Bite Me: A Taste of Local Agriculture

On Wednesday July 20, 2011, Staehly Farms in East Haddam hosted their first annual BITE ME-A Taste of Local Agriculture. The specialty event offered bounties from the area for those in attendance to sample and enjoy.

Kevin Staehly, owner of , came up with the idea while sampling at O'Live A Little in South Windsor. They market oils and vinegars for purchase in bulk. While there, Kevin, thought "why not do the same at our farm? We have all of this wonderful stuff for people to try and a great space to host such an event." 

So, he proposed it to his mom, Gail, who came up with the name of the event. The event showcased the tasties of at least 4 other farms, a book signing, goat milking and friendly neighborhood mingling.

Presently, Kevin is a sophmore at The University of Puget Sound in Washington State. He is studying a dual major in Business and Biology. Currently home for the summer, he started his own business delivering the offerings of his family's farm, as well as several other local farms, to your doorstep. 

He calls this service Simply Connecticut. The beauty of the delivery system is that if you can't get to the market because of work, or illness or whatever, you can still take advantage of the local foods. You can also call the farm and see if what you are looking for is available. 

Sue Kenny can attest to this. She called earlier today to see if there was any rhubarb left and they put it aside for her to pick up tonight while she's here. She has known Kevin a long time, she was his third grade teacher. 

Let's go check out who is here and what they have to offer.

First I spoke with Kevin, Gail and Chris Staehly. Gail and Chris started out pretty small in 1984 with only a few Christmas trees they thought they might share with their friends. It continued with only Christmas trees. for some time, but it grew from there.  Produce started around 1999-2000 with a little honor system table out front.

In 2002, Chris got laid off and the business took off from that. Currently, they have 14 acres of Christmas trees and about 5 acres of fruits and vegetables. The work of the farm is done by the three of them and a friend helps out occassionally to give Gail a break.

Walking around the shop tonight, there are lots of preserved foods available to taste as well as purchase. Gail says they have this food preserved in upstate New York with the produce they ship from their farm. If anything is needed as supplement in the plant that does the packaging, it is procured from local New York farms.

Staehly's also sell pies from Gotta's Farm in Portland, cheeses from Sankow Beaver Brook Farm in Lyme and local honey and maple syrup. 

Next to feature her talents at Bite Me is Gaia, a 5 year old Nubian goat from Somersault Farm in Hadlyme. Gaia is a peaceful, sweet natured goat. She is one of 7 living at the farm right now. Somersault Farm doesn't sell their milk or cheese, but the owners Mary Ann and David Halpin, do drink and eat the food they make from the milk.  

Raising goats isn't new to the Halpin's.  Way back when their children were 10 and 11, they had goats to teach the kids responsibility and got involved with 4H. But, Mary Ann was also a professor at the University of San Fransisco and eventually their lives returned to California as the kids grew up. 

When it came time to retire, they thought about where they wanted to live and remembered a fondness for East Haddam, so they returned.  Mary Ann says it wasn't six months before they had goats again. 

When asked why they don't sell the milk or cheese, Mary Ann says that to go through the licensing and work to produce for sale, she wouldn't be retired any more. Goats need to be milked twice a day. Mary Ann prefers milking the goats and having her husband clean out the barn.  She finds the milking very meditative, like a tea ceremony. She looks around at the trees, watches the weather change,it's peaceful she says. 

The goats all know their names and come to be milked in turn. The alpha goat comes first and hops right up onto the stand. Each goat produces about half a gallon in the morning and a little less in the evening. Winter decreases the amounts a bit and spring increases production because of the babies. The farm blossoms to more than 20 goats in the spring with the kids being born. Somersault Farm does sell the babies. They like to go in pairs. They curl up together and sleep at night. To adopt these sweet creatures, contact Somersault Farm at mmhalpin@comcast.net or call 860-526-4645.

Author Emily Brooks was also in attendance tonight. She signed her book, FARMER AND FEAST Harvesting Local Bounty. While researching her book, she stumbled on Staehly's Farm. She needed another farm in Middlesex County, was driving around and decided to stop in based on the Fire Wood For Sale sign. She's glad she did. She knew they were a farm market, but not to what extent the farm reached. 

Emily's goal for this book was to make people aware of what is available in their county. Where is the local cheese maker, the apple orchard, local milk? You don't have to travel outside your county to find these things. Originally, Emily is a chef and nutritionist, yet she hasn't worked in a kitchen for 7 years. Now her business is consulting for small businesses and start ups in environmental and agriculture specialities. They focus on marketing, and strategic and business planning. Edibles Advocate Alliance is located in Kent, Ct. To get an autographed copy of her beautiful book you can contact her at chefemily@ediblesadvocatealliance.org or call her at 203-450-4331.  The book is also available in the big chain stores as well. 

Getting back to the food that was served this evening, let me say that it was delicious!! The beet balls were to die for. They were sweet and just the right size, tiny baby beets. YUM! There were all sorts of jellys, fruits, dressings and veggies from the Staehly's Farm. There were at least 5 kinds of cheese from Sankow Beaver Brook Farm. 

Gail presented fresh cherry tomates with basil and mozzerella, drizzled with balsalmic vinegar and cucumber rounds with a creamy herbed cheese dollop on top. Hayden Liquors was also present with 3 or 4 wines from the local vineyards as well as a couple of others felt to be a must taste.

The place was packed. A lot of people from town as well as many from far flung places like Portland, Cromwell and Kent came out to enjoy the pleasant company and taste the delicious morsels. Peggy Kennedy and Nancy Jascot were here from town enjoying the evening, visiting with neighbors and eating the local food. 

In fact, Peggy says that she shops at Staehly's a couple of times a week and when she's working it's almost every night.  Most nights she doesn't plan dinner until she stops at Staehly's to see what's available. "It's lovely here ", they chime in together.

Sue Kenny is excited to see and taste the products. It's a great way to know what you're getting. And, she says, the delivery system is a wonderful gift. She is from Portland, but is still connected to Kevin through Facebook. She came with 3 of her friends, all teachers from East Haddam. She is so pleased to be able to pick up her rhubarb this evening and know that having a connection with a farm that is doing such a great job reaching out to the community is a special gift.