CSA Weather Report…warm and breezy
Last week’s muddle (did you realize there was
a muddle? 😊 )…
Did anyone not realize they didn’t get any Radicchio last
week?
Here’s what happened (this is a CSA first in over 20
years)…our farmer (new kid on the team) didn’t let me/us know there were two
varieties of Boston Lettuce (Red and Green) so all the Green Boston Lettuce was
on the smaller rolling table, and the Red Boston Lettuce was put a few feet
away on some of the small Café tables and also ended up covering up much of the
Radicchio. Our farmer left without telling anyone where everything was, and the
Red Boston Lettuce looks a HECK of a lot like the blossoming heads of Radicchio
(put next to each other, you could barely tell the difference). I only realized
it about half way thru the CSA when I was condensing food and looking
everything over. Turns out no one went without Lettuce ONLY because a number of
CSA members didn’t show up last week. If everyone had, some folks would have
gotten no Lettuce (but double Radicchio). So apologies for not getting
Radicchio (if that was you) but no one emailed me to say anything so either no
one noticed, or no one minded.
Important…if you send anyone to the CSA to
pick up food for you, please tell them to BRING BAGS!
This email includes…
- What you need to know
- Got kids or grandkids?
This could be fun, tasty AND educational!
- Click activism – you
don’t have to do much, or spend any money, to help make a positive change
in the world
- If you haven’t watched
this yet, it’s really worth checking out…Food safety and COVID-19
- What to do with
vegetable scraps (and it’s not put in the trash OR the compost pile 😊 )…
- What you actually got
last week
- Can’t think of what to
do with your CSA veg that’s new, tasty and different? Pickle it! 😊
- And now, for something
completely different…
Anything in these emails not directly related to the
functioning of the CSA feel free to take or leave at your discretion, and
anything related to health issues always consult with your physician(s) before
taking any action.
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
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)…*except when it’s raining (read the CSA Weather
Report above)
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).
- When you enter the CSA area, start at Table #1 at the
left side of the table and work your way to the right, then to Table #2,
Table #3, Herb Share table (if you have one), Flower Share table (if you
have one), and then out the back door to the Cinema garden by the upper
parking lot stairs. We’re arranging the food so if you only have one bag
with you and you follow this, the heaviest things are on the bottom of the
bag, the lightest are on the top, and the wettest things aren’t going to
get the things that need to stay dry the most very wet. Plus, it makes
social distancing easier, and we have only one entrance and one exit being
used.
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.
Greetings again!
Attached are the Veggie Info Sheets. Print out, put in a
notebook, and you end up with a cookbook at the end of the CSA season! Also has
good tips on storage, prep, suggestions on how to use everything, and nutrition
info, in addition to the recipes so it pays to read them over…seriously! 😊
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! 😊 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 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!
Anything in these emails not directly related to the
functioning of the CSA feel free to take or leave at your discretion, and
anything related to health issues always consult with your physician(s) before
taking any action.
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 Curly Cress/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 #7
July 16, 2020
- Peas: Snow – check CSA Wall Chart for details
- Onions* – 1 bunch
- Lettuce – 1 head
- Squash, Summer** – check CSA Wall Chart for details
- Parsley*** – 1 bunch
- Beets**** – 1 bunch
Total Items: 6
Flower Share – Week #5???
*Onions are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good
info and recipes)!
**Summer Squash are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods
(good info and recipes)!
***Parsley is one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good
info and recipes)!
****Beets are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good
info and recipes)!
And if we get the Beet Greens attached…so are they!
2.Got kids or grandkids looking for things to do this
summer? This could be fun, tasty AND educational!
A.This is an online cooking school for children from K to
middle school recommended by Dr. Mark Hyman (author of Food Fix: How to save
our Health, our Economy, our Communities and our Planet…one bite at a time).
AND they have a virtual summer camp program for cooking and another one for
other activities…
B.The NY based Coalition for
Healthy School Food (great group founded by Long Islander Amie Hamlin) is also
doing online summer classes (vegan cooking, animal rights, food politics, yoga
and more) for kids from elementary school to high school… https://healthyschoolfood.org/summerclasses/
C.And starting July 13th
there’s two hands-on farming programs at Crossroads Farm (certified organic
farm by NOFA-NY) in Malverne for children aged to 4 to 6 & 7 to 11. For
more info and to register… Ages 4 to 6… https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crossroads-farm-sunshine-days-summer-2020-tickets-112660745322
Ages 7 to 11… https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crossroads-farm-young-farmers-program-summer-2020-tickets-112495326550
3.Click activism – you don’t have to do much, or spend
any money, to help make a positive change in the world
Urge PepsiCo to get glyphosate out of their
products! Sign here: https://bit.ly/2ADW8ky
4.If you haven’t watched this yes, it’s really worth
checking out…Food safety and COVID-19
One of our CSA members told me that after watching this, it
made them feel better about going grocery shopping.
Watch writer J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (son of a Harvard University
geneticist and immunologist, grandson of a chemist, and author of Food Lab:
Better Home Cooking Through Science), talk about COVID-19 and food safety…
And read in more detail here…
5. What to do with vegetable scraps (and it’s not put in
the trash OR the compost pile 😊 )…
The answer? Make vegetable stock (it’s SO easy)…
And
I’m fine with red or brown stock so not throwing out Beets or Onion skins, and
on the “avoid” list…you can use small amounts of those (relative to the whole
amount) and see what you think.
This
gal is a little more adventurous and flexible…I’m liking this one…
6.What you actually got last week
Week #6
July 9, 2020
- Peas: Shelling* – 2/3 lb. bag - $4.50
- Onions** – 1 bunch - $4.25
- Lettuce: Boston, Green OR Boston, Red – 1 head -
$3.75
- Squash, Summer: Costata Romanesco, Cousa, Eight Ball,
Gold, Yellow, Zucchini*** – 3 pieces - $1.50
- Radicchio – 1 head - $3.25
- Sorrel – 1 bunch - $3.50
Total Items: 6
Total Amount: $20.75
(We pay $20 per week for our CSA share…some weeks we get a
bit more, some a bit less. This week, it’s $.75 extra. Doesn’t sound like a
lot, but it adds up over the course of the CSA season. Our total amount extra
that our farmers have given us so far is $4.50. We seem to always get at least
one CSA share’s worth of food every year that we didn’t pay for…some years two,
and some between one and two…it’s all good! 😊)
Flower Share – Week #4
Snapdragons
Herb Share – July1A
Marjoram AND Marigold Flowers (yup, they’re edible 😊
)
*Green Peas are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods
(good info and recipes)!
**Onions are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good
info and recipes)!
***Summer Squash are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods
(good info and recipes)!
7. Can’t think of what to do with your CSA veg
that’s new, tasty and different? Pickle it! 😊
Cucumbers…obviously…
But also… (and we’ve gotten everything listed but Pearl
Onions)…
Asparagus,
Beets, Broccoli stems, Carrots, Cauliflower, Green beans, Jalapeño, Pearl
onions, Radishes…
8.And now, for something completely different…
And since we just mentioned pickling, how can one resist
this classic (or at least it is to fans of Portlandia)? 😊
Events…both near and far
Anything in these emails not directly related to the
functioning of the CSA feel free to take or leave at your discretion, and
anything related to health issues always consult with your physician(s) before
taking any action.
Monday, July 13th to Friday, July
17th
8:30am to 3:30pm
Organic Field Day (online only for 2020)
Rodale Institute
611 Siegfriedale Rd.
Kutztown, PA.
$25 (all week access) – Veterans may be able to participate
for free (contact veterans@rodaleinstitute.org
)
To register…
Join researchers at the Rodale Institute and learn about the
latest research and projects being done using regenerative organic agriculture
(not sure how different it actually is from conventional certified organic
agriculture), by online viewing of the 11 different demonstration stations at
the farm.
Thursday, July 16th
10am to 11am
IEatGreen radio show
To listen to the show live (or listen to the archived
programs)…
Hosted by Long Islander Bhavani Jharoff. Older shows can be
accessed in archives.
Friday, July 17th
6pm to 7pm
Green Inside and Out
WUSB-FM/90.1 FM
Long Islander Beth Fiteni us the host. Rotates with Healthy
Planet radio with Huntington resident Bob DiBenedetto.
Saturday, July 18th to Saturday, November
21st
7:30am to 12:30pm
Huntington Farmer’s Market – G & G Long Island Farmer’s
Market
228 Main St. (Elm Street parking lot)
Huntington
Not the same organizer who’s been at this location for the
past ??? years, but the organizer that’s been hosting the Winter Market in
Huntington since Huntington first had a Winter Market. Possible there might be
up two certified organic farms…Golden Earthworm and Natural Earth Farm.
8am to 12:30pm
Northport Farmer’s Market
Main Street (Cow Harbor Parking lot)
Northport
The one certified organic farm here is Sang Lee Farms.
Saturday, July 18th
12pm to 1pm
Food Chain Radio
Host Michael Olsen always has interesting guests on the
issues of food, food politics, health, and related topics. Check out the
archives.
Monday, July 20th to Sunday, July 26th
Holistic Oral Health Summit (online event)
FREE
For more info and to register…
To eat…you gotta have teeth! This series of lectures
features someone who works with my dentist (Dr. Reid Winick - NYC), Tammy Kohlschmidt,
RDH, Long Island holistic dentist Dr. Leonard Fazio – Pt. Jefferson (went to
once and helped with a dental emergency) and the author of Holistic Dental
Care, Nadine Artemis.
Monday, July 20th to Sunday, August 9th
NOFA (Northeast Organic Farmers Association) Summer
Conference (online event)
$100 – Members/$125 – General Public
For more info and to register…
And to become a member (worthy organization and very
reasonable for the membership benefits you get…I just renewed my membership 😊)…
NOFA is the group that certifies our farm (Green Thumb Farm)
organic, and they’ve been doing it long before the federal government got
involved. It’s a great organization. Normally , the conference is held in
Massachusetts and all the NOFA member state members (NY, NJ, CT, MA, VT, NH,
RI) all get together at the summer conference (average attendance is between
1,000 and 2,000 people). In the winter, each state has its own winter
conference. The food is great (local/organic/everything from vegan to paleo),
the parties are fun (organic booze and live music), and there’s something for
everyone from kids and families to singles and seniors, and everyone in
between. This year it’s online for the first time and so am sure it will still
be worth attending.
Just looked over the speakers and there’s a lot of new
names, and a number of people I’m familiar with. One person I’m always happy to
hear is Elizabeth Henderson, founder of one of the first CSA farms in the
United States and author of the CSA “bible”, Sharing the Harvest. Another is
Lee Reich (who I’ve taken workshops with and visited his “farmden” upstate NY).
If you’re interested in growing fruit in your yard/garden…he is the
man…seriously. There’s more people I’m familiar with but will stop here. Those
two are enough for me to attend, and I’m sure there’ll be lots of other great
workshops to attend.
Tuesday, July 21st
10am to 11am
Green Street Radio
WBAI-FM/99.5FM
To listen live or check out the archives…
Join Long Islanders Doug & Patti Wood (founders of the
Port Washington Farmer’s Market…the only all organic greenmarket in New York
State), in their weekly show featuring conversations on health and sustainable
living.
7pm - Volunteers/8pm – Food Distribution
Community Solidarity Food Share Distribution
Fairground Ave & E. 6th St.
Huntington Station
For more info and to sign up to be a volunteer (though you
can also just stop by)…
This is the group that Green Thumb CSA – Huntington has
partnered with for the last number of years to donate produce remaining at the
end of the night from our CSA.
Monday, August 10th to Sunday, August 16th
Healing Chronic Stress and Disease (online event)
FREE
For more info and to register…
The people I’m familiar with here are Kelly Brogan, MD
(holistic psychiatrist), Roger Jahnke, OMD (does workshops at the Open Center
in NYC about Qigong), Sonia Choquette (an often Open Center instructor), Joan
Borysenko (author of Fried: Why You Burn Out and How to Revive), and Tara Brach
(psychologist, meditation teacher and author of Radical Compassion: How to Love
Yourself & Your World).
###
