Happy Summer!
If you didn’t get an email regarding working at the CSA this week,
you’re not on the schedule.
Flowers for sale!
We’re getting Flowers this week, and I’m selling my 2 Flower
Shares. They’re $16 per bunch so if you’re interested, email me before noon and
will hold them aside for you, or ask about them at the CSA when you get there! 😊
CSA weather report…
Warm and breezy
Do NOT leave your CSA Shares in your car! They
will not be happy, and neither will you when your food doesn’t last as long as
it could. Over 40 degrees in your car and your CSA Share’s not happy (and
inside your car with closed windows it’s probably hotter than you’d think… and
it is – check this out… https://abc7news.com/how-hot-can-it-get-inside-a-car-baby-in-gets/2266627/#:~:text=Here's%20a%20look%20at%20just%20how%20hot%20it%20can%20get%3A&text=When%20it's%2080%20degrees%20outside,and%20119%20after%2030%20minutes
)
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…
- What
you need to know
- CSA
Farm Tour THIS SATURDAY and NO RAIN predicted! 😊
- Food
safety and COVID-19…
- Still
have your Spinach Lettuce in the fridge?
- Click
activism…it doesn’t necessarily take that much to make a difference!
- This
coming TUESDAY, CSA Member Vinny Raniolo will be playing jazz guitar gig
at Elaine’s in E. Setauket
- How
best to contact the CSA/suzanne
- Emergency
situations at the CSA (hurricanes/electronic communication
glitches/medical emergencies, etc.)
- What
you actually got last week!
- And
now, for something completely different…
*Anything in any of our CSA emails not directly related to the
functioning of the CSA, feel free to take or leave at your discretion, and
anything related to health issues always consult with your physician(s) before
taking any action.
1.What you need to know (will be either new info to first
time CSA members, or reminders/old hat to returning CSA members)…
Most immediate helpful hints…
- Bring at least TWO bags to
the CSA EVERY WEEK for wet and dry food items (and never the
twain should meet)
- When packing up your CSA
food, start at the left side of the long table and work your way to the
right and out the garden door. Why? We set out the food to be packed in
that order so the heaviest food items will be on the bottom of your bag,
and your food won’t get squished (another way to make your food go bad
faster), and if you separate the wet from the dry foods you’re doing
pretty good on having your food last longer! 😊
- When you get your food
home, if it’s in a plastic bag take it OUT of the plastic bag and store
elsewhere…even if it’s in another plastic bag (the original bag will be
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. Consider stashing wet and dry bags in every vehicle you
own or might end up driving (or someone would use to pick up for you) and stash
them in the glove compartment, hatch, trunk…whatever 😊 so
you never have to end up not having anything to pack your CSA Share in.
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.
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
Week #4
June 25, 2026
- Garlic – 1 bunch
- Radishes – 1 bunch
- Peas – 1 bag
- Mustard Greens – 1 bunch
- Lettuce – 1 head
Total Items: 5
Flower Share #3
Don’t know yet 😊
Herb Share -June 2B
Dill AND Upland Cress
2.CSA Farm Tour this SATURDAY and NO RAIN is predicted! 😊
Saturday, June 27th
11am and noon
Green Thumb Farm Spring CSA Farm Tour
Green Thumb Farm
829 Montauk Hwy
Water Mill, NY
To RSVP –
Whether you email or call, the info needed is your name (if you’re
sharing with someone and you’re not the official CSA Member, your name and who
your CSA Share Partner is), which time you want to tour the farm AND the number
of people that will be in your party 😊
Email – gtCSAhuntington@gmail.com
Phone – 631-421-4864 (land line…no text option…no caller ID…can
leave voice messages 24/7)
For CSA members and immediate family only. We get to tour our farm
twice a year and this is the first one. It’s a walking tour of approximately
one hour given by one of our farmers. They don’t do any agritourism so this is
a rare chance to get a behind the scenes tour of how our food is grown, to meet
the people growing our CSA food, and to ask our farmers if you have any
questions about our CSA food OR about your own home gardens. For everyone
attending the CSA tour, there’s a 10% discount on all purchases at the farm
stand AND they have an amazing selection of seedlings for your home garden.
After the last tour, anyone who’d like is welcome to do one of two things…1)
eat at the delicious food truck called Hardwood Poke Co. BUT, if they’re sold
out after the noon tour there’s Plan B – 2) accompany us to a most excellent
restaurant called Barrow Food House in Aquebogue/Riverhead (on the way back).
It’s a farm-to-table place that’s very reasonably priced for the area (can get
a meal for $16 to $26 on average).
Hardwood Poke Co…
Barrow Food House…
Even though it’s been a while since the word “pandemic” has been
bandied about, people are still getting COVID 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…
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
Whether you do or not, here’s some info about this brand new
non-GMO vegetable (certified organic and open pollinated)!
https://www.foodandwine.com/spinach-lettuce-hybrid-row-7-8662556
And as in “it’s a small world after all”, CSA member Danielle
Tarantola had a friend who’s a chef for Row 7, and they do in-store demos of
Row 7’s line of tinned veg! Also, this person is the vegan chef at Danielle’s
Hamptons yoga retreats (more info to come later in the season). Six degrees of
separation and all that 😊!
A.Join the Center for Food Safety and help protect Monarch
Butterflies (Butterflies are pollinators and pollinators are good for growing
food)…
B.Join me in Telling State Legislators to Ban Ultra-Processed Food From
Schools!
Most of the food Americans eat, 73 percent of the U.S. food supply, is
ultra-processed. More than half of the food children eat is
ultra-processed. Ultra-processed food is making people sick. Diet-related
disease kills more people than smoking globally. The connection to type-2
diabetes, heart disease, and cancer is well established. We need states to act
because there are no federal regulations for school meals concerning the
level of processing or the use of synthetic additives like colors, flavors,
sweeteners, or emulsifiers.
https://advocacy.organicconsumers.org/page/99633/action/1
6.This coming TUESDAY, CSA Member Vinny Raniolo will be playing
jazz guitar at a gig at Elaine’s in E. Setauket (also listed in our Events
email)
Tuesday, June 30th
7pm to 9pm
Live Jazz
Elaine’s Restaurant and Bar
316 Main St.
E. Setauket
For more info…
https://www.elaines-setauket.com/
Check out the menu (looks pretty tasty and I see some organic
ingredients on the menu 😊)…
https://www.elaines-setauket.com/_files/ugd/e444d0_f212b5e303bd4c1f8b96797f2c523ddd.pdf
CSA member Vinny Raniolo will be playing jazz guitar along with
Tom Manuel on trumpet. If you’re a fan of jazz, do yourself a favor and check
this out! It’s a rare opportunity to see Vinny play on Long Island (as opposed
to in NYC or when he’s on tour). If you go, be sure to say “hi!” 😊.
The menu skews Italian and any Italian restaurant that has Panelle
on the menu (a classic Sicilian Chickpea Fritter served with a Lemon Aioli
Sauce) is seriously Italian and sounds good to me! 😊
First thing you might think is…I don’t need or want this info.
I get that BUT, there might come a time when you wish you knew…for
example…
- Something’s come up at the last minute and you
know you’re going to be running late and would like to have your CSA Share
packed and waiting for you at the Cinema Box Office to pick it up before
the theater closes
- You’re scheduled to help out at the CSA and
something comes up at the last minute and you need to cancel
- Something comes up and you can’t make it to the
CSA at all and you’d like to see if someone can take your CSA Share and
hold on to it till you could pick it up from them.
- Phone…you can leave a message on my landline
(yes, they do still exist 😊) at 631-421-4864
at any time 24/7 (keep the ringer off when sleeping), BUT on Thursdays if
you leave a message it needs to be before noon otherwise I won’t hear it
till I get back from the CSA Thursday night
- Email – you can email 24/7 at gtCSAhuntington@gmail.com but
again, if you email after noon on Thursday, I won’t get it till I get back
from the CSA Thursday night
- On Thursdays I am totally incommunicado from
noon to 3:30pm so if you want to get in touch with me between those times,
the best option is to make sure you call or email me before noon OR wait
till after 3:30pm and call the Cinema Box Office at 631-423-7611 xt. 0 to
reach me up till 7:30pm
- On Thursdays after 3:30pm (and up to
7:30pm), call the Box Office at the Cinema Arts Centre at 631-423-7610 xt.
0 and ask to speak to someone at the CSA and they will connect the call to
the Café and we’ll talk to you directly. If you leave a message with
someone at the Box Office, we might not get it in a timely manner or at
all, as it’s not the Cinema staff’s job to take messages for the CSA.
- FYI – I don’t get emails on my phone at all, and
CSA members aren’t able to text me as I don’t deal with CSA issues on my
cell phone
Consider putting the two phone numbers (suzanne – 631-421-4864 and
the Cinema 631-423-7611 xt. 0) in your phone under “CSA” or “Green Thumb CSA –
Huntington” (or whatever works for you to remember where you put them 😊) and
you can put in the notes the details of when to call, what days to call, etc.
- It’s hurricane season from
June 1st till November 30th (our CSA’s last day is December 10th)!
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).
- Electronic communication
is FAR from perfect. IF you get no CSA emails or responses to your emails
on any given week…come to the CSA anyway. It could be a problem with my
laptop, etc. Stuff happens.
- Anything else that might
come up (these days…who knows???)…no emails, etc., come anyway and will do
our best to keep everyone informed as best we can (look for notes on front
door of Cinema if nothing else). The CSA has always happened every week
during our 20+ seasons…(lifted from the postal worker motto) - Neither
snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom stays these farmers & CSA crew from
the swift completion of their appointed rounds…to get you your CSA Shares!
😊
- If there’s an emergency
situation in progress, consider offering to help out at the CSA whether
you’re asked to or not.
9.What you actually got last week!
Week #3
June 18, 2026
- Garlic Scapes – 1 bunch -
$4.50
- Lavender* – 1 bunch (yes,
it’s edible and is used for cooking/beverages 😊)
- $4.75
- Spinach – 1 bag (1/2 lb.)
- $4.50
- Lettuce: Spinach – 1 head
- $4.50
- Strawberries – 1 pt. -
$6.50
Total Amount: $24.75
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 $1.75 amount!) over $23.00. I keep
track and it adds up over the course of our CSA season and so far the total is
$12.50. 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. Last year it was five and a half week’s
worth extra, so we’re talking $119 worth of food we got gratis. No idea what it
might be this season but in the end…it’s all good! 😊
Flower Share #2
Peonies
Lavender - Here’s some ideas of what to do with it whether fresh or dried
(you can always do what I do…chuck it in the back of your car and it dries and
becomes a natural air freshener 😊)
This article gives you the info about substituting dried Lavender
for fresh and vice versa… https://purplehazelavender.com/lavender/cooking-lavender/#:~:text=It's%20important%20to%20note%20that,of%20dried%20flowers%20to%20fresh.&text=3
This sounds like a good place to start…How to cook with Lavender
so your food doesn’t taste like soap…
https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/how-to/article/cooking-with-lavender
How to cook with Lavender…
https://www.marthastewart.com/8118459/how-use-lavender-cooking-baking
When in doubt, Martha always has some good ideas…
https://www.marthastewart.com/8118459/how-use-lavender-cooking-baking
How to use Lavender in the kitchen and around the house…
https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/flowers-and-plants/herbs/lavender-uses
Other ideas of how to use Lavender (for the home and kitchen) both
fresh and dried…
https://preparednessmama.com/lavender-harvest/
https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/10-things-to-make-with-lavender/
Talk about a lazy gourmet! Put it in a bottle of gin, let it sit,
and start drinking! 😊 http://sarahsharratt.com/recipe/lavender-infused-gin-recipe/
Tea
Easy peasy…Lavender Tea (and check out the health benefits as well
as the contraindications 😊)… https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep/how-to-make-lavender-tea
https://senchateabar.com/blogs/blog/how-to-make-lavender-tea
Lavender Lemonade with Honey (and has directions for using fresh
Lavender flowers, not just dried)… https://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/lavender-lemonade-recipe
Cookies
https://www.countryhillcottage.com/lavender-cookies/
Rub for grilling meat…
https://www.bhg.com/recipe/lavender-rub/
With Potatoes…
https://boulderlocavore.com/lavender-roasted-potatoes/
https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Roasted-Potato-With-Lavender/
https://www.thekitcheneer.com/2014/06/13/lavender-rosemary-smashed-potatoes/
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bbCNziuItzY
Events…both near and far
*Please keep in mind that any events or services listed do not necessarily indicate a direct endorsement from Green Thumb Organic Farm or Green Thumb CSA – Huntingto
11am and noon
Green Thumb Farm Spring CSA Farm Tour
Green Thumb Farm
829 Montauk Hwy
Water Mill, NY
To RSVP –
Whether you email or call, the info needed is your name (if you’re
sharing with someone and you’re not the official CSA Member, your name and who
your CSA Share Partner is), which time you want to tour the farm AND the number
of people that will be in your party 😊
Email – gtCSAhuntington@gmail.com
Phone – 631-421-4864 (land line…no text option…no caller ID…can
leave voice messages 24/7)
For CSA members and immediate family only. We get to tour our farm
twice a year and this is the first one. It’s a walking tour of approximately
one hour given by one of our farmers. They don’t do any agritourism so this is
a rare chance to get a behind the scenes tour of how our food is grown, to meet
the people growing our CSA food, and to ask our farmers if you have any
questions about our CSA food OR about your own home gardens. For everyone
attending the CSA tour, there’s a 10% discount on all purchases at the farm
stand AND they have an amazing selection of seedlings for your home garden.
After the last tour, anyone who’d like is welcome to do one of two things…1)
eat at the delicious food truck called Hardwood Poke Co. BUT, if they’re sold
out after the noon tour there’s Plan B – 2) accompany us to a most excellent
restaurant called Barrow Food House in Aquebogue/Riverhead (on the way back).
It’s a farm-to-table place that’s very reasonably priced for the area (can get
a meal for $16 to $26 on average).
Hardwood Poke Co…
Barrow Food House…
Tuesday, June 30th
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.
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
7pm to 9pm
Live Jazz
Elaine’s Restaurant and Bar
316 Main St.
E. Setauket
For more info…
https://www.elaines-setauket.com/
Check out the menu (looks pretty tasty and I see some organic
ingredients on the menu 😊)…
https://www.elaines-setauket.com/_files/ugd/e444d0_f212b5e303bd4c1f8b96797f2c523ddd.pdf
CSA member Vinny Raniolo will be playing jazz guitar along with
Tom Manuel on trumpet. If you’re a fan of jazz, do yourself a favor and check
this out! It’s a rare opportunity to see Vinny play on Long Island (as opposed
to in NYC or when he’s on tour). If you go, be sure to say “hi!” 😊.
The menu skews Italian and any Italian restaurant that has Panelle
on the menu (a classic Sicilian Chickpea Fritter served with a Lemon Aioli
Sauce) is seriously Italian and sounds good to me! 😊
###
