Tag Archives: fall

Edmondson’s Farm: Fall Decor At Its Finest!

21 Oct

TGIF!!! I am already feeling like it’s going to be a good weekend. Yesterday, my professor showed up to class 15 minutes late, and proceeded to tell us we’d be getting out over an hour early! I used the extra free time to attend Group Power and finally check out the newest release. I was fairly satisfied, but thought the second leg track was a bit too easy. It was still nice to get a surprise lifting session in! I came home to an awesome dinner and of course, an ice cream sandwich follow-up.

I also woke up early this morning (a good early, as in naturally, before my alarm, feeling well-rested). So, I left home ahead of schedule, beat some traffic, and got some term paper research done at Starbucks before work. It was nice to do some reading, even if academic related, and start my morning out NOT looking at a screen.

Continuing with the fall vibes I’ve been feelin’ lately, I thought I’d share the awesome experience I had on Sunday (before the Applefest) at a little farm Joe and I stumbled upon after I picked him up. Edmondson’s Farm was advertising hayrides on a road sign, so we pulled over and were pleasantly surprised to find not just hay rides, but tons of pumpkins and an adorable country store with extremely affordable autumn decor! I was freaking out – and so was Joe, but over the fudge selection, not the home furnishings.

While Joe was deciding on his fudge flavor of choice, I was busy picking out as many decorations as I can hold. I am a decor junkie.

I couldn’t argue with the prices though. That sign on the right was only $4.99. Seriously?! I’ve seen stuff like that at specialty shops for $20!!

How cool is that painting with the crow? I really wanted it but had to restrain myself. And the bronze sun would look beautiful in a garden!

Don’t worry, I didn’t buy that pumpkin-scarecrow-manthing. He weirded me out a bit.

But I did get plenty of decor for my cubicle at work, including a Christmas decoration that will have to wait until after Thanksgiving for its debut!

We didn’t even end up getting to do the hay ride because it had just left when we arrived, and we were on a schedule (as I always seem to be…), but I didn’t mind at all because now my workspace is a little bit cheerier and definitely Halloween-ready.

Why yes, I have a giraffe print stapler, why do you ask?

I’ve clearly been bitten hard by the decorating bug, so I also went to a hardware store last weekend to get adhesive magnetic strips for the ceramic piece that I painted at the Claypen a few weeks ago! Yay LivingSocial deals! All I had to do was stick the strips on the back of the piece (the adhesive is fairly strong) and ta-da, I had a giant magnet that I could stick on my cabinet!

I’m feeling so thrifty! I’m pretty sure I have the most decorated cube in the whole office, but I love it. I spend a lot of time here, so why not make it fun?

This post has quickly gone from farmstand fudge to how-to-decorate-your-cubicle – funny how that happens!

And by the way, Joe chose the maple walnut fudge. He said it had plenty of maple, but not enough walnuts. In case you were wondering.

Do you decorate your cubicle at work? What’s your favorite flavor of fudge?

Apple Harvest Festival 2011

20 Oct

On Sunday, I attended the Apple Harvest Festival that my town puts on every year. It’s a beloved tradition around here, the kind of thing kids come home from college for. I truly believe there is something for every age group – it used to be the rides that drew me in. Then it was the craft tables and food. Now I can honestly say I participated in everything – and I got to do it all on a pretty fall day too. I had an amazing time!

I won free tickets on the festival’s Facebook page, so Joe and I got to bypass the whole spending-money-at-the-door thing (in favor of spending way too much money once we were through the doors). We were greeted immediately by a person in an apple suit. Seriously, I was loving it already.

Lucky for him I don't actually like apples.

I was hungry upon our arrival, so we trudged through the muddy fields to see what food options awaited us. Answer: EVERYTHING. It was one of those occasions when I wished I had about 5 stomachs – I have never seen such a variety of tasty food at the Applefest before! And of course it coincides with the point in my life where I am at my peak level (so far) of foodie.

This booth was selling some of the freshest pulled-pork sandwiches I've ever seen.

I was freaking out about all the food, but Joe was pretty calm. He knew what he wanted.

Fried dough with marinara and sugar of course!

While I was decided, I went to visit my mom at her church’s baked potato booth. Remember the attack of the potatoes? Well, they clearly didn’t stand a chance because they were being sold to hungry fair-goers topped with cheese, bacon, chunky salsa, and broc. Mmm.

But I passed on a potato, because we were having them with dinner that night anyway. And the sign to the right of that booth caught my eye…

Be still, my heart! Greek food love! For just $3, I got one of my favorite Mediterannean creations…

(Green?) falafel and tzatziki sauce!

Does anyone know why the inside of this falafel is green? Does that mean it’s not legit? I mean probably…it’s from a fair…but it still tasted DELICIOUS and the outside was so satisfyingly crunchy. If you tell me it’s fake I won’t care!

We continued on our journey and picked up free Chobani Champions yogurt from the Chobani truck! I also got a free bag to carry my purchases in, in exchange fro the promise to like them on Facebook – and I did, obviously. I’m a woman of my word!

And then it was time for perusing the craft booths. Ran into my friends Capa di Roma and sampled more of their awesome marinara sauce – even though I already know what it tastes like and that I love it. Stopped by Ariston Olive Oil‘s display too and purchased garlic-stuffed olives. This olive/garlic freak was in heaven. They had an impressive display of olive oils and vinaigrettes for sampling and purchase!

One of the coolest cooking creations I came across was made by Judecraft Specialty Foods. They make “gourmet dip mixes, cheesecake dessert mixes, and bread dipping blends” in tons of varieties. There was a sample out for every single dip flavor! I went to town – the creamier dips were created by blending the mix with some sour cream and other simple ingredients (listed on each package) and pretzel sticks were provided as the “sampling tool”.

I was most enthused by the mixes meant to be blended with olive oil though. They were sampled on crusty bread and I knew after one bite that I’d have to take some of these home with me. I went with one package each of the Bruschetta, Garlic Butter, and Grecian Delight (obviously).

Though I was no longer hungry from falafel and samples at this point, that didn’t stop me from spending several minutes oggling desserts. And sampling peanut butter and maple fudge.

Had one of these at '09's fest...amazing.

And then it was time for RIDES! I didn’t think a cheap-o like me would be willing to fork over $20 to go on a few rides, but I was feeling the Applefest spirit.

The rides were SO worth it, even if just for the pictures I got. Awesome views from the ferris wheel!

My favorite shot of the day.

Awkward spindly finger clutching the edge?

Mid-ride photos are the best.

After three rides, we determined it was time to head out, and hit the local mall and DSW to run errands. And, for the better, we both left purchase-less. I also almost left phone-less because I lost (and found) my phone in DSW. D’oh, careless.

What a fun day though! Thank you to the Chamber of Commerce for putting on such an awesome event :)

Do you have a local fall festival in your area that you attend?

Autumn Leaves Cheese Festival

11 Oct

Did everyone survive Monday? I did, and was glad to come home after a nice elliptical/Group Power session and feast on a classic dad-grilled meal and watch the last ep of SNL. Did anyone else see it? Reviews I’ve read are hatin’ on Ben Stiller and saying he can’t top Melissa McCarthy’s AKA the original Sookie (none of this True Blood business, GG all the way!), but I actually thought her hosting job was completely lackluster and I barely laughed during her episode, whereas last night my dad and I were absolutely cracking up. And ZOOLANDER made an appearance? How can you not love it?

I also love how in last night’s class, I increased my weights during both the triceps and shoulder tracks. And I’m not dying nearly as much in the bicep track (definitely my toughest muscle group to improve in)! The day I increase the weight on that one will be an exciting day indeed, but I think I’ll make that my next Group Power mini-goal. Do you set mini-goals for yourself when you work out? I find them more fun because you usually conquer them sooner :)

I have been seriously slacking on both food and fashion photos, and I swear I will post them soon, but for now I’d love to recap the Autumn Leaves Cheese Festival that I ended this past Sunday at Beltane Farms.

I arrived and made a beeline for the wine tasting table (priorities, people) hosted by Priam Vineyards.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the wines were different than the ones I sampled at my first tasting there! I love how I’m expanding into whites lately too. My very favorite wine that I tried was the Salmon River Red, and the woman running the booth even gave me an extra pour. I think she could tell I would appreciate it! The wines that were being sampled were of a nice variety and no two wines I tasted were alike. That is just the way I prefer my tastings!

Next I headed to Savor, LLC of Waterbury’s table to try some of the most unique cookie flavors I’ve ever heard of! The seasonal smoked red onion contained, you guessed it, smoked red onions, which were a great contrast of flavors with the sweet, shortbread-like cookie. They were also selling lavendar and roasted leek varieties! Their website has a black olive flavor – now that I’ve gotta try. I’m an olive freak!

There was also a nutty fudge from Harbor Candy Shop in Maine out for sampling that was so tasty. Definitely not too rich like you often see with fudge.

Two thumbs up to Savor! Their packaging was adorable too – little things like that make a huge difference.

Next it was time for something salty – Appalachian Naturals sauces and spreads on tortilla chips!

Pictured above is the cilantro lime vinaigrette, which was a bit hard to sample since the oil kept sliding off the spoon before it could get onto my chip (I didn’t want to dip). Still, what I tasted was very good. I also am a cilantro freak, so anything cilantro I am bound to love. There were other dressings (ginger miso, which tasted exactly like miso soup) as well as some awesome chipotle honey mustard and a sundried tomato horseradish (definitely my favorite).

Now time for something sweet from Peace Tree Desserts! These guys are all about organic, sustainable food, as well as making what I can honestly call the best caramel sauce I have ever tasted. It’s made with goat’s milk and has a Mexican dulce de leche (founder Robyn Ead’s words) vibe to it. The particular type of caramel is called cajeta caramel and Peace Tree makes applejack, curry, rosemary, cinnamon, and lemon flavors.

Isn’t Robyn’s apron beyond cute? Her friend made it for her!

Next I spoke with a nice man, Ron Pinto of Winding Drive Jams & Jellies. I was pleased to hear that he gets a good portion of his ingredients from farms in my town! He and his wife make marmalade, jams, and jellies by hand. I sampled the Pear Eau de Vie jam (Bartlett pears and French pear brandy). It was delicious! If only it had been made with Bosc pears, my one true love…well, after pickles and cilantro and olives.

Other notable flavors I’d love to try next time I see Ron at an event: Strawberry Pinot Noir, Roasted Garlic (AH another love) & Caramelized Onion, and Mint Rosemary! I have a feeling the Roasted Garlic & Caramelized Onion could be a future purchase for use on the many meats we are always grilling.

I tried some of the best feta (seriously, I need to stop proclaiming I love things in this post, but oh how I love feta) at the booth run by Taylor Farm Cheese of Vermont.

Holy cow (see photo on the packaging) there is nothing like fresh-made cheese. After this event I am thoroughly convinced that I can never eat non-local cheese again.

Aren’t they pretty? Almost too pretty to unwrap – but too tasty NOT to. I encountered a cheese-tease when I sampled Vermont Ayr, a Crawford Family Farm creation. There was none available to buy, hence the tease comment, but I think I could have eaten an entire block. With some Ritz crackers, please and thank you.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Phyllis of Mariah’s Chow Chow Relish again! My mom and I fell in love with her Sweet & Spicy relish after I purchased some at the Coventry Farmer’s Market, and this time I sampled the Sweet & Hot. It was the perfect amount of hot, and I’m pretty sensitive to spicy foods. Phyllis was kind enough to give me a jar to take home and enjoy – thank you Phyllis! I can’t wait to open it once we finish the first jar!

Thanks Mariah's Relish for the image!

Though I’ve already tried Beltane Farms fresh chevre (I had some of the chive flavor on my english muffin this morning in fact), I was excited to try many new varieties of chevre and other cheeses. The garlic herb chevre, paired with crackers, was awesome.

Another reason I love these types of events, besides tasting all the food and supporting the local businesses, is getting to expand my own palate! Danse de la lune (French ripened cheese with brie rind), Harvest Moon (hard, nutty cheese), and vespers (French ripened cheese) are all cheeses I never tried before and realized I love. I also sampled the ricotta, but was not a huge fan (never have been though).

Artisan Food Store of Southbury, CT helped put on this event, but they also were selling their cheeses and had a generous number of samples to hand out – I must have tried almost 10 varieties at their booth! I bought some cheese and was reminded that their next event, the CT Cheese & Wine Festival, is in just a couple of weeks – woo hoo! More cheese and wine!

I stopped by The Farmer’s Cow to pick up a free carton of fresh skim. They also were giving out apple cider (not my thing) and selling farm-fresh ice cream for just $1! Most people that came by seemed to be choosing the coffee flavor – can’t blame them.

Ladies of Lebanon (no photo – sorry!) offered me some of their chive cottage cheese. It was delicious, but I actually prefer 1% cottage cheese to the 4% because due to the lower fat content, it is easier for me to dip my veggie chips into it (veggie chips and chive cottage cheese are one of my favorite snacks). I was lucky enough to purchase their last fresh greek yogurt. I had some last night for dessert and it was very decadent, but very good. Just a little bit was enough to satisfy me!

I unintentionally saved what ended up being my favorite part of the festival for last. Rachel LaPorte, a chef and teacher at Windham Tech High School, whipped up goat cheese and swiss chard crepes for us! I know this is a sin, but I’ve never had a sweet OR savory crepe. The reason I know this is a sin is because after trying this thing, I was in disbelief. It was AMAZING! The swiss chard was sauteed and so fresh. She used only ingredients, with flour being the exception, that had come from Beltane Farm. I could taste the difference!

Now I’m craving one all over again, and it doesn’t help that I’ve been snacky all day (thank you strength training). I may try to recreate something similar to this at home, since a co-worker was kind enough to give me some swiss chard from his garden yesterday. If that isn’t fate I don’t know what is. Not sure if I could master a crepe, but maybe an omelette would be a good breakfast option for this weekend. We’ll see!

Don't worry, that is not what I paid for that cheese!

Thank you to Artisan Foods and Beltane Farm for putting on such an awesome event!

What’s your favorite cheese? What’s the best crepe combo you’ve ever had?

October Opportunities

3 Oct

Happy October! I can’t believe September is already gone. It seriously flew by! Though I love summer and being warm, I did get a little excited as I was driving to the Coventry Farmer’s Market yesterday (gonna have to post about my purchases ASAP) and saw the fall foliage creeping onto the trees, as well as signs announcing various local fall festivals and Halloween events. I love me some fall! EDIT: Right after posting this I discovered I had won two free tickets to the AppleFest that I mention in this post – is that fate or what!?

Right near my dorm!

Meghann did a post on things about October that she is looking forward to, and though mine may not be as hardcore as hers (marathon training? Umm…) I thought it sounded like a good way to get myself excited about the month ahead and give other people ideas for fun things they can do this fall at the same time!

Amazing fall beverage I had on Saturday: bourbon infused with peach, apple, and cinnamon at Rooftop120 in Glastonbury, CT.

So for those of you who want to know…what am I looking forward to about October?

1. Visiting Tennessee

Orange Nation AKA my family.

In the last weekend of this month, my family and I get to fly down to UT to see my sister and catch a football game! I’m so excited to see Hannah’s school and her dorm, and also to tailgate and attend my first UT football game since I was very young. My family is made up of some die-hard Vols fans, and despite being a UConn alum, I will always be a Vol through and through! I was just raised that way. There really is nothing like SEC football and I’m hoping the fall weather will be out in full-force for the game to add to the fun, cozy vibe of bonding over the game with my family.

Yes, that was my uncle's 50th birthday cake.

2. Fall Festivals

Oh wow, just thinking about all the fall-like events I have lined up for this month gets me so psyched! The AppleFest in my town is always a huge deal, and like a townie nerd I seriously can’t wait. I even plan to volunteer at our church’s baked potato booth at this event, and if you didn’t know already, I’m a serious baked potato addict.

I also just recently found out about a few wine-and-cheese festivals at local farms that are reasonably priced and will be happening in the weekends to come. I am so excited to try new wines, cheeses, and more, as well as support local farms and vineyards. They’re all so reasonably priced and it’s a good idea to do a local search to find out if anything like this is happening in your area!

Corn maze in South Windsor, CT.

I’m also pretty excited to completely nerd out and check out the CT Renaissance Faire and their Halloween Knights event this weekend. I love all things Halloween and Lidia and I are planning to hit up this thing to shop, eat, and oh yeah, dress up. Yes, I ordered a costume off of WalMart.com.

Lidia and I are no strangers to nerding out when it comes to fall activities.

3. Halloween

Even though I am unfortunately past the age of trick-or-treating, and now past the age of college bar-hopping as well (I maintain my opinion that Halloween is the best weekend of college each year), I still can’t help but get excited for Halloween. I’ve already started decorating my work cubicle and bought a little ladybug outfit to wear there since the holiday falls on a Monday. This will also totally reflect how much of a grandma I am, but I’m excited to spend my first Halloween at home handing out candy. Please don’t make fun of me. I think it’ll just be fun to see the excited kids in their costumes!

There's really nothing like a college Halloween.

I also think that it’ll get old after about 15 minutes since a) no one ever comes to our house and b) I can’t really stand kids. But we’ll see how it goes.

If a Green Man shows up on my front step, I'll be shocked.

4. FOLIAGE.

Foliage right by my house!

There’s really not much more I can say about this. I just love fall leaves. LOVE THEM. On a sunny day there is just nothing more beautiful than driving down a road framed on either side by orange, yellow, and red leaved trees.

Driving through upstate NY.

5. School

I’m such a loser. But yes you read that right, I enjoy school and in October, we really start getting into the meat of material in courses now that we’re past the intro stuff. So yes, I am looking forward to school. Maybe not starting my ten-page paper, but at least it’s on a subject that I’m interested in (corporate ethics and marketing in the fast food industry). And with school also comes more time studying in my new favorite cafe each weekend. Their newest coffee flavor is chocolate dipped banana – what’s not to love?

What are you looking forward to most this coming month? Do you have any goals for the month that you want to share?

PS. Completely off-topic but I totally forgot to post one of my pizza creations in my pizza making post!

Broccoli and fat-free ricotta. Not the most creative of pies but certainly tasty. Those are roasted brussels on the side :) favorite roasted veggie.