Thursday, June 28, 2018

Thursday, June 28, 2018 Week #4 Happy Summer!


Happy Summer!

CSA weather report…warm, breezy, humid (it’s summer J )

This email includes…

  1. What you need to know
  2. Click Activism – changing the world one click at a time
  3. Events
  4. What you actually got last week
  5. Contest
  6. And now for something completely different…
 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 #4
June 28, 2018

  1. Lettuce – 1 head
  2. Peas, Snow  – ¾ lb.
  3. Greens, Mustard* – 1 bunch
  4. Peas, Sugar Snap – ½ lb.
  5. Dill** – 1 bunch

Total Items: 5

Flower Share - #2
Yarrow

Herb Share – June 2B
Marjoram AND Savory, Summer

*On the list of the world’s 100 healthiest foods…

** On the list of the world’s 100 healthiest foods…


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 houseBRING 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
  1. Check in at the desk with our friendly CSA worker
  2. 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.

Veggie info sheets added as needed. This is the link to the: Veggie Info Sheets. Print out, put in a notebook and you end up with a cookbook at the end of the CSA season. Also there are good tips on storage, prep, and nutrition.

  
2.Click Activism – changing the world one click at a time

  1. Demand that Amazon reject unlabeled GMO Apple snacks…

  1. Tell your Senators and Representatives to protect organic standards in the upcoming Farm Bill, and protect the environment (next one isn’t for another FIVE years!)…


 3.Events…both near and far

Monday, June 25th to Sunday, July 1st

The Toxic Home Transformation Summit
Online conference
FREE
To sign up…

If you’re eating organic and your home has got  toxins in it (hmmmm…does it? Or doesn’t it?) you might want to get rid of them. Where to start? Check out this free online summit.

You also have the option of purchasing access to all the online lectures (hard to keep up with the amount of information being given in a relatively short amount of time). The most well-known participant, if you keep up with the world of alternative medicine and environmentally healthy living, is Dr. Joseph Mercola. Topics covered range from green cleaning products and green dry cleaning, keeping your kids and pets toxin free, to non-toxic building materials and mold, and much more.


Thursday, June 28th

7:30pm

Riverblue (speakers and reception)
Cinema Arts Centre
423 Park Ave
Huntington
For more info and to buy tickets…

If you didn’t make it to our first CSA Culinary Extravaganza, you probably didn’t get to see author Beth Fiteni at Book Revue with her book about organic/green/eco clothing, The Green Wardrobe Guide. HOWEVER, tonight she’ll be speaking with the film Riverblue about the ecological consequences of wearing and buying non-organic bluejeans. Her thought is…if we’re eating organic, when are we going to start wearing organic. Also speaking will be someone from the NYC Fair Trade Coalition. Food for thought…


Saturday, June 30th

10:30am, 11:30am OR 12:30pm

Rescheduled Annual CSA Strawberry Pickin’ Farm Tour (rain or shine)
Green Thumb Farm
2 Rose Hill Rd (just south of 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 #3
June 21, 2018

  1. Lettuce: Crisp, Red OR Leaf, Red – 1 head - $3.25
  2. Rhubarb* – 1 bunch - $3.75
  3. Cress, Curly** – 1 bunch - $3.25
  4. Peas, Sugar Snap – ½ lb. - $3.50
  5. Tarragon*** – 1 bunch - $3.50
  6. Strawberries – 1 pt. - $3.50
 Total Items: 6
Total Amount: $20.25
(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. This week we got an extra $.25…whoo-hoo J ! So far that total is $.50 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 )

*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…


  
5.Contest

Like Beer?

Enter to win 2 VIP tickets to Edible Manhattan’s Good Beer event being held in Manhattan on July 19th…

  
6.And now for something completely different…

What if these showed up on your table at a restaurant after you ordered dessert? J

###