As usual, the Catch a Star luncheon was the highlight of the Congregation Tifereth Israel summer season.  Paula Shengold fulfilled her usual role as impresario, ably assisted by the ladies of the Daughters of Israel.  Following a delicious lunch at the Sound View Restaurant (Salmon), Paula introduced three speakers.  Karen Catapano, from Catapano Farms--makers of prize-winning goat cheese; Mary Morgan an advocate of Slow Food (as opposed to "Fast Food") and Carol Dickman, a yoga instructor who soon had her audience up doing simple contortions.

Karen Catapano (photo right) described her goat farm on the North Road in Peconic.  She and her husband started it in 2003 with 18 goats and started making cheese.  In 2005, after only 2-years, one of their cheeses, a chevre, won first prize from the American Cheese Society.  They now have 5-acres in Peconic with 90 goats.  (When the town asked how many goats they thought they needed, they tossed out the number "100."  "That's too many," they were told. "You can have only 90.")

She described goat's milk as "silky" naturally homogenized and pointed out that in most of the world outside the USA, people mostly drank goat's milk rather than cow's milk.

Her goats are described as picky eaters.  They hired a goat nutritionist to be sure they were being properly fed.  Asked about the cartoon characterization of goats as eaters of everything and anything, she explained that they love paper and often follow visitors to snatch at the paper bags they're carrying.

They breed their goats and birth about 120 each winter (in a heated barn).  Because of the herd limit, these are mostly sold.  Each female typically carries 2-3 babies.  They try to breed them to space out the births a month or so apart.  One year a small male got

into the female's pen.  He was dismissed as irrelevant because of his small stature … until birthing time, when they discovered just how active he'd become!

They milk the goats twice a day with machines.  If a scheduled milking is at 4 pm, the goats are lined up, ready to go at 3:59.

Karen told the story of a couple who'd purchased a dozen eggs at King Kullen, only to discover that they had fertilized eggs.  They brought the chicks over to the farm to be cared for.

Mary Morgan (photo right) is involved with "slow food USA" a group formed in Rome,  Italy in reaction to the proposed opening of a MacDonald's fast food restaurant.  "Rome is not about fast food," the locals jeered.  Rome and all Italy is about fine wines, olive oil, olives, cheeses, fresh seafood, produce, crusty bread and slow dining.

As their website says, "Living the slow life with food as the focus is as rewarding as it is easy, and it can be done daily by each one of us. Ultimately, it is about pleasure and taste, knowledge and choice."

Currently they boast 80,000 members. 

Mary pointed out that living on the North Fork, with the bountiful farm stands, local farms, fisheries, vineyards and wineries, our ability to enjoy locally produced foodstuffs is and should be one of life's great pleasures.  She bemoaned the fact that shiploads of imported food coming to our shores is twice what it was just a decade ago.

Carol Dickman (photo left) has traveled the world teaching the fine points of various yoga routines.  "It improves the quality of life," she claims, "as we get older."  Most recently she has taught yoga at the Jewish Guild for the Blind.

There are many different types of yoga, she explained.  You can do it on a chair, in bed, in a swimming pool or on a mat.  No one is too old or too frail.  No special equipment is required.

Some years ago she worked as a producer on NBC's Today show that originates at NBC's studios in Rockefeller center.  When she left to become a yoga instructor, she asked if she could teach a class to her former colleagues.  After a considerable delay, permission was granted, with the proviso that there be "no chanting, no 'ooming!'"

She brought the diners to their feet to participate in some simple exercises.

Roberta Garris (picture right) brought the proceedings to a rollicking finish by conducting a raffle for a large number of donated items from local merchants, farms, and artisans. 

One framed picture in particular caught Adrianne Greenberg's eye, and prior to the drawing, she offered to buy it from whomever won it.   To her surprise, Adrianne's  own ticket was drawn and she went home happy, with the coveted picture!


Each year the Daughters of Israel award a Literary Scholarship to a Greenport High School senior who submits the winning essay. This year's winner is Harriet Bondarchuk.  Click here to read her essay