Thursday, September 16, 2021

Huntington CSA Thursday, September 16, 2021 Week #16

 Happy Summer (till September 21st 😊)!

 

CSA weather report
rain, rain, and more rain (Trees down? Flooding? Power outages? Nothing? 😊). Wouldn’t hurt to have a flashlight with you in case of power outages, or make sure your phone is charged to use that as a flashlight for “just in case” 😊.

 

This Saturday is when I’ll be on the panel for the film Farming the Future: Farm Life on Long Island
if you’ve never seen it, it’s a really good movie (I’d like it a lot even if I wasn’t in it 😊) Check the events email for details
it’s free BUT you need to register to attend.

 

Important
if you send anyone to the CSA to pick up food for you, please tell them to BRING BAGS and a FACE COVERING!

 

This email includes


 

  1. What you need to know
  2. Click activism

  3. Food safety and COVID-19

  4. Shop for your immune system (it will thank you 😊)
  5. Tomatoes
UPDATED info you may or may not know!
  6. How to get kids to eat more veg (maybe can be used on big kids too
meaning adults 😊)
  7. Emergency situations at the CSA (hurricanes/electronic communication glitches/etc.)
  8. It’s not all bad news

  9. What you actually got last week
  10. Fridge hack to prevent food waste
  11. 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
and a FACE COVERING.

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. Please wear a face covering when entering the building, and proceed to the restrooms to wash your hands with soapy water (more effective than hand sanitizers
COVID hates plain soap
NOT anti-bacterial
the most)
  2. Check in at the desk with our friendly CSA worker (if there are more than 3 people/couples/families of CSA members in the CSA, you may be asked to wait in the hallway
socially distanced
before entering)
  3. 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 after the CSA closes for the evening, the food is donated to a local food organization (Community Solidarity
see Events email for more details about them). And if you accidentally took too much, please get in touch ASAP (email or phone) so the food can be returned to its rightful owner in short order.

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 #15

September 9, 2021 

  1. Peas, Snow – 1 bag
  2. Peppers, Sweet: Lunchbox* - 1 bag
  3. Swiss Chard** – 1 bunch
  4. Lettuce – 1 head
  5. Tomatoes, mini*** - 1 pt

 Total Items: 5

 Flower Share – maybe yes, maybe no?

 

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

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

 

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

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=16

 

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

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

 

2. Click activism


 As farmers recover from the Covid-19 crisis, they need support. That’s why I just urged my Senators to co-sponsor the Relief for America’s Small Farmers Act. Please join me!

https://bit.ly/2V0UsvL?source=email&

 

  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.Shop for your immune system (it will thank you 😊)

 

Our CSA provides us with a few of these items over the course of the season (eating seasonally/locally/organic is always a good idea too 😊)


https://www.doctoroz.com/shopping-list-foods-for-covid-19-immunity

Broccoli (should be showing up in the coming months
but any cruciferous vegetable will do in a pinch and we get a lot of those), Leafy Greens (we get a number of varieties), Red Bell Peppers (Red Peppers of any variety
sweet or spicy
will do the same trick), Squash (we get Summer and Winter varieties), and Garlic (whatever we get is never enough, which is why I stock up with a couple of pounds of certified organic Garlic for the winter at Garlic festivals in September, to last me till Green Garlic shows up in the spring).

 

 

 5.Tomatoes
UPDATED info you may or may not know!

 

Our CSA food can be (depending on what exactly it is) either MORE hardy, or MORE delicate, than the food we would get at a grocery store.

 

More hardy
it’s fresher. Most produce in the grocery store is around 6 weeks old when you get it (organic or not).

 

More delicate
the food grown by our farmers is not grown for shipping properties (ex. – if you throw it against a wall, how well will it hold up 😊). It’s grown for things like flavor (what a concept! 😊), adaptability to our growing region, and preserving heirloom varieties of food (like the Costata Romanesco Summer Squash we get
 https://greenbeanconnection.wordpress.com/2016/04/03/costata-romanesco-italian-heirloom-zucchini/ ).

 

That said, the large Tomatoes are on the delicate side. The minis we get are hardier than the large Tomatoes for some reason (had my Red Grape Tomatoes on the counter till I finished them today
5 days later).

 

For ages I’ve been told that fresh, local Tomatoes do NOT belong in the fridge EVER because chilling them turns off a flavor enzyme and makes them not taste as good
and you don’t need to. So I am going to say something I NEVER thought I would say in a million years


 

If your Tomatoes are ripe when you get them home, leave them on the counter for no more than a day or two (and check daily) and if you have any left


PUT THEM IN THE FRIDGE!

 

If the Tomatoes aren’t ripe, leave them on the counter till they are (shouldn’t be more than a day or two), and then get them in the fridge ASAP.

 

I’m always willing to learn and have discovered that the answer to the question of whether to fridge or not to fridge, isn’t as cut and dry as I thought. And here’s why


https://www.seriouseats.com/why-you-should-refrigerate-tomatoes

 

Also, any Tomatoes that aren’t either Green or Red will be more delicate (IMHO 😊)
Yellow being the most delicate, followed by Orange and any other color you might come across.

 

 

 

6.How to get kids to eat more veg (and maybe these ideas can be used on big kids too
meaning adults 😊)

 

By being creative


https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/7-smart-ways-to-get-your-family-to-eat-more-veggies

And mindful


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8919661/How-cure-fussy-eater-Children-eat-mindful-way-like-fruit-veg-considerably-more.html

 

And by any means necessary! 😊

 

 

 

7.Emergency situations at the CSA (hurricanes/electronic communication glitches/etc.)

 

  1. It’s hurricane season! Farmers are more hardcore than postal workers so your food will be at the CSA between 3:30pm and 7:30pm on Thursdays, pretty much no matter what. Hurricane Sandy didn’t stop the CSA. We were at the Unitarian Fellowship in Huntington and there was no power and there were tree limbs around the property BUT I checked out the building to make sure there was no danger in being in the building or entering the property, and with flashlights brought by me, we had our CSA. If there’s no emails
show up anyway. If there’s some problem/issue with the food arriving there should be a note on the door of the Cinema letting you know what’s up (if we’re not already in there waiting for you). In a storm situation
please bring a flashlight/lantern. It could be helpful for you and those of us at the CSA. Again
show up and 3:30pm and 5:30pm if there were no emails and offer to work if you’re able and available. And if you feel it’s not safe/wise for you to venture out, know that any food left at the end of the CSA will be picked up and donated by the gang at Community Solidarity. They have NEVER missed a food distribution day even in snow and ice storms (regardless of the weather
hungry people will still be hungry if there’s no food to eat).

 

  1. Electronic communication is FAR from perfect. IF you get no CSA emails or responses to your emails
come to the CSA anyway. It could be a problem with my laptop, etc. Stuff happens.

 

  1. Anything else that might come up (these days
who knows??? 😊)
no emails, come anyway and will do our best to keep everyone informed as best we can (look for notes on front door of Cinema if nothing else). The CSA has always happened every week during our 20+ seasons
(lifted from the postal worker motto 😊) - Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom stays these farmers & CSA crew from the swift completion of their appointed rounds
to get you your CSA Shares!

 

 

 

8.It's not all bad news


 

Panera adds eco badges to low carbon footprint meals (however, I wish they made this more obvious on the website
if you click on an item I saw half of the logo that refers to Cool Food Meals
better than nothing 😊)


https://www.eater.com/2020/10/14/21515868/panera-menu-adds-eco-friendly-badges-to-low-carbon-foot-print-meals

Bottom line
good for them (and us and the planet 😊)!

 

Cool Food Meals at Panera Bread


https://www.panerabread.com/content/dam/panerabread/integrated-web-content/documents/panera-cool-foods-meal-menu-items.pdf

 

 

 

9.What you actually got last week

 

Week #15

September 9, 2021

 

  1. Radishes: French Breakfast – 1 bunch - $4.00
  2. Peppers, Sweet: Cubanelle* - 1 bag (3/4 lb.) - $4.50
  3. Scallions – 1 bunch - $4.25
  4. Lettuce: Leaf, Green – 1 head - $3.75
  5. Tomatoes: Black Japanese Trifele, Orange, Paste/Plum/Roma (same Tomato
different names), Red, Yellow** - 2 lbs. (up to and not over) - $6.00

 

Total Items: 5

Total Amount: $22.50

(We pay $20 per week for our CSA share
some weeks we get a bit more, some a bit less. This week, it was $2.50 more. So at the moment we’ve already gotten $39 (1 CSA Share + 😊) more than we paid for. This adds up over the course of the CSA season, and 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 – September 1A

Mint AND Thyme*

 

Flower Share – Week #8 (I think
need to confirm)

Statice

 

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

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

Cubanelle Pepper info


https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-are-cubanelle-peppers-4776455

https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-types/sweet-mild-chili-peppers/cubanelle-chili-peppers/

A BUNCH of Cubanelle Pepper recipes


https://www.yummly.com/recipes/cubanelle-peppers

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

 

 

10.Fridge hack to prevent food waste

 

Worth a shot


https://www.wellandgood.com/refrigerator-hack-food-waste/

 

And if you’re trying to ditch plastic, I’m thinking there might be some large glass containers one could use (metal would defeat the purpose of being able to see what’s there)


https://www.thespruceeats.com/best-glass-storage-containers-4154183

 

 

 

11.And now, for something completely different


 

Apples, that aren’t! 😊

https://www.grubstreet.com/2019/03/pastry-chefs-fancy-apples.html

 

Events
both near and far

 

 

Thursday, September 16th

 

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, September 17th

 

4pm to 11pm

 

Greek Festival

St. Paraskevi Green Orthodox Shrine Church

Pulaski Rd.

Greenlawn

For more info:

http://www.stparaskevi.org/

 

Not organic, but tasty Greek food
rides, vendors, dancers, food, flea market, games, family friendly.

 

6pm to 7pm

 

Natural Alternatives

WUSB-FM/90.1 FM

https://www.wusb.fm/

 

Rotates with Healthy Planet radio with Huntington area resident Bob DiBenedetto, and Dr. Eugene Zampirone of Dr. Z Naturally.

 

6pm to 9pm

 

Egyptian Festival

St. Mark’s Coptic Church

90 Woodbury Rd.

Woodbury

For more info


http://stabraam.org/new/index.php?view=article&id=743:egyptian-festival-2021&catid=2

 

Not organic but tasty Egyptian food. Tours of church, ethnic music and dance, family friendly.

 

 

Saturday, September 18th

 

7:30am to 12:30pm

 

Huntington Farmers Market

228 Main St. (Elm Street parking lot)

Huntington

 

Runs till some point in November.

 

10am to 6pm

 

Garlic Festival

Garden of Eve Farm

Riverhead

$10/Seniors (55+) $5

For more info


https://gardenofevefarm.com/garlic-festival/

 

All things Garlic (and organic)! Music, hay rides, crafts and more!

 

11am to 11pm

 

Greek Festival

St. Paraskevi Green Orthodox Shrine Church

Pulaski Rd.

Greenlawn

For more info:

http://www.stparaskevi.org/

 

Not organic, but tasty Greek food
rides, vendors, dancers, food, flea market, games.

 

Noon 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.

 

Noon to 9pm

 

Egyptian Festival

St. Mark’s Coptic Church

90 Woodbury Rd.

Woodbury

For more info


http://stabraam.org/new/index.php?view=article&id=743:egyptian-festival-2021&catid=2

 

Not organic but tasty Egyptian food. Tours of church, ethnic music and dance, family friendly.

 

5pm to 9:30pm

 

LI AgriCULTURE: Celebrating Local Foods with the Power of Film

Farming the Future: Farm Life on Long Island (outdoor movie screening)

Sisters of St. Joseph

1725 Brentwood Rd.

Brentwood

FREE (but need to get free tickets)

To get free tickets and for more info


https://prod3.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=703648~31a96320-4160-4f8e-a5f9-05c4f03c9c01&

 

FYI – Green Thumb Farm is in this movie
and so is your fearless CSA leader (me
suzanne 😊). Post-film Q & A. Live music, hay rides, poster sales, and more! Limited to no food provided at this event (eat before, bring a picnic or takeout).

 

 

Sunday, September 19th

 

10am to 6pm

 

Garlic Festival

Garden of Eve Farm

Riverhead

$10/Seniors (55+) $5

For more info


https://gardenofevefarm.com/garlic-festival/

 

All things Garlic (and organic)! Music, hay rides, crafts and more!

 

Noon to 6pm

 

Egyptian Festival

St. Mark’s Coptic Church

90 Woodbury Rd.

Woodbury

For more info


http://stabraam.org/new/index.php?view=article&id=743:egyptian-festival-2021&catid=2

 

Not organic but tasty Egyptian food. Tours of church, ethnic music and dance, family friendly.

 

noon to 8pm

 

Greek Festival

St. Paraskevi Green Orthodox Shrine Church

Pulaski Rd.

Greenlawn

For more info:

http://www.stparaskevi.org/

 

Not organic, but tasty Greek food
rides, vendors, dancers, food, flea market, games.

 

 

Tuesday, September 21st

 

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

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

 

 

Friday, September 24th

 

6pm to 9pm

 

Egyptian Festival

St. Mark’s Coptic Church

90 Woodbury Rd.

Woodbury

For more info


http://stabraam.org/new/index.php?view=article&id=743:egyptian-festival-2021&catid=2

 

Not organic but tasty Egyptian food. Tours of church, ethnic music and dance, family friendly.

 

 

Saturday, September 25th

 

Noon to 9pm

 

Egyptian Festival

St. Mark’s Coptic Church

90 Woodbury Rd.

Woodbury

For more info


http://stabraam.org/new/index.php?view=article&id=743:egyptian-festival-2021&catid=2

 

Not organic but tasty Egyptian food. Tours of church, ethnic music and dance, family friendly.

 

 

Sunday, September 25th

 

Noon to 9pm

 

Egyptian Festival

St. Mark’s Coptic Church

90 Woodbury Rd.

Woodbury

For more info


http://stabraam.org/new/index.php?view=article&id=743:egyptian-festival-2021&catid=2

 

Not organic but tasty Egyptian food. Tours of church, ethnic music and dance, family friendly.

 

 

Saturday, October 2nd to Sunday, October 17th

 

Cider Week New York

For more info (there’s a lot going on) and tickets (some events require tickets, some not)


https://ciderweeknewyork.com/

 

The one location participating on Long Island is Wolffer Estate Vineyard (not organic
ah well â˜č)
otherwise, NYC (Brooklyn, Manhattan & Queens), and other parts of NY State. Wonder if any of the participating ciders are certified organic? Or biodynamic? Or sustainable? Or at least “natural”? Hmmmm
.. 😊

 

 

Saturday, October 16th

 

Times available – TBD

 

Green Thumb Farm’s Annual CSA Pumpkin Picking Tour

Green Thumb Farm

829 Montauk

Water Mill

RSVP (will give info when reservations open up)

FREE

 

Take a hay ride around YOUR farm (you’ll see a different part of the farm than you did if you went to the June Strawberry picking tour), and pick some certified organic Pumpkins (good enough to eat
or carve 😊)!

 

This is a CSA Member exclusive (for current CSA Members only
if you’re sharing a CSA Share with someone and the CSA Member won’t be attending, you need to register under the CSA Member’s name
no offense, but as far as the farm goes – you don’t exist! 😊)!

 

Recommend eating after (or before if the timing is right) at the following places
(by me
take ‘em or leave ‘em 😊)

 

  1. Barrow Food House in Riverhead – 11:30am to 9:30pm – no reservations (where I’ll probably go afterwards, but if it’s a madhouse and I don’t want to wait
or can’t even get near there, will try #2 and then #3)

https://barrowfoodhouse.com/

Farm to table (farm belongs to the dad of the chef and is down the road) have had 2 Soups, 2 Salads, Roast Beef Sandwich, Fried Chicken Sandwich (OMG), side of Greens, Almond Torte Dessert and everything was good enough for us to want to try everything on the menu (only complaint was my side of Sugar Snap Peas needed to be de-strung
spitting out bits of undigestible fiber
ugh
minor complaint but in this sort of place they could/should do better)

 

  1. Farm Country Inn in Riverhead – 11:30am to 11pm – can make reservations (never been
hear it’s decent
overlooks river)

https://www.farmcountrykitchenli.com/

 

  1. Pita House in Medford – 11am to 11pm – not far off the LIE at exit #64/Rt. 112 heading south - shouldn’t need reservations, not sure if they take them (long time fave
Turkish AND Turkish grocery store next door)

https://www.longislandpitahouse.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=gmb&utm_campaign=gmb

 

  1. Hamptons Coffee Company – 5:30am to 6pm (right next to Green Thumb Farm farm stand
have eaten here
didn’t love it, but couldn’t be more convenient, happy to have this option, and would go again)

https://www.hamptoncoffeecompany.com/

 

 

Tuesday, October 19th to Thursday, October 21st

 

EWG’s Clean Con 2021

To register for notification when tickets go on sale


https://www.ewg.org/cleancon/?ms=WEB_EWG_BannerCTA

 

Join scientists, healthy living experts and marketing innovators in exploring the chemicals that are in our personal environment, and how we can embrace habit-changing behaviors to live a cleaner, healthier life! Will learn about the body burden of these toxic chemicals, what “clean beauty” truly means, and how to make better choices when it comes to food and water.

 

If you want to check out last year’s event to get an idea of who the speakers might be and what they may be discussing


https://www.ewgcleancon.org/home

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