One of the easiest ways to make Earth Day every day is to green your kitchen. Here are some delicious and fun ways to reduce your family's "foodprint" while eating well. You can also view some of Analiese's tips on this Channel 8 news segment.
1. Buy locally grown food from a farmers' market and learn to cook with the seasons.
Michel Nischan's (of The Dressing Room) latest cookbook is perfect for anyone looking for inspirational ways to cook with the seasons
If you discover sweet potatoes and spinach in your fudge brownies at Green Gourmet to Go don't be surprised. OK, you can keep that a secret from your kids because the veggies are not detectable in these moist, chocolatey bites or in the Blondies with a sweet potato base. The chocolate (anti oxidants a plenty!) masks the veggies and you will be better off for having added a few more to your daily intake. My fave desserts were the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and the almond oaties. They tasted most like what I would expect (read: crave) from a cookie. Imagine eating your veggies in your dessert! I didn't mean to jump to the end first but I was so enthralled by the ingredients list that I did exactly that!
Linda Soper-Kolton has been open in Black Rock for only 5 weeks but she is well on her way to establishing herself as a resource for healthy meals and nutrient dense foods.
Walking up to The newFilling Station Co. in New Canaan last weekend, you would have thought they were giving away free food. Lines of families snaked through the tight burger joint, all eager to sample the long awaited kid and price-friendly fare. But the huddled masses were not just here for a bargain priced burger. The Filling Station, with it's retro-modern street appeal, has a value proposition that is hard to beat for consumers who care about the food they eat. Everything served at The Filling Station is organic, grass-fed, antibiotic and hormone free. Let me tell you, devouring hamburgers, dogs, and shakes has never felt so right. For some parents (myself included), this is the holy-grail and reason enough to travel for a fun for the whole family meal, but I needed to sample the goods before I was sold. With the prospect of comparing these grass-fed burgers to those of the competition, we entered en masse with a party of 6.
It’s way too soon to change the name to Green Rock, but Black Rock is getting greener. Green Gourmet To Go, offering local, organic vegetarian and vegan meals, will open on Fairfield Avenue in April (yes I know the photo says March, but dates slip). The attractive little storefront, with its soothing celedon walls and coppery silk curtains will offer healthy and environmentally conscious hot and cold lunches and dinners.
Chef-Owner Linda Soper-Kolton was a lifelong food lover and dedicated home cook before she decided to attend the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City. The recent NGI graduate is inspired. She wants makes to make eating healthy meals easy and approachable.
“I’ll serve burritos, but healthy burritos,” she said in a recent interview. Think burritos filled with sweet potatoes, kale, black beans and grains. Her Dixie burger is made from black-eyed peas and sweet potatoes and served with chipotle sauce. Her hummus and avocado wrap gets punch and crunch from shiitake “bacon” crisps.
Sarah Galluzzo waits with great anticipation for the ground to thaw and the spring to arrive in CT. OK, we are all yearning for spring.... but her product depends on it! GourMom's USDA certified organic salsa and simmer sauce is her scrumptious creation. She is committed to using LOCAL and CERTIFIED ORGANIC ingredients for this chunky, choc full o'flavor salsa. As a salsa enthusiast, I was enthralled by her story and her product. We chatted at the Pantry in Fairfield, one of her retail outlets, and she explained about the launching of this super local, super delicious product. Her excitement was contagious as she shared her story.
In 2008 Galuzzo decided to get serious about selling her salsa and test the market. She had been dubbed "GourMom" by friends and family
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a means for consumers to buy a share in a farm's seasonal production directly from the farmer. Consumers benefit from buying local, farm fresh, high quality produce at an attractive price and farmers benefit from pre-selling the harvest. It’s a clear win-win. CSA members typically pick up their weekly shares at the farm or a location in their community, but a new CSA option is delivered to your door! Community pick up locations generally involve a small volunteer commitment, perhaps two hours per season, during which the site is readied and broken down for weekly share distribution. CSA membership is not for everyone because in such a partnership arrangement, the consumer shares both the bounty of the farm's harvest and some of the risks inherent in farming.
We have lost so much farmland in Connecticut that less than one percent of our residents earn a living by farming. Eat well, support your local farmer and do your bit to preserve farmland by buying a CSA share in one of our precious organic or IPM (Integrated Pest Management)farms.
Back in January I announced that it was CSA registration month and shared that two organic farms were expanding and had opened their lists to new CSA families: Sport Hill Farm in Easton and The Hickories in Ridgefield. The CSAs from these two farms quickly sold out. The good news is that there are still a few CSAs open for new subscribers, but you should act quickly if you want to secure a share.
Last week, Analiese Paik, Editor of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, walked the CTbites staff through a sustainable dark chocolate tasting. We managed to consume (in very small pieces) 21 different varieties of chocolate...it was a very productive morning. Here's what you should buy for your loved one...
If someone had told me there were more than 20 different companies that made premium, organic and fair trade chocolate bars, I might have doubted the veracity of that statement. But there I was in Whole Foods Market in Westport, in chocolate heaven, scrutinizing the sustainable labeling on beautifully wrapped bars of Dagoba, Equal Exchange, Newman's Own Organic, Kallari, Divine and 15 more chocolate companies, each just begging to be chosen for the sustainable chocolate tasting I was holding with the help of CT Bites. I couldn't choose; they all had to come home. It was only fair.
We found this little info morsel over at The Fairfield Green Food Guide. All of you aspiring branding gurus, young and old...get to work.
The Farmer’s Cow is holding an Ice Cream Naming Contest for their 10 new flavors starting February 1 so start thinking of names! For those unfamiliar with this local brand, The Farmer’s Cow is a cooperative of six family-owned CT farms that supplies milk to retailers throughout Connecticut and parts of New York and Massachusetts.
Contest Rules:
You may enter up to 10 names, one per flavor, making sure that the names reflect something about farming and the benefits of local agriculture. Entries will be accepted online from 12:01 a.m. February 1, 2010. through midnight on February 14, 2010.
Ice cream flavors are: Vanilla, Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip, Strawberry. Cookies & Cream, Black Rasberry, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Cup, Cherry Vanilla, and Coffee.
One lucky entrant will receive a summer’s supply of ice cream from Memorial Day 2010 until Labor Day 2010.
Entering Health in Hurry in Fairfield is like entering a close friend's kitchen after she has prepared fragrant dishes for you all day. Owner, Sue Cadwell, greets customers while literally standing in the kitchen of her 275 Sq. foot storefront tucked away off the Post Road. There is nothing but a short counter to separate you from the simmering pots and a couple of dedicated cooks chopping and packing healthful, mightily flavored dishes to go. Sue's philosophy is simple. She provides a welcome alternative to fast-food for busy people using organic, whole foods, seasonal produce and ethnic flavors from around the world.
What she does in this tiny kitchen is remarkable, and even while working she is always ready to pause and greet her customers with a welcoming smile and a hug. She will ask if it is your first time there and gladly explain as much or as little as you would like to hear about each dish and its ingredients. Food allergies? Food sensitivities? No problem. Sue caters to all dietary needs and to her loyal following. This may be a small, intimate operation, but Heath in a Hurry has a big heart and big intentions.
Photos c/o Ekonk Hill Turkey FarmAnaliese Paik, Founder of theFairfield Green Food Guidehas compiled this exhaustive shopping guide to purchasing your free-range, organic, all natural Thanksgiving turkey. Everything you need to know about where to find the centerpiece of your holiday is here.
There is no better time to aim high for superior freshness and quality in our food than when we’re playing hostess to friends and family at Thanksgiving. All eyes are sure to be on the turkey so now is the perfect time to check that most important food purchase off our to do list. If you’re like me, you are also thinking about where and how the turkey was raised and what it was fed. Well, you are in luck because there are many excellent choices of all natural, free-range, organic, and kosher turkeys available in local stores. If you are looking for extremely rare locally-grown organic Heritage Turkeys, they are available for home delivery. Choosing Heritage Breeds, which have been passed down from generation to generation because they taste good, helps preserve genetic diversity as well as American culinary traditions. Please note that the most coveted birds sell out fast.
Here is a complete guide to buying your Thanksgiving turkey with brands from your local Fairfield County markets.
I know what you’re thinking...why is CTBites reviewing The Dressing Room? Isn't it the most reviewed restaurant in Fairfield County? Haven't we heard it all before? Think again. The Dressing Room has long been the go-to spot for a glass of wine or pre-theater meal, but it seems that Chef/Owner Michel Nischan and Executive Chef John Holzwarth have recently made some changes to their "Homegrown" repertoire.
I re-visited The Dressing Room recently at a friend's suggestion to try their new “American Tapas” menu. Just back from vacation on Cape Cod, and feeling the after-effects of the every day, all-fried seafood diet (ok, fine... there was the daily ice cream cone too), I was in dire need of a healthy veggie fix. My friend assured me that with the newly invigorated menu, I would not be disappointed... and I was not. In fact, I was blown away.
What would you say if you could support Connecticut farmers and small business entrepreneurs, reduce your carbon footprint and enjoy a wide variety of locally grown, farm fresh food with just a few clicks of your mouse? “Bring it on!” comes to mind.
Which is just what I did when I heard aboutCT Farm Fresh Express. This wonderful service recently arrived in Fairfield County, bringing Connecticut grown produce, meat, dairy, baked goods and other products right to your front door.
Now, you can leave the shopping and the driving to Deb Marsden, who began her service, CTFFE, in February ’08
Sometimes as Fairfield County residents, it is easy to get wrapped up in the daily suburban grind, a world of strip malls and meals on the go. Given all the white noise of routine life, it is nice to occasionally escape from the carpools and commuting…andhead to the farm. With its open space, beauty, and serenity, you can be transported...nourished. Many of us journey to the fields as an annual Fall ritual to pick pumpkins and apples, drink cider, or get lost in a hay maze, but the beautiful farms of rural CT can offer much more than just kid-friendly fun.
Last week I attended a "Meet Me at the Farm" lunch on the Sport Hill Farm in Easton.
Dinners at the Farm has hosted its final meal for the season, but for those of you who missed out of this exceptional dining event, make sure you make this a priority for next summer. If you didn't read our post on this last spring, Dinners at the Farm is a series of dinners hosted on farms throughout CT, using ingredients that are produced locally, and benefiting organizations that support our local farming community.
I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about driving an hour and a half in the rain to The Old Maids Farm in South Glastonbury to eat dinner in a possibly mosquito laden field. But despite Dinners at the Farm's rustic backdrop, the dining experience was a perfectly run 5 star culinary affair. From the first corn fritter and warm spiced whiskey sour cider, passed as the sun was setting, to the magic of the beautiful candle-lit tent with its white clothed communal tables..it was a perfect evening.
A few years ago, I tasted yogurt on the Greek island of Paros and it changed my life. Well, maybe not my life, but definitely my mornings. I now start every morning with a bowl of greek yogurt topped with fruit and granola. It’s routine, but never boring and it satisfies my subconscious craving to be back in Greece. I’ve enjoyed Fage, which is also made in Greece, is thick, creamy and has a slight sweetness to its tang. Trader Joe’s makes a Greek-style yogurt, and I give him points for trying, but his is farther removed from the real deal. I thought I was happy alternating between these two brands until I recently tasted Beltane Farm Goat Milk Yogurt, which is delicious and with just a little imagination nearly transported me back to Paros.
Natalia working her magic behind the counterWith more stores and restaurants evaporating around me every day, I live in fear of the Organic Market closing its doors.Not that there are any known plans or rumors of this, but I would have to pick up and move to Berkeley… or beg and plead with Maggie – the owner and food genius, as far as I’m concerned – to come home and cook for me.She could name her price.And I would just as soon give up my car, a limb, or possibly one of my children before living without her irresistible fare.
One of the easiest ways to make Earth Day every day is to green your kitchen. Here are some delicious and fun ways to reduce your family's "foodprint" while eating well. You can also view some of Analiese's tips on this Channel 8 news segment. 
