Laura Graham - Journalist & Illustrator

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CONNECTICUT FOOD AND FARM MAGAZINE lauragrahamdesign@gmail.com Cover Photo By Winter Caplanson

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One

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Sunny

May morning, I was standing on the steps of our Congregational church waiting to go in. My father stood next to me. The full skirt of my white linen dress rustled in the breeze. My painting teacher, Lil Maxwell, stepped up to me and said: "Here, these are for you." She handed me a few plump pointy pinkish buds surrounded by fuzzy green leaves. "What are they?" I asked. She smiled: "Quince." I tucked them into my bouquet and they were stunning. She had cut them that morning from her fruit orchard and they added just the right element of wild quirkiness to my attractive but staid bouquet of cultivated peonies and roses. Could we rewrite the traditional bridal adage as "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue – and something gorgeous and unplanned?"

Having moved to downtown Rome after my husband and I married, my next encounter with cydonia oblonga, or edible quince, was while I was reading Edward Lear's 1871 poem The Owl and the Pussycat to our toddler son. What is a runcible spoon that Lear conceived?

It is the half spoon, half fork utensil that Mr. Owl and Ms. Pussycat use to dine on mince and slices of quince while riding in their beautiful pea-green boat. Like runcible spoons, quince reside in a land of poetry and charmingly-impractical beauty. Quince trees are rare today as the fruit is unpleasant to eat raw and therefore has fallen out of commercial favor. If prepared correctly, however, it can produce the most delectable results.

In Colonial Connecticut, most gardens had a quince tree.

Quince are self-pollinators, so one tree is enough to keep a kitchen stocked with fruit. Quince are very high in pectin so they were particularly useful when making desserts, jams, and jellies before commercial gelatin became available. Their tartness made them popular in cuisines around the world. Used in dishes both savory and sweet, there are culinary references to quince that date back to ancient Greece and Persia. Many of the golden apples referred to in Greek mythology are believed to be quince, as they originated from the Caucasus Mountains between Persia and Turkmenistan, where they still grow wild today. Quince were brought into the Middle East and the Mediterranean through the trade routes and brought to China by the famous Silk Road.

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Three of my Favorite

quince recipes are marmellata di mela cotogna, quince jam that my Italian sister-in-law makes; classic French quince tarte tatin; and membrillo, Spanish quince paste that pairs beautifully with traditional queso manchego as well as other dense, buttery cheeses.

Zia Fiorella’s

Marmellata di Mela Cotogna – Quince Jam Delightfully tart, because she doesn’t add too much sugar, this is wonderful on toast or baked in a quince crostata.

Fiorella recommends using smaller, rounder, and knobbier quince, as she prefers their flavor to their smoother or pearshaped conterparts.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. (about 8) quince, cleaned, peeled, cored, and cubed

2 c. sugar Juice of one lemon

Start preparation in the morning. Scrub fruit to clean and remove extra fuzz. In a stock pot, layer half the fruit, then half the sugar, then the other halves of both, respectively. Top with lemon juice, and leave to set for four to five hours. Once the fruit has released some of its liquid, cook covered over a very low flame for a maximum of three hours, checking to make sure the fruit doesn’t stick to the pan. If after three hours there are still large chunks of fruit, you can turn it through a food mill, but Zia prefers to leave some of the fruit’s texture in the jam.

To preserve the jam “bagno maria” – a traditional, boiling water bath – fill canning jars with jam, screw on covers firmly, and then wrap them in newspaper. Place them in a large, wide cooking pot with just enough water to reach the lids. You do not want them to be underwater as some may leak into the jars and dilute the jam. The newspaper wrap will prevent the jars from banging together, and possibly breaking, when the water heats up to a boil. Boil the jars for 20 minutes and the jar will be well preserved for as long as three years.

Directions:

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Quince

Tarte Tatin This is a classic French dessert that is often made with apples. When made with quince, it becomes a culinary extravagance. There are pans made specifically for this dessert, but I find my good-old, New England cast iron skillet works well.

Pastry Ingredients:

1 ½ c. flour

1 ½ Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

½ c. chilled, European-style, cultured butter (Regular, unsalted butter can work, as well.)

3 Tbsp. ice water

1 ½ Tbsp. cider vinegar

Blend flour, sugar, and butter together with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix ice water and vinegar together in a glass. Add liquid slowly to the dough until you can gather it into a thick, flattened disk.

Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour. (It can be made a day ahead.)

Filling Ingredients:

6 quince, cleaned, peeled, cored, and halved

Juice of one lemon

1¾ c. sugar ¼ tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. European-style, cultured butter (Regular, unsalted butter can work, as well.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Fill a large stockpot with water, one c. sugar, and half of the lemon juice. Poach the quince halves for about 10 minutes. They should be tender, but do not let them overcook. Drain and cool. Cut into thin slices.

In cast-iron skillet, combine remaining ¾ c. sugar and salt. Place over medium heat on stove top, and cook until it begins to thicken and caramelize. Remove from heat, add butter, and stir until butter is incorporated into caramel. Arrange quince slices in the caramel in the pan in a decorative, overlapping, circular pattern. Keep in mind that the pattern of the quince slices will be the top of the dessert. Sprinkle on the remaining lemon juice.

Warm the dough slightly before rolling out. Use as little flour as possible, and make the circle just big enough to cover the quince (slightly bigger than the diameter of the cast iron skillet). Tuck pastry edges in snuggly around the fruit

Place cast iron skillet on top of a baking sheet in case it overflows. Bake for about 45 minutes or until pastry is a deep, golden color and fruit is bubbly. Remove from oven and using oven mitts, carefully invert the tarte tatin onto a serving platter, fruit side up. Serve warm.

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Dulce

de Membrillo-

Spanish Quince Paste Ingredients:

4 large quince, cleaned, peeled, and cored

Sugar

Juice of one lemon

Pinch of salt

Dash of natural vanilla extract

Directions:

Scrub quince well to remove extra white fuzz. Place fruit into a saucepan, cover with water, and add lemon juice. Bring to a soft boil and cook until the fruit becomes tender. Drain and let cool. Pass through a food mill, then measure the pulp; add the pulp’s equivalent in sugar (or a bit less, if you prefer a tarter taste). Add a pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla extract.

Heat up in a saucepan until the mixture begins to bubble, thicken, solidify, and turn a deep red. Pour and spread thickened quince paste into a well-oiled baking dish, or line the dish with parchment paper for easy removal. Let cool and then refrigerate. Slice once solid. Traditionally served in small squares with slices of manchego cheese, membrillo can also be put in small molds or cut out with cookie cutter forms for fun. It's also a great addition to desserts or brunch menus.

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If you do not have a quince tree in your personal orchard, here are some farms where you can pick quince fruit in the fall: Averill Farm, Washington Depot l 860.868.2777 Beardsley's Cider Mill & Orchard, Shelton l 203. 926.1098 Belltown Hill Orchards, South Glastonbury l 860.633.2789 Garden of Ideas, Ridgefield l 203.431.9914 The Hickories, Ridgefield l 203.894.1851 Holmberg Orchards, Gales Ferry l 860.464.7305 Hurricane Farm, Scotland l 860.465.9934 Staehly Farm & Winery, East Haddam l 860.873.9774 White Silo Farm & Winery, Sherman l 860.355.0271 The edible quince, cydonia oblonga, is not to be confused with any of the more common ornamental varieties such as pseudochaenomeles, chaenomeles japonica, chaenomeles speciosa, or chaenomeles x superba.

Ask for cydonia oblonga specifically at your local garden center and grow a quince tree of your own. They prefer full sun; loose, slightly-acidic, well-drained soil; and, if possible, shelter from wind. They can grow up to 16’ in height and spread, so give them plenty of space. One tree can yield more than 250 lbs. of fruit!

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into Qiviut, Mink, and Cashmere

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by Laura Graham Photos by Anna Sawin

It was a dark and stormy afternoon; I gripped my steering wheel with both hands as my windshield wipers flicked furiously back and forth. The GPS arrow started spinning around crazily and lost its signal. I thought, "I have no idea what this place looks like!" A wool mill? I envisioned the large brick buildings of former textile mills along the rivers of New England, but I was far from the seashore or any rivers. I was off in the quietest corner of Connecticut farmland, in the town of Eastford.

Siri eventually chirped that I had arrived. Two farmhouses flanked a driveway, but neither looked like a mill to me.

Farther up the dirt driveway was a barn-like structure with an "Open" sign shining in one of the windows. I knocked firmly on the door, stepped inside, and was immediately surrounded by brightly-lit walls laden with richly-hued skeins of yarn and knitted garments.

I shouted "hello" over the din of the machinery and Deirdre Bushnell – one of Still River Mill’s owners – came out to greet me. Slender and jaunty, she gave me a playful smile and patiently and enthusiastically answered all of my questions about their truly extraordinary operation. As she walked ahead of me, I smiled to note that her long, dark hair was twisted into a braid like a two-ply yarn.

Deirdre and her husband Greg are highly-trained engineers who were living in Glastonbury with jobs about which neither was passionate. As a knitter, in the early 1980's, Deirdre had taught herself to spin wool and knit; she acquired five sheep, popped them into her suburban backyard, and started spinning her own sheep's wool. She discovered that creating the roving – long, narrow, bundles of unspun fiber – was labor-intensive and that her sheep were producing at a rate that exceeded her need.

Deirdre began to look around for a commercial wool mill that would make roving for her out of her sheep's wool.

This proved difficult; either the minimums were too high, or the smaller mills would combine your wool with others.

You would get the same weight back in fiber, but there was no guarantee it would be of the same quality.

In 2002, Deirdre and Greg fell in love with a farm property in rural Eastford and decided to move there with their three children. Deirdre researched what it would cost to buy small-scale mill equipment and proposed to her husband that she leave her engineering job and open an artisanal wool mill that would service the growing

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home-knitters industry. If the company did well, he might join her. She opened the Mill in September 2004, and by January 2005, the demand for her services was so overwhelming, that Greg left his job.

Now they run the Mill full-time with three employees and are known internationally for their niche service milling fine fibers. A large portion of the wool and fiber sent to them is from out of state.

Traditional sheep's wool is sheared or cut off; others are combed or brushed during the molting season to obtain their soft winter coat fur. Yarn can be made from a spectrum of natural and manmade materials. Still River Mill specializes in high-end, luxury fiber yarn production. What does that mean?

You can bring your own raw materials or the Mill can source them for you. Still River makes yarns with mink, cashmere, qiviut, alpaca, and sheep’s wool. Yes, mink – those very soft and extremely feisty, weasel-like animals. They are not killed when the down is removed, but apparently, heavy leather gloves are required when they are brushed.

All fibers and fiber qualities have their use, so it is important to identify the quality of wool you have access to before considering what products you plan to make. For example, when dealing with qiviut, (the wool from the Arctic musk ox), Inuits use the most refined fibers, or down, more lovely and delicate than cashmere, to make garments to be worn around the face. The coarser, lower grade wools are used to make heavy covers and rugs. Wool that is good for your feet is not necessarily what you want around your neck and vice versa. I learned this myself when I once bought pure cashmere socks that got holes in them almost immediately. All-natural fiber yarns are luxurious, but are often improved with the addition of a small amount of nylon or a natural, manmade fiber such as bamboo rayon. The blended yarn will handle better, hold up to washing, and be more resistant to friction and general wear and tear, as for use in socks.

The first step to transforming your raw wool that is either combed or sheared off your animal, is washing it. This needs to be done well or it lowers the quality of wool considerably. Washing wool requires more soap and water than most people realize. It is essential to acquire the proper amount of cleanliness; Deirdre uses a soap created specifically for the textile industry, specially-formulated to

clean fiber without damaging it or harming its natural luster. The washed wool is then pulled apart by hand and put in the drying room. The Still River Mill drying room is part passive solar and part electric dehumidifiers.

Once the wool is dry, it needs to be opened: further pulled apart and fluffed. This is done in part by hand and then placed on a conveyor belt and run through a machine that separates the wool and blows the loose fibers out through a chute into a tiny closed room. Spray bottles of conditioner are used to moisten the fiber after it dries to help keep it supple and cohesive. The humidity of the fibers is as vital to a yarn maker as is the humidity of clay to a potter. The wools are kept in large plastic bags for this reason. The humidity level in the Mill is controlled in order to maximize the effectiveness of working with the wool, not for human comfort. There is an acceptable 15% plus or minus margin in weight in the wool industry; wool packaged and weighed in New England's humid climate is heavier than the same wool shipped and then stored in say, Arizona.

The opened wool is then brought from the small collection room and placed in small clumps on another opening machine. It is on this machine where the fiber can be blen ded with other fibers. Clumps of cashmere or qiviut may be blended on this apparatus with fine Merino wool to increase the strength and workability of the fibers.

The wool is then carded several times. At Still River Mills there are two carding machines. From the opened wool, the carding machines make roving (the large, soft, fluffy wool ropes that spinners use) or batting for quilts. Once the roving is carded, it is put on drawing frames that stretch out and double the roving to further align all of the fibers. This creates a more consistent, even roving that is ready to be spun. Still River Mill can make roving for you to spin yourself at home, or they will continue the process and spin the roving into a finished yarn.

Roving that is sent through a spinning machine becomes a one-ply yarn. Depending on the intensity of the twist, the same raw material can create radically different yarns. Again, having a clear idea of what project you are spinning for is essential.

Still River Mill has two spinners that can create ctfoodandfarm.com

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anything from big, bulky yarns down to fingering yarns; another makes extremely fine lace yarn. Yarn is always described by length per weight, with metric sizing. Its size dictates the type of fabric the yarn will create. Next, the yarn is put in a plying machine – just one can keep up with the three spinning machines.

Deirdre chose the equipment and designed the Mill to run at maximum efficiency with a small staff.

The yarn then goes through a steamer. In addition to steaming and stretching the yarn into its final form, this machine also counts the yards, leading to the final yards per pound number that is used when selling the yarn. Last of all, the yarn is put into a skein winder that packages the yarn into normally 2- or 4-oz. skeins. Deirdre makes sure that all of the skeins of yarn go through one final washing to provide the customer with a yarn showing its true character and is ready for use or resale.

It was time to feed the goats, so Deirdre and I headed out to the shed to see her cashmeres. She explained that many types of goats are used to make cashmere; there isn't only one breed. She obtained hers from a nunnery in New York. They are charming animals, but rather large and with horns. I decided to stay outside the fence while Deirdre fed them. They have a hierarchy in their community of five, so they need to be tethered before the food comes out. Looking at these cashmere goats, I imagine how huge the Arctic musk ox must be, and I try to image brushing one. The Alaskan Inuit tribe originally reached out to Deirdre directly to mill their musk ox wool. Now, thanks to their collaboration with Still River Mill, they have high-quality qiviut fiber to sell at a premium price.

Closer to home, I was at Hopkins Vineyard in Warren recently for a wine tasting, and saw some beautiful, brightly-colored yarns for sale. Turns out that the yarn comes from the adjacent Sachem Farm that dates back to 1787. Sachem Farm's single-flock yarns are made from the wool of their bluefaced Leicester and Romney sheep – and the wool is milled and dyed at Still River Mill.

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Terra Firma Farm ra G

h ot os

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P n raham Anna Sawi

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As we sat down at the kitchen table,

I could hear desperate shrieking coming from down the hall. I began the interview. The shrieking continued. “Go get him, please,” I said.

Farmer Brie disappeared and moments later I was holding a tiny, all-black, newborn kitten that was abandoned this week on the road in front of the Farm. “What kind of person does that?” we say to each other. Brie said the kitten was in pretty rough shape when she first found him. His tiny flailing claws grasped at my hand and sweater as I fed him the small bottle of formula that Farmer Brie had prepared.

As the kitten snuggled into the bend of my arm and gulped down the contents of the bottle, I was filled with a sense of well-being. Farmer Brie smiled at me, obviously entertained. This is what she does: she

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connects people with the Farm, with its food, with the earth. It is not an intellectual connection – that may come later – it is a visceral connection. She invites you to love the things that she loves.

In 2004 after getting her Bachelor’s degree in animal sciences from the University of Vermont, Brianne Casadei came home to Stonington and leased a small historic farm property that she found through Connecticut Landmarks. The old Forge Farm built in 1750 is too small to be a regular commercially-viable farm, but Brie had a different vision. Her dream was to reconnect children with agriculture. My own two children, raised thus far in a major European city, then aged six and nine, were some of the first to enroll.

It was a heady time. Every family in Stonington wanted to be part of Brie’s new project and have their kids learn about farming and the origins of their food. The beauty of it is that this is a real farm, not a petting zoo. So, the kids worked with the animals, took care of the Farm with Brie, and then with their parents would bring home and enjoy products they helped produce. There was a vegetable garden, chickens, rabbits, pigs, donkeys, cows, sheep, and even a ctfoodandfarm.com

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big, colorful heirloom variety turkey named Tom, strutting around the parking lot when you drove in. The kids loved it. The after-school programs continued, grew, and evolved to include summer camps.

Now, more than a decade later, the programs continue strong with some of the original campers returning from college to work fulltime during the summer as camp counselors. Now, families can have birthday parties at the Farm, as well.

Terra Firma Farm is an agricultural educational center, as well as a place to shop for high-quality local food. About 75% of the Farm’s income comes from the farm stand and 25% from the educational programs. At the farm stand, Brie has expanded the selection to include and support other local farms’ products. Today, you can buy meat, eggs, dairy, vegetables, honey, jams, coffee, and soap.

Running a farm is a complex, labor-intensive enterprise, and at one point, Brie decided that she loves livestock farming best, and let go of the vegetable farming. She also started yearning to do what she had enjoyed most while in college: dairy farming. I asked Brie, why dairy and she replied, “I like cows. I like their character, how they are slow-moving and peaceful.”

Brie’s parents are full in; I often see them working with her. They were not farmers themselves, however. Brie is first generation. “I do not know where it comes from,” she said. “I just love it. If you are going to do something 200 hours per week, you might as well love it,” she says with a laugh.

After a decade of successfully educating children, Terra Firma Farm was ready to evolve into a proper commercial farming venture. A property in the neighboring town of North Stonington became available, and the vision began to take form.

Farmer Brie launched a Kickstarter campaign, and in 20 days, she would know whether or not people would support her dairy farm idea. It is one thing to farm, another to raise money. It was a real leap of faith for Brie to put herself out there that way, having never launched a crowd funding campaign before.

The goal was to raise $47,000 which would allow her to buy all of the equipment and livestock needed. The nerve-wracking part is that with Kickstarter, if you do not make your goal, you do not get any money. The project fails, and it fails publicly.

Each day, a few individuals donated to the project. Brie put together a social media campaign, and while people were supportive, her own social media could only reach so far. The amount raised slowly crept upward until two local newspapers, The New London Day and The Westerly Sun, published frontpage articles about Terra Firma Farm. Suddenly, the project took off and donations came flooding in. On the 20th day, Brie had $51,000 in contributions, and the dairy farm was born!

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This is what she does: she connects people with the Farm, with its food, with the earth. It is not an intellectual connection – that may come later – it is a visceral connection. She invites you to love the things that she loves.

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Brie estimates that 99% of the Kickstarter supporters are former campers and their families. She acknowledges that without the newspapers’ help, she would not have met her goal.

A year later, Brie and her partner Aaron Bulger have The Creamery at Terra Firma Farm going full swing. (The Creamery operates on the Farm’s North Stonington property, while the vegetable, livestock, and educational components remain in Stonington.)

They sell pasteurized milk and yogurt, and a butter churn arrived before the New Year, as well. The plan is to make European-style, cultured butter which has a creamier taste.

Because of its higher fat content, it has better properties for cooking, including a higher smoking point, and it makes a crumblier crust when baking. The Creamery currently sells whole pasteurized milk, chocolate milk, and coffee milk. It also sells plain yogurt, vanilla yogurt, and blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, and peach yogurts flavored with jams from Winding Drive Preserves in Woodbury; Brie chose Winding Drive because it uses only the highest-quality ingredients.

Terra Firma Farm first began by contributing to and building a community – one that has reaped great rewards in education and first-rate food – and has returned the favor through supporting the Farm’s growth. It is the kind of win-win situation that crowd funding was designed to facilitate.

With its eyes still the hazy blue of a newborn, I look at the tiny kitten just beginning his life. His belly is now full and he has quieted down. Farmer Brie is letting him clamber through her hands and up the front of her sweatshirt. His prospects are good. He has landed in a loving home; he has been adopted by a woman with vision and a true understanding of the value and power of community.

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by Laura Graham

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Photos by Jake Snyder of Red Skies Photography

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ry stone construction quietly holds our State's history.

Crisscrossing Connecticut lies a cultural patrimony of landforms built in stone. Like the great cathedrals of Europe, the majority of this stone work was built in total anonymity. While the stone walls of Connecticut may not soar to the same heights and refinement as cathedrals, anyone who has ever embarked on building even the simplest wall understands the magnitude of the labor involved, and appreciates the beauty that labor creates.

Maybe you have just bought a small farm or an historic home in Connecticut, or maybe you were even lucky enough to have inherited one. Chances are, there will be stone walls or some kind of historic stone construction on the property. Speaking with professional dry stone waller Karl Gifford from East Baldwin, Maine, he teaches me some of the history of the craft.

The earliest stone walls in the United States were built by European colonists in the 1600s. With the immediate need for food and shelter, they quickly set to chopping down trees for wood and clearing small plots. Once the trees were removed, it only took a couple of frost-and-thaw cycles for great numbers of rocks to rise to the surface. The rocky soil – similar to settlers’ native England and Northern Europe – was cleared of stones to maintain areas of tillable soil. These original fields were small due to the intensive work needed to create them. The resulting walls are known as "thrown walls," "farmer's walls," or "rubble walls."

There was no need to create any height, and the main goal was to clear the fields quickly. These walls were generally informal in construction.

As colonial settlements increased in size, more livestock was introduced. At first, animals were kept in commons, or communal lands. Later, as land became more privatized and sheep farms were introduced, the construction of stone walls exploded in popularity.

Construction became more advanced; the walls became bigger and were used to contain livestock away from the fields where the crops were grown. A new technique was introduced; the double-faced wall with "hearting," a Scottish term which describes filling the middle of the wall with smaller stones. Some wood fencing was used, but stone walls lasted longer and were more reliable. This intense proliferation of stone walls continued throughout the 1800s until Joseph Glidden invented and patented barbed wire in 1874 (an invention that incidentally made him one of the richest men in America).

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construction – continued in mill foundations, dams, and culverts. Today, some of these historic dry stone constructions may have had mortar added for repair.

A tremendous amount of research has been conducted on stone walls and their history. For a thorough analysis of their historical and social implications, Karl recommends Susan Allport's Sermons in Stone. University of Connecticut Geology Professor Robert Thorson and author of Stone by Stone: The Magnificent History of New England’s Stone Walls is an ardent defender against the dismantlement and removal of Connecticut's historic stone walls. His Stone Wall Initiative has been instrumental in raising awareness of the importance of historic stone walls to regional cultural identity.

This awareness has led to new State laws and town ordinances for stone walls’ protection.

Today, the art of the dry stone waller craftsman continues, and it is predominantly used in the realm of private homes, parks, and public buildings. It can be seen in retaining walls, raised beds, steps, and patios.

Dry stone construction quietly holds our State's history.

Crisscrossing Connecticut lies a cultural patrimony of landforms built in stone.

Traditionalists prefer to use locally-sourced stone.

New England field stone is preferred and is available in rounded, squared, or flat pieces. Veneer stone is cut to have a nice face, and is usually mortared onto a surface. Blue stone is common for patios, and Pennsylvania wall stone is the cheapest commercially available stone.

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art and kept at it until they built enough of a reputation to create a career. Others have more formal training. Elliott Hayden of Hampton is a farmer, a mason, and a Masonry teacher at H.H. Ellis Technical High School in Danielson.

A graduate of that program himself, Elliott learned all kinds of masonry – not just dry stone work. His uncle was a traditional mason, as is his cousin Ian McDonald, who lives and works in Killingly.

In Southeastern Connecticut, there is a well-known dry stone waller named David Higginbotham. He is entirely self-taught, but has built a reputation that has garnered him work in some of the most beautiful local historic homes. Working alongside David, Edward Coombs is another young stone mason by trade. Together, Dave and Eddie have rebuilt numerous stone walls in the area, in addition to building and restoring stone patios, steps, walkways, and chimneys.

Brian Cooper of Early New England Restoration Group has done work with local Native Americans to relocate and restore some of their historic buildings and stone walls.

For relocation, he numbers each stone to remain true to the original design. Brian’s passion is restoring historic homes down to the tiniest detail of hand-wrought nails. He is dedicated to preserving historic homes and the prerequisite expertise.

“I believe that restoration is not only about the preservation of historic buildings, but the preservation of the craftsmanship that is required to save these significant structures. Walking through the ashes of a burned down 1780s cape, I managed to salvage the only survivors of that intentional fire: hand wrought nails.

This was just one of many buildings prior to and since, unable to escape such a fate, and it awakened a passion in me,” says Brian. “The possibility of breathing new life into homesteads that continue to exist in our landscape centuries after they were built became my calling, and in 1977, Early New England Restorations was conceived. Today, my focus remains the same: first, to preserve history, be architecturally

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“ Today, my focus remains the same: first, to preserve history, be architecturally respectful, and build to last the test of time, and second, to preserve the craft by passing on those skills to the next generation.�

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respectful, and build to last the test of time, and second, to preserve the craft by passing on those skills to the next generation.�

While interviewing Karl Gifford (who is also my brother-in-law), I learned about a renowned English dry stone waller named Andrew Pighills who now lives in Connecticut. Originally from Yorkshire, Andrew first came to the United States in 2000 for a two-week vacation to visit a friend. This friend encouraged him to stay longer, and Andrew found dry stone work to help pay for the trip. During the stay, he was introduced to a woman who would later become his American wife, Michelle. The rest is history. Andrew and Michelle now own Stonewell Farm in Killingworth. The couple has built a career creating spectacular dry stone, Englishstyle gardens.

Around age 10, Andrew, the son of a farmer, was helping his father repair stone boundary walls; at age 16, Andrew was repairing the walls by himself. He liked the work and decided to make it his career. By age 20, he was a professional with his own business. Andrew became a Dry Stone Walling Instructor, certified by the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain and a Certified Advanced Craftsman with the same Association. This organization has a small but dedicated membership here in New England, as well. Once in his 40s, Andrew attended a 132

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two-year gardening program through the Royal Horticultural Society. Combining this new knowledge with his wife Michelle's good eye – developed through her fine arts background – allowed them to expand into advanced, English garden design work.

Stonewell Farm is a bustling hive of activity. It is here that Andrew teaches dry stone walling classes which draw people from all over the country. Collaborating with local chef Paul Barron, Andrew and Michelle also hold pop-up dinners in their garden, showcasing their outdoor wood-fired stone oven which Andrew built.

The sweeping beauty of their property has attracted the attention of people getting married and is often a site for wedding photographs.

An hour before Karl Gifford and my sister were to be married, my sister dove into the nearby lake and swam a mile across and back to burn off her nervous energy. In the meantime, I watched Karl and a fellow dry stone waller rebuild the large steps leading out of our family's 1820 farmhouse. Armed with their craftsmen’s knowledge and simple crowbars, Karl and Jeremy lifted the large slabs of granite and whirled them into place. I watched in wonder. I quickly braided my sister's wet hair, helped her into her dress, and she stepped through the threshold, onto the new stone steps. She married a stone whisperer. ctfoodandfarm.com

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The Basics of Repairing a Dry Stone Wall ry stone walls come in many designs and sizes, but there are some basic tenets to adhere to as Dry Stone Walling Instructor Andrew Pighills has taught me.

First, some vocabulary: n

Foundation Stones: usually the largest stones, as they support

the wall n First Lift: the section of wall between the foundation stones and

the through stones n Through Stones: long stones that reach all the way through the wall

and tie the wall together n Second Lift: the section of wall between the through stones and

the cap stones n Cap Stones: Large stones that reach across the top of the wall (like a

through stone) and prevent large animals from dislodging

the smaller stones of the second lift when scratching an itch To repair a fallen section of a dry stone wall, first sort the fallen rocks by type and remove any portion of the wall that seems unstable. Study the wall's design and determine if you have enough materials to rebuild the design or if you need to gather more.

You may need to clear the section of the broken wall entirely and realign the foundation stones. Use your building lines and pins to keep your work level and straight as you build.

If you are starting a new wall or adding a new section to an old wall, the site must first be cleared of any organic matter or black soil. Organic matter will decompose and settle, compromising the foundation. Dig a trench at least 6” wider than the width of the wall, and as deep as 1⁄3 of the finished wall’s height. A 3’ wall would require a 1’ trench. Fill the trench to within 3”-6” grade with 1.5” of clean crushed stone and compact. This creates a free draining base which greatly reduces the ctfoodandfarm.com

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chance of frost heave in the cold New England winters.

When you build, remember that it is gravity and friction alone that hold together a dry stone wall.

Ideally, each stone should have as much contact with its surrounding stones as possible.

"Two over one, one over two" is the basic rule; every joint should be crossed, as with brickwork.

Stones should be placed with their length into the center of the wall, and not along its face. The hearting stones should be placed as carefully as the face stones.

Never use crushed stone or gravel to replace hearting, as it has no structural integrity.

Always bring up the middle of the wall with the hearting stones at the same time that you build the two faces of the wall.

Place the through stones at about knee height; they are large enough to span the wall from front to back. They add structural integrity to the wall and are usually spaced about one yard apart from one another.

Add a second hearted layer and finish with the large cap stones.

Corners and ends are a bit trickier. Select these stones with great care and again, follow the “two over one, one over two� technique and alternate crossing the wall and running parallel to the wall. Use your heaviest cap stones to hold the corners and ends stone in place. A well-designed wall should gradually narrow as it increases in height.

Dress for Success: n

Wear solid footwear – ideally with protective toecaps.

Gloves are a good idea. n Protective eyewear is a must when breaking stones with a

hammer (even when they drop by mistake

and break, sharp chips can fly a considerable distance). n Always avoid loose clothing. n

A Dry Waller's Tools:

A selection of hammers of various weight and size to break stones if needed, and also to tap them into place n Building lines with pins n Measuring tape to keep your work visually accurate and more structurally sound n

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Chef

by Laura Graham photographs by Anna Sawin

exudes the kind of physical and personal energy that one would expect from a presidential candidate. Or rather, the kind it takes to embark on an entrepreneurial enterprise that requires working 130 hour weeks, one after another, after another. It is the effort required to make magic happen. At SIFT, Young's new bakery in downtown Mystic, magic happens.

If you seek the mundane, look elsewhere. From savory to sweet, each offering takes not one, but two steps beyond expectation. Exquisite loaves of bread, sandwiches, brownies, cookies, cakes, macarons and chocolates are created with an inspired twist.You cannot leave this bakery without something truly special in your hands.

SIFT's opening has been overwhelmingly successful.

Chef Young and his team had hoped for one thousand customers the first week; instead, they got several thousand! Mother's Day found the bakery packed with an enormous line out the door. When I arrive the following week, the shop is bustling, yet spotless, and perfectly organized.

Chef Adam grew up on a dairy farm in Vermont where long hours and hard work were the norm. His parents were the first in a series of mentors; he speaks with respect about those who taught him, and about the importance of establishing credentials. Entering the workforce as a dishwasher at a local restaurant in his hometown, Young worked his way up though the kitchen and then enrolled in the New England Culinary Institute at age 17. From there, he cooked in a series of fine dining restaurants; Chef Adam first honed his pastry skills in New Orleans under the mentorship of French Master Chef René Bajeux at Rene Bistro, and Pastry Chef Joy Jessup at La Côte Brasserie. His next step – Head Pastry Chef at Quail Valley Golf and River Club in Vero Beach, Florida under the direction of Chef Jose Faria. In 2010, Chef Adam returned to New England to work as Executive Pastry Chef at Ocean House in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. ctfoodandfarm.com

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When I arrive at SIFT, he is consulting with bride from New York on her wedding cake. Recently married himself (he met his wife Ebbie at Ocean House), he speaks with patience and understanding, assisting the bride in formulating her vision. Adam presents a selection of cakes and pastries for both the bride and her mother to sample. When they ask if he could create a cake for 150 people, he humbly replies that he handled weddings for 1,000 guests at Ocean House.

With gleaming stainless steel, glossy, white-painted surfaces, and large plate glass windows, SIFT is a showcase of product and process. The interior is American in feel, yet the pastries, presented on white ceramic platters, are decidedly European.

The confections are as much about innovative presentation as they are taste. As customers make their purchases, each item is lovingly packaged on its own. I chat with the four friendly women working behind the counter, and they tell me that in addition to Chef Young, there are seven bakers in the kitchen, and 18 front-of-house employees. SIFT is open seven days per week, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., but baking begins at 2:00 a.m. I get the impression that they never really close.

Originally Chef Adam and Ebbie thought SIFT would be a primarily wholesale operation. The retail space is compact, adding to the European feel. With only a couple of places to actually sit, SIFT was not designed as a place to linger. Adam tells me that his vision was for customers to go out and enjoy the beautiful town of Mystic – to take his pastries to the park near the river, or eat while strolling through downtown or the nearby Mystic Seaport. SIFT's retail is so popular though, that it has now become a priority. Chef Adam and Ebbie plan to add awnings and outdoor seating right away.

Ebbie and and Stella – the couple’s two-month old daughter – come to join us. Ebbie shares how things materialized between her and Adam – personally and professionally. "It was kind of hard at first, because we worked together at Ocean House, and it didn't seem professional to be in a relationship at work; but, Adam was persistent!" The idea of SIFT evolved as their relationship did.

With gleaming

stainless steel,

glossy, white-

painted surfaces,

and large plate

glass windows,

SIFT

is a showcase of product

and process.

To say the least, it is a big step to go from a regular paycheck to your own bricks-and-mortar place and a team of employees (and the payroll that comes with it). Adam and Ebbie talk about the process: finding the right piece of real estate (with the help of local realtor Judi Caracausa); looking for investors; and finding a way to finance it themselves through local Chelsea Groton Bank.

Adam used Business Plan Pro software to draft a business plan which he used to present to the Bank and potential investors.

The process took several months; now, the business plan helps in the daily running of the business. ctfoodandfarm.com

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Gorgeous Vegetable Quiches made with asparagus, spinach, shallots, garlic, and local chevre from Beltane Farm in Lebanon.

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Traditional brioche dough - equal parts dough and butter - is used as the base for SIFT’s sinful Pecan Sticky Buns with Salted Toffee.

Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Orange Blossom Crème Brûlée Entremet with a Micro Hazelnut Macaron and Tempered Chocolate Garnish.

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Flaky Almond Croissants baked with slivered almonds, split in half, and piped with almond mousse.

Every bite of Pain d’Epi maintains its crunch and is ideal for dipping in soup.

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Adam tells me

that his vision

was for customers to go out and

enjoy the beautiful town of Mystic – to take his pastries to the park near the river, or eat while strolling

through downtown or the nearby

Mystic Seaport.

Ebbie explains that Adam completed a lion’s share of the physical construction, from laying the tile floor to hanging sheet rock. He designed the interior himself, and she helped him select some of the colors, which reflect the cool nautical tones of a New England seaport. Adam’s goal was to make the baking process as accessible as possible to the consumer. From both the retail space and the exterior, customers can look through large plate glass windows, right into the kitchen, and watch the bakers at work. There are so many panes, you can peer through the entire building from front to back to see sun light glinting off the water of the Mystic River.

A woman comes into the shop and greets Adam like a close friend. She is a former student of his from when he taught holiday baking classes at Ocean House. Adam tells me how much he enjoys teaching. “Once you master a skill, giving back to the community by passing that knowledge along is the right thing to do.” When he worked in Florida, Adam donated teaching time to Daisy's Bakery, an organization that works with kids from at-risk backgrounds. Now that he is the owner of his own business, he discusses the importance of mentoring employees so they have something to take away from their job, beside a paycheck. To keep things interesting, he and his team create at least one new product for the store each day.

Given their current work load – with a brand new business and baby – it seems almost cruel to ask, but I can’t help it. "Future plans?" Adam gives me a huge grin. "A large wholesale business? A commissary kitchen? A cooking school?” Ebbie arches an eyebrow at him and then laughs.

Personally, I have no doubt whatever their endeavors, these two will pull it off.

SIFT Bake Shop is located at 5 Water Street, Mystic, CT (860) 245-0541 / info@siftbakeshopmystic.com

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Saving Seeds

- a Graceful Habit

by Laura Graham

Winter Caplanson Photos

n 1987, Marilyn Barlow resolved to devise a way to work from home so she could spend more time with her newborn son; she began collecting rare and disappearing open-pollinated flower seeds and selling them from her 1835 farmhouse. Marilyn and her husband Peter, a carpenter, bought their house as a fixer-upper. You know – the kind that has old canning jars floating in a flooded basement, and whose primary residents are termites? Marilyn and Peter are of serious Yankee stock which is not easily discouraged.

Nearly three decades later, Marilyn and her team of employees run a vibrantly successful company called Select Seeds whose catalogue makes my heart pound with excitement. If hollyhocks, vintage flowers, and such are your thing, Select Seeds is your Mecca. The Connecticut winter cold sucks the air out of my lungs as I dash from my car into the warm, moist air of the greenhouses.

The main greenhouse is filled with trays of tiny seedlings of "Rare, Heirloom, and Choice" specimens as the Select Seeds ctfoodandfarm.com

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“If hollyhocks, vintage flowers, and such are your thing, Select Seeds is your Mecca.”

Catalogue describes. Each tray has a different story; some plants are native, others European, and more still are from other collectors in the U.S. While the company's own open pollinated seeds (grown on the property) are certified organic, efforts become more complicated when plants and seeds come in from other places. Marilyn's ultimate goal is to go all-organic.

There are generators, and backup generators, to make sure the greenhouses never lose heat, and painstaking care is taken to prevent and eliminate any potential pests. Nearby lies a cardboard tube labeled "Amblyseius cucumeris" - miniscule predatory mites sprinkled into freedom, hungrily patrolling.

The minute scale of the plants draws you in to observe their fine, colorful details and fragrance.

There are hundreds of tiny multi-hued coleus, followed by trays of fragrant herbs and delicate, petite heirloom violets: 76

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the same fragrant violets that inspired Victorian poetry and Valentines. The ones that we examine date from the Civil War through the turn of 20th century.

They smell like my grandmother's perfume and range in color from pale pinks to midnight blue.

We continue to the primroses.

There is bright yellow cowslip, or Primula veris, that dates back to circa 1747 in the United States.

(They are a native English wildflower.) Another variety, a delicate pink Primula polyanthus, is a descendant of the Barnhaven primrose collection that famed American horticulturist Florence Bellis began in 1935. They would look so charming in clay pots!

Extreme gardening greed begins to fill my head. I start wondering if it would be acceptable to get rid of all of our lawn and surround our home completely with flowers.

My mind spins with flower bed design strategies.

We step into the colder greenhouse where the perennial seedlings are

Marilyn tends a Sweet 'Rosina', a candy pink, intensely-perfumed sweet violet, popular in the late 19th century, employed as corsages, nosegays, and in the making of perfume.

moved to be vernalized. Some of the perennials were seeded back in August to give them enough time to germinate and be in presentable form for sale in the spring. Looking at the variety of unusual pigments and shapes, I want them all. This is the world of gardening magic.

We are light years away from the world of big box stores with their pesticide-coated plants. My sister humorously refers to those stores as "the Dark Side." I feel like a young gardening Jedi walking at Marilyn Barlow's side.

There are a few pots marked with red- and white-striped flags; those plants are not commercially available. One is the Pelargonium “Golden Harry Hieover” from England. Surrounding it are cuttings of night blooming cereus – a fragrant flowering cactus – which were originally acquired from the Mark Twain House in Hartford.

This only partially answers my question, "how does one go about collecting old-fashioned plants and seeds?" Listening to Marilyn, I realize 78

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she's a collector of fine art – one piece at a time. Some annuals she finds through European catalogues, but she also tells me of hiking with her husband many years ago in their surrounding 50-acre woods and finding some unusual irises next to an overgrown cellar hole–which went straight to her personal beginner garden.

My own beginner's collection arrived in the same way most early-Colonial flower beds did: with gifts. Friends showed up shortly after we moved into our new home with rangy-looking perennials in assorted temporary vessels. These gifts are typically resilient, if not invasive plants.

In other words, I couldn’t kill them, and our home now has some great patches of color and joy that remind me of our dear friends who shared their gardens with us back then.

There wasn't exactly a flower budget when the first European settlers arrived in the New World.

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"Her great grandfather, grandmother, and great aunt surrounded the home with shrub roses, peonies, hay scented ferns, daylilies, phlox, lemon lilies, and irises, each with their own distinct, intoxicating scent."

Food was the goal, and if there were flowers in garden beds, they were there to attract pollinating bees or as part of the “Physic Garden of Simples,” – herbs and flowers used in early medicine. Flower bed design did not hit its peak in the United States until the Victorian Age when exotic plants from world travelers were introduced into elaborate glass greenhouses.

Erroneously, I thought heirloom plants were mostly perennials.

Marilyn opened my eyes. Select Seeds has an extraordinary selection of annuals. The Catalogue includes suggestions for color and texture couplings, something as delightful to me as pairing food and wine. We talk more about garden design and I learn about Victorian circular beds with poles in the middle to support flowering annual vines, surrounded with concentric shorter plants.

Marilyn tells me of growing up in a multi-generational family homestead in Connecticut that was built in 1855. It was a large wooden-shingled, L-shaped 80

CT Food & Farm / Spring 2016

farmhouse with a steep pitched slate roof, tiled in pattern.

Her great grandfather, grandmother, and great aunt surrounded the home with shrub roses, peonies, hay - scented ferns, daylilies, phlox, lemon lilies, and irises, each with their own distinct, intoxicating scent.

When Marilyn later studied agriculture, she discovered that modern landscaping was sadly lacking in such fine perfumes.

Modern plants became short and unscented from being over-hybridized; they had lost their poetry. Marilyn began seeking out tall, gangly, aromatic plants. She desired those with a “graceful habit.” In the days before the internet, Marilyn searched out primary sources in the nearby Old Sturbridge Village Research Library.

Select Seeds' first catalogue comprised perennials and some vegetables, but after years in the business, annuals are now Marilyn’s true passion. She cites such texts as Louise Beebe Wilder’s 1918 Colour in My Garden and Celia

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“I imagine Celia Thaxter sitting among the flowers for hours at a time to study each one in detail, how it grew from a tiny seed, how the colors and forms accompanied each other, everything, for her descriptions. are so keenly observant.”

Thaxter’s 1894 An Island Garden as two important inspirations.

Celia Thaxter was a poet; her talent is best shown through her descriptions of her beautiful annual gardens on Appledore Island in the Isles of Shoals, off the coasts of New Hampshire and Maine.

As Marilyn tells me, “I imagine Celia Thaxter sitting among the flowers for hours at a time to study each one in detail, how it grew from a tiny seed, how the colors and forms accompanied each other, everything, for her descriptions are so keenly observant.”

Select Seeds began to garner national attention in the mid-1990s when the "cottage" look became very popular. Flowers with a “graceful habit” suddenly were all the rage, and the company was featured on the cover of Country Living magazine. That's when things really took off for the business.

Since then, Select Seeds has won numerous Direct Gardening

Association Green Thumb Awards, most recently one for Silene dioica “Ray’s Golden Campion” described as an "outstanding open-pollinated perennial featuring golden yellow to chartreuse foliage and hot fuchsia flowers in mid- to late-spring. Longblooming, it has a golden green color that complements the sprin palette and brilliant flowers that bring on the wow-factor. 24-30” tall.”

Select Seeds has more than 600 types of seed packets and plants available for purchase (including Silene dioica "Ray’s Golden Campion"); call 800-684-0395 or visit their website.

Schools, 4-H Clubs, and Future Farmer of America (FFA) organizations are encouraged to contact Select Seeds about its Seed Donation Program.

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Farmers’ Tried and True Favorite Seed Varieties

By Laura Graham

Winter Caplanson, Ashley Caroline Scavotto and Victoria Schaefer Photos

Increase your chance at gardening success this year!

Opt for the vegetable varieties Connecticut farmers choose themselves for disease resistance, bountiful harvest, and flavor.

No need to worry about starting these seeds inside; some of the easiest veggies to grow have seeds that can be sown directly into garden soil in the spring.

The earliest planting time is “as soon as the soil can be worked.” Seeds can rot if planted too early in cold, water-logged soil. If the soil is sticks to your tools, a spade comes out clumped with mud, or a handful of soil formed into a ball holds together and requires pressure to break apart, it’s still too early to plant.

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Victoria Schaefer

If you have packets of seeds from previous years, they may still be viable. Lettuce and radish seeds will germinate as long as five years, for example, while leek seeds are good for only one. Check an online seed viability chart or try a seed germination test: place 10 seeds spaced apart on a damp paper towel. Roll it up and place in a plastic bag. Leave it in a warm spot in the house; lighting doesn’t matter. After two to five days, check to see how many seeds have germinated. That percentage will give you a pretty good idea of how the same seed will do in your garden.

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Here are some tried and true recommendations from experienced farmers, with grower’s notes: Allison Charney, KAM Farm, Lebanon Violet of Sicily Cauliflower: Disease and drought resistant, large purple heads with excellent flavor.

Purple Beauty Bell Pepper: Abundant ripe fruit throughout the summer.

Ancho (Poblano) Pepper and Black Hungarian Pepper: Prolific producers if started early and transplanted once the soil is warm.

Cosmic Purple Carrots, Scarlet Nantes Carrots, and Atomic Red Carrots: long, straight carrots with excellent, rich flavor and brilliant tiny.

Phil Griffin, Apis Verdi Farm, Lebanon Lemon Cucumbers: Excellent flavor, prolific, stands up better to cucumber beetles. Pick while young and tender with a pale yellow-green tint.

Mark Pailthorpe, Falls Creek Farm, Oneco Maxibel , Concador, and Velour French Filet Beans: Reliable germination, no disease problems, plentiful, fantastic flavor. Vibrant colors in green, yellow, and purple.

Brian Kelliher, Easy Pickin’s, Enfield Sugar Sprint Sugar Snap Peas: Early; shorter vine; no need to trellis. Pods are fairly string-less with strong taste and no disease problems.

Japanese Hakurei Spring Turnips: Appealing flavor, texture, and beauty.Wayne Hansen, Wayne’s Organic

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Ashley Caroline Scavotto

Radishes: Amethyst, a beautiful purple; Ping Pong, a clean white; Pink Beauty, a pretty pink; Cherriette, deep red.

Varieties which hold appearance and flavor well, even into warmer weather.

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Wayne Hansen, Wayne’s Organic Garden, Oneco Cascadia Sugar Snap Peas: Larger pods, very tasty.

Oregon Giant Snow Peas: Sweet and tender, e�en when pods are large and a bit swollen.

Maestro Shelling Peas: easy to tell when the pod is full.

CJ Pogmore, Bluebird Hill Farm, Lebanon Multipik (Yellow) and Reward (Green) Summer Squash: Produce like crazy, excellent disease resistance.

Mitchel Colgan, Colgan Farm, Windsor Rattlesnake Pole Beans: Beautiful and delicious, can be harvested young as snap beans or left on the vine and harvested as dry beans.

Ronde de Nice Zucchini: Bush-like, smaller plant. Very productive.

Small, round fruit, classic taste.

Max Taylor, Provider Farm, Salem Red Ace Beets: Large in size, consistent producer, flavorful and versatile greens.

Nelson Spring Carrots: Sweet, crunchy, grow straight and long.

Romance Summer Carrots: Stellar malady resistance desirable for summer growing.

Paul Desrochers, 18th Century Purity Farms, Plainfield Penelope Shelling (English) Peas: Long pods (eight-10 peas per pod), easy to tell when mature, pods well-exposed for harvest.

Delectable Sweet Corn: Nice, tight husk, longer harvest window (without getting tough), earworm more easily controlled with organic techniques than some other varieties, amazing taste.

Now fire up that online seed-ordering!

Happy growing, gardeners!

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Fresh Fish Steeped in Tradition

Lenten Fridays at the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society and Club in Stonington, CT

By Laura Graham

Winter Caplanson photos

Each Friday during Lent, the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society in Stonington caters to a packed house of soon-to-be happily fed diners.

The commotion begins at half past seven when the first individuals arrive to begin cooking. The ingredients, seafood fresh from the docks, is purchased the night before: cod, haddock, clams, shrimp, scallops, and squid. They comprise the Society’s legendary Fish and Chips dinner.

Tucked in the southeastern corner of Connecticut, east of Mystic and west of Pawcatuck, is a point of land less than a mile long, affectionately referred to as the Borough. Leaving Route 1, the road leads you up and over the viaduct crossing the Amtrak rail line. It is here where you will enter one of the most charming villages in New England.

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In the early 1700's, Stonington was settled by a motley crew of farmers, fishermen, and world class merchants and explorers, including Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer who discovered Antarctica in 1820. Today, the town's immaculately preserved historic architecture illustrates this range of inhabitants, from farmers’ early Colonial gambrel cottages, large Queen Anne, Federal, and Greek Revival ship captain homes that reflect the wealth accumulated in Stonington due to whaling and the early seal fur trade.

cannons," as the locals say. (Two cannons sit in a main square in the center of town and are a symbol of patriotic pride for residents, as they were used to fend off the British in a decisive battle during the War of 1812.)

One of the most significant communities to contribute to Stonington's vibrant history was the arrival of Portuguese fisherman, many from the Azores, in the 1840s. They settled primarily in the very tip of the town, down near "the point" or "south of the

Like many immigrant communities, the Portuguese have held onto their dearest traditions.

One of these is the Feast of the Holy Ghost in remembrance of the sanctified Medieval Queen Saint Isabel, or Elizabeth of Aragon. Famous for her religious devotion during her reign and as the

CT Food & Farm / Spring 2016

The Society and Club have been a mainstay on Main St. in Stonington Borough since 1929.

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Portuguese-American

men volunteer to cook and serve the meal, most of whom have been involved since the its founding.

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Like many immigrant communities, the Portuguese have held onto their dearest traditions.

to the next, every seven weeks. The second day, after Sunday Mass, a commemorative "feeding of the masses" begins and continues until all participants have been fed traditional Portuguese soup and roasted meats.

The Holy Ghost Society’s Fish and Chips Dinner began about 25 years ago. Portuguese American men volunteer to cook and serve the meal, most of whom have been involved since its inception.

Founded more than one hundred years ago, The Society and Club’s first home was located in a small building at the end of the diminutive "Wall St." In 1929, the Club moved to its current location in a stunning 1836 Greek Revival on Main St. Lenten Fish and Chips Fridays have become so popular, that the club has also launched an additional series on Fridays in September and following the Feast of the Holy Ghost. This year, from February 5 – March 25, join in the festivities from 11:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. at 26 Main St., Stonington. Climb the outside staircase and you’ll enter an expansive dining room often jammed with hungry and excited diners.

Dowager Queen of Portugal, she was inspired by the Franciscan order of monks to help the poor and feed the masses. During a particularly harsh famine, it is said that the Holy Ghost descended upon the Queen and inspired her to give away her own food stores to save her subjects.

Queen Isabel is honored every September with a two-day weekend festival. On Saturday, a band plays as a crown and scepter are carried through the streets to St. Mary's Church. Afterward, celebrants gather at the Club to enjoy customary music and food. At the end of the evening, seven “domingas” (those whose homes will be blessed by the crown and scepter) are drawn and the following year’s sponsor is selected. The crown and scepter are passed from each dominga’s home

Lightly-breaded, golden, flaky fried fish, juicy shrimp, sweet scallops, tender calamari and whole belly clams, and homemade chowder together form the menu accompanied by French fries and coleslaw. Beer, soda, spirits, and wine are available, as well. The Holy Ghost Society, the Club, and its members are a wonderful example of the tremendous sense of community that sharing a meal creates; locals can always look forward to seeing familiar faces, while newbies are sure to become regulars after their first visit.

To learn more about the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society and Club, visit their website and Facebook page. The Club is available to rent, as well.

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Farm Fresh Catering

by Laura Graham, Photographed by Nick Caito

88 Winter 2015

I do: the simplicity of these two words has created one of the most mind boggling industries on the planet.

The desire to create a beautiful wedding celebration for family and friends is independent of language, culture, race, or religion. One of the happiest ways to celebrate is to break bread together.

So, why not do so with an approach which many already take? Farm to table.

Farm to table catering is not only available but with it comes all of the excitement of regular farm to table dining. Great flavor, freshness, and the connective sense of local community create a high-quality dining experience.

I sat down to talk to three Connecticut chefs who epitomize this movement and are now available to cater events from an intimate engagement party to a full-scale bells-andwhistles wedding for more than 100 people.

Chef Roy Riedl has become quickly known through the local farmers’ market circuit.

Having first worked in a restaurant and a traditional catering company, Roy plunked down $2,500 on a small food truck and together with his surprised wife Heather, started a business called Mercado Foods (named after the Plaza del Mercado, a favorite place that they visited while honeymooning in Puerto Rico).

Chef Riedl’s first food truck goal was to become part of the Coventry Regional Farmers' Market. As he said, "It was CRFM or bust!" This was a smart goal. His success there has paved the way to his own up-andcoming catering company. After the food

truck, his next move was to buy a trailer with a full professional kitchen inside. It is this mobile kitchen that allows him to come on site and cater for large groups.

Roy and Heather are committed to the food truck spirit which has captured the imagination of the international foodie community. Roy’s simple and rustic cooking becomes sophisticated through the high-caliber ingredients he uses and the skill with which he prepares them.

Chef Riedl spoke to me about the vulnerability a chef has when he or she cooks this way. In this style, a chef cannot hide behind sauces, purees, or spices; this way, the quality of the ingredients themselves and the chef’s skill and attention to them is revealed. A former mentor at Barcelona Restaurant in West Hartford Adam Halberg once said to him, "don't think about what you can add to a dish.

Think about what you can remove."

Mercado Foods Catering informally blends into your event. The servers dress like the guests and appear to be part of the party.

Food is served on giant tables in large family-style dishes, the same way it would be presented in a home cooked Puerto Rican or Spanish feast.

One of Roy's specialties is an enormous paella served in a three-foot wide custom stand. Huge plates of meat and vegetables are created with produce from local friends at Gutt Family Farm and Bogner Meats; local cheeses and breads are served on rustic cutting boards; and, there are no chaffing dishes or food lines. Mercado typically caters for groups of 65-120

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people. By using their method of presentation, Roy aims to encourage guests to engage in discussion about the food as they say, "pass me some of that" or "hey, did you try this?"

With the new catering arm of his business, Roy has both the trailer and a smaller food truck. This allows him to cater events while continuing to attend the farmers’ markets. It’s not surprising that the truck’s existing business is all the marketing necessary for Roy and Heather’s latest venture Across the street from Barcelona Restaurant in West Hartford (where Chef Riedl cut his teeth as a sous chef) is Max's Oyster Bar. During his tenure there, former Executive Chef Scott Miller earned the 2011 Chef of the Year award from the Connecticut Restaurant Association. Today, Chef Miller is a managing partner of the Max Restaurant Group helping to oversee restaurants in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Florida, as well as Max Catering and Events.

In this style, a chef cannot hide behind sauces, purees, or spices; this way, the quality of the ingredients themselves and the chef’s skill and attention to them is revealed.

Max Catering is pure farm to table. As Scott said, "we get great ingredients because we have great friends." Years spent in the kitchen have allowed him to build strong alliances. Scott discusses the importance of supporting and nurturing local suppliers as they grow their companies, so they may produce in bulk one day. As he lists some of his local food sources, it reads like a “who's who” of prominent CT names: dairy from Farmer's Cow Cooperative, Mystic Cheese Company, Oakleaf Dairy, and Arethusa Dairy. Herb Holden supplies his beef, Pete Sepe the lamb. High-quality poultry comes from GourmAvian Farms while seafood is hauled in from the docks of Stonington by Gulf

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Shrimp Seafood. Scott pores over seed catalogues with farmer friends at Rosedale and Sub Edge Farms to plan the year's crops. Even the beverages are locally sourced; the Max Restaurant Group has their own pale ale made by Thomas Hooker: Brewtus Maximus. Other local beers from Beer'd Brewing Co., Two Roads Brewing Co., and New England Brewing are served along with wines from Jonathan Edwards and Rosedale Vineyards. Westford Hills Distillery provides some of the spirits that Max Catering serves.

Scott emphasizes that while Max Catering has plenty of dishes and menus to suggest to their clients, really anything goes.

Recently, a couple asked him to create a wedding menu which comprised half Middle Eastern cuisine and half American barbecue. They told Scott that their absolute favorite falafel comes from Mamoun's in New Haven. The first thing Scott did was go to Mamoun's to try it out.

After more than 20 years as a celebrated chef, Scott admits that "there is always someone who will do something better than you do." He will study a fellow chef’s methods in order to recreate recipes.

Or, if he receives a request for a dish he has little experience preparing (such as sushi), he will bring in a local chef who specializes in the item(s). Chef Miller’s willingness to embrace and respect other cultures led him to learn Spanish. Scott estimates that in his kitchens, 70% of the staff are Spanish speaking; being fluent helps him establish and maintain close relationships with his colleagues.

Being a farm to table caterer takes extra planning, says Jon Hudak from his renowned restaurant Cafemantic in Willimantic. Jon too works hand-in-hand with long time friends who own local farms and businesses which supply top ingredients for his restaurant. "If I plan an event that is a year away, I can do my 92

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As two people start out their lives together, their wedding celebration expresses their personal values, tastes, and senses of humor; it joins two families and their heritages, their hometowns, and their favorite foods and cocktails.

best to have the ingredients planned, but I also need the right customer who understands farming and the vagaries of weather and crop yield. It is one thing to cook farm to table in a restaurant everyday; it’s another thing entirely to cook for more than 100 people for an event planned at least a year out. I can run out today and buy 10-15 lbs. of fresh local asparagus for my restaurant, but can I count on that same produce for a particular day a year or more into the future?

It’s unknowable. To enjoy farm to table catering, we need to be flexible and follow the seasons."

Vegetables are just one part; supplying the protein is another challenge. Local meats are often twice

the price of meats sourced elsewhere. One way to work around this is to serve more unusual and less expensive cuts. These can be delicious, but butcher’s cuts need to be cooked properly to maximize their potential. With this in mind, Jon mentions Green Valley Farm as a favorite pork supplier and Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm as his preferred purveyor of this seasonal bird.

Before his success at Cafemantic, Chef Hudak worked at Grant's – also a part of the Max Restaurant Group and nestled next to Barcelona.

Chefs Hudak, Miller and Riedl all knew and supported one other at the time, borrowing ingredients from each other in a pinch.

As two people start out their lives together, their wedding celebration expresses their personal values, tastes, and senses of humor; it joins two families and their heritages, their hometowns, and their favorite foods and cocktails. A farm to table catered meal is just one way a couple can represent their personality and support their local agriculture and its economy. Looking for some inspiration for planning a special event?

Let this issue of CT Food and Farm Magazine be your muse!

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B.F. Clyde’s: America’s Olde Steam-Powered Cider Mill

By Laura Graham

Tali Greener, ERTD

est d

D/Mystic Country Photos

Sharp

fall breezes rustle the vibrant yellow and orange leaves overhead.

Sunlight falls across the late 19th century wooden buildings making the view painting-like.

Stone walls, fall foliage, colonial structures; B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill in Old Mystic is why people come to New England.

When you step into the mill, you immediately sense the tart, slightly musty smell of crushed apples and fermentation. Visit on the weekends and you can see the cider being made. Apples are loaded from a truck up a conveyor belt and sent down through a chute. Inside overhead, belts whiz around pulley wheels powered by a steam engine that chugs off to the side. The massive cast iron press squeezes the apples that are held in place in large wooden racks. The sweet cider runs off and is collected in troughs that surround the press.

This is the real thing. Four generations later, Benjamin Franklin Clyde’s family continues to keep the business thriving. Fifth and sixth generations already work within the business that was founded in 1881. With no refrigeration, hard apple cider was standard table fare at that time and by 1898, Clyde had earned enough money from selling his cider that he was able to buy his own property and equipment and build his mill.

The statistics are daunting. Only 30% of family businesses are passed to the next generation, 12% to the third generation and 3% to the third. B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill is the oldest continuously-operated manufacturer of hard cider. So how have they done it? How have they stayed the same, yet evolved to survive from 1881 until 2015? Through the kind of entrepreneurial wit that makes a great story.

Sales were going strong. B.F. Clyde and his wife Abby had their business figured out. Apples arrived by freight train to the station in Mystic and hauled by a team of horses for the threemile trip back to the mill. They sold hundreds of barrels locally and as far as New York City. Then Prohibition arrived. Businesses went bankrupt, doors closed; but not Clyde’s. Pressing apples to make hard cider begins with making sweet cider. This in turn, ferments to make hard cider, which if left to age becomes vinegar.

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R i ta R i ve r a

When you step into the mill, you immediately sense the tart, slightly musty smell of crushed apples and fermentation.

In 1920, home canning and preserves were the norm and so was pickling. Clyde’s wife Abby, who handled the sales part of the business, relabeled the hard cider “vinegar stock.” What was left in barrels as hard cider was certainly not intended to be consumed before it turned to vinegar. Twice federal agents came to inspect and then arrest Abby for bootlegging, but she was never convicted. She stood her ground and told them not to touch a single barrel of her product. Miraculously they never did, and business went on.

When Prohibition ended on December 5, 1933, however, there was a bigger threat. Beer had gained popularity and hard cider sales dropped.

There was a sales slump until 1950 when the business was handed over to the next

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generation. B.F. Clyde’s great grandnephew and his wife Jack and Barbara Bucklyn took it over and they ran it until 1997. In that time, Clyde’s Cider Mill became a New England travel destination.

In 1997, B.F. Clyde’s great granddaughter Annette and her husband Harold Miner took the reins. Annette and Harold met when she was eleven and he was twelve; family lore says the day they met, Harold went home and told his mother that he met the prettiest girl he had ever seen. They married when Annette was 18 and today, they have three children and six grandchildren. All of their children work full-time at the business, and their eldest granddaughter started full-time this summer. (Even the younger grandchildren work

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part-time.) Annette has been at the Cider Mill her whole life. Her mother used to keep her as an infant sleeping in a laundry basket next to her while she worked; now Annette’s grandchildren work at her side.

When Annette and Harold’s first grandchild arrived, they noticed that parents worried about their children drinking unpasteurized juice. So, Clyde’s made the switch to pasteurizing their sweet cider. They've survived by staying in touch wih the times.

Today Clyde’s sells 18 different kinds of hard cider. In the world of craft beer and kombucha, hard apple ciders are booming, but Clyde’s tries to avoids being trendy.

Their ciders are the straight up, traditional, non-effervescent type. Their ABVs (Alcohol by Volume) run from eight to 12% and are aged in oak bourbon barrels. The most popular are the Original Hard Cider and the Black Out Hard Cider which is fermented with raisins, giving it a darker color and richer taste. Other limited edition flavors include Pumpkin Spice, Apple Blueberry, and Apple Strawberry.

Clyde’s also sells a variety of traditional products that include local preserves and honey, maple syrup, and fudge. Annette and her family are at work before dawn to make pies, apple dumplings, turnovers, and their famous apple cider doughnuts, all of which pair up well with their Sweet Apple Cider Slushies. Hot, Mulled Sweet Cider is served as well.

B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill is open seven days a week, September 1 to October 31, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; November 1 to mid-December, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

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Sea To Table:

The Architecture of Great Dining

By Laura Graham Carla McElroy Images

he foundation or cornerstone of the plate that I will soon be enjoying, comes from deep down on the cold ocean floor: the home of the mid-Atlantic scallop. Its large, smooth pink shell distinguishing it from the smaller grey shelled scallops that one can find along the beaches of New England. Mid- Atlantics are the prized half dollar sized scallops that have become popular in expensive restaurants.

It is a chilly spring morning on the docks of Stonington, Connecticut. Fisherman are busy cleaning up their now docked boats. A fork lifts whizzes by and lifts a palette loaded with boxes into a moving van sized truck that has "The Fish Market" painted on the side. I am in the right place. I know I will find Paul Butterfield here. Paul has been doing this his whole life. We joke about what Stonington was like when we were kids. Homes could be bought for $30,000. Times have certainly changed since I would come as a child with my father to buy live lobsters for our dinner directly from the local fishermen.

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Paul walks with me through the warehouses and I meet the men who now deal in fresh fish. There are still tanks of live lobsters, but there are also boxes filled with ice that reveal flounder, eels, monk fish... all the denizens of the sea who will find their way onto our tables. But not only local tables, these fish will be sent all over the country, some all over the world. Stonington is just one tiny piece of the global fresh fish trade that involves airplanes and ice packed high speed shipments.

Into these Stonington warehouses fish now also arrive from all over the world. I marvel at the swordfish that Paul shows me from Brazil. Fresh, not frozen, and from Brazil. Paul tells me that he has a friend in South Africa whom he can call on his cell phone to find out about the catch there. Paul, a fisherman himself, knows quality, and he makes sure that is what he will bring back to the store, The Fish Market, where he works in Willimantic, Connecticut.

I watch him select his fish and then we head for one last stop: scallops.

These are Bomster scallops and they are frozen. Frozen, really? After a lengthy chat with Bill Bomster, I now get it. As is becoming painfully obvious to me, there is so much more to our food than meets the eye, and education is key. Frozen, once thought to be an inferior way to move food is actually better with deep sea scallops.

Bill's father revolutionized the industry when he realized that if you catch a deep sea scallop, rinse the sand from it immediately in the ocean's water, and flash freeze it right on the boat, it maintains its color and flavor. Bring it to shore fresh, wash it in fresh water, and it loses color and flavor. Let the scallops soak in fresh water and you also add weight to the scallops, they become bloated and pale.

Do the math, you can get more money for these heavier, bloated scallops. Good for who is selling them by the pound, not so good for the diner who gets a fresh, but lower quality taste experience.

The Bomster family also freezes their scallops and some other fish they catch in small batches that one can buy directly from a small freezer out front, farm stand style.

Just leave your money in the box.

Paul buys some big bags of Bomster frozen scallops, and I head north myself to follow them to their ultimate destination: Cafémantic in Willimantic, CT.

It’s a chilly spring morning on the docks of Stonington, Connecticut.

Fisherman are busy cleaning up their now docked boats.

Architecture has changed to fit our evolving lifestyle and so has our cuisine. Open plan living is so fully embraced Summer 2015

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today, that it is now it is hard to imagine that kitchens were once something to be hidden away, separate from a formal dining space.

I sit down with Chef Hudak of Cafémantic to talk about his very contemporary approach to dining. Like open plan living, it all makes so much sense, it all seems so obvious, I do not think he realizes just how revolutionary and wonderful his restaurant is.

How does one "build" a great dining experience? I say great dining, because I am hesitant to use the word fine dining. Fine dining implies that the food is more visual than taste oriented, and the wait staff out dresses the clientele.

Great dining might be an elegant restaurant, or it could be a perfect picnic under a tree with the best company.

Cafémantic is great dining. Each mouthful truly makes you want to weep it is so good. The wait staff is cheerful, friendly and casual.You could show up for a quick lunch in jeans, or arrive well dressed for an important evening.

Great dining might be an elegant restaurant, or it could be a perfect picnic under a tree with the best company.

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The foundation of all of this, is of course, great ingredients.

Chef Hudak discusses his friendships with local farmers and producers. This relationship includes talking to the farmers themselves about their plans for future plantings. He explains to me that working with local farms is tricky. If a farm is too small, they can not afford to sell their products at a whole sale price to a restaurant. These small farms are able only to sell at farmer's markets, which assures them a retail price for their products. Chef Hudak needs to find local farms that are in that economic sweet spot, big enough to sell wholesale, but not so big as to compromise quality.

He talks about buying food through a RSA, or Restaurant Supported Agriculture. It is similar to a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture project. He describes with delight how every week he receives a box full of surprise fresh local ingredients.

Great ingredients are really about great relationships. They are about trust.

Vegetables, fish, poultry, red meat, bread, cheeses: each ingredient is a carefully cultivated relationship with a supplier. It would be easier to go with a big distributor who could bring him everything at once, but doing things his way raises the quality and flavor bar measurably.

Chef Hudak talks about how he can talk to Paul via cell phone while he is still on the docks in Stonington, and ask him which fish looks best that day. He trusts that Paul will make sure

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that what arrives in his kitchen will only be top quality. This is facilitated because Chef Hudak is flexible in what he will serve allowing Paul the freedom to truly pick what is best that day.

A great meal is also built around a great relationship between the restaurant and the diner. Hudak talks to me about his decision to serve small portions. Small plates as he calls them. I mention that this is how we eat in Italy, with an antipasto, primo, secondo, and contorni. In Italy you build your own meal. He says this is exactly right, that he wants the diner to be in co trol. He does not want to impose a large expensive entree on his customer. Instead of serving massive entrees, each diner at Cafémantic can design their own meal, not only in flavors, but in scale. A quick lunch?

One small plate and you may be good to go. A larger more important event can be constructed of multiple plates.

A great meal is also built around a great relationship between the restaurant and the diner.

Multiple plates and tastes also avoids what Chef Hudak refers to as the law of diminishing returns. Our palate gets tired of eating one flavor. Multiple small plates allow us to dine in a far more exciting way. Small plates also encourage sharing or collaborative meals. Eating is certainly at its best a social event.

The scallops arrive at my table. This is the real test, and I am simply delighted. Perfectly pan seared they are surrounded with interesting and delicious textures and tastes:pureed fresh peas and mint, watercress, chiodini mushrooms and brazed fresh fava beans, plus the crunch and bright red and white color of fresh diced radish.

From sea to table - spectacular!

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Herb-Roasted Stonington Sea Scallops Pea puree, Mushrooms, Charred Fava Beans Cafemantic, Chef Jonathan Hudak

broth

4 cups white chicken stock 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms ½ lb. white mushrooms, fine dice or pulsed in processor ½ tsp. curry powder 4 thyme sprigs 1 bay leaf 1 cup seasonal mushrooms, such as brown hon shimeji as shown in photo, or morels shitakes, oysters work well, sliced or left whole depending on size 1 tbs. white miso paste

Pea Puree

2 cups shucked english peas (frozen works well if fresh are unavailable) 1 gallon water 1 c kosher Salt 1 c sugar 2 tbs. black truffle butter (substitute truffle oil if not available)

Scallops

12 each bomster scallops (dried on towels) 2 large pinces kosher salt 2 oz grapeseed oil 2 oz unsalted butter 2 garlic cloves, skin on crushed with side of knife 2 thyme sprigs ¼ lemon, seeds removed

Garnish

1 c pea tendrils 2 spring radish, shaved thin ½ c charred fava beans, shelled & blanched, tossed in olive oil & roasted in very hot dry pan until blistered seasoned with salt, lemon zest, more olive oil and fresh mint

1 tbs lemon avocado oil 1 tbs chives, finely chopped

Winter Caplansan

OD H M ET broth~

1. To prepare the broth, heat stock to simmer. Add dried porcini, white

mushrooms, curry and herbs.

2. Simmer on very low heat for 20-30 minutes, then strain through fine

sieve pressing solids with back of spoon or ladle for total extraction.

3. Add seasonal mushrooms and poach until tender, about 5-10 minutes.

4. Stir in miso and adjust seasoning, reserve.

Pea Puree~

1. heat water, salt and sugar to hard boil

2. prepare ice bath with strainer

3. blanch peas until tender, about 4 minutes

4. shock in ice

5. transfer to blender and add softened truffle butter and enough water

to make it spin.

6. puree on highest speed for 5 minutes until hot and silky smooth.

scallops~

1. season scallops with salt on both sides

2. heat heavy sautĂŠ pan or cast iron skillet until very hot and add oil

3. pat scallops dry with towels and add to pan, largest side down.

4. don’t touch until edges become golden

5. pour off oil from pan and carefully flip scallops

6. add butter, garlic and herbs. spoon foaming butter over scallops

for

30 seconds

7. transfer to towels

Plating~

1. smear pea puree on bowls

2. place scallop on puree

3. spoon broth and mushrooms around bowl

4. mix garnish ingredients and scatter around bowl

2017 2016 2015

ILLUSTRATIONS

by Laura Graham