Got kids? Like pancakes? And bacon? And all things farm-y and fun?
Come on down to an old-fashioned “Pancake Breakfast & Pop Up Farmers' Market," a family event at Wakeman Town Farm (134 Cross Hwy, Westport) on Sunday, October 2 from 9 a.m.-noon. It's a fun, fall $5 Pancake Breakfast and Pop-Up Farmers' Market on the farm, featuring an array of local vendors and craftspeople selling everything from artisanal foods to handmade crafts from an eclectic assortment of local vendors. (Rain or shine.)
In addition to a country farm breakfast with pancakes, nitrate-free bacon and fresh maple syrup and coffee and juice, sponsored by Christie’s Country Store and Graze Delivered, there will be a host of local vendors and craftspeople selling their wares in a festive, farmers' market atmosphere.
The 11th Annual Ambler Farm Day is Sunday, October 2, 2011, 12pm-4pm at Ambler Farm, 257 Hurlbutt Street in Wilton CT. This is a wonderful local family friendly event celebrating the Fall harvest with a hay maze, farm animals, children's crafts, live music and more. (Plus, you will want to visit your local pumpkin patch early this year. We hear the rains were tough on crops and pumpkins may not be as plentiful) Below is a full list of activities. Grab the family and head on over.
And now a word from our 10 years old food critic....
Hey kids, guess what? Want to win a free Mac Daddy’s T-Shirt? Mac Daddy’s will give the first 10 kids to correctly guess the amount of macaroni boxes used to fill the pan on the wall (described below) a free t-shirt Contest ends on November 20th. Mention CTbites to enter.
What do you think of when you think of macaroni and cheese? A small box of Kraft mac and cheese? Well… now I think of Macdaddy’s Macaroni and Cheese Bar, an amazing macaroni and cheese restaurant with at least 20 different kinds of macaroni. I had thought that Macdaddy’s was going to be bigger than it was (they can seat about 25 people) but that didn’t mean it wasn’t good. Macdaddy’s is a quick service restaurant (which means that you order at a counter and they bring the food to your table).
Prepare to get sticky at Ambler Farm's Honey Bee Jamboree, September 17, 2011 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. This event is being presented by the Backyard Beekkeepers Association with a bevy of family friendly activities include hive observation, honey tasting, honey extracting, candle roll ing, honey ice cream making, face painting, children's activities, bee products and more. All of these bee encounters will be led by the master beekeepers of the Backyard Beekeeper Association.
On Saturday September 17, 2011 from noon - 3pm three dozen of Saugatuck's finest restaurants, shops and galleries will be opening their doors and inviting the community to come and sample their offerings. Walk the streets of Saugatuck Center and enjoy sampling some of the area's restaurants, caterers, and liquor stores. Participants include: The Boathouse, CakeSuite, Tarry Lodge, Julian'sandSaugatuck Grain & Grape. Plus...Ryan Fibiger of Craft Butchery will be demonstrating how to butcher a pig in front of his shop (opening soon) at 1:00 pm. And it's not just food. Retailers will offer kayak rides, gym work outs, fly fishing lessons, Environmental tips, discount coupons and martial arts demonstrations - all free. Come see what's going on in Westport's Saugatuck area. See below for complete event details:
On September 1st, the Connecticut Food Bank (CFB) begins its "Hunger Action" month and the CTbites team is asking your help. Food is our passion and we thank our lucky stars that we are privileged to dine at the fabulous restaurants of Fairfield County and blog about truffle chips, sous vide lamb belly and Marscapone cheese cake. Last week I volunteered at the CFB's mobile pantry where we gave out bags of onions and carrots to too many CT residents whose stars are not so lucky. But the CFB is making a difference and so can we.
According to Nancy Carrington, the Food Bank's president and CEO since 1984, over 400,000 CT residents are "Food Insecure." That means that they are not sure where they are getting their next meal. Over 50% of these people are above what the government considers the income threshold which would allow them SNAP funding (formerly known as food stamps.) In the state with the highest per capita income (2010), that is surely 400,000 hungry residents too many. Right???
Nothing says “Summer” like ice cream. I make a lot of ice cream – more than we can eat. I make really great ice cream, if I do say so myself. So when my sister-in-law asked for an “award winning” ice cream recipe, to use in her local agricultural fair, I was happy to oblige. I haven’t won any actual awards, but if you follow my instructions, you’ll appreciate my confidence. Although Eleanore skipped the contest, she said she wished she had entered, if only because the entries all required detailed recipes and, as you will see, mine is nothing if not detailed.
The key to a great ice cream is its base. I almost always make fruit ice creams. While different fruits require different treatments and benefit from different supplemental ingredients, the base doesn’t vary.
I use a basic Cuisinart one-and-a-half-quart ice cream maker that only costs about $50. If you like ice cream, it’s the best $50 you will ever spend
Camp Fine Dining is a two week camp for teenagers that will run this August led by Paul Desiano, Chef and Owner of Cello (formerly Plate) located in Copps Hill Plaza in Ridgefield.
In the first week, Camp Fine Dining will focus students on basic skills including knife cuts, butchering, sauces, and pasta making. By the second week, the students and Chef Desiano will brainstorm a 5-course tasting menu. The class will spend the first week preparing and the program will conclude with the students cooking that menu for their families.
Dates and time: August 16 -18, August 23 – 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
July 4th just got sweeter. Peace Tree Desserts is serving up Sustainable Seasonal Strawberry S'mores this 4th of July. For those of you who have sampled their Classic Chocolate S'mores c/o Skinny Pines Pizza at your local farmers' market, you know Peace Tree does a s'more justice. These S'mores Kits are ideal hostess gifts or one stop shopping for a high end night by the campfire. The S'mores Kit is handcrafted in small batches with local and organic ingredients, and includes homemade graham crackers made with local honey and Wild Hive Farm's organic whole wheat flour, strawberry marshmallows made with local strawberries, and Taza's organic stone-ground chocolate. Each kit makes 6 s'mores. If this doesn't make you hungry, check out their S'mores Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOg5SxBKolo
I don’t remember any of my peers taking cooking classes when I was a kid, but the world is different now, what with the Food Network and all the other TV cooking shows, websites, special events and the general blossoming of our foodie culture. At the same time, it’s no longer a given that a child learns to cook at home with Mom or Grandma, soa little outside instruction is often welcome. Whatever the reason, cooking classes for kids are a phenomenon of our times, and Fairfield County has many options for kids who are so inclined.
This will be an occasional series on opportunities for kids to learn to cook (mostly) in the Fairfield County area. Because right now is the time to think about summer camp, let's start there...
Sundays are pizza making days for kids at Coalhouse Pizza in Stamford. First rule co-owner, Gerard Robertson, puts out there? DON’T BE AFRAID TO MAKE A MESS! Better his place than yours, and a lot more fun, for sure. If one too many rainy days has given your clan cabin fever, this is a great way to get out, make your own pizza and learn something too.
Robertson invites kids of all ages to pull up a stool and gently work a ball of dough on the long stretch of white marble that wraps around the pizza prep area and the enormous coal oven.
CRUSTLESS QUINOA AND KALE QUICHE was served and critiqued in elementary school?
That is precisely what happened last month as 200 fourth and fifth graders at Holland Hill Elementary School in Fairfield tasted the dish they had voted to “try” in response to First Lady Michelle Obama’s LET’S MOVE! campaign to combat childhood obesity. Green Gourmet to Go chef and owner, Linda Soper-Kolton jumped on the opportunity to participate in the nation wide contest to create a tasty, highly nutritious, child friendly dish by approaching her own son’s elementary school Principle, Frank Arnone. Lucky for the students and the chef, Mr. Arnone loved the idea of involving his students in the process of discussing ingredients and tasting the contest entry.
This easy recipe for homemade apple chips is a new favorite at our house. My kids love them. I love them. Everyone’s happy. It’s been a while since I made something so simple yet brilliant. Hooray Apple Chips!
I use Macoun and Empire apples to make these and they didn’t require any measures to prevent browning. If you think your apples will brown excessively, dip them in a solution of 2 cups water and 2 tablespoons lemon juice right after they have been sliced.
Gingerbread House Day 3: After a fitful night full of dreams involving houses crashing down with disastrous effect, we gathered to set the foundations and raise the walls for our edible CTbites farm stand. For those late to the game, this exercise in amateur baking is all part of a plan to raise money for The Stamford Museum's "Visions of Gingerbread" Exhibit" where professional bakers will show and then auction off gingerbread houses far more spectacular than ours.
CTbites is proud to be this year's media sponsor for the 2nd annual "Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects" exhibit at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center. Opening November 6th, this show will feature unique and amazing gingerbread creations by many of your favorite bakers. Check out the lineup: CakeSuite, Sugar & Olives, DiMare's Pasty Shop, SoNo Baking Company, Karin Krumpelbeck, and (are you sitting down?) CTbites will be working on an entry. (If you are a baker and want to help team CTbites, contact us!)
Here's the best part...You can bring one of these incredible edibles home to your family. These sweet structures will be put up on the silent auction block, with proceeds going to the Museum's educational programs.
Don't miss these spooky, educational, & tasty activities @ Ambler Farm.
Fright Night:Friday, October 29 & Saturday, October 30
Drop off the kids (grades 3-5) for haunted activities and frightful (and not so frightful) storytelling. Those who were present last year are still talking about the ghost dog who frequents the Farm! Creepy sights and mysterious sounds abound when the moon rises at Ambler Farm. Refreshments included. Enrollment limited.
Haunted Halloween Ride, Guessing jar to win the Farm's largest pumpkin, Games, if you dare play...
If you've been to Ambler Farm Day, you've probably fired the apple slingshots, taken a hay-ride or two, and witnessed pumpkins flying through the air. If the pumpkin-launching trebuchet has intrigued you, now's your chance to get a closer look at this medieval-inspired machine.
My girlfriend and I were thumbing through our monthly cooking mags and we both noticed the cover picture of a very decadent looking Halloween themed candy bark. I thought, “ this looks like fun, but I can do better than that!” So off I went to our local grocery store that is stocked with bins of interesting looking sweets and nuts. 10 mini bags later, here’s what I came up with! Alas, it's not healthy, but Halloween only comes once a year, and it's a great activity for a kids Halloween party. The making is (almost) the best part of this recipe!
