Thursday, September 27, 2018

Thursday, September 27, 2018 Week #17


Happy Autumn, and Happy Organic Harvest Month!

CSA Farm Tour date changed to October 27th (see below under Events) and the farm is now taking RSVPs.

Celebrate Organic Harvest Month!
You already are by being a CSA member of Green Thumb Farm (they’re certified organic by NOFA-NY), but there are some other suggestions. And if you have a Flower Share you’ve already ticked off TWO of the five suggested ways to celebrate…
Another suggestion is that you say “thank you” to an organic farmer and while you can’t do that to your CSA farmers this month (even if you stop by the farm stand they’ll be out working in the fields), you can in October if you come along to our CSA Pumpkin Picking Farm Tour! Our farmers really appreciate meeting the people who appreciate how they spend their lives (it’s more than a job to their immediate and extended family…and all the workers at the farm are considered extended family members).

CSA weather report…mid to upper 60s and possible rain around 7pm-ish (don’t leave your CSA food in the car for an extended period of time…still too warm)

HURRICANE ALERT!
We’re not having a hurricane YET but please read this now…
This is hurricane season and will be followed by the possibility of snow and ice before the CSA ends for the season. So, please be aware…
  1. If you don’t get any emails on any given week, show up to the CSA at the usual time and place, and if you’re able…show up to offer to work at 3:30pm or 5:30pm in case there’s a need. The reasons for non-communication could be A) computer problems (storm or no), B) power outages, and C) the X factor (unknown at the present time but…stuff happens).
  2. Keep in mind that the farm will show up and deliver food like the post office talks about the weather…rain, sleet, etc., so your CSA share will be at the Cinema Arts Centre waiting for you, unless there’s several feet of snow (or a serious ice storm or flooding) and no one is able to go anywhere. We’ve had food delivered during Hurricane Sandy, and during snowstorms.
 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!

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.

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 #17
September 27, 2018

  1. Tomatoes, Mini* - 1 pt.
  2. Radishes – 1 bunch
  3. Onions**
  4. Fennel*** – 1 bunch
  5. Peppers, Sweet
  6. Squash, Winter: Acorn**** - 1

Total Items: 6

Herb Share – Sept 2B
Cilantro AND Thyme

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

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

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

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



DO NOT LEAVE MESSAGES FOR THE CSA WITH THE CINEMA BOX OFFICE STAFF!!! We don’t always get the messages…at all (people forget…and it’s not their job), and the Box Office staff doesn’t always give correct info. Ask to be transferred to the Café to speak to someone at the CSA. If not, the CSA will not be responsible if your food isn’t left at the Box Office to be picked up, or for anything else you might have wanted to communicate to the CSA staff.

This email includes…

  1. What you need to know
  2. It’s time to weigh our CSA food!!!
  3. Eat Winter Squash and live longer!
  4. Click Activism – changing the world one click at a time
  5. Radish Recipe
  6. Events…both near and far
  7. Herb (and Tea) suggestions by Dr. Mercola…how to store and use…
  8. What you actually got last week
  9. And now for something completely different…

Anything in these emails not directly related to the functioning of the CSA feel free to take or leave at your discretion, and anything related to health issues always consult with your physicians before taking any actions.


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. If someone is picking up food for you, please remind them to bring bags with them.
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 (make sure to ask to speak to someone at the CSA) 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 somewhere between 10pm and 11pm). 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)
Parking – park in the lot 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 sign-in desk
  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 at the CSA that day what the story is (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 get distracted, but if you arrive 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.

We send 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 trying to hedge success rate in getting info out to you.

  
2.It’s time to weigh our CSA food!

  1. 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.

  1. 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!

  1. Bring your reading glasses or ask someone to help if you can’t see the numbers on the scale clearly.

  1. 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 42 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 2 1/2 POUNDS of produce and 1 or 2 CSA members (and one of them could be you) won’t get the food they paid for.

  1. 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 J )

 3.Eat Winter Squash and live longer!

Apparently, Winter Squashes are part of most every “Blue Zone” diet.

Know what Blue Zones are? Places in the world where people live the longest and the healthiest!

These recipes below talk about “Pumpkin” but all Pumpkins are is a variety of Winter Squash and just like Summer Squash, there’s a mantra - Squash…is Squash! Meaning…you can probably manage to substitute most any Winter Squash for any other Winter Squash in a recipe (within reason…you can always ask me for advice on this one)…

Here’s the general Blue Zone diet guidelines…


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

Tell your Representatives and Senators to urge Agricultural Secretary Perdue to keep the research programs of the USDA in place, and stop the cuts and reorganization…

  
5.Radish Recipe

Don’t have Persian Cucumbers, any will do…

  
6.Events…both near and far

Thursday, September 27th

10am to 11am

iEat Green with Bhavani online radio show
Progressive Radio Network

Always interesting guests. You can also check out the archives for other shows.

 Saturday, October 27th

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

Annual CSA Pumpkin Picking Farm Tour
Green Thumb Farm
Water Mill
FREE
Call to RSVP:
631-726-1900 (M to Su 9:30am to 4:30pm)

This tour is for CSA members and immediate family only (sorry, but if you share a CSA share with someone, only the person listed on the contract is a CSA member…however, if the CSA member isn’t coming, you can show up and use their name to RSVP). Last time to get a behind the scenes tour of our farm and talk to our farmers (Got a garden? Got questions? These are the guys to ask J ).

This is a hayride tour of a different section of the farm than we toured in June during Strawberry picking.

Also, there’s usually a discount at the farm stand for those attending the farm tour (will check on that).

 Saturday, November 3rd

8am to 5pm

LI Food Conference: Food as a Solution
LIU Post
Northern Blvd.
Brookville
$30 (before 10/22)/$40 (starting 10/22)/$15 Student (ID required)/FREE – students of LIU Post students…online registration required
To buy tickets…

A project of the Long Island Food Coalition (connected to the North Shore Land Alliance). Scheduled speakers include Frances Moore Lappe (author of the classic Diet for a Small Planet), Sally Fallon (author of the classic Nourishing Traditions), and celebrity chef/food activist Tom Colicchio. Breakfast and lunch are included in the price of the ticket. Other groups involved in the conference are the North Shore Land Alliance, Sierra Club, LIU, Long Island Cares, Slow Food and iEat Green.

  
7.Herb (and Tea) suggestions by Dr. Mercola…how to store and use…

We get most of the herbs mentioned in this article in our CSA Herb Share (and some in the regular CSA share too)…

  
8.What you actually got last week

Week #16
September 20, 2018

  1. Lettuce: Escarole – 1 head - $3.50
  2. Okra: Green and Red mix – ½ lb. bag - $3.00
  3. Beans: Soy* - 2/3 lb. bag - $5.00
  4. Tomatoes: Red and/or Paste/Plum/Roma - Yellow** - up to 2 lbs. - $5.25
  5. Beans: Black-eyed Peas*** - ½ lb. bag - $2.50
  6. Squash, Winter: Acorn**** - 1 - $2.50

Total Items: 6
Total Amount: $21.75
(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 $1.75 So far that total is $16.50 which may not 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 )

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

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

***No Veggie Info Sheet so here’s some info…
Keep in mind any recipe using dried Beans is going to tell you to cook them longer than if the recipe was for fresh Beans!!! I’d start checking at 30 minutes, 45 minutes and an hour to check when done…then it just depends on how you like your black-eyed peas…firm, soft, or mushy…

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


9.And now for something completely different…

You can’t make this stuff up…

McDonald’s developed Bubble Gum flavored Broccoli…it just confused the kids…

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