Scrambling to Find the Perfect Holiday Gift?

There's been a lot of talk lately at the CT NOFA office about holiday gift giving and the staff's various levels of gift-buying/making completion. The holidays are a busy time of year, and that can mean there's not a lot of time available to buy or make meaningful gifts for loved ones. After all, no matter how well-intentioned or thoughtful our holiday gift-giving plans are, there are still only 24 hours in a day. Last year, a time crunch meant my husband had to make the vast majority of gift decisions in our household, but this year I was spared the stress of a last minute gift-buying bonanza because I knew where to look for locally-made products. If you are in the midst of wracking your brain for unique gift ideas, consider buying locally-produced items from Connecticut farms and winter farmers markets.

The USDA National Farmers Market Directory has seen a 52 percent increase in winter farmers markets this year. This, of course, means more opportunities to buy locally produced in-season foods for your holiday cooking. Winter markets, however, are also great places to go for unique locally-made gifts for family and friends. Items available at the markets can include fresh and preserved fruits and vegetables, dairy, meats, baked goods, eggs, nuts, honey, soaps, wool and fiber, Christmas trees, and holiday decorations. If you're throwing a holiday party, a larger market can literally cover all of your bases, providing food, decor, and gifts for the event. Check out a list of markets that feature at least one CT NOFA member farmer here, or click here for the CT Department of Agriculture's full holiday list.

Even if you can't make it to a farmers market in time to buy holiday gifts, many farms also offer goods for sale in the winter from farm stores and online. The second option is especially helpful if you're really busy - just don't forget to order far enough in advance to account for shipping time. Each farm sells their goods a little differently, so check out our Farm and Food Guide here to find farms in your area that you can visit.  You can also use the Guide as a database of farm websites that you can peruse when shopping online.

However you choose to complete your holiday shopping, don't forget to have fun and feel the spirit of the season! Have a great afternoon!
-Melissa

Enjoy the Bounty of Summer All Year!

It's nearly August! The bounty of summer is in full swing, and in Connecticut there is no shortage of delicious, fresh, and varied produce to put in our kitchens. Produce, however, has a pesky habit of going bad over time, especially when you're dealing with highly perishable fruits like berries. This month, when all the tomatoes in your garden are ripening at the same time and you have more access to fresh local produce at the market than you know what to do with, use some of these methods to preserve the harvest so you can enjoy it all year!

Drying: Out of the three major food preservation options, drying is the most economical. It requires the least amount of energy input, and much of the work is done in the background while you're off doing other things. Here's an article by Jean Nick from Rodale that details the process of dehydration, complete with tips and recipes sure to make your mouth water.

Canning: Canning takes some time and skill, but it's the only way wet foods can be preserved without refrigeration. If you want to learn how to can just about anything, peruse this blog by Canning Granny. She provides a wide variety of recipes and tips from her own kitchen and from readers' submissions.

Freezing: Freezing is arguably the easiest food preservation technique, requiring relatively little time or preparation, but it requires a lot of freezer storage space and, therefore, a lot of energy. Good Housekeeping gives a good introduction to freezing, including what not to freeze and how to properly prepare and wrap food for freezing.

And if you want to learn more in depth guidelines and tips, the Cornell Extension has a great webpage about all three food preservation techniques. Check out our webpage as the summer draws to a close to learn about our fall food preservation workshops as they are scheduled.

Have a bountiful day!
-Melissa

Freezing & Drying Workshop and our Canning Workshop

On Saturday, October 15, CT NOFA had two workshops at Common Ground High School! The workshops are meant to teach consumers and farmers about preserving foods to last through the winter and how to use some of the hardier winter crops grown in Connecticut.  The first workshop, held in the morning, was "Freezing and Drying."

 CT NOFA's Office Manager, Deb Legge, was the freezing and drying instructor, along with a CT NOFA Board member and food enthusiast, Janet Heller. Deb is showing her variety of fruit leathers in this photo, made from a variety of fruits includng: apple, pear, rubharb, strawberry and crabapple.  

Some healthy fruit rollup! 

 Deb demonstrating the use of garden sheers to cut fruit leather (she promised to have never used them outside)

We all approved of her work.  For a portion of the workshop we were in Common Ground's kitchen where Deb demonstrated how she prepares fruit for drying and also demonstrated how to blanch kale (you basically submerge kale in boiling water for one minute and then transfer it to ice water so it retains most of its physical properties and its taste, but kills the enzymes that cause it to decompose).

The next workshop "Preserving the Harvest: Canning" was held in the afternoon.  Wyatt Whiteman, who owns a one acre farm in Fairfield and lives in a farmhouse that dates back to 1760, shared a delicious salsa recipe with the participants, who got to work vegetable chopping:

Then Wyatt showed the participants how to mix their chopped vegetables, and transfer them to cans for safe consumption.  Everyone got to bring home a can of salsa for their home! Preparing some foods for canning is more complex while others (like salsa) are a process of cutting and mixing the right ingredients.  There are hundreds of canning sites out there - but this one explains the basics nicely and has an instructional video: http://www.freshpreserving.com/getting-started.aspx

Stay tuned for more ideas on how to eat local even when Connecticut's farms are under frost and snow in the coming months!

Mark your calendars for our Winter Food Workshops!

 

 We invite food lovers, gardeners and farmers to learn how to freeze, dry, can, cookand grow autumn and winter crops at our “Winter Food Project” workshop series at Common Ground High School.
“Preserving the Harvest (on a budget) – Freezing and Drying” on Saturday, October 15 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm will focus on preparing blanched kale, frozen beans and dried tomatoes and fruit. 

“Preserving the Harvest – Canning” taught by Wyatt Whiteman, owner of 1760 Farm House LLC, will also be on October 15 from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.  Participants will prepare and can different types of foods and will take home a sample jar to enjoy.

“Cooking with Seasonal Food” will be led by Jane Maher wonderful cook and former owner of Snooty Foods in Oxford, CT on Saturday, October 22 from 1:00pm – 3:00. Ms. Maher will share and demonstrate delicious recipes featuring local winter vegetables including kale, sweet potato and winter squash.
“Indoor Food and Flower Gardening” will be held on Saturday, November 12 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Come and learn about the best varieties, containers, growing methods and harvesting techniques to keep growing vegetables and flowers through the winter!

Check out photos from our canning workshops in 2010!

 

 

All fall workshops cost $10 and will be located at Common Ground High School at 358 Springside Avenue, New Haven.  For more information or to register please visit CT NOFA’s homepage: www.ctnofa.org or call our office at (203)888-5146.  For more information about Common Ground High School visit www.nhep.com.