MONTGOMERY-In a quaint shop at Stony Creek Farm, Gabriella Steria’s talents abound as one peruses the pretty wooden shelves lined with jams, jellies, soups, sauces and tasty treats.
Gabriella Steria has a quaint shop at her farm, Stony Creek Farm, and sells some of her specialties at the weekly Westfield Farmers Market.
“Wednesday is baking day,” said Steria during a Tuesday morning visit to her six-acre farm on Chamberlain Road.
Almost half of her farm rests on the side of a mountain which is ideal pasture land for her goat herd.
“They love the rocky mountainside with grass, trees, and brush to nibble on,” she said.
Steria is one of dozens of vendors who share their wares at the weekly Westfield Farmers’ Market on the front lawn of the Episcopal Church of the Atonement on Court Street. Market hours are noon to 6 p.m. on Thursdays.
While Steria relishes her time in her country kitchen, she is most at home working the land and tending to her 36 goats and several laying hens. Steria notes she fenced in an orchard area allowing her hens to run free.
Steria also expects to purchase two pigs this summer which will be butchered for meat in the fall.
Sugar-free strawberry and raspberry jams are popular sellers at Gabriella Steria’s quaint shop in Russell, as well as at the weekly Westfield Farmers’ Market.
“The pigs eat all of the garbage,” she said, adding, “I hate to see any waste.”
Steria’s love of the land and preserving it stems from her childhood upbringing as a Mennonite on a dairy farm in upstate New York.
“Growing up I had my own goat herd,” she said. “I grew up with the freeness of nature.”
Steria first settled in Westfield when she served as a teacher for the Westfield Christian School. After several years, she opened a bakery with a friend on Route 20 in Russell, but later sold it to concentrate her efforts on establishing her farm.
Now at 44, she has already lived in the Greater Westfield area for more than 16 years. She is a member of the Pioneer Valley Mennonite Church on Huntington Road in Russell and is one of its first members.
Her day begins around sunrise when milking 36 goats takes approximately 90 minutes of her time. By 9 a.m. she is feeding her animals and as evidenced on Tuesday morning, they were all calling out to her in unison for their breakfast.
When she isn’t baking or tending her herd, she is also pruning her berry bushes, mowing the lawn, or handling general maintenance issues.
“I like being my own boss and I love farming,” she said. “The farm is on my own timetable so I can get the schedule that suits me.”
Her store hours also suit her patrons, including Deresa Helems of Huntington, who stopped by to pick up a gallon of raw goat’s milk and a dozen eggs.
Deresa Helems of Huntington is a weekly visitor to Stony Creek Farm in Russell for goat’s milk and eggs – plus other treats!
“Her raw goat’s milk is the best around since it is easy to digest,” said Helems, adding, “When I gave the milk to my husband and son they didn’t know the difference.”
Helems said in addition to regular staples, she also picks up apple butter and chocolate treats.
“All of her cheese is also good,” said Helems, noting she adds the specialty flavors to her family’s sandwiches and eggs.
Steria’s raw goat’s milk is also prized by her customers since it is USDA certified.
“To sell raw milk a state representative from the Department of Agriculture stops by each month to take samples from my tanks or from a container in the store,” she said, adding that inspectors also check to ensure the store is clean and the goats are healthy.
“Milk that is not sold raw is made into soft cheese,” she said.
Deresa Helems of Huntington is a weekly visitor to Stony Creek Farm in Russell for goat’s milk and eggs – plus other treats!
Her shop features a freezer containing several cuts of goat meat, as well as a cooler with raw goat’s milk, fresh goat cheese, and farm-fresh brown eggs. Her two soft cheese varieties are feta and chevre.
“I have 10 varieties of chevre including three sweet options – maple walnut, honey, and cranberry pecan,” she said, adding there are also savory varieties including garlic parsley and tomato basil.
Steria’s offerings also include hand-dipped chocolates, jams and jellies, local honey and bee pollen, pickles, pickled vegetables, homemade soups and sauces, goat milk soaps and goat themed gift items.
At Thursday’s farmers’ market, Steria’s vendor booth will have a sampling of her specialty items, including sweet breads (Morning Glory, banana, zucchini and coffee cake), cookies (chocolate chip, molasses and sugar with sprinkles), whoopie pies (chocolate, oatmeal and pumpkin), jellies including her best seller elderberry, and jams including strawberry rhubarb and bumbleberry. Her Bumbleberry Jam is made from raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.
“I also take orders for pies and cookies,” said Steria, adding she has seen more requests for gluten-free cookies and breads. “I have participated in the farmers’ market since it started and enjoy meeting my repeat customers as well as new customers each week.”
While most of her days are jam-packed with chores and baking, Steria added she did not find enough time this spring to plant a vegetable or herb garden, however, there is always next year.
“The farm is a lot of hard work but it’s fun,” she said. “My long-term goal is to only run the store.”
