Thanksgiving Dinner - Look Smart!

Ah, the holiday season. So warm and welcoming with candle lit dinners, warm cozy fireplace settings, family and friends reuniting and delicious once-a-year foods like egg nog and pumpkin pie. Welcome to the beginning of the Holiday Season. I can taste the turkey already, can't you?

What seems like a wonderfully nostalgic time of year quickly turns into the mayhem of "who's hosting, what are you bringing, what can I bring, so-and-so doesn't eat seafood, what else can you make, my kids are sick (can they still come?) and what time should I be there?" (no, it's not just your family, it's everyone.) It can become a daunting task.

OK, so reality sets in and you realize you now have a lot on your plate. So, stop, take a deep breath and remember what the spirit of Thanksgiving is all about; an American celebration of family, friends and traditions over a wonderful homemade meal. Focus on making memories not over-planning. While the premise of Thanksgiving is vast, the meal should be simple. Simplicity is key.

Bishop's Orchards has been helping families manage their Thanksgiving meal plans for six generations and 2009 will be no different. Below are Bishop's Orchards recommendations for Thanksgiving meal preparation and planning. To simplify your life, please see our meal preparation checklist and order form for delicious Thanksgiving meal dishes. On this form you will find items like Mashed Potatoes, Apple Butternut Soup, Petite Rolls, D'Artagan turkeys and pies that can be delegated to Bishop's Orchards for preparation . . . . there, now you can take a few items off your list and focus on having a memorable time. Won't you look smart!

1.) Keep it simple - keeping your plan simple will allow for you to enjoy yourself throughout the day.

2.) Be inspired by local markets and seasonal vegetables - stop by any of the Top 10 Places to Harvest a Connecticut Grown Thanksgiving to be inspired by fresh produce and meats that will make a fresh, mouthwatering and memorable meal. Bishop's was selected as one of the top 10!

4.) Select your appetizers: start a new tradition; make your 1st course a selection of cheeses from Bishop's cheese counter. Allow your guests to try new flavors that they wouldn't normally select. Come in and ask one of our cheese specialists for recommendations and pairings.

5.) Select your soup: Generally soup is labor intensive however, it is always a nice warm welcome as a second course. Pick up Bishop's Apple Butternut Squash Soup or Pumpkin Bisque for you. (go ahead, take the credit, your guests will think that you've taken cooking classes!)

6.) Select your main course: Whether D'artagan Turkey or Ham, Bishop's will order it for you.

7.) Select your side dishes: Check out Bishop's Orchards Farm Market for the Freshest Produce* (*Shoreline Times Best of 2009 Winner) to use for your side dishes, or let us make them for you.

8.) Select your dessert: Make your Apple or Pumpkin pies with the freshest ingredients from Bishop's Orchards or let Bishop's make the pies for your guests.

9.) Choosing Beverages & Serving Wine - Visit Bishop's Orchards Winery wine bar to learn which Connecticut Wines will go best with the meal that you are preparing. Our staff will be eager to help you with your selection. Ensure you have enough beverages for your guests on hand. Our own fresh Apple Cider is a perfect accompaniment to your holiday meal and Mulled Cider is always a great ending to any meal. Check out our incredibly easy recipe on Bishop's Orchards Farm Market Facebook Page - recipes page.

NOT MAKING THE MEAL? Don't show up empty handed. As you can see, your host/hostess has gone to a lot of trouble to make your Thanksgiving meal memorable. Please don't show up empty handed.



HOSTESS GIFTS: Bishop's Orchards has many host/hostess gifts for you to bring to the Thanksgiving meal. From Gift Basket and Gift Cards to Award Winning Wine to beautiful Autumn Flowers and Bouquets, we can help you put together a gift that your hostess will appreciate and remember for years to come.



Lastly, as a reminder, focus on simplicity and let Bishop's Orchards help you with your meal preparation. Your guests will be so impressed that you have extra time to mingle while making the meal. Won't you look smart!!

Shore Line Newspaper's BEST OF 2009 Annual Reader's Poll - Bishop's Wins First Prize in 4 Categories

Who doesn't love visiting the shoreline in Connecticut? In the summer it's the beaches and rugged landscapes, in the fall it's the foliage and historic towns, in the winter it's the quintessential holiday charm and in the spring it's the apple blossoms . . . well at least it is for us. Ah, isn't it wonderful to live here?

In revisiting the Connecticut shoreline charm and all that we love about it the Shore Line Newspaper holds an annual Best of Reader's Poll. This is where the people of Connecticut get a chance to vote for their favorite places on the Connecticut shoreline. The categories in the reader's poll range from Best Local Apple Cider to Freshest Seafood Store to Best Breakfast Nook to Best Wellness Center and Best Place to Take a Bike Ride. If you're looking for something to do or somewhere to go on the shoreline you'll find the Best in this reader's poll.

Well, the votes are in. On Friday, October 30, 2009 the Shore Line Newspaper published the Best of 2009 winners. Congratulations to all of the winners.

Bishop's Orchards would like to thank all of our facebook fans (www.facebook.com/bishopsorchardsfarmmarket), twitter fans (www.twitter.com/bishopsorchards), customers, patrons, neighbors and local businesses for voting Bishop's Orchards the Best in these categories:

• Best Local Pies


• Best Local Apple Cider


• Best Produce


• Best Local Market (tied with Guilford Food Center)

I'd like to take a moment to congratulate and thank the residents because despite the state of the economy you have continued to support local businesses. Without you there would be nothing to vote for in the reader's poll and the shoreline would look a lot different; so thank you for your continued support in helping make the shoreline a great place to live.

Below is the article that was written in the Shore Line Newspaper about Bishop's Orchards and winning the above first place prizes in the reader poll:

This is not your typical Yankee farmer's market. You could say that Bishop's Orchards is a farmer's market for all seasons.

When you walk into the orchard market at 1355 Boston Post Road in Guilford it is clear that this place is a foodie's Mecca.

First, there is a the colorful produce oh-so enticingly arrayed - there are the usual suspects - apples - from the orchard, plus hard-to-find items, such as black trumpet mushrooms, clam shell mushrooms and tomatillos. Tucked in the limes are bottles of key lime juice, a necessary ingredient for Key Lime Pie.

In the frozen meat case - along with the usual free rang chickens - you'll find wild boar and teriyaki buffalo. In addition to the expected assortment of fruit jellies and jams are Garlic Jelly, Fig Spread and Vidalia Onion jelly. The cheese cases would probably satisfy any epicurean with the impressive variety of goat cheeses in addition to Quince Paste (quince paste!) and cheese flavored with truffles. And, nice hunks of nutty-tasting Parmigiano Reggiano at a reasonable price.

Bishop's has recently launched a selection of fruit-based wines under their own label, with new selections coming out.

Oh, and don't forget the pies, which are worth a special trip. The variety is staggering - there is Peachberry, Fruits of the Farm absolutely loaded with apples, strawberries, rhubarb, blackberries and raspberries and Fruits of the Orchard made with apricots, peaches and cherries.

But to test how good they are, all you have to do - if you haven't yet shopped there - buy one of their homemade pies (apple is the most popular) any of its fresh produce, or its homemade apple cider.

Or try the sushi to go that is fresh or any variety of their health foods.

Can't find some specific item you are searching for? Ask anyone working there and see how courteously you are treated and how quickly you are led to the item you are seeking.

And, don't forget to try the apples, for which this orchard is famous.

Halloween Parade At Bishop's Orchards - October 29, 2009, 4-6pm with Prizes!

Happy Halloween! Bishop's Orchards is having a Halloween Parade complete with costume prizes for Moms, Dads, Grandparents and children on October 29, 2009 from 4-6pm. The parade will take place near the hay maze at Bishop's Orchards Farm Market. As a notice, this parade originally scheduled for October 28, 2009 however, due to inclement weather, the parade will be on October 29, 2009. We look forward to seeing you all in costumes on Thursday!!

Bishop's Takes on Jones Family Farms in Facebook Fan Challenge

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARM – ON LINE! BISHOP’S ORCHARDS VS JONES FAMILY FARMS FOR CHARITY

Farmers spend their entire lives cultivating - apples, vegetables, Christmas trees, pumpkins, squash, pears, and these days – Facebook fans. Two popular Connecticut farms are curious as to who can grow the largest crop of Facebook fans by this Thanksgiving.

Keith Bishop of Bishop’s Orchards (www.facebook.com/bishopsorchardsfarmmarket) in Guilford and Jamie Jones of Jones Family Farms and Winery (www.facebook.com/jonesfamilyfarms) in Shelton are willing to put some charitable money where their mouths are that they can find the most fans. Both farms have fan bases of over 1000 fans already on Facebook and are looking to make those numbers grow.

For every fan that joins their respective Facebook pages between Thursday October 22nd and 8:00am on Friday November 27th (day after Thanksgiving) the two farms have dedicated themselves to donate $1 each (up to a maximum of 5000 fans total between the two farms) to charities of their choosing. Those are the numbers the contest will start at. The friendly battle doesn’t end there however. The second place owner will travel to the winning farm and put in a good honest days work during the Christmas season. As of 8:00 AM on Thursday October 22nd, Jones Family Farms had a total of 1119 fans and Bishop’s Orchards had 1437 fans, those numbers are the start point for the contest.

Bishop’s Orchards will be donating to the Guilford Community Fund, while Jones Family Farms has selected to donate to the Valley United Way. Both farms will also donate a portion of the funds to the Working Land’s Alliance.

The Working Lands Alliance is a CT project of American Farmland Trust. Founded in 1980, American Farmland Trust has helped win permanent protection for over a million acres of American farmland. AFT's hard work and sound strategies unite farmers, environmentalists and policymakers. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Working-Lands-Alliance/126225149625)
The Valley United Way's (http://www.valleyunitedway.org/) mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. Valley United Way will measurably improve the lives of people in our community through: Philanthropy, volunteerism and collaboration – Working with others to build coalitions that leverage resources to address identified community priorities.

The Guilford Community Fund (guilfordcommunityfund.org) exists to assist the Guilford community by providing a single entity through which donors can make contributions to support those non-profit organizations best qualified to serve Guilford residents in need. The GCF serves 20 non-profit service agencies and organizations. These organizations provide vital services to Guilford and its residents of all ages from babies to senior citizens.

Fans have been flocking to local farms for years and as the world of technology grows, farms and farmers grow right along with it. The use of Facebook for local farms is a great way to get word out to people who truly want to know what’s going on. Whether Jones Family Farms asking fans to post photos of their visits to the pumpkin patch or Bishop’s Orchards spreading the news of their green initiatives, the use of Facebook to talk to their consumers is a priceless tool. Word-of-mouth advertising helps farms thrive and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter allow the spreading of the word even further. So login to Facebook and show your support for your favorite farm and in the process help out some worthy causes.

Welcome to the Bishop's Orchards Blog!

Welcome! We are glad you found us. For those of you who are not familiar with Bishop's Orchards and somehow stumbled upon our Blog, we are a Farm Market and Orchard in Guilford, CT. We are a family business that has been around since 1871. We have grown a lot over the past 138 years; We are now a large farm market, selling everything from the freshest and finest produce, to select meats and poultry, groceries, domestic and imported cheeses, dairy products, an in-house bakery, prepared foods, our own winery and much more. Bishop's is dedicated to providing the freshest produce and quality products for our customers. We believe that the closer your food comes from the better. Bishop's works with many farms around the shoreline and state of Connecticut to bring you the taste of LOCAL! If something is not in season in this area, we will bring it in from as close as possible.

With all of this being said, we are still an operational farm, with over 300 acres of land. We grown many fruits and vegetables that we sell at our store and allow customers to come out in the Summer and Fall months to "Pick Your Own." We are most famous for our APPLES! We currently grow over 25 varieties. From our own Apples we make Apple Cider right at our farm market in our cider mill, and from apple cider, we also make... WINE! Find out more about us on our website at www.bishopsorchards.com

What better time to mark the start of our Blog with a Holiday! So Happy Saint Patrick's Day to you! Hoping that the luck of the Irish is on our side, We will continue to update this blog on a weekly basis to stay connected with all of you and keep you informed of what is going on here at Bishop's. From Promotions, Contests, Pick Your Own News, Winery News, Events, Food Recalls, and many more topics for discussion - we will bring them all to you. We want to hear your ideas and comments too!