Happy Summer!
Sunflowers anyone? This week there will be TWO (2)
Flower Shares for sale ($16 a bunch). If interested, email before noon and will
hold for you, or ask at the CSA Sign-in Desk to see if they’re still available.
If you didn’t get an email regarding working at the CSA this week,
you’re not on the schedule.
Please read #4 within #6 😊 as
there’s new information you need to be aware of. The other week someone left a
message with someone at the Box Office (which I’ve recommended not doing even
if the person at the Box Office insists 😊) and the person at the Box Office got it
wrong, so the person who called almost didn’t get their CSA Share (it was a
fluke…or providence or karma, etc., that it worked out for them). And someone
else tried calling the other week and either the phone wasn’t picked up after
repeated calls, or someone picked up the phone and put the phone down and
didn’t pick it back up again. As I mention, it’s not the job of the Box Office
staff to take calls for the CSA but since there’s no option to contact the CSA
otherwise, and maybe 3 people at most will call, it doesn’t seem terribly
onerous to have them pick up the phone and transfer the calls to the Café for
us to answer as a courtesy to a group that’s encouraging Cinema membership.
Do any of you out there have children, or grandchildren, who are
involved with the Girl Scouts? If so, read #3 and let me know!
Save the date! Sunday, August 16th,
from 2pm to 6pm, we’re having our first CSA Pot Luck Pool Party in
Greenlawn (all CSA Members and CSA Share Partners invited…family friendly –
bring the kids/grandkids…all dietary lifestyles welcome)! Email with details to
follow.
CSA weather report…
HOT (high 80s) and breezy – SMOKE ALERT…air quality issue from
fires out west!
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
- Concerned
about cyclosporiasis?
- Want to
see a family friendly feel good movie? This is a MUST see!
- Food
safety and COVID-19
- Click
activism…it doesn’t necessarily take that much to make a difference!
- How
best to contact the CSA/suzanne
- Do you
wanna dance?
- 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 РSky Room Caf̩ in the Cinema Arts Centre
at 423 Park Ave, Huntington
Parking – park in the all the way around at the
back of the building by the day care center (you’ll see a fenced in playground
area with a sandbox)
When you arrive at the CSA –
- Check in at the sign-in
desk with our friendly CSA worker
- Read the Wall Chart that
tells us every week what we’re getting, how much we’re getting, and what
the farm charged us for it…some weeks it’s take one of everything but…SOME
WEEKS IT’S NOT!!! So you have to make sure you read the Wall Chart every
week, and not assume anything. You can also ask your fellow CSA members
that are working that day what the story is for the day (they should have
name tags on).
Before you leave the CSA – Make sure you have everything on the list (like the story of the 3 bears…not too much, not too little, but just right 😊)! If you get to talking with people, have kids with you, etc., it can be easy to be distracted and if you get home and find out you don’t have everything that was on the list, you’re out of luck because at 7:31pm the food is donated to a local food organization (Community Solidarity…read more about them in the CSA Events email under Tuesdays) that’s waiting to pick it up and get on their way.
The list…this is a general list and you’ll be sent another email
within the next week with the detailed list after I get it (which isn’t till
the day of the CSA…the list is subject to change without notice because farming
is like that! 😊 However, most of the time it’s accurate
and if it’s not…usually only one food item will be changed)…
CSA words to live by…when trying any new food you’ve never
eaten before…START SLOW!!! Read up about it (make sure it
doesn’t interfere with any medications you might be taking or any health
conditions you might have), see what traditional/conventional ways it’s
prepared (cultures that have been eating certain foods for many years basically
have a good idea what they’re doing, and we can learn from that), try a small
portion, see how your body/digestive system reacts, and proceed from there.
Then try preparing in different ways and see what you come up with, and feel
free to ask for suggestion/info/recommendations!
Paraphrased wise words by a nutritionist that I read (and don’t
remember where I read it or who said it), BUT it’s pretty smart info regarding
eating seasonally in our part of the globe…
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 #7
July 16, 2026
- Fennel* – 1 bunch
- Onions – 1 bunch
- Squash, Summer
- Swiss Chard** – 1 bunch
- Lettuce – 1 head
- Parsley – 1 bunch
Total Items: 6
Sunflowers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtUIbGRKvz0
And here’s the recipe…
https://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/spaghetti-fennel-bitter-greens/
**Swiss Chard Italian style…
The only thing I’d do different is cut the stems/stalks in 1/4 “
pieces and cook them first to get tender before adding the leaves…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7ZK5ZAfaS4
Basics…
Wash hands before handling food, and after bathroom use
Wash produce before preparing and scrub with a veg brush if not
delicate
The less hands on your food before you purchase it, the safer it
will be (whole heads of Lettuce safer than salad mixes or bagged Cole Slaw
mixes)
Here's a decent article about all this…
My 2 cents…
1.There’s been a lot of flooding out west and in the mid-west, and
floodwaters may contain raw sewage from humans, and from farms with animals on
them.
2.The use of “biosolids” (sewage sludge) is not uncommon on
non-organic farms, and wonder if it could contain undetected critters like
this? This has not been a common thing to be tested for so maybe has been there
but not tested for.
3.Workers in larger farms may not have sufficient break time to
get to the toilets (and may be under pressure to get jobs done in short order)
and may be using the fields as their toilet, and it’s possible land owners
might not be providing enough facilities, and putting them close enough to the
workers for them to be used. And wonder if said workers are educated about work
hygiene in the language they speak?
4.Unfortunately, our country has ALWAYS put food safety fairly low
on the totem pole no matter who’s running the government…be they Democrat or
Republican. Remember the E Coli outbreak at Chipotle’s back in 2015? They NEVER
located the source of the food that was getting people sick. What can you do?
Buy local and organic, wash hands before handling food, and do as much cooking
at home as you can.
Want to grow your own food? And even if you have a home garden
already, buy these books if you don’t own them already…
Rodale’s Basic Organic Gardening…
https://www.amazon.com/Rodales-Basic-Organic-Gardening-Beginners/dp/1609619838
The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Pest and Disease
Control…
https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Gardeners-Handbook-Natural-Disease/dp/1605296775
I was asked by someone at the Cinema Arts Centre to spread the
word about this movie, saw the trailer, and told them that this was like a
movie made out of puppies, kittens, bunnies, and anything else you’d find
adorable and charming and uplifting…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnSQS43Eil8
Will let you all know the date and time it will be scheduled!
And if you have any family members involved with Girl Scouts
(kids/grandkids/you’re a Scout Leader), get it touch as the Cinema Arts Centre
would like to spread the word to Girl Scout troops in the area.
However, in all honesty, I have a problem (as a former Girl Scout)
with the ingredients used for these cookies as in 2026 they should be able to
do a LOT better (certified organic would be my preference…surprise, surprise 😊).
BUT, there are TWO companies that make Girls Scout Cookies and one uses better
ingredients than the other. ABC Bakers…no thank you, Little Brownie Bakers…not
ideal but better than ABC Bakers.
And there are Girl Scouts who aren’t crazy about them either. Some
are advocating for changes, and some are going rogue and baking their own and
selling those instead…
https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2023-03-08/why-a-cookie-recipe-made-this-nh-girl-scout-go-rogue
Regardless of the cookie controversy 😊, this
movie looks like it has a lot to offer in terms of positivity and general good
vibes.
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
Get cancer causing potassium bromate and other poorly tested
chemicals out of NY food!
https://act.cspi.org/a/ny-food-safety-and-chemical-disclosure-act-2026?ms=&sourceid=1130474
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
You get the idea 😊.
I am not a 24/7 connected person, have no desire to be, and try and keep my CSA and personal communications separate, so…
- 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 8pm),
call the Box Office at the Cinema Arts Centre at 631-423-7611 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. It’s not the Cinema staff’s job to
take messages for the CSA, and THEY MIGHT NOT GET IT RIGHT! If you leave a
message with someone at the Box Office, we might not get it in a timely
manner or at all, and they may not get it right (which happened recently
and someone almost didn’t get their CSA Share because of it).
Unfortunately, if you’re calling around 7:30pm, it may be a time where the
Box Office is busy selling tickets, and they either might not pick up the
phone, or pick up the phone and put you on hold. If they don’t pick up the
phone, keep calling, and they should eventually pick up and be able to
speak with you. We are at the CSA cleaning up till about 8pm so you should
be able to catch us before we leave (though if we are ready to leave
earlier, we will).
- 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.
7.Do you wanna dance?
If so, you might want to check out CSA Member, Michele Weisz’s son
Simeon’s event at Heckscher Park coming up next week (I’ll be going after the
CSA 😊)…
Thursday, July 23rd
8pm to 11pm
Road to Submersion Festival – Beyond Dusk
Heckscher Park
11 Prime Ave
Huntington
FREE
This is an evening of electronic underground dance (indie
house/techno) music with international/national DJs coming in from NYC, and
projected images after dark by REINO. Featuring music by Malakai, Hoopla, and
Elraze (not sure about the spelling of this as the font isn’t very legible).
https://www.submersionfestival.com/
- 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 #6
July 9, 2026
- Beans, Shelling: Fava* – 1
bag (1 lb.) - $5.50
- Onions – 1 bunch - $5.50
- Peas: Snow – 1 bag (1/2
lb.) - $5.25
- Radicchio: Chiogga – 1
head - $5.25
- Lettuce: French Crisp, Red – 1 head - $4.50
Total Items: 5
Total Amount: $26.00
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 $3.00 over $23.00. I keep track
and it adds up over the course of our CSA season and so far the total is $18.
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 Shares – Week #4
Strawflowers (everlasts…can be dried)
Herb Share – July 1A
Marjoram AND Savory, Summer
Please let me know if any of these links are no longer functional…
*Beans, Shelling: Fava Beans
Fava Beans and Parkinson’s (could be helpful…or not…MUST discuss
with your doctor/s before eating)… https://www.scienzavegetariana.it/nutrizione/favabeans.html
Video on how to shell and cook fresh Fava Beans…
https://toriavey.com/fava-beans-how-to-cook-soak-peel-freeze/
How to prepare…
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-pick-clean-and-prepare-84710
http://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/how-to-prepare-fava-beans-gallery/list
Info and recipes…
https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-are-fava-beans-995664
Nutrition info…
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-fava-beans-4574.html
Easiest…however you make Hummus – substitute
cooked, skinless Fava Beans for your Garbanzo Beans/Chick Peas and proceed and
use however you’d use Hummus
Fava Beans with Snap Peas and Mint
http://www.marthastewart.com/975835/fava-bean-recipes#1143976\
Greek Style Fava Beans with Dill…
https://www.californiagreekgirl.com/greek-style-fava-beans-with-dill/
Fava Bean Dip…
https://thewanderlustkitchen.com/easy-fava-bean-dip/
Fava Bean and Goat Cheese Dip with Radishes
http://www.marthastewart.com/975835/fava-bean-recipes#334606
Fan of grilling? You can grill Fava Beas…
https://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/grilled-fava-beans-recipe.html
http://www.marthastewart.com/975835/fava-bean-recipes#341094
Some are food related…some not…all interesting, strange, and/or
amusing!
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
Tuesday, July 21st
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
Thursday, July 23rd
8pm to 11pm
Road to Submersion Festival – Beyond Dusk
Heckscher Park
11 Prime Ave
Huntington
FREE
This is an evening of electronic underground dance (indie
house/techno) music with international and national DJs coming in from NYC, and
projected images after dark by REINO. Featuring music by Malakai, Hoopla, and
Elraze (not sure about the spelling of this as the font isn’t very legible).
This is part of a larger event called the Submersion Festival held
this October in NJ…
https://www.submersionfestival.com/
Tuesday, July 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.
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
Sunday, August 16th
2pm to 6pm
First Ever Green Thumb CSA – Huntington Potluck and Pool Party!
Greenlawn
###
