Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Thursday, June 29, 2017 Week #5


Happy Summer!

 
Thanks to everyone who responded to today’s shoutout for help this week! We’re good to go…but you can ALWAYS stop by at 3:30pm or 5:30pm to ask if we need any help (people cancel last minute…don’t show up…life happens J ).
 
CSA Alert!

This week the Cinema Arts Centre is having an event with the actor Alan Alda starting at 7:30pm. My guess is that the parking lot is going to start filling up and things are going to get crowded starting at 6:30pm. If you can get to the CSA before 6:30pm, you might be glad you did. If you can’t, you can’t. We’ve experienced other celebrity events on Thursday nights so we’ll basically be fine BUT thought you’d appreciate the heads up.

 Veggie info sheets added this week and as needed. This is the link: Veggie Info Sheets. Print out, put in a notebook, you end up with a cookbook at the end of the CSA season. Also has good tips on storage, prep, and nutrition in addition to the recipes so it pays to read them over.
 
The list…this is a general list and you’ll be sent another email within the next week with the detailed list after I get it (which isn’t till the day of the CSA…the list is subject to change without notice because farming is like that!  J However, most of the time it’s accurate and if it’s not…usually only one food item will be changed)…
CSA words to live by…when trying any new food that you’ve never eaten before…START SLOW!  Read up about it (make sure it doesn’t interfere with any medications you might be taking or any health conditions you might have), see what traditional/conventional ways it’s prepared (cultures that have been eating certain foods for many years basically have a good idea what they’re doing and we can learn from that), try a small portion, see how your body/digestive system reacts, and proceed from there. Then try preparing in different ways and see what you come up with!
 Paraphrased wise words by a nutritionist that I read and don’t remember where I read it or who said it, BUT it’s pretty smart info regarding eating seasonally in our part of the globe…
Spring is all about detoxing (what we get from the CSA at this time is a lot of green things that are really good to help clean us out from whatever we accumulated during the winter)
Interesting piece about spring greens (out of the 14 listed, we get 12 of them with our CSA…watercress nutritionally and botanically similar to Peppercress) and detoxing…
Summer is all about being hydrated (the popular summer foods are all full of water…Tomatoes, Lettuces, Summer Squashes, etc.)
Fall/winter is all about storing energy (we get all the dense vegetables…Sweet Potatoes, Winter Squashes, etc…. that are energy powerhouses to fuel us through the winter) to get you through the winter to make it to…Spring!
 Week #5
June 29, 2017
1.       Lettuce
2.       Peas, Sugar Snap
3.       Cress, Upland*
4.       Swiss Chard
5.       Chives
Total Items: 5
*There is no Veggie Info Sheet for this so here’s some info…
Upland Cress info…
 And more info…
 Upland Cress recipes…
 
 
 This week’s email…

       1.       Events – near and far

2.       Eat Salmon? Check this out…

3.       What you actually got last week

4.       What Dr. Weil thinks we should be eating now…

5.       It’s not all bad news J

6.       And now for something completely different

 

CSA caveat…anything in any of our CSA emails that’s not related directly to the workings of the CSA is an opinion and/or subjective, so please feel free to take it or leave it! J

 

 

1.Events – near and far

 

Friday, August 11th to Sunday, August 13th

 

NOFA Summer Conference

Hampshire College

Amherst, MA

For more info and to register:


 

This is the big magilla event for organic farming/gardening in the northeast. NOFA is the group that certifies farms organic…long before the federal government got involved and I’m sure they would even if the federal organic program disappears. About 1500 people attend from all the NOFA member states (NY, NJ, MA, CT, NH, VT, RI…Main has MOGFA – they have to be different J ). I’ve been to a few and they’re great (lectures, tours, parties, movies and more). The people going range from young hipsters to families with kids of all ages (newborns to skulking teens…and there are workshops for kids – used to be from 5 to teens but not sure this year and the website has no info…I emailed them) to seniors…a general mix of humanity. Food is local, organic and they can feed anyone from vegan to paleo and pretty much anybody in between.

 

 

Sunday, November 5th

 

10am to 6pm

 

NAVEL Expo

Huntington Hilton

598 Broadhollow Rd

Melville

For more info:


 

If you’re interested in alternative/holistic health and healthy living…this is the event for you! Lectures by many well known holistic health doctors and practitioners.

 

 

 

2. Eat Salmon? Check this out…

 

Organic farming could be part of the solution…


 

Eat organic food, there will be more organic farms.

 

 

 

3.What you actually got last week

 

Week #4

June 22, 2017

 

1.       Lettuce: Romaine – 1 head - $3.00

2.       Peas, Snow OR Peas, Sugar Snap – 1 bag (2/3 lb.) - $6.50

3.       Lavender (yes…it’s edible!)* - 1 bunch - $3.00

4.       Radishes: French Breakfast** - 1 bunch - $3.00

5.       Garlic Scapes – 1 bunch - $4.00

 

Total Items: 5

Total Amount: $19.50

(we pay $18.50 per week for our CSA share…some weeks we get a bit more – this week it was $1.00 - and it adds up over the course of the season and so far that total is $3.00…so we usually end up with at least one entire share’s worth of extra produce that our farmer gives us and we didn’t pay for…lucky us! J )

 

Herb Share – June 2B

Dill AND Rosemary

 

*Things to do with Lavender…(1 tsp. dried = 2 tsp. fresh)

Read this first…


 

1. Hang it up in your car and use as organic air freshener

2. Put in vase and smell

3. Make Lavender tea and learn about the health benefits…


4.Make Lavender Mint Iced Tea…


5.Make Lavender infused Lemonade…


6.Make Lavender Shortbread Cookies…


7.Explore further…Lavender Lemon Chicken and Lavender Roasted Potatoes look promising…


 

**3 seasonal recipes…

Radish Avocado Toast

Fennel Sausage Pasta (we will get Fennel at some point)

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (if you go to the farm this weekend you can probably get more Rhubarb to go with your freshly picked Strawberries and make a pie…or another one and freeze it)

Learn how in 3 minutes…


 

And a plethora of more delicious ways to use Radishes both raw and cooked…


 

 

 

4. What Dr. Weil thinks we should be eating now…

 

Dr. Andres Weil’s list of 10 vegetables we should be eating now (or part 1 of it anyway)…

 

Well, our CSA provides all of them BUT Sweet Potatoes aren’t seasonally available till later in the year (same with Cabbage)…and if Onions and Garlic are good, the other members of the Allium family that we get (Leeks, Scallions, Chives) would be under the same category of goodness…


 

 

 

5.It’s not all bad news J

 

Here’s an article rating a few big box stores on organic food…

 

There are coupons for free trial and discounted memberships to BJs on the sign-in desk. While Costco’s might be better for organics, I’m also a fan of the cheap gas at BJs in Farmingdale. Last visit this week was $2.23 per gallon for regular, and if you get a BJ’s credit card you get $.10 off each gallon of gas so that brings it to $2.13…

 


 

 

6.And now for something completely different…

 

Internet troll cakes…huh! J


 

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Thursday, June 22, 2017

Thursday, June 22, 2017 Week #4


Happy Summer (finally)!

 Thanks for all who responded so it looks like we’re covered at the CSA this week! J
 
 New Veggie info sheets (Garlic Greens and Scapes, Lavender & Pea) added this week and as needed. This is the link: Veggie Info Sheets.
 
Free organic Strawberry Picking Farm Tour coming up for CSA members this weekend, June 24th (see below for details).

 
This week’s email…
 
1.       Events – near and far

2.       Are you a supertaster? Or know anyone who is?

3.       What you actually got last week

4.       Have you purchased any home delivery meal kit boxes?

5.       It’s not all bad news J

6.       And now for something completely different
 

CSA caveat…anything in any of our CSA emails that’s not related directly to the workings of the CSA is an opinion and/or subjective, so please feel free to take it or leave it! J

 
1.Events – near and far


Saturday, June 24th

 10:30am/11:30am/12:30am/1:30pm
 

Annual CSA Strawberry Pickin’ Farm Tour (rain or shine)

Green Thumb Farm

2 Rose Hill Rd (and Montauk Hwy)

Water Mill

For more info:

631-726-1900 (call between 9:30am and 4:30pm)

Directions are basically to go past the Green Thumb Farm farm stand (if you’re headed east), make the first right and the first driveway to the right is the path to the farm tour. Park along the road and walk down the path and there should be a sign-in table right there.

 We’re invited to visit our farm twice a year so this is one of them (next one not till October). It’s a one hour walking tour of a small section of the farm (it IS 100 acres) that ends with us getting set loose in the Strawberry patch to pick Strawberries! Everyone that comes is given a quart basket to fill. The event is rain or shine.

 
We also get a 10% discount on everything purchased at the farm stand.

 
It’s for CSA members and immediate family only. If you’re sharing a CSA share, the way people usually work it out is one person/family goes in June and the other takes October, as your share partner isn’t recognized as a CSA member by the farm, but they are with the CSA.

 
Suggestion for somewhere to eat before or after your Green Thumb Farm visit…Bay Burger in Sag Harbor (not far, and everyone I’ve sent there so far has liked it). The unheralded star of this place are the 2 veggie sides (from local farms). They may have local beef, sometimes there’s a grass fed option, TWO veggie options (Black Bean and Falafel) and the best fish sandwich…ever. These people bake their own burger buns. There’s also locally made ice cream from Joe & Liza, and craft local beer. There’s also a separate room if you have younger kids that has kid friendly tv.


 
Friday, August 11th to Sunday, August 13th

NOFA Summer Conference

Hampshire College

Amherst, MA

For more info and to register:


 
This is the big magilla event for organic farming/gardening in the northeast. NOFA is the group that certifies farms organic…long before the federal government got involved and I’m sure they would even if the federal organic program disappears. About 1500 people attend from all the NOFA member states (NY, NJ, MA, CT, NH, VT, RI…Main has MOGFA – they have to be different J ). I’ve been to a few and they’re great (lectures, tours, parties, movies and more). The people going range from young hipsters to families with kids of all ages (newborns to skulking teens…and there are workshops for kids – used to be from 5 to teens but not sure this year and the website has no info…I emailed them) to seniors…a general mix of humanity. Food is local, organic and they can feed anyone from vegan to paleo and pretty much anybody in between.

 
Sunday, November 5th

 10am to 6pm

 NAVEL Expo

Huntington Hilton

598 Broadhollow Rd

Melville

For more info:


If you’re interested in alternative/holistic health and healthy living…this is the event for you! Lectures by many well known holistic health doctors and practitioners.

 
2. Are you a supertaster? Or know anyone who is?


 Even if you are (or know someone who is), try and get those bitter greens and anything you don’t like snuck into your diet by any means necessary so you don’t increase chances for various cancers and other health concerns…



And apparently there’s a nature/nurture component…in Vietnam, mothers rub the juice of Bitter Melon on their babies lips starting at age 6 months to get them used to the bitter taste (most medicinal vegetable on the planet that we get at our CSA)…


 
3.What you actually got last week

 Week #3

June 15, 2017

 1.       Lettuce – 1 head - $3.00

2.       Mint – 1 bunch - $3.00

3.       Sorrel – 1 bunch - $3.00

4.       Strawberries – 1 qt. - $6.50

5.       Cress, Pepper (aka Curly/Garden)* - 1 bunch - $3.00

 Total Items: 5

Total Amount: $18.50

(we pay $18.50 per week for our CSA share…some weeks we get a bit more and it adds up over the course of the season and so far that total is $2.00…so we usually end up with at least one entire share’s worth of extra produce that our farmer gives us and we didn’t pay for…lucky us! J )
 

Flower Share

Week #2

Sweet Williams

 *There is no Veggie Info Sheet for this so here’s some info…

Pepper Cress – tangy/spicy herb that can be used raw in salads, on sandwiches or wraps and you can toss a small amount in at the end of a stir-fry or cooked recipe to give things a bit of a culinary punch


 
Peppercress Aioli…


 
more Peppercress recipes…the Smoothie/Juice and Hummus recipes look pretty good (weights need to be translated as this is from the UK)…


 
more recipes from a place that does Peppercress Sprouts more than growing them in soil outdoors…


 

 Web MD on “garden cress” (basically same as Pepper/Curly Cress)…


 
4. Have you purchased any home delivery meal kit boxes?

 Or thinking about it? Then check this out…


 
5.It’s not all bad news J

 
Australia opens up its first rescued food supermarket to reduce food waste and make fresh food affordable to all…


  
6.And now for something completely different…
 

POTUS in food portraits…


 The spam one is pretty amazing.
###

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Can you help out at the CSA tomorrow, Thurs. 6/22/2017?


Greetings!

 We’re looking for…

One (1) person who can be at the CSA from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

Someone scheduled hasn’t confirmed, so we can’t assume they’re able to show up.
 
If you can help out…

Respond to this email from now to 1pm, Thursday, June 22nd or…

1.       call 631-421-4864 anytime from now till 1pm tomorrow, Thursday, June 22nd or…

2.       call 631-423-7610 ext 0 on Thursday, June 22nd, after 3pm and ask to speak to suzanne

3.       just stop by the CSA before 5:30pm and see if we still need any help

Thanks!
suzanne
631-421-4864

This Saturday 6/24 is the Annual CSA Strawberry Pickin’ Farm Tour (rain or shine)


Saturday, June 24th

 
10:30am/11:30am/12:30am/1:30pm

 Annual CSA Strawberry Pickin’ Farm Tour (rain or shine)

Green Thumb Farm

2 Rose Hill Rd (and Montauk Hwy)

Water Mill

For more info:

631-726-1900 (call between 9:30am and 4:30pm)

Directions: give yourself about 1 ½ hours to get there (you can always check whatever GPS system you use…we’re fans of WAZE), and go past the Green Thumb Farm farm stand (if you’re headed east), make the first right and the first driveway to the right is the path to the farm tour. Park along the road and walk down the path and there should be a check-in table right there.
 
We’re invited to visit our farm twice a year so this is one of them (next one not till October). It’s a one hour walking tour of a small section of the farm (it IS 100 acres) that ends with us getting set loose in the Strawberry patch to pick Strawberries! Everyone that comes is given a quart basket to fill. The event is rain or shine.
 
We also get a 10% discount on everything purchased at the farm stand.
 
It’s for CSA members and immediate family only. If you’re sharing a CSA share, the way people usually work it out is one person/family goes in June and the other takes October, as your share partner isn’t recognized as a CSA member by the farm, but they are with the CSA.

Suggestion for somewhere to eat before or after your Green Thumb Farm visit…Bay Burger in Sag Harbor (not far, and everyone I’ve sent there so far has liked it). The unheralded star of this place are the 2 veggie sides (from local farms). They may have local beef, sometimes there’s a grass fed option, TWO veggie options (Black Bean and Falafel) and the best fish sandwich…ever. These people bake their own burger buns. There’s also locally made ice cream from Joe & Liza, and craft local beer. There’s also a separate room if you have younger kids that has kid friendly tv.

 

I’ll probably also try to make Briermere Farm on the way back to get some more fruit (not organic but IPM so they use the least amount of pesticides possible and they don’t spray any of their berry crops) and maybe something from their bakery (not organic but local).

###

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Thursday, June 15, 2017 Week #3



Happy Spring (not summer till June 21st J )!

Thanks to everyone that responded to the call for help this week, but it now looks like we’re covered. HOWEVER, you can ALWAYS feel free to see if any help is needed as…life happens!

 New Veggie info sheets added this week and as needed. This is the link: Veggie Info Sheets.

CSA alert!!! We’re not in the Sky Room Café this week! We’re being bumped out by the Huntington Folks Music Society (as we are for the 3rd Thursday in September, October and November as well) SO we’ll be in the garden right outside the Sky Room Café. The weather is going to be lovely so we don’t have to run for shelter.
If you’re interested in attending the music event after picking up your CSA share (concert starts at 7:30pm…$10 for Cinema & HFMS member/$15 for General Public) here’s some more info…

CSA June meeting cancelled – was scheduled for this Saturday, June 17th.

Free organic Strawberry Picking Farm Tour coming up for CSA members on June 24th (see below for details).


 
The list…this is a general list and you’ll be sent another email within the next week with the detailed list after I get it (which isn’t till the day of the CSA…the list is subject to change without notice because farming is like that!  J However, most of the time it’s accurate and if it’s not…usually only one food item will be changed)…

CSA words to live by…when trying any new food that you’ve never eaten before…START SLOW!  Read up about it (make sure it doesn’t interfere with any medications you might be taking or any health conditions you might have), see what traditional/conventional ways it’s prepared (cultures that have been eating certain foods for many years basically have a good idea what they’re doing and we can learn from that), try a small portion, see how your body/digestive system reacts, and proceed from there. Then try preparing in different ways and see what you come up with!

Paraphrased wise words by a nutritionist that I read and don’t remember where I read it or who said it, BUT it’s pretty smart info regarding eating seasonally in our part of the globe…
Spring is all about detoxing (what we get from the CSA at this time is a lot of green things that are really good to help clean us out from whatever we accumulated during the winter)
Interesting piece about spring greens (out of the 14 listed, we get 12 of them with our CSA…watercress nutritionally and botanically similar to Peppercress) and detoxing…
Summer is all about being hydrated (the popular summer foods are all full of water…Tomatoes, Lettuces, Summer Squashes, etc.)
Fall/winter is all about storing energy (we get all the dense vegetables…Sweet Potatoes, Winter Squashes, etc…. that are energy powerhouses to fuel us through the winter) to get you through the winter to make it to…Spring!


Week #3
June 15, 2017

1.       Lettuce
2.       Mint
3.       Sorrel
4.       Strawberries
5.       Cress, Pepper (aka Curly/Garden)*

Total Items: 5

Flower Share
Week #2
Sweet Williams

*There is no Veggie Info Sheet for this so here’s some info…
Pepper Cress – tangy/spicy herb that can be used raw in salads, on sandwiches or wraps and you can toss a small amount in at the end of a stir-fry or cooked recipe to give things a bit of a culinary punch

Peppercress Aioli…

more Peppercress recipes…the Smoothie/Juice and Hummus recipes look pretty good (weights need to be translated as this is from the UK)…

more recipes from a place that does Peppercress Sprouts more than growing them in soil outdoors…


Web MD on “garden cress” (basically same as Pepper/Curly Cress)…

Enjoy!



This week’s email…

1.       Events – near and far
2.       Are you a fan of grilling?
3.       What you actually got last week
4.       Jerusalem Artichokes are apparently the new “sexy” vegetable!
5.       And now for something completely different

CSA caveat…anything in any of our CSA emails that’s not related directly to the workings of the CSA is an opinion and/or subjective, so please feel free to take it or leave it! J


1.Events – near and far

Friday, June 14th

3pm to 7pm

Brooklyn Grange Farm Tour & Rooftop Reds Wine Tasting
Brooklyn Navy Yard
Clinton & Flushing Ave
Building #3
Between Williamsburg and Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn
$40 – Slow Food North Shore member/$50 – General Public
To purchase tickets:

Join Slow Food North Shore for an afternoon evening of learning about urban farming, drinking wine and dining on gourmet pizza (vegan option available)!


Saturday, June 17th

5pm to 8pm

Slow Food North Shore Summer Solstice at Restoration Farm
Restoration Farm
140 Old Bethpage-Sweet Hollow Rd.
Old Bethpage
$5 - Slow Food North Shore Members/$10 – General Public
For more info:

Live music by Kenny Brown, light appetizers provided by Rising Tide, it’s a potluck so bring something to feed 8 to 10 people.


Saturday, June 24th

10:30am/11:30am/12:30am/1:30pm

Annual CSA Strawberry Pickin’ Farm Tour (rain or shine)
Green Thumb Farm
2 Rose Hill Rd (and Montauk Hwy)
Water Mill
For more info:
631-726-1900 (call between 9:30am and 4:30pm)
Directions are basically to go past the Green Thumb Farm farm stand (if you’re headed east), make the first right and the first driveway to the right is the path to the farm tour. Park along the road and walk down the path and there should be a sign-in table right there.

We’re invited to visit our farm twice a year so this is one of them (next one not till October). It’s a one hour walking tour of a small section of the farm (it IS 100 acres) that ends with us getting set loose in the Strawberry patch to pick Strawberries! Everyone that comes is given a quart basket to fill. The event is rain or shine.

We also get a 10% discount on everything purchased at the farm stand.

It’s for CSA members and immediate family only. If you’re sharing a CSA share, the way people usually work it out is one person/family goes in June and the other takes October, as your share partner isn’t recognized as a CSA member by the farm, but they are with the CSA.

Suggestion for somewhere to eat before or after your Green Thumb Farm visit…Bay Burger in Sag Harbor (not far, and everyone I’ve sent there so far has liked it). The unheralded star of this place are the 2 veggie sides (from local farms). They may have local beef, sometimes there’s a grass fed option, TWO veggie options (Black Bean and Falafel) and the best fish sandwich…ever. These people bake their own burger buns. There’s also locally made ice cream from Joe & Liza, and craft local beer. There’s also a separate room if you have younger kids that has kid friendly tv.


Friday, August 11th to Sunday, August 13th

NOFA Summer Conference
Hampshire College
Amherst, MA
For more info and to register:

This is the big magilla event for organic farming/gardening in the northeast. NOFA is the group that certifies farms organic…long before the federal government got involved and I’m sure they would even if the federal organic program disappears. About 1500 people attend from all the NOFA member states (NY, NJ, MA, CT, NH, VT, RI…Main has MOGFA – they have to be different J ). I’ve been to a few and they’re great (lectures, tours, parties, movies and more). The people going range from young hipsters to families with kids of all ages (newborns to skulking teens…and there are workshops for kids – used to be from 5 to teens but not sure this year and the website has no info…I emailed them) to seniors…a general mix of humanity. Food is local, organic and they can feed anyone from vegan to paleo and pretty much anybody in between.


Sunday, November 5th

10am to 6pm

NAVEL Expo
Huntington Hilton
598 Broadhollow Rd
Melville
For more info:

If you’re interested in alternative/holistic health and healthy living…this is the event for you! Lectures by many well known holistic health doctors and practitioners.



2.Are you a fan of grilling?

How NOT to grill this summer (or any time of the year J )…

These folks (or anyone really) might have been helped by reading this…



3.What you actually got last week

Week #2
June 8, 2017

1.       Lettuce: Leaf, Red OR Boston, Red – 1 head - $3.00
2.       Rhubarb – 1 bunch - $4.00
3.       Arugula Flowers – 1 bunch - $2.50
4.       Strawberries – 1 qt. - $6.50
5.       Radishes: French Breakfast OR Red – 1 bunch - $3.25

Flower Share
Week #1
Peonies

Herb Share – June 1A
Chives AND Mint

Total Items: 5
Total Amount: $19.25 (this is $.75 over what we pay for our CSA Share… which is $18.50 per week…and it adds up over the course of the season…so far the total is $2.00…so we usually end up with at least one entire share’s worth of extra produce that our farmer just gives us and we didn’t pay for and don’t have to pay for…lucky us! J )



4.Jerusalem Artichokes are apparently the new “sexy” vegetable!

Got any left in the fridge? I do and they’re doing fine. All things in moderation…and as always, if it’s a new food to your diet…START SLOW!!!



5.And now for something completely different…

Not sure what this person is using for this as far as possible artificial coloring, etc., but it looks pretty cool…

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