
Saturday, November 12th
12pm to 5pm (optional health screening starts at 8am)
Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Breast Cancer Seminar
Hunterdon Central High School
84 Rt 31
Flemington, NJ
$59.95 (plus $29.95 if interested in optional non-invasive health screening)
To register and for more info…
Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s slant is vegan and calls his diet…nutritarian. Author of the book, Eat to Live, and many others.
8.It’s not all bad news…
I know if you’re a vegetarian this is bad news too but for everyone else, NYC school system serves Hamburgers from local beef…
Small step in a positive direction if you’re going to eat/serve meat…if not organic, I wonder if it’s at least grass fed?
9.What you actually got last week (not always what was in the email the week before because farming is like that regarding occasional last minute changes)
September 29, 2016
Week #18
1.Mizuna – 1 bunch - $3.00
2.Tomatoes: Red, Yellow, Red Paste/Plum/Roma (different names for the same thing) – up to 2 lbs. - $6.25
3.Lettuce: Leaf, Green – 1 head - $3.00
4.Squash, Winter: Delicata – 2 - $3.00
5.Beans, Soy – 2/3 lb. bag - $4.00
Total Items: 5
Total Amount: $19.25
(Since we pay $18.50 per week for our CSA share, this week we got $.75 more than we paid…SO, that means at the moment our farmer has given us $17 more than we paid for up to this point. Over the course of the CSA year…and over the years…we have gotten at least one, and sometimes up to two, share’s worth of food that we didn’t pay for…so keep reading this and see how it plays out from week to week)
10.And now for something completely different…
Micro Steak and Potatoes…I don’t know ‘bout you, but I find these videos pretty amazing & amusing (and I bet kids might like them as I used to like anything small when I was a smaller/shorter person J )…
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