Welcome to our JUNE 2022 Newsletter!
Music For Minis With Mama!
Timbalooloo is back on Mama Farm! For the second summer in a row, and back by popular demand, celebrated clarinetist Oran Etkin will host two of his Timbalooloo classes on Saturday, July 9th and Sunday, July 10th. The farm gates will open for fun and exploration at 1:30PM and the class will begin at 2:00PM. Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite or you can email us at info@mamafarm.us (Tickets are $25 per child, ages 3+. Adults and children under 3 years old are free).
We are so pleased to have Oran back for this very special music class that is a delight for all ages. For those who are unfamiliar, Timbalooloo reimagines the way music is taught to children by having instruments “come to life” and “speak” through musical notes. As a result, children learn that music is an expression of emotion and character, not just notes on a page. Timbalooloo classes also involve fun games, stories, songs and movements that inspire children to engage with a rich musical and cultural heritage – from Tito Puente to Mozart, Willie Nelson to Herbie Hancock.
Oran is widely regarded as one of the top clarinetists and composers of his generation. He regularly performs at major jazz festivals internationally and has recorded on numerous albums, including a Grammy Award winning compilation. He is also the curator of Mama Farm’s Moon Concert series. Oran explained that the inspiration to start Timbalooloo comes from a desire to teach children that music is a conversation that can also express things that cannot be captured in words, “I really believe that if children grow up conceiving of music in this way, they are going to have a much deeper, personal and immediate connection with music and they will be empowered to express themselves in a playful yet honest and personal way for the rest of their lives."
We are so pleased to have Upon learning Oran and Timbalooloo would be returning, Mama Farm members of all ages expressed their enthusiasm. Ronin, aged 4, happily exclaimed, “Oran is my friend!” Gemma, aged 4, expressed her desire to watch Oran wake up “Miss Clara Net” (his clarinet) from her nap so Miss Clara could sing to the children and they would all dance together. Lia Chavez, mother to a daughter who is 5-years old and has attended several Timbalooloo classes explained, “Timbalooloo is a brilliant experience for children and parents. Oran masterfully weaves storytelling, musical styles and historical references together for a fascinating introduction to a love of music.”
We hope you’ll join us for our Timbalooloo classes on July 9th and July 10th (2PM). Tickets can be found on Eventbrite for $25 per child, ages 3+ (adults and children under 3 years old are free).
To express our gratitude to our CSA members and all that they do to make Mama Farm possible, we are offering free cooking classes this June. Each member is invited to sign up for one cooking class for a CSA category they are signed up for. Members should have received an email about signup information. If you missed it, please let us know and we’ll do our best to accommodate you. In the meantime, let’s get to know our amazing chef partners!
Many of our members have likely met Cheryl Grigg at our weekly farmstand where she sells her delicious beignets. Cheryl is founder and co-owner of Chara’s Kitchen, a full service catering company and restaurant that specializes in soul food and operates out of the basement kitchen of a Shiloh Temple on Atlantic Avenue in Bellport, where her father is the pastor. Before working as a chef, Cheryl was a nurse. When her beloved mother, Chara, died in 2008, “cooking became a way to grieve and remember the good times.” Cheryl and her sister, Thelma, decided to start the Chara’s Kitchen company based on their mother’s recipes. The recipes and menus have since grown, but the basic principles of love and “food as a hug” have remained the same.
Chara’s Kitchen has now grown into a company that provides catering, meal prep, private chef services and cooking lessons. Cheryl says of her mother, “she is soul food, she is a hug, she is light.” Certainly everyone who has met Cheryl will agree that she carries this legacy forward for the community and Mama Farmis lucky to be collaborating with her this summer and beyond! Cheryl will be teaching members how to make focaccia from scratch (June 22, 3-6PM) as well as hosting the Fromage & Fortunes night (June 25, 5-8PM).
Jody Shapiro is a restaurateur and documentarian who comes to Mama Farm from Toronto where he co-owns the restaurant Antler, which celebrates and showcases the use of wild Canadian ingredients. He has made many wonderful films, including a documentary about Burt Shavtiz, founder of Burt’s Bees (Burt’s Buzz), as well as co-directed the Green Porno series with Mama Farm founder, Isabella Rossellini. Jody is also a talented photographer. His recent photo essay, Lockdown 2.0, drew a lot of attention in Canada with stark, simple images of those working behind the scenes in Canada to cook and deliver food during a time of mass isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The photos were published in several Canadian newspapers and captured “masked chefs working alongside family members and what little support staff they can afford” to deliver food to people and families in lockdown. Having had to reinvent Antler and its operation no less than 9 times during the pandemic, Jody felt it was, “an important period to document.” He adds, “In the near future, we will look back at this lockdown as a time of change; for some it will be a time of loss, for others a time of triumph.” Jody’s passion for food led him into the kitchen of Antler, where he helped develop many pasta and baking recipes. Jody will be teaching members how to make pasta from scratch with their Mama Farm eggs (June 21, 3-6PM), as well as sharing the secrets to making the perfect fluffy, honey sweetened madeleines (June 24, 3-6PM).
Julien Shapiro grew up on Long Island and, after getting his degree in Art History, attended culinary school in Paris. He worked in various kitchens across the USA, ultimately ending up in Washington DC at Palena under James Beard award winning chef, Frank Ruta. In 2016, Julien relocated back to the North Folk of Long Island where he helped to open a full service butcher and retail store at 8 Hands Farm in Cutchogue. 8 Hands Farm is a 28-acre farm that raises red feather chickens, ducks, turkey, goats, Icelandic sheep, heritage breed pigs and English breed cows on pasture. Julien is passionate about animal husbandry as well as butchery. He cares and slaughters the birds himself and has found a certified human facility upstate for his larger animals, which he receives back whole and butchers himself to create a range of raw cuts, prepared foods, sausages and charcuterie. In Julien’s kitchen, no part of the animal goes towaste, including the fats and offal to make schmaltz and pates, and he uses bones to make stock. Julien’s extensive knowledge of heritage breeds and his prestigious classic French culinary training make him an excellent teacher for our beak-to-feet chicken butchery class on June 26th at 12PM. In addition to learning knife skills, Julien will also share how to cook the perfect bird and make treats like chicken liver pate.
Liz Sorts Your Biz:
Among our many talented and wonderful CSA members, we have a certain admiration for the all-knowing “Liz” (pseudonym). Liz is revered by their friends for doling the absolute best advice on literally anything from personal issues to finance to ethics and beyond. Members can submit their most pressing questions via our small intake box at the CSA pick up.
Dear Liz,
I had a "work wife" who I considered a good friend, but recently she did something at work that stabbed me in the back. I feel totally surprised by this and hurt. We have been working together for quite some time, collaborated, supported each other, and even had dinners out with our husbands, spent boozy weekends together upstate – I mean, we were friends! I feel so hurt and angry at her, but I guess I need to keep it profesh? I suppose I understand why she needed to do this to get ahead, but I can't imagine she would not have been aware how this would negatively affect me and put me in a difficult position, or at the very least be hurtful. What should I do? How should I even act toward this person? I've been polite, but a little distant... that's about all I can muster these days.
— Blue In Bellport
Dear Jilted Blue at The Water Cooler,
There's an old saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It's ok to be hurt, it's ok to be a little distant, it's ok to smile and laugh with her. It's not ok to ever let this happen again. You have learned the hard way and there wasn't even sex involved! Trust is off the table. Your "work wife" knows what she did and will do it again and again. The only difference is you won't let it happen. Forgiveness and unfaithful should never be used in the same sentence. In other words, you deserve better and it will never be the same. It's time to put your big girl pants on and have confidence in yourself. Maybe it's time to start "work dating" at the office. Have you ever considered a "work husband?” Gay work husbands are the best! Always remember there's a glass of wine at the end of the day and someone beautiful at home.
—The honeymoon is over,
Liz
Mama Farm Artists
Mama Farm by Grey Lee (watercolor painting),
Bonum Lee (left), Dasha Lee (right).