I had a great food talk this morning with Shelley Sindland, who guest hosted The Talk of Connecticut  on WDRC-AM. Here is information about the topics we discussed- enjoy!

This is one of the last weekends to pick your own Native Strawberries, pumpkins and gourds at

Deeply Rooted Farms

91 Terryville Rd

Harwinton, CT

860.921.3434

www.deeplyrootedfarms.net

Deeply Rooted Farms on Facebook

Read my interview with farmer Jon Sederquist in the August/September 2013 issue of Saveur

APPLES

You will find links to all apple picking in Connecticut at www.pickyourown.org/CT.htm including such favorites as:

Bishop’s Orchard (Guilford)

Lyman Orchards (Middlefield)

Scott’s Farms (Deep River)

Belltown Hill Orchards (South Glastonbury)

Rose Orchards (North Branford)

Pick your own- or buy pre-picked bags of Heirloom Apples  at

18th Century Purity Farm At The Hall Homestead

156 Plainfield Pike Road

Plainfield, CT 06354

860.564.8733

18th Century Purity Farm on Facebook

Farmers: Paul and JoAnn Desrochers

Some of my favorite of the 88 varieties grown there include: Winter Banana,Hidden Rose,Westfield Seek-No-Further, Esopus Spitzenburg and Calville Blanc D’Hiver. I wrote this about the farm two years ago.

Visit the scenic farm stand at Maple Bank Farm where in addition to bags of  heirloom apples (40 varieties),you’ll find pumpkins, gourds, squash, mums and jams.

Maple Bank Farm

57 Church St., Rt. 317

Roxbury, CT

860-354-7038

www.maplebankfarm.com

Maple Bank Farm on Facebook

Farmers: Cathy and Howard Bronson

One of my favorite cookbooks ever: The Apple Lover’s Cookbook  by Yankee Magazine Lifestyle Editor  Amy Traverso

This must-have cookbook  includes a guide detailing the use, origin, season and taste of 59 varieties of apples as well as apple history and cooking methods and one hundred mouth watering recipes.

HUNGER RELIEF IN CT

In Connecticut, nearly one child in five under age 18 is hungry or food insecure*

The recent Government shutdown has affected federally-funded HeadStart programs (Read Linda Conner Lambeck’s moving story in this week’s  CT Post about a boy who is “one of the 1,000 Head Start students at 13 Bridgeport sites left without a school program and the two meals a day served there.”). Now is a perfect time to donate fresh fruit to people in need. The CT Food Bank accepts fresh donations- please be sure to call ahead.

Another excellent resource for fresh food donations: Ample Harvest

Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen in New Haven does incredible work for the community – please check out their website and consider a donation off food, money or time.

*Source: www.ctfoodbank.org