Week #21 September 11, 2014

Happy Summer (it’s still summer till September 22nd)!

REMINDER…Bring bags with you to the CSA! If anyone is picking up for you at the CSA…tell THEM they need to bring bags!!!
Put bags in every vehicle you own or might end up driving.
Bring an assortment of bags…cloth, plastic, paper…as you’ll find them all useful. Basic bagging issue is separating wet food from dry food so one doesn’t start the rotting process of the other. Tomatoes like to be stored in paper, not plastic (and NEVER refrigerated unless they’ve been cut into).

Mystery of the week! Who didn’t get their Flowers last week? Two bunches were left over at the end of the night and we can’t figure out who it would be as everyone who had Flower Shares showed up to the CSA, but a bunch of names weren’t crossed off on the list near the flowers.

Anyone want any BULK TOMATOES to can for the winter (sauce? stewed?)? Read this week’s Notes from the Farm (#4).

Planting a garden this year? Get certified organic Herb (many varieties), Vegetable (many varieties) and Flower (some…ask!) plants grown at your farm, Green Thumb Farm! To order plants, call the farm at 631-726-1900 between 9:30am and 4pm any day of the week/weekend and have a credit card on hand for payment. They will be delivered with the next available CSA delivery! I’m hearing from the people who bought these plants so far that they’re doing GREAT!!!

If you’d like to visit our farm (Green Thumb Farm in Water Mill) on days besides our CSA Pumpkin picking in October, the farm stand is now open 7 days a week until Sunday, December 7th. Tell them at the farm stand that you’re a CSA member and it’s sure to bring a smile!

Seriously…put this phone number (631-385-1079) in your cell phone, on your fridge, or wherever you put phone numbers you’re glad to have when you need them! It’s the hall phone of the UUFH to be used only on Thursdays from 3pm to 8pm. We’ve already had a few people who wished they had it and didn’t, and others who had it and found out how handy it can be! 

This email contains…

1. Your CSA does not need you this week! However…
2. WE WEIGH!!!
3. This week’s list…
4. Notes from the Farm
5. What you actually got last week
6. People’s Climate March on Sunday, September 21st!
7. Win the cookbook, My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz…
8. Got kids in college? Read this…
9. Help wanted…Panera – Huntington Village
10. And now for something completely different…



1. Your CSA does not need you this week! However…

You can ALWAYS stop by the CSA a little before 3:30 or 5:30 to offer to help in case someone doesn’t show up (or is late) without letting anyone know…life happens! 

If you didn’t get a confirmation email from Judi (occasionally it’s me), you’re not scheduled to work this week.

And if you got an email from Judi asking you to confirm that you’re working…you need to respond to that in the time frame stated in the email otherwise she’s going to try and find someone else to take your place.



2. WE WEIGH!!!

It’s time to weigh our food!

A. Check the wall chart before taking any food so you know what you’re taking and how much to take…assume nothing and ask questions! 

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

C. 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 51 members and if every person is off by ONE OUNCE (for crying out loud! It’s only an ounce!!!) …that means we’ll be short over THREE POUNDS of produce and some CSA members won’t get the food they paid for. And I’m sure you wouldn’t want it to be you!

D. IF you are asked to weigh more than one food item at the same time…please follow the directions given to you and weigh in the order you are asked (you might not think there’s a good reason to be doing this but our farmer does and that should be enough of a reason right there…if you want a further explanation – ask suzanne…there is a method to the madness )



3. This week’s list (subject to change without notice because…farming is like that!)…

September 11, 2014
Week #21

1. Watermelon
2. Tomatoes, Mini
3. Cucumber
4. Beans, Snap*
5. Beets
6. Eggplant
7. Radishes

Total Items: 7

Herb Share – Sept 1A
Cilantro AND Parsley, Curly

*
Dr. Andrew Weil’s Three Reasons to be eating Green Beans…
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/TIP05290/3-Reasons-to-Eat-Green-Beans.html
Dr. Weil’s favorite French Bean Salad…
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/RCP02391/French-Bean-Salad-with-Vegetarian-Caesar-Dressing.html
Pickled Green Beans…
http://www.usatoday.com/experience/weekend/food/recipe-pickled-green-beans/14005065/



4. Notes from the Farm

August 15, 2014

Mid-August is here and our summer crops are beginning to flourish.

Peppers are a plenty, and just starting to turn Gold and Red. All types of Eggplants and Tomatoes are now being picked. Cucumbers, Summer Squash and Beans are also still in abundance. We just began harvesting our Cantaloupes and Watermelons, so expect those in the coming weeks. Leeks and Celery are also coming in.

If you’d like to purchase bulk Tomatoes for canning/sauce making, we have our own certified organic Red Italian Paste Tomatoes available. A 22 lb box is $45.00. To order, call the farm any day of the week from 9:30am to 4:30pm at 631-726-1900 (and have a credit card handy), place your order, and it will be delivered to your CSA on the next available Thursday.

This week we began planting our fall crops: Oriental Greens, Rutabagas, Turnips, and varieties of Kales, Broccolis and Cabbages…all for October thru November.

Swiss Chard, Lettuces, Beets and a variety of Herbs will also be on your menus till the year ends!

This past week, August 13th, saw 13 ½ inches of rain at Islip, NY, just 30 minutes west from us. We were VERY LUCKY and only received ¾” of rain. If we had gotten the 13 ½” of rain, it would have wiped out everything we had in the ground. You just never know…that’s farming!

Organically yours,
Farmer Bill (Halsey)



5. What you actually got last week

September 4, 2014
Week #20

1. Lettuce: Crisp, Red OR Leaf, Red – 1 head - $2.75
2. Tomatoes: Orange, Red, Yellow – up to 2 lbs - $5.75
3. Cucumber – 3 - $1.50
4. Peppers, Sweet: Banana AND Gold AND Romanian Wax – 3 (1 of each kind) - $1.25
5. Cantaloupe – 1 - $3.00
6. Okra: Green and/or Red* - up to 1 lb - $3.50
7. Squash, Summer: Costata Romanesco, Eight Ball, Gold, Kousa, Patty Pan, Yellow, Zucchini – up to 2 lbs - $2.25

Total Items: 7
Total Amount: $20.00
(We pay $18.50 per week for our CSA share. Our farmer has give us $1.50 more this week than the $18.50 which we paid for so, the total so far is $11.25 more than what we’ve paid so far this season)

Flower Share #10 (maybe…maybe not)
Assorted
THE END!!! 

*
Roasted Okra (with Summer Squash and Tomato)…
http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/1016763/roasted-okra.html
Roasted Okra with Farro and a fried Egg…
http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2013/07/toms-kitchen-roasted-okra-farro-and-fried-egg



6. People’s Climate March on Sunday, September 21st!

CSA member, Heather Engle, reminded me to include this. There will be a major UN Climate Change event, and global events in support of this march, all going on at the same time. Plus there are over 1,000 groups attending of all sorts…unions, schools, environmental groups, famers, food service workers, businesses, faith groups and much more.

Sunday, September 21st
11:30am

People’s Climate March
Central Park West between 59th and 86th Streets (assembly area)
NYC
For more info (there’s a LOT of info on the website) and to register…
http://peoplesclimate.org/march/

The march will end on 11th Ave between 34th and 38th Streets.



7. Win the cookbook, My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz…

Enter by Sunday, September 14th, midnight
http://awaytogarden.com/david-lebovitzs-french-onion-soup-win-copy-my-paris-kitchen/



8. Got kids in college? Read this…

The grand prize is a $1,000 gift card from Target AND a catered event by Chipotle for 100 dorm mates (and there are other prizes too)…
http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/html/dormgiveaway.html

Check to see if your child’s college is participating.



9. Help wanted…Panera – Huntington Village

Panera is looking for full and part-time workers.

Go there and tell them the instructions they have for doing it online doesn’t work!!!

I tried and it had no openings for Huntington Village and said this location didn’t even exist yet (no wonder they haven’t had any applicants).

I bet whoever mentions this would get points for letting them know. 



10. And now for something completely different…

Have you ever had a barista at Starbucks spell your name wrong on your coffee cup?

I haven’t, but apparently somebody must have since this video was made about it…
http://www.grubstreet.com/2014/09/your-starbucks-name.html

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