Markets in my near circle that I frequent regularly:

• Bethel Farmers Market
  Saturdays, 9 AM – 1 PM, July 10 – November
  67 Stony Hill Road, Bethel, CT
• Brewster Farmers Market
  Wednesdays & Saturdays, 9 AM–2 PM, June 16 – November
  208 East Main St, (junction Routes 22 & 6) Brewster, NY
• Monroe Farmers’ Market
  Fridays 3 PM – 6 PM, June 25 – October
  Monroe Town Green, Corner of Fan Hill Road & Rte. 111, Monroe, CT
• New Milford Farmers Market
  Saturdays 9 AM – 12 PM, May 8 – October 30
  Town Green, Main Street, New Milford, CT
• Sandy Hook Organic Farmers Market
  Tuesdays, 2 PM – 6 PM, June 22 – October 12
  Fairfield Hills Campus, Wasserman Way, Newtown, CT
• Woodbury Farmers Market
  Wednesdays, 3 PM – 6 PM, July 7 – September
  Hollow Park, 43 Hollow Road, Woodbury, CT

Markets in my far circle, compelling enough to make the trek periodically:

• Millbrook Farmers Market
  Saturdays, May 29 – October, 9 AM – 1 PM
  Front St. and Franklin Ave., Millbrook, NY
• Coventry Regional Farmers Market
  Sundays 11 AM – 2 PM, June 6 – October 24
  Nathan Hale Homestead, 2299 South Street, Coventry, CT
• Litchfield Hills Farm Fresh Market
  Saturdays,10 AM – 1 PM, June – October
  Center School, Litchfield, CT
• Gossett Nursery Farmers Market
  Saturdays, 9 AM – 1 PM, April 3 – November 15
  1202 Old Post Road (Route 35), South Salem, NY

Directories, maps, and listings for even more Farmers Markets:

• CT-NOFA
• CT DOAG by county
• Map at CT Grown
• CT Farm Fresh
• Hartford Courant
• NY Farmers Markets

Market Advice

Farmers markets are an excellent way to know your farmer and know your food. Realize that not every vendor selling food at the market is a farmer.

Sometimes farmers send friends and family members in their place, particularly when a small family farm has to cover several markets on a Saturday. Sometimes farmers partner with other farmers for the same reassons. Often, these proxies won’t be able to answer your questions (regarding varieties, how to cook something, how it was grown). Still, the products are local.

Other vendors are really only produce dealers, who buy wholesale and sell at the farmers markets for the better return. The food they sell may not be local to your region. It might not even be from your country! The produce dealers compete against the real local farmers for your dollars.

You may willing to purchase an item regardless of its origin or growing style. Even some local foodie purists are willing to make exceptions for some reason or another. Since you are paying a premium when you shop at a farmers market, the minimum you should be given for your premium is the truth so you can make your own informed decisions. Otherwise, there’s no difference between the farmers market and Stop & Shop. Ask the vendors to label their offerings.

How can you tell the difference between a produce dealer and a real farm? It’s not always easy.

• Ask specific questions about growing practices and varieties. It’s not a guaranteed method, because, as mentioned, the booth could be staffed by a farmer’s proxy. Still, a real farmer will be able to answer questions about farming practices in great detail. In fact, they will be enthusiastic! If the vendor rolls their eyeballs at your questions, move on!
• Consider their offerings. Are there items out-of-season for your region? Are they selling items that don’t even grow in your region? Are their items vastly different from most of the other vendors?
• Ask the market master. Some markets have rules for product origin.

If you are not satisfied with the interaction or are feeling uncomfortable about a particular vendor, move on. You are under no obligation to buy from anyone simply because they have a booth at the market. Much of the local food movement is built on trust and it makes no sense to reward those who don’t honor it.

Why can’t everyone be like John Holbrook? His farm stand offers a variety of products in addition to his own produce. Practically everything in his farm stand is labeled with information such as: conventionally grown, organic, the name of the farm, and whatever other information may be of value to a consumer. If you have a question and he doesn’t readily know the answer (rare, but it happens), he says he’ll look into it. And he does! Sure enough, next time you walk in, he has your answer. Often, he makes the phone call on the spot. Granted, Holbrook’s is not a Farmers Market. It is his farm stand, bearing his name.

• arugula
• spinach
• a lovely potted lavender plant

The new barn at Sport Hill is really coming along. It is beautiful. Sorry, no photo since this was an impromptu visit! Next time.

Cecelia is up for a weekend of wine trailing for the 2010 Passport contest, so we planned on an abbreviated Saturday forage.

Serendipitous score: at the Newtown Deli, there’s a (newish) fresh meat market called Butcher’s Best Market. Their lamb and pork are from local farms. I scored

• lamb chops from Sepe Farm, Sandy Hook, CT
• a container of lard, made from Rowland Farm hogs

At the New Milford Farmers Market (on the green, Saturdays from 9 AM to noon), I scored:

• patchouli soap from Goatboy Soap (for my eternal collection)
• cilantro and spring garlic from Riverbank Farm
• bacon from Grayledge Farm (thanks to Riverbank Farm)
• and had a couple of apple cider donuts from Averill Farm

Lots of folks at this market were selling seedling starts for the garden.

At the Hopkins Vineyard Barrel Tasting (more on that in another post), I scored

• Womanchego cheese from Cato Corner Farm and Asiago chese Cherry Grove Farm, Lawrenceville, NJ and goat milk Feta from Beltane Farm, all provided by Artisan Made, Northeast of Southbury.
• Raspberry Peach jam from Twin Pines Farm, Thomaston, CT

At Chapel Hill Farm in Sherman, I scored blueberry and peach jam.

At Bluestone Farm, I scored

• Cavolo Nero starts (Tuscan Kale)
• Maple syrup (2010)

And at New Morning Natural Foods, I scored:

• Stone Wall Dairy raw milk
• Deerfield Farm yogurt

And that was it!

Holbrook Farm, where I scored:

• spinach
• arugula
• mustard greens
• ramps
• cilantro
• greenhouse tomatoes from March Farm
• Kenyon’s Rhode Island sea salt (Yay! It’s back!)
• Holbrook’s own bread and butter pickles
• Beltane Farm Goat milk
• Womanchego cheese from Cato Corner Farm
• Roma tomato starts

Then on to Opening Day at the New Milford Farmers Market. I arrived at the new Milford green at 12:20 PM but the market runs from 9-12. I’ll say this, they sure clean up well after themselves because there wasn’t a trace when I got there! I’ll just need to get started earlier next week.

Then on to Maple Bank Farm, where I scored:

• something that looks like long radishes from Riverbank Farm
• bok choy from Riverbank Farm
• bacon from Greyledge Farm
• organic potting soil from McEnroe in Millerton, NY

And winding up at New Morning Natural Foods, where I picked up these local items:

• arugula from Riverbank Farm
• raw milk from Stone Wall Dairy
• yogurt from Deerfield Farm
• Woodbury Farm eggs
• San Marzano tomato starts from Fort Hill Farm

And then to Rich Farm for a treat!

In the Local Food category, this is the map for the Percent of Farms with Direct Sales (the darker colors represent a higher percentage).

The next map is the Number of Farmers Markets. Again the darker the colors represent more markets.

I find it interesting that there are fewer direct sales and fewer farmers markets in regions that I thought were more agricultural. Perhaps everyone there has their own farm?

Anyway, it’s a very neat tool and there are lots of other categories. It also lets you drill down to the state level. I would like to be able to overlay a few categories…

I scored:

• stew beef from New Boston Beef in N. Grosvenordale, CT
• cheeses from  Cato Corner Farm, Beltane Farm, and Ladies of Levita Road, Lebanon, CT
• celeriac, yellow and red onions, and bok choy from Wayne’s Organic Garden in Oneco, CT
• Can’t Beet It (a beet and horseradish condiment) that they assure me was made from local farmers market produce.
• Peregion and Jacob’s Cattle dried beans, butternut squash, and raspberry jam from Purity Farm in Moosup, CT
  
• cabbage from Highland Thistle Farm in Canturbury, CT
• arugula microgreens from Two Guys from Woodbridge

There were quite a few other vendors there and it was well worth the trip.

From New Morning Natural Foods, I scored these local items:

• beef short ribs from Laurel Ridge Farm
• spinach from Fort Hill Farm
• eggs from Greyledge Farm
• raw milk from both Foxfire and Stone Wall

Not a bad take for a low-market week!

It was great to be back at the Fairfield Winter Market, which is happily back indoors. (Although, truth be told, it was probably warmer outside than inside this week!) I scored:

• carrots, parsnips, and celeriac from Riverbank Farm
• veal shanks (for Osso Bucco) from Sankow’s Beaver Brook
• spinach from Starlight Farms
• Cortland and Macintosh apples provided by Daffodil Hill Growers (from a neighboring farm)
• ricotta salada cheese from Ladies of Levita Road, Lebanon, CT
• beets from Newgate Farms
• Bread from Wave Hill Breads

NOTE: No Fairfield Winter Market next week (1/30). The market will resume on Saturday, February 6, 2010.

Then on to New Morning Natural Foods where I scored these local items:

• raw milk from Stone Wall Dairy
• yogurt from Deerfield Farm

Good to be back in the groove.

There will be NO Winter Market in Fairfield this Saturday. The market will resume Saturday, January, 16, rain or shine because it will be INDOORS!!!! See you then!

NJ Slow Food

Hey Cecelia: On 1/16, An Eating Local Year Round event, sponsored the Northern New Jersey Chapter of Slow Food in partnership with the Morris County Park Commission, will be held at the Cultural Center, 300 Mendham Rd, Morris Township. Noon to 4 PM. This event will bring together many local farmers and food artisans for an afternoon of sampling and purchasing seasonal vegetables and fruits, grass-fed and finished beef and pork, poultry, eggs, cheeses, breads, teas, and prepared foods. For more information and list of participants visit www.slowfoodnnj.org. Snow date: January 23.

Cato Corner Cheese

A publication called The Day ran this piece about Cato Corner Farm (exceptional raw milk cheesemakers) today. I am a huge fan of their Womanchego. If you’ve ever seen The Life of Brian, you know the saying, “Blessed are the cheesemakers.” (Warning: explicit language.)

Have a great day!

Here’s what I could find from the Internet that’s open this time of the year:

1. For chickens (meat) and eggs, Abma’s Farm in Wyckoff: http://www.abmasfarm.com/ They are open year round and offer a number of products in their farm market.
2. The Paterson Farmers Market appears to run year-round. 449 East Railway Ave., Paterson, NJ 07503, Tel. (973) 742-1019.
3. Hawthorne Farm Market: http://www.localharvest.org/food-coops/M22173
4. Old Hook Farm in Emerson claims to have year-round produce; http://www.oldhookfarm.com/
5. DePiero’s Country Farm, 300 W. Grand Ave., Montvale, NJ. They have a deli, butcher, and fish market, but I can’t tell where the items come from.
   

Being sight unseen, can anyone tell me about these sources? Any others, perhaps unknown to the Nets?

Thanks!

• Holbrook Farm is closed until the day after Epiphany (1/7/2010).
• The Fairfield Winter Market is closed until 1/9/2010.
• The New Haven Wooster Street market is closed until 1/16/2010.
• Maple Bank Farm is closed for the season.
• Blue Jay Orchards is closed for the season.

Looks like I’ll be hitting up the freezer more than usual, visiting Stuarts Family Farm, and running to New Morning Natural Foods for their local fare.

I will miss my farmers. My Saturday forages are more than grocery shopping—they’re visits, educational opportunities, and often entertainment. This is not Stop and Shop!

Still, my farmers will be with me—I do think of them as I cook and eat my meals. It’s almost as if they’re there at the table. In a way, they are. I certainly don’t begrudge them this time off. They have more than earned it, especially this past year. I hope their break is restful and restorative and I look forward to seeing them when they return.

Happy Holidays to all of you!