By Analiese Paik

January is CSA registration month – your chance to buy local, organic food directly from the farmer who grows it. Spring/Summer 2011 CSA shares will be posted as they become available and can be found in a complete list on the CSA page.

Sport Hill Farm in Easton is expanding and has opened their shares to new CSA families. Pick up is on farm only, unless you participate in the Farm to Chef Connect option detailed below. Picking up your CSA share at the farm means you get to watch Patti pick your organic lettuces fresh so they don’t wilt and your kids get to see the chickens! Please  email farmer Patti Popp at farmgal596 at yahoo dot com and ask her to send you the CSA agreement. You may also be interested in her Crop Cash program. This is essentially a farm credit that allows you to stop by the farm during regular retail hours and buy produce, fruit, eggs, bread, honey and any additional local products she may offer without having to carry around cash. The deadline for registration is February 15, or when shares sell out.

A third and brand new program for 2011 is Farm to Chef Connect, a joint offering of Sport Hill Farm and organic, vegetarian restaurant Green Gourmet to Go. Farm to Chef Connect sign up is monthly, with a minimum of one month’s lead time (sign up May 1 for June 1 pick up). The weekly shares can be picked up on Thursdays at the farm or restaurant in Black Rock  and include produce from the farm and a quart of freshly prepared soup made from local, seasonal ingredients, plus a sweet treat made without refined sugars, flours or processed ingredients from the restaurant. Chef/owner Linda Soper-Kolton recently made news when she prepared a healthy meal at Holland Hill Elementary School as part of the Recipes for Healthy Kids Challenge sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture and First Lady Michelle Obama. Linda is a registered “Chefs Move to Schools” chef, an initiative that’s part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign, and is dedicated to making healthy meals easy, approachable and delicious.

If you live in Ridgefield, you surely know that Dina Brewster’s USDA/Baystate certified organic farm, The Hickories, is the only farm left in Farmingville. When you hear Dina talk about her CSA families, it’s clear that building community gives her joy and satisfaction. Dina increased the number of CSA shares offered on farm last year to 200 so some families had a rare chance to get a share last summer. Please register directly on the site to join the waiting list. Both fruit and vegetable shares are offered including 113 varieties of vegetables plus strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples and peaches. Share add ons include bread, eggs, meat and locally produced cheese.

Fort Hill Farm in New Milford, a Baystate certified organic farm, has opened up their waiting list to new registrants. But don’t expect a share this summer. The waiting list is 3-4 years out for two reasons – farmer Paul Bucciaglia has no additional land to farm and his 400 CSA shareholders (500-600 families) are extremely loyal. This farm drops half its shares in lower Fairfield County (Darien, New Canaan, Fairfield, etc.) and the rest are picked up on farm. Each share box includes a newsletter containing instructions and recipes for preparing some of the 140 different kids of vegetables they grow. Please register to join the waiting list on the farm’s web site and be sure to choose a “box” if it’s going to be dropped or the “mix and match” option for an on farm share.

Related Posts:

Clatter Valley Farm CSA Offers 2011 Shares (1/15/11)

Dragongoose Farm CSA Offers Spring 2011 CSA (1/23/11)

Stoneledge Farm CSA Offers Spring/Summer 2011 Shares (1/26/11)

Gazy Brothers 4 Season CSA (1/27/11)

Stone Gardens Farm CSA (1/28/11)

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By Elizabeth Keyser

I was wrong. I knew nothing about the South. Had never been there. But, still, I had a Northeasterner’s unfounded sense of superiority. My road trip from Washington, D.C. to Savannah, GA, changed all that. I’m now the New South’s biggest fan.

The trip my husband and I took opened our minds and taste buds to the gustatory pleasures of the south. I’m not just talking barbecue and butter beans. Chapel Hill, NC, Asheville, NC, and Charleston, SC are great food cities, seasoned with new, traditional and international flavors. And their local food movement is strong.

Chapel Hill, NC, was our first stop. As everyone I met there told me, the food scene is thriving. A population of well-educated, well-traveled people who are into food keeps farmers markets, food shops and restaurants thriving. We stayed at the boutique Franklin Hotel, in the heart of Chapel Hill, within walking distance to restaurants and the beautiful campus of the University of North Carolina. Once in our hotel room we were pleased to see that at the Franklin, “boutique” doesn’t mean tiny; the rooms are large, and decorated in tones of sea-mist blue, celadon, champagne and chocolate. Just the thing for people always thinking about food.

Our first foodie adventure was at 3Cups, a very cool wine, coffee and tea retailer. They source the best from small farms all over the world. Their coffee beans are medium roasted by Counter Culture. (You can mail order coffee from 3Cups; they ship anywhere in the U.S.) 3Cup’s selection of full-leaf teas lets the natural flavors sing. They also sell chocolate. The owners choose wines that taste good and are produced ethically, estate-farmed, farmer-owned, organically or sustainably farmed.

3Cups also has a café. There, we tried the daily wine flight, paired with local cheeses. The day’s selection was “Oyster Wines,” hand-harvested Muscadet from Domaine de la Pépière; organic Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner (our favorite of the three), and a mineral, terroir-expressive Eric Chevalier Chardonnay. The cheese plate featured Chapel Hill Creamery’s Carolina Moon, Goat Lady Dairy’s Crotin, and Sweet Grass Dairy (of Georgia)’s Thomasville Tomme.  I left 3Cups wishing fervently that there was a place like it in Fairfield County, CT.

When we travel, my husband and I have different approaches. We’ve learned to make them work together. I tend to be more of the advance researcher and planner, while he prefers to discover and let things happen. So I held back from making plans for dinner. Instead, we walked up and down Franklin Street, reading menus, looking in windows and searching for the appropriate vibe. One of the most appealing menus was at Lantern, where chef/owner Andrea Reusing creates contemporary Asian dishes using seasonal and local ingredients. But it was closed for a private party. So, we choose a casual and inexpensive Vietnamese restaurant. The place was full of young people, the staff was friendly, and the food was good. It was the right choice for the moment, especially since we had a big lunch planned the next day.

After dinner we walked down the street to the brew pub Top of the Hill, where we sat at the bar looking at great copper vats of beer. Of course, we had to try the 8-beer sampler. Our favorite was the hoppy Rams Head IPA, and we also particularly liked the tobacco and chocolate flavors of the Lewis Black Imperial Stout. The Kenan Lager was smooth, with a hint of straw, and the Old Well White was sweet and clove-scented.  Our least favorite was the Blue Ridge Blueberry Wheat.

The next morning we headed out to Cary, a suburb of Chapel Hill, to visit the bakery La Farm and meet Lionel Vatinet, a major dude in the artisan bread revolution. It was a mid-week morning, but La Farm, which recently expanded to include a sit-down café, was full. Over a cup of Counter Culture coffee and a quiche with a nice crisp crust, Lionel talked about his philosophy of sharing his knowledge.

A native of Lyon, France, Vatinet began apprenticing at age 17 in the Compaignons du Devoir. Seven years later he earned the title of Maitre Boulanger (Master Baker). In the United States, he consulted for La Brea, Acme and Zabar’s, and coached the American Baking Team in the World Cup 1999 to win their first gold cup ever.

Fermentation, he told us, “Is the essence of baking bread.”

Vatinet teaches bread baking classes to non professionals too – of all ages. Not only do his students get their hands into the dough, feel it, knead it, but he makes sure “you are covered with flour.”

He gave us a tour of the recently expanded kitchen, stopping to offer a taste of the granola an  employee was bagging. Granola is not quite the right word for La Farm’s version – it is more like a crisp, caramelized nut-and seed-confection. It was addictively good.

Vatinet also has adapted his recipes to contemporary tastes. He makes two different types of baguettes, a traditional French baguette, which he calls “Robi” after the baker who helped him develop it. The “Robi” was thin and crusty, with a denser and more flavorful texture (it ferments longer) than the more contemporary baguette he makes, which is lighter in color and texture. But when I said the latter baguette was more “American,” Vatinet quickly set me straight –  in France, he said, many people eat this type of baguette, and a lot of them would swear that it’s the true baguette.  But even in France, he admitted, artisan bakers are returning to the traditional chewy and crusty baguette exemplified by the “Robi.”

Vatinet pulled loafs from cooling racks and piled a table high with a bread-lover’s dream, a boule, baguettes, multi-grain loaves, rye. Ever the teacher, he cut into the bread, and told us how to taste it  – pick up a piece, squeeze it, smell it. Then taste.  The signature loaf is the La Farm Boule – a five-pound sourdough. It’s not a high-acid, sour San Francisco sourdough.  Vatinet’s sourdough is pain au levain. Wild yeast creates a mild sour flavor.

Vatinet is fussy about which stores he sells his bread to. It’s sold at the four Whole Foods in the Triangle region (one of them is in the same shopping plaza as 3Cups). His bread is featured at a restaurant close by La Farm.

That restaurant is Herons in the absolutely amazing Umstead Hotel and Spa, located on 12 acres at the entry to the SAS global headquarters. The software company’s campus is worth driving through to view the outdoor sculptures. And then there’s the mystery of 23 miles-per-hour traffic sign – if you know what that’s about, please let me know!

The hotel, which opened in January 2007, was a labor of love for Ann Goodnight, the wife of SAS’s founder Jim Goodnight. The Umstead’s design fuses art and nature in the most elegant and soothing atmosphere you can imagine, with a thousand little touches to make visitors feel that they are home rather than at a hotel. The 540-square-foot rooms are decorated in soothing blues, greens, gold and warm tones of wood in the custom-built Italian furniture.

Art by North Carolinians is featured throughout the hotel starting with a commissioned Chihuly glass sculpture in the lobby. Most of the paintings reference nature. With the spa, pool, lake, jogging trails, you’d never want to leave the Umstead. No wonder it’s a favorite place for such disparate functions as business meetings and weddings.

And then there’s the food at Herons. Executive chef Scott Crawford’s “refined New Southern” cooking has been much lauded. And no wonder. He uses local ingredients artfully. That day’s market menu lunch began with homemade crackers served with aged goat cheese, onion compote, slices of fig, and cherry sauce. My first course was smooth, rich, kombucha pumpkin soup, flavored with coriander and garnished with crème fraiche. The Lady Apple puree in the center of the bowl was a sweet surprise. This was a superb soup, and I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve cribbed it and served my own variation at dinner parties.

A refreshing highlight of lunch at Herons was seared scallops served with heirloom cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew scattered with shiso leaves, mint and cilantro. Southern tradition went upscale in an entrée of pork loin and belly with butter beans, mustard greens and sweet potato puree.  For more inspired reading, check out Crawford’s dinner menu at the Umstead’s website.

We were only 24 hours into our journey, but we knew we were on the right path. After lunch, we got back in the car drove to Asheville.

Part II — Asheville (coming soon).

Elizabeth Keyser is an award-winning freelance writer based in Fairfield, CT. Her work has been published in GQ, American Photo, The New York Times, The New York Post, Connecticut Magazine, Edible Nutmeg, the Yankee Brew News and newspapers in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Her “Tips on Eating Locally” column appears in the print and online versions of the Fairfield County Weekly. She has won eleven awards from the New England Newspaper Association, the Society of Professional Journalists Connecticut Chapter, and the Connecticut Press Club.

On Tuesday, December 14, at a minute before midnight, voting closes on the final round of the competition to Reinvent Fast Food on Yoxi.tv. I first posted as Round 2 voting was underway and shared that I was supporting the Beet Squad and their Foodsurge concept, which is depicted beautifully in an infographic on the team’s blog. Foodsurge is essentially a mechanism for aggregating consumer demand for restaurant meals using local and organic ingredients, thereby guaranteeing restaurants a minimum number of buyers for a given meal. I think this concept is a win-win-win for local producers, area restaurants and consumers looking for healthier fast food choices.

I caught up with Gary Wohlfeill, Sam Christian and Allison Capaldai of the Beet Squad last week to get a sense of how the final 30-second video they were creating with the help of the interactive agency Poke was going. On top of their day jobs in retail marketing at Moosejaw, the three had flown to NY to meet with Poke to brainstorm for four hours and had spent time that morning on a video shoot. Gary Wohlfeill said there was “a lot of collaborative energy in the meeting” and they “left with a solid approach to the video” that was not only about the consumer, but rather “a partnership between producers, proprietors and eaters.”

Allison Capaldai shared that they “love eating real food but it’s hard to find good options. We want to bring it to other people.” But they’re not out to convert the unconverted. According to Gary “one of the biggest problems with this movement is people are angry and tell people how to eat. We want to represent the community of people who want to eat this way.”

If they were to win the Yoxi Challenge to Reinvent Fast food, Gary indicated they would “use a business model that takes a share of the meal price in return for guaranteeing a certain number of purchases.”  He stressed that “the model can be worked out so restaurants can still make a profit and use better ingredients”, through group purchasing of ingredients for example. “Restaurants will want to be in that community because we’re creating an empowerment, not deals that are hurting their brand.”

The Beet Squad feels they have a pretty good chance of winning, but they need your vote. Please become a registered Yoxi.tv user and join the voting after watching the final teams’ 30-second promotional videos and reading the comments of celebrity judges Michel Nischan, Marion Nestle and Christina Minardi. I was disappointed that the Foodsurge infographic didn’t make it into the video because it is so compelling and two of the judges dinged them for lack of detail and clarity. The Udon Project is their Round 3 competitor and their final video expands on their initial concept that simply promoted Pad Thai as a staple of healthy fast food. I think their time spent with OgilvyEarth was a sound investment.

The winning team will receive up to $40,000 in micro financing plus other continued support from Yoxi and industry experts as they work to implement their winning solution to the Challenge of Reinventing Fast Food. Yoxi is a project of TTSL, a private grant making organization committed to social entrepreneurship. After this competition ends, there is a long list of potential topics be addressed in future challenges, like Gap to the Future, which already has me intrigued. It’s fun to play and checking in daily is a nice distraction, and ultimately a productive one.

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Don’t let the cold weather deceive you, there’s plenty of local food to be had in Connecticut, even in the dead of winter. Three farms that grow during all four seasons with the help of hoop houses and greenhouses will be bringing their organic produce to the newly minted indoor winter farmers’ market in Westport at Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens. And it’s heated. A happy circumstance for both vendors and guests who can look forward to toasting their fingers and toes as they sip coffee and tea, lunch, and shop inside a warm greenhouse festively adorned with white Christmas lights.

Not impressed? How about a budget-friendly gourmet lunch from a different farm-to-table restaurant each week? Don’t miss opening day, Thursday, December 9, as celebrated chef Bill Taibe of leFarm restaurant of Westport dishes up lunch.  If you’ve never dined at leFarm, it’s reason enough to make the trip, just don’t forget to bring a friend for the social currency.

Both Bill and one of the farms from which he sources organic food, Millstone Farm in Wilton, are celebrated in the newly released and very beautiful cookbook, Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America’s Best Chefs, Farmers, and Artisans, which was just named Best Cookbook Overall 2010 by Epicurious. If you subscribe to the Hallmark Channel, tune in to the Martha Stewart Show next Wednesday, November  24, where Bill Taibe will be a guest chef.

Each week one of the following restaurants will provide lunch and prepared foods at the market: leFarm, Schoolhouse at Cannondale, The Dressing Room, or Fat Cat Pie. Because you won’t want to miss any of them, I’ll post the name of each week’s restaurant on Facebook and Twitter.  Schoolhouse at Cannondale chef/owner Tim LaBant’s uncompromising commitment to serving the highest quality fresh, local, and seasonal food has won Schoolhouse numerous awards including a Top 10 Ranking on Open Table’s Best of the tri state area, Best Special Occasion restaurant 2010 by Westport Magazine, and the top Fairfield County Pick for the Best of New England 2010 guide. Now the only special occasion you have to wait for is their week at the indoor Westport farmers’ market.

In addition to the guest restaurants, Boxcar Cantina, the first restaurant in Connecticut to earn a Green Restaurant certification, and brick oven caterer Skinny Pines, a 2010 Green Coast Award recipient, will be regular weekly vendors. Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe will vend lunch every other week, starting opening day. Arrive early to avoid the lunch lines and if you can, get there are 11:00 to enjoy free weekly talks about herbs and gardening from experts at Gilbertie’s.

The indoor Westport winter farmers’ market will be held each Thursday, except December 23, from 10-1 at Gilbertie’s of Westport on 7 Sylvan Lane. Opening day is December 9, 2010 and the market closes for the season on March 31. Market to car grocery valets available upon request.

Winter 2010 Weekly Vendors

1. Boxcar Cantina
2. Skinny Pines Catering
3. Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe (alternating weeks)
4. Beltane Farm
5. Ladies of Levita Road Farm
6. SoNo Baking Company
7. Fort Hill Farm
8. Two Guys from Woodbridge
9. Riverbank Farm
10. Wave Hill Bread
11. Raus Coffee
12. Arogya Tea
13. Izzie B’s
14. Colyer Catering
15. Greyledge Farm
16. Sankow’s Beaver Brook Farm
17. Huckleberry Artisan Pastry
18. Boxed Goods
19. Calcutta Kitchen
20. Whistle Stop Bakery
21. Bone-A-Part
22. Pemaquid Seafood Harvesters *New
    

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Wednesday evening’s screening of Nourish the film at Wilton Library kicked off an evening of lively moderated discussion about local and sustainably grown food with guest panelists Annie Farrell, Tim LaBant and Jim Hunter.

Every seat in the house was taken, a testament to the popularity of the topic and guest panelists and coordinated team effort in planning and organizing the event by the co-sponsors: Wilton Library, Wilton Go Green, Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm and Fairfield Green Food Guide.

About the Film:

Nourish is an educational film about the story of our food – food from a global perspective to personal action steps. Nourish illustrates how food connects to such issues as biodiversity, climate change, public health, and social justice. Hosted and narrated by Cameron Diaz, Nourish features interviews with best-selling author Michael Pollan, sustainable food advocate Anna Lappe, eco-chef Bryant Terry, pediatrician Dr. Nadine Burke, and organic farmer Nigel Walker. With beautiful visuals and inspiring stories, Nourish traces our relationship to food from a global perspective to personal action steps. Nourish the film was created by WorldLink, an Emmy Award-winning media group with twenty years’ experience in designing education and outreach programs, in order to deepen our national dialog about our food.

“Food is not just fuel. Food is about family, food is about community, food is about identity. And we nourish all those things when we eat well.”
— Michael Pollan from Nourish the film

Visit the web site and view the trailer.

About the Panelists:

Annie Farrell, Master Farmer, Millstone Farm.

Millstone Farm is owned by Betsy and Jesse Fink and is a for-profit working farm whose mission is to operate in a sustainable manner, both in economics and best farm practices. Millstone Farm is an important provider of high quality fresh produce to local families, restaurants and retailers. Annie Farrell, Betsy Fink and Millstone Farm are celebrated in a newly released and very beautiful cookbook, Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America’s Best Chefs, Farmers, and Artisans, that was just named Best Cookbook Overall 2010 by Epicurious and will be featured on the Martha Stewart Show next Wednesday, November  24. Look for Betsy Fink and Annie Farrel in the audience.

In keeping with their goal to see local food production become the norm rather than the exception, Millstone Farm also serves as an educational outreach hub, supporting other farmers, community organizations, school groups and restaurateurs who are interested in learning more about the practice of sustainable agriculture, its implementation and its impact on local economies and food quality. The Millstone Farm Charitable Fund helps support philanthropic initiatives, such as school and community gardens and healthy food initiatives. Millstone Farm was recognized with a Green Coast Award at the Third Annual Green Faire at the Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa on the morning of this event.

Tim LaBant, Chef/Owner of the Schoolhouse at Cannondale.

Tim’s uncompromising commitment to serving the highest quality fresh, local, and seasonal food has won Schoolhouse numerous awards including a Top 10 Ranking on Open Table’s Best of the tri state area, Best Special Occasion restaurant 2010 by Westport Magazine, and the top Fairfield County Pick for the Best of New England 2010 guide. Much of the food on the menu is sourced from Millstone Farm and some is even picked by the chef himself.

Starting Dec. 9 Tim and his team will be serving lunch, along with other farm-to-table chefs, on rotating Thursdays at the indoor winter farmers’ market at Gilbertie’s in Westport from 10-1 pm.

Jim Hunter, Biology and AP Environmental Science teacher and founder of the organic edible school garden at Wilton High School

Jim has taught at Wilton High School for the past nine years and recently founded Wilton High School’s edible school garden, made possible through funding from Newman’s Own Foundation and funding and other support from The Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation and Millstone Farm. Jim spent years learning to garden organically from Annie Farrell and her time and expertise were key contributors to the project’s success.

The panel discussion lasted about an hour and we invited the audience to submit questions on question cards that were collected during the final 20 minutes of Q&A.

It was my great pleasure to serve as moderator for the guest panel and this was my introduction:

“We are delighted so many of you were able to join us tonight. I know you will leave feeling uplifted and inspired by our guest panelists Annie Farrell, Tim LaBant and Jim Hunter. As you listen to their stories, it will become evident that Wilton is indeed a very special place where people who care deeply about nourishing the community are working in concert with one another for the greater good.”

The following questions were presented to the panelists by the moderator and some of their answers can be read in the article Residents Encouraged to’Eat Local, Think Global’ by Kara O’Connor, a staff writer at the Wilton Villager who attended the event. A second article, Panel Promotes Farm Fresh Food, by Anthony Buzzeo at The Daily Wilton conveys a few additional thoughts. And my favorite is Film and Discussion at the Wilton Library Nourishes the Community by Audra Carbone of the Wilton Patch.

Panelist Questions:

Q1: The final chapter of the film encourages us to Be the Difference. Each of you IS the difference, working to transform the way we eat and nourish the community. Would you please tell us more about your work?

Q2: The film encourages us to Vote With Our Forks. What does that mean and what are some ways to do that here in Fairfield County?

Q3: Is being a conscious eater enough? Should we all be growing some of our own food and finding ways to support programs and initiatives working to transform the food system into something more sustainable, just and healthy?

The following audience questions were taken on cards and answered by Jim Hunter, Tim LaBant, and Annie Farrell, respectively.

Q1: Will gardens be put in the elementary and middle schools in Wilton?

Q2: What’s local in season November through April?

Q3: What workshops and programs are offered at Millstone Farm, how do you find out about them, and how do we encourage more people to grow in their own backyards?

Many thanks to Tim LaBant and Schoolhouse Restaurant for the delicious cassoulet, Wave Hill Bread for the bread used in the dish, and Vintage Fine Wines of Wilton for their support with the wines. A red and a white wine were served, a 2008 Bonterrra Vineyards Chardonnay and 2006 Lolonis Cabernet, both California wines made from 100% organic grapes.

Guests enjoyed the food and wine during the networking event that followed with panelists and exhibitors Wilton Go Green, Millstone Farm, Fairfield Green Food Guide, Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm, and Ambler Farm.

Thank you to the many guests who supported the library through donations and purchased DVDs from the non-profit Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm to share with their family, friends, businesses, school and organizations. Many thanks to the Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm for their sponsorship of the Nourish screening.

(from the web site)

Nourish is a multi-year media and education initiative. The purpose of Nourish is to open a broad public conversation about our food system that encourages citizen engagement, particularly among young people and families. To inform and inspire, Nourish combines television programming, short films, web content, and learning tools. With a distinctly positive vision, Nourish celebrates both food and community.

Nourish is a project of WorldLink, an Emmy Award-winning media group with twenty years experience in designing education and outreach programs. To maximize the effectiveness of Nourish, WorldLink is collaborating with more than 40 organizations dedicated to creating a sustainable food future.

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Thanksgiving is a wonderful harvest feast and there’s no better way to honor the spirit of the holiday than celebrating with locally grown and made foods. We are very fortunate here in Connecticut to be able to create a delicious Thanksgiving meal from 100% CT Grown products. Our farms, farmers’ markets, independent grocers and  online farm-to-door delivery service CT Farm Fresh Express (CTFFE) make it possible.

Where to buy a locally grown turkey

Locally grown turkeys are highly coveted and in short supply, so anyone looking for a local turkey from a nearby farm should place their order immediately. Fresh and frozen broad-breasted whites and Heritage turkeys are available for purchase directly from the farmer, but lucky for consumers, you don’t have to go to the farm to pick it up. Important: You must place a special order for your turkey with the farm since under CT law the turkey must be custom processed just for you. If you order a turkey and don’t pick it up, the farmer is forbidden from reselling it to another customer.

1) Greyledge Farm in Roxbury, well-known for their grass fed beef, is selling fresh (not frozen) pasture-raised, broad breasted white turkeys for pick up exclusively at the Darien farmer’s market on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The turkeys range from 16-25 pounds in size and cost $7.50 per pound. To place an order, please call 860-350-3203 or email the farm at inquiries@greyledgefarm.com. You may also place an order in person with Greyledge at the Westport and Darien farmers’ markets. Only 60 turkeys were raised this year.

2) Connecticut Farm Fresh Express (CTFFE), the online seller of exclusively CT Grown foods, is selling fresh turkeys from Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm and frozen Heritage turkeys from USDA Certified Organic Old Maid’s Farm for home delivery by their drivers. All the turkeys are free-range and raised without growth stimulants or hormones. They are all pasture-raised, which means that the majority of their diet has been grass and bugs; they are grain fed as a supplement only.

Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm in Moosup is the largest grower of free-range, pasture-raised turkeys in the state and this year they have 2,000 broad-breasted whites ranging in size from 12 to almost 40 pounds available for $4.25 per pound. If you don’t live near the farm, download the order form to place your order with CTFEE for home delivery on November 23 or 24, depending on their routes. If you order a turkey and also place a CTFFE order for other items from their store, they will deliver to you on Wednesday, November 24. Everything from potatoes, squash and leafy greens to cheese, pies, and bread can be found in their online store.

If you are interested in a free-range Heritage turkey, USDA Certified Organic Old Maid’s Farm in S. Glastonbury has a total of 40 Black Spanish, Bronze and Slates available for $7.50 per pound. These rare and special turkeys were raised from eggs that farmer George Purtill’s turkeys laid last fall. Heritage turkeys have been passed down from generation to generation because they taste good, and eating them helps preserve genetic diversity and restore America’s food traditions. To order one of these turkeys, download an order form and send it with your deposit to CTFFE for delivery on the Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving. They are frozen and must be defrosted in the refrigerator.

Please cook your turkeys according to instructions for the breed you buy. The rule is low and slow for fresh free-range and Heritage breeds. Deb Marsden, owner of CT Farm Fresh Express, recommends brining free range and Heritage turkeys. Click here to download the brining recipe..

3) Farmer’s Table in New Canaan is a unique farm-to-table restaurant because it also has a farmer’s market inside featuring seasonal produce and artisan products from local farms. Chef/owner Robert Ubaldo’s brother John is famous for the flavorful,  Berkshire pork and other artisan meat products produced on his beyond organic farm, John Boy’s Farm in Cambridge, NY.

John is featured as one of the best farmers in the country in the just released cookbook Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America’s Best Chefs, Farmers and Artisans . John also raises free range, broad-breasted white turkeys that are available this Thanksgiving for $4.25 per pound, but there aren’t many. To place a turkey order  email johnboysmarket@aol.com right away and plan to pick it up at Farmer’s Table, 21 Forest Street in New Canaan on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Farmer’s Table is now taking  pumpkin, pecan, blueberry, cherry, and apple pie plus cheesecake and flourless chocolate cake orders by phone at 203-594-7890. All desserts are house made with organic flour and all natural ingredients.

If you are traveling for Thanksgiving, local food that travels well makes a wonderful hostess gift. My top picks are beautifully packaged, yet affordable, premium wine and honey.  First Blush is a unique apple, pear and black currant fruit wine from Jones Winery in the White Hills of Shelton that’s great sipped or used to poach seasonal fruit. Jones Winery is the recipient of Connecticut Magazine’s 2010 “Best Wine in Connecticut” award and their tasting room is open during the holiday season.

This just released handmade, 100% beeswax candle, lavender lip balm, and pumpkin blossom honey gift set from Red Bee Honey in Weston is a tasteful, and tasty, way to thank your host. Red Bee Honey is found in fine restaurants and cheese shops in Connecticut and beyond. Visit Red Bee’s online gift shop for other unique holiday gift ideas.

The Fairfield Green Food Guide and Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm have teamed up to screen Nourish the film at libraries and other community and environmental organizations in Fairfield County. Hosted and narrated by Cameron Diaz, Nourish features interviews with best-selling author Michael Pollan, sustainable food advocate Anna Lappe, eco-chef Bryant Terry, pediatrician Dr. Nadine Burke, and organic farmer Nigel Walker. With beautiful visuals and inspiring stories, Nourish traces our relationship to food from a global perspective to personal action steps. Nourish the film was created by WorldLink, an Emmy Award-winning media group with twenty years’ experience in designing education and outreach programs, in order to deepen our national dialog about our food.

“Food is not just fuel. Food is about family, food is about community, food is about identity. And we nourish all those things when we eat well.”
— Michael Pollan from Nourish the film

Click here to see a trailer.

On Wednesday, November 17, Wilton Library will host the Fairfield County premiere of Nourish the movie. Immediately after the 30-minute film screening, a special panel of influential members of the local sustainable food community will discuss their work and take audience questions during an hour-long, moderated panel discussion.

Guest Panelists:

• Master Farm Annie Farrell of Millstone Farm,
• Award-winning chef/owner of the Schoolhouse at Cannondale restaurant Tim LaBant,
• Biology and AP Environmental Science teacher and founder of the Wilton High School edible school garden Jim Hunter,
• Moderator: Analiese Paik, Founder & Editor, Fairfield Green Food Guide

Food, Wine & Networking:

Guests are welcome to stay to enjoy small bites from the Schoolhouse at Cannondale and organic wine while networking with the panelists, exhibitors and other guests.

This is a free, family-appropriate event, but registration is required. Please contact the Wilton Library at 203-762-3950 ext. 213 to register.

Wilton Library, 137 Old Ridgefield Road, Wilton, CT.

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The first annual CT Cheese & Wine Festival is being held today from 11-5 at Hopkins Vineyard in New Preston. The event is co-hosted by Hopkins Vineyard and Artisan Food Store of Southbury and is a family-friendly celebration of artisanal food products including award-winning cheeses and wines from CT.

Come for a Taste of Local Flavors

Guests can taste artisan farmstead cheeses from Beltane Farm, Cato Corner Farm, Ladies of Levita Road Farm, and Woodbridge Farm and meet the farmers and cheese makers. Artisan farmstead cheese is made in small batches, by hand, and each cheese reflects the style and skill of the cheese maker. Farmstead cheeses are unique in that they are made exclusively from the milk from the farm.

Connecticut cheese are very high quality and are made in a wide range of styles. Goat’s milk cheeses from Beltane Farm and raw cow’s milk cheeses from Cato Corner Farm illustrate just how diverse Connecticut’s cheeses are.

Beltane Farm’s award-winning creamy and mild fresh goat’s milk cheese (chevre) is pasteurized and comes plain or rolled in a variety of fresh and dry herbs.  It’s wonderful just spread on a cracker or artisan bread, but add some local artisan honey, some seasonal fruit, and sparkling wine from Hopkins Vineyard, and you’ve created a beautiful and festive beginning or ending course to a meal fit for a special occasion or the holidays.

Today at the festival, guests can learn firsthand from Certified Sommelier Sally Camm of Artisan Food Store of Southbury how to pair wine and cheese. Plus award winning chef Arik Bensimon of Napa & Co. in Stamford and chef Dan Kardos of Harvest Supper in New Canaan will be teaching guests how to prepare appetizers using the artisan foods available for sampling and sale at the event.

Beltane Farm also makes a Danse de la Lune (moon dance), a French style, soft-ripened goat’s milk cheese that’s hand-shaped to resemble a moon. It’s dense and creamy with complex flavors and pairs well with fine wines.

Mark Gilman, the cheese maker from Cato Corner Farm, crafts unique, world class raw cow’s milk cheeses on his family-owned farm in Colchester. Saveur Magazine and Slow Food USA named their Hooligan a top American cheese and it won a gold medal from Gallo Family Vineyard. These are true artisan farmstead cheeses, made by hand from raw milk from their cows that are pasture-raised without growth hormones, sub-therapeutic antibiotics, or animal-based feeds. Raw milk cheeses must be aged for a minimum of two months by law and some are aged many more, all the while being cared for in their underground cave until they reach peak flavor.

Hooligan is Cato Corner Farm’s signature “stinky” cheese. This ripe washed-rind cheese has a soft creamy interior and is delicious at room temperature or  melted in a sandwich. Try pairing this cheese with Tulip Polar honey from Red Bee Honey.

Bridgid’s Abbey is Cato Corner Farm’s best selling cheese, probably because its rich and buttery taste plus smooth and creamy consistency appeal to just about every palate. This is a versatile cheese that can be enjoyed any time of day. Try Bridgid’s Abbey as a snack or appetizer paired with raspberry or blueberry honey form Red Bee Honey, in a sandwich, or melted over your favorite vegetable.

These cheeses and artisan foods can be purchased at the event, ordered from Artisan Made’s online store or purchased at their Artisan Food Store in Southbury. They are also available at farmers’ markets, fine cheese shops like Fairfield Cheese Company in Fairfield and Caseus in New Haven. Fine boutique wines from Hopkins Vineyard, Jones Winery and Walker Road Vineyard have won local, regional and national wine awards and are delicious paired with the cheeses or enjoyed with a meal. These wines can be purchased at the event, directly from the vineyards, and at fine wine stores.

The Connecticut Cheese & Wine Festival 2010 is co-hosted by Hopkins Vineyard and Artisan Food Store of Southbury, CT and tickets are $10. This event is one day only - Saturday October 16, 2010 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Hopkins Vineyard, 25 Hopkins Rd in New Preston, CT. Bring the whole family to sample over 60 different cheeses, local wines, plus specialty foods  including jams, honeys, maple syrups and baked goods. Bring the kids to not only enjoy the food, but also face painting, hay rides and live music. Please call Artisan Food Store at 203-262-9390 for more information.

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by Analiese Paik

In 2002 the Ubaldo brothers, John and Robert, started farming at their family home in Pound Ridge, NY where Robert continues to grow abundant vegetables today in 25 high-yielding raised beds. Each morning Chef Robert starts his work day by picking fresh vegetables for Farmer’s Table, his newly-opened eatery in New Canaan that’s one part cozy restaurant serving casual farm-to-table fare and one part farmers’ market.

Robert’s biggest supplier, outside of his own garden, is his brother John Ubaldo, aka John Boy, who left a successful career in the financial services industry in 2007 to become a full-time farmer of the old fashioned variety. John Boy and his 185-acre farm in Cambridge, NY have captured the hearts, and palates, of chefs and eaters dedicated to sourcing the highest quality local, sustainably grown, and humanely raised food and has been featured in GQ Magazine, The New York Times, and Westchester Magazine.

“Whatever gets eaten gets eaten. We don’t spray anything so we’re more organic than organic” was the no nonsense response John Boy gave to my question about his land care practices. I immediately sensed there would be no shades of gray in my conversation with this man who is easily considered one of the most sought after sustainable farmers in the area. Black and white feels good and safe sometimes, especially when it pertains to knowing your food and farmer.

When I asked how sustainable his business model is, a deadpan “From the Wall St. perspective my model is really flawed” fell from John Boy’s mouth. “It’s a ton of labor and expensive. I’ve never worked this hard in my life. There’s zero downtime.” Vacation? A recent weekend trip was the first time he’d had a vacation in years. Despite the endless work, it’s clear he loves what he does. “There’s an energy on the farm that I don’t think is fathomable. Plus I don’t like sitting down; it makes it hard to get up.”

Crop loss only partially explains why running a “beyond organic” or “naturalist” farm like John Boy’s is so expensive and labor intensive.  John Boy elaborated: “We grow all of our own food for the animals from non-GMO corn and soy seed. We don’t use feeder farms to supply us. All our animals are born and raised on the farm. It’s rare to breed pigs on the farm. Pigs give birth at 2 am for 4-5 hours and I’m there for every birth. Keeping animals healthy is a 24/7 job.”

Call him a lunatic fringe farmer and you’ll be paying him a compliment. He knows he’s extreme and that’s the point. John Boy blames factory farms, where the animals are not cared for responsibly, for turning him into a “cranky, self-righteous farmer.”

According to Robert the two brothers had an epiphany one inclement morning last November as they waited at their Sunday farmers’ market stand in Pound Ridge for the regulars to show up to purchase Robert’s baked goods and soups and John Boy’s produce, poultry and meat products. “Why don’t we find a way to have a roof over our heads and let people buy from us every day?” thought Robert. When he heard the space on Forest Street had become available, Robert jumped at the lease and a plan to launch Farmer’s Table was hatched. Farmer’s Table brings together chef and farmer in a unique collaboration which offers diners straightforward yet distinct American fare sourced locally and sustainably. It wouldn’t be hard to image such a place existing 100 years ago.

A veteran of Tequila Mockingbird in New Canaan and Southwest Café in Ridgefield, Chef Robert’s love of Southwestern food shone through in our lunch of black bean soup rich with earthy and smoky chorizo, tender and flavorful chile-spiced Berkshire pork tacos, and plump chicken pesto with roasted garden vegetable quesadillas. Toasted 100% organic house-baked whole wheat bread with a surprisingly light texture accompanied the soup and glistening seafood chowder where lobster, shrimp and scallops were the main ingredient. Muffins and two to three types of breads are baked fresh twice daily because “some people like to come in just to buy a hot loaf of bread” explained Robert.

The farmers’ market in a restaurant concept brought to life at Farmer’s Table means area consumers can enjoy John Boy’s “beyond organic” vegetables, humanely raised certified Berkshire pork, Aberdeen Angus beef, chicken, duck, goose, turkey, quail, squab and artisan smoked meats including bacon, sausage, pepperoni and chorizo in meals deftly prepared by Chef Robert six days a week. And they can also buy local produce and meats  from John Boy’s Farm and select Connecticut farms for meals to be prepared at home. But don’t expect that Brother Robert will be getting preferential treatment from Brother John when it comes to allocating scarce, high-demand products. “Are you kidding, he always shorts me on the pork chops” quipped Robert. No matter, the prized house-made Berkshire pork pate will hold you until next time.

If you want to “follow” John Boy and perhaps procure one of his Thanksgiving turkeys from Farmer’s Table, it’s best to sign up for his e-newsletter which currently reaches over 2,000 and boasts an incredible 40% open rate. Email johnboysmarket@aol.com and ask to be added to the distribution list. According to John Boy “Last Thanksgiving we sold 120 turkeys and expect to do 200 this year.  Size will depend on mother nature.” John Boy’s newsletter is one of the few that I always open because I know something he’s written will make me laugh or smile, including a good rant or tale of farm animal antics. John Boy reported in a recent email blast that “My mother is a new sign up this week since she has found out this is the best way to find out what is going on in my life.”

On Sundays John Boy’s Farm participates in the farmers’ markets at Muscoot Farm in Somers, NY and also in Pound Ridge. Wednesdays he makes deliveries to restaurants and stores including Farmer’s Table, Gates, Tequila Mockingbird, Walter Stewart’s Market, North Star Restaurant in Scotts Corners and the Farmhouse at Bedford Post Inn, actor Richard Gere’s award-winning farm-to-table restaurant in Bedford, NY.

Farmer’s Table, Chef/Owner Robert Ubaldo, 21 Forest Street, New Canaan. 203-594-7890, Open Monday through Saturday from 11:30 am until 10pm. Closed Sundays.

By Elizabeth Keyser
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It’s a triumvirate. Farmers, artisans and chefs. A holy trinity, like onions, celery and carrots. They, and those who worship them, came together at Laurel Ridge Farm Sunday, Sept. 12, for the 10^th Annual Celebration of Connecticut Farms.  The fundraiser for CT Farmland Trust, which works to protect the state’s diminishing farmland, brought out two giant tents full of restaurateurs and artisan food producers offering tastes of their goods — grass fed beef, sustainably caught seafood, local organic vegetables, raw milk cheeses, wines, spirits, and ales.

“This is the foodie event of the year,” said someone I never expected to run into. Musician Tim Stone was playing keyboards with the band.  “I hope [the band] invites me back every year,” he said between bites.

Jacque Pépin , honorary chairman, summed it up in his short speech, “When I came to this country, a chef was very low on the social scale,” he said. He applauded the spotlight on the people who farm and those who “make the cheese, make the wine. We are nothing without the artisan.”

The event was held at Laurel Ridge Farm in Litchfield.  I spoke to John Morosani, who left a career on Wall Street to raise grass-fed beef and pigs. (I bought pork belly from John last year and had my first run-in with boar bristles that weren’t on a hairbrush.)

I was trying the Caseus Cheese Truck’s grilled cheese sandwich (made with Cato Corner Bridgid’s Abbey cheese and sourdough bread), when Jaques Pépin  enthusiastically reached in and grabbed a sandwich.  I asked if I could get a picture.  “Oh, with this guy?” Jacques said, pointing to Jason Sobocinski, Caseus’s owner. Jason picked up a grilled sandwich with a pair of tongs and Jacques mimicked diving into the sandwich teeth first, growling greedily. The delay in my camera resulted in a shot showing Jacques ‘s immediate devilish, “how’d you like that?” smile. Like Julia Child, Jacques is a ham.

Connecticut Public Radio’s Faith Middleton said in her speech, “I love this man for his humility, his intelligence and his humor.”  Faith also spoke of her pleasure in taking around honorary chair and Tony-award winning actress Christine Baranski, and telling her  “This is the best this and this is the best this.”

Who else was there?  Who wasn’t?  Tyler Anderson, who will be filming an episode of Chopped Champions Oct. 25, told me that the Copper Beech Inn and Brasserie Pip in Ivoryton are being recreated as one restaurant. He said it will have a modern flair, but still use French technique. Think snails gratin. And Duck Rossini. “But with a lower price point,” he said.

The folks at The Mill at 2T were offering their take on the BLT – roasted pork belly on ripe heirloom tomato dressed with 25 year-old-balsamic, sea salt and freshly ground pepper and radish sprouts from Keeds Farm in Woodbury.

The best thing I tried all day (and I went back and ate a second one), was Le Farm’s caramelized Stonington  scallops, barely cooked inside, and resting on summer squash salad with pine nuts, and  topped with marinated beets.  Every flavor component was spot on.

Peter Gorman, the chef at The Unquowa School, was offering a taste of gazpacho made from Sport Hill Farm tomatoes. He pointed out the quart of tomato sauce he’s made, one of the many jars he’s canned — 25 gallons so far made from “seconds.”  He hopes to put up 80 gallons, enough to get Unquowa through the whole school year.

The best way to end the day’s indulgences was at the booth of Westford Hill Distillers, where Margaret Chatey offered tastes of Eau-de-Vies – brandies made from Connecticut stone fruit. The flavor of the pears from Lyman’s Orchard  came through in the fiery Pear Williams. And hearing about the five varieties of apples that go into their 12-year aged apple brandy, distilled in a still designed and built by Holstein of Bavaria, made me put their Oct. 2 open house and tour on my calendar.

Elizabeth Keyser is an award-winning freelance writer based in Fairfield, CT whose work has been published in GQ, American Photo, The New York Times, The New York Post, Connecticut Magazine, Edible Nutmeg, the Yankee Brew News and newspapers in Connecticut and Massachusetts.