organic

On Call Stylist Asia Dent Offers Organic ‘Farm to Table Hair Products’ & On Trend Salon Services

June 9, 2020 by Inside Press

By Asia Dent

I am a Northern Westchester based hairstylist who works exclusively with a line of certified organic, ammonia free, cruelty free, fair trade, farm-to-table hair care products. Simply Organic Beauty is a line of biodynamic, ecofriendly hair care and hair color products that are made on a state of the art biodynamic /organic farm in Bologna Italy. As a hairstylist with over 20 years of experience and former salon owner, I have worked with a plethora of hair care lines. With the ever growing concerns regarding climate change and our carbon footprint I have researched the trends in the beauty industry and believe that the farm to chair approach of this company is right in step with today’s consumers desire to incorporate organic beauty products into their ever expanding green lifestyle choices. As a resident of Bedford Village for over a decade I support the Bedford 2020 campaign I am thrilled to be able to offer a service that is in line with the ethos of conservation and green living.

As the former owner of Lift Hair Studio, a boutique salon in Astoria, Queens I have seen firsthand how the trends in the beauty industry continue to evolve to satisfy the needs of clients that want to use products that are healthier for their hair. In my search to source the best products for my clients, I have continued to raise the bar for myself by attending seminars, taking classes with the leading industry brands and going to trade shows to stay abreast of the newest techniques and hair care lines.

I chose Simply Organic Beauty because amongst other things, the products have been formulated in the pursuit of the health and wellness of both stylist and their clients. Ultimately what you put on our scalp and skin is as important to your health and wellness as what you eat. It is my wish to harmonize the health and beauty of my clients by offering these amazing products, which have replaced the harsh and harmful chemicals found in traditional salon products with certified organic ingredients, rich nutrients, amino acids, and essential oils that leave my clients hair looking and feeling healthy, vibrant and beautiful!

I am currently a mobile hairstylist that specializes in customized color, precision haircuts, keratin treatments, on trend blowouts and special event styling. I offer my services at private homes, offices and special event venues as well as a private one-on-one salon in Bedford. In my work as a hairstylist I have also made it a point to give back to the community and have donated my time and talents to help families at risk, people suffering with life threatening illnesses and families of incarcerated women, as reported in local media.

Lastly, as the Covid pandemic has altered not only our lives but the way we will conduct our businesses going forward and in an attempt to provide my clients with safe, professional and best in class services, I have recently received a Barbicide Covid-19 certificate. This certification ensures clients that I have been trained in all of the latest disinfection and sterilization procedures and will utilize completely sanitized tools throughout every service.

To book an appointment, call 646-592-3306. Follow @AsiaDent on Instagram, and visit www.salonnorthhair.com

Organic Wine and Cheese Social at Life Energy Art Gallery

December 6, 2019 by The Inside Press

YOU ARE INVITED!

Where: Life Energy Art Gallery, 11-13 Main Street, Mount Kisco

When: Saturday December 7, 6-8 p.m.

Cost: Free!

Relax and make new friends in the beautiful, healing environment of our Art Gallery. Featuring a special demonstration in using art for healing, and of course organic wine and cheese, healthy snacks. Come and hang out! Bring friends and family.

Click here to RSVP

Fun and Fresh: Chappaqua Farmers Market

November 13, 2019 by The Inside Press

The Chappaqua Farmers Market (CFM) celebrates its 9th season with shoppers from all over Westchester discovering New Castle’s gem of a market right in front of the historic Chappaqua Train Station.

The market is committed to bringing locally raised and produced foods to the community, creating a connection between shoppers and small scale food producers in the Lower Hudson Valley. Every Saturday morning, CFM brings a sophisticated vendor mix, Provencal vibe, stress-free parking to the shady, promenade location. CFM is open 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Farmers and food-producers are all located within a 200-mile radius of CFM, to lessen negative environmental impact while ensuring fresh products. The market offers farm-fresh produce, much of it organic, pastured-meats and poultry, eggs, fish, dairy, bread and prepared foods like wood-burning pizzas made with market ingredients. At the heart of the market, on the green, you can find live music and children’s activities every week as well as regular cooking demos. CFM acts as a de facto “town square” by offering a venue for community groups, entertainment, and serendipitous meetings, and by drawing residents and visitors to downtown Chappaqua. chappaquafarmersmarket.org.

Courtesy of Chappaqua Farmers Market

CSA: A Great Way to Eat Fresh, and Healthy, Meals

April 21, 2016 by The Inside Press

By Liz Susman Karp

With the current spotlight on farm-to-table eating and eating local, spring presents an opportune time to sign up for a share in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

A CSA is a weekly allotment of farm-grown vegetables, usually enough to feed two to four people. Fruit, eggs, meat and poultry additions are often optional. Splitting shares is common. Some farms are certified organic, others follow organic practices (high certification cost) or have taken the NOFA (National Organic Farmers Association) pledge to farming, marketing and farm management in accordance with sound ecological and economic principles.

Participating in a CSA enables shareholders to obtain fresh, natural food; it’s a statement of commitment to the land, and lends support and security to farmers. That’s got to make food taste better!

There’s something grounding (no pun intended) about eating seasonally, when food reaches its natural peak. It’s reminiscent of a simpler time, yet is thoroughly modern. A plant-heavy diet with few or no processed foods has proven more nourishing. Fertile soil fights the effects of global warming. Improved access to better food offers choice in a food system which promotes unhealthy foods.

Each week’s share is different. “The quantity of types of produce varies week-to-week depending on what is available–we include all produce we grow here on our farm,” says Christine Tartaglia of Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard. “But, for example, the cucumber crop might be fruiting like crazy one week and, say, peppers are not, so you might get more cukes in that box and no peppers. But that being said, we know that no one wants an overload of one type of veggie, so we do our best to offer a broad range of staples and new/different items each week.” Visit harvestmoonfarmandorchard.com

CSAs provide a weekly newsletter with information and recipes. Jenn Hentel, a member of Roxbury Farm’s CSA, says, “Most veggies you have heard of, but the rarer ones make it fun. My theory is: If you don’t know what to do with it, then roast it!”

A sampling of local options:

Members of Roxbury Farm’s CSA bring their own bags to pick-up sites, which include B’nai Yisrael, Armonk, and Pace University, Pleasantville. Known for innovative practices, the Kinderhook, NY farm’s CSA is in its 26th year. It runs for 23 weeks beginning June 8, with seven to 12 varieties weekly. Options include meat and chicken shares and an 18-week fruit share. Shareholders are asked to contribute time neatening their site or delivering extras to a food pantry. www.roxburyfarm.com

The CSA of Harvest Moon Farm and Orchard in North Salem is in its fifth year. Half or full bushel shares are offered for 13 or 18 weeks beginning July 7. Prices start at $325. A milk share from Ronnybrook Farm is available. Members may receive grass fed beef, apple cider or eggs as occasional bonus items. Visit www.harvestmoonfarmandorchard.com.

The Stone Barns Center CSA, available to members of Stone Barns, “is so much about sharing not just in the crops from our farm, but in the work of the Center to change the way America eats and farms,” says SBC Content Manager Adriana Stimola. Beginning June 1 for 22 weeks, it includes seasonal vegetable varieties not found anywhere else, often trial varieties from collaborative seed-breeding partnerships. Some will be grown exclusively for CSA members. Cost is $800; pick up at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills. Options are chicken, eggs and flower bouquets. Visit stonebarnscenter.org

Simpaug Farms in Suffield, Conn., will distribute its CSA in Ridgefield at Bailey’s Backyard and the Ridgefield Farmers Market from June 6 to Sept. 19. Each weekly or bi-weekly share includes five to 12 vegetable varieties with herbs, berries and occasional preserved items from the farm kitchen. Meat, eggs and other products may be purchased through the farm website. Members are encouraged to share their experiences, photos, and recipes on Simpaug’s social media pages. 300 shares are available; cost is $35/week. Visit www.simpaugfarms.com.

Pound Ridge Organics, a local organic food hub, offers a CSA featuring all clean, locally-grown products year-round without upfront cost. Members receive a weekly order form for organic/biodynamic produce, certified organic, animal welfare-approved meat and poultry, dairy, artisanal breads and other natural products, including kosher, vegan and gluten free options. New this spring is a heritage egg and poultry option. No limit to spots or minimum/maximum order, but organizer Donna Simons, who founded PRO five years ago after doing a research project on factory farming, prefers people order on a regular basis. Pick up at hr carriage house in Pound Ridge. For more info, write to: poundridgeorganics@icloud.com.

CSAs provide appealing alternatives for food choice. Dara Mirsky joined Roxbury Farms so her young sons could see her and her husband enjoying vegetables. “I like getting vegetables that are still a little dirty…just pulled from the earth,” she says. “And on the whole everything tastes a lot better than the supermarket.”

Liz Susman Karp is a freelance writer and public relations practitioner. She, her husband and two teenage sons live in Briarcliff Manor near the site of Briarcliff Lodge where they used to explore the ruins when the boys were young.

Inch By Inch, Row By Row

August 16, 2013 by The Inside Press

How A Garden is Helping the Community Grow, One Plant at a Time

By Julia Desmarais

Volunteers hard at work in the Chappaqua Community Garden

It’s a warm summer day, and you’re strolling through town. You pass Starbucks, popping in for a quick Frappuccino to keep the heat away. You continue on your walk, crossing the street, passing Susan Lawrence, and sipping your drink. It is a gorgeous and lazy day–you have nowhere to be, so you are letting your feet lead the way. Across the street you see the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and then something else catches your eye–right next to the Ambulance Corps (on its land, in fact) is a fenced-in area buzzing with busy men, women, and children. Curiosity gets the better of you, and you cross the road–beautiful flowers, rich green lettuce, and lovely little herbs fill your vision; the smells of fresh water, dirt, and plants fill your nose. Plant beds made of wood or surrounded by stones are lined up throughout the space, each with small paths cut through for walking, kneeling and growing; nets are hung up for cultivating beans, and there are signs staked in to give the plots a “homey” feel.

Everyone is busy. Some are bringing piles of plant matter over to compost bins, some are digging out the pathways, some are weeding, and everyone is helping in some way. You are at the Chappaqua Community (emphasis on “community”) Garden on one of their work days–when everyone who has a plot stops by to help out with general garden maintenance for an hour or two. Started by Suzi Novak and InterGenerate in the Spring of 2011 when she noticed that some Ambulance Corps workers were growing tomatoes in the space, this garden has been a wonderful addition to the Chappaqua community.

Now in its third year, the garden is home to 22 beds, all of which are filled with various plants. There are relatively few rules that govern each plot, as everyone builds theirs differently and grows different things. There is one very important rule: everything must be organic. In addition to these beds, there are four special beds known as the “Giving Garden.” Everyone who has a plot in the Community Garden volunteers time here, and the food gets donated to people in need.

Dr. Susan Rubin Photos by Alina Wang — Dr. Susan Rubin
Photos by Alina Wang

While organically grown vegetables are good for everyone, they are especially important for growing kids. If you want your kids to eat healthfully, get them out to the garden. It’s organic, it’s fresh and delicious, and it’s something that they’ll want to eat. As Dr. Susan Rubin, co-chair of the Chappaqua Community Garden, health professional, food and garden educator, environmental activist and local mother said, “When kids grow food, they eat food.” The great thing about this garden is they can grow the food. There are gardeners here of every skill level, and others who are always willing and ready to help.

The community feeling at the garden is a special one and is truthfully the real draw for gardening experts and novices alike; advice sharing, potluck dinners, and seed swaps at Local are only some of the many activities to participate in. Cameron Kelly, a long-time gardener, gardens at home but also has a plot at the Chappaqua Community Garden. She loves the opportunity the town garden gives her to meet neighbors, learn from them, and be a part of the community that has been created there. “The most important message,” she shared, “is that everyone can do this.” Yes, gardening is a skill, but it is a skill that anyone can learn, green thumb or not. Susan’s advice coincides with this–start small, she suggests, and grow herbs. They are very easy to grow, and great to have!

The Ambulance Corps and Chappaqua Paint and Hardware understand the value of the Chappaqua Community Garden, and both have been very generous with their help. The Ambulance Corps has given land and a water supply, while Chappaqua Paint and Hardware has supplied hoses and put in a shed to hold the gardening tools. It has really become a huge, welcoming community affair in which the whole town is involved.

Rubin is very happy with how far the garden has come, and she hopes that in the future it will expand as more residents discover the benefits and excitement of the garden. Her dream is to move it onto the Chappaqua Crossing property someday, where it can be bigger and better. With enough support, there is no doubt that this would be a successful endeavor and an extraordinary benefit to the Chappaqua community, as seen in what the garden has achieved already.

If you would like to get involved with this amazing venture, you can contact Susan Rubin through her website, www.drsusanrubin.com, or Suzi Novak through her email, suzin@jsgnovak.com.

Julia Desmarais is a senior at Horace Greeley High School. Growing up, she loved the Junie B. Jones books.