Two winners will receive a sample pack of Mamacat’s Q. Teas, Jeena Choi’s line of fine, hand-blended and packed 100% organic teas.
Editor’s note: This giveaway was amended on 1/18 to make it easier for more people to participate.
We’re celebrating National Hot Tea Month by giving away 2 Mamacat’s Q. Tea sampler packs. Mamacat’s Q. Teas are hand-blended and packed in Wilton, CT and use only the finest organic herbs, dried fruits and flowers. Using family recipes, the unique blends contain zero-caffeine, zero-calories and can be enjoyed hot or cold, day or night by the entire family. Sampler packs will contain a mix of of Amber Maharani, Casablanca Mist, Emerald Wonderland, Golden Slumbers and Ruby Slippers teas.
Click here to learn more about Mamacat’s Q. Teas and their sister company, Babycat Milkbar, where the full line of herbal teas can be enjoyed hot or cold with a local, artisan treat.
How to Participate:
To qualify entrants must complete item 1 below and abide by the simple rules.
1) Share a comment below about how you enjoy hot tea, especially organic, herbal and decaf teas. Please use the same name or email address you use in items 2 and 3 below so we can qualify you.
Rules: No purchase necessary. One entry per household. Must be 18 or older and a legal resident of Connecticut with an address that includes a street number (no PO boxes). The retail value of each sample pack is $15.
Two winners will be selected at random from a list of qualified entrants and will be announced on this blog on February 1. Any blog comment submitted under item #1 above, along with the name of the author, may be republished on this website or Mamacat’s Q. Tea’s website. Winners will contacted via email to obtain a mailing addresses and sampler packs will be mailed during the first week of February. Winners who do not supply us with their legal mailing address within 2 weeks of our sending the request will forfeit their winnings.
For two days only you will receive a free signed paperback copy of her book, HONEYBEE Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper, when you order a Honey Tasting Party in a Box four jar set for $50. That’s a $64.95 value!
Calling all local honey lovers and holiday shoppers looking for a unique gift for someone special. We have a sweet deal for you! Marina Marchese, author and founder of Red Bee Honey in Weston, is generously offering a bonus gift package exclusively to Fairfield Green Food Guide readers through midnight December 11. For two days only you will receive a free signed paperback copy of her book,HONEYBEE Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper, when you order a Honey Tasting Party in a Box four jar set for $50. That’s a $64.95 value! Perfect for honey lovers, wine lovers and adventurous eaters, this tasting kit created by Honey Sommelier Marina Marchese includes everything a party of 10 needs to taste, evaluate, and savor four different single nectar source honeys. There’s even a special chapter on honey tasting in the book that’s perfect to read aloud before the tasting adventure begins.
Carol Herman, the Books Editor at The Washington Times, named Marchese’s Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeperone of the “Books We Loved” in 2009. It’s now in its second printing in paperback and retails for $14.95.
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. James Beard Award-winning author Rowan Jacobsen calls Marina “The Red Queen” and dedicates one chapter of his new book American Terroir to tasting honey with Marina at Red Bee Apiary.
How to Order:
Online Orders:
Orders must be placed by midnight on December 11 at http://www.redbeehoney.com/. When ordering online, please choose item # RG00HT2 + Honey Tasting Party in a Box 1 which includes four, 4-ounce jars of Red Bee Honey’s Limited Harvest Honey and 10 Honey Tasting Score cards for $50.00. You will receive a FREE signed copy of HONEYBEE Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper when you type “Fairfield Green Food Guide” in the Special Instructions and Comments box at checkout. You may also specify the gift recipient’s name in this box so the book can be signed for her/him. Since this offer is exclusive to our readers, you will not see this special offer mentioned on the website.
Holiday Boutique Orders:
On December 11, Red Bee Honey is holding its annual holiday boutique and open house from 11 am until 6 pm. You may take advantage of this offer in person at the boutique. Just mention that you are a Fairfield Green Food Guide reader and would like to purchase this exclusive bonus gift package.
Last year’s event was a roaring success and more guests are expected this year due to growing concerns about counterfeit and tainted honey imported from India and China. News outlets around the country last month published articles citing studies which provided incontrovertible evidence that many retail products labeled “honey” contained no pollen and were therefore not real honey according to the USDA’s definition. Consumers in the know are turning to local beekeepers as a trusted source for real honey.
To learn more about Red Bee Honey, visit the web site and read Lessons from a Local Beekeeper on this site.Marina’s transition from art director to beekeeper and Honey Sommelier is also told via a beautifully produced Yahoo Second Act video.
This is not a paid advertisement and Fairfield Green Food Guide receives no benefit from sales, other than happy readers!
Passport to CT Farm Wineries is a seasonal program run by the CT Dept. of Agriculture to promote visits to 31 farm wineries and the CT Wine Festival. The Passport, as it’s aptly called, encourages wine lovers to obtain 16 of the potential 31 stamps to enter to win a number of prizes, the best being a two-week trip for two to Spain. No purchase is necessary to obtain a stamp at each winery or at the CT Wine Festival (in compliance with CT sweepstakes laws), but you must be 21 years of age or older to receive a passport. Only one Passport per person is allowed.
The Passport program began on May 1 and ends the first weekend in November, at which time a Passport can be returned to any CT farm winery to be entered in the prize drawing. The drawing is held in early December and prizes include:
A two week trip for two, including airfare and lodging, to Benalmadena Costa, Spain; the first and second week of February.
A two week trip for two, including airfare and lodging, to Costa, Spain; the third and fourth week of February.
First Prize: A limousine wine tour for eight people to Connecticut wineries
15 Second Prizes: An overnight get away at the Courtyard by Marriott Norwich
30 Third Prizes: A certificate for two bottles of wine from a Connecticut winery
To get started simply visit a CT farm winery and ask for a little blue farm winery Passport.
What do you get when you mix a professional pastry chef who is passionate about crafting highly creative and sustainable dessert products with milk from two local goat farms? An incredibly decadent, versatile, and palate-pleasing line of CT Grown dessert sauces. Move over dulce de leche, cajeta caramel has arrived.
Cajeta Caramel sauces – cinnamon, Applejack, lemon, curry and rosemary – also play into the growth trend in lesser-known ethnic foods.
Aimed at today’s eco-conscious consumer, Peace Tree Desserts‘ luxurious Cajeta Caramel sauces – cinnamon, Applejack, lemon, curry and rosemary – also play into the growth trend in lesser-known ethnic foods. “Cajeta Caramel is a Mexican pantry staple that’s similar to dulce de leche, except its base is goat’s milk rather than cow’s milk” explains Chef Eads. “I developed these sauces for adventurous consumers who are consciously choosing environmentally correct foods that are made with locally-grown ingredients.”
Ingredient sourcing for the Cajeta Caramel line began with forging relationships with Connecticut goat farmers using organic and sustainable agricultural practices and maintaining high standards of animal welfare. Chef Eads then sought out the most flavorful chocolates, spices, and salts from sustainable agricultural communities around the world to flavor the milks for each variety. In the case of the Applejack Cajeta Caramel, an artisan product from another local producer provided the impetus for the product’s creation. According to Chef Eads “the spirits producer, a micro-distillery in New York’s Hudson Valley, is turning out an incredibly smooth and flavorful product made from their own apples. I was so impressed with their dedication to the craft. I knew instantly I could translate this into an eco-luxe dessert sauce.”
The first public tasting and sale of Peace Tree’s Cajeta Caramel sauces will take place on Thursday, May 26, from 10 am until 2 pm at the award-winning Westport Farmers’ Market at the Imperial Avenue Parking lot adjacent to the Women’s Club. Chef Robyn Eads invites to the public to enjoy a taste and buy a jar or two to share with their families and friends. “It’s excellent on ice cream, in coffee or tea, and as a dip for fresh fruit. We’re encouraging fans to post their photos and share their favorite uses for the sauces on our Facebook page.” Anyone who signs up for the Friend of the Westport Market loyalty program on opening day will be eligible to participate in a drawing to win a free jar of Cajeta Caramel sauce. Four winners will be drawn and market master Lori Cochran will announce the lucky recipients at the 11 am, 12 pm, 1 pm and 2 pm drawings.
About Peace Tree Desserts LLC:
Peace Tree Desserts is an eco-luxe bakery that sources exclusively local, organic, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients for our reimagined baked goods and specialty food products. Our line of small-batch, artisan dessert sauces proudly carries the CT Grown label and is available in gourmet food stores and our online store. We source our ingredients as close to home as possible, giving preference to local farms, while also scouring the world for sustainable agricultural communities producing the most unique and flavorful salts, spices, and chocolates. Our commitment to sustainability extends to everything we do –from ingredient sourcing to product packaging, shipping, and marketing.
About Sustainable Pastry Chef/Owner Robyn Eads:
Sustainable Pastry Chef Robyn Eads is the founder of Peace Tree Desserts.
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 2002, Chef Eads went on to perfect her craft in celebrated culinary establishments including the Relais Gourmand restaurant at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, Gotham Bar and Grill in New York City, and The Schoolhouse at Cannondale in Connecticut. Her ingredient- inspired creations have garnered recognition on “The Martha Stewart Show” and were awarded “Best of Connecticut” in 2009 by Connecticut Magazine. Her uncompromising commitment to sourcing exclusively local, sustainable, and organic ingredients paired with her immense amount of talent and creativity, are the heart of Chef Eads’ highly imaginative and exquisite desserts. Her dedication to sustainability extends to her relationships with local farmers and involvement in community organizations such as the Connecticut Specialty Food Association, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture’s Farm to Chef Program, and the Connecticut chapter of NOFA, the Northeast Organic Farming Association.
Connecticut FARMER & FEAST is a revolutionary new cookbook that will introduce readers to Connecticut’s agricultural bounty and those passionate individuals – Connecticut’s farmers and producers – who toil endlessly to bring us our food. Meet more than 40 of Connecticut’s devoted farmers and producers who proudly produce Connecticut’s “locally grown” vegetables, fruits, meats, cheeses, and other food items featured in farm stands, farmers’ markets, and top restaurants throughout the Nutmeg State.
In the book, Emily Brooks will help consumers to learn where their food comes from, eat healthier, and support the farmers and producers in their communities. Published in 2011 by Globe Pequot Press.
Early birds enjoy a 33% discount on Thursday and Sunday dinners thru May 1.
Haven’t been to a farm dinner yet? Well you can attend a virtual one this weekend on Cooking Channel’s newest food show UNIQUE EATS , airing Sunday at 10:00 p.m. Unique Eats spotlights America’s most exciting and revolutionary food experiences, with this episode focusing on “Extreme Farm-to-Table”. The film crew came out this summer to Barberry Hill Farm in Madison and filmed a whole day’s worth of harvesting, cooking, prepping and eating. This Sunday take time out from all the celebrity Oscar glitter and tune in to some fabulous outdoor dining scenes.
Feeling inspired to attend a Farm-to-Table dinner this season? Dinners at the Farm has announced their Summer 2011 event schedule and early birds enjoy a 33% discount off the ticket price of Thursday and Sunday dinners through May 1. This year, open air dinners will once again be held at Barberry Hill Farm in Madison, Conn., home to Kelly and Kingsley Goddard and to White Gate Farm in East Lyme, home to Pauline Lord and David Harlow–and an original host farm. Each of these small organic farms grow a wide variety of produce that’s picked the day of the event and transformed into that evening’s unique seasonal menu by Chef Jonathan Rapp and his team. Indeed, a different six course menu is served every night for 16 nights, preceded by a cocktail hour with passed hors d’oeuvre.
100 copies are available for lending at the Fairfield Public Library's main location downtown and at the Woods Branch, plus another 50 at Pequot Library.
Fairfield’s One Book One Town 2011 selection is Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer. As part of the book event series, Pequot Library will be hosting an indoor farmers’ market and guest speaker series including beekeepers, artisan cheese makers and farmers on Saturday, March 5 from 10 am to 4 pm.
Bring your reusable shopping bags and get to know and buy from your farmer face-to-face in this beautiful library setting.
Eating Animals is a provocative book which invites us all to learn and care about where our food comes from and how it’s raised. The Fairfield Green Food Guide will be an exhibitor and founder and editor Analiese Paik will be a speaker at this event, sharing the myriad resources available to consumers looking for local and sustainably grown and produced food.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter @GreenFoodGal to hear the latest news and announcement of who will be participating in this event.
Gilbertie's Herb Garden is the perfect place to meet a friend for a casual farm-to table lunch and some local food shopping.
Sometimes the best gift you can give a friend is your company over a wonderful meal. So invite a friend, or two, to join you for lunch at the new indoor winter farmers’ market at Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens of Westport. Each week lunch from a different local farm-to-table restaurant will be served. Think of it as the Northeast’s answer to the food truck!
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.
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.
Harvest to Heat is as much a story book as a cookbook, sharing inspiring back stories for each farm fresh ingredient and recipe.
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. Gift Tip: Buy the cookbook for a friend and bring it to the market for Bill to sign!
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.
John Morosani moving his herd of cattle to graze on fresh pasture. These cows eat a diet of grass and hay and never receive hormones or antibiotics. Photo c/o Laurel Ridge Farm
John Morosani started raising grass-fed cows in 2003, but it’s only now that Laurel Ridge Farm‘s capacity has grown enough so it’s offering a monthly CSA in Fairfield. Morosani comes to Reef Road in Fairfield the first Thursday of each month.
In 2006, the New York Times singled out Laurel Ridge’s grass-fed beef as one of the top four winners in a taste-test of 15 rib-eyes from grass-fed beef raised across the country. Marion Burros wrote that Laurel Ridge’s steak “brought back memories of the beefy flavor meat had before cattle were stuffed with grain in feedlots” and was “juicy and slightly chewy.”
Laurel Ridge’s CSA is a six-month commitment that offers members 30 percent steak, 30 percent slow-cooked meat (roasts and stews) and about 40 percent ground beef, which the farmer chooses for members based on what they had the previous month. The meat comes frozen and Cryovaced.
A commitment of $77.50 per month entitles the member to a 10% discount from retail prices (which range from $23 a pound for rib eye; $11 a pound for top round roast; and $6.50 for ground meat). Spending $150 per month will get you a 13% discount, and $217.50 per month a 16% discount.
The cows are born on the farm and put out to pasture in May. This past spring was unusually warm, so the cows got out a month earlier. In winter they eat hay grown on the farm. Although they are not certified organic, the farm does not use herbicides or pesticides. Clover is mixed with the grass to put nitrogen into the soil. Depending on the weather, however, the farm occasionally has to purchase hay. It’s not organic because the cost is 50 percent higher, Morosani says.
Morosani also offers pasture raised pork and chickens. They are not bred on the farm. He buys one-day old chicks, and three-week old piglets.
For more information and to purchase a CSA share, please visit the farm’s web site or contact John Morosi directly at john@lrgfb.com with your name, address, phone number, email to respond to, and monthly level of commitment, or call 860-567-8122. PDF registration forms can be downloaded from the site.
Elizabeth Keyser is an award-winning freelance writer based in Fairfield, CT and regular contributor to the Fairfield Green Food Guide. 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.
This Red Bee Honey gift set includes a bottle of limited harvest pumpkin blossom honey, a 100% beeswax candle and lavender lip balm (not pictured).
When was the last time you bought someone a gift of food directly from the source? Local honey lovers, and anyone interested in becoming a convert, are invited to attend a very special holiday boutique at Red Bee Apiary in Weston on December 11 and 12, 2010 from 1-4 pm.
If you’ve never tasted single nectar source honeys side-by-side to compare and contrast them, this is your chance to do so with the beekeeper herself, Marina Marchese. Once you’ve picked your favorites, choose from a wide assortment of beautifully packaged individual bottles of honey or boxed gift sets that include lavender lip balm and beeswax candles. Relax by the fireplace and enjoy the live music as your gifts are boxed up, compliments of the house.
Honeybee is Marina Marchese's captivating story of how she came to be a beekeeper and expert on honey.
For the book lovers on your list, pick up a signed copy of Marina’s “Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper” along with some honey, honey-based skin care products, or beeswax candles. Carol Herman, the Books Editor at The Washington Times, named Marchese’s HONEYBEE one of the “Books We Loved” in 2009.
Marina’s transition from art director to beekeeper is being told via a beautifully produced Yahoo Second Act video and will no doubt lead you on a delicious adventure in local honey.
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.
