Today was opening day for the Fairfield Winter Market season. Ordinarily this is an indoor market, but the theater is having roof work done, so it’s going to be outdoors in the meanwhile. Temperatures have been unseasonably mild in this region, but of course today the season decided to be seasonable. It was cloudy, rainy, 38°, and waiting to snow.  Troupers that they are, these farmers delivered the goods. The eaters who didn’t brave the elements really missed out.

Parking lot ducks courtesy of Moorefield Herb Farm in Trumbull, CT:

I scored:

• laundry soap (in beta) from Goatboy Soap
• carrots, mustard greens, arugula, kale, cabbage, and canned applesauce from Riverbank Farm
• blood red carrots and spinach from Starlight Farms
  
• Oyster mushroom from Sankow’s Beaver Brook
  
• Bread from Wave Hill Breads
• Chevre from Beltane Farm
• Yogurt and Queso Fresco with jalapeno from Ladies of Levita Road, Lebanon, CT. They’re new to the market this year. Welcome!

Then it was on to Maple Bank Farm, Roxbury, CT where I scored broccoli, several bunches of popcorn (still on the cob), and a bag of Cortland apples. I also played with their cool gizmo that gets the kernels off the cob.

Then on to New Morning Natural Foods, Woodbury, CT for more Woodbury chestnuts, raw milk (Deerfield and Stone Wall), eggs from The Farm/Woodbury Sugar Shed, and Hudson Red Cheese from Twin Maple Farms in Ghent, NY.

Lastly, I stopped in at Nutmeg Wine and Liquor in Woodbury to get some Sharpe Hill Cabernet Franc. I “discovered” this wine here. Since Sharpe Hill is all the way up in the quiet corner of CT, I didn’t make it there on the Wine Trail tour. Their Cab Franc would have made it worth the drive!

Anyway, I walked in to find Tom of the Artisan Food Store in Southbury hosting a tasting of local wines and cheeses. I tasted the Walker Road wine and  Cato Corner Bloomsday. The taste pairings were a sample of some of the special gift baskets the Artisan Food Store is offering this year. These baskets are featuring wines from Hopkins, Jones, Walker Road, and Digrazia and cheese from Cato Corner and Beltane.

I really love it when businesses team up to offer local products to the community. Artisan Food also hosted An Evening with Cato Corner Farm. Check their Web site for similar programs in the future.