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Post New Year’s Culinary Stew

A stew of food notes is what we’re talking about here.

Wooster Square Market Jan. 16, 2010

The Diehards and Newcomers

CitySeed’s first New Haven market of the winter season (oh thank you for those 45-plus-degrees!) had a hefty showing of the stalwarts on Saturday: Stone Gardens still with Brussels sprouts and some pristine garlic; greens from Starlight and 2 Guys from Woodbridge; Waldingfield Farm had some lovely potatoes.

And of course there were the – essentially — non-seasonal guys: Trinity Farm with the full compliment of milk products and butter! They don’t always have that. Four-Mile-River was happily long on eggs and the various cheese guys had plenty.

And there were some welcome newcomers: Riverbank Farm from Roxbury, an organic grower with a commercial kitchen. So aside from loads of lovely looking carrots and parsnips, they had a large selection of prepared products. Riverbank is no stranger to Westport and Fairfield and a bunch of other markets, but they’re new to Wooster Square.

And an interesting surprise – Skappo restaurant in New Haven, known for Umbrian home-style specialties, also came loaded with soups and such. It’s all going make venturing out on those cold future Saturdays a lot more worth it. Market runs first and third Saturdays of the month at Wooster Square, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Warming up in Fairfield

For all the thin-blooded types who have been griping (and believe, me, I’ve heard you) about the winter Fairfield market being outdoors – good news, it’s back indoors. The market is in the Warehouse at the Fairfield Theatre Company, 71 Sanford Street, but had been relegated to the parking lot these last really, really, really cold weeks while repairs were being finished. They’re finished. Market is Saturdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

And speaking of FTC – Play with Your Food is back for another season at FTC, as well as in Greenwich and Westport (where it began in 2003). $42 will buy you a catered lunch and readings of one-act plays plus discussion.

Changing Hands

We reported several weeks ago that Arturo Franco-Camacho of Bespoke/Sabor and formerly Roomba in New Haven had two new enterprises planned for Branford. A deal to sell Bespoke/Sabor was underway at the time and was completed as of the end of the year. Bespoke and Sabor have new owners, new chef – all with histories in the Max Group (and elsewhere). Check out the website for the particulars. End of an era for New Haven, but as we reported – the three food carts ain’t going anywhere.

November Raspberries and Other Stray Thoughts after an Unexpected Month AWOL

November 2, 2009. Really!!

November 2, 2009. Really!!

Sometimes even life intrudes on blogging — and the regular public dissemination of thought processes just has to be set aside. Which doesn’t mean the thought processes go away – just their dissemination.

So with leaves just about down, chilly mornings de rigueur, and the clock pushed back to where it belongs I am inclined to observe … the end of summer, but not quite. You see raspberries are still growing in my backyard and in need of picking every day or so in a large – yes large — container. My freezer is packed with bags of them for use all winter (along with local peaches, blueberries and strawberries), but in the meantime I am enjoying the last fresh ones. Or at least I keep thinking they will be the last. After a summer of rain, cold and other nasty stuff, the raspberry deluge is unexpected and delightful, if full of false hope.

Around me the rest of summer’s fresh food has all but disappeared. The peppers are dwindling at the market. Lettuces and greens are shrinking. Winter squashes, turnips, carrots and potatoes are taking over. “Order your Thanksgiving turkey” – the signs say. My dairy vendor began sell eggnog two weeks ago. I am at once dismayed – but enjoying it immensely.

But all is not lost on the fresh front, as this winter will boast an ever-lengthening list of farmers’ markets. True, they’re always a little produce-starved, but better than nothing. You can check out an incomplete list here on the Connecticut Department of Agriculture website. BUT be sure to add these omissions:

New Haven: CitySeed’s Wooster Square Market runs weekly on Saturdays 9 a.m.-1 p.m. through Dec. 19. Then beginning on Jan. 16, it runs the first and third Saturday of the month 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Yes fans – twice a month this year instead of only once.

Fairfield: Saturdays, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. weekly through May 16. Indoors at the Fairfield Theatre Company, 70 Sanford Street
(across from the 
train station). This market is now in it’s third year with many of the premium suppliers from the Westport summer market.

And in the world of fresh local produce, for those of you who are closer to New York State than most of Connecticut – click here to learn about New York State potatoes developed by Cornell. You may like Yukon Golds, but Cornell potatoes are designed specifically to grow in these environs.

And ask your growers – many Connecticut farmers are planting Adirondack Reds and Blues.