If the Thanksgiving holiday had a Black Friday, it would be this Saturday, this being the last weekend of farmers markets before the big feast. Except farmers and farmers market shoppers aren’t quite like mall shoppers. Thank goodness for small favors.
I began the day with the Wooster Square market in New Haven. It’s a small hike (about an hour), but it’s the closest open market at this time of the year for me.
My take of the day:
Trinity Dairy in Ensfield
I was very happy to see them. Due to a serious farm accident, they had to leave the Fairfield winter market last year and I’ve been missing them in a bad way.
- butter
- heavy cream
- egg nog
- yogurt
- baby fennel bulbs
- a bunch of sage
- beets
Barberry Hill Farm, Madison, CT
- tomatoes
- celery
Sankow’s Beaver Brook, Lyme, CT
- Pleasant Valley (sheep) cheese
- Pleasant Son (cow) cheese
- Fresh Cheese
- raw milk
George Hall Farm, Simsbury, CT
I was delighted to finally “meet” this farm, having heard such wonderful things from one of their CSA members (and a fellow CT local food blogger).
- carrots
- sweet potatoes
- white sweet potatoes
Rose’s Berry Farm, South Glastonberry, CT
- pears
Waldingfield Farm, Washington, CT
I was very happy to see Patrick as well and that he weathered the year that was, as he says, “a few frogs short of a Bible story.”
- brocolli
- parsnips
- their own awesome tomato chutney
Northfordy Farm, Northford, CT
- red and yellow lantern peppers (very hot)
- bunch of flat-leaf parsley
And thank you for making it safe to cross!
Making my way back north and west…
Rich Farm, Oxford, CT
- vanilla and black raspberry Ice cream
New Morning Natural Foods, Woodbury, CT
- Foxfire raw milk
- arugula from Fort Hill Farm, New Milford, CT
- Tumbleweed cheese from 5 Spoke Creamery, Westchester, NY
- fresh eggs from Soffer Farms, Branford, CT
- chestnuts from Woodbury, CT (a local resident, not a farmer, with chestnut trees on his property brings his bounty to New Morning each year!) How cool is that?
- Butternut, Acorn and Delicata squash from Riverbank Farm, Roxbury, CT
Cherry Grove Farm, Newtown, CT
- pumpkins
- fresh eggs
Holbrook Farm, Bethel, CT
- scallions
- blue potatoes
- apple cider from Blue Hills Orchard, Wallingford, CT
- macoun apples from Wallingford, CT
Redding Roasters Coffee Company, Bethel, CT
Okay, so coffee doesn’t grow in Connecticut, but this fair trade coffee is locally roasted right here in Bethel and Bill is the best coffee roaster in Connecticut. If you’ve had the espresso at Molten Java, you’ve tasted his handiwork.
- Java Estate
- Guatemala Antigua
Nutmeg Wine and Liquor, Woodbury, CT
- Walker Road Red Table Wine (also of Woodbury, CT)
Carminuccio’s Pizzeria in Newtown, CT
- Foxon Park soda
Whew! Now to cook it all!
on Nov 22nd, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Wow, that’s a huge forage! And you covered so many farms too, what a great variety and tribute to have on your table. What are you planning to cook this year?
on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Mangochild: I did cover a lot of ground, but many of those farms were right there at the Wooster Market! Since Thanksgiving is a traditional tradition, I will likely cook pretty much what I cooked last year.
on Nov 24th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Wow! I haven’t been to the Wooster Street market, but that’s the one that is open all winter, right? Patrick mentioned it to me this summer. And another farmer also suggested the one in Westport on Saturdays … do you have a preference?
Right now, we are still hitting Stuart Farm in Bridgewater for beef and occasionally Holbrook for other stuff. Veggies have been frozen/canned ones that I put up or frozen from Trader Joe’s.
on Nov 29th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Sophie,
If you are near Danbury, then the South Salem farmer’s market may not be very far from you. They hold it at Gossett Brother’s Nursery (on Rte 35, near the fire station) every Saturday from 9am-1pm and it goes all through the year.
http://www.gossettnursery.com/
It’s a tiny market through the long winter months, but such a great resource. Vegetables and mushrooms from Madura Farms (Goshen, NY), beef, pork, chicken, goat, lamb, eggs, milk, honey and maple syrup from New England Farms (Granville, NY), are the staple vendors. Right now we have breads from Wave Hill, baked goods and pies, jams and preserves, seafood, cheeses, pickles, condiments… lots. This will be the 2nd winter of the market, and it has only grown in popularity over the summer, so I’ll be interested to see who stays around.