farmer's markets, foraging

Saturday’s Forage, 12/12/2009

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This week’s forage brought me to a new farmers market, the South Salem Winter Market at Gossetts Farm Market. Hat tip to Kaela of Local Kitchen for turning me on to this market. (Y’know, I’m from NY’s Hudson Valley…)

I scored:

  • Sea scallops from Rob of Seatuck Fish
    seatuck
  • From Madura Farms, Goshen, NY (thank you Regan):
    • Shiitake, Baby Bella, and Portobella mushrooms
    • Cippolini onions
    • celeriac
    • popcorn on the cob (and a brown paper bag to pop it in the microwave)
      madura
  • Peach tart from Dutch Desserts (all fruits come from local farms)
  • Sweet Italian sausage from New England Farms, (Okay, it’s 134 mile from my home, but I really like how they farm.)
  • Prepared curried cauliflower soup from Go-Go Pops, (all vegetables from Madura’s)
  • Half-sour pickles from Picklelicious, (cucumbers come from local farmers, local in NJ, that is)
    picklelicious
  • Fresh (from this morning) mozzarella cheese and sesame seed cookies from The Farmer’s Daughter in Pine Island, NY. (OK, the cookies are not from local ingredients, but these are my favorite kind, so, I’m calling Marco Polo.)
  • Red wine (Couer De Lion and Private Reserve Red) from Cascade Mountain Winery & Restaurant, Amenia, NY.
  • Raspberry jam from Renee’s Homemade Jams and Jellies, Bedford Hills, NY

I really enjoyed this market and the diversity of foods.

Then on to Holbrook‘s in Bethel, CT where I scored:

  • a whole fresh chicken
  • raw milk from Stone Wall dairy
  • Mizuna greens
  • cheddar cheese from a Cabot exile now going through a Canadian company. I have decided to add cheddar cheese to my Marco Polo list along with Parmigiano Reggiano until I can find a local maker.
  • Macoun apples from Blue Hill in Wallingford (so excited to be still getting Macouns!)

Holbrook’s continues to be much more than a farm market; they’re a community gathering place and a learning center.

And serendipitously, Ferris Acres Creamery happened to be open, fulfilling holiday orders. (You had to pre-order. They were supposed to be closed to the general public for the season.) It turned out that they were selling the last of the unsold stock. I lucked out and got a quart of Cookies and Cream, Dark Chocolate Espresso, and Pistachio! (Sadly, there wasn’t any vanilla…)

Finally, I got my local Christmas tree at Maple Row Tree Farm, a Fraser Fir. It is currently in the stand and watered and relaxing. Christmas trees need to relax when they come inside from the cold.

I’m going to go relax myself.

3 thoughts on “Saturday’s Forage, 12/12/2009”

  1. You had a busy day! I missed my South Salem market yesterday, as we were up & out early to get our Christmas tree at Jones Family Farm in Shelton. The 12-foot monster is currently taking up much of the available space in our cottage and filling the air with its piney goodness.

    I did stop by Holbrook’s on my way home, looking for more of the Kenyon’s sea salt. Sadly, they were out, but that didn’t stop me from scoring raw milk, cajun sausage, smoked mozz and chipotle bacon. Mmmmmm, bacon.

  2. Kaela: this is funny–I went to your neck of the woods and you went to mine (Shelton is near me) and we both went to the middle ground (Holbrook’s)! Did you have a chance to check out any of Jones’ wines? The Cab Franc is not bad at all.

  3. I know – we probably passed on 84!

    Yes, I’ve had most of the Jone’s wines at one time or another. I usually get there for strawberries and/or blueberries over the summer as well. We picked up some Woodlands White, Ripton Red, one of the Strawberry sparklers that I love for the holidays, and the Harvest (apple & pear); Tai wanted to try it.

    I’ve had the Ripton before, and been underwhelmed, but it seemed better this year at the tasting – a little more depth. We’ll see what I think when I open our bottle – if it is still as good, I’ll be tempted to sock away a case!

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