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 Beekeeper one 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!

Local honey lovers and those on the road to good taste and new discoveries won’t want to miss Red Bee Honey’s annual holiday open house on December 11 from 11 am to 6 pm. 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.

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 Red Bee Honey’s founder, beekeeper, and Honey Sommelier Marina Marchese. Once you’ve picked your favorite flavors, choose from a wide assortment of beautifully packaged individual bottles of honey or boxed gift sets that include lavender lip balm and beeswax candles. Or create your own gift boxes at any price point. Relax by the fireplace and enjoy the live music as your gifts are boxed up, wrapped and tied with ribbon- compliments of the house.

For the readers on your list, pick up a signed copy of Marina’s book “Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper”, now also available in paperback. Carol Herman, the Books Editor at The Washington Times, named Marchese’s Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper 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. 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.

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.

Red Bee Honey Apiary & Gardens

www.redbee.com

Email: redbee@optonline.net

Honey Sommelier and Author Marina Marchese of Red Bee Apiary will be the featured guest at the Winter Farmers’ Market at Norfield Grange in Weston on December 3 from 10am to 2pm. During this event, Marina will host her Signature Artisanal Honey Tasting at “The Drizzle Table” and be signing copies of her international selling book, Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper, which will be available for purchase. Also available for purchase will be a wonderful selection of Marina’s Red Bee Artisanal Honeys, gift items, and her honey-based skin care products including lip balm, soaps, honey facial scrub, and beeswax balms.

Marina Marchese is a passionate and inspirational speaker who has dedicated her life to honeybees and educating chefs, foodies and beekeepers about the culinary delights of artisanal honey. The founder of Red Bee® Honey as well as The American Honey Tasting Society, Marina is an unparalleled connoisseur of honey from all over the world. Ms. Marchese is the current president of the Back Yard Beekeepers Association of Connecticut and enjoys sharing her personal story and journey into beekeeping with domestic and international audiences including beekeeping and gardening clubs, woman and motivational groups, libraries and general audiences.

The indoor, heated Winter Farmers’ Market at Norfield Grange kicked off its second season on November 12th and provides local residents with fresh local produce and products through the winter season. The market is open on Saturdays through April 7, 2012 from 10:00am-2:00pm (closed Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve). Each weekend nearly 20 vendors will set up shop inside the Grange during the market so visitors can enjoy shopping in a warm and comfortable environment. Guests are encouraged to bring reusable bags and their holiday shopping list to purchase local artisan foods and other specialty products, which make great gifts.

This Saturday several new vendors will join the market: Du Soleil (hot soups, tapas, and prepared gourmet food), Pasta Heaven (gourmet pasta), Stoneware by Krisa, Designs of the Season miniature boxwood trees, Laszlo Accessories (belts and headbands), and Weston High School Crafters for a Cause.

Along with the REGULARS: Gazy Brothers Farm (produce), Daffodil Hill Growers (produce + jelly, jam, syrup and more), Eaglewood Farms (meat & eggs), Butterfield Farm (Promote the Goat with cheese, milk, yogurt and more), Whistle Stop Bakery (cakes, pies, muffins & cookies), Pemaquid Seafood, Connecticutly Grown Hot Sauces, The Bites Company, Sticky Nuts, Jesse’s Kettle Corn and Nod Hill Soap, Kareen Kanaga (handmade jewelry), antique & collectible holiday gifts, hand knit infant & kids hats, handmade boxwood wreaths by Weston Girl Scout Troop, picket fence artwork, and more.

The winner of the market’s HOLIDAY TREE RAFFLE will be drawn at 2:00 pm on Dec. 3. Weston Gardens generously donated the 6-7 foot Balsam Tree. Tickets are free with a purchase from any of the market vendors or 3 for a dollar.  If you didn’t win they have 440 more trees for sale down the street; stop on your way home.

HOLIDAY SEAFOOD RAFFLE – 8 Maine Lobsters!  Drawing Saturday, December 17th at 2:00pm.

The Norfield Grange, located at 12 Good Hill Road in Weston, Connecticut, is a community center that hosts events for the residents of Weston. It serves as a meeting place for members of the community to socialize. It also hosts fairs and other farmer’s markets throughout the year, where local vendors sell fruits, vegetables, baked goods, art work, needlework, rugs, photographs and more. It is also home to the Grange Coffee Club, where local artists meet to share their works of art and is available for private events.

For additional information about the Winter Farmers Market visit www.wintermarket-ct.com or www.norfieldgrange.com or call 203-226-8233.  For additional information about Marina Marchese and Red Bee Honey visit www.RedBee.com.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

1:00pm-3:00pm

at Sport Hill Farm, 596 Sport Hill Road, Easton, CT

Sustainable Pastry Chef Robyn Eads, founder of Peace Tree Desserts, invites you to an artisanal honey tasting celebrating the single nectar source honeys of Weston-based Red Bee Honey. The three course eco-luxe tasting menu prepared by Chef Eads features Red Bee’s artisanal single-nectar source honeys and foods from local artisans and organic farms in Connecticut. Each course will be paired with wines from Connecticut wineries (selections TBA).

The afternoon will begin with a Prosecco and cheese reception featuring artisan and farmstead cheeses from Connecticut’s own Cato Corner Farm and Beltane Farm paired with Red Bee’s honeys. Patti Popp, owner of Sport Hill Farm, will lead guests on a tour of her organic farm. Guest speaker Marina Marchese, honey sommelier, author and founder of Red Bee Honey, will masterfully pair her line of artisanal honeys throughout the tasting and share the captivating story of her personal journey into beekeeping.

ARTISANAL HONEY TASTING MENU

Cheese and Honey Bar

Artisanal Cheeses from Cato Corner and Beltane Farm, Red Bee’s Single-Nectar Source Honeys, Locally Sourced Accompaniments

1st Course

Lady Apple, Grapefruit, Whipped Crème Fraiche, Bee Pollen, Mint, Ginger,

Apple Honey-Lime Vinaigrette, Honeycomb, Pomegranate

2nd Course

Pumpkin Honey, Goat Cheesecake, Warm Bamboo Honey Candied Pumpkin, Pistachios

3rd Course

Taza Chocolate, Beets, Chocolate Stout,

Cocoa Nibs, Buckwheat Honey

$75 per person

Seating is limited to 30 guests.

To reserve your seat online, please visit www.peacetreedesserts.com

For more information about Chef Eads, click here: Peace Tree Desserts: Local, Luxe and Luscious

For more information about Marina Marchese, beekeeper, author and founder of Red Bee Honey, click here.

Each year beekeeper Marina Marchese invites members of the public to watch as she adds new honeybee colonies to her hives. According to Marina it’s common for beekeepers in Connecticut to lose many, if not most, of their bee colonies over the harsh Northeast winter.

Marina’s Italian honeybees were trucked up from Georgia in small crates. She and her crew of experienced beekeepers and beekeepers in training prepare the hives for their new occupants, educate guests about honeybees and beekeeping, and finally transfer thousands of bees from the crates to the hives.

Marina Marchese is president of the Backyard Beekeeper’s Association and her book, “Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper”, was recently released in paperback after a successful publication in hardcover. 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. Lucky guests were treated to comb honey straight from one of the hives that not only survived the winter, but which had been so productive during the early spring that it produced over 100 pounds of honey according to Marchese.

The Queen

The First Hive

The Hive Top Feeder

Red Bee Honeys can be purchased at: Fairfield’s Brick Walk farmers’ market (Sat. 9-12), Fairfield Cheese Company (Fairfield), Catch a Healthy Habit Café (Fairfield), Babycat Milkbar (Wilton), Aux Delices (Greenwich/Darien), Plum Pure Foods (Old Greenwich), 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).

www.redbeehoney.com

Red Bee honey tastings are formal, white linen events organized and led by owner, beekeeper, and author Marina Marchese. Guest are treated to a tour of Red Bee Apiary & Gardens, a honeybee talk, and finally a formal honey tasting at farmhouse style tables en plain air. Participants are encouraged to engage their curiosity through discussions while learning about the many types and styles of unique nectar source honeys. The menu is a carefully orchestrated “Tasting Flight” of seven single-origin, local honeys perfectly paired with locally produced, seasonal accompaniments including cheese, fruit, chocolate, nuts, bread, spices or herbs.

Event: Honey Tasting Laboratory Workshop with Honey Sommelier Marina Marchese

Location: Red Bee ® Apiary and Gardens, Weston, CT MAP QUEST

When: Sunday, May 29, 2011 from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm. This event takes place outside at Red Bee in the apiary gardens.

Cost: $35.00 per guest and includes all food and beverage, including a welcome glass of Prosecco.

RSVP and pre-payment are required to reserve your spot.
Please visit Red Bee’s website, scroll down to the event listing, and click “Add to Cart” to reserve your seat.

Questions? Email Marina Marchese at redbeehoney@gmail.com

Marina Marchese’s  book, “Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper” has just been released in paperback after a successful publication in hardcover. 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),  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).

Tweet
For Immediate Release

SUSTAINABLE FOOD AND BEVERAGE PIONEERS INCLUDING DRESSING ROOM FOUNDER MICHEL NISCHAN FEATURED AT TWO-DAY LIVE GREEN CONNECTICUT! FESTIVAL

—

NORWALK, CT – (August 16, 2010) – Scot Weicker and Daphne Dixon, co-founders of Live Green Connecticut! announced a partial list of featured guests and a sampling of the newest exhibitors for the September 18^th-19^th Festival to be held at Taylor Farm Park in Norwalk.

• 

  Michel Nischan, Founder & CEO of Wholesome Wave

  Michel Nischan, Dressing Room restaurant owner and founder, James Beard award-winning cookbook author and chef, sustainable food pioneer and CEO of the non-profit Wholesome Wave. Michel will be speaking at 1:00pm on Saturday, September 18th and signing his latest book, “Sustainably Delicious: Making the World a Better Place, One Recipe at a Time.” For a complete profile of Michel Nischan, click here.

• The Westport Farmers’ Market is bringing the market to the festival! Bring your reusable bags to shop for CT Grown fruit and produce and specialty foods like cheese, granola, coffee and tea.  Lunches featuring locally grown meats, poultry, cheeses, vegetables and fruits are available from market vendors Sugar & Olives, Boxcar Cantina and Skinny Pines.

• Special screening of the documentary film Vanishing of the Bees at 1 pm on Sunday.
  

• 

  Marina will be signing her book "Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper", which made the Washington Post's "Books We Love 2009" List

  Marina Marchese, Red Bee Honey Founder, Beekeeper and Author will be speaking on Sunday, September 19^th at 2:30pm following the screening of Vanishing of the Bees. Brush up on your honeybee and honey facts because 20 lucky audience members who correctly answer Marina’s trivia questions each will win a bottle of her artisan honey courtesy of Whole Foods Market Westport. The Martha Stewart Blog just posted a story about Marina & Red Bee Honey! For a complete profile of Marina Marchese, click here.

• Newman’s Own,  Ducky Life Tea, Yumnuts and Catch a Healthy Habit have joined the list of exhibitors.

• Peace Tree Desserts and Taste by Karla Sorrentino will be serving their delicious foods using local ingredients. Peace Tree Desserts offers lovingly crafted desserts made using local ingredients and environmentally conscious practices to Fairfield County and the surrounding areas.

• Planet Fuel will be sampling and exhibiting delicious, low-sugar, organic juices for kids with no preservatives, additives or refined sugars. A portion of proceeds from Planet Fuel product sales goes to conservation groups working hard to protect habitats around the world.

• Snow Natural Soda + Vitamins All the fun, exuberance and delicious indulgence of soda without any of the unhealthy ingredients. Samples will be available.

• Analiese Paik, Founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, will be sharing information about the upcoming Farm-to-Chef Harvest Celebration Week sponsored by the CT Dept. of Agriculture. Sugar & Olives, Boxcar Cantina and Skinny Pines, mentioned above, are all participating in this special event highlighting the quality and diversity of CT Grown to be held during the week of September 26-October 2, 2010.

Weicker and Dixon stated: “We are so proud to have all of these wonderful businesses and organizations participating in Live Green CT!  We are showcasing the best of Connecticut and there is a lot of excitement from our exhibitors and speakers. The message of our event is spreading, and people throughout the state are talking about it and looking forward to joining us September 18^th and 19^th at Taylor Farm Park in Norwalk.

Live Green Connecticut! will take place at Taylor Farm Park in Norwalk, Connecticut September 18^th and 19^th. Featured attractions and exhibits include marine ecology and nature center exhibits, wind and solar displays, farmer’s market, hands-on kid’s activities, environmental and conservation organizations and speakers, alternative fuel vehicles, landscape and garden centers, green careers and education, eco-art, eco-fashion, entertainment, food and beverages, the SoundWaters Schooner and so much more!

Proceeds of Live Green Connecticut! will benefit the Norwalk Seaport Association, SoundWaters, Norwalk River Valley Trail and the Calf Pasture Beach Wind Power Project.

Live Green Connecticut! will be a fun-filled two day festival which will promote education, business, non-profit organizations, green technology, recycling, conservation, health and wellness, climate protection and sustainable living.  Eco-friendly businesses will showcase their green products and services. Individuals and families will come away with money saving ideas and tax incentive opportunities.

In order to be environmentally sensitive, Live Green Connecticut! has established an interactive website for the schedule of events, exhibitor information, registration and news leading up the festival.  Please visit: www.livegreenct.com.

#

For more information on the festival, please contact:

Scot Weicker & Daphne Dixon, Co-Chairs
W: (203) 536-9377/(203) 536-4695
Email: info@livegreenct.com

Live Green Connecticut!
P.O. Box 59
Old Greenwich, CT 06870
203-536-9377
203-698-1766 (fax)
info@livegreenct.com

For media inquiries, please contact:

Peter Barhydt

Aberdeen Associates, Inc.

W 203-618-1709

C 203-252-4768

Peter.Barhydt@AberdeenAssociates.com

It’s time for blueberry picking! Find your baskets from last year, pack some water and a snack, and head over to Jones Family Farm in Shelton Tuesday through Saturday from 9-5:30 to do some picking with the family. Always call ahead to hear Farmer Jones’ field report before heading over. Call 203-929-8425 for complete picking details.

What will you do with your blueberries? Make smoothies? Serve them with ice cream or yogurt? Freeze them for later use? Or make pies or jams? If you pick many more than you need, be sure to preserve them quickly to catch them at their peak. Click here to read “Preserving the Summer Harvest” and watch the Ch. 8 video.

If you pick at Jones Family Farm on a Friday afternoon, you can also catch their Friday Farmers’ Market held in the Harvest Kitchen courtyard of the Homestead Farm from 3:30pm-5:30pm through the end of August. This Friday will feature HONEY. Pop into their Harvest Kitchen cooking demonstrations and learn how to make Pizza with Honey, Ricotta Cheese, Blueberries, and Arugula. SPECIAL: Meet the author! Come meet local beekeeper C. Marina Marchese of Red Bee Honey to learn about bees and sample some of the finest honey in CT.  Her book, Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper, is a great summer read.

Fairfield Green Food Guide and CT Bites present A Honey Tasting Workshop at Red Bee ® Apiary in Weston

Join us for a Tasting Flight of Seven Artisanal Honeys with Red Bee Apiary’s own Marina Marchese.

Learn how honeybees make this liquid gold we call honey, how location and nectar source determines a honeys color, and flavor and how honey is harvested and extracted from the comb.

Marina will show us how to taste and evaluate honey using the Honey Sommelier tasting guide in her new book HONEYBEE Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper. Each guest will receive one sample 2 oz. jar of Red Bee’s signature Wildflower Honey.

Red Bee Honey Tasting Menu

• Farmhouse comb honey
• Red Bee’s signature wildflower
• Alfalfa honey
• Goldenrod honey
• Blueberry blossom honey
• Tulip poplar honey
• Star thistle honey

Featured Bread:

Fairfield Bread Company’s “The Flaxette”, a baguette with a crisp, caramelized crust surrounding a flavorful, tender and chewy center that’s studded with ground organic flax.

The tasting will also include some locally produced cheeses and garden accompaniments.

Where: Red Bee ® Apiary and Gardens, Weston, CT MAPQUEST

When: Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 at 1:00 pm till 3:00 pm

Rain Date: Tuesday, May, 25th, 2010 at 1:00 pm till 3:00 pm(This event takes place outside in the garden apiary)Red Bee will provide samples of their own herbal bug repellent, if needed.

Cost: $15 per person
Seating is limited to 20 people so reserve your seat now via online checkout at Red Bee Honey.

Questions? Email us at info@fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com

By Elizabeth Keyser

When Analiese asked Michael and me to make a sustainable and local Valentine’s dinner to inspire the readers of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, I knew I wanted to use John Boy’s quail.  They’re plump, meaty and full of flavor.  John Ubaldo raises them on organic feed he grows himself on his farm in Cambridge, N.Y.  The quail pen is half in a field, half in the woods.  “They’re in their natural environment, ” he says, “They like to perch. They’re birds.”

He suggested I stuff his semi-boneless quail with sausage from his Berkshire pigs. Excellent idea.

THE MENU

• John Boy’s Farm’s quail, stuffed with Berkshire pork sausage, mushrooms, and thyme. Served with red wine-wild raspberry sauce.
• Herbed quinoa
• Flash-seared shredded cabbage with caramelized onions
• Raw beet and apple salad in apple-cider vinaigrette

Dessert:

• Mint tea with Red Bee’s Honey
• Chocolate almond torte with raspberry buttercream, black walnut syrup praline

THE TASTE

The  stuffed quail was delicious, rich and meaty enough that one quail left us satisfied, especially when drizzled with savory-sweet pan sauce made with wine and the wild raspberry jelly sauce.  Michael and I made the jelly last summer from wild raspberries picked from the brambled edges of our property.  The organic quinoa was light and fluffy.  Organic raw beet  and apple salad added vibrant color to the plate, as well as juicy freshness and sweet acidity.  Cabbage, available at many of the winter farmers’ markets, is  a good accompaniment to game, and when it is sliced super thin and cooked fast with caramelized onions, it acquires a nutty flavor.

STUFFING

I sautéed a  chopped onion till translucent, then added John Boy’s Berkshire pork sausage and sprinkled in some salt, pepper and dried thyme (grown in my garden).  While the sausage cooked, I soaked dried chanterelle mushrooms in warm water until they were soft, then finely  chopped their soft caps.  I strained the mushroom water to remove the grit, and then dunked some dried crusts of Michael’s organic flaxseed bread into the mushroom water to soften them. You may have read a previous post on this site about Michael’s bread,  “The Flaxette,” which he bakes daily at the Fairfield Bread Company.

There was more sausage than we’d need for the stuffing, so Michael put some of it away (we made sausage rolls the next day). He added mushrooms, bread, and an egg to the seasoned sausage mixture, then spooned it into the birds’ cavity.

QUAIL

Quail need about 10 minutes of cooking.  After seasoning them with salt and pepper, Michael browned the birds breast side up in a little canola oil in a cast iron skillet. He spooned the pan fat and juices over the breasts, then put the pan of quail in a 450 oven for 5 minutes.  He removed the pan, put it over medium heat, added several cloves of garlic and a couple tablespoons of butter, until the garlic browned. He spooned the melted garlic-infused butter over the quails’ breasts for a minute or two, then put it back in oven 450 for 5 minutes.  He basted the quail, and broiled them for two minutes to brown the skin.

He removed the quail  from the pan to let them rest, added minced shallot, sautéed it till translucent, then deglazed the pan  with a half cup of red wine. He reduced it until the juices were a thick glaze, added salt and pepper, and  two tablespoons of homemade wild-raspberry jelly.  When the jelly melted into the sauce, Michael took the pan off the heat and swirled in a tablespoon of cold butter.  Salty, sweet, earthy and rich, this sauce was delectable.

QUINOA

Meanwhile, I made quinoa.  To the warm, cooked quinoa, I added minced scallion, zested  lime, chopped parsley, and crumbled dried mint leaves (grown in our garden). I drizzled it with lime vinaigrette.

BEET SALAD

This was inspired by The Blood, my favorite juice at Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe, a new raw food restaurant and juice bar in downtown Fairfield.  If they can make juice out of raw beets and apple, why couldn’t I make a salad?

I grated a big red, sweet and juicy organic apple. Its name escapes me, but if you are buying your apple at a farmers’ market, ask for the juiciest and sweetest apple. I used the skin as well. Then I peeled and grated two organic beets.

I tossed the salad with Bragg’s organic apple cider vinegar, a little olive oil and salt, pepper.

CABBAGE

A quick sear elevates the humble cabbage.  First, I sautéed a smashed garlic clove in olive oil, then I added julienned  onion, and slowly caramelized it over low heat .  I removed the garlic clove, then turned the heat high, threw in julienned cabbage and cooked it until just wilted.

STOCK and COMPOST

As I cooked, I had two containers in front of me, one for usable scraps – stems of parsley, thyme and dried mushroom  - for the stock bag we keep in the freezer. The other bowl was for the compost pile – onion and garlic skins, beet peels.

SUSTAINABLE ROMANCE

A woman wants to eat Valentine’s Day dinner in a romantic atmosphere.  And romance and sustainability are eminently compatible. I set the table with inherited things I love. There was Nana’s (my father’s grandmother) Victorian water glasses, Auntie Rie’s (my mother’s aunt) white linen table cloth and napkins, her pearl-handled Henckle knives, and silver candles sticks my mother bought at Elephants Trunk flea market.  Those objects connected me to a chain of women, no longer with us, who loved beautiful things, and beautiful moments.

Michael  and I sat down, raised our glasses, and toasted our good fortune in having cooked together for 11 years. We ate.  It was delicious!

Where to get the quail:

John Ubaldo also raises organic and pasture-raised chickens, ducks and Berkshire pigs on his farm in Cambridge, NY.  He makes great bacon and smoked meats. He sells his products at his farmers’ market in Pound Ridge, 9 Pheasant Rd. Saturdays from 11-4 p.m., but he comes to New Canaan every Wednesday morning to deliver to his customers. To order, send an email to  johnboysmarket@aol.com And look for his products to be available at The Farmer’s Table, a café and take-out place that will open by the end of March on Forest Street in New Canaan.

About the author and the cooks:

Elizabeth Keyser’s food pieces are published in Connecticut Magazine and The Fairfield County Weekly.  She has also been published in GQ, The New York Times, The New York Post, Edible Nutmeg, Yankee Brew News, and newspapers in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Michael Mordecai is a bread baker at Fairfield Bread Company.  He developed The Flaxette, featuring organic flax, which  is sold at:

Adam’s Bakery – 525 Tunxis Hill Cut-Off, Fairfield, CT

The Pantry – 1580 Post Road in Downtown Fairfield

Spic & Span Market – 329 Pequot Ave., Southport Center – Southport, CT

Garelick & Herbs – 1799 Post Road, Westport, CT

Harborview Market  – 218 Harborview Ave., Black Rock, Bridgeport, CT