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Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Corn-Zucchini Fritters With Raclette
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Aug 25, 2015 at 1:00 PM
My plan for the day involved going to Cedar Circle Farm and buying a pallet of heirloom tomatoes because they're on sale for $3 per pound. Then I'd make a big batch of gazpacho and think about canning the rest because it's been so hot and today would be hot, too, right?
The day had other plans. The morning dawned dark, sky churning shades of gray from slate to pale blue-silver. By 10 a.m. the clouds opened up, soaking any hope of going anywhere. But I had half a dozen ears of corn sitting on the counter, where they'd been languishing for days, fast losing sweetness.
The day had other plans. The morning dawned dark, sky churning shades of gray from slate to pale blue-silver. By 10 a.m. the clouds opened up, soaking any hope of going anywhere. But I had half a dozen ears of corn sitting on the counter, where they'd been languishing for days, fast losing sweetness.
Alice Eats Alice Eats: Berdas Roadside Eatery
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Aug 25, 2015 at 12:41 PM
It's no surprise that I'm usually the first in my crowd to know about any new dining spot. But when one pal recently sent me a picture of some fried balls filled with macaroni and cheese, I'd never heard of its source. Turned out, it was Berdas Roadside Eatery, parked at the Essex Family Fun Center, right between the batting cages and mini golf.
Then my girl Jess Wisloski sent me a link to her piece on the place from the Colchester Sun. When a reader sent me yet another recommendation for Berdas last week, my fate was sealed: It had to be the next Alice Eats.
I liked the old-fashioned branding on the trailer (omitted apostrophe and all), but the food was anything but. Indeed, so much of it was idiosyncratic, it was hard to know if I was making the right choices.
Among the hot dogs, should it be the Whistlepig, deep-fried in a jacket of bacon and drizzled in maple syrup? Or the Jalapeño Dog, grilled and then topped with maple-flavored jalapeños and onions and settled into a bun "that's been loaded with cream cheese?" Yes, I could have just ordered a plain hot dog, but it wouldn't have shown me what Berdas is about.
Then my girl Jess Wisloski sent me a link to her piece on the place from the Colchester Sun. When a reader sent me yet another recommendation for Berdas last week, my fate was sealed: It had to be the next Alice Eats.
I liked the old-fashioned branding on the trailer (omitted apostrophe and all), but the food was anything but. Indeed, so much of it was idiosyncratic, it was hard to know if I was making the right choices.
Among the hot dogs, should it be the Whistlepig, deep-fried in a jacket of bacon and drizzled in maple syrup? Or the Jalapeño Dog, grilled and then topped with maple-flavored jalapeños and onions and settled into a bun "that's been loaded with cream cheese?" Yes, I could have just ordered a plain hot dog, but it wouldn't have shown me what Berdas is about.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Seconds of Summer Seconds of Summer: First Annual Breakfast on the Farm
Posted
By Stacey Brandt
on Mon, Aug 24, 2015 at 5:30 PM
As I polish off a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and write my final post for Seconds of Summer, I can't help but think about how much there is to do during the few moments of sun (and rain) that Vermont calls summer. My late-night snacking isn't completely unrelated to my post this week. Last weekend, my friend Mikaela and I traveled to a Vermont dairy farm for breakfast to see who really makes the milk for our cookies and the cream for our ice cream.
Saturday, August 22, was the first annual Breakfast on the Farm held at Nea-Tocht Farm, a 500-cow dairy owned by the Vander Wey family. The breakfast honored the Vermont dairy industry and welcomed hundreds of dairy lovers like myself to see where our beloved milk-based products originate.
Before the breakfast, I spoke with event co-organizer Dr. Julie Smith, an extension dairy specialist and associate professor at the University of Vermont. She expressed her hopes that the free breakfast and self-guided farm tour would become a learning opportunity. "We want people to ask questions," Smith says. "I've heard rumors of people that think milk comes from the back of the store. It really is a natural product that comes from cows."
Saturday, August 22, was the first annual Breakfast on the Farm held at Nea-Tocht Farm, a 500-cow dairy owned by the Vander Wey family. The breakfast honored the Vermont dairy industry and welcomed hundreds of dairy lovers like myself to see where our beloved milk-based products originate.
Before the breakfast, I spoke with event co-organizer Dr. Julie Smith, an extension dairy specialist and associate professor at the University of Vermont. She expressed her hopes that the free breakfast and self-guided farm tour would become a learning opportunity. "We want people to ask questions," Smith says. "I've heard rumors of people that think milk comes from the back of the store. It really is a natural product that comes from cows."
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Gin Melon Cooler
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Aug 18, 2015 at 1:50 PM
Ripe is the season for massive, oblong fruits. (Yes, I see you, Monster Zucchini, but this isn't about you.)
See this watermelon in my fridge? Picked Sunday at 4 Corners Farm in Newbury, its preternatural sweetness is helping offset the bitter fact that it's mid-August — and there are pumpkins blushing orange in the wings.
That alone justifies a cocktail...
Really, any excuse to pull out a bottle of Stonecutter Spirits' barrel-aged gin is excuse enough for me. I'll swoon for a good gin any day of the week, but I'm especially fond of this new(ish) trend toward barrel-aging the stuff (Caledonia Spirits' Tom Cat gin is another fine local example) and Stonecutter's version — released earlier this summer after many moons at rest — is really quite special.
See this watermelon in my fridge? Picked Sunday at 4 Corners Farm in Newbury, its preternatural sweetness is helping offset the bitter fact that it's mid-August — and there are pumpkins blushing orange in the wings.
That alone justifies a cocktail...
Really, any excuse to pull out a bottle of Stonecutter Spirits' barrel-aged gin is excuse enough for me. I'll swoon for a good gin any day of the week, but I'm especially fond of this new(ish) trend toward barrel-aging the stuff (Caledonia Spirits' Tom Cat gin is another fine local example) and Stonecutter's version — released earlier this summer after many moons at rest — is really quite special.
Alice Eats Alice Eats: Pho Thai Express
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Aug 18, 2015 at 12:08 PM
Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was no pho in Montpelier. That changed in a hurry this spring when two Vietnamese restaurants opened. Pho Capital now fills the historic former Thrush Tavern space on State Street with the smell of fish sauce. Its patio makes it the spot for a relaxed meal of bun and banh xeo. I'll review it soon, but on Friday evening, I was in Montpelier and in a hurry. And there's no better place to go in a hurry than Pho Thai Express.
The idea is a novel one, not just in Montpelier but in the Green Mountains. This is true fast food, with dishes mostly served in take-out containers.
But that doesn't mean the service felt rushed when I visited. Owner Sam Thongjanthoug had an easy smile and a fatherly air. He seemed a little surprised that my friend and I decided to enjoy our soups in bowls at the restaurant, rather than taking dinner to go.
The idea is a novel one, not just in Montpelier but in the Green Mountains. This is true fast food, with dishes mostly served in take-out containers.
But that doesn't mean the service felt rushed when I visited. Owner Sam Thongjanthoug had an easy smile and a fatherly air. He seemed a little surprised that my friend and I decided to enjoy our soups in bowls at the restaurant, rather than taking dinner to go.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Seconds of Summer Seconds of Summer: Stowe Brewers Festival 2015
Posted
By Stacey Brandt
on Mon, Aug 17, 2015 at 5:55 PM
Last Saturday, I drove to Stowe for the second day of the first annual Stowe Brewers Festival. The fest sprawled out across a rain-drenched field filled with brewers, cider makers, food carts and lots and lots of beer-thirsty enthusiasts. Co-organizers and Stowe locals Lisa Senecal and Nina Atkinson promoted an eco-friendly and community-conscious event with initiatives to be plastic-bottle free, use compostable containers and donate to local charities.
Three hours of beer crawling led to brew companies from near and far, but it was the new guys on the scene that had me (and many fellow drinkers) back in line for multiple rounds. First-year Vermont-based breweries Bent Hill Brewery, Frost Beer Works and Paine Mountain Brewing Company all proved to be as good as the bigger brew dogs at the event.
As I traveled around snapping photos and chatting up the crowd, it was really all smiles and "cheers." During my encounters with brewmasters, beer geeks, chefs and shiny college students, everyone seemed happy with being outdoors, with the people around them and, of course, with the suds in their cups. Even the rain held off, which was reason enough to raise my glass.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Pristine Cucumber Salad
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Aug 11, 2015 at 12:36 PM
A few weeks ago, seminal New York Times food critic Ruth Reichl revisited Dan Barber's Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, N.Y. At his flagship farm-to-table restaurant, Barber is known for presenting meats and vegetables from his onsite farm in their barest form and letting the ingredients speak for themselves. In her review, Reichl describes an early course: "Cucumbers," she writes, were served "simply sliced and so sweet I was reminded that cucumbers belong to the melon family."
While I have mixed feelings about Dan Barber's impact on the food movement, Reichl's review reminded me that fresh, beautiful ingredients are best handled with minimal fuss — and that off-the-vine cucumber season lasts just a few weeks. So when a farmer friend directed me to a table full of fresh produce from Killdeer Farm at a party this weekend, I grabbed up a half dozen cukes, dreaming of a simple, spicy salad.
With a chicken roasting on the grill Sunday night, I picked some fresh herbs and nasturtiums (the flowers lend a green, floral, spicy note, similar to a radish) from the garden and threw these in with the Killdeer cukes and some oil and vinegar.
All told, it took about five minutes to prepare. And guess what? It was great.
While I have mixed feelings about Dan Barber's impact on the food movement, Reichl's review reminded me that fresh, beautiful ingredients are best handled with minimal fuss — and that off-the-vine cucumber season lasts just a few weeks. So when a farmer friend directed me to a table full of fresh produce from Killdeer Farm at a party this weekend, I grabbed up a half dozen cukes, dreaming of a simple, spicy salad.
With a chicken roasting on the grill Sunday night, I picked some fresh herbs and nasturtiums (the flowers lend a green, floral, spicy note, similar to a radish) from the garden and threw these in with the Killdeer cukes and some oil and vinegar.
All told, it took about five minutes to prepare. And guess what? It was great.
Alice Eats Alice Eats: East West Café
Posted
By Alice Levitt
on Tue, Aug 11, 2015 at 11:00 AM
It doesn't take much sophistication to like Thai food. When people hear I'm an Asian cuisine aficionado, it's usually the first thing they ask me about. But despite how easy it is to love the cuisine's balanced flavors, most Thai menus in the U.S. are dishearteningly similar.
That's not so much the case at Burlington's new East West Café, at the corner of North Winooski Avenue and Pearl Street. There's no pad Thai or krapow on the menu. There are tom yum, som tam and a selection of curries. But there are far simpler dishes that have the homespun feel of dining in chef Samran Kaewkoet's kitchen. Though not particularly complex, every dish is unfussy and fresh.
That's not so much the case at Burlington's new East West Café, at the corner of North Winooski Avenue and Pearl Street. There's no pad Thai or krapow on the menu. There are tom yum, som tam and a selection of curries. But there are far simpler dishes that have the homespun feel of dining in chef Samran Kaewkoet's kitchen. Though not particularly complex, every dish is unfussy and fresh.
Seconds of Summer Seconds of Summer: Goat Appreciation at Green Mountain Girls Farm
Posted
By Stacey Brandt
on Tue, Aug 11, 2015 at 10:31 AM
It's a simple yet easily overlooked idea that what we eat takes time, effort and meticulous patience before it reaches our plate. Last week was Open Farm Week in Vermont, a six-day celebration of farms, farmers and everything related. Like a lot of people attempting a locavore lifestyle, I go to farmers markets and buy what is fresh every week. It had been a while since I'd actually gone to the source.
Last Thursday, I went to Green Mountain Girls Farm and got up close and very personal with some of our barnyard friends.
Last Thursday, I went to Green Mountain Girls Farm and got up close and very personal with some of our barnyard friends.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Farmers Market Kitchen Farmers Market Kitchen: Potluck Pasta Salad
Posted
By Hannah Palmer Egan
on Tue, Aug 4, 2015 at 3:34 PM
A few weeks ago, I threw this simple pasta salad together for a potluck. I've been craving it ever since — it's a little sweet, nice and salty, and very light, as pasta salads go. It's also vegan, and if you use gluten-free pasta and Bragg's aminos, it's also gluten-free, which means most everyone at the party can eat it.
Last time, I included chopped sugar-snap peas from LePage Farm, but those are mostly done for the season. This week, I substituted shredded summer squash (and cucumbers) from Pierson Farm's stand in Bradford, since here we are again in the zucchini heart of summer, and it's time to start adding squash to everything.
Last time, I included chopped sugar-snap peas from LePage Farm, but those are mostly done for the season. This week, I substituted shredded summer squash (and cucumbers) from Pierson Farm's stand in Bradford, since here we are again in the zucchini heart of summer, and it's time to start adding squash to everything.
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