Happy Spring!
CSA weather report…hot and windy (hopefully, with the
potential thunderstorms starting at 3am Thursday and lasting 8am on Thursday,
there won’t be power outages affecting our CSA…if so, there will still be a CSA
BUT if you come later in the evening when the sun goes down, either have a
flashlight on hand or be prepared to use your cell phone as a flashlight
(there’s an app for that if you don’t have one either built-in or downloaded
already).
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
- First CSA meeting of the
year this Saturday…all about Strawberries…and there will be a raffle for
all who attend!
- Get to know your
Asparagus (there’s always more to learn 😊)
- Food safety and
COVID-19…
- Get to know your
Alliums…we’re getting some this week again ((PLUS there’s a new article
that wasn’t there last week)!
- What you actually got
last week
- Want to stop crying over
your Onions?
- And now, for something
completely different…
*Anything in any of our CSA 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)…
- Bring at least TWO bags to the CSA EVERY WEEK
for wet and dry food items (and never the twain should meet)
- When packing up your CSA food, start at the left side
of the long table and work your way to the right and out the garden door.
Why? We set out the food to be packed in that order so the heaviest food
items will be on the bottom of your bag, and your food won’t get squished
(another way to make your food go bad faster), and if you separate the wet
from the dry foods you’re doing pretty good on having your food last
longer! 😊
- When you get your food home, if it’s in a plastic bag
take it OUT of the plastic bag and store it elsewhere…even if it’s in another
plastic bag (the original bag will be too wet and your food won’t be happy
there for long)
- Plan on using your food in the order of how long it
will reasonably stay fresh (if stored properly). This week…1) Curly Cress,
2)Lettuce, 4) Beet Greens (if we get them attached to our Beets 😊), 3) Asparagus, 4)
Onions, 5) Beets.
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 all the way around at
the back of the building by the daycare center (you’ll see a fenced-in
playground area with a sandbox)
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 taking 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.
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
suggestions/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 #2
June 9, 2022
- Beets (and probably the tops which are Beet Greens)* –
1 bunch
- Onions** - 1 bunch
- Asparagus*** – 1 bag
- Lettuce – 1 head
- Curly Cress**** – 1 bunch
Total Items: 5
Herb Share – June 1A
Oregano AND Chives, Garlic
*Beets are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good
info and recipes)!
https://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49
when you get the tops on your Beets you get a two for one
nutritional treat because…
Beets tops are also one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods
(good info and recipes)!
https://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=151
**Onions are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good
info and recipes)!
http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=45
***Asparagus is one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods
(good info and recipes)!
https://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=12
***There’s no official Veg Info Sheet on Curly Cress so here
you go (want any other suggestions, info – get in touch 😊)…
Cress, Curly
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
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…the Smoothie/Juice and Hummus
recipes look pretty good (weights need to be translated as this is from the UK)…
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
Web MD on “garden cress” (basically same as Pepper/Curly
Cress)…
2. First CSA meeting of the year this Saturday…all about
Strawberries…and there will be a raffle for all who attend!
This Saturday will be our first CSA meeting of the season,
and the main topic will be Strawberries (when it comes to Strawberries, if you
think you know…you probably don’t know 😊), in preparation for
our Annual CSA Strawberry Picking Farm Tour coming up on Saturday, June 25th.
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 Café won’t be open
till somewhere between 11am and noon, feel free to bring your beverage of
choice, a snack, or breakfast! 😊
Feel free to bring friends, family (children welcome along
with a parent to attend to them 😊), and anyone you think
who might be interested in joining our CSA (they all would get to be included
in the raffle 😊)!
Saturday, June 11th
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
respond to this email
leave a message at 631-421-4864
HOWEVER, if you’re a last minute sort of person…that works
too. 😊 Just stop by, as we’d be glad to see you
(and can get you the printouts either Saturday or by the next CSA on Thursday)!
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 visit to Green Thumb Farm for the Strawberry picking tour.
Meeting Schedule (approx.)…
10am to 10:15am – doors unlocked and time to 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 – Welcome, what’s a CSA (and what it’s not),
a brief history of Green Thumb Farm, and any general CSA questions
10:30 to 11:15pm – Alton Brown’s series Good Eats episode –
Strawberry Sky (recipes from the show will be given to those attending)
11:15am to 12pm – Strawberry chat time, recipe info and
distribution, raffle drawing for all those attending (prize will be announced
at the meeting), and other CSA topics (July meeting/future meeting topics, our
June restaurant outing, etc.).
If you plan on attending, please RSVP so I can have
the proper amount of printouts at the ready. Feel free to bring along any
friends that might be interested in joining our CSA, and children are welcome
to attend too (along with a parent to attend to them 😊).
So far attending our CSA meeting this Saturday will be…
Karen Rubino
Dylan Skolnick
Joan Weiss
suzanne j zoubeck
Hope to see you Saturday!
3.Get to know your Asparagus (there’s always more to
learn 😊)
Decent storage tip on Asparagus…
https://www.canr.msu.edu/videos/let-s-talk-about-asparagus
What I do…when I unpack my CSA Share to put food away I cut
off the ends of my Asparagus and take a paper towel folded in half (that’s
soaked with water and wrung out so it’s wet but not dripping) and wrap the cut
ends of the Asparagus with the wet paper towel and secure with a rubber band
(not too tight to smash the Asparagus but tight enough to keep the paper towel
in place). This is instead of sticking it in a jar of water…has the same
effect. Next I take another paper towel and wrap it around the rest of the
Asparagus leaving an inch or two space from the wet paper towel so the rest
stays dry (if not dry that would only make it rot faster). Then place it a
baggie, squeeze the air out, twist the bag and tie it in a knot, and with
painter’s tape and a marker make a label (Asparagus – 6/9) and it’s done.
Sounds more complicated than it is but my Asparagus (still have two stalks left
from last week) are as fresh as can be. How do I know? The top bits are still
tight, otherwise they start to fan out. Air is an enemy of keeping food fresh.
Water is a mixed bag (some veg need to be totally dry, some like some moisture,
some do best with the cut ends damp to absorb moisture to keep it “growing”…all
a matter of getting to know your food 😊).
Don’t snap it…peel it!
https://www.oregonlive.com/cooking/2016/03/why_snapping_asparagus_stalks.html
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/9894-peeling-asparagus-is-it-worth-the-fuss
Thick Asparagus is considered higher quality than thin
Asparagus by the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board!
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/thick_or_thin_whats_the_best_asparagus_for_your_table
Why big Asparagus is the fave of food professionals…
https://www.bonappetit.com/story/big-thick-asparagus
https://www.psu.edu/news/agricultural-sciences/story/skinny-asparagus-thicker-means-more-tender/
Another good general tip sheet…I wish just one article would
have ALL the info…but it never seems to happen so…check this out 😊…eat
Asparagus raw in a salad (I ate a washed off spear of Asparagus at the
CSA…couldn’t wait and it was good 😊)…
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/choosing_and_preserving_asparagus
4.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…
After keeping the CSA going thru 2020 and 2021 (with
everyone staying healthy using the simple practices of wearing face coverings,
hand washing, and social distancing), this is where we are now at this moment
in time…
- Face coverings are optional
- Hand washing upon entering the theater is STRONGLY
recommended (it’s always a good idea in preventing COVID as well as the
flu and colds)
Why COVID HATES soap (works better than hand sanitizer or
gloves), and we’re talking plain soap, NOT antibacterial soap (the use of which
causes antibiotic resistance which could kill us all ☹)…
https://healthmatters.nyp.org/how-does-handwashing-with-soap-kill-the-coronavirus/
- We will try and keep the CSA area relatively uncrowded
- Enter near the Box Office entrance, and exit thru the
door that leads out to the Cinema garden and upper parking lot stairs
5.Get to know your Alliums…we’re getting some this week
again (PLUS there’s a new article that wasn’t there last week)!
Great NY Times article on the whole Allium family…
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/dining/onion-scallions-shallots.html
Over the course of our CSA season we might get Garlic,
Garlic Scapes, Leeks, Scallions, and/or Spring Onions.
And another article on Scallions vs. Spring Onions vs. Green
Onions (with some good easy suggestions on how to use them)…
https://www.delish.com/food-news/a39680503/scallions-vs-green-onions/
6.What you actually got last week
Week #1
June 2, 2022
- Beans, Black Turtle Beans (dried) – 1 bag (2/3 lb.) -
$4.00
- Onions, Spring – 1 bunch - $5.00
- Asparagus – 1 bunch (1/2 lb.) - $4.25
- Spinach – 1 bag (1/2 lb.) - $4.25
- Lettuce: Loose Leaf, Green – 1 head -$3.75
Total Items: 5
Total Amount: $21.25
(We pay $20 per week for our CSA share…some weeks we get a
bit more, some a bit less. This week, it was $1.25 extra. 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 last year it was almost four weeks worth extra so we’re
talking almost $80 worth of food we got gratis…it’s all good! 😊)
Flower Share - #1
Sweet Williams
*Black Beanss are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods
(good info and recipes)!
https://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=2
**Onions are one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good
info and recipes)!
http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=45
***Asparagus is one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods
(good info and recipes)!
https://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=12
***Spinach is one of the world’s 100 healthiest foods (good
info and recipes)!
https://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=43
7.Want to stop crying over your Onions? 😊
Have you tried any of these tips? What works for you?
https://delishably.com/vegetable-dishes/How-to-Chop-Onions-Without-Crying
Being the lazy gourmet that I am 😊,
I just keep tissues around and make sure not to touch my eyes with my hands so
I don’t get Onion juice in my eyes (AAAAHHHHH!!!!).
8.And now, for something completely different…
Some cooking hacks…take what you like and leave the rest!
Am curious to try the one about cutting up Hot Peppers, and
a few others…
Events…both near and far
Thursday, June 9th
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 the archives.
Saturday, June 11th
10am to noon
CSA Meeting – All about Strawberries
Cinema Arts Centre – Sky Room Café
423 Park Ave
Huntington
RSVP (so we know how many copies to print of recipes, etc,)…
631-421-4864
10am to 10:15am – gather
10:15am to 11pm – Alton Brown Strawberry Sky DVD
11am to 12pm – Raffle, and talking CSA and Strawberries
We’ll be watching the Strawberry Sky episode of Alton
Brown’s Good Eats tv show and talking Strawberries (like why they’re #1 food
everyone should buy organic) in preparation for our Green Thumb CSA Farm Tour
happening on Saturday, June 25th. There will be a free raffle for
all who attend.
Sunday, June 12th
7:30am to 12pm
Huntington Village Farmers Market
228 Main St.
Huntington
From now till November.
Tuesday, June 14th
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
Thursday, June 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.
Sunday, June 19th
7:30am to 12pm
Huntington Village Farmers Market
228 Main St.
Huntington
From now till November.
Tuesday, June 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
Thursday, June 23rd
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.
Saturday, June 25th
10am/11am/12pm BUT don’t quote me…will find out exact
times and let y’all know
Green Thumb CSA Strawberry Picking Farm Tour
Green Thumb Farm
Water Mill
This is a walking farm tour. More details to follow.
Planning on going to lunch after the last tour at Barrow Food House in
Riverhead (farm-to-table and reasonably priced for the area) and everyone’s
invited (they have indoor and outdoor dining options).
Sunday, June 26th
7:30am to 12pm
Huntington Village Farmers Market
228 Main St.
Huntington
From now till November.
Tuesday, June 28th
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
Thursday, June 30th
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.
###
