Stoneledge Farm Certified Organic CSA has drop/pick up locations in Stamford, Wilton/Norwalk and Southport. As of today there are a few CSA shares available in each location.

The shares from this 90 acre, NOFA-NY certified organic farm located in South Cairo, New York are varied and generous. I particularly liked all the herbs last summer because I learned to use more of them in my cooking. I didn’t expect to love summer savory, but I do. If you don’t pick your own fruit during the summer, I suggest signing up for a fruit share too. The plums, cherries and other tree fruit were gorgeous and I saw varieties that were new to me.

Stamford pick up is at Zion Lutheran Church, 132 Glenbrook Road on Wednesdays, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Visit the site for a brochure describing the program or just keep reading below. 

Wilton/Norwalk pick up is at 345 Belden Hill Road on Wednesdays, from 4:15 - 6:30 pm.

Thanks to the dedication and passion for local, organic food of Sarah Bollman and Leann Weaver of Fairfield, a CSA location was added last year at Trinity Southport Church, 651 Pequot Avenue on Wednesdays, from 4:30-6:30 pm.

The cost is $490 for 24 weeks, June through November. That’s $20.42 a week for an abundance of fresh, local, organic produce! Fruit shares are available to vegetable share members for $225 and run for 20 weeks. Berries are grown at Stoneledge Farm and orchard fruit is grown by Stoneledge Farm’s neighbors, who take a light approach in protecting their crops.

Visit their web site to register online by credit card or check. Click here to sign up online. The farmer keeps members very involved, emailing about crop yields and what’s included in the current week’s share. Every week at least one or two herbs are included in the share. Any unclaimed shares will be donated to programs including Operation Hope and the Connecticut Food Bank. Members share recipes and the Fairfield Green Food Guide will post them too because I renewed my share!

Visit the web site to learn more, register for a share or join the waiting list.

Web Site: http://www.stoneledgefarmny.org/locations/

The Farmer’s Cow is holding an Ice Cream Naming Contest for their 10 new flavors starting February 1 so start thinking of names! The Farmer’s Cow is a cooperative of six family-owned farms that supplies milk to retailers throughout Connecticut and parts of New York and Massachusetts. Combined, they milk 2,300 cows on nearly 7,000 acres of land. Their collaboration has been so successful that they’ve branched out into other products like eggs, half and half, heavy cream, and cider. Read more about the company in a previous article on this site.

Contest Rules:

You may enter up to 10 names, one per flavor, making sure that the names reflect something about farming and the benefits of local agriculture. Entries will be accepted online from 12:01 a.m. February 1, 2010. through midnight on February 14, 2010. Click here to enter the contest!

Their farmers and marketing team will review all the names submitted.
A winner will be drawn at random from all of the entries received.

One lucky entrant will receive a summer’s supply of ice cream from Memorial Day 2010 until Labor Day 2010. The winner will be announced at the end of February 2010. All names become property of The Farmer’s Cow. Click here to enter the contest!
Please direct any questions to farmers@thefarmerscow.com

The season for sweet, Maine shrimp is here but not much, if any, makes it to Fairfield County. That’s about to change.

Yesterday’s New York Times had an article about Maine shrimp that said the season is so bountiful this year that “the State Department of Marine Resources has extended it to May 1.” How crazy are people about these shrimp? According to the same article, Community Supported Fisheries programs where consumers sign up to receive “frozen hand-peeled shrimp in five one-pound bags once a month for five months” are popular, but the closest drop sites are in Brooklyn. The article’s end note states that the shrimp are sold “fresh in the shell in Manhattan for $9 a pound at Wild Edibles at Grand Central Market.”

Look for this sign on the building near the entrance doors

Don’t go to Manhattan or ask your spouse or friend to do you a favor and pick some up at Grand Central, because you can get them this Saturday from 10-2 at the new Norwalk Indoor Winter Farmers’ Market at 61-65 Wall Street at a fraction of the Manhattan price.

If you see this sign on the building (Not THAT Wall St.!), you're in the right place.

It’s easy to drive right by this market since there’s no street signage, so slow down. It’s just down the block from The Stand and you enter from behind the building, just across from Garden Cinemas. The building is being gutted for renovation so bundle up and bring a cooler for the shrimp and bags for the other local foods sold there.

Follow that truck!

Find Tom and Tracy Pennimon of Pemaquid Lobster & Seafood and ask for some fresh whole Maine shrimp with the shell and head on. Cook these delicacies briefly in highly salted water (no other seasonings please!) and then crowd around the table for a local, seasonal feast. Tracy told me they usually sell out on Fridays during their first stop in Naugatuck, but I asked her to please hold back 40 pounds for the market. If you want to place a special order for Saturday, please call Tracy at 203-350-7054. Each week’s availability is subject to the Wednesday catch. Please call 207-677-3202 to place special orders for future weeks.

Fairfield County Child is a blog dedicated to informing parents about all the unique places to eat, shop and play with your little ones in Fairfield County. Blogger mom Meg Robustelli is prolific in her posts, many of which include special offers and giveaways. She was recognized as an influential suburban blogger by the New York Times last summer and her site is worth a regular visit.

Lunch Skins reusable lunch bags by 3greenmoms

Now through June 4, I am offering the Fairfield County Child subscriber who refers the most new e-newsletter subscribers to the Fairfield Green Food Guide a free pair of Lunch Skins reusable lunch bags. The runner up wins a free 1 liter stainless steel water bottle from Planet Zero Gravity. Meg tied the giveaway to an article about how to find a farmers’ market in your town using The Buying Guide on the Fairfield Green Food Guide. Check it out!

Planet Zero Gravity's 1 Liter Stainless Steel Water Bottle

I got to thinking that you might enjoy this contest too! So here it is - all you do is copy and forward this message to your friends via email and invite them to subscribe to the Fairfield Green Food Guide’s e-newsletter. Be sure to ask them to type your name in the “How did you hear about us” field. The reader who refers the most subscribers wins a pair of Lunch Skins and the runner up wins a free stainless steel water bottle from Planet Zero Gravity. Got green foodie friends? Join the contest! Your friends can sign up for the e-newsletter from the icon in the left sidebar of the Fairfield Green Food Guide home page.

Lunch Skins, resuable, dishwasher safe, alternatives to plastic sandwich bags

I first heard about Lunch Skins, eco-chic resealable, reusable, dishwasher safe lunch bags, from SuzySaid and immediately bought them. They’re a hit with the kids and I smile every time I use them knowing I’m not throwing away a plastic bag. And my kids think they’re pretty cool.

According to the manufacturer’s web site, “these reusable, colorful cloth pouches are made from a high quality, moisture-proof German fabric used worldwide in the food industry. These bags are food safe, extremely durable, grease-proof and can even be thrown in the dishwasher.” Honestly, I have not put them to the dishwasher test. I just hand wash them along with the thermoses and food jars.

This Earth Day, you can make a meaningful contribution to stop global warming by spending $12 to buy 3 Lunch Skins instead of using disposable, resealable plastic bags. 3greenmoms, the manufacturers, are offering my readers a free bonus white customizable bag with every 2 bag order (green/orange or brown/blue) for the next 3 weeks and they are shipped in recycled padded mailers. Please enter “Fairfield Green Food Guide” in the comments field to receive this offer. Give the kids a colorful Sharpie and watch them customize their white bags. Trust me on this one, the kids think they’re cool, especially the ones they design themselves.