Happy Summer!
There will be TWO bunches of Flowers available for sale
this week (they’re Statice…lovely and ridiculously easy to dry) if you don’t
already have a Flower Share (or have one and want more 😊).
If interested, bring $12 cash for each Flower Share, and see suzanne (or
email/call before noon Thursday if you want to have them reserved for you).
CSA weather report…HOT plus thunderstorms, plus
windy, and an AQI (Air Quality Alert)…don’t leave your CSA Share in your car -
over 40 degrees and it’s not happy (let alone 100 😊)
Important…if you ever 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
- Thanks to all who
participated and contributed
- Food safety and
COVID-19…
- How to get in touch with
the CSA/suzanne and why you might want to
- A chance to show your
support for…
- Emergency situations at
the CSA (hurricanes/electronic communication glitches/medical emergencies,
etc.)
- What you actually got
last week
- Perhaps reconsider
eating certain vegetables raw (or not 😊)…
- Click activism – every
voice counts
- 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)…
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. Not sure as to what that is? Just 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 РSky Room Caf̩ 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 sign-in 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 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
(Community Solidarity…read more about them in the CSA Events email under
Tuesdays) 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 #8
July 27, 2023
- Cucumbers
- Squash, Summer
- Beans, Snap: Green – 1 bag
- Scallions – 1 bunch
- Radicchio – 1 head
- Lettuce – 1 head
Total Items: 6
Flower Shares – Week #6
Statice (everlast – can be dried)
How to dry flowers (I just put these in a vase with no water
and make sure not to bunch up the stems so they don’t get moldy)…
https://www.bestproducts.com/lifestyle/a43618877/how-to-preserve-flowers/
Herb Shares – July 2B
Sage AND Savory, Winter
2.Thanks to all who voted and contributed!
We don’t know who won yet (there’s still more rounds to go),
but our CSA member Joan Deem is out of the running. HOWEVER, she did finish 3rd
in her group! As I’ve said before, very impressive for someone who didn’t go to
culinary school and isn’t working as a food professional (cook/baker/etc.)!
If you scroll down you can see the various dishes that kept
her in the race.
https://favchef.com/2023/joan-deem
So, thanks to all who voted, and made any contributions to
the James Beard Foundation!
To learn more about the James Beard Foundation…
https://www.jamesbeard.org/about
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…
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
4.How to get in touch with the CSA/suzanne (and why you
might want to )…
This is information you might not care about at all…until
you do, So, for the one time you might need this, please keep this contact info
in a place where you’d find it if you wanted it.
Why might you want to get in touch with suzanne and/or the
CSA?
- You’re running late
getting to the CSA and can’t get there by 7:30pm (you have the option of
getting your CSA Share packed up for you and picking it up before the Box
Office closes which changes from week to week depending on the movies
being shown, but would usually be at least 9pm)
- You can’t get to the CSA
at all and would like it if someone could hold your food till Friday, or
Monday if you’re going away for the weekend (if you know in advance, don’t
wait till the last minute as the more time we have, the better chance
we’ll be able to find someone to help out)
- You’re scheduled to work
at the CSA and need to cancel
- Some other reason I’m
not coming up with at the moment 😊
Options for getting in touch (the short story is that I’m
not available 24/7, nor am I plugged in to any electronic communication thingy
24/7, and so these are the parameters)…
- Email - gtcsahuntington@gmail.com
(can email me 24/7 HOWEVER, will not see ANY emails on Thursdays from noon
to 11pm)
- Phone
- 631-421-4864 – my home
landline (can call 24/7 and only leave voice messages, BUT will not hear
ANY messages or respond on Thursdays from noon till Friday afternoon)
- 631-423-7611 xt. 0 –
Cinema Arts Centre Box Office and DO NOT leave messages with the Box
Office as we may not get these messages in a timely manner or at all, and
ask to (or insist if you need to) speak to someone at the CSA They will
transfer the call to the Café and someone from the Café will get someone
from the CSA (can ONLY call this number for the CSA on Thursdays from
3:30pm to 8pm)
5.A chance to show your support for…
It’s that time of year when YOU get the opportunity to
nominate the businesses, people, groups, etc., that you think are “The Best of
Long Island” (sponsored by Bethpage Federal Credit Union). It’s a yearly thing
and while it’s nice to be nominated, it’s even nicer to be voted The Best of
Long Island in the category you’re listed in. So, the first step is to nominate
those you think deserve the title, and the ones with the most nominations get
to be in the group to be voted as The Best on Long Island.
Nominations are taking place from now till August 1st,
and then the voting for The Best on Long Island begins on October 1st.
I’ve just nominated the following in support of our CSA (and
included all the info you need to do the same if you’d like 😊)…
This is the link to start the nomination process…
https://www.bestoflongisland.com/nominations/
The Cinema Arts Centre has been supportive enough to host
Green Thumb CSA – Huntington for the past number of years, so I think they
deserve to be The Best on Long Island for that reason alone 😊!
Category – Arts & Entertainment
Sub-category - Movie Theater
Cinema Arts Centre
423 Park Ave
Huntington
631-423-7610
Just as on FYI – our CSA farm, Green Thumb Organic Farm, had
been voted the best farm stand in NY State by Organic Living magazine (sadly,
no longer published…this was a spinoff of Organic Gardening magazine, also no
longer published). They listed the best farm stands in every state of the 50
states in the USA, and Green Thumb Farm was considered the best in New York
(quite an honor)!
Category – Food
Sub-category – Farm stand
Green Thumb Organic Farm
829 Montauk Hwy
Water Mill
631-726-1900
https://www.greenthumborganicfarm.com/
Bees’ Needs is the raw Honey company owned by Mary Woltz,
the beekeeper at Green Thumb Farm and she is WONDERFUL (and so is her Honey 😊)…
Category – Food
Sub-category – Local Raw Honey
Bees’ Needs
4 Laurel Lane
Sag Harbor
631-702-5657
If you’re a CSA member and you’d like you or your business
to be nominated, let us know and give us all the info we need and will list the
info in an upcoming CSA email.
6.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 14th)! 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’ve been asked to or not.
7.What you actually got last week
Week #7
July 20, 2023
- Fennel – 1 bunch - $5.50
- Carrots* – 1 bunch - $5.50
- Squash, Summer: Costata Romanesco, Eight Ball, Gold,
Kousa, Yellow, Zucchini – 4 pc. Total - $2.00
- Beans, Snap: Green – 1 bag (.6 lb.) - $4.50
- Lettuce: Leaf, Green – 1 head - $4.25
- Parsley: Italian Flat Leaf – bunch - $4.50
Total Items: 6
Total Amount: $25.25
We pay our farm $22 per week for our CSA share…some weeks we
get a bit more, some a bit less. This week, it was $3. 25 over $22.00 (my compulsive
self is keeping track of all this 😊). Doesn’t sound like a
whole lot whether it’s over or under, but it adds up over the course of the CSA
season (at the moment it’s a total of $12.75 more food than 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, 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 Shares – Week #5
Strawflowers (everlast – can be dried)
How to dry flowers (I just put thee in a vase with no water
and make sure not to bunch up the stems so they don’t get moldy)…
https://www.bestproducts.com/lifestyle/a43618877/how-to-preserve-flowers/
Let me know if any of these links no longer work…
*Carrot Tops – with any new food, start slow and see how your body
reacts, check if you’re on any medications for possible interactions, check
with your doctor(s) if you have any concerns/questions
Article and storage
info/recipes…you’ll be happy you checked this out!
https://www.loveandlemons.com/carrot-greens-chimichurri/
Eat or toss? Spoiler alert…it’s EAT 😊…
https://www.eatortoss.com/six-ways-to-use-carrot-greens/
Sauteed Carrot Top recipe –
great details and suggestions for freezing them!
https://www.forkintheroad.co/sauteed-carrot-greens/
More recipes…yum!
https://www.thekitchn.com/5-ways-to-eat-carrot-tops-183415
And more (the Carrot Top Herb Cornbread looks interesting)…
https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/what-to-do-with-carrot-tops/
An Asian take on Carrot tops (though I wish she gave some
suggestions of what to do with the stems…very edible/usable if you know what to
do with them)…
https://www.asiancookingmom.com/how-to-cook-and-eat-carrot-tops-greens-leaves-easy-recipe/
Carrot top Soup…
https://theherbeevore.com/carrot-green-soup-recipe-vegetarian-gluten-free-vegan/
Are you a juicer?
https://vibranthappyhealthy.com/juicing-carrot-greens
If you want to know all there
is to know about Carrot Tops (SIX TIMES as much Vitamin C as the Carrots!!!)…
http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/carrotops.html
And if Harold McGee says
they’re ok to eat…they must be ok! 😊
8.Perhaps reconsider eating certain vegetables raw (or
not)…
I learn something new every day whether I want to or not!
I wonder what my raw foods people would have to say about
this?
We’re getting Snap Beans this week (also known as String
Beans) so I checked for this info elsewhere and found this…
https://thetrellis.com/blog/can-you-eat-green-beans-raw/
I eat these raw but I do cut them up in ¼” pieces and may
put about 6 of them scattered in a large salad for myself.
The discussion about lectins regarding food is the
philosophy/diet of Dr. Gundry…
https://gundrymd.com/dr-gundry-diet-food-list/
However, Dr. Greger says the story about lectins is the
bunk…
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/Dr-Gundrys-The-plant-Paradox-is-Wrong/
Dr. Greger is a vegan and it would be interesting to have
these two debate each other.
Dr. Joel Fuhrman (another vegan doctor) also takes issue
with the anti-lectin camp…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rm7YlrcDBo
But, some folks do report health benefits from following Dr.
Gundry’s diet plan (and see he’s a semi-regular on PBS in case you’re
interested in what he has to say), so one should always consult your doctor(s)
and proceed slowly and with caution (if at all 😊).
Over the years, I have to say I’ve eaten Eggplant (a
marinated raw foods recipe and it was quite good), Mushrooms, Spinach, String
Beans, and Swiss Chard raw. Never in large quantities or often, and so far so
good as far as I can tell 😊.
9.Click activism – every vote counts
Let the EPA know that you want them to track all “forever”
chemicals…
https://www.panna.org/action/epa-must-track-all-forever-chemicals/
10.And now, for something completely different…
I know people eat eyeballs in certain cultures (I’ve tried
fish eyeballs), but not really sure about this one…
Events…both near and far
*Please keep in mind that any events or services listed do
not indicate a direct endorsement from Green Thumb Farm or Green Thumb CSA -
Huntington
Monday, July 24th to Saturday, July 29th
49th Annual NOFA (Northeast Organic Farmers
Association) Summer Conference
Online (7/24 to 7/29) AND at Worcester State U, Worcester,
MA (7/28 & 7/29 only)
Sliding scale from $250 to $50
To register and for more info…
https://www.nofamass.org/nofa-summer-conference/
Unfortunately, the website doesn’t have info yet about what
workshops are being offered AND the 1 to 2 person room accommodations at the
college are sold out. This is the NOFA conference that the general public
usually attends. The winter NOFA conferences are more for farmers, who (for the
most part) aren’t working at that point in time.
Wednesday, July 26th
7pm to 8pm
Winding Down the Day from Yin to Yang (Zoom class)
$20.00
For more info…
https://www.openenergylearning.com/class-schedule
To participate text or call..
917-562-5322
Join CSA Member Marylou Locker in a bit of active practice
and breathing techniques to prepare for a relaxing night and sound sleep!
Thursday, July 27h
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.
Friday, July 28th
2pm to 2:30pm
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.
Saturday, July 29th
4pm to 8pm
Shuck U BBQ
HOG Farm
319 Beaver Dam Rd.
Brookhaven
$80 – Genera; Public/$70 HOG Farm Members/under 15 years old
pay their age
RSVP (and for event details)…
https://airtable.com/shryErZj5qsfHkRXc
Live music, tickets include, Beer, Lemonade, BBQ, Oysters,
side dishes and fun for the whole family.
Sunday, July 30th
8am to 12pm
Huntington Village Farmers Market
228 Main St.
Huntington
From now till November.
10am till 11:15am
Virtual Yoga Class – all levels - modifications offered
(Zoom)
$20
For more info…
https://www.openenergylearning.com/class-schedule
To participate text or call..
917-562-5322
Join CSA Member Marylou Locker in an open energy and flow
class with flowing movement, energizing breath, and strengthening and
balancing postures.
Tuesday, August 8th
6pm
Farm Jam & Gathering
HOG Farm
319 Beaver Dam Rd
Brookhaven
$10 Suggested Donation
RSVP required…
https://airtable.com/shrOftRrbwTa3bgZZ
If your plans change, let them know by emailing gather@theHOGfarm.org and let them know
so someone else can take your place
Open mike (6:30pm musicians sign up…no earlier). Cocktails,
Oysters, Pizza, Pastries available for purchase. Bring your own chair.
Suggested to carpool, walk, bike (I guess not a lot of parking).
Tuesday, August 22nd
6pm
Farm Jam & Gathering
HOG Farm
319 Beaver Dam Rd
Brookhaven
$10 Suggested Donation
RSVP required…
https://airtable.com/shrOftRrbwTa3bgZZ
If your plans change, let them know by emailing gather@theHOGfarm.org and let them know
so someone else can take your place
Open mike (6:30pm musicians sign up…no earlier). Cocktails,
Oysters, Pizza, Pastries available for purchase. Bring your own chair.
Suggested to carpool, walk, bike (I guess not a lot of parking).
Sunday, October 1st
11am to 4pm
Fall Season Chinatown Walk with Dr. Z and the Natural Nurse
$55
For more info and to purchase tickets…
https://www.naturalnurse.com/event/2023-fall-season-chinatown-herb-walk-tour-in-nyc/
Lunch not included. Learn about Chinese natural remedies.
The Natural Nurse is Long Island’s own Ellen Kamhi, RN.
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