CT Grown Eats

joenesgarden — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 17:30:34 +0000

August 8, 2009. Today is the last 'official' day of Eat CT Grown, but this does not mean we cannot continue to enjoy the fresh grown vegetables and fruits, and other freshly made local products so easily found at CT farm stands and farmer's markets. Yes, the campaign was poorly advertised – there is not even a mention of it on Buy CT Grown … nope not on the home page, the news page, or the event page. Regardless, buying locally grown produce and other products is the best – outside of actually growing your own – way to get really fresh foods. Besides, doing so supports local businesses and it's considered an environmentally-friendly practice.

In addition to the list of CT Grown products mentioned yesterday, my family will enjoy more sweet corn, more blueberries (see freezing method below), and more tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, and plums – all from Staehly Tree Farm and Gardens. Plus we'll try more cheese (Nehantic Abbey aged cheddar) from Beaver Brook Farm (already love their Pleasant Cow and Aged Feta cheeses), and we'll grill up the first eggplant from our own garden (photo) to accompany the last of our home grown lettuce, and our continually producing yellow snap beans.

Blueberry freezing tip: wash freshly picked blueberries in a colander, then scoop about 2 cups into a pint-size zip lock bag. Zip closed, eliminating as much air as possible. I found 5 pint bags fit into a quart-sized freezer bag. Once all berries are bagged, lay the bags flat in the freezer. Once frozen, store bags of berries so they will not be crushed. Use frozen on cereal, add to winter fruit salads, sprinkle a few on top of a bowl of vanilla yogurt (this tastes sinfully delicious, particularly when accompanied by a square of dark chocolate), or eat frozen berries right out of the bag. Oh, and save the emptied zip lock bags to hold kitchen fruit and veggie scraps destined for the compost pile.

So, what do you say Connecticut … will you join my family in celebrating CT Grown?

Categories: CT Grown, Edibles, Gardening.
Tags: Beaver Brook Farm, blueberries, cheese, cucumbers, Eat CT Grown, eggplant, freezing blueberries, locally grown, plums, squash, Staehly's Farm, sweet corn, tomatoes.

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joene's garden » sweet corn

CT Grown Eats