Thursday, August 27, 2020

Huntington CSA Thursday, August 20, 2020 Week #12

 Apologies from Jeff for the late posting of last weeks, 8-20-2020 CSA love letter. I was OOO AWOL.   ;o)

Happy Summer!

 Two important things

 Last week was the 2nd week in a row we’ve had food missing from the CSA (1 bag of Potatoes two weeks ago and 2 bags of Beans last week). The food was never returned, and no one has been able to tell us what happened. Please be mindful when picking up your CSA share, read the list, and if you need to…check what’s in your bag against the list before you leave. If someone else is picking up your CSA share, please ask them to do the same. On our part, we will be doing what we can to continue to make sure the counts are correct before you arrive. And getting as far as getting in touch about this…it’s not at all about being punitive, but all about trying to correct an error and see how we can prevent it from happening again (and any info is kept confidential).

 

  1. Every year at the CSA there’s something new to tweek or learn, and this year…well, everyone is dealing with “you know what”. However, this year there’s also this (first time since we’ve been at the Cinema Arts Centre)…when using Cinema bathrooms, please make sure to flush the toilets and hold down the lever to make sure it’s a complete flush, or flush again if needed (and if you have younger children using the facilities please check on their behalf). This year there were 8 times fecal matter was left in the toilets (men’s and women’s bathrooms) before the Cinema staff let me know (which is almost once a week since the CSA started), and since we’ve been checking during the CSA it’s happened twice (including last week…in the women’s bathroom between 3:30pm and 4:30pm in the handicapped stall). Please help eliminate the need for a “poo patrol”. If you see something, say something.

 

 

On a more pleasant note…anyone want to split a Bulk Tomato Share with someone? If so, get in touch. One of our CSA members is looking to split a box.  It would be 10 lbs. of Tomatoes for 22.50.

 

CSA Weather Report…nice and warm

 

Important…if you send anyone to the CSA to pick up food for you, please tell them to BRING BAGS!

 

This email includes…

 

  1. What you need to know
  2. It’s time to weigh our CSA food…please read!!!
  3. Did you lose food during the last hurricane (or are concerned about the next one)?
  4. If you haven’t watched this yet, it’s really worth checking out…Food safety and COVID-19
  5. Click here to help make a difference
  6. Bulk Tomato Share starts this week…you can still get in on it!
  7. 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 houseBRING 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

  1. Check in at the desk with our friendly CSA worker
  2. 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).
  3. 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.

 Veggie info sheets added as needed. This is the link to 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 there are good tips on storage, prep, and nutrition.

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…

http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2012/03/detox-with-spring-greens.html

 

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 #12

August 20, 2020

 

  1. Eggplant* – 1
  2. Herb (Oregano**? Thyme***?) – 1 bunch total – check CSA Wall Chart for details
  3. Melon: Cantaloupe**** – 1
  4. Peppers, Sweet***** – check CSA Wall Chart for details
  5. Tomatoes, Mini****** – 1 pt.
  6. Beans******* OR Okra - 1 bag total - check CSA Wall Chart for details

 

Total Items: 6

 

Flower Share – Week #9???

 

 

*Eggplant is one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good info and recipes)!

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=22

 

**Oregano is one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good info and recipes)!

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=73

 

***Thyme is one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good info and recipes)!

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=77

 

****Cantaloupe is one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good info and recipes)!

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=17

 

*****Sweet Peppers (Bell) are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good info and recipes)!

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=50

 

******Tomatoes are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good info and recipes)!

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=44

 

*******Green Beans (Snap) are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good info and recipes)!

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=134


 2. It’s time to weigh our CSA food…please read!

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. 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!

 

  1. Bring your reading glasses or ask someone to help if you can’t see the numbers on the scale clearly.

 

  1. 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 55 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 about 3 1/2 POUNDS of produce and at least 2 CSA members (and one of them could be you) won’t get the food they paid for.

  

3.Did you lose food during the last hurricane (or are concerned about the next one)?

 You can get reimbursement of $250 for food and $300 for medication…though they don’t make it easy (but this info could help you be prepared for the next time it happens…and it probably will because storms are getting stronger and happening more often)…

https://www.psegliny.com/myaccount/customersupport/claims

  

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…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkvw9lZ3v3I

 And read in more detail here…

https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/03/food-safety-and-coronavirus-a-comprehensive-guide.html#covid-on-food

 

 5.Click here to help make a difference

 

Tell Lowe’s and Home Depot to promote organic lawncare and not sell carcinogenic poisons…

https://secure.everyaction.com/QJJC9KuHbUiA9F6im4CI6A2

  

6.Bulk Tomato Share starts this week…you can still get in on it!

 

Starting this week for the next few weeks, our farmer will be bringing in Bulk Tomato Shares for those who’ve already ordered BUT there’s still time to get in on it (last delivery date is September 10th).

 

The cost is $45 for 20 lbs. of certified organic Roma/Paste Tomatoes from our farm, Green Thumb Organic Farm.

 

What are you going to do with all those Tomatoes? You’ll appreciate them all winter long after you’ve canned (as Tomato sauce or whole), frozen or dehydrated them, rather than buying tasteless Tomatoes out of season all winter long (or not eating any till they’re in season again).

 

The easiest thing in the universe (the sort of recipe I say that dead people can make 😊 ) is to freeze them whole. Here’s the instructions…

https://food.unl.edu/freezing-raw-tomatoes-or-without-their-skins

And here’s articles about freezing food in glass jars if you want to avoid freezing in plastic bags/containers…

https://www.smarticular.net/en/how-to-freeze-food-in-glass-jars-and-without-plastic/

https://www.treehugger.com/how-freeze-food-glass-jars-4858453

 

 7.And now, for something completely different

 

If people ever have parties again (or you have a big family or COVID-19 social bubble 😊 ), one could make a healthier, organic version of this nacho table…

https://www.delish.com/food-news/a33595374/tiktok-nacho-table/


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.

 

 

Tuesday, August 18th to Wednesday, August 26th

 

Exhausted (online event)

FREE

For more info and to register:

https://exhaustedseries.com/trailer/?uuid=32075230a5f14f658717d6771688c664&afid=60&oid=1&source=&sub1=&sub2=&sub3=&sub4=&sub5=

 

Want to get from overwhelmed to at least “whelmed”? 😊 This might be what you’re looking for if you’re feeling physically, mentally, emotionally and/or spiritually exhausted. Watched the trailer and so far I’ve seen Dr. Mark Hyman (functional medical doctor), Dr. David Perlmutter (holistic neurologist), Dr. Kellyann Petrucci (naturopath), and Michael Breus (sleep expert), and many others.

 

 

Thursday, August 20th

 

10am to 11am

 

IEatGreen radio show

To listen to the show live (or listen to the archived programs)…

http://prn.fm/

 

Hosted by Long Islander Bhavani Jharoff. Older shows can be accessed in archives.

 

 

Friday, August 21st

 

6pm to 7pm

 

Green Inside and Out

WUSB-FM/90.1 FM

https://www.wusb.fm/

 

Long Islander Beth Fiteni us the host. Rotates with Healthy Planet radio with Huntington resident Bob DiBenedetto.

 

 

Saturday, August 22nd 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

https://longislandfarmersmarkets.com/?fbclid=IwAR31PYOhmUD2BrIW7JUEQ8DNRt1HNZcslXt1eoLRLs2VTg4tDR1_EWGwqKQ

 

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

https://northportfarmersmarket.org/

 

The one certified organic farm here is Sang Lee Farms.

 

 

Saturday, August 22nd

 

12pm to 1pm

 

Food Chain Radio

https://metrofarm.com/food-chain-radio-3/

 

Host Michael Olsen always has interesting guests on the issues of food, food politics, health, and related topics. Check out the archives.

 

 

Tuesday, August 25th

 

10am to 11am

 

Green Street Radio

WBAI-FM/99.5FM

To listen live or check out the archives…

https://www.wbai.org/program.php?program=365

 

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)…

https://communitysolidarity.org/foodshares/huntington

 

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.

 

###