Happy Summer (as of 6:07am J
)!
CSA weather report…warm
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, and feel
free to ask for suggestion/info/recommendations!
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 21, 2018
- Lettuce – 1 head
- Rhubarb* – 1 bunch
- Cress, Curly** – 1 bunch
- Peas, Sugar Snap – ½ lb.
- Tarragon*** – 1 bunch
- Strawberries – 1 pt.
Total Items: 6
*Rhubarb - there is no Veggie Info Sheet so
here’s some info…
The most important thing to know is…do NOT eat the
leaves! They are poisonous so cut them off when preparing them
Can be used in sweet AND savory recipes
Simplest recipe ever…
Rinse off Rhubarb
Cut off any leaves on the one end (cut off ¼” of the stalk
so you have NO leaf bits), cut off ½” off the other end (root end)
Cut the Rhubarb into 1” to 2” pieces
Put in a heavy pot and cover and cook over low heat for
about 10 to 20 minutes. Stir frequently at first till Rhubarb starts producing
its own juice.
When softened, sweeten to taste (common ratio is 1 part
sweetener to 4 parts Rhubarb…can use Honey, Maple Syrup, Sugar…whatever)
Great topping for Oatmeal, Ice Cream, Pancakes…whatever! J
General Rhubarb health info…
Culinary article about Rhubarb…
Rhubarb & Strawberry Yogurt Pops…Rhubarb &
Strawberry Hand Pies…and more…
Martha Stewart Rhubarb recipes both sweet and savory (she’s
got a Rhubarb Chutney recipe and a Rhubarb Salad with Arugula and Goat Cheese)…
Rhubarb & Strawberry recipe in NY Times Food Section…
And I typed in Rhubarb and got great recipes here (thanks to
a CSA member…but I can’t remember who or I’d mention their name…who’s a fan of
Sam Sifton…and am now subscribed to this newsletter like she is…and if you
remember telling me I’d be happy if you’d remind me that you did J )…
**Curly Cress – no Veggie Info Sheet so…
It’s speecy spicy, very good for you, and goes well in small
amounts in any salad, sandwich, wrap for starters…read on…
***Tarragon - no Veggie Info Sheet on Tarragon
so…
The CSA is OUTSIDE this week! It happens on
the 3rd Thursday of every month except July and August. No rain…in
the garden outside the Sky Room Café, rain…under the overhang of the entrance
to the building between the upper parking lot and the entrance to the Cinema
Arts Centre (closer to the stairs to the upper parking lot).
This email includes…
- What you need to know
- Click Activism – changing the world one click at a time
- Events
- What you actually got last week
- And now for something completely different…
1.What you need to know (will be either new info to
first time CSA members, or reminders/old hat to returning CSA members)…
Before you leave the house…BRING BAGS
to pack up your food (CSA members are responsible for packing up their own
shares) – canvas/plastic/paper…bring whatever suits your fancy. The CSA does
NOT provide bags for CSA members.
Time – 3:30pm to 7:30pm
IF you need to pick up later than 7:30pm, call the Cinema
Arts Center Box Office between 3pm to 7:30pm at 631-423-7610 xt. 0 and we can
pack a bag for you and leave it at the Box Office but it MUST be picked up
before the Box Office closes (call the Box Office to check the time…lately it’s
been 9:30pm). If not, it won’t be there on Friday.
Place – Sky Room Café in the Cinema Arts
Centre at 423 Park Ave, Huntington (if otherwise, you’ll be informed…like this
week)
Parking – park in the all the way around at
the back of the building by the day care center (you’ll see a fenced in
playground area with a sandbox)
When you arrive at the CSA –
- Check in at the desk with our friendly CSA worker
- Read the Wall Chart that tells us every week what we’re
getting, how much we’re getting, and what the farm charged us for it…some
weeks it’s take one of everything but SOME WEEKS IT’S NOT!!! So you have
to make sure you read the Wall Chart every week, and not assume anything.
You can also ask your fellow CSA members that are working that day what
the story is for the day (they should have name tags on).
Before you leave the CSA – Make sure you have
everything on the list! If you get to talking with people, have kids with you,
etc., it can be easy to be distracted and if you get home and find out you
don’t have everything that was on the list, you’re out of luck because at
7:31pm the food is donated to a local food organization that’s waiting to pick
it up and get on their way.
I’m sending a 2nd email with the list for the
week and the Veggie Info Sheet attachments that you’ll get because of a)
concern if I send one email with attachments it might end up in junk/spam and
you might not be in the habit of looking for it there yet, and b) modern
communications technology not being all it’s cracked up to be so I’m trying to
hedge my success rate in getting this info out to you.
2.Click Activism – changing the world one click at a time
Ask Governor Cuomo to make NY State a haven for pollinators
by enacting legislation to halt widespread use of bee-toxic pesticides (if you
want to eat, you need bees)…
3.Events…both near and far
Saturday, June 23rd
10:30am, 11:30am OR 12:30pm
Annual CSA Strawberry Pickin’ Farm Tour (rain or shine)
Green Thumb Farm
2 Rose Hill Rd (and Montauk Hwy)
Water Mill
For more info and to RSVP:
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.
4.What you actually got last week
Week #2
- Lettuce:
Oak, Green – 1 head - $3.00
- Scallions
– 1 bunch - $3.50
- Radishes:
French Breakfast OR Red – 1 bunch - $3.00
- Strawberries
– 1 qt. - $7.50
- Lavender
(yes…it’s edible) – 1 bunch - $3.00
Total Items: 5
Total Amount: $20.00
(We pay $20 per week for our CSA share…some weeks we get a
bit more and it adds up over the course of the season. So far that total is
$.25 from the first week which doesn’t sound like much, but…just wait and see!
We seem to always get at least one CSA share’s worth of food every year that we
don’t pay for…some years two, and some between one and two…it’s all good! J )
Flower Share #1
Sweet Williams
Herb Share – June 1A
Chives, Garlic AND Tarragon, French
5.And now for something completely different…
Why doesn’t America have more fun with its food like the
Japan does?
I understand these are basically advertising ploys but our
advertising isn’t as much fun or as silly either…and we don’t champion fruits
or vegetables that aren’t processed to death!
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