Goin' Green, Higganum Village Farmers Market

There will be succulent sea scallops at the Higganum Village Farmers' Market "Goin' Green" event on Friday, Aug. 19, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Bring a market bag and a cold pack (or cooler) plus things to swap or trade for a freecycle booth (market-goers must take things home if they don't find another home by the end of the market). Environmentally-conscious vendors will have informational booths and exhibits; the G-Monkey Food Mobile will park at the green (where vendors set up), plus Wellstone Farm will sell Cato Corner cheese this week in addition to their usual selection of fresh produce. Live music by Pro Forma at 4 p.m.

Fresh & Local: Ideas For Your Gift Baskets

We'll continue to hunt up ideas for creating a gift basket (honey, syrup, yarns, fresh winter produce) for the holidays - or for delicious ways to add to your holiday table.

For winter, the Storrs Farmers Market is now inside at the Buchanan Auditorium, Mansfield Public Library, Route 89 off of Route 195 in Mansfield Center - in December, the Winter Market will be open on the Dec. 19, due to the Christmas holiday.

Shop for honey, maple syrup, goat's milk cheeses and yogurt, all-natural beef, and free range eggs.

Handmade beeswax candles, artisanal soaps, handspun wool yarn, knitted scarves and mittens and much more. The market will be open from 3 to 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month through April.

For more, visit www.storrsfarmers.org.

Feeling rushed? Chaplin Farms can create a gift basket for your holiday or special occasion with maple syrup, jams, jellies, soaps or other farm products.Windy Hill Honey of Middlefield is available at Higganum Feed Store located on Route 154 - along with other items such as a historic Haddam photo calendar filled with local history, lore and facts.

Fresh Greens Grown By Chaplin Farms

Catherine Rose of Chaplin Farms is just one of the market vendors at the Higganum Village Farmers’ Market on Fridays, 3:30 to 7 p.m. (They have stalks of fresh rhubarb, too.)

Held on the Higganum Village Green at the intersection of Saybrook Road (Rt. 154) and Killingworth Road (Rt. 81) opposite the elementary school, the market offers up food, fresh produce, bedding plants, perennials, ice cream, baked goods, rose bushes, beauty at every turn.

Officials with the Connecticut Department of Agriculture say more people are choosing to eat locally grown food and trying to do something to help the struggling agriculture sector in Connecticut. There are now at least 125 outdoor farm markets in Connecticut. Visit www.ct.gov/doag to find one near where you live or work.

The state also has an active Farm-to-Chef program, a movement popular across the nation that links chefs with local food producers.