Happy Autumn!
The CSA is OUTDOORS this week! Look for us
outside the Sky Room Café and walk past the garden towards the staircase to the
upper parking lot, and make a right before you go up the stairs and we’ll be
under the overhang for that part of the building.
*Call now for your farm tour reservation…Saturday,
October 22nd is the last time we’ll be able to visit our farm this
year and get a behind the scenes tour! See Events Listings below for details.
**Anyone want to purchase an extra CSA share this
week, or know anyone who’d like to buy it??? One of our CSA members is
away this week and next week, and would like to sell those CSA shares! Any
takers, let me know before 1pm today by email or phone, or let me know at the
CSA and bring $18.50 cash to the CSA today (if you want to write a check we’ll
talk about it at the CSA).
The CSA hours are from 3:30pm to 7:30pm (and if
pre-arranged a pre-packed CSA Share can be picked up at the Box Office from
7:30pm till 10pm). There seems to be some confusion about this as some
folks are showing up anywhere from 2:30pm onwards, and think it ends ???
CSA Weather report…68 to 65 and rain starting
about 6pm (your car is warmer than it is outside so still not ideal for leaving
CSA food in it to keep it at its happiest since it’s happiest at about 40
degrees)!
Keep in mind…any time you try a food you’ve never
eaten before…
1.
Do some reading about what it is, and find out
if there are medical contraindications if you’re on medication or have health
issues
2.
Eat a single serving size and give it 24 hours
to see how your body reacts (some might be fine, a lot might not)
3.
When in doubt how to cook something, look to the
countries that have been using it for decades/centuries, and see what they do
and don’t do
4.
Any questions, don’t hesitate to ask
What happens if you don’t get any CSA emails and
Thursday rolls around and it’s time to go to the CSA? GO ANYWAY! There
have been times over the years when various things have prevented a CSA email
from being sent…computers, storms, health emergencies, etc. However, the thing
to do is to come to the Cinema and in all probability, your CSA share will be
there (unless there’s weather that’s so treacherous travel would be extremely
ill-advised and even then, the farm will show up and drive from Water Mill to
Huntington before some CSA members would drive from Huntington…to Huntington).
And if not (which I doubt…there was only one snowstorm where the farm showed up
on Friday instead of Thursday because no one could drive anywhere), there would
be a sign on the door saying something, or you could call me (though with
Hurricane Sandy, even my land line was down because of the Verizon battery it’s
hooked up to….grrrrrrr…I need to get that detached so I can get phone calls
during those times when the power goes out).
Parking suggestion…try parking all the way
around the building in the upper parking lot where the day care center play
area is. You hopefully will find a spot, and it’s a short walk down the stairs
to the entrance from there, and most people don’t seem to think of parking up
there. If you park illegally you can get a parking ticket, it does happen!
If you are going to show up at the CSA later than
7:30pm, but before the Box Office is closing for the night (can be
different every week but probably be open till at least 10pm) and it’s the last
minute and you’re running late…call the Cinema Arts Centre Box Office at
631-423-7610 xt 0 and ask them to transfer the call to the café (do NOT leave a
message to be given to the CSA because there have been occasions where we
didn’t get the message and someone showed up to get their food and was not
happy their food wasn’t there) so we can pack a bag for you, put your name on
it, and leave it at the Box Office. If you don’t get to the Cinema before the
Box Office closes, your food will NOT be there the next day. The Cinema is
under no obligation to store your food, and we don’t want to be the cause of
bugs being attracted to our wonderful CSA food.
If you’re sharing a CSA share with someone…it’s
possible they’re not on this email list yet (if not email me their full name
and email address…or have them do it), so check with them and then forward this
if they didn’t get it (and always check the junk/spam folder).
*Keep in mind that anything you read in this email (unless
it’s directly related to the functioning and operation of the CSA) is
subjective and like they say in the 12 step world…take what you like and leave
the rest!
This week’s email includes…
1. The
CSA doesn’t need you this week (but we will soon enough)
2. CSA
101 – Bring Bags!!!
3. Can
Chia seeds kill you? Read this…
4. We
started weighing our produce…not rocket science but there are things to be
mindful of!!!
5. Making
travel plans? Experience farm life up close and personal and vacation on a
farm!
6. The
List- subject to change without notice because…farming is like that
7. Event
Listings…both near and far
8. It’s
not all bad news…
9. What you actually got last week
10. And now for something completely
different…
1. The CSA doesn’t need you this week (but we will soon
enough)
We’re talking about working at the CSA.
We have the help we need for this week. Whoo-hoo!
If you didn’t already get an email from Rene or/and suzanne
talking to you about being at the CSA on the Early Shift (3:30pm to 5:30pm) or
the Late Shift (5:30pm to 7:30pm) this week, you’re not on the schedule for
this week.
HOWEVER, you can always show up a little before 3:30pm or
5:30pm and offer to help out just in case someone doesn’t show up (stuff
happens).
2.CSA 101…Bring Bags!
CSA basic, for this CSA anyway, is that you need to
bring your own supply of bags for packing up your CSA share every week from now
till December 8th!
So, my suggestion…put bags that you’re setting aside for
your CSA share in EVERY vehicle you own or might ride in! J Put them in the trunk, or the glove
compartment, or in a bigger bag somewhere in the car, or whatever you think will
work for your situation. That way, you don’t even have to remember, they’re
just there.
The CSA is under NO obligation to provide you with bags for
your food.
I also recommend a selection of canvas, paper and plastic. I
bag my CSA share up in my paper (Strawberries) and plastic bags (most
everything else) and put it in my bigger canvas bag so when I get home,
everything’s pretty much (with some exceptions…like herbs) ready to be put
right into the fridge.
And if you send someone to pick up your CSA share for
you, you need to tell them to…BRING BAGS!
3.Can Chia seeds kill you? Read this…
Any time eating ANY new food…research what it is, how to
prepare it, how NOT to prepare it, find out how the culture this food came from
prepares and eats it, and research any possible allergy issues and drug
interactions…
This may just seem silly and extremely unlikely to happen,
but last year we had a CSA member last year who wanted to eat raw shelling
Beans (too much trouble to cook…anything…but not really doing a raw foods diet
or doing much research about it) and in my research I found out that eating raw
Kidney Beans can KILL you! And eating ANY raw shelling Bean, UNLESS you know
what kind and what state to eat them in, is just wrong (doesn’t taste good,
doesn’t digest well and may cause stomach and intestinal upsets at the very
least, and you’re not getting the nutrients you would if they were cooked as
they’re not “bioavailable” when raw so you might as well being eating wood
chips...that’s a joke…please don’t try eating wood chips).
And if you hear of anything happening to one person, you
know there are others out there either doing, or thinking of doing, the same
thing!
4.We started weighing our produce…not rocket science but
there are things to be mindful of!!!
It’s time to weigh our food!
A.
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.
B.
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!
C.
Bring your reading glasses or ask someone to
help if you can’t see the numbers on the scale clearly.
D.
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 56 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 4 1/2 POUNDS of produce and 5 CSA
members (and one of them could be you) won’t get the food they paid for.
E.
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)
5.Making travel plans? Experience farm life up close and
personal and vacation on a farm…
Some are listed as organic…
6.The List - subject to change without notice
because…farming is like that!
October 20, 2016
Week #21
1.Collard Greens – 1 bunch
2.Curly Cress – 1 bunch**
3.Beans, Snap: Green and/or Dragon Tongue – 1 lb. total (not
sure if will be mixed or choice of variety)
4.Squash, Winter: Acorn* - 1
5.Turnips – 1 lb. (may be bagged and not weighed because of
being outside with the rain)
6.Beans, Shelling: Soy – ½ lb.
Total Items: 6
Herb Share – Oct 1A (should have been last week but farmer
forgot to bring the herbs so it’s showing up this week)
Cilantro AND Dill
*
Video on how to cut up various Winter Squashes and a bunch
of Butternut Squash recipes!
**
Curly Cress (also known as Pepper Cress or Garden
Cress)…referred to as a Salad Herb because it’s technically an Herb but used in
Salads
Spicy green used in Salads (use sparingly as it is spicy),
good in wraps and sandwiches and on top of soups…have never cooked with it but
below in some of the posts it says you can
Good source of Vitamins A, C, K, magnesium and potassium
Did not know it was used in Ayurvedic medicine!
New Potatoes with Green Beans and Cress…must translate from
British to American…
Cress Pesto (Cresto? J)…
3 Cheese and Cress Muffins…this sounds good, translate from
British to American…though with baking we ideally should be using a scale and
not measuring cups anyhoo…
7.Event Listings…both near and far
Thursday, Oct 20th to Sun, Oct 23rd
10th Annual Food Film Festival
AMC Empire 25
234 W 42nd St.
NYC
$60 to $316
For more info and to buy tickets:
Thursday, October 20th
10am to 11am
iEat Green online radio show with Bhavani Jaroff
888-874-4888 (to call in during the live show with
questions)
And if you miss it, you can listen in the archives.
Saturday, October 22nd
10:30am OR 11:30am OR 12:30pm
CSA Pumpkin Picking Hay Ride Tour!
Green Thumb Farm
Water Mill
FREE
Call to reserve your seat(s) on the wagon (space is
limited)…
631-726-1900 (9:30am to 4:30pm Mon to Sun)
This farm tour is for CSA members and their immediate family
ONLY! If you’re sharing a CSA share with someone, only one person/family can
attend (people sharing usually divide the farm tours with one going in June and
the other in October) and you need to use the CSA member’s name as the farm
doesn’t recognize CSA share partners.
You’ll be getting a tractor pulled hayride to see a
different part of the farm then we did in June, a discussion of the fall
harvest, and a visit with the farm’s critters.
Everyone attending can pick a Pumpkin to bring home. In full
disclosure…the Pumpkins are not certified organic, and they are not grown at
Green Thumb Farm. Why? These are Pumpkins grown for carving and not eating
(though you certainly are welcome to eat the seeds and the Pumpkin if you’d
like).
Monday, October 24th
7:30pm
Celebrate Food Day at the Cinema Arts Centre!
Seed: the untold story (movie with special guest speakers)
Cinema Arts Centre
423 Park Ave
Huntington
$10 – Members/$15 General Public
To purchase tickets and get more info…
Check out the trailer…you’ll want to be at this event!
From the creators of the wonderful CSA movie, The Read Dirt
on Farmer John, this latest film features superstar environmentalist Jane
Goodall, Vandana Shiva, Raj Patel, Andrew Kimbrell, Winona LaDuke and others.
Speakers include Ken Ettlinger a long time superstar seed
saver on Long Island, heirloom seed saver Steph Gaylor of Invincible Summer
Farm, and Cheryl Frey Richards, co-founder of Salt of the Earth Seed Company .
Saturday, October 29th and Sunday, October
30th
Saturday - 10am to 6pm/Sunday - 9am to 8pm (exhibit hall
10am to 6pm)
NAVEL Expo
Huntington Hilton
598 Broadhollow Rd (Rt 110)
Melville
$20 (covers admission for both days) or FREE (free tickets
may or may not still be available at the Vitamin Shoppe across from the Whitman
Mall or at Wild by Nature)
For more info, to see a copy of the lecture schedule, and to
purchase tickets:
Featured speaker Kat James and MANY lectures about holistic
health and healing, and an exhibit hall with things to eat, massages, all sorts
of cool stuff.
Friday, Nov 4th and Saturday, Nov 5th
2016 WFAN (Women Food & Agriculture Network) Annual
Conference
Lied Lodge and Conference Center
Nebraska City,NE
$80 – Student/beginning Farmer/$100 General Public (plus
food/lodging and optional events)
For more info and to register…
Keynote speaker is Karryn Olson-Ramanujum, permaculture
educator and teacher at Ithaca College, NY (co-founder of the Finger Lakes
Permaculture Institute in NY).
Saturday, November 12th
12pm to 5pm (optional health screening starts at 8am)
Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Breast Cancer Seminar
Hunterdon Central High School
84 Rt 31
Flemington, NJ
$59.95 (plus $29.95 if interested in optional non-invasive
health screening)
To register and for more info…
Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s slant is vegan and calls his
diet…nutritarian. Author of the book, Eat to Live, and many others.
8.It’s not all bad news…
And being a CSA member, you’re already participating in part
of the solution…
From the gang at The Cleveland Clinic…
Connecting the dots: Eat well now, move better later!
We talk a lot about how to eat
to prevent chronic disease. And, indeed, food choices that minimize your risk
of chronic illnesses like obesity, heart disease, cancer, inflammation and
diabetes raise your chance of living a long, healthy, and happy life. But aging
well isn’t just about avoiding chronic illness. It’s about keeping up your basic
daily activity level, and that includes those activities you love, from walking
and hiking to rock-climbing, biking, or dancing. More good news: Eating well
helps you to keep up your energy and stay active. A new population study shows
that a nourishing, plant-rich diet may help you maintain physical functioning
as your birthday celebrations continue to accrue. Among more than 50,000 women
studied, those who ate lots of veggies and fruit; limited sweetened drinks,
trans fat, and sodium (from processed food); and drank alcohol only in
moderation were more likely to function better physically. Oranges, apples,
pears, romaine lettuce, and walnuts were among the most protective foods, but
don’t run out and stock your kitchen with these five foods exclusively. It was
overall patterns that made a difference. So, in a nutshell: Eat more plants,
whole foods, and nourishing fats, while at the same time avoiding large
portions of meat, added sugars, processed foods, and manufactured fats.
Fortunately, eating for good health is anything but a bitter pill! The flavors
you can create with veggies, grains, legumes, fish, herbs, and spices will make
you and your taste buds soar — and they’ll help keep you walking, moving, and
living your life to the fullest.
9.What you actually got last week (not always what was in
the email the week before because farming is like that regarding occasional
last minute changes)
October 13, 2016
Week #20
1.Kale: Curly Green – 1 bunch - $3.50
2.Tomatoes, Mini: Pear, Yellow – 1 pt. - $5.50
3.Tat Soi – 1 bunch - $3.25
4.Squash, Winter: Butternut* - 1 - $2.50
5.Lettuce: Escarole – 1 head - $3.00
6.Beans, Snap: Green – ½ lb. bag - $2.25
Total Items: 6
Total Amount: $20.00
(Since we pay $18.50 per week for our CSA share, this week
we got $.75 more than we paid…SO, that means at the moment our farmer has given
us $20.00 more than we paid for up to this point. That’s a little over one
week’s CSA share FREE! Over the course of the CSA year…and over the years…we
have gotten at least one, and sometimes up to two, share’s worth of food that
we didn’t pay for…so keep reading this and see how it plays out from week to
week)
*
Video on how to cut up various Winter Squashes and a bunch
of Butternut Squash recipes!
10.And now for something completely different…
Martha Stewart and Snoop Dog’s cooking show?
Seriously???
Or is this an example of getting punked? J
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