Thursday, June 17, 2021

Huntington CSA Thursday, June 17, 2020 Week #3

 Happy Spring (not really summer till June 21st 😊)!

 CSA weather report
warm and pleasant

 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

  1. First CSA meeting of the year this Saturday
and there will be raffles! 😊
  2. Food safety and COVID-19

  3. Click activism – you don’t have to do much, or spend any money, to help make a positive change in the world
  4. What you actually got last week
  5. 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 CafĂ© 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 –

  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).

Before you leave the CSA – Make sure you have everything on the list (like the story of the 3 bears
not too much, not too little, but just right 😊)! 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! đŸ˜Š 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!

 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 #3

June 10, 2021 

  1. Lettuce – 1 head
  2. Asparagus* – 1 bunch
  3. Peas: Snow – 1 bag
  4. Garlic Scapes** – 1 bunch
  5. Lavender – 1 bunch
  6. Radishes – 1 bunch
  7. Curley Cress*** – 1 bunch (left off the truck last week)

 Total Items: 7

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

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=12

 *Garlic is one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good info and recipes)
as long as you don’t microwave it (keep reading)!

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=60

And I BEG you
NEVER MICROWAVE GARLIC!!! Why? Short story
if you microwave Garlic for 1 minute, all the anti-cancer, antibacterial, antifungal and basically all the health properties in Garlic are GONE!

It takes over 45 minutes of cooking by conventional methods to achieve the same effect. So if you microwave your Garlic (or a dish with Garlic in it), you might as well be eating wood (which has no health properties beyond being a source of fiber 😊).

Here's a scientific paper to support this info (and while it says you can mince Garlic, let it sit around for 10 minutes, microwave for 60 seconds
not more
 and get SOME of the health benefits
just don’t bother and get ALL the health benefits by lightly sautĂ©ing or using raw
just sayin’ 😊).

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11238815/

 ***No official CSA Veggie Info Sheet for this but here’s the lowdown on


Cress, Curly (also known as Peppercress and Garden Cress)

It’s speecy spicy, very good for you, and goes well in small amounts in any salad, sandwich, wrap for starters
read on


https://harvesttotable.com/cress_cress_is_a_common/

https://www.healwithfood.org/health-benefits/garden-cress-nutritional-benefits.php

 Web MD on “garden cress” (basically same as Pepper/Curly Cress)
please read if you have any underlying health conditions (diabetes, low blood pressure, etc.)


http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-453-garden%20cress.aspx?activeingredientid=453&

 Pepper Cress – tangy/spicy herb that can be used raw in salads, on sandwiches or wraps and you can toss a small amount in at the end of a stir-fry or cooked recipe to give things a bit of a culinary punch

http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/article/peppercress

 Peppercress Aioli


https://food52.com/recipes/10884-peppercress-aioli

 

more Peppercress recipes


https://www.florettesalad.co.uk/recipe-category/peppercress

 

more recipes from a place that does Peppercress Sprouts more than growing them in soil outdoors


http://www.urbancultivator.net/learn-about-peppercress/

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_cress

 2. First CSA meeting of the year this Saturday
there will be raffles!

 We’d be happy to see you for part or all of the meeting (drop by and say hi). Since the Cinema Art Centre’s Sky Room CafĂ© is still closed, feel free to bring your beverage of choice, a snack, or breakfast! 😊

 And after the CSA meeting if you plan on having lunch in Huntington Village, you might consider visiting Herrell’s Ice Cream Shop on closing day, after 13 years of being in the neighborhood (not organic BUT they did make their own Ice Cream, Hot Fudge Sauce and Whipped Cream in-house), and being a good friend of the Cinema Arts Centre (donating Ice Cream whenever asked over the years). I was a fan of their Hot Fudge Sundaes with any of their  Coconut and Coffee flavors, topped with Whipped Cream (regular
though they also had Chocolate!)


https://greaterlongisland.com/herrells-ice-cream-in-huntington-is-closing-after-13-years-in-business/

And if they’ve run out of whatever (or everything?) by the time I get there, I’ll head over to Fiorello Dolce on Wall St. for some Gelato (or something else that’s decadent and delicious). 😊

 Saturday, June 19th

 10am to noon

 CSA Meeting – Get to know your CSA, and your Strawberries!

Cinema Arts Centre

Sky Room Cafe

423 Park Ave

Huntington

RSVP so we know our seating/spacing limits, and how many copies of materials to make, by responding to this email or calling 631-421-4864

 We’ll be viewing an episode of Alton Brown’s tv show Good Eats that’s all about Strawberries (best way to freeze, recipes and more) to prepare us for the following week’s visit to the farm for the Strawberry picking tour.

 Meeting Schedule (approx.)


10 to 10:15 – gather and optional recipe swap (bring a copy of a recipe for something you’ve used in the past 3 CSA Shares and we’ll make copies for everyone attending!)

10:15 to 10:30 – What’s a CSA (and what it’s not)? And
a brief history of Green Thumb Farm

10:30 to 11:30pm – Good Eats episode – Strawberries (recipes from the show will be given to those attending)

11:30am to 12pm – chat time and raffle drawings
ask any questions regarding the CSA or the food we get, future meetings, restaurant outings, etc., and there’s THREE raffles - one for new CSA members, one for rejoining CSA members (no attendance required to win) AND another raffle for those attending the CSA meeting!!!

  

3.Food safety and COVID-19


 

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

 

 4.Click activism – you don’t have to do much, or spend any money, to help make a positive change in the world

 

I just urged EPA Administrator Regan to include soil health in pesticide risk assessments and regulatory decisions, because pesticides harm beneficial organisms critical to soil health (and if it ain’t in the soil, it ain’t in our food so what’s in the soil is REALLY important).

 

Please join me! https://bit.ly/357r5ZY?source=email&

 

5.What you actually got last week

 Week #2

June 10, 2021

  1. Lettuce: Boston, Red – 1 head -$3.50
  2. Strawberries* – 1 pt. - $6.00
  3. Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes) – 1 bag (2/3 lb.) - $4.25
  4. Kale: Greenhouse** – 1 bunch - $4.00

 Total Items: 4

Total Amount: $17.75

(We pay $20 per week for our CSA share
some weeks we get a bit more, some a bit less. This week, it was $2.25 less [VERY unusual BUT it was because the Curly Cress we were going to get never got put on the truck so we’ll be getting it
or something equivalent to it
this week]. So at the moment we’ve gotten $.25 more than we paid for (which will change next week for sure 😊). Doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but it adds up over the course of the CSA season. 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! 😊)

 Herb Share – June 1A

Oregano AND Sorrel

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

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=32

 

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

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38

 

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

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

   7.And now, for something completely different


 Fun with food (and other objects 😊)


https://www.boredpanda.com/tiny-world-everyday-photography-tiny-wasteland-peter-csakvari/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter

 Events
both near and far

 

 Saturday, June 19th

 

10am to noon

 CSA Meeting – Get to know your CSA, and your Strawberries!

Cinema Arts Centre

Sky Room Cafe

423 Park Ave

Huntington

RSVP so we know our seating/spacing limits, and how many copies of materials to make, by responding to this email or calling 631-421-4864

 

We’ll be viewing an episode of Alton Brown’s tv show Good Eats that’s all about Strawberries (best way to freeze, recipes and more) to prepare us for the following week’s visit to the farm for the Strawberry picking tour.

 Meeting Schedule (approx.)


10 to 10:15 – gather and optional recipe swap (bring a copy of a recipe for something you’ve used in the past 2 CSA Shares and we’ll make copies for everyone attending!)

10:15 to 10:30 – What’s a CSA (and what it’s not)? And
a brief history of Green Thumb Farm

10:30 to 11:30pm – Good Eats episode – Strawberries (recipes from the show will be given to those attending)

11:30am to 12pm – chat time and raffle drawings
ask any questions regarding the CSA or the food we get, future meetings, restaurant outings, etc., and there’s TWO raffles - one for new CSA members, and one for rejoining CSA members (no attendance required to win).

 

 Tuesday, June 22nd

 

7pm – Volunteers

8:15pm – Drive-thru distribution

 

Huntington Food Share

Community Solidarity

Fairground Ave. & 6th St.

Huntington Station

FREE

For more info


https://communitysolidarity.org/foodshares/huntington

To volunteer


https://communitysolidarity.org/volunteer

Or to make a donation (they REALLY need a new truck)


https://communitysolidarity.org/donate/funds

 Community Solidarity (formerly Long Island Food Not Bombs) is an amazing group, doing much needed good works. These are the folks our CSA donates food to (and have for the last several years). If you’d like to volunteer, make a donation (they REALLY, REALLY need a new truck), or have need of their services (or know people who might)
get in touch/get information via their website (listed above).

 They also need/accept donations of the following
Bicycles, Books, Clothing, Flowers (good for general mental health
taking care of the mind AND the body), Food, Medical Care (is there a Doctor or Dentist in the house? 😊), Plants/Seedlings, School Supplies, Toys and more. For details on donating items, please go to the Home Page, scroll to Donate, and read the appropriate listing (and scroll to Material Goods to see the topics not initially listed)


https://communitysolidarity.org/

 Here’s founder Jon Stepanian’s TED Talk (TEDxNYU) on Community Solidarity and Hunger Relief


https://www.ted.com/talks/jon_stepanian_community_solidarity_hunger_relief

  

Saturday, June 26th

 10am, 11am, OR 12pm

 Annual CSA Strawberry Pickin’ Farm Tour (rain or shine)

Green Thumb Farm

2 Rose Hill Rd (and Montauk Hwy)

Water Mill

FREE

For more info and to RSVP (for last minute planners, you can probably call the farm on Saturday morning after 9am, before you leave, and still make one of the farm tours)


631-726-1900 (call between 9:30am and 4:30pm, Monday thru Sunday)

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.

 This is a one hour walking tour, and then you’re let loose in the Strawberry fields. Everyone attending is given a quart basket. This tour is free, and limited to CSA members and their immediate family members. If you’re sharing a CSA Share with someone, usually one person does the Strawberry tour and the other does the Pumpkin picking and the CSA Share Partner needs to use the name of the CSA member when signing up for the tour (since technically, the CSA Share Partner isn’t a member of the CSA as far
as far as the farm is concerned – they don’t exist! 😊).

 CSA members attending this event will be able to get a 10% discount on ALL purchases at the farm stand (this discount is available to our CSA members on farm tour days only).

 If you have a home garden, or plant things in pots, keep in mind that Green Thumb Farm has their own certified organic farm grown vegetable and herb plants for you to purchase and add to your garden.

 Suggestion for somewhere to eat before or after your Green Thumb Farm visit (this is where I’ll be going 😊)


Barrow Food House

https://barrowfoodhouse.com/

My go-to place (Bay Burger in Sag Harbor) has gone and been replaced by Ed’s Lobster Roll (a NYC chain). â˜č But am very pleased with this replacement (reasonably priced for the area and some local farm-to-table food used
they have a farm in the back of the property).

 And last but not least, not to be a Debbie Downer/groove killer BUT since you’ve been in nature
consider checking for ticks after you return home! MUCH better to be safe than sorry and end up with Lyme’s (or some other dreadful tick borne disease), even though at Green Thumb Farm they have a sizeable Guinea Hen population and if they’re doing their job, hopefully, those Guinea Hens ate all the ticks! 😊

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