The Farmers' Market season is here. Although the season doesn't
officially start until June, there have been smaller "pop-up markets"
already, sponsored by the Coventry Regional Farmers Market. Last weekend
we had a great time at Topmost Herb Farm in Coventry. Even though its
early in the growing season, there were farmers selling organic greens
and vegetables. Grass fed beef,
pasture raised chicken and pork were available as well.
Here are two of our regular markets. Old Lyme Farmers Market at Ashlawn Farm, Old Lyme Saturdays 9-12:30 and the Coventry Regional Farmers Market at the Nathan Hale Homestead, Sundays 11-2. You can find a listing of local markets at the CT NOFA website. See you there!
Today
we attended the second pop up market of the season in Willimantic. We
enjoyed beautiful weather and strolled from vendor to vendor. We came
home with local honey, organic fruits and vegetables and a box of
seedlings! Afterwards we drove to Graywall Farm in Lebanon for the
Mystic Cheese Company's Grilled Cheese Get Down. We got to tour the farm
(one of the Farmer's Cows farms), eat an amazing grilled cheese
sandwich and enjoy the Farmer's Cow Ice Cream.
We
find that we can get all the produce we need at our weekly markets. The
cost ends up being the same or less than our grocer store. This year we
bought CSA shares for produce with New Mercies Farm in Lyme. We also
bought a CSA share for pasture raised chicken with the Wooly Pig and for
raw milk at Deerfield Farms in Durham. Finally we purchased a side of
grass fed beef from the Savage Hill Cattle Company in Berlin. Hopefully
we will only need our grocery store for sundries!
If
you read this blog with any regularity, you know that Jeanine and I
always want to know where our food comes from. We make it a point to
know where our restaurants source their ingredients. Obviously this
doesn't stop when we are home. With the resurgence of farming in
Connecticut, we have the opportunity to meet the people growing and
producing our food. We believe that this is the only way to be healthy.