Week #28 October 30, 2014

Happy Autumn, Happy Farm to School* AND Happy Vegetarian Awareness** month!

Anybody make it out to the farm the other Saturday? If so, please send any photos or comments about the experience and we’ll share with the rest of the CSA gang. Thanks!

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.

If you’d like to visit our farm (Green Thumb Farm in Water Mill), 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! 

*
Join the National Farm to School Network (it’s free) and you’ll be entered to win $1,000 for a farm to school or farm to preschool project in your area (and can download Organic Valley coupons for members only)!
http://www.farmtoschool.org/join

**
More info about World Vegetarian Day, which is part of Vegetarian Awareness Month, and ends up with World Vegan Day on November 1st!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Vegetarian_Day
http://www.worldvegetarianday.org/
Dr. Weil’s 6 ways to celebrate Vegetarian Awareness Month…
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/TIP05344/6-Ways-to-Celebrate-Vegetarian-Awareness-Month.html
Huff Post’s 30 reasons to go vegetarian and 30 reasons to go vegan…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-stevens/thirty-days-thirty-reason_b_1923921.html


This email contains…

1. Your CSA does not need you this week! However…
2. WE WEIGH!!!
3. This week’s list…
4. News from the Farm
5. What you actually got last week
6. Someone else besides me trying to convert someone who doesn't like to eat something! 
7. Event Listings…
8. Consider supporting your local African restaurant
9. 7 Most Important Reasons to Avoid GMOs
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!)…

October 30, 2014
Week #28

1. Lettuce: Crisp, Red OR Iceberg, Red – 1 head
2. Kale: Lacinato – 1 bunch
3. Sweet Potatoes – 2 lbs
4. Beans, Snap: Wax/Yellow* – 1 lb
5. Radishes: Gold/Red Mix – 1 bunch
6. Squash, Winter: Carnival - 1

Total Items: 6

*
For those of you who are running out of ideas of how to prepare Snap Beans…here’s six recipes with five DIFFERENT ways to prepare Wax Beans (which I’m sure could use Green Beans instead)…
Honey Glazed Wax Beans (boiled)…
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Honey-Glazed-Wax-Beans-106372
Roasted Wax Beans with Peanuts and Cilantro (roasted)…
http://www.marthastewart.com/333871/roasted-wax-beans-with-peanuts-and-cilan
Garlic Green or Yellow Beans (steamed)…
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/07/garlic-green-or-yellow-beans.html
Wax Beans with Scallions (pan stir fried)…
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/yellow-wax-beans-scallions-recipe.html
Pickled Wax Beans (pickled)…
http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2008/08/pickled_yellow.html
Miso Potato Salad with Wax Beans (another steamed but this looked so good!)…
http://www.thekitchn.com/harvest-recipe-potato-and-yell-65809



4. News from the Farm

October 19, 2014

We had our annual CSA fall farm tour this past weekend and the weather was beautiful. I would like to thank everyone that came out to see us, and the farm, and learn a little bit about what we are doing!

On the tour, we saw many of our fall greens, Radishes, Turnips and Kales…multiple varieties of each.

Our Sweet Potatoes were finally harvested about 2 weeks ago the crop looks plentiful so we will be bringing those in throughout the rest of our CSA season. We still have lots of Winter Squash in storage as well.

Still picking Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants and Beans. Our summer crops not done yet! But soon will be gone till next year.

The fall crops have started – Kales, Greens, Broccolis, will be showing up soon as well. We’re still picking Beets, Carrots, Chards, and many herbs. Turnips and Rutabagas will be coming in soon too.

There’s still lots to look forward to!

Organically yours,
Farmer Bill (Halsey)



5. What you actually got last week

October 23, 2014
Week #27

1. Lettuce: Leaf, Red – 1 head - $2.75
2. Tomatoes, Mini: Grape, Yellow – 1 pt - $4.75
3. Sweet Potatoes – 2 lbs - $4.25
4. Beans, Snap: Green – 1 lb - $3.50
5. Eggplant: Asian OR Italian – 1 - $1.75
6. Curly/Pepper Cress* - 1 bunch - $2.75

Total Items: 6
Total Amount: $19.75
(We pay $18.50 per week for our CSA share. Our farmer has given us $1.25 more this week than the $18.50 which we paid for so, the total so far is $21.75 more than what we’ve paid so far this season…that means we’ve gotten one extra share’s worth of food that we didn’t pay for, so if you missed a week of the CSA you didn’t lose any money…though I know it’s still annoying missing the food…been there done that myself with other CSAs I have been a member of in addition to being a member of this one…can’t have too many vegetables!)

Herb Share – Oct 2B
Cilantro AND Sage

*
Curly Cress (or Pepper Cress/Garden Cress/Peppergrass)…
http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/article/peppercress
http://www.harvesttotable.com/2007/09/cress_cress_is_a_common/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_cress
http://completewellbeing.com/article/garden-cress-packed-with-power/
http://foodilicious.smeak.com/herbs/garden-cress/



6. Someone else besides me trying to convert someone who doesn't like to eat something! 

Don’t like Sardines?

Try this…plus, it uses Kale which we have this week!
http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2011/11/toms-kitchen-sardine-dish-convert-unsaved



7. Event Listings…

Saturday, November 1st

9:30am to 3pm

Living Healthy from the Outside In: a bi-lingual (English/Spanish) meditation retreat
Science of Spirituality Meditation Center
79 County Line Rd
Amityville
FREE
To register:
631-822-7979
For more info:
http://www.sos.org/icl/locator/SecondLevel/United+States/Thirdlevel/Tristate/State/NY/Meetingname/Amityville.html

Workshops on healthy living, plant based eating, yoga, meditation and more! The food should be pretty good too if you like Indian food as I’ve been to one of these before.

11am

Knit/Crochet Club
Sip Tea Lounge
Huntington
For more info:
631-683-5777

Join Sara and bring your yarn and needles (whether you’re a beginner or experienced knitter), and have some tea and a snack! The first project is going to be a teapot cozy. Call for more info.
http://www.craftleftovers.com/patterns/knitteacozy.pdf


Tuesday, November 4th

6am to 9pm

Election Day…time to go out and vote!

There is a proposition to protect open space and improve water quality (Prop #5)…consider voting YES!

This proposition has been endorsed by the following organizations (I received something in the mail about this that was paid for by The Nature Conservancy as I had no idea this was up for a vote)…
Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Group for the East End
Huntington/Oyster Bay Audubon Society
Long Island Clean Water Partnership
Long Island Environmental Voters Forum
Long Island Pine Barrens Society
New York League of Conservation Voters

7:30pm

Five Boroughs Food Talk: Jewish Food
Symphony Space
Leonard Nimoy Thalia
2537 Broadway (at 95th St)
NYC
$15
For more info and to get tickets:
http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/8487//five-boroughs-food-talk-jewish-food
Host Gabriella Gershenson (food writer and editor at Every Day with Rachael Ray) dives into the topic with a panel of special guests all working to preserve and advance the art of Jewish food.
Guests include:
Saul Zabar of Zabar's
Liz Alpern, co-founder of Gefilteria
Naama Shefi, independent Culinary Curator & EatWith's Director of Communication
Jane Ziegelman, Curator of Culinary Programs at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and author of 97 Orchard
Mitchell Davis, Vice President of the James Beard Foundation and author of The Mensch Chef

Wednesday, November 5th

7pm to 10pm

The Holiday Hodgepodge
Brooklyn Brewery
79 N 11th St
Brooklyn
$5
For more info and tickets:
http://www.ediblemanhattan.com/event/holiday-hodgepodge/

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Join us as our panel of experts teach you the basics of holiday meal prep so that you can impress your guests this Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas. Plus, enjoy small samples from each panelist to get you even more in the holiday spirit.
FEATURING…
Dutch’s Spirits, discussing holiday cocktails and preparing samples of the Crescent Moon cocktail
Fleisher’s Pasture-Raised Meats, discussing holiday appetizers and preparing samples of classic chopped chicken liver
The Baking Bean, discussing holiday sweets and preparing samples of apple pie poptarts
The Gefilteria, discussing Ashkenazi spins to Thanksgiving dinner and preparing samples of sauerkraut


Thursday, November 13th

7pm to 10pm

A Journey Through Tea
Sip Tea Lounge
286C New York Ave
Huntington
$25 (only 4 tickets left!)
For more info:
631-683-5777
To get tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-journey-through-tea-with-slow-food-north-shore-tickets-13816717173

Join Slow Food North Shore (formerly Slow Food Huntington) and Sip Tea Lounge for a journey through Tea. Enjoy a night of tea and conversation as we travel through four countries in four courses. Each course will represent a particular region and the tea will be paired with a sweet or savory treat from the Sip Tea Lounge kitchen. Reservations are limited and spaces fill quickly so please register in advance for this special event. We look forward to sharing tea with you. Please indicate if you are Gluten-Free upon registration.

Friday, January 23rd to Sunday, January 25th

Soil: The Root of the Movement
33rd Annual Organic Farming & Gardening Conference
Saratoga Hilton & City Center
Saratoga Springs, NY
For more info:
http://www.nofany.org/events/winter-conference

Keynote speaker: Wes Jackson, The Land Institute
http://www.landinstitute.org/
Farmer of the year: Lakeview Organic Grain, Klaas & Mary-Howell Martens
http://www.lakevieworganicgrain.com/

There’s a children’s conference (ages 6 to 13) and childcare available (ages 3 to 5) as well so it’s fun for families, single folk, young and old. The food is local and/or organic as much as possible in January and accommodates all styles of eating (raw, vegan, gluten free, paleo).

It’s too early to register so either get on the NOFA-NY email list (not a bad thing to do if you’re interested in eating organic food or gardening organically), or joining NOFA-NY (same as I just said) so you can be apprised of when registration starts.

Want to go for free (well, almost…you still have to pay for room and board)???
Enter the Annual Winter Conference T-shirt Contest by October 22nd and if you win you get your registration paid for and 2 t-shirts when your design is printed (and the cool factor of having your t-shirt be THE t-shirt for the NOFA-NY Winter Conference)…
http://www.nofany.org/tshirtcontest



8. Consider supporting your local African restaurant

This is the reason why…Ebola hysteria, fear and ignorance will help these places go out of business…
http://www.thebraiser.com/african-restaurant-assures-public-it-wont-give-you-ebola-people-freak-out-anyways-because-were-all-the-worst/

On Long Island, there’s only one and it’s Taste of Africa, on Deer Park Ave…have been there and the people are very friendly, helpful in deciphering a cuisine I am TOTALLY not familiar with, gave samples of almost everything, and have vegan options and customers…
http://www.nytasteofafrica.com/



9. 7 Most Important Reasons to Avoid GMOs

This was submitted to me by CSA member, Karen Rubino, who is on her way to Mexico after having narrowly avoided the last major hurricane down that way (go girl!  )…
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-7-most-important-reasons-to-avoid-gmos.html#ixzz3HMs7QXHU



10. And now for something completely different…

Either it’s a Paleo dream (not really) or a vegan’s nightmare (really)…
http://www.charlesphoenix.com/halloween-meatloaf-rat/?utm_source=Charles+Phoenix+Newsletter+List&utm_campaign=7fbaf11e79-OCT_28_Newsletter10_28_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d84790fcb5-7fbaf11e79-171808489&ct=t(Oct_28_Newsletter_10_28_2014)

Besides the baby and the dog…this is what you might not want to wear for Halloween…
http://www.thebraiser.com/the-best-and-worst-food-halloween-costumes-ranked/

And have some extra Halloween candy lying around? You can create a diabetic’s worst nightmare (REALLY!!!)…
http://www.charlesphoenix.com/psychedelic-halloween-candy-cake/?utm_source=Charles+Phoenix+Newsletter+List&utm_campaign=7fbaf11e79-OCT_28_Newsletter10_28_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d84790fcb5-7fbaf11e79-171808489&ct=t(Oct_28_Newsletter_10_28_2014)

Have a Happy Halloween/Samhain! 

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