Happy Spring (and a Happy Juneteenth)!
To learn more about Juneteenth…
https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/moments/juneteenth
If you signed up to work at the CSA this week but didn’t
get an email asking for your confirmation, you’re not working at the CSA this
week.
CSA weather report…hot, windy, rain/thunderstorms
starting around 5pm and lasting till around 9pm.
DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CSA SHARE IN YOUR CAR FOR ANY LENGTH OF
TIME (it’s too hot and it will not be happy, and won’t last as long as it would
if it were happy…which happens at about 40 degrees 😊).
Important…if you ever send anyone to the CSA
to pick up food for you, please tell them to BRING BAGS (and make
sure at least one of them is plastic for the wet foods so you don’t get the dry
ones wet which would not be a good thing…will make the foods that don’t want to
be wet rot faster)!
CSA Events coming up this month…for more info on
these events, see the CSA Events email
THIS SATURDDAY
Saturday, June 21st – CSA Spring Harvest Farm Tour
(at our CSA farm, Green Thumb Organic Farm, Water Mill)
Details about this see below and in your weekly CSA Events
email!
Sunday, June 28th – for more info see Events
email
CSA Culinary Extravaganza – June Edition
Sweetgreen
Huntington
This email includes…
- What you need to know
- CSA Spring Harvest Farm
Tour coming THIS SATURDAY!
- Food safety and
COVID-19…
- How to not miss any CSA
pickups AND getting in touch with your CSA (you’ll want this info in your
“back pocket” for the one time it might come in handy)
- Click activism…every
little bit counts!
- Juneteenth recipes from
the National Museum of African American History and Culture
- 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.
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 go 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.
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 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.
Veggie info sheets are added as needed. This is the link to the: Veggie Info Sheets. Print them out, put them 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! 😊 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 19, 2025
- Radishes – 1 bunch
- Mustard Greens – 1 bunch
- Sorrel – 1 bunch
- Lettuce – 1 head
- Cilantro – 1 bunch
Total Items: 5
Flower Share -Week #2
Yarrow (everlast…can be dried)
2.CSA Spring Harvest Farm Tour coming up THIS SATURDAY!
Saturday, June 21st
11am/12pm
CSA Spring Harvest Tour
Green Thumb Farm
Montauk Hwy.
Water Mill
To register:
Reply to this email or leave a voice message at
631-421-4864, and either way leave your name and the number of people in your
party
Want to see where your CSA food is coming from? Have any
questions about our CSA farm or about your own home gardens? This tour is for
CSA members and their immediate family only (Green Thumb Farm does not do tours
for the general public). It’s one of two times we get invited to visit our farm
each year (the other one is in October). If you are sharing a CSA Share with
someone, the tour is technically for the CSA Member only BUT usually what will
work is the CSA Member goes on one tour and the CSA Share Partner goes on the
other tour using the CSA Member’s name (because as far as the farm is
concerned…you don’t exist 😊!). The tour will be a
walking tour lasting approximately 1 hour. Dress appropriately (closed shoes,
sun protection, etc.). It will be rain or shine (barring torrential downpours
and thunderstorms). CSA members receive a 10% discount off of all purchases at
the Green Thumb Farm farm stand (including vegetable, herb and other plants for
your garden 😊).
After your farm tour, I’d suggest planning on eating at the
food truck (Hardwood Poke Co.…local Tuna line-caught used by owner of the food
truck AND they have a vegan option AND some of the produce they use might be
from Green Thumb Farm 😊) that’s going to be
parked at the farm (unless they sell out and then I’d suggest to make a trip to
Barrow Food House in Aquebogue…on the way back travelling west). I’ll be eating
at the food truck after the noon tour UNLESS they’re sold out and in that case,
will go to Barrow Food House.
Check out the websites for the eateries (and their menus)
here…
Hardwood Poke Co. – I have yet to eat here BUT every CSA
Member who has wants to do it again (that’s a good review in my book 😊)…
https://www.hardwoodpoke.com/
Barrow Food House – with most entrees between $16 and $20,
for the Hamptons, that’s like going to McDonald’s 😊…can
eat inside or outside and the food is local and good (have eaten at least half
of what’s on their menu 😊)…
https://barrowfoodhouse.com/
3.Food safety and COVID-19, flu, etc.…
Even though it’s been a while since the word “pandemic” has
been bandied about, people are still getting COVID (there’s new variant going
around) and other illness. And the lessons we learned during the past few years
can still come in handy today to avoid basic things like colds and the flu.
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
After keeping the CSA going thru 2020 and 2021 while the
Cinema Arts Centre was closed (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 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/
- Will try and keep the
CSA area relatively uncrowded if any future outbreaks of any infectious
diseases occur
- 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 not miss any CSA pickups AND getting in touch
with your CSA (you’ll want this info in your “back pocket” for the one time it
might come in handy)
Let me give you all the details on your options regarding
how not to miss CSA pickups going forward. I know this is a lot of info
but I want to give y’ass every possible option I can think of to not miss out
on any of our CSA Shares.
1. If you're running late and it's something you didn't
know in advance and can get to the Cinema Arts Centre by 9pm or 10pm, call the
Cinema Box Office (631-423-7611 xt. 0 - I'd put this number in my phone under
"CSA contacts" or however you think you'll remember to find this
number and have easy access) between CSA hours (after 3:30pm but before
7:30pm), ask to speak to someone at the CSA and you'll be transferred, let us
know you'll be running late, and we can pack a bag for you that will have your
last name on it (when you pick up your CSA Share, make sure it's your last name
on the bag because, for example, if you get an Herb Share and someone else
doesn't, you don't want to miss out on your Herb Share and vice versa), and get
there before the Box Office closes for the night. That time depends on the
length of the movies playing (which change every week) so when you call to ask
us at the CSA to pack your CSA Share I'd ask the Box Office person what time
they'll be closing AND I'd give a call when I was on my way to let them know so
they wouldn't lock the front door (just in case 😊).
2. If you know in advance that you might be running late,
you can contact me (will put below the parameters of when I'm available as I'm
not a 24/7 person in terms of how to get in touch with me), and let me know and
I'll (as in the above), pack up your CSA Share so you can pick it up at the Box
Office before it closes. HOWEVER, if you don't get there by the time they're
going to close, they will have our donating organization come over to take it
as we can't store any CSA food at the Cinema overnight.
3. If you know in advance that you can't pick up at all
on a Thursday, there are options...
A. Have someone you know pick up for you so you can get
it from them the next day OR, if you're going away for the weekend, when you
get back. The only thing they need when they stop by our CSA is knowing where
to go (the Cinema's Sky Room Cafe), what time to show up (3:30pm to 7:30pm),
your name (you'd be surprised at how that's not as obvious as one would think 😊)
AND, to bring at least two bags to pack up the CSA Share to separate wet and
dry foods (and one being plastic or some other material that won't leak water).
B. Have another CSA member take your CSA Share home with
them and...see above. If you don't know any of our CSA members and you'd like,
I will send out an email asking for help, and 9 times out of 10 there will be a
CSA member who'd be glad to hold on to your CSA Share till you're able to pick
it up at that person's home (or another location agreed upon by both people).
They understand not wanting to miss a week of the CSA Season so they're happy
to help. 😊
All this might sound complicated BUT last night I had to
pack up CSA Shares for TWO of our long time CSA members. One woman works for
the Suffolk County Department of Health in the Infectious Disease Department
and has 3 small children so she's always running, and the other woman has a job
where her daily commute is in Westchester (administrator for a group related to
teacher's union contracts for all of New York State) so....traffic (she'll call
from her car OR she knows in advance that she'll be working late).
Have to tell you though, missing at least one CSA pickup
per season is almost like a rite of passage for every CSA member (new and not
new 😊). People miss them for any number of
reasons. From life's unexpected events (like getting caught up at work 😊,
to completely forgetting, to late planning that's not working out as one
wanted. At one point a number of years ago I was a member of our CSA AND
another one (wanted to compare the two CSA Shares 😊),
and I FORGOT to pick up my 2nd CSA Share one week (and was so annoyed at myself
that I never forgot again 😊). If I can completely
forget to pick up my CSA Share (of a CSA site that I'm not managing 😊),
it can happen to anyone 😊.
How to get in touch with suzanne...
1. email gtcsahuntington@gmail.com
- 24/7 HOWEVER there are times when I won't see them. On Thursdays, odds are I
won't see emails from noon till the next day (Friday) after noon.
2. personal phone ( 631-421-4864 )- for the
purposes of the CSA I use my home phone which is a land line. I want to
separate my home and "work" life so I don't use my mobile phone and
even if it's someone I know, I won't respond to anything connected to the CSA
from my mobile phone. HOWEVER, I won't see any phone messages left on this
number during the same times as the above (won't see voice messages left after
noon on Thursdays and won't check them till Friday after noon...and I don't check
them remotely)
3. Cinema phone ( 631-423-7611 xt. 0 ) - I'd keep this
number in your mobile phone too under "CSA" or any other place you'll
remember where it is. Unlike the above, you can ONLY use this number during CSA
hours (Thursday 3:30pm to 7:30pm) for the purpose of letting us know you're
running late and want your CSA Share packed and left at the Box Office, OR a
last minute plea to try and find someone to take your CSA Share home with them
so you can pick it up the next day (I wouldn't count on this since the pool of
people who will be asked is small BUT I also would still give it a try because
it has worked from time to time).
Lastly, for the past several years, our CSA farm, Green
Thumb Farm, has been VERY generous with us and over the course of our season,
they've given us around $80.00 worth of food that we didn't pay for (so far in
the past two weeks, we've gotten $3.25 more than we've paid for...if you look
at the CSA Wall Chart every week, you'll see that the total amount of money is
usually more than the $23 we pay the farm). SO, that means as far as losing
money, you can "afford" to miss at least one or two CSA pickups (and
possibly 3 or 4) and not lose money BUT, I understand we still want our weekly
veg (and Flowers and Herbs 😊), and miss it if we
don't pick it up or arrange to have our CSA Share held for us.
5.Click activism…every little bit counts!
A.Ask your state legislator to support a ban on bee-killing neonic seed
treatments. Honey bee colony losses continue at alarming rates. In the
2022-2023 season, commercial beekeepers saw a mortality rate of 48.2 percent in
their hives, almost as bad as the 2020-2021 season with the highest loss rate
ever reported (50.8%).
What began with the collapse of bee colonies has become a full-on insect
apocalypse that scientists say is “tearing apart the tapestry of life”,
devastating bird populations, harming deer and rabbits, impacting human health
and threatening the future of foods that rely on pollinators.
The U.S. agricultural landscape is now 48 times more toxic to bees than it
was 25 years ago and crop yields for apples, cherries and blueberries are
already being reduced by a lack of pollinators. Why? Because of Bayer’s
business model: genetically modified seeds soaked in bee-killing neonic
insecticides.
Click here to act now… https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/63589/action/1
B.Join me in telling Congress to Save America's Pollinators!
Things aren't looking good for pollinators. Honey bee colonies are suffering
record-breaking losses. In a blow to an already devasted pollinator population,
the Saving America's Pollinators Act, the bill to ban Bayer's neonicotinoid
insecticides, has yet to be reintroduced, President Trump's budget eliminates
the Bee Lab, a government research institute that studies pollinators,
including how they're impacted by neonics, and enforcement of the Endangered
Species Act is being limited to prevent protection of habitats pollinators need
to survive.
Click here to act now… https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/84629/action/1?chain
6.Juneteenth recipes from the National Museum of African
American History and Culture
Here’s the cooking demo…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyr3zKPDFkA&t=11s
And the recipes being demonstrated are…
Cherry Cobbler
Red Beans and Rice
Cherry Cola BBQ Sauce…and I found an organic Cherry Cola
(there might be more brands than this one out there but this was what I had
time to find)…
https://www.hikodrinks.com/products/gusto-organic-real-cherry-cola?srsltid=AfmBOortTMpyZa6BQOk8kWZYUK9nBoQWUqfetQjXlTQrdfIijfeLsd4q
Stewed Okra with Tomatoes and Corn (yes, please 😊!
And I hope we get some Okra from our farm this season…it’s so good I just cut
it up and eat it raw in salad…and it’s not slimy, which it can be depending on
how you prepare it, and is why some people don’t like Okra 😊)
BBQ Chicken
7.What you actually got last week
Week #2
June 12, 2025
- Garlic Scapes – 1 bunch -$4.75
- Dandelion Greens – 1 bunch - $4.75
- Curly Cress* – 1 bunch - $4.75
- Lettuce: Loose Leaf, Green – 1 head - $4.50
- Lavender – 1 bunch (and yes…it is edible 😊) - $4.75
Total Items: 5
Total Amount: $23.50
We pay our farm $23 per week for our CSA share…some weeks we
get a bit more, some a bit less. This week, it was $.50 over $23.00. Doesn’t
sound like a whole lot, but it adds up over the course of the CSA season (at
the moment it’s a total of $3.25 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! 😊
Herb Share – June 1A
Chives: Garlic AND Mint
Flower Share -Week #1
Peonies
Please let me know if any of these links are no longer
functioning…
*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)…
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-453-garden%20cress.aspx?activeingredientid=453&
8.And now, for something completely different…
Edible fashion - Chocolate and Meat edition…
https://247-foodrecipes.com/magazine/edible-fashion-dresses-made-of-chocolate-and-meat-really/
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