Applesauce

I know I said I wasn’t going to be “puttting by” foods; that I wanted to get my foods already prepared, just local, sustainable, and as organic as possible. So much for what I said.

I live in Connecticut and I come from New York. We make the best apples in the world in this region. I can’t rationalize getting apples from New Zealand. Furthermore, Macouns (my favorite apples) have an incredibly short run. So what’s a Locavore to do?

I gave in and got an OXO Good Grips Food Mill and set about making applesauce.

It turned out to be simpler than I expected. I cut a bag of the apples into sections and put them in a pot, skins, cores and all. I poured in about an inch of cider. I turned up the heat and covered the pot. When the apples were soft all the way through, I cranked them through the food mill using the medium grinding disc.

The applesauce really worked out! It was a lovely light pinkish color and tasted delicious. I did not add any sugar or spices. Just apples (and some cider).

Next step, buy enough apples to make enough applesauce for the equivalent of an apple a day until this time next year. Maybe I need a bigger freezer.

Nutmeg State. NOT!

Connecticut is known as the nutmeg state, but don’t waste your time trying to find locally-grown nutmeg.

According to Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, from the Know Your Ingredient section of his Web site:

The nutmeg tree requires a hot, moist climate and well-drained soil with partial shade. With a history rooted deep into the distant past, Nutmeg had its origin in the Moluccas [Spice Islands].

The British introduced this spice to India at end of the 19th century.

Nutmeg was heavily used in foods in the U. S. Colonial period. Early recipes for such diverse foods as lobster, mussels, chicken, puddings and many desserts included nutmeg as a flavoring. It was so highly prized that it was common for unscrupulous Yankee peddlers (mostly from Connecticut) to carve nutmeg look-alikes, store them with real nutmegs to absorb the scent and then sell them to gullible housewives. This is how Connecticut came to be called the Nutmeg State.


So, the bottom line is that you cannot get Connecticut-grown nutmegs!

Saturday’s Forage

We hit the road again this Saturday, concentrating on the Bethel area. I must admit, hunting for and gathering our weekly food in this manner beats the heck out of grocery shopping in the supermarket.

Our first stop was Bethel Farmer’s market. The farmers are thinning out, but Don Taylor is still there and so are my favorite apples from Apple Ridge Farm. I couldn’t resist getting another bucket of Macouns. I can’t find a Web site for them, but the here’s the Google Map link. I can’t find a Web site for Don Taylor either, but did find an interesting article. The Bethel Farmer’s Market’s last day is Saturday, October 27.

Then it was off to find Holbrook Farm. We did find it, pretty much exactly where their directions said it would be. The place is surreal–barely noticable from the road, but chock full of the good stuff we’re looking for.
In particular:
Holbrook’s own fresh eggs: we are now addicted to fresh eggs and would not go back to the bleached variety. These were just being washed and set out as we walked in!
Vegetables galore. Carol (I think that was her name) was particularly helpful, letting us know how we could prepare some of the more exotic vegetables. John completely surprised me when he offered me some raw corn (on the cob) to taste. I have never eaten raw corn in my life, nor have I heard of anyone else doing so. John says if the corn isn’t good raw, it’s not going to be good cooked. He cautions us not to buy corn from a farm that won’t let us taste it raw. Let me tell you, this corn was divine. It was quite possibly the best corn I’ve ever eaten. Of course we got some for home. Did I mention that it was raw? (I still haven’t gotten over that!)

Holbrooks carries dairy products from New Pond Farm. We picked up some milk, yogurt, and fresh mozzarella.

And then there were the baked goods; pies, delectabilities (like the raspberry chocolate whatever it was called that I broke my diet for), and breads, including a three-grain French Country bread from Wave Hill Breads–the best “Italian” bread I’ve had in Connecticut. I can’t find a Web site for them, but here’s the Google Map link and a review from roadfood.com.

We dipped that country bread in some Olive Oil from the Olive Oil Factory in Watertown, CT (also available at Holbrook’s).

Whew! There’s lots more there and I can’t wait to go back–between the atmosphere, the education, and the exceptional inventory, this is THE place.

Here’s a picture of John, Carol, and Lynn (John’s wife)

Since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped in at Redding Coffee Roasters where Bill O’Keefe gave us a free cup of coffee (Nicaraguan) and a tour of his coffee roaster. In case you didn’t know, coffee is a passion of mine. (Marco Polo!)

Bill O’Keefe

Next stop was Chamomile in Bethel to fill in the the rest of our weekly grocery needs.

We looked for On the Rocks Farm in Newtown, traveled some undeveloped back roads, found the address, but it no longer seems to be a working farm.

My 100 Miles

According to the 100 Mile Diet Web site, “a typical ingredient in a modern meal has traveled 1500 miles or more from farm to plate.”

The popular standard for local eating is anything from within a 100-mile radius.

The 100 Mile Diet site includes a widget where you can enter your zip code to display a map with a nice big red circle defining your 100 miles.

My 100 miles go as far east as Providence, RI, as far north as just over the MA/VT border, as far west as the west edge of the Catskill State Park in NY, and a bit farther south than Point Pleasant, NJ. (Looks like I get Jersey peaches after all!)

Planting, harvesting, and sharing information about local food