Happy Autumn!
CSA weather report…cool
- This week our CSA is on WEDNESDAY,
November 23rd
- The hours will be from 1:30pm
to 7:30pm
- If you’re not coming to
the CSA this week and no one is picking up for you (and you haven’t let us
know already), PLEASE EMAIL BEFORE 11AM TODAY and let us know in case we can go home
early (BUT if you need to pick up at 7:30pm…or need a bag packed to pick
up at the Box Office – check to see how late they’ll be there - that is
TOTALLY fine 😊).
Please be patient! We will be closing the CSA
for approx. 15 minutes from 3:30pm to 3:45pm and 5:30pm to 5:45pm.
Why? Several weeks ago we were missing one bag of Tomatoes
at the end of the night (the Tomatoes were counted twice by two different
people before the start of the CSA, so it’s not because the farm shorted us),
and no one has provided any information/help to solve this mystery. So, to do a
better job of keeping track of our CSA food, we’ll be closing down the CSA at
5:30pm for as long as it takes to count our food (hopefully no more than 15
minutes and possibly less). This will be a weekly occurrence until further
notice.
Exchange Table this week!
Short story…will be a table by the exit to the CSA, after
you’ve taken your CSA Share if there’s something on the Exchange Table that you
want to exchange for it, you can.
However, you have to exchange the entire food item and not
leave part of it (ex. If we get 2 lbs. of Tomatoes you have to leave all 2 lbs.
to get something from the Exchange Table). There will be someone stationed at
the table to answer any questions.
Why haven’t we done this before? We didn’t have enough
volunteers working at the CSA and this week we do. Will we do it again this
year? Depends on how many people sign up to work on any given week.
CSA member Noelle DeLorenzo with be gracing the
world with her voice (along with her fellow choir members 😊)
on December 3rd, 4th, and (see CSA Events listings
for details).
CSA member Tom Cohn is the organizer and hosts the
Huntington Public Library’s Great Books Reading and Discussion Group (for
all you book lovers out there 😊), and the next event is
on Monday, November 28th. See CSA Events listings for details.
Important…if you send anyone to the CSA to
pick up food for you, please tell them to BRING BAGS (at least two…one
for dry food and one for wet food)!
This email includes…
- What you need to know
- Food safety and
COVID-19…
- It’s cold & flu
season so when it comes to our CSA…
- Vote early and vote
often (in this case…you can)
- Emergency situations at
the CSA (hurricanes/electronic communication glitches/medical emergencies,
etc.)
- What you actually got last
week
- 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.
Most immediate helpful hints…
- 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 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). Any questions regarding
what this would be…ask. 😊
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)
When you arrive at the CSA –
- Check in at the desk with our friendly CSA worker
- Read the CSA 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.
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 #26
November 23, 2022
- Rutabaga* – See CSA Wall Chart
- Squash, Winter – See CSA Wall Chart
- Peppers, Sweet: assorted – 1 bag
- Tat Soi – 1 bunch
- Sage** – 1 bunch
Total Items: 5
Herb Share – November 2B
Dill AND Thyme
*Rutabaga inspiration…
Good article (9 simple ways to prepare them)…
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a20706455/rutabaga-recipes/
They’re in the cruciferous family so if you want their
cancer prevention benefits…do not microwave when cooking or reheating
(explained in a previous email…ask suzanne if you didn’t read the info and want
to know why)
https://www.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/recipes/2016/03/what-do-i-do-with-rutabagas
More ideas from the Smithsonian magazine…
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/five-ways-to-eat-rutabaga-74280331/
And more…
https://www.thekitchn.com/rutabaga-recipes-tips-and-ideas-22928359
How to freeze and variations on mashed…
https://www.thespruceeats.com/easy-mashed-rutabagas-3061932
*What to do with a bunch of Sage?
A dozen ways to preserve Sage…
https://www.thekitchn.com/12-creative-ways-to-preserve-sage-221034
Good basic info about Sage…
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-cook-with-sage-11-culinary-uses-for-sage
16 ways to use fresh Sage…
Sage Sage (😊) suggestions from the Pioneer
Woman (Ree Drummond)…
What isn’t good fried? Have you ever tried fried Sage
leaves?
Try this recipe…
https://www.thewickednoodle.com/fried-sage-leaves/
And check out these suggestions of what to do with fried
Sage…
https://thishealthytable.com/blog/crispy-sage-leaves/
2.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
3.It’s cold & flu season so when it comes to our CSA…
It’s
never a bad idea to wash your hands before entering our CSA BUT…if you
have any signs of illness (sore throat, fever, coughing, swollen glands,
sneezing, runny nose, congestion, unusual fatigue, body aches, headaches,
vomiting, diarrhea or combination thereof) – PLEASE STAY HOME! 😊
You need to be home taking care of yourself, and we all
don’t want to get whatever it might be that you have. 😊
Please have someone else pick up your CSA Share. But if you
don’t have anyone who can do that for you, let us know and we’ll see what we
can do. If it’s after noon on Thursday (the day of our CSA), call the Cinema
Arts Centre Box Office after 3:30pm at 631-423-7611 and ask to speak to
someone at the CSA so we can see if we can get someone to either hold your food
till someone can come get it, or have someone drop it off at your house.
4.Vote early and vote often (in this case…you can! 😊)
From now till December 15th (our CSA doesn’t end
till December 8th 😊), you can vote for the
Cinema Arts Centre to win the “Best of Long Island” award for 2022 AND you’re
allowed one vote per one person per each day for each category (in this case
the category is Movie Theater). So like I said…vote early (start now 😊),
and vote often 😊!
Why vote for them? Well, it is the best movie theater on
Long Island (IMHO as the kids say 😊), but they’ve also been
gracious enough, over these past few years, to host Green Thumb CSA –
Huntington and so this is a fairly simple way to show them your appreciation
(if you feel so inclined 😊).
Here's the link…
https://www.bestoflongisland.com/voting/#/gallery/?group=436121
And since Green Thumb Farm wasn’t nominated for best Farm
Stand (I will try and make that happen next year 😊), I’m voting for Garden
of Eve Organic Farm…
https://www.bestoflongisland.com/voting/#/gallery/?group=436126
Under “Local Raw Honey” I voted for Bees Needs because
that’s owned by the beekeeper, Mary, for our farm…
https://www.bestoflongisland.com/voting/#/gallery/?group=436126
Are any of you out there nominated? If so, let us know any
maybe we’ll vote for you! 😊
5.Emergency situations at the CSA (hurricanes/electronic
communication glitches/medical emergencies, etc.)
- It’s hurricane season till November 30th
(our CSA’s last day is December 8th)! 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 our 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 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 as it could be helpful
for you and those of us at the CSA. Again…show up, and at 3:30pm and
5:30pm if there were no emails please offer to work if you’re able and
available. 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 to
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).
- Electronic communication is FAR from perfect. IF you
get no CSA emails or responses to your emails on any given week…come to
the CSA anyway. It could be a problem with my laptop, etc. Stuff happens.
- Anything else that might come up (these days…who
knows???)…no emails, etc., 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! 😊
- If there’s an emergency
situation in progress, consider offering to help out at the CSA whether
you’re asked to or not.
6.What you actually got last week
Week #25
November 17, 2022
- Sweet Potatoes – 1 bag (3 lbs.) - $6.25
- Fennel – 1 bunch - $5.25
- Kale: Lacinato – 1 bunch - $5.25
- Radicchio: Chiogga – 1 head - $4.75
- Parsley – 1 bunch - $3.75
Total Items: 5
Total Amount: $25.25
We pay $20 per week for our CSA share…some weeks we get a
bit more, some a bit less. This week, it was $5.25 over $20.00. Doesn’t sound
like a whole lot, but it adds up over the course of the CSA season (so far the
total is up to $65 over what we paid). 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 (so far
it’s over three CSA Shares worth), 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! 😊
Why did the German scientists get cows stoned on cannabis?
Sounds like the setup for a joke, but it’s true!
https://www.popsci.com/environment/cow-cannibis-milk-hemp/
Events…both near and far
Sunday, November 20th to Monday, November 28th
About a dozen other events will be scheduled till November
28th and you’re more than welcome to attend and to help, so sign up
to volunteer and get more info. And if you can’t volunteer, you can always
donate to the group so they can continue to do the work they do.
Sunday, November 20th
1pm to 4pm
Vegan Thanksgiving Bonanza 2022
Municipal Parking Lot #1
Cooper St. N. & Washington Ave
Hempstead
For more info and to volunteer…
Join Community Solidarity in the world’s largest vegan
Thanksgiving! Check out this link if you want to see what last year’s event
looked like and understand why they need the help...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_IPVJSfwl0&ab_channel=JonSTeps
7pm
Great Books Reading and Discussion Group
Huntington Public Library – Main Auditorium
338 Main Street
Huntington
FREE (but registration is required)
For more info and to register…
631-427-5165 xt. 270
Or read about it on page 3 of the library newsletter…
https://myhpl.libnet.info/frontend-images/pdfs/myhpl/2022NovDec_FinalwCropsv2.pdf
Join CSA member Tom Cohn and fellow book lovers for this
ongoing (celebrating its 18th year!) book club/discussion group.
Tuesday, November 29th
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
4pm to 5pm
North Shore Chamber Choir
First Presbyterian Church
Main St. & South St.
Pt. Jefferson
FREE
For more info:
Come hear CSA member Noelle DeLorenzo singing in the North
Shore Chamber Choir, selections from Handel’s Messiah, as part of Port
Jefferson’s 26th Annual Charles Dickens Festival.
7:30pm
North Shore Chamber Choir
St. John the Baptist Church
1488 N. Country Rd.
Wading River
FREE (though there will be a free will offering and raffle
tickets are being sold at the door)
For more info:
Come hear CSA member Noelle DeLorenzo singing in the North
Shore Chamber Choir, selections from Handel’s Messiah.
Tuesday, December 6th
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
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, December 10th
Northport Middle School
11 Middleville Re.
Northport
$15 (tickets sold at the door)
Come hear CSA member, Noelle DeLorenzo, sing along with the
Northport Chorale in this holiday concert, featuring the Northport Community
and Jazz Bands.
Sunday, December 11th
John J. Flanagan Center (formerly the gym of the YMCA)
423 Park Ave
Huntington
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