WAY OUT THERE

Not back there. Out there! Come look! The New Year. So near, yet sadly, still so far away. We will let our food comfort us. Bring us in from the cold. Warm us. Nourish and bring us joy.

Which brings me to the Ranier cherries. We still have them, along with the apricots, nectarines & sweet donut peaches. Add grapes to the list; dates, raisins, nuts too. Citrus, apples and pears —varieties abound. Pink pineapple? Yes, we have.

Want a main dish? Tuna, swordfish, salmon? This and other seafood arrive daily. Or maybe steaks, osso buco, ribeye roast? Rack or leg of lamb could be in the offing. Brisket? Game birds?

The radicchio and chicories from Italy continue, along with domestic kale, collards and chard. There are more potato varieties than I can list. Herbs to add to any dish. Broccoli a basic. Cauliflower in colors. French beans? brussel sprouts? Root vegetables —all. Dried beans and grains will get us through.

Greet the New Year? Welcome it? Cautiously perhaps. You know and I know. It’s you and it’s me. All of us. And… that’s the way the world is gonna be.

LIGHT

Heavy year. Not going there - keeping it light. LITE. Yeah! Gonna talk of food. Feast. Nourishment. And what we like a lot now. Salads… YEAH!

Rare red watercress just arrived from Cali along with 4 varieties of radicchio from Italy, including Frisee. If you had any last year, you’ll remember. Mix with Little Gem lettuce. A watermelon radish might be a nice addition. A persimmon too.

I just received a surprise Hummingbird Farm tomato shipment. Heirloom, gold, yellow & red on the vine, along with plum, cherry and grape varieties. All colors of cauliflower while they last. Purple, green & white asparagus too. Broccoli Rabé, Cauliflorini, Broccolini -take your pick. French beans are trimmed for you too.

We still have the amazing donut peaches, apricots and nectarines. Bing cherries, cotton candy, red or white seedless grapes will go well with a variety of our cheeses. Pears are lovely too, get a mix of three. And the apples? The Sugar Bee is my favorite right now but I still love the Snap Dragon, Honeycrisp and Opal. Dino melons and cantaloupes are sweet too.

And then there’s the citrus. Sumos are just around the corner which gives us time to enjoy heirloom navels, kishu and satsuma mandarines, cara cara, blood oranges and grapefruit. All are new crop picks. By the way, if you have not had it, try our orange juice. It’s perfection.

We can still land you a tenderloin, or ham or… you name it, but act fast. Fresh fish always. We have a few pies that have not been claimed along with an assortment of muffins, croissants, canneles and apple galettes; English muffins & cheese straws too.

And please do me a favor. Will you let me know via text or in the comments if you like following the link to here or if you prefer this information in a text. I like sharing what’s new with you.

My kids are out of the house. I haven’t hugged them in almost 8 months. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. I really believe there is. There will be a new year. Yes there will! Peace.

A WHITE CHRISTMAS?

“It’s the Holidays!” is an understatement. And ironic? Thanksgiving was like no other. Christmas will be just as memorable. Can we agree on that? Saturday night I had a zoom meeting with all my brothers and sisters and cousins. I loved it, but that’s as close as it’s gonna get. It’s still going to be nice. The Holidays. Still going to be cozy. Warm. And, we are going to cook. And that is a lot of it. The food. With that in mind, I’ll proceed with what’s inside Christmas at Double L.

MAIN COURSE

TENDERLOIN (trimmed & cut to order)

LAMB (racks, shoulder, leg, loin chops)

TURKEY (whole, half, boneless & bone-in breast)

HAM (whole or half, boneless or bone-in, spiral cut too)

GAME BIRDS (cornish game hen, guinea hen, pheasant quail, capon)

DUCK (whole, breast, confit)

DESSERTS

PIES (apple, apple crumb, cranberry pear, pumpkin)

TARTS (chocolate cream, lemon meringue, fresh fruit)

CAKES (coconut, double mousse, flourless chocolate, cheesecake, red velvet)

HOLIDAY CAKES (bûche de Noël, panettone, stollen, persimmon pudding)

DINNER ROLLS (dozens & half dozens)

To Give Thanks

That this was a tough year is an understatement and with Thanksgiving just over the horizon— well, comfort food will soon be in sight. Whether you’re with a small group or large, Thanksgiving is going to look very different this year. I myself will take part in a gathering with a few immediate household members. Early thoughts of making extra for nearby extended family and friendly neighbors has come up in conversations.

I enjoy roasting a turkey so I’m still bringing in full size birds, same as last year, but mostly in the small to midsize range. Anything smaller you ask? We’ll have bone-in breast and skin-on boneless breast. Many customers enjoyed rolling in a stuffing and tying, then slicing the baked roll. I’ve got recipes if you want. Below I’ve included a bare-boned list. Anything is possible. Just ask & thank you.

TOMATO, COPY, PASTE

So this is it, this is the peak, this is good as it gets for local tomatoes. It’s now or never. Make your move. Order curbside by popular demand or call ahead, reserve your spot and come in and do a shop with us. No reason not to eat tomatoes everyday in every way. Mozzarella? Basil? Balsamic? Olive oil and a pinch of salt. Your call.

INSIDE THE CAVES

A while back, I went inside the caves. Murray’s Cheese has four caves, not counting the one in New York City underneath their original store. Each cave, a different temperature and humidity; each cheese blossoming instinctually as time’s inertia schedules ripening arrival times. All aboard!

Fascinating? I was like a school kid on a field trip! So much to learn. So much to take in. Bloomy rind, crystals, cavemaster, washed rind, nutty, peak ripeness, creamline, affinage? Stagionato!?!

I learned a lot going through those caves and I believe I brought back a nice sampling. Standouts? The Young Goat Gouda. Double & Triple Cream Bries. Blues. Cheddars. Ask me. I can help you pair up different cheese. And cheese with other things: jams, honeys, olives, fruit, charcuterie… Let’s have some fun. Let’s put some things together. As you can see, we’ve been playing around.

AMERICAN ORGANIC SLICED

BLUE CHEESE STILTON COW

BRIE DOUBLE & TRIPLE CREAM COW, GOAT

CAMEMBERT COW

CHEDDAR NY STATE, TICKLER, TRUFFLE COW

CHEVRE FIRST LIGHT NY, VALENÇAY, SAINTE-MAURE LOG

COMTE COW

FETA SHEEP

FONTINA COW

GORGONZOLA DOLCE, CREMIFICATO, MOUNTAIN COW

GOUDA AGED, YOUNG COW, GOAT

GRUYERE COW

HUMBOLDT FOG GOAT

MANCHEGO SHEEP

MIMOLETTE COW

MOZZARELLA LIUZZI BURRATTA, CILIEGINE, OVOLINE COW

PARMESAN BRICK, GRATED, SHAVED COW

PECORINO SHEEP

PETIT PREFERE DE NOS MONTAGNES REBLOCHON STYLE COW

TALEGGIO COW

*** ANY SPECIAL CHEESE CAN BE ORDERED FOR NEXT DAY

CHEESE

MURRAY’S NYC

A NEW DAY, YESTERDAY

For me, July 4 is some sort of demarcation line, a beginning and an end. It’s hard to explain it but some thing inside me… by then, spring’s tease is long gone, summer is in full force. The heat is on.

Keep that in mind, as we take stock of what’s on hand. Bossa Nova squash! If you eat zucchini, this is the next level. Zephyr squash and pattypan too, that’sright, and squash blossoms we’ll get you. Local fennel is beyond tender, and English peas are near their end. Favas are plentiful. Sala Nova lettuce; Ask for it. I’ve said it before, I stop by my favorite gardener/farmer Nancy every morning and pick some up.

That last picture, on the right -local raspberries from Nancy. We will have these and other berries this weekend. Harry’s crew eeked out one more pick and I will not fail to mention that Andy is still gathering stone fruit for us. Exceptional is not near a strong enough adjective for what these people grow. So, let’s leave it at that. July is the end of some things and the beginning of the rest. Sour cherries are here today, gone tomorrow. I saw the beginning of an apple crop, but I won’t mention that.

THE 4th of JULY

So the 4th lands on a Saturday this year. We begin our week Monday and go through Saturday, taking off Sunday and return Monday. You can begin placing orders for the coming holiday weekend anytime. You may want to reserve pies and other pastry specialties early. We plan on having plenty of everything, but if you have particular items that you are in need of, please give us a heads up.

You can call or text us to ask questions. The crew and I, we are getting good at this, and so are you. We miss you and “the good old days” but here we are and we are going to make the best of it. The WHAT WE CARRY LINK is constantly being updated. If you don’t see something you want or need, ask; we can usually get it for you with a day’s notice. If you’d like you can follow us on INSTAGRAM to see what’s happening inside the store daily.

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SUMMER ROUTINES

Every morning I get up and on the way into the Farm Stand I stop at local farms and gardens to pick up lettuce and other things. The varieties continue to grow. All kinds of local squash, fennel, spinach and Swiss chard; herbs and local peas are being picked daily. This heat wave is bringing everything on fast. The tomatoes are ripe and the corn is sweet.

Besides this, I like to cast my net wide and source not only CT farms, but also PA, NY & NJ. We bring in some very fresh eggs from Amish country and sweet corn from Long Island. Of course Pennsylvania, “God’s Country, “ has so much to offer. Corn, tomatoes and peaches will be arriving any day. I also bring in watermelons from my brother in Texas. He starts there and then moves up the line.

I want to stop here and say a few words about our meat and chicken and fish. We are sourcing our meat & poultry from Joyce Farms, a small concern in North Carolina. To raise an animal for them you have to first return your land to its raw pre-1776 condition and then the animals have to be grazing on this land. Also, I think we just might have the freshest fish around. We bring in small amounts every morning and usually there’s none left by the time we close. By popular demand, we are still doing curbside pickup. Placing your order the day before usually ensures you get everything you want. You can also place an order the day of. We are getting pretty good at this. And so are you. See ya when we see ya.

JOHN, BAKER of the BEST

We’ve been carrying Sono Bakery for onward of four weeks at this point. I never knew how versatile John was until this point in time. I’m going to list a little of what we’re carrying and just tell you it’s amazing.

Fruit pies, galette and tarts. Palmiers like you are in Paris, not to mention the almond croissants and finally, muffins that are not typical at all… The banana chocolate chip, just try it. And while we’re at it let me mention his English muffins. I dare you. And I just had one of his bagels this morning, and I love it. Don’t expect a New York style bagel, but be prepared to be delighted. Listen, I’m sure I’ve left out few things out, but I’m going to building a nice list and put it over in the WHAT WE CARRY section.

Then there’s the bread, the baguettes, the sourdough baguettes, the multi-grains and the rounds and how about that cinnamon loaf that he does? The list goes on. Comment below with any questions or if you know more than we know about John and what he might be baking; something that you love. Let us know. And thanks for listening

GRILL TIME

Summertime! Local strawberries are here today, gone tomorrow… We’re cutting our steaks thick this weekend. Blueberry pies and peach galettes are the focus. Crusty baguettes abound and cheese, check out what’s in stock. We just pulled in some fresh lobsters and steamers for a father of two twin boys. Some things just don’t change.

SPECIAL DAYS

Father’s Day, is one of those “special days,” and all find commonality regarding food. And more to the point, the focus is on dessert. The focus is on something sweet. The focus is on the baker. We gather our baked goods for the store from John Barricelli over at SONO BAKERY. We have not met a more versatile baker, nor will you.

TOMATOES & SHERWOOD

It was a very nice day today. Towads the end of it we decided to go over to Sherwood Island. Decided to cut up some tomatoes and add some mozzarella and basil, poured on some olive oil and sprinkled a little sea salt. I noticed I still had a loaf of bread from Pauline‘s father. He grew up in Paris and the bread he bakes, let’s just say, that if I close my eyes, I’m there.

MARA DES BOIS

Today we started to bring in a little strawberry called Mara des Bois. It’s a French strawberry and some people mistake it for a wild strawberry. FYI, it’s a strawberry developed in France. We’re getting this little berry from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm over in Roscoe New York, which is just down the road from here.

TEXTING ’BOUT FOOD

So yeah, we’ve got a new way that we communicate with each other. We’ve all become nomads in a sense. I’m going to try to post here and talk about what I like, with a focus on food because that’s my game. Summer is here and new things arrive every day. And you know how I get excited.

It’s been a wild and wonderful ride with you all. Wonderful? Why do I use that word? Because we have this almost insurmountable challenge and we are meeting it head on. And we’re doing it together. And yeah, that’s a picture of my daughter Phoebe and she’s helping me get this website under control. 👊♥️