Ken Lewis is serious about his coffee. He has to be. He’s a partner and Chief Marketing Officer at Sun Coffee Roasters in Plainville, CT, a triple bottom line company just as dedicated to satisfying taste buds as it is to people, planet and profits. Sun imports the highest quality, organic Fair Trade coffee from all over the world, and then custom blends it for colleges, universities, wholesale suppliers and retailers including Stop ‘n Shop, Whole Foods and Big Y.

According to industry statistics, despite a recession the North American organic coffee market grew to $1.4 billion in sales in 2009, topping growth in the conventional coffee market and making it the most valuable imported organic product on the continent.

Sun Coffee Roasters is currently one of a handful of roasters in the country using a 100% Made in the USA, state of the art, energy-efficient roaster that incorporates computing technology designed to perfectly roast made-to-order blends for each customer, every time. Once roasted, the coffee beans are cooled, then either left whole or ground, packaged into brick or fractional packaging using environmentally friendly packaging film with a nitro valve to ensure freshness. Sun’s just in time inventory system is designed to get coffee to their customers within days of roasting to ensure a premium cup of coffee by the end consumer. According to Ken, coffee will begin to lose its freshness 12 days after being packaged.

Sun ships coffee in single pot fractional packaging bi-weekly to coffee distribution specialists who provide point of sale services to restaurants, hotels, coffee shops and business offices in the form of delivery, equipment and servicing. Ken stressed that these specialists help ensure the freshest and highest quality product for the end consumer.

Colleges and universities, however, constitute the bulk of their business and Sun offers a comprehensive program exclusive to this market that creates three different revenue streams for the school- margin on the coffee sold on campus, licensing fees, and a scholarship program - plus marketing and promotional support.  Under this private label program, colleges and universities create a custom label for their coffee that’s branded with their school’s logo and color scheme, enabling them to highlight their commitment to the organic Fair Trade movement. Sun Coffee Roasters not only pays the college a royalty for using the college name and logo on the label, but also donates a percentage of every pound of Sun Coffee Roasters coffee sold on campus to a university-controlled scholarship fund to promote sustainable living.

Sun works with schools to create point of sale collateral to promote organic Fair Trade coffee via education. An easel at the point of sale might talk about the organic Fair Trade movement and how it helps farmers move out of vicious cycles of poverty. Realizing that the economics of coffee, from bean to cup, would make great discussion in class, and furthering their commitment to encouraging dialog and education about sustainability, Sun Coffee Roasters is working on creating a Fair Trade curriculum for colleges  and universities in coordination with The Smithsonian Institute, TransFair USA, Utz Certified and ELAN Organic the program.  According to Ken, “coffee is one of the most highly traded commodities yet four multinational companies control 60% of the market. While prices have stagnated over the last 70 years, a cup of conventional coffee now sells for 10 times the price paid to farmers.”

Online at Sun Coffee Roasters’ University, students are invited to join their “Wake Up Your Campus” campaign. Here, students are empowered and rewarded for becoming a brand ambassador for Sun Coffee Roasters at their school and leading the charge to get students to sign a petition aimed at convincing school officials to offer Sun Coffee Roasters coffees on campus.

But how does it taste you ask? A recent, very professionally organized and run blind tasting of five organic French roasts published on Grist.com evoked some great responses from tasters including “It’s the only one I’d drink.” The panelists concluded that “freshly roasted stuff is best. So, if you are able and lucky, find yourself a small, local roaster.” Fellow coffee aficionados, consider ourselves lucky to have an organic Fair Trade roaster right in our state.

Find Sun Coffee Roasters online at www.suncoffeeroasters.com and on Facebook and Twitter. Ken Lewis, partner and Chief Marketing Officer, can be reached at 860-517-8163.

The Litchfield Saltwater Grille

Farm to Table Inspired Wine Dinner Series

presents…

March Farms Dinner (Bethlehem, CT)

featuring Certified Biodynamic Benziger  Wines

on Sunday August 8th at 3pm

Chef Albert Clugston III will prepare a five course farm fresh menu paired with four certified sustainable Benziger wines.  The menu will feature:

March Farms peaches, plums, nectarines, corn, blueberries, tomatoes, broccoli, and more!  As well as Local…

Farm Fresh Eggs, (Windswept Farm, Litchfield)

Arethusa Farm Dairy Products, (Litchfield)

Bantam Bread, (Bantam)*  Beltane Farm Artisan Cheese, (Lebanon)

Percy Thompson Meadows (Bethlehem)

Urban Oaks Organic Farm, (Kent) * Mountain View Farm (Kent)

Percy Thomson Meadows Farm (Bethlehem)

Mountaintop Mushrooms, (Waterbury) * Local Grass Fed Beef

Chef Albert Clugston III’s Organic Garden, ( Litchfield)

Call now for reservations 860-567-4900

Click here to learn about Benziger’s Green Farming practices.

Click here to view the complete menu.

The Litchfield Saltwater Grille

fine FOOD • WINE • ATMOSPHERE at its best

IN THE NEWS:

Pick up your copy of this months issue of Connecticut Magazine!

The cover story “Farm Dinners,”  by Elizabeth Keyser features

The Litchfield Saltwater Grille’s Farm to Table Dinner Series as one of Connecticut’s up and coming in this new trend.

Brett Clugston is invited to Fox CT to discuss the upcoming dinner series.  Check out the beautiful March Farms Tomatoes in the segment.

Click here to watch.

26 Commons Drive, Route 202, Litchfield, CT 06759

860.567.4900 swgcorporate@optonline.net

www.litchfieldsaltwatergrille.org

www.connecticutcaterers.org

Video from News Ch. 8’s Good Morning CT Show, July 12, 2010 at 7:48 am with Matt Scott

The summer harvest is producing beautiful and delicious foods for quick summer meals. But sometimes we find ourselves with more food than we can eat and need some strategies for preserving its freshness. Luckily there are fantastic resources available to the home cook to guide us through freezing, drying, pickling and canning the season’s bounty so we can enjoy it throughout the year. And some of these recipes and so simple that even the novice cook will enjoy them.

4 Techniques for Extending and Preserving the Harvest

Dry it: culinary herbs

Freeze it: blueberries & raspberries

Pickle it: cucumbers, carrots, radishes, squash

Can it: jams, jellies and preserves

Dry it: To prepare fresh herbs for drying, wash and thoroughly dry them immediately after picking. Use a kitchen towel or paper towel to remove any excess water rather than treat them too aggressively in a salad spinner. Bundle  each spring up into a bouquet and secure with a rubber band, making sure to leave the end slack so it can be hung on a cabinet handle.

Here I’ve prepared some sage and oregano from my garden with recycled rubber bands and adorned them with a piece of scrap ribbon. I wanted them to look pretty because they hang in my kitchen. Find a spot away from sunlight to hang them and when they’re completely dry, put them in a bag or container or break off the leaves and store them in a spice jar and label them with the name of the herb and the date.

Freeze it: Fresh berries are great candidates for freezing. Wash and thoroughly dry the freshest berries possible, then place them in a single layer, without touching one another, on a sheet pan and freeze overnight. Gather the berries and store in a freezer bag with as much air as possible removed or fill a freezer safe container. Be sure to use the fruit within the next 6 months. Try placing a handful of frozen berries in your hot oatmeal this winter or cooking the berries with a little sugar and lemon juice to make a compote for pancakes or waffles.

For a quick pickle recipe that only required refrigeration, I turned to an expert for recipes and advice. Local culinary professional and cookbook author Sherri Brooks Vinton has just published the perfect resource for home cooks looking to learn new ways to preserve the harvest: Put ‘em Up! A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook. I found a recipe for Asian Icebox Pickles in Put em Up! that took no time at all to prepare and used pantry staples like soy sauce and sesame oil. They are simply delicious as a refreshing snack or a great addition to an Asian-inspired meal.

Drying, freezing, pickling and canning, this cookbook covers them all and is supplemented by a 7 minute video tutorial on the boiling water method for canning foods on her web site sherribrooksvinton.com. Sherri kicks off her national book tour today at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, NY from 1-3 .  Her  canning demonstrations are excellent so please visit her site for a complete book event calendar. I found the cookbook comprehensive and easy to use and am grateful it’s printed in soft cover.

I also found some great pickling recipes on marthastewart.com and have been trying them out on the family. The quick pickles with tarragon are quite zesty and refreshing on a hot day. If you have some chiles growing in your backyard garden, the pickled carrots with garlic and chiles are fantastic and only slightly spicy (pictured). Since radishes are still abundant, cucumber and radish pickles are next on my list. Please share your favorite pickling recipe or resource below in the Comments box.

My friend and a contributing writer to the Fairfield Green Food Guide, Elizabeth Keyser, recommended Christine Ferber’s Mes Confitures when I asked about excellent jam, jelly and preserve cookbooks. Christine is an internationally known master patissiere and her jams and jellies are served in some of the most famous French restaurants, including those of Alain Ducasse. Her stunningly beautiful and unusual artisanal jams, jellies and preserve recipes call for nothing more than fruit, sugar, lemon juice, honey, and spices - no fruit pectin or complicated techniques.

After finding red gooseberries at the Westport farmers’ market, I crossed my fingers that she’d have a recipe for gooseberry preserves. I was in luck. These are decadent and beautiful and I could easily see them on the table of a  four star restaurant.  I’m now inspired to hunt down some rhubarb for her Rhubarb Jam with Acadia Honey and Rosemary recipe.

Tip: Save any jar with a wide mouth for making pickles. Sterilize them before use and be sure never to reuse the cap of a two part canning jar lid, just the ring.

If you’d like to watch a preserving pro in action and have the opportunity to ask a few questions, attend the free Jamming and Jarring Class with Bonnie Shershow at Whole Foods Market Westport from 12-2 on Wednesday, July 14.

Join Bonnie Shershow and learn to make jams as they were originally produced in the U.S. and Europe with just enough sugar and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to perk up the flavor of ripe fruit and without the unnecessary addition of pectin and extra sugar added to commercial jams. Bonnie makes her jams with the memory of the taste from her childhood growing up in a California orange grove surrounded by all sorts of fruit trees and berry bushes.

Be sure to thank all the farmers who provide us with the excellent CT Grown produce and fruit that we’re enjoying now and preserving for months to come by voting for your favorite farmers’ market in the 2^nd Annual America’s Favorite Farmers’ Market Contest sponsored by American Farmland Trust. Just click on the contest icon in the right margin of this site to cast your vote.

From Maggie Trujillo, Market Master at the Rowayton Farmers’ Market.

Please join us this Friday, July 2, at the Farmer’s Market in Rowayton, Noon to 5.

It’s July 4^th Weekend and we have everything you need for the PERFECT PICNIC!  Please welcome Eagle Wood Farm and their naturally raised beef and pork available in a wide array of primal cuts and sausage.  They will bring Alaskan Wild Salmon too.

So there you have it, the best farm produce in Connecticut and pickles, butter, eggs, coffee, smoothies, chocolate, breads and baked goods, snacks, cheeses and condiments await you.  And bring home some potted plants, herbs, and vegetables, or some beautiful roses picked fresh from the farm.

If you need a gift or a little treat for yourself, the work by the artisans will also delight you. There will be two new artisans joining this week - Tie-Dye Mama’s and Abbey Road Designs

SURPRISE:  WE’LL HAVE PONIES FOR PETTING AT THE PARK THIS WEEK TOO, SO BRING THE KIDDIES!!!  (1-3 pm for the Ponies)

Happy July 4, from your friends at the Rowayton Farmer’s Market!

2010 ROWAYTON FARMERS, PRODUCERS AND ARTISANS

FARMERS AND PRODUCERS ATTENDING WEEKLY:

Artisan Made - Artisan Dairy, Goat, Sheep, and Cow Cheeses, featuring Beltane and Cato Farm Cheeses

Bake Local - Baked breakfast goods, snacks and desserts, using CT grown ingredients

Calcutta Kitchens - Chutneys and other Indian Delicacies

Dough Girl Baking Co. - Cookies, Cakes and Ice Cream Sandwiches

Eagle Wood Farms - Naturally Raised Beef and Pork in an array of primal cuts and sausages.  Wild caught Alaskan Salmon.

El’s Kitchen - Gourmet Dry Rubs for Grilling

Horman’s Best Pickles - Pickled Products Galore

Jonas White’s Better Butter - Herb and Infused Butters

Little Chocolate Company - Organic Chocolate and Biscottini

Maui Wowi Hawaiian Smoothies - Fresh Fruit Smoothies

Michele’s Pies - Pies and Baked Goods

Ola! - Hand-Crafted Natural Granola

Roses for Autism at Pinchback Farms- Fragrant, Sustainable Roses and Lilies Grown on a CT farm Employing Adults on the Autism Spectrum

St Ex - Artisan Bread, Mozzarella, Pesto, and Baked Desserts

Smith’s Acres - Produce, Orchard Fruit, Plants, Juices, Cut Flowers

Espresso Neat - Direct Trade Whole Beans and Artisan Iced Coffees and Teas

Vaszauskas Farm - Produce, Orchard Fruit, Plants, Eggs, Cut Flowers

Wave Hill Bread - Artisan Bread, Croutons, Crackers, Vinegars

ARTISANS ATTENDING BY APPOINTMENT:

Abbey Road Designs - Photography, Mixed Medium Art and Terrariums

April Marin - Women’s Custom Clothing

Designs by Rali - Gold, Silver, Gemstone Hand Made Jewelry

Lobster Co-op - Locally Inspired Clothing and Accessories

Maggie Coyne Jewelry - Hand Made Jewelry and Charms

M. Saverine Decoupage - Decoupage Plates

Oliver Green - D Ring Belts

Rose Curtin Design - Hand Sewn Gifts

Riverstone - Spirit lock and healing stone jewelry

Rugamarole - Recycled Textiles Made into Rugs, Blankets and More

Seaside Delights - Beach Themed Apparel and Accessories

Susan O’Neill Paintings - Paintings, Prints and Gifts

Soundview Millworks - Custom Wood Products

Townie Style - Custom Screened Local Art on Tees

Tie-Dye Mamas - Tie-Dyed Children’s Fashion

Zebedede - Appliqué Children’s Fashion and Home Goods

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Marilyn Miller

Phone: 203-257-4394

For Immediate Release:    Legendary Organic Farmer Annie Farrell to Speak at Pequot Library June 30th

Annie Farrell, nationally-recognized ‘legendary’ organic farmer and expert on sustainable agriculture, is the featured speaker at a program highlighting plans for the Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm (FOTF). The meeting will take place Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 7:00PM in the Pequot Library Auditorium, 720 Pequot Avenue, Southport, CT. The program is being held in partnership with the Pequot Library.

Ms. Farrell was hired by Jesse and Betsy Fink to restore the Millstone Farm in Wilton, CT which was saved by the Finks from commercial development in 2006. Ms. Farrell transformed the farm into a model sustainable organic farming enterprise using biodynamic-French intensive farming techniques.   Today, the Millstone Farm provides fresh vegetable produce to some of Fairfield County’s best farm-to-table restaurants including “The Boat House” and “Le Farm” in Westport as well as “The School House” in Cannondale Crossing.

Annie first gained local notoriety when she collaborated with Paul Newman and Michel Nischan, to launch “The Dressing Room” restaurant.  She has also designed farms for other celebrities including Dave Matthews and Annie Leibowitz.  ABC News dubbed Annie, ‘the farmers’ farmer’. The FOTF is hoping to have Annie’s guidance in designing Fairfield’s aspiring organic teaching farm.

Dr. Ray Poincelot,  Fairfield University Professor Emeritus, founder and editor The Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and member of the FOTF Advisory Board, calls Ms. Farrell a “national treasure.”

Analiese Paik, founder and editor of the Fairfield Green Food Guide (www.fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com), and member of the FOTF Board of Directors, will emcee the event. The Fairfield Green Food Guide is a free online consumer resource for finding local sustainably grown food, farm-to-table restaurants, farmers’ markets, farm stands, green grocers, CSAs and green food events in Fairfield County. Ms. Paik is a regular monthly guest on News Channel 8’s ‘Good Morning Connecticut’ weekend show.

Pamela Jones, FOTF founder and president will update progress in finalizing the farm site, and will detail plans for future farm fundraising activities. Says Jones, “The goal of the Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm is to create a working farm and organic educational center on town land in Fairfield, CT. The farm’s mission is to celebrate Fairfield’s agrarian roots by redefining our community for the 21^st century through sustainable agriculture and responsible environmental stewardship. By creating this non-profit community-based agricultural resource and teaching center, Fairfield will become part of the greater global environmental movement.  Annie Farrell is our inspiration and role model.  She is also a delegate to the 2010 Terra Madre convention to be held in October in Torino, Italy.  It is an honor and privilege to have her as our first featured guest speaker.”

There will be many opportunities to help with the Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm. Anyone interested in learning more about plans for the farm is encouraged to attend. Please visit the farm’s website at www.fairfieldorganicteachingfarm.org.

FOTF Logo Design:  Jennifer Cole

Everything I know about honey and honeybees I learned from Red Bee Honey founder, beekeeper, and “honey sommellier” Marina Marchese. My lessons came during a visit last month to her apiary in Weston for a special honey tasting event.

We sat down to a table tastefully set with a flight of seven honeys, each from a different nectar source, that varied in color from very pale yellow to dark amber. The honeys we tasted came from blueberry blossom, alfalfa, goldenrod, tulip poplar, star thistle, and wildflowers like Japanese knotweed and varied in flavor from delicate and lightly sweet to rich and raisinated, reminiscent of a dessert wine.

Marina  recounted the story of how she came to be an “accidental” beekeeper and connoisseur of fine honey. “It all started with a visit to a neighbor’s backyard where I tasted honey straight from the hive.  I was blown away. It was the freshest and most delicious thing I’d ever had and I was intrigued by the Italian honeybees.” That was ten years ago and marked the acquisition of her first hive.

It was Marina’s attendance at The Honey Show in London, a formal honey tasting and judging, that first introduced her to the idea of evaluating honey much as wine is - based on color, aroma and flavor. Marina then studied wine tasting in order to transfer those skills to honey tasting. Soon after, she traveled to La Città del miele (the City of Honey) in Montelcino, Italy and was delighted to find honey right alongside olive oil and wine on the store shelves. “Cactus, rosemary, eucalyptus honey - I tasted them all in Italy and discovered there’s life beyond wildflower” explained Marina.

As we smelled, tasted and marveled at the varied aromas and flavors of each honey, our hostess described the role of the bee and beekeeper in making honey. “When honeybees gather nectar from the flower of alfalfa, buckwheat or blueberry, beekeepers harvest honey that has the distinct flavor profile of that nectar source.” We discovered that wildflower honey is as different from Tulip Poplar honey as Sauvignon Blanc is from Cabernet Sauvignon, and that terms commonly used when tasting and evaluating wine - color, aroma, texture and flavor - are also applicable to honey.

“While Mother Nature plays an important role in honey making” explained Marina, “the timing of the beekeeper is crucial since beekeepers must be in tune with nectar flows and remove the honey just before the petals fall from the flower the bees are visiting and just before they move on to the next flower about to bloom. Bees gather nectar and place it inside the beeswax cells, and once it is ripened to 17-18% water content and mixed with their own enzyme, a sugar called “invertase”, it becomes honey.  The bees then cap the honey-filled cells with more beeswax.”

“Once most of the honey on a frame is capped over, beekeepers extract it (in the spinner or extractor) as liquid honey or cut it out as honey in the comb! I call ours Farmhouse Honeycomb.” Raw honey is honey direct from the honeycomb, all natural and unstrained. “In Saudi Arabia” Marina pointed out, “the honeycomb is traditionally served with the honey as a symbol of its authenticity”.

Curious about the medicinal use of products made by honeybees, Marina earned a certificate in apitherapy. “Honey is an immune system booster and its hygroscopic properties make it popular in wound care in other countries. The FDA recently approved a band aid with honey.” She recommend that those suffering from seasonal allergies try taking a spoonful of  honey each day to alleviate their symptoms.

Local, artisan honeys like Red Bee’s are made in small quantities, and in this case, using organic hive management practices. Marina pointed out that “commercial honey has to be pasteurized when it enters the US and is blended for uniformity”  whereas Marina’s “single source” honeys are true artisan foods with unique flavor profiles.

Colony Collapse Disorder does not affect small hives we learned, and has not yet entered our state. But pesticides are one of the suspected contributors to this syndrome that can wipe out entire commercial hives and negatively impact agricultural production that depend on these bees to pollinate their crops.  “It’s hard to manage 1,000 hives lovingly” explains Marina.

Honeybees are excellent pollinators, responsible for pollinating a wide range of fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts that constitute one out of every three bites we eat and provide $15 to $20 billion in added crop value annually.

Marina recommends tasting the honeys alone, as you would wine, and then finding ways to pair them with your favorite foods. Drizzle some on baked goods, pancakes and waffles or add to strawberries and balsamic vinegar.

To learn more about Marina Marchese, beekeeping, and honey, pick up a copy of her book, “Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper” or attend one of her upcoming tasting events. Carol Herman, the Books Editor at The Washington Times, named Marchese’s HONEYBEE as one of the “Books We Loved” in 2009.  Red Bee Honey is listed in the most recent edition of Patricia Brook’s “Food Lovers’ Guide to Connecticut”, a best of the best foodie guide to Connecticut.

Red Bee Honeys can be purchased at: the New Canaan farmers’ market (Sat. 10-2), Fairfield’s Brick Walk farmers’ market (Sat. 9-12), Fairfield Cheese Company (Fairfield), Catch a Healthy Habit Café (Fairfield), Aux Delices (Greenwich/Darien), Plum Pure Foods (Old Greenwich), Mirabelle Cheese Shop (Westport), Practically Green (Ridgefield), Jones Family Winery (Shelton), Artisan Foods (Southbury), and McLaughlin Vineyard (Sandy Hook).

Restaurants using Red Bee Honey include LeFarm (Westport), Scoozi (New Haven), Winvian Luxury Resort (Litchfield), Billy Grants (East Haven), and The Unquowa School (Fairfield).

Upcoming Events:

JUNE 5, 2010
Sculpture Barn + Art Center
Preservation Celebration
3 Milltown Rd at Rt 39, New Fairfield, CT 06812
203.746.6101
Red Bee® Honey, Cheese and Wine Tasting

JULY 9, 2010
Jones Family Farms
Shelton, CT 203.929.8425
Honey Sommelier: Tasting and Pairing Artisanal Honeys
by C. Marina Marchese

AUGUST 22, 2010
Grange Agricultural Fair
25 Cannon Road Wilton, Connecticut 06897
203.762.1900
Artisanal Honey Tasting Table

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kate Ebbott

Trainer’s Table

203-984-1628

info@trainerstable.com

LOCAL CAMPERS CONNECT WITH LOCAL FOOD

May 27, 2010 Fairfield County, CT — Trainer’s Table, LLC has teamed up with Fairfield’s Unquowa School and their chef, Peter Gorman, to initiate a food delivery program for campers this summer.  Chef Peter is nationally recognized for the highly successful transformation of The Unquowa School’s  meals and wellness program. This summer, area families have the option to subscribe to a delicious, organic, cost effective weekly lunch and snack service delivered to their camper in lieu of a brown bag lunch.

The food for the lunches is sourced from local farmers and prepared daily in the Unquowa School’s licensed NUT FREE kitchen.

Meals are available for pick up at the Unquowa School or delivered onsite (with a minimum of 20 orders) in individual, reusable BPA free, leak proof containers with each camper’s name on it. The containers are easily stackable and streamlined for efficient cold storage.

In addition to their regular offerings, Trainer’s Table will also endeavor to provide options for vegetarians and campers with food allergies.

Trainer’s Table’s partners Amy Kalafa, Alex Gunuey and Kate Ebbott are local parents with a long history in the combined fields of food education, environmental sustainability, athletic performance, holistic health and wellness.  Their mantra is real food for real performance. Trainer’s Table incorporates sustainable practices throughout the operation.

To sign up a camper or to learn more about the pilot program, contact info@trainerstable.com.

# # #

Amy Kalafa

amy@angrymoms.org

The entrance road to the new Whole Foods Market in Darien was so congested on the evening of their pre-opening party on Monday, that I glimpsed a reporter from Ch. 12 setting up a tripod to capture the line of vehicles, and the excitement. What awaited inside did not disappoint. Visitors were greeted by a friendly crew of volunteers from Person-to-Person, the beneficiary of the ten dollar entry fee, and the smile-enducing music of Arthur Lipner’s marimba and upright bass duo.

The enormous signs suspended from the ceiling with metal chains announce that Whole Foods completely understands and supports the local/sustainable food movement, and proudly sources from the Connecticut River Valley, Hudson Valley and Rhode Island. Lots of vendors from each state, plus New Jersey, were proudly handing out samples of  their products from stations set up throughout the store.

At least two  “producer” vendors  from Connecticut participated in the festivities. Westport Aquaculture supplies Whole Foods Markets in Fairfield County, along with high-end restaurants and farmers’ markets,  with super fresh, sustainably raised oysters and clams from Long Island Sound. Not surprisingly, they were among the first vendors to run out of food. Bear Pond Farm makes a wide variety of fresh, full-flavored dips and pesto sauces seasoned with USDA Organic herbs from their farm in  Glastonbury.  Note to those with nut allergies: their pesto sauces are nut free.

Visitors lined up at tasting stations throughout the store to sample ready-to-eat convenience products made from local and sustainable sources. The tender, juicy and flavorful organic chicken sausages from Bilinski’s in Cohoes, NY (near Albany) are made with Amish country chicken. The owner explained that the all natural version is also available for one dollar less because there’s not enough demand for 100% organic production.  Tang’s Natural in Brooklyn, NY makes a very tasty chicken and vegetable dumpling using  Bell & Evans chickens. The product is labeled “whole wheat dumpling”, but whole wheat is neither the first, nor the predominant ingredient according to both the package label and the product fact sheet handed to me. Ditto for their “whole wheat” noodles. A bit confusing to say the least, yet I am happy to see someone trying to do Asian healthier and they were a hit in the kids’ lunchboxes the next day. The dumplings stayed nice and warm in pre-heated food jars; just refrain from overcooking them or they’ll fall apart.

At 50,000 square feet in size, it took some time to arrive at the far end of the store where coffee, gelato, creme brulee, and chocolate were being served. How do you build and run a store of this size sustainably? Enter Green Mission Specialist Tristam Coffin, the answer book to all green questions. Do you own a hybrid vehicle?  Please come charge it in one of two complementary charging stations while you shop . According to Tristam, it’s the first store in the Northeast region to offer such an amenity. And just like their recently opened Milford store, Darien Whole Foods Market is going for the gold, as in LEED certification.

Our walk through the store began in the entryway where a large recycling center awaits guests. Come here to recycle your #1 and #2 plastics and receive not only a five cent refund, but also twenty-five rewards points redeemable for merchandise in Barnes & Nobel and other major retailers. Don’t forget to bring your #5 containers, plastic bags, cell phones and corks, because they’re collected for recycling here too. The first national retailer to launch a cork recycling program, Whole Foods Market announced in April the roll out of the program with partner Cork ReHarvest to all of its 292 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Everywhere in the store Tristam pointed out green features, which in the aggregate, help move them towards their goal of zero waste by 2013 and meeting the gold LEED certification requirements. Construction materials are in many cases locally sourced and made from reclaimed or recycled including beautiful, multi-colored  rectangles of glass matting ceiling signs, floors made from recycled aggregate material, and vintage-inspired tiles lining the walls behind the fish and meat counters made from 80% recycled content.

The fully compostable, 100% bullrush takeout containers, in-store composting program that gets shipped to New Milford Farm’s commercial composting facility, use of local roasters for their coffees, local artisans for their cabinet and counter construction, purchase of wind credits to offset their electric use, use of night shades and daylight harvesting to increase energy efficiency, and selection of low VOC paints all spell a dedication to sustainability.  Even the shad weather vane on the roof is made from recycled metal by a local artist.

When will the Fairfield store open? This time next year, complete with its own hydrogen fuel cell.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Roger Ludlowe Middle School Garden Sass- Plant Sale

SATURDAY, MAY 22^ND, Fairfield, CT

FROM 10:00-2:00 RAIN OR SHINE

RLMS FRONT PARKING LOT 689 UNQUOWA ROAD

(IN THE EVENT OF RAIN RLMS GYM)

Heirloom Tomatoes and Vegetables, Annuals and PerenniaIs, Herbs, Fruit Trees & Ornamental Shrubs, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries and Rhubarb will be available for purchase

FOOD, LIVE MUSIC, AND GARDEN SYMPOSIUM

Roger Ludlowe Middle School will be hosting their First Annual Garden Sass & Plant Sale next Saturday. A Garden Sass is a Yankee term for the home garden. Three farm vendors with ties to our community will be selling seedlings - Maple Row growers in Easton, Moorefield Herb Farm in Trumbull, and Daffodil Hill Growers in Southbury.

We will hold a Garden Symposium, provide live music and offer local fare to fortify our shoppers as they purchase the best of what Connecticut Growers have to offer. Goatboy Soap will supply gardeners with wonderful soaps to use before and after gardening.

Michelle Flashman and Amie Hall will give a tour of the RLMS Garden Square Foot Garden and answer questions. They will be selling seedlings they have grown themselves. The Operation Hope Community Garden will be also be selling vegetable seedlings and will be on hand to share the success of their garden.

CONTACT: Kate Carroll at tenlittlelines@yahoo.com

If you’ve never been to the Weston farmers’ market, there are two new compelling reasons to stop in one Saturday between 9 am and noon: new vendors Judy Morris, a backyard chicken enthusiast and 17-year veteran of Martha Stewart Living, offers custom coops and advice on chicken keeping through her company Coop D’Etat; and Chef Jeff of Skinny Pines LLC, a portable brick oven caterer, is serving handmade pizza featuring locally grown toppings.

The market reopens on June 12 for its twenty-second year and is held at the Weston Historical Society at 104 Weston Road. Every week will offer something special for kids - arts and crafts, live animals, and a fire truck and baby chickens on opening day.

Market Vendors:

Coop D’Etat, custom coops and chicken keeping advice

Skinny Pines LLC, handmade, brick even pizzas featuring locally grown topping.

Wave Hill Bread, award-winning artisan bread

Walding Field Farm, organic greens, tomatoes and more

Warrup’s Farm,  maple syrup, eggs and more

Jeremiah Farms, produce and plants

Michelin’as Bakery, baked goods and coffee

Aspetuck Apple Barn, apple cider donuts

Maureen Fay, fresh cut flowers

Anita Design, handmade linens, wine holders, etc.