The Darien Farmers' Market opens in May and runs into November, offering a wide variety of seasonal edibles. The market appears Wednesdays on Mechanic St., tucked between the Darien firehouse on the Post Rd. and the Goodwives shopping center. Berries and seedlings start off the year when a trip to the market requires outerwear, and week by week, the cornucopia fills to overflowing with tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, celeriac, kohlrabi, meats, cheeses, baked goods and brussels sprouts - still on the stalk and looking like some type of Aztec war club - by the time jackets are again required pre-dining wear.
The past few years have seen a spike in the amount and popularity of Farmers’ Markets, and the New Canaan Farmers' Market is no exception. Every Saturday morning from May through November vendors and townspeople crowd into (and around) the Municipal Parking Lot across from the town library. They come here to shop for local produce, pick up breakfast or lunch, and mingle with family, friends, acquaintances and strangers. The market is still small compared to others in the area, but the number of vendors and buzz around it is on the rise as more and more people seek quality, fresh food and want to know where it comes from.
Artisan, a "farm to table New England-inspired" restaurant opens tonight, July 13, 2011 at the Delamar Hotel in Southport, CT.
“We wanted Artisan to feel comfortable, as if you have been invited to enjoy a weekend in the country,” says Chef Kieffer, a native of Paris and resident of Fairfield County. “And we want the food to match the feel of the restaurant; a place that is casual and very comfortable yet that also reflects quality and excellence.”
Previewing the space during an opening party is a biased occasion, admittedly, but it’s also one of the best ways to understand intentions as well as gauge reactions. Dining experience non-withstanding, mission accomplished Artisan.
Bishops Orchards is 30 spaces away from hitting their maximum number of CSA sharholders this year. If you have been contemplating being a part of the Bishop's Orchards CSA this year, don't miss your opportunity. They will be taking registrations online through this Sunday, March 27. There are 3 CSA options for you to choose; a Full Share, a Half Share and a Flower Share. The flower share is one you can either add onto a Full or Half Share, or participate buy into alone. Click here for more information.
What is a CSA? CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture" and refers to a program where yourlocal farmer (Bishop's Orchards) offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Each share entitles members to a weekly box of fresh-picked produce, discounts & specials
The sounds of the Farmer’s Market change with the seasons. The “mmm’s” in June when the strawberries arrive; the “ooh’s and ahh’s” in July when the tomatoes make their entrance; finally, the sad, sighing “uh’s” in the fall as the weather chills and the markets draw to a close.
This year, thanks to the unabated demand for local produce and the persistence of some devoted market managers, we can enjoy a new season of sounds at our local Farmer's Markets.
Sustainable, seasonal, local, organic, and green might be popular phrases these days among the media and the masses, but to those who truly care about where their food comes from, whether they contain pesticides and want to support their communities, these are very powerful words indeed. By buying locally, seasonally and organically, the consumer never has to worry about food recalls. More importantly, the consumers know not only where their food comes from, but get to know their farmers by name. These are the people who also truly care about the future of their children and of children for generations to come… These are the people who truly care about preserving the world around them.
Patti Popp of Sport Hill Farm is just this type of person.
Reheated is a twice-weekly round-up of bite-sized food news in Connecticut and beyond.
In Connecticut...
It's National Pizza Month. If you're in Fairfield County, check-out this post for the best pies around your neighborhood.
The 5th Annual Harvest Tasting Fundraiser held at Equinox Club in Darien on Oct. 9 features over 60 wines. Info NicholasRobertsLtd.com.
The Pinkberry Grand Opening Party in Fairfield is just days away on Oct. 14 from 6 to 9 pm. Info CTbites.com.
Plan ahead for the Tokeneke Pumpkin Carnival is Oct 16 in Darien featuring Burger, Shakes and Fries, Heights Pizza and Upper Crust Bagels. Info Patch.com.
A few days remain to take advantage of CT Restaurant Week, a few places in Fairfield County and many more options towards New Haven & Hartford. Participating restaurants at CTRestaurant.org.
The lines between farm stand and restaurant are growing ever more blurry with the recent opening of Farmers Table on Forest Street in New Canaan, a hybrid farmers market, bakery and the latest restaurant to embrace the farm-to-table dining trend. Intimate in both name and practice, the tiny 6 top restaurant delivers farm fresh hospitality with a farm stand persona.
Eating at Farmers Table is like inviting yourself to dinner at a friend’s house
Last Sunday harkened the beginning of a fresh new culinary offering in Fairfield County…a dining experience without walls and without rules. It represents the next generation of the "family" table, bringing people together with just their love of food as the communal bond. Is your interest piqued? It should be. When you make THIS reservation, you won't have an address. You definitely won't know what's on the menu. But you will know one thing for sure…this surprise dinner party is going to be extraordinary because Bill Taibe of LeFarm gastronomic fame is the man behind "Souterrain." For those of you who need brushing up on your High School French, underground dining has finally made its way out of the urban centers and into Fairfield County.
Don't miss the second annual Easton Farm Tour. This celebration of Easton's local and sustainable farming community is a self-guided tour taking place on August 14 from 10am to 2pm.
This free event begins at the Easton Firehouse Green on Sport Hill Road (Route 59) where visitors will sign in and receive a copy of the beautiful Easton Farm Map – “Easton is a Farmers’ Market.” This great guide will serve as your road map and pass to enjoy the many farming delights that Easton has to offer. Gilbertie’s, Sport Hilland Sherwood Farms are a few of the highlighted destinations.
Skinny Pines – the Easton-based wood-fired pizza truck - will be on site with their mobile wood-fired oven, using locally sourced Easton produce. Who doesn't love that?
Come have lunch, listen to music and learn where your food comes from.
Tis the season for farm-to-table dining as the CT farms are reaching peak harvesting. We've promised to keep you in the loop on these exciting events, so here is one dinner you might want to check out.
On Sunday, August 8. starting @ 3:00PM, The Litchfield Saltwater Grille’s Farm to Table Inspired Wine Dinner Series will host “A Neighborhood Affair” at March Farms in Bethlehem Featuring Certified Biodynamic Benziger Wines.
This dinner will feature local produce from March Farms, Windswept Farm, Beltane Farm Artisan Cheese, Urban Oaks, Gazy Brothers Farm, Mountaintop Mushrooms, Bantam Bread, local grass fed beef and more.
It's a few hours before your guests arrive for that big family BBQ. You're scrambling to get the prep done before the doorbell rings….and oh no…you realize you forgot the dessert!! Fear not my brave Fairfield County residents. Stew Leonard's has the perfect solution for you…and you'd never guess it wasn't homemade.
Named "best pie in America" by Gourmet Magazine as well as the Wall Street Journal (a dubious food critic, but we'll go with it), Stew's is now carrying The Elegant Farmer's "Apple Pie Baked In A Paper Bag." I know what you're thinking. 1. Stew's? Really? and 2. Doesn't the bag go up in flames? Yes and no.
We were introduced to this gem by a CTbites reader, and had to check it out for ourselves. This Wisconsin based pie shop uses apples fresh from their farm, and they make their pies just how I like them.
Photo: Michelle Parr PaulsonEven if you don't make it to Dinners At The Farm this season, you can still capture some of the culinary magic that Chef Jonathan Rapp brings to each and every meal. Jonathan is the chef and owner of River Tavern in Chester, CT and the creator of Dinners at the Farm. This recipe for Seared Stonington Scallops with Fresh Corn "Risotto" is a dish you may find on the menu at one of his unique local dinners.
Sure, you may not have the candlelit white tent glowing brilliantly against the farm backdrop, or the truck outfitted with a kitchen in which to cook your dinner, but set up a communal table and enjoy this delicious seasonal dish.
Seared Stonington Scallops with Fresh Corn "Risotto"
My friend Lloyd Allen is crazy. At least that’s what people said years ago when he decided to go into the fashion business (yet wound up igniting a rage for trendy rain ponchos), publish a book about former neighbor Martha Stewart (despite the fact that she had just been indicted) and, two years ago, re-open his 1980s farm stand, the Double L (in a ramshackle red-barn structure in Southport).
Still, when Lloyd gets an idea into his head, there’s no stopping him. Perhaps it’s his “just do it” quality that makes people root for him against all odds.
So when the rickety red building that housed the Double L was finally too dilapidated to be useful, Lloyd teamed up with Michael Van Haaften and set out in search of a site where they could create a year-round indoor farm stand
