Photos: New Canaan Nature Center’s Winter Farmer’s Market

The kids and I went to the New Canaan Nature Center’s Winter Farmer’s Market and I was really pleased with it.
1. It was indoors.
2. There were beautiful fruits and veggies.
3. There was FOOD! LOTS OF IT! PIES! SANDWICHES! SOUP!
4. All the vendors were nice. (I appreciated the oohing and aahing over my two month old by several of them. And another one even offered to take my photo with my two kiddos!)

Decent prices on the veggies, I thought!

The only bad things were that
1. My mouth was numb from dental work so I couldn’t enjoy the food today
2. My active, almost 3 year old kept my attention divided so I couldn’t leisurely browse.
3. I had already grocery shopped for the week. Next week I’ll try to leave more room in my food plan for Farmer’s Market stuff.

We are definitely going back next week. This is a pilot program for the month of February, every Tuesday from 12-3. Please come out and show your support if you’re interested so the NCNC will continue it into March!

The Farmer’s Market was kid-friendly overall. I mean, you do not want to take your eyes off your (hyper)active toddler/preschooler, because there are pots of soup, but it’s a contained area so you won’t lose your kid if you say, sample some iced coffee. There’s also a neat outdoor playground on the way out that has furniture made from tree stumps and big bronze turtles. Really nice day outing if the weather is good.

More photos after the jump.





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New Canaan Nature Center Winter Farmer's Market

One of my favorite cooking blogs, the locally-run Full Plate Blog, posted on her Facebook page that the New Canaan Nature Center will be having a Winter Farmer's Market on Tuesdays from 12-3. The first one is February 7, and I totally have it on my calendar!

From the New Canaan Nature Center website:

Beginning Tuesday, February 7 the New Canaan Nature Center will host a winter farmer's market on Tuesdays from Noon to 3:00pm. The market is open to the public and will feature winter produce, dairy, meat, baked goods and other sundries from a number of Connecticut based vendors. Expected vendors include Riverbank Farm, Gazy Bros Farm, Goatboy Soaps, Butterfield Farm, Smyth's Trinity Farm, Mamacat's Tea, Raus Coffee, Whistle Stop Bakery and Connecticutly Grown Hot Sauce. Come for lunch - homemade soup and sandwiches from Walter Stewart's Market!

The Winter Farmer's Market, a joint partnership between the Nature Center and New Canaan Farmer's Market, will be held as a pilot program for the month of February and will possibly be extended throughout the spring and to Saturday mornings. Click here to read more.

Pumpkin Update 2: Organic Abounds

Evidently organic pumpkin is available! My friend says you can order it on Fresh Direct, and I ran across it at Whole Foods Darien yesterday. I only bought five cans, because realistically, I'll only make a few batches of pumpkin muffins. Plus, I did not want to be a pumpkin hoarder. I wouldn't do that to you guys. Happy cooking and let me know if/when/where you are finding pumpkin! Click here to read more.

Update: Full-On Pumpkin Freakout

Mrs. Green's didn't have pumpkin. (OmNomCT tells me they bought it all, but I think they're joking.)
Yesterday, my coworker swore her husband got two big cans of pumpkin at the Stop and Shop (or Shop Rite, she wasn't sure) on the border on Stamford/Greenwich on Rt. 1. I, of course, ZOOMED to both stores right after work. NO PUMPKIN. A Shop Rite employee said they'd have it in the next month, but is such a glib answer really believable? An employee at Stop and Shop said abruptly and gruffly, "We haven't had it for six months. It's the crop." Clearly, he understands how much trouble we are in.
My friend Mama Ball comments on the previous post that pumpkin will soon be in stores... she's usually right about everything, but I'm going to ask her to do some further research for me.

I am finding confusing info online about the pumpkin shortage. Some links:

--The HGTV readers seem to agree on this thread that there currently IS a shortage.
--I found several versions of an article written in 2010 about how the pumpkin crop of 2009 got destroyed, leading to a shortage in 2009, but suggesting that 2010 would be better.

Well, all my current info from grocery store employees suggests we are in another pumpkin crisis.

I MAY have a can of pumpkin shoved in the back of my pantry. Currently, it's my only hope for making the pumpkin muffins I'm craving so badly.

If you see any pumpkin around, let me know. And don't feed my any false info, you know, like my coworker did. She's clearly got some agenda. Click here to read more.

Pumpkin Horror

I almost don't want to tell you guys this, but I feel it's my duty.
THERE IS NO PUMPKIN ANYWHERE!!!!!!!

I always go into a cooking and baking frenzy in the fall, and pumpkin muffins are on the list for this week. You may or may not know that I am a bit obsessed with pumpkin. Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin spice lattes, and candy corn pumpkins are a big part of how I accept the end of summer.
The kid and I went to Stop and Shop yesterday morning to stock up on groceries, and the pumpkin wasn't in aisle 7 like it was supposed to be. I stopped an employee. "Excuse me, there's no pumpkin in aisle 7, is it somewhere else?"
"Oh we haven't had pumpkin in forever," she said. "It got recalled last year. If we have it at all, it would be in the natural foods aisle."
I tried to hold in my panic as I gathered yogurt and Drano on the way to the organic aisle... IN WHICH THERE WAS NO CANNED PUMPKIN.

I came home and googled "libby's pumpkin recalled," and on a Cooking Light thread, a commenter said, "You can get more Libby's canned pumpkin than you'll ever need on Amazon." I eagerly clicked on the link provided and saw an image of a can of Libby's pumpkin with the horrifying statement, "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."

This situation is serious, people.

I'm stopping by Mrs. Green's later today to see if they have canned pumpkin. If not? Well, I guess I'm going to have to take the unimaginable step of BAKING A PUMPKIN and like, pureeing it myself. What a pain. Click here to read more.

Recent Obsession: Sausage Egg and Cheese Sandwich

Last month I went on a big sausage egg and cheese sandwich (on a hard roll- only a hard roll is acceptable) kick. I started with the place I first became friends with the sandwich: Riverside Deli in Greenwich. That sandwich is standard but very, very good. My one complaint is that you have to order a DOUBLE egg to make the egg fill the sandwich, but then that's a teeny bit too much egg.

Vigilante's Deli on Hope St. solves the egg problem by using extra large eggs. They add a bit of an edge to their sandwich by using slightly spicy sausage. I really enjoyed their sandwich, but on a regular basis, I'd prefer to standard sausage of Riverside Deli. Still, Vigilante's is an excellent option.

Garden Catering on High Ridge Rd. in Stamford offers an OK sausage egg and cheese sandwich. The fact that I ate mine while driving (to Massachusetts) may have impacted my enjoyment of the sandwich, but I wasn't crazy over it. I'd have to try it again to identify what the problem was, but WHY would I try it again if I could get Vigilante's? Oh, right, because Vigilante's is closed on Sunday. Also, Garden Catering is really meant for fried chicken and those delicious potato cones. Best junk lunch ever.

However, I just learned of another place on Hope St. from my new favorite local blog, OMNOMCT. One of their posts tells me that Giacomo's Italian Deli has good breakfast sandwiches. They suggest putting it on the Arthur Ave bread that Jack imports from the Bronx, which goes against my hard roll love, but I'll try anything once.

One place I'll never try again is Bull's Head Diner. The sausage egg cheese sandwich I got there could not have been worse. I don't even want to talk about it.

My local Twiends recommend:
Fusaro's Market on High Ridge Rd. and Lakeside Diner Long Ridge Rd. (@kzone 8)
the breakfast burrito at Rosie's in New Canaan (@After_Words)
the Vegas at Nicholas Roberts in Norwalk (@CT_Bites)
Garden Catering, High Ridge Road - egg, chili and cheese (@HeyStamford)

@PhilippeKeb seconded Lakeside and @CT_Bites agreed with @After_Words about Rosie's breakfast burrito.

I'll probably try Fusaro's and Lakeside, because I'm all about an easy local breakfast! Click here to read more.

Whole Foods Darien: Good Stuff, Traffic

I can cheerfully predict that Whole Foods Darien will continue the traffic tradition of Whole Foods Greenwich. At the sneak peek I attended tonight at 5:20 pm, traffic was backed all the way up onto Route 1. Whatever. Whole Foods just means traffic, and we need to accept it. (I was at Whole Foods Columbus Circle in NYC in Saturday, and that was a wreck too. We got Brownie Bites, though, so it was all good.)

Anyway, the baby and I, along with a boatload of other mothers with kids aged 8 and under, perused the Whole Foods Darien, which opens officially on Wednesday. I was most interested in the baby items, since that's my latest obsession. I was happy to see that WFD carries two of my favorite Skip Hop items: the Pronto and the Wipes Case, which is the best wipes case you will EVER lay your hands on. I bought another one today, so now I own two. This way, I don't have to keep switching it from my fancy diaper bag to my Skip Hop backpack when I need a different diaper bag for my different outing purpose (look cute or be hands free). I cannot risk forgetting wipes, because while I CAN wipe snot and food off the kid with my sweater, I certainly do not want to try and change a poopy diaper like that.

If you go check out WFD, so be sure to leave lots of time, so you are not grumpy when you encounter crowds. The parking lot was completely full when I left just before 6pm this evening. All I can say is, they should have built a slightly bigger lot. It is gonna be a mess. I mean that in the nicest way possible.

The event tonight was fun but crowded. I got some freebies on the way out the door, but I'm too tired to post about them. I also ran into two fellow bloggers, which is always awesome.

See more photos after the jump.


One side of deli area.


Check out area.



Wide open area in back of store.



The "Whole Body" aisle.
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Darien Whole Foods To-Be: Good Enough for Me

I am thrilled that there's going to be a Whole Foods in Darien. It is going to cause the worst traffic hell you've ever seen in your life, but I'll just go there at odd hours, you know, when I want to pretend I am an organized enough person to live an ascetic, clean, organic life. Yes, I go shopping at Whole Foods when I need to feel like I am a better person.

The new store will be beside the BMW dealer off exit 11, on the old HoJo's lot they're currently clearing. Yeah- that tiny access road! I know, I'm sure they'll fix access, but an incredibly popular store right on Rt 1 by 95... oh, it's gonna be bad. It couldn't be worse than Greenwich though, could it?

You may recall they proposed a Whole Foods right by the Stamford Lord and Taylor. I think this Darien spot is a much better location. We Stamfordites can reap the rewards but not deal with the extra traffic.

I do suppose we're missing out on some yuppie prestige... sigh.
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Fancy Grocery Coming to the South End

The internet is abuzz about a Fairway grocery opening in the South End in early 2010. Clearly, I am not from this area, because I have no idea why that's a big deal! I vaguely knew Fairway was a grocery, but I figured it was just a regular New York grocery like Gristedes, but maybe bigger. In researching this post, I gather that Fairway is a grocery store based in NYC that is known for its produce and wide selection of cool food stuff. Read a bunch of the rave reviews on Yelp and you'll get the idea.

According to readers on Chowhound, the new store will be in the Yale and Towne property on the corner of Canal and Market. That's sort of near where the UHaul rental place is. I hate to be a traffic alarmist, but that corner is a mess as it is. I assume they'll fix up the traffic flow for us.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the location. (See google map.) There are no other stores around there. Is the location near where Antares is putting up their new apartments/office complexes? Is that why they are putting it there? And are they planning more fancy stores? Rather than a one-stop grocery, if we're going to have a slice of traffic hell, we might as well have a few stores to hit before we head back out and block the paths of the other people who are trying to get in. (I'm thinking of the Summer St. Bed Bath Beyond mess, which I suppose is not that bad... unless it's Christmas time... which is coming soon, BTW. I'm already starting my Stamford Talk gift guide.)
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CRUMBS Open THURSDAY, Yo!

Update 10/29: Chris at Lunch Break Chronicles reports that CRUMBS is opening Thursday! Rumors are rampant that CRUMBS bakeshop is opening today (Tuesday). I myself sorta doubt it, because this rain would be a bit of a bummer for a big opening, but you never know. In fact, I will not know, because I have to go to work. A cupcake store opening on a Tuesday morning does me no good. For those of you with a flexible enough schedule to stalk a cupcake store, well, I hate you, and I'm jealous, but do let me know if you see any bakeshop activity today!

I snapped a few pics of a wrapped-in-secrecy CRUMBS when I hit Starbucks on Saturday for a pumpkin spice latte. The windows are covered with brown paper so you can't get a peek inside. There was a little open space near the floor, and I did briefly contemplate getting down on my hands and knees and putting my face against the concrete to get a glimpse and/or a photo, but there were a lot of people out and about, and I did not want to look like a total freak. Actually, it was more because my husband was there, and he's easily embarrassed. Plus, I did not want to risk getting a tear on the knee of my favorite jeans.

I've gotta say, isn't this a bad time of year to open a bake shop? Aren't we all already freaking out about how much candy and baked goods that are already around? Or is it just my coworkers who inexplicably bring in bags of candy and put them out in highly trafficked areas? I've already had to cut myself off from the sugar train. I'm trying to go until Friday without eating candy. I think I'm gonna be able to do it. Click here to read more.

CRUMBS: No Clue When It's Opening

Most of us have seen the (out of place looking) CRUMBS Bake Shop sign up at the High Ridge Shopping Center. It's not yet open, but my fellow blogger Fairfield County Child is running a contest on her site to give away gift certificates to CRUMBS.

Evidently this NYC-based shop, unbeknownst to me, sells kick heinie cupcakes. According to FCC, CRUMBS has a tradition of giving away 1,000 cupcakes on opening day, starting at 8am. I don't think I'd wait over 15 minutes for a free cupcake (unless other fun people are in line), but not much else goes on in this town, so I'm not counting myself out yet. An opening date has not been announced for CRUMBS, but they better not keep me waiting long, not after this build up. All the hooked-in Stamford women I know will not stop talking about it. The cupcakes cost $3.75, but I hear they are very big, so you can split one with a friend.

I'm entering that giveaway right now, by the way.

Update: Chris over at Lunch Break Chronicles says it might open Tues, Oct. 28. Click here to read more.

Cookies. Cookies. Cookies. Another Bakery!

I am a huge fan of cookies, and this photo took my breath away. I share it in hopes that it will make you feel as joyous and optimistic about life as it made me feel. The photo is from a post about Matthew's bakery on the Advocate's food blog, The Lunch Break Chronicles, run by photographer Chris Preovolos. I'm going to try to find this bakery today. (71 West Broad St.) I'll get a huge sampling... in the name of learning more about Stamford, of course.

Now, I'm also very picky about cookies. I don't waste my time on crap cookies with no flavor or poor flavor, but I can tell that the cookie in the photo is going to be amazing. I hope that filling in the middle is caramel flavored. I hope it's sweet but not too sweet.

Chris also contributes to the Advocate's local news-oriented photoblog In Sight. I subscribe to the feeds of both In Sight and Lunch Break Chronicles, and if you are interested in Stamford, you should too. The blogs provide a little extra inside scoop on what's going on around town.

I have to mention that the Advocate's photographers are eerily cool. I've met 3 of the 4 that contribute to In Sight, and they are totally the types you'd invite to dinner or a party at your house. One, Dru Nadler, photographed my wedding, and I officially love her. Dru is as cool as Manager Mom, if that tells you anything.

There is also an Advocate political blog, Political Capitol, and a local sports blog, Overtime. The Stamford Times also has a local sports blog called Stamford Sports Scene. Click here to read more.

Rotten Produce at My Grocery Store- Rrr!

Tonight I wanted pita with hummus, cucumber, balsamic and lettuce. I went to my local Grade A on Newfield since it's so much faster than Super Stop and Shop. Even though Mrs. Green's up on High Ridge has far superior produce, I didn't feel like driving that far. I figured Grade A would be good enough.

Wrong, wrong, WRONG.

1. All 100 cucumbers in the cuc section were rotten. Soft, mottled, rotten.
2. Almost all of the grapes in bags were old and smushy. I thought the plastic containers looked like they had fresher ones, but when I got home, the bottom half of the container was full of the crappy loose grapes that fall off the stem because they're starting to rot.
3. The tomatoes on the vine were OK, but I swear they put the labels over some rotten spots.

Do NOT sell me rotten produce. That makes me angry. If I get up the energy to actually plan to eat healthy food, then get motivated enough to go buy the food, don't thwart that super-human effort. F you. That's right. A big Stamford Talk "F you" to today's produce section of my Grade A.

See? See all those loose grapes? RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Not that many institutions get the official "F you" from Stamford Talk. I think only Trump has ever gotten it from me, for endangering my life and the lives of those around me.

Well, the good news is, the pita was satisfactory despite the lack of crunchy cuc, I made a big batch of Tuscan white bean soup for my lunches this week, and I also made turkey meat loaf so I can make sure I'm getting enough protein.

That's right, get the hell out of my way when I decide to eat healthy. Unfortunately, I also ate 1/2 a box of Cheezits today. What can I say. I love Cheezits. Click here to read more.

Where to Get My Friday Bagel?

Absurdly, I woke up at 4:15 today. Once my mind wakes up, it's tough to fall back asleep; plus, I love mornings, so even though I usually don't go to bed until 11:30, part of me still wants to be up at 5:30. I just tried to fall back asleep at 5:15 to squeeze in a 45 minute snooze, but I'm hungry, so I can't sleep. Focusing on my bagel dilemma will take my mind off how tired I am.

Liz Sue Bagels in Bull's Head, or Upper Crust in Old Greenwich?

Liz Sue's bagels are so good, but the line always goes pretty slowly. It's definitely worth the wait, but whether it's worth being late for work is another issue. I also like Liz Sue because the people are really friendly and make you feel like they appreciate your business. The biz has been around for over 25 years and they're often in the Faifield Weekly's "Best of" poll.

Upper Crust, on the other hand, has incredible veggie cream cheese. I got veggie CC at Liz Sue once and it wasn't as good. It didn't have as many veggies in it as Upper Crust. Upper Crust is also insanely fast.

OK, I've decided. Go to Liz Sue, because it's on my way to the gym. I might as well work out and make something positive out of sleeping badly. I'm too hungry to work out first. Bagel, here I come.

Maybe I'll try one of their other flavors of cream cheese.

Related posts:

--November 8, 2007-- My NYSC: Through Good Times and in Bad Click here to read more.