Rosedale Farms, Gossip, & Recipes
Enjoy the ultimate farm experience at Rosedale Farms & Vineyards, a one stop shop.
Experience the legacy of Rosedale Farms & Vineyards, providing unbeatable produce and warm hospitality to the Simsbury community for over a century! As a family-owned farm, their dedication to quality and sustainability shines through in every fresh harvest.
Introducing The Rosedale Wine Club!
Indulge in a curated wine journey like no other with our exclusive Rosedale Wine Club. Savor the diverse flavors of the wine line-up, while enjoying exclusive offerings available only to their valued members. Just like their CSA program, the wine club offers 4 scheduled pick-ups throughout the growing season, with special surprises along the way. Join the club and elevate your wine experience!
How it works:
Kick off your summer with a bang and join the Rosedale Wine Club! Each pickup includes 3 bottles of their renowned wines, live music on the weekends, vineyard tours, and first dibs on new releases. Plus, two complimentary glasses of wine for you and a friend! It's not just a great deal, it's the ultimate winery experience.
Click here to learn more!
Farm Fresh Card
Get ready to indulge in all your fresh food cravings with the new Rosedale Farm Fresh Card! For only $100 (valued at $110), you can purchase their award-winning wines, scratch-made baked goods, famous sweet corn, and seasonal vegetables. Sign up in-store or online and start harvesting at your own pace.
Garden Gossip
Team member Jen here, aka The Garden Gossiper. I host my own blog, focusing on self-sufficiency, food, homesteading, life and more. But today, I’d like to share the gossip here — focusing on tomatoes, like the ones you can get with your Farm Fresh Card at Rosedale Farms!
Too Many Tomatoes?!
Is 17 tomato plants too many?
Of course not! Not when you’ve decided to make your own tomato sauce, tomato soup, salsa, and more. Now, I won’t get into EVERYTHING involving the various ways I use up my tomatoes, but I will give you a helpful hint / secret into how to manage all of those fruits of your labor (tomatoes are botanically considered fruits).
Freezing
It took some trial and error to figure out the best way to deal with my gallons of tomatoes and that is — freezing them whole. I buy 2 gallon freezer safe bags and just put the tomatoes in as they are, pop them in the freezer, and pull them out when I’m ready to use them. Bonus: when you’re ready to use them, you can run them under warm water and skin falls right off.
In years past, I would blanche, de-skin, blend/process and then freeze the juicy slurry as it was. WHAT A HASSLE. Or, I would decide to make and can my tomato sauce as I got enough tomatoes — NO WAY. It was just too hot to cook down the sauce for hours and then water bath can in the midst of summer.
Recipe Roundup: Tomato Gravy
Tomato gravy, while sounds questionable, is a staple in my household. It’s easy to make, versatile, and delicious. It’s been added to pork chops, chicken breast, toast, corn bread, eggs, and more.
Confession: I am a ‘wing it’ type of cook (thankful I inherited the good ‘ol scratch cooking trait); however, that means I am not one to measure. I also didn’t make this gravy up so I will share with you, the recipe that introduced me to this wonderful concoction, but know that is it not my personal recipe. Maybe someday I’ll write down measurements as I go. My style is: measure with your heart.
This recipe comes from: Appalachian Cooking by John Tullock
TOMATO GRAVY
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
cup finely diced yellow onion
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
½ cup drained, chopped canned tomatoes, juice reserved (I cut up a few tomatoes instead of using canned)
½ cup whole (not 2%) milk
1. Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Stir in the salt, black pepper, and thyme and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Reduce the heat to low, stir in the milk, and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
3. Serve immediately or store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Don’t forget: Shop Local. Support Small Farms. No Farms, No Food!
