Happy Autumn!
IF you are trying to contact the CSA by phone on
Thursdays by calling the Cinema Arts Centre…KEEP CALLING till someone picks
up! The Cinema Arts Centre is having an intermittent unsolved (and so
far unsolvable) problem with people calling, it doesn’t ring at the Cinema, so
no one picks up, and people give up. You could also try calling 631-423-7611 in
addition to the usual 631-423-7610.
CSA weather report…COLD and breezy (upper-30s,
but will feel like upper-20s)…but ok to leave your CSA food in the car!
Last day of CSA…Thursday, December 13th.
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…
- 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).
- 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.
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…in both nutrients and energy…Sweet Potatoes,
Winter Squashes, dark leafy greens, etc…. that are the energy powerhouses to
fuel us through the winter) to get you through winter to make it to…Spring!
Week #27
December 6, 2018
- Kale – 1 bunch*
- Jerusalem Artichokes**
- Cabbage – 1 head***
- Pak Choi****
- Sweet Potatoes*****
Total Items: 5
*One of the world’s healthiest foods…
**Dr. Mercola on Inulin…found in Jerusalem Artichokes and
other foods…VERY good for most people (start small and build up if it’s a new
food), but NOT GOOD for those on a low FODMAP diet…
***One of the world’s healthiest foods…
And a recipe…
**** One of the world’s healthiest foods…says Bok Choi but
VERY similar to Pak Choi…
*****One of the world’s healthiest foods…
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64
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…
- What you need to know
- Click activism…
- Why and how Lettuce can become toxic
- Events…both near and far
- Eat seafood?
- Anyone still grilling?
- What you actually got last week
- And now for something completely different…
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. 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 –
- Check in at the sign-in desk
- 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.
A.Tell the EPA that factory farms (CAFOs) should not be
exempted from reporting toxic emissions…
B.Please tell Congress to protect biodiversity by insisting
that the ban on neonicotinoid pesticides in wildlife refuges be reinstated…
3.Why and how Lettuce can become toxic
The VERY short answer can be…a LOT of it is grown near CAFO
farms (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation…factory farm)…
The short answer on how to avoid toxic Lettuce? Buy local,
buy local and organic, or grow your own and follow organic gardening practices
(join NOFA-NY to get the real low-down as to what that means…it’s much more
than not using pesticides).
4.Events…both near and far
Tuesday, November 27th to Thursday,
December 6th
Interconnected: The Power to Heal from Within
Online documentary series
FREE
To get access and check out the trailer for the series…
Dr. Pedram Shojai is hosting this 9 part series on the
microbiome (whoo-hoo! J )
recommended by functional medicine MD Mark Hyman. Hear inspiring stories from
people who overcame many health conditions using the info from this series.
Conditions covered include Cancer, Diabetes, Immune Function, Obesity, Heart
Disease and Thyroid Conditions.
And you know it’s going to include info on eating healthy,
and talking about foods we get at our CSA.
Monday, December 3rd to Sunday, December
9th
The Superhuman Brain Masterclass
Online conference
FREE
To register…
Dealing with issues of ADHA, Alzheimer’s, anxiety, concussion
(and traumatic brain injury), dementia, depression, headaches and more. And you
know eating what we get at our CSA will be part of these talks.
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.
NOFA-NY’s 37th Annual Winter Conference: Climate
of Change
Saratoga Hilton & City Center
Saratoga Springs, NY
To register and for more info (and/or to join NOFA-NY)…
NOFA is the Northeast Organic Farmer’s Association and it’s
the organization that certifies organic farms in 7 states in the northeast (NY,
NJ, RI, MA, CT, NH, VT)…long before the federal government got involved. Great
group worth joining and/or donating money to. Our CSA farm, Green Thumb Farm,
is a certified organic by NOFA-NY and has been for MANY years (somewhere
between 20 and 40).
Friday, January 25th to Sunday, February 3rd
9am to 9:30pm
The Real Truth About Health
Hilton Long Island
598 Broadhollow Rd.
Melville
FREE (vegan lunch, dinner and Ice Cream included every day)
For more info and to register (they need to have an idea of
how much food to provide, etc)…
They did it last year, and they’re doing it again! CSA
member Karen Rubino went and already told me she’s planning on going again. I
missed it, but paid to get permanent online access to all the lectures. This
year I plan to attend at least some of them (10 days 12 hours a day…quite a
commitment of time). You can also watch the lectures streaming live (and need
to register for access). Some of the speakers this year include…Brian Clement
(Hippocrates Health Institute), Joel Fuhrman MD (latest book, one of many, is
Super Immunity), Joel Kahn MD (holistic cardiologist), Vandana Shiva (I MUST go
see her… a read “shero” of mine J ),
Jeffrey Smith (expert on GMO issues), and MANY more (a total of 35 speakers).
The focus is a vegan lifestyle, but there’s something for everyone if you’re
interested in healthy living, eating, and alternative/holistic medicine.
April 27th and April 28th
NAVEL Science of Human Optimization Conference (formerly the
NAVAL Expo)
Hyatt Regency
Hauppauge
For more info, get on their email list…
Sunday, June 23rd
3pm to 7pm
Plant-based Summit
Baruch Performing Arts Center – Engelman Recital Hall
55 Lexington Ave
NYC
$54.99
To purchase tickets…
Hosted by Heidi’s Health Kitchen (located on Long Island and
they do periodic vegan/gluten-free pop-up dinners on the south shore), this is
a 7th Day Adventist event focusing on the health (alternative) and
dietary principles of being a 7th Day Adventist…which is
plant-based.
5.Eat seafood?
Check this out…a seafood calculator!
Individualized recommendations of what’s safe (or safe) to
eat and how much…
6.Anyone still grilling (though you can make the vegan
version with a grill pan)?
Found this on a CSA blog somewhere…
Cabbage is a truly undersung star ingredient for
the grill.
Stay with me here. Many people groan when they get a giant head of cabbage from the CSA (and then another the following week), not necessarily because they don’t like it, but because there doesn’t seem to be that much to do with it. But cabbage, as it turns out, is phenomenal when grilled (bonus: no shredding). Cut into wedges and seared directly over the fire, it develops fantastic flavor and texture. Top it with a warm vinaigrette spiked with crisp bits of pancetta and everyone is happy (except the vegetarians).
Stay with me here. Many people groan when they get a giant head of cabbage from the CSA (and then another the following week), not necessarily because they don’t like it, but because there doesn’t seem to be that much to do with it. But cabbage, as it turns out, is phenomenal when grilled (bonus: no shredding). Cut into wedges and seared directly over the fire, it develops fantastic flavor and texture. Top it with a warm vinaigrette spiked with crisp bits of pancetta and everyone is happy (except the vegetarians).
Cabbage Wedges With Warm
Pancetta Vinaigrette
Makes: 8 servings
Time: 30 to 35 minutes
Time: 30 to 35 minutes
1 small head red or green cabbage (2 pounds or less)
5 tablespoons good-quality olive oil
¼ pound thickly sliced pancetta, chopped
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
5 tablespoons good-quality olive oil
¼ pound thickly sliced pancetta, chopped
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
1. Start the coals or heat a gas grill for medium direct cooking. Make sure
the grates are clean.
2. Discard any discolored outer leaves from the cabbage, cut it into 8
wedges, then trim the stem a bit but leave enough on to keep the wedges
together. Brush the cabbage on all sides with 2 tablespoons of the oil.
3. Put the cabbage one cut side down on the grill directly over the fire.
Close the lid and cook until the bottom browns, about 5 minutes; turn and cook
the other side. Transfer to a platter.
4. While the cabbage is grilling, put the pancetta in a small skillet over
medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it renders its fat and the meat
crisps, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the vinegar and remaining 3
tablespoons of oil, and whisk to combine; taste and add some salt and pepper.
(You can make the vinaigrette up to a day ahead; refrigerate and gently reheat
it before using.) Pour the hot dressing over the cabbage wedges and serve.
And a vegan version on an upstate CSA farm’s website that
can be done on a grill or a grill pan indoors…
7.What you actually got last week
Week #26
November 29, 2018
- Carrots* (and if we get the Carrot tops/greens…they’re
edible) – 1 bunch - $4.50
- Scallions – 1 bunch - $3.75
- Sweet Potatoes** - 3 lbs. - $5.25
- Mustard Greens*** – 1 bunch - $3.50
- Fennel**** – 1 bunch - $4.50
Total Items: 5
Total Amount: $21.50
(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 $1.50
extra. So far, the total comes to $23.75! 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
)
*One of the world’s healthiest foods…
**One of the world’s healthiest foods…
***One of the world’s healthiest foods…
Dr. Mercola’s take on Mustard Greens plus recipes…
****One of the world’s healthiest foods…
8.And now for something completely different…
The Vegetable Orchestra has a new album!
No idea what I’m talking about?
Check this out…
FYI – All the instruments are cooked up and used after the
performances in soups and stews, so nothing goes in a landfill or to waste!
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