Thursday, October 30, 2025

Huntington CSA **2025 Season** Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025 Week #22

Happy Autumn!

 CSA weather report…cool, RAIN and THUNDER and WINDY (gusts up to 50mph)

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CSA SHARE IN YOUR CAR FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME (even though summer is over, your CSA Share won’t last as long as it would if it were happy…which happens at about 40 degrees and your car’s interior is warner than it is outside 😊).

 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)!

  This email includes… 

  1. What you need to know
  2. Vote NOW and vote OFTEN
  3. While the more serious water shortage warning has been lifted, there are still issues (updated)
  4. With the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean, now might be a time to consider making a donation to World Central Kitchen
  5. Food safety and COVID-19…
  6. Celebrate Chef Jacques Pepin’s 90th birthday!
  7. Click activism
  8. Emergency situations at the CSA (hurricanes/electronic communication glitches/medical emergencies…on my part, etc.)
  9. 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)
  10. If you’re passionate about gardening, science and the health of our planet…check this out
  11. Two FREE vegan holiday menu online events
  12. What we actually got last week
  13. Contests!
  14. 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… 

  1. Bring at least TWO bags to the CSA EVERY WEEK for wet and dry food items (and never the twain should meet)
  2. 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! 😊
  3. 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)
  4. Plan on using your food in the order of how long it will reasonably stay fresh.

 Before you leave the houseBRING 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

  1. Check in at the sign-in desk with our friendly CSA worker
  2. 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! ðŸ˜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 #22

October 30, 2025 

  1. Sweet Potatoes – 1 bag
  2. Cauliflower* – 1 pc.
  3. Beans, Snap: Green – 1 bag
  4. Radishes – 1 bunch
  5. Tomatoes, Mini – 1 pt.

 Total Items: 5

 *Soak Cauliflower just like you would Broccoli and for the same reason…potential wormage.

 Instructions here…

Organically grown Broccoli (and Cauliflower) from your garden, OR from a farm, OR a greenmarket, can have worms in it (if it’s safe enough for the worms to eat and not get sick and/or die, it’s good enough for us 😊). To avoid eating them (insert comments about “extra protein” here 😊), soak in salted water, or water and vinegar, for about 5 minutes (others will tell you 10 or 20 minutes or even overnight). Check out suggestions here…

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-clean-broccoli

 For Cauliflower, because the head is so tightly grown together, cut it up into smaller pieces/florets and then soak (unless you’re making Cauliflower Steaks…oh YUM…and then leave it whole, but soak it upside down). Rinse after soaking.

2.Vote NOW and vote OFTEN

 Nope, not talking about early voting for the upcoming election, or doing something illegal 😊, but talking about the yearly Best of Long Island event.

 There are a TON of things to vote on, but the two of them I’ve just voted for, and am mentioning to you are…

  1. Click on “FOOD”, and then click on “Farmstand”, and then (I hope 😊) click on “Green Thumb Farm”, and if this is your first time voting, they will ask for your email address and info to register.
  2. I then clicked on “All categories” (I think 😊) on the top of the page to get to the start and clicked on “Arts and Entertainment” and then clicked on “Movie Theater” and then clicked on “Cinema Arts Centre” (the place that is gracious enough to give our CSA a home 😊).

 

And then am flabbergasted to see that neither Sriphraphai (the best Thai restaurant on Long Island), nor Thai USA (the place that has hosted our CSA Bitter Melon dinner for the past several years and my personal local fave) are included (but then again, I may not have nominated them…must do that next year).

 So click here, and vote now and vote often 😊

https://www.bestoflongisland.com/

You can vote daily (vote often 😊) from now till December 15th.

  

3.While the more serious water shortage warning has been lifted, there are still issues (updated)…

 

Believe it or not, we’re still not at “normal” on the drought scale (just checked and we’re in the “watch” phase), so we’re not totally out of the woods yet in terms of having a good amount of water in Suffolk County. So, we’re still being asked to follow the odd/even day watering schedule in regards to lawns. If you have an even numbered house, you can water your lawn on the even days of the month and the same goes with the odd numbered houses watering on the odd numbered days of the month.

 Nassau and western Suffolk County is listed as category D0 (and that’s the numerical 0 and not the letter O) which stands for Abnormally Dry. That means we’re under a drought warning and we’re either on our way to an actual drought or coming out of an actual drought situation. But Kings Park and east of that are D1 which is a moderate drought which is not good and water conservation should be something to act on despite today’s rain. Categories of drought are from D1 to D4.

 So, the Suffolk County Water Authority would still like us all to be mindful about water use in general, as there’s still a few weeks left in the lawn watering season and there’s not a lot of rain in the forecast.

 If you want to investigate ways to conserve water AND save some money, you can get up to $250 credit for some water saving devices and get a FREE water consult. Check this out here…

https://www.scwa.com/waterwise/

 If you want to learn where all our water in our homes comes from (and more info about water conservation), check this out…

https://ourwaterourlives.com/

 AND if they open up this program again, you can get $500 for creating a rain garden, using a rain barrel and/or buy and plant Long Island native plants!

https://lirpc.org/sustainable-landscaping-resource-hub/

 

If you’d like to win a smart water sprinkler controller (worth about $250), sign the pledge here…

https://ourwaterourlives.com/pledge/

  

4.With the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean, now might be a time to consider making a donation to World Central Kitchen

 

I’ve heard they were already in Jamaica before the hurricane started, in order to be ready for what was to come.

 

Any time of the year is a good time to donate to this organization that provides hot meals all around the world, to those in need after natural disasters and during times of war.

 

If you’re not familiar with World Central Kitchen, founded by Chef Jose Andres, you can watch a video about it here…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gphj_VaXL0

 

There are various ways to make donations so check them out here…

https://wck.org/

 

 5.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…

 

  1. Face coverings are optional
  2. 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/

  1. Will try and keep the CSA area relatively uncrowded if any future outbreaks of any infectious diseases occur
  2. Enter near the Box Office entrance, and exit thru the door that leads out to the Cinema garden and upper parking lot stairs

 

 6.Celebrate Chef Jacques Pepin’s 90th birthday!

 

Chef Jacques Pepin will be turning 90 on December 18th of this year. In celebration of this event, his organization, The Jacques Pepin Foundation, is recommending that people will made a donation in honor of Chef Pepin’s birthday OR have a dining event and use it as a fundraiser for his organization. To learn more about the Jacques Pepin Foundation…

https://jp.foundation/

 

How to host a Home Cook Celebration fundraising event/dinner and to register…

https://www.celebratejacques.org/host-an-event/in-home/?utm_campaign=251028_almTerry&utm_medium=email

AND here’s the “Start-to-finish Hosting Toolkit”…

https://www.celebratejacques.org/host-an-event/in-home/in-home-dinner-party-guide/#hosting-guide

 

Fun fact…did you know that Chef Pepin was asked by President JFK and Jackie to be the White House chef, but he turned it town to be the R & D Director for Howard Johnson restaurant chain for 10 years??? True that 😊!

 

Chef Pepin never had a sweet version of Pumpkin (like Pumpkin Pie) till he came to the USA so here’s Jacques’ recipe for his Pumpkin Gratin using canned Pumpkin…

https://jp.foundation/news/jacques-returns-to-the-tonight-show-with-jimmy-fallon?utm_campaign=251028_alm2&utm_medium=email

 

Best canned Pumpkin according to the gang at Serious Eats (and they’re all certified organic…YEAH! 😊)…

https://www.seriouseats.com/canned-pumpkin-taste-test-8749457

 

 7.Click activism

 

A.Tell your state legislators to ban toxic PFAs, To read more about this and act, click here…

https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/53935/action/1?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=OB+915+Saturday&utm_content=OB+915+Saturday&ea.url.id=4130073&forwarded=true

 

B.Tell Congress to make it easier for farmers to raise local meat and poultry…

https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/8764/action/1?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=OB+915+Saturday&utm_content=OB+915+Saturday&ea.url.id=4130070&forwarded=true

 

C.Ban Monsanto (Bayer) and Israel Chemicals LTD’s white phosphorus weapons…

https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/89552/action/1?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=OB+915+Saturday&utm_content=OB+915+Saturday&ea.url.id=4130062&forwarded=true

  

 

8.Emergency situations at the CSA (hurricanes/electronic communication glitches/medical emergencies…on my part, etc.)

 

What NOT to do during a thunderstorm…

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/thunderstorm-safety-meteorologists-goog_l_689265b6e4b07e7958a0e188

 

  1. It’s peak hurricane season till November 30th (our CSA’s last day is December 11th)! 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 for us 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).

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. 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 28+ 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! 😊

 

  1. If there’s an emergency situation in progress, consider offering to help out at the CSA whether you’re asked to or not.

 

 

 

9. 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)

 

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. 😊

 

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 few weeks, we've gotten $16.75 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.

 

 

 

10.If you’re passionate about gardening, science, and the health of our planet…check this out

 

Click here to register for a FREE live online seminar at 4pm TODAY with Elaine Ingham…

https://community.soilfoodweb.com/?utm_campaign=NOV2025&utm_medium=promo&utm_source=youtube&utm_term=web1#register

 

This is a FREE 5 part lecture series culminating on December 5th in celebration of World Soil Day.

 

Who’s Elaine Ingham? Read this…

https://www.soilfoodweb.com/about/

Elaine was also featured in the movie directed by Jerry Garcia’s (of the Grateful Dead) widow, Deborah Koons, Secrets of the Soil.

 

If you miss the deadline, you can go to the YouTube page and watch it after the fact.

 

 

 

11.Two FREE vegan holiday menu online events

 

  1. Six week series put on by the Afro Vegan Society designed to make vegan holiday cooking delicious, easy and culturally relevant (I registered because I want to see what recipes they have and I might want to cook them even though it’s not my culture 😊)…

https://www.afrovegansociety.org/holiday-menu-series?utm_campaign=9dddbdaa-d310-4133-bc07-911fb1561bc6&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail&cid=dea6e480-9e33-4475-a8ce-45460326c46e

 

  1. The Cinnamon Snail’s 21 day Thanksgiving vegan recipe spectacular (and knowing Chef Adam…it will be 😊). There will be recipes, tips and cook along videos (and I KNOW they will be entertaining as well as informative 😊). Sign up here…

https://cinnamonsnail.com/free-vegan-thanksgiving/

 

 

 

12.What you actually got last week

 

Week #21

October 23, 2025

 

  1. Sweet Potatoes – 1 bag (2 lbs.) - $5.25
  2. Beans: Cranberry – 1 bag (3/4 lb.)- $5.25
  3. Broccoli* - 1 pc. - $5.25
  4. Curly Cress** – 1 bunch - $4.50
  5. Tomatoes, Mini: Grape, Red – 1 pt. - $6.00

 

Total Items: 5

Total Amount: $26.75

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 $3.75 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 $71.50 more food than what we paid). We seem to always get at least one CSA share’s worth of food every year (we’ve got that now) 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 – October 2B

Marjoram AND Rosemary

 

*Organically grown Broccoli from your garden, OR from a farm, OR a greenmarket, can have worms in it (if it’s safe enough for the worms to eat and not get sick and/or die, it’s good enough for us 😊). To avoid eating them (insert comments about “extra protein” here 😊), soak in salted water, or water and vinegar, for about 5 minutes (others will tell you 10 or 20 minutes or even overnight). Check out suggestions here…

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-clean-broccoli

 

Please let me know if any of these links no longer work…

** 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&

 

 

 

13.Contests!

 

  1. Get two chances to win $5,000 courtesy of the Food Network (they ask you a question but even if you get it wrong you can be entered 😊)…

https://www.foodnetwork.com/sponsored/sweepstakes/fall-flavors?lid=n0shzijij1lt&nl=R-FN:Sweeps2025_2025-10-22_EnterFN

 

  1. Get another two chances to win $5,000. This time from Food.com (again…they ask you a question but even if you get it wrong, you can be entered 😊)…

https://www.food.com/sweepstakes/5k-for-fall?ocid=R-TLC:Sweeps2025_2025-10-27_EnterTLC&xp=sistersite

 

 

 

14.And now, for something completely different

 

If you don’t know why I’m using this phrase, click here (or even if you do you might want to take a peek 😊)…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bF-rpJz2CA

This was a catch phrase on the BBC tv show Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

 

It’s not all about food, but there’s a number of these that are, and this is all pretty silly, odd and amusing so, why not? 😊

https://www.boredpanda.com/funny-blessed-cursed-images/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter_Bored_Panda_Weekly_Automation&utm_term=2025-09-24&lctg=6cd6f6f3-344e-4278-9d78-9a12c7114e60

 Events…both near and far

 

*Please keep in mind that any events or services listed do not indicate a direct endorsement from Green Thumb Organic Farm or Green Thumb CSA – Huntington

 

 

Saturday, November 1st

 

5pm to 8pm

3rd Annual Farm Dinner: Elements Dinner

KK’s The Farm

59945 Main Rd.

Southold

$95

To register…

https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLK7SH9AHMNYG/checkout/RAJOKUYNXJSZFOODISBH46BW

 

You’ll be spending the first half hour outside for the horn prep burial ceremony (it’s a biodynamic thing…ask me about it if you’d like), and then sitting around a communal table for a multi-course dinner by Chef Ai and Cheo, while learning about the biodynamic preps (like the cow horns) that make the food from KK’s Farm unique. Food will be from KK’s farm and other local providers. Limited to 20 people.

 

 

Tuesday, November 6th

 

10am to 11am

Tai Chi class

Cinema Arts Centre

Sky Room Café

423 Park Ave

Huntington

FREE

 

Join teacher Roger Sencer in this free Tai Chi class that’s been held at the Cinema Arts Centre for a number of years. All levels welcome.

 

6pm to 8pm

Eric Eaton & Friends

Urban Coffee

101 Broadway

Greenlawn

FREE

For more info about Urban Coffee (no website)…

https://www.facebook.com/urbancoffeegreenlawn/

https://www.instagram.com/urbancoffeeny/?hl=en

 

CSA member Eric Eaton has started a singer/songwriter series at Urban Coffee. This will be an almost weekly event (except not the first Tuesday of the month when it will be poetry night). It’ll be an evening of home-brewed songs and home-brewed Coffee 😊. Eric will be playing songs of life, love, hope and peace, and then we’ll see what original tunes Katherine has to offer. So, come on down and grab some refreshments for your taste buds and ears!

 

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.youtube.com/watch?v=v76MyFuXfqc

 

 

Friday, November 7th to Sunday, November 9th

 

The Art of (meno)Pausing

Mama Farm

269 S Country Rd

Brookhaven

$900 (commuter)/$1700 (staying at Mama Farm’s B&B)

For more info and to register…

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e2f96731f25e703945142fa/t/68ab7da224cc221efa9a4502/1756069282029/Art+of+pausing+2025+Flyer.pdf

 

This is a 3 day immersive retreat learning all about menopause (both conventional and complementary medicine techniques) with 3 leading experts in their fields (Dr. Laura MacIsaac, Ob/Gyn and a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner, Dr. Amy Novatt, Ob/Gyn and sexual health expert, and Padma Dharini, ordained Buddhist). This is limited to 15 participants. Fees include all food (I imagine some will be from foods grown at the farm) and scheduled activities. Mama Farm is the home and passion of the actress Isabella Rossellini, and she will be giving one of the lectures. Participants will receive a 15% discount on Drs. Amy & Laura’s 3 month supportive coaching, consulting and care…an opportunity to develop individual treatment plans for optimal health.

 

 

Saturday, November 8th

 

11am to 2:30pm

Foraging Tour with Wildman Steve Brill

Belmont Lake State Park

625 Belmont Ave.

North Babylon

For directions of where to meet up…

https://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/travel

Adults - $25/Children under 12 - $15 and bring exact change (suggested donations…his knowledge and experience is worth at least twice this amount 😊)

For more info about attending a tour…

https://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/sign-up

To find more info about this tour…

https://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/tour-calendar

 

To register…

Call 914-835-2153 at least 24 hours in advance of the tour and if you need to cancel, call 24 hours in advance (if you do not cancel 24 hours in advance, you will be charged $25 prior to being allowed to schedule another tour)

 

If you’ve never gone on a foraging tour with Wildman Steve Brill, do yourself a favor and go 😊. He knows his stuff, he’s entertaining (silly and corny and sweet), and you’ll go home with some interesting and delicious local seasonal foods to eat.

 

 

Saturday, November 15th

 

11am to 3pm

NY Cider Festival

City Winery

25 11th Ave (Pier 57)

NYC

$40 to $85

For more info and tickets…

https://citywinery.com/new-york-city/events/ny-cider-festival-ifakw7

 

Not sure if any, and how many are organic, but it would be interesting to find out! Meet the makers from 25 NY cideries, taste some cider and buy some to take home, plus there are cider and cheese pairing sessions for an additional charge.

 

 

Monday, November 17th

 

5:30pm to 9pm

The 32nd Annual Great Chefs of Long Island

Crest Hollow Country Club

Jericho Tpke

Woodbury

$200 and up

For more info and to buy tickets…

https://e.givesmart.com/events/H2a/?isOrderFormActive=true

 

This is a benefit for The Family Service League, based in Huntington. It will be an evening featuring Long Island’s favorite chefs, restaurants, spirit and beverage companies displaying culinary delights while raising funds for a great organization that helps children and adults.

 

 

Wednesday, November 19th

 

1pm to 2pm

School Meals for a Sustainable Future: Local, Organic & Regenerative

FREE

For more info and to register…

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8LQRXEOLQd6JNMNoull0pQ?utm_source=Website&utm_medium=button&utm_campaign=2025+webinar+series&utm_term=Webinar+3#/registration

 

There is a lot of conflicting information about whether school food programs can truly procure higher-quality ingredients. This webinar, from the Chef Ann Foundation, will explore the realities of districts’ ability to incorporate more local, regenerative, and organic food into their programs.

 

 

Friday, January 9th and Saturday, January 10th

 

NOFA-NY Winter Conference

SUNY Purchase College

Purchase

For more info and to register (keep checking back to get the latest info)…

https://nofany.org/2026conference/

 

Stay tuned for registration details and class offerings. This is about a one hour drive from Huntington so depending on the weather, I might actually go…though I might or might not commute (too soon to tell 😊).

###

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Huntington CSA **2025 Season** Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025 Week #21

 Happy Autumn!

 Question…did any of you folks discover any worms in your Broccoli last week? Let me know if you did (if you didn’t…don’t bother 😊). Apologies for not mentioning it last week so… FOR THIS WEEK…I’d recommend to soak your Broccoli in salted water for about 5 minutes and IF there are any worms in it, they should float to the top so you’ll get rid of them before you start cooking. Here’s a few other suggestions for the same issue (I’d go for soaking in vinegar/water for the other option)…

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-clean-broccoli

 CSA weather report…cool and breezy

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CSA SHARE IN YOUR CAR FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME (while the summers’ over, your CSA Share won’t last as long as it would if it were happy…which happens at about 40 degrees and your car’s interior is warner than it is outside 😊).

 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)!

  

This email includes… 

  1. What you need to know
  2. Vegan on the Go online lecture TONIGHT at 6:30pm
  3. While the more serious water shortage warning has been lifted, there are still issues
  4. National Food Day is Friday, October 24th…what is it?
  5. Food safety and COVID-19…
  6. Our annual CSA Fall Harvest Farm Tour is coming up soon so sign up NOW 😊!
  7. Click activism
  8. Emergency situations at the CSA (hurricanes/electronic communication glitches/medical emergencies…on my part, etc.)
  9. Another reason to eat and buy organic
  10. 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)
  11. Two FREE vegan holiday menu online events
  12. What we actually got last week
  13. Contest!
  14. 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)

  1. 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! 😊
  2. 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)
  3. Plan on using your food in the order of how long it will reasonably stay fresh.

 

Before you leave the houseBRING 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

  1. Check in at the sign-in desk with our friendly CSA worker
  2. 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! ðŸ˜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 #21

October 23, 2025 

  1. Sweet Potatoes – 1 bag
  2. Beans: Cranberry – 1 bag
  3. Broccoli*
  4. Curly Cress** – 1 bunch
  5. Tomatoes, Mini – 1 pt. 

Total Items: 5

 Herb Share – October 2B

Marjoram AND Rosemary

 *Organically grown Broccoli from your garden, OR from a farm, OR a greenmarket, can have worms in it (if it’s safe enough for the worms to eat and not get sick and/or die, it’s good enough for us 😊). To avoid eating them (insert comments about “extra protein” here 😊), soak in salted water, or water and vinegar, for about 5 minutes (others will tell you 10 or 20 minutes or even overnight). Check out suggestions here…

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-clean-broccoli

 Please let me know if any of these links no longer work…

** 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&

 

 2.Vegan on the Go lecture TONIGHT at 6:30pm

 

However, if you sign up and miss it they MIGHT have a replay option (they often do with these things 😊). Sign up here…

https://linktr.ee/afrovegansociety?fbclid=IwY2xjawNnEHNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFLZ3RMcDlVdUpVWlpSQUV6AR60mEKWntpZXk4ROEte6MDYj0Q6nljlGW7LqoAJKasArF5lavlHzCcDYfQgEQ_aem_BqHgVR_I97Yul6HEKvhNOg

 

This lecture will cover local scenarios of being out and about, as well as long haul travel.

 

 3.While the more serious water shortage warning has been lifted, there are still issues…

 

Believe it or not, our area is still abnormally dry, so we’re not totally out of the woods yet in terms of having a good amount of water in Suffolk County. So, we’re still being asked to follow the odd/even day watering schedule in regards to lawns. If you have an even numbered house, you can water your lawn on the even days of the month and the same goes with the odd numbered houses watering on the odd numbered days of the month.

 

Suffolk County is listed as the category D0 (and that’s the numerical 0 and not the letter O) which stands for Abnormally Dry. That means we’re under a drought warning and we’re either on our way to an actual drought or coming out of an actual drought situation. Categories of drought are from D1 to D4.

 

So, the Suffolk County Water Authority would still like us all to be mindful about water use in general, as there’s still a few weeks left in the lawn watering season and there’s not a lot of rain in the forecast.

 

If you want to investigate ways to conserve water AND save some money, you can get up to $250 credit for some water saving devices and get a FREE water consult. Check this out here…

https://www.scwa.com/waterwise/

 

If you want to learn where all our water in our homes comes from (and more info about water conservation), check this out…

https://ourwaterourlives.com/

 

AND if they open up this program again, you can get $500 for creating a rain garden, using a rain barrel and/or buy and plant Long Island native plants!

https://lirpc.org/sustainable-landscaping-resource-hub/

 

If you’d like to win a smart water sprinkler controller (worth about $250), sign the pledge here…

https://ourwaterourlives.com/pledge/

 

 4. National Food Day is October 24th…what is it?

 

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) initiated National Food Day 2011. National Food Day is a day to remind people to “Eat Real.” It’s a call to action for everyone to discover the joys of food that is both delicious and wholesome. Imagine cutting back on sugary drinks and overly processed snacks to make room for vibrant vegetables, juicy fruits, whole grains, and sustainably raised proteins. National Food Day brings together a nationwide movement of food lovers, families, and farmers who envision a food system where everyone has access to healthy, affordable, and sustainable meals. Today, we are asking everyone to seek a balance between nutrition, affordability and the environment. Our food should be produced with care for the environment, the farm animals, and the dedicated people who grow, harvest, and serve it. From lively community festivals to thousands of school activities, the day is packed with opportunities to learn and celebrate.

 

6 WAYS TO CELEBRATE ON NATIONAL FOOD DAYNational Food Day is all about getting hands-on with your food in fun and exciting ways! Here are a few tips to help you celebrate today: 

 

1.       1. Go on a food adventure by heading to a local farmers market and challenge yourself to try one fruit or vegetable you've never had before.

2.       2. Grab your favorite snack from the pantry and read the label. Learn where its ingredients come from and what’s really inside!

3.       3. Gather your friends or family for a cooking challenge using only fresh, whole ingredients.

4.       4. Plant some herbs like basil or mint in a pot on your windowsill for fresh flavor anytime.

5.       5. Get inspired by learning more about where our food comes from and the future of farming.

6.       6. Whip up your favorite healthy meal, snap a photo, and share it online using the hashtag #NationalFoodDay.

 

 5.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… 

  1. Face coverings are optional
  2. 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/

  1. Will try and keep the CSA area relatively uncrowded if any future outbreaks of any infectious diseases occur
  2. Enter near the Box Office entrance, and exit thru the door that leads out to the Cinema garden and upper parking lot stairs

  

6.Our annual CSA Harvest Fall Farm Tour is coming up soon so sign up NOW 😊!

 Saturday, October 25th

 

11am to noon OR noon to 1pm

Green Thumb CSA Annual Fall Harvest Tour

Green Thumb Farm

829 Montauk Hwy

Water Mill

RSVP by responding to this email or leaving a phone message at 631-421-4864, and tell us your name and the total number of people coming with you (there’s only so much room in the wagon). if you are sharing with someone, you need to use BOTH your name and the name of the CSA member you’re sharing with.

 

Our CSA farm tour is for CSA Members and their immediate family members only.

 

This will be a riding tour on a large tractor-pulled wagon (kids love this 😊). We’ll see various parts of the farm and probably get to feed some animals, maybe get to pick some food from the fields, and get Pumpkins at the end (not necessarily organic and not necessarily from our farm, BUT meant more for decorating though they can be eaten 😊).

 

Everything purchased at the farm stand will get a 10% discount.

 

After the last farm tour, some of us will go to Barrow Food House in Aquebogue for lunch and of course, you’re welcome to come along. Check out the menu for Barrow Food House…

https://barrowfoodhouse.com/

The only thing I didn’t care for on the menu (and have eaten most of it 😊) was the Latkes (thought they were too greasy) but it’s been a while so I might try them again to see if they’ve gotten any better 😊.

 

 

 

7.Click activism

Join me in Asking Your Members of Congress Ban Monsanto (Bayer) & Israel Chemicals Ltd's White Phosphorus Weapons. I’ve learned over the years how the weapons of war can effect farming and the ability of a country to feed itself. The classic one is land mines (you can’t farm land that will explode if you walk on it).  In solidarity with Lebanon's The Land Remembers campaign for an immediate and unconditional ban on white phosphorus munitions in all forms of warfare and St. Louis, Missouri's ICL Out of STL campaign to block the city of St. Louis from giving $200 million for expansion to Israel Chemicals Limited, a company that, with its partner Monsanto (Bayer), is the monopoly supplier of white phosphorus weapons to the U.S. War Department, the Organic Consumers Association is asking Congress to stop buying white phosphorus weapons and work for a ban. To read more about this and to sign, click here… https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/89552/action/1?chain

 

 

8.Emergency situations at the CSA (hurricanes/electronic communication glitches/medical emergencies…on my part, etc.)

 

What NOT to do during a thunderstorm…

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/thunderstorm-safety-meteorologists-goog_l_689265b6e4b07e7958a0e188

 

  1. It’s peak hurricane season till November 30th (our CSA’s last day is December 11th)! 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 for us 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).

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. 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 28+ 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! 😊

 

  1. If there’s an emergency situation in progress, consider offering to help out at the CSA whether you’re asked to or not.

 

 

 

9.Another reason to eat and buy organic

 

Pesticides in food cause brain damage in children…

https://regenerationinternational.org/2025/10/01/pesticides-in-food-cause-brain-damage-in-children/

 

 

 

10. 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)

 

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. 😊

 

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 few weeks, we've gotten $16.75 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.

 

 

 

11.Two FREE vegan holiday menu online events

 

  1. Six week series put on by the Afro Vegan Society designed to make vegan holiday cooking delicious, easy and culturally relevant (I registered because I want to see what recipes they have and I might want to cook them even though it’s not my culture 😊)…

https://www.afrovegansociety.org/holiday-menu-series?utm_campaign=9dddbdaa-d310-4133-bc07-911fb1561bc6&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail&cid=dea6e480-9e33-4475-a8ce-45460326c46e

 

  1. The Cinnamon Snail’s 21 day Thanksgiving vegan recipe spectacular (and knowing Chef Adam…it will be 😊). There will be recipes, tips and cook along videos (and I KNOW they will be entertaining as well as informative 😊). Sign up here…

https://cinnamonsnail.com/free-vegan-thanksgiving/

 

 

 

12.What you actually got last week

 

Week #20

October 16, 2025

 

  1. Squash, Winter: Honeynut – 2 pc. - $4.00
  2. Fennel – 1 bunch - $5.50
  3. Beans: Lima* – 1 bag (1/2 lb.)  - $4.00
  4. Broccoli: Purple – 1 pc. - $5.25
  5. Tomatoes: Mix – 1 bag (2 lbs.) - $6.50
  6. Mizuna – 1 bunch - $4.50

 

Total Items: 6

Total Amount: $29.75

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 $ 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 $67.75 more food than what we paid). We seem to always get at least one CSA share’s worth of food every year (we’ve got that now) 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! 😊

 

 

* Beans, Shelling: Lima (also known as Butter Beans or Gigante Beans depending on whether fresh or dried and size) – DO NOT EAT RAW

Good article plus recipes for Roasted Lima Beans, Succotash and more…

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11861532

 

Easy peasy recipe

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/trisha-yearwood/baby-lima-beans-butterbeans-recipe-2116626

 

General info and more good recipes…

https://www.forksoverknives.com/how-tos/what-are-lima-beans-aka-butter-beans/

 

If you think everything is better with Bacon (and this has a vegan option)…

https://food52.com/recipes/21945-melt-in-your-mouth-butter-beans

 

Lima Bean inspiration (some really good ideas here)…

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/9-ways-to-turn-lima-beans-into-dinner-article

 

If you’re still considering eating these raw (please don’t), read this first…

https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7899208/are-raw-lima-beans-deadly-poisonous/

 

 

 

13.Contest!

 

Get two chances to win $5,000 courtesy of the Food Network (they ask you a question but even if you get it wrong you’re entered 😊)…

https://www.foodnetwork.com/sponsored/sweepstakes/fall-flavors?lid=n0shzijij1lt&nl=R-FN:Sweeps2025_2025-10-22_EnterFN

 

 

 

14.And now, for something completely different

 

If you don’t know why I’m using this phrase, click here (or even if you do you might want to take a peek 😊)…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bF-rpJz2CA

This was a catch phrase on the BBC tv show Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

 

Imagine having one of these in your backyard!

https://weather.com/news/weather/video/pumpkin-world-championship-california-brandon-dawson

Events…both near and far

 

*Please keep in mind that any events or services listed do not indicate a direct endorsement from Green Thumb Organic Farm or Green Thumb CSA – Huntington

 

Thursday, October 23rd

 

6:30pm

Vegan on the Go (online event)

To register…

https://linktr.ee/afrovegansociety?fbclid=IwY2xjawNnEHNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFLZ3RMcDlVdUpVWlpSQUV6AR60mEKWntpZXk4ROEte6MDYj0Q6nljlGW7LqoAJKasArF5lavlHzCcDYfQgEQ_aem_BqHgVR_I97Yul6HEKvhNOg

 

How to maintain your veganness while on the go...either staying local or going on extended trips. However, if you sign up and miss it they MIGHT have a replay option (they often do with these things…that’s what I did since I’ll be at our CSA 😊).

 

7pm to 9pm

Celebrate National Food Day

Port Washington Public Library

1 Library Dr

Port Washington

FREE

To register (and not sure if you can register if you’re not a member of the Port Washington Library but you can try 😊)…

https://portwashington.librarycalendar.com/event/food-day-program-78850

 

Celebrate National Food Day by watching a screening of Common Ground, having a Q & A after the film with Patti Wood of Grassroots Environmental and nutritionist Jill Eisenberg, and end it with a cooking demo and tasting by Bhavani Jaroff of iEatGreen.

 

 

Saturday, October 25th

 

11am to noon OR noon to 1pm

Green Thumb CSA Annual Fall Harvest Tour

Green Thumb Farm

829 Montauk Hwy

Water Mill

RSVP by responding to this email or leaving a phone message at 631-421-4864, and tell us your name and the total number of people coming with you (there’s only so much room in the wagon). if you are sharing with someone, you need to use BOTH your name and the name of the CSA member you’re sharing with.

 

The CSA farm tour is for CSA Members and their immediate family members only.

 

If you have any questions any of the food you’ve gotten at our CSA, or about Green Thumb Farm and its farmers, OR any questions about your home vegetable garden, this is the time and the place to do it! 😊

 

This will be a riding tour on a large tractor-pulled wagon (kids love this 😊). We’ll see various parts of the farm and probably get to feed some animals, maybe get to pick some food from the fields, and get Pumpkins at the end (not necessarily organic and not necessarily from our farm, BUT meant more for decorating though they can be eaten 😊).

 

Everything purchased at the farm stand will get a 10% discount.

 

After the last farm tour, some of us will go to Barrow Food House in Aquebogue for lunch and of course, you’re welcome to come along. Check out the menu for Barrow Food House…

https://barrowfoodhouse.com/

The only thing I didn’t care for on the menu (and have eaten most of it 😊) was the Latkes (thought they were too greasy) but it’s been a while so I might try them again to see if they’ve gotten any better 😊.

 

5pm and 7:30pm

PAWPAW

Lin Beach House

455 NY-25

Greenport

$85 (BYOB $30)

To reserve…

https://www.exploretock.com/pawpaw/

 

This comes recommended by CSA Member Annina Wildermuth who’s been here (and would go back 😊). PAWPAW is a pop-up restaurant dedicated to showcasing the ingredients farmed, fished, and foraged on the North Fork of Long Island. On select Saturday evenings, PAWPAW convenes at The Lin Beach House in Greenport to create a five course tasting menu celebrating the bounty that makes the North Fork such a magical place. The result is an ever-rotating multi-course culmination of the season's harvest. Allow 2 ½ hours for the meal.

 

 

Sunday, October 26th

 

11am to 2:30pm

Foraging Tour with Wildman Steve Brill

Belmont Lake State Park

625 Belmont Ave.

North Babylon

For directions of where to meet up…

https://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/travel

Adults - $25/Children under 12 - $15 and bring exact change (suggested donations…his knowledge and experience is worth at least twice this amount 😊)

For more info about attending a tour…

https://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/sign-up

To find more info about this tour…

https://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/tour-calendar

 

To register…

Call 914-835-2153 at least 24 hours in advance of the tour and if you need to cancel, call 24 hours in advance (if you do not cancel 24 hours in advance, you will be charged $25 prior to being allowed to schedule another tour)

 

If you’ve never gone on a foraging tour with Wildman Steve Brill, do yourself a favor and go 😊. He knows his stuff, he’s entertaining (silly and corny and sweet), and you’ll go home with some interesting and delicious local seasonal foods to eat.

 

 

Tuesday, October 28th

 

10am to 11am

Tai Chi class

Cinema Arts Centre

Sky Room Café

423 Park Ave

Huntington

FREE

 

Join teacher Roger Sencer in this free Tai Chi class that’s been held at the Cinema Arts Centre for a number of years. All levels welcome.

 

6pm to 8pm

Eric Eaton & Friends

Urban Coffee

101 Broadway

Greenlawn

FREE

For more info about Urban Coffee (no website)…

https://www.facebook.com/urbancoffeegreenlawn/

https://www.instagram.com/urbancoffeeny/?hl=en

 

CSA member Eric Eaton has started a singer/songwriter series at Urban Coffee. This will be an almost weekly event (except not the first Tuesday of the month when it will be poetry night). It’ll be an evening of home-brewed songs and home-brewed Coffee 😊. Eric will be playing songs of life, love, hope and peace, and then we’ll see what original tunes Katherine has to offer. So, come on down and grab some refreshments for your taste buds and ears!

 

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.youtube.com/watch?v=v76MyFuXfqc

 

 

Saturday, November 1st

 

5pm to 8pm

3rd Annual Farm Dinner: Elements Dinner

KK’s The Farm

59945 Main Rd.

Southold

$95

To register…

https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLK7SH9AHMNYG/checkout/RAJOKUYNXJSZFOODISBH46BW

 

You’ll be spending the first half hour outside for the horn prep burial ceremony (it’s a biodynamic thing…ask me about it if you’d like), and then sitting around a communal table for a multi-course dinner by Chef Ai and Cheo, while learning about the biodynamic preps (like the cow horns) that make the food from KK’s Farm unique. Food will be from KK’s farm and other local providers. Limited to 20 people.

 

 

Sunday, November 2nd

 

9am to 12pm

Foraging Tour with Wildman Steve Brill

Vanderbilt Museum

180 Little Neck Rd.

Centerport

Adults - $25/$22 Members/Children 10+ $15/$12 Members/Children under 10 - FREE

For more and to register…

https://www.vanderbiltmuseum.org/portfolio/spring-foraging-with-the-wildman/

To find more info about this tour…

https://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/tour-calendar

 

If you’ve never gone on a foraging tour with Wildman Steve Brill, do yourself a favor and go 😊. He knows his stuff, he’s entertaining (silly and corny and sweet), and you’ll go home with some interesting and delicious local seasonal foods to eat.

 

 

Tuesday, November 6th

 

10am to 11am

Tai Chi class

Cinema Arts Centre

Sky Room Café

423 Park Ave

Huntington

FREE

 

Join teacher Roger Sencer in this free Tai Chi class that’s been held at the Cinema Arts Centre for a number of years. All levels welcome.

 

6pm to 8pm

Eric Eaton & Friends

Urban Coffee

101 Broadway

Greenlawn

FREE

For more info about Urban Coffee (no website)…

https://www.facebook.com/urbancoffeegreenlawn/

https://www.instagram.com/urbancoffeeny/?hl=en

 

CSA member Eric Eaton has started a singer/songwriter series at Urban Coffee. This will be an almost weekly event (except not the first Tuesday of the month when it will be poetry night). It’ll be an evening of home-brewed songs and home-brewed Coffee 😊. Eric will be playing songs of life, love, hope and peace, and then we’ll see what original tunes Katherine has to offer. So, come on down and grab some refreshments for your taste buds and ears!

 

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.youtube.com/watch?v=v76MyFuXfqc

 

 

Friday, November 7th to Sunday, November 9th

 

The Art of (meno)Pausing

Mama Farm

269 S Country Rd

Brookhaven

$900 (commuter)/$1700 (staying at Mama Farm’s B&B)

For more info and to register…

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e2f96731f25e703945142fa/t/68ab7da224cc221efa9a4502/1756069282029/Art+of+pausing+2025+Flyer.pdf

 

This is a 3 day immersive retreat learning all about menopause (both conventional and complementary medicine techniques) with 3 leading experts in their fields (Dr. Laura MacIsaac, Ob/Gyn and a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner, Dr. Amy Novatt, Ob/Gyn and sexual health expert, and Padma Dharini, ordained Buddhist). This is limited to 15 participants. Fees include all food (I imagine some will be from foods grown at the farm) and scheduled activities. Mama Farm is the home and passion of the actress Isabella Rossellini, and she will be giving one of the lectures. Participants will receive a 15% discount on Drs. Amy & Laura’s 3 month supportive coaching, consulting and care…an opportunity to develop individual treatment plans for optimal health.

 

 

Saturday, November 8th

 

11am to 2:30pm

Foraging Tour with Wildman Steve Brill

Belmont Lake State Park

625 Belmont Ave.

North Babylon

For directions of where to meet up…

https://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/travel

Adults - $25/Children under 12 - $15 and bring exact change (suggested donations…his knowledge and experience is worth at least twice this amount 😊)

For more info about attending a tour…

https://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/sign-up

To find more info about this tour…

https://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/tour-calendar

 

To register…

Call 914-835-2153 at least 24 hours in advance of the tour and if you need to cancel, call 24 hours in advance (if you do not cancel 24 hours in advance, you will be charged $25 prior to being allowed to schedule another tour)

 

If you’ve never gone on a foraging tour with Wildman Steve Brill, do yourself a favor and go 😊. He knows his stuff, he’s entertaining (silly and corny and sweet), and you’ll go home with some interesting and delicious local seasonal foods to eat.

 

 

Saturday, November 15th

 

11am to 3pm

NY Cider Festival

City Winery

25 11th Ave (Pier 57)

NYC

$40 to $85

For more info and tickets…

https://citywinery.com/new-york-city/events/ny-cider-festival-ifakw7

 

Not sure if any, and how many are organic, but it would be interesting to find out! Meet the makers from 25 NY cideries, taste some cider and buy some to take home, plus there are cider and cheese pairing sessions for an additional charge.

 

 

Monday, November 17th

 

5:30pm to 9pm

The 32nd Annual Great Chefs of Long Island

Crest Hollow Country Club

Jericho Tpke

Woodbury

$200 and up

For more info and to buy tickets…

https://e.givesmart.com/events/H2a/?isOrderFormActive=true

 

This is a benefit for The Family Service League, based in Huntington. It will be an evening featuring Long Island’s favorite chefs, restaurants, spirit and beverage companies displaying culinary delights while raising funds for a great organization that helps children and adults.

 

 

Wednesday, November 19th

 

1pm to 2pm

School Meals for a Sustainable Future: Local, Organic & Regenerative

FREE

For more info and to register…

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8LQRXEOLQd6JNMNoull0pQ?utm_source=Website&utm_medium=button&utm_campaign=2025+webinar+series&utm_term=Webinar+3#/registration

 

There is a lot of conflicting information about whether school food programs can truly procure higher-quality ingredients. This webinar, from the Chef Ann Foundation, will explore the realities of districts’ ability to incorporate more local, regenerative, and organic food into their programs.

 

 

Friday, January 9th and Saturday, January 10th

 

NOFA-NY Winter Conference

SUNY Purchase College

Purchase

For more info and to register (keep checking back to get the latest info)…

https://nofany.org/2026conference/

 

Stay tuned for registration details and class offerings. This is about a one hour drive from Huntington so depending on the weather, I might actually go…though I might or might not commute (too soon to tell 😊).