Happy Spring (not summer till June 21st J )!
CSA weather report…warm and windy!
This email includes…
- What you need to know
- This week’s list
- Events
- What you actually got last week
- Strawberry tops?
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 house…BRING 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
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 –
- Check in at the desk with our friendly CSA worker
- 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.
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 #2
- Lettuce
– 1 head
- Scallions
– 1 bunch
- Radishes
– 1 bunch
- Strawberries
– 1 qt.
- Lavender
(yes…it’s edible) – 1 bunch
Total Items: 5
3.Events…both near and far
Saturday, June 16th
10am to noon
CSA Monthly Meeting
Cinema Arts Centre
Sky Room Cafe
423 Park Ave
Huntington
We’ll be viewing an episode of Alton Brown’s show Good Eats
that’s all about Strawberries to prepare us for the following week’s visit to
the farm for the Strawberry picking tour. The Sky Room Café will be open around
10:30pm to purchase snacks/drinks.
Meeting Schedule…
10 to 10:15 – gather
10:15 to 10:45 – Good Eats – Strawberries
10:45 to noon – chat about…future meetings (will alternate
between weekday evenings and weekends), restaurant outings, etc.
Saturday, June 23rd
10:30am to 1:30pm (to be confirmed)
Annual CSA Strawberry Pickin’ Farm Tour (rain or shine)
Green Thumb Farm
2 Rose Hill Rd (and Montauk Hwy)
Water Mill
For more info:
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 #1
June 7, 2018
- Lettuce: Romaine* – 1 head - $3.00
- Oregano** – 1 bunch - $2.75
- Beans, Black Turtle (dried)*** – ¾ lb. - $4.00
- Rhubarb**** – 1 bunch - $3.75
- Strawberries***** – 1 qt. - $7.50
Total Items: 5
Total Amount: $20.50
*Romaine Lettuce (not from Arizona where people are
getting sick from it)…good World’s Healthiest Food article with general and
health info, and recipes…
**Oregano…good World’s Healthiest Food article with
general and health info, and recipes…
***There’s no Veggie Info Sheet for Black Turtle Beans
but this attachment should get you going. They will be the BEST Black Beans
you’ve ever had. These are dried from last fall so they’re not “fresh” BUT the
dried ones you buy at the store can be several years old by the time you get
them, so fall of 2017 is fresh as far as dried beans go.
Good article on the World’s Healthiest Foods website with
general and health info, and recipe…
****There is no Veggie Info Sheet for Rhubarb 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 )…
****Strawberries…good World’s Healthiest Food article with
general and health info, and recipes…
5.Strawberry tops?
Being a fan of root to shoot cuisine (or waste not want not
in old school speak J ), I was
surprised to see this article about using Strawberry tops! I learn something
new every day…whether I want to or not! J
I’d say to use organic Strawberry tops from the CSA, farmers
market, or local organic farm as soon as you get them home…
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