This June, the national start-up Dishcrawl, founded on the idea of bringing together communities through good food and good company, is coming to Burlington.  Dishcrawl takes food lovers on a tour of the area’s best eats, highlighting four local restaurants in one savory evening. 

 

“It’s like a food-centric pub crawl,” says local ambassador Aziza Jadallah.  “We focus on the amazing variety of restaurants we have right here in Burlington, connecting the community with the chefs, owners, and the great dishes that make Burlington a food destination.”    

 

The first crawl takes place on Tuesday, June 25th, and will feature four restaurants of Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace.  Tickets can be purchased at dishcrawl.com/churchstreetdishcrawl. The featured restaurants are kept secret until two days before the event, when the meeting location is revealed to ticketholders. 

 

For more information about upcoming Dishcrawls, visit dishcrawl.com/burlington, check out our Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, @dishcrawlburl. 

 

Dishcrawl creates dining experiences and events to satisfy anyone’s craving.  Our mission is to show food lovers the best dishes in local restaurants.  You can find your local Dishcrawl Ambassador leading you through progressive dinners, prix fixe dinners, and other fun food events!  Dishcrawlers can enjoy dining experiences in San Francisco, New York, Montreal, Ottawa, San Jose, Toronto, Philadelphia, DC, and more.  Visit Dishcrawl.com for a local dining experience.   

  

 

Source: Dig in VT Trails

The Echo Lake Inn was built in 1840 as a Victorian summer hotel. Today it remains one of the few authentic Vermont country inns operating year round. The Vermont Country Inn’s rich heritage includes frequent visits by President Calvin Coolidge, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and many other historic figures. Along with gorgeous event facilities, Echo Lake Inn has an outstanding restaurant led by Chef Kevin Barnes. 

Chef Kevin Barnes, of Ludlow’s Echo Lake Inn, has been working with friends, farmers, and his staff to serve Vermont-grown food for 25 years. “I don’t buy locally just because it’s local, I buy locally because it is the freshest, best product I can get,” Chef Barnes explains, “and my customers aren’t coming to Vermont to eat the same food they have back home, they want to experience the local flavors that Vermont has to offer.

What is Chef Kevin excited about? Discovering the Green Thumbs in his staff…

Chef Kevin has found some of his best produce right under his nose- from a bartender that grew a huge garden catering their needs, to a breakfast waitress that brings in beautiful veggies for the kitchen. Even Chef Barnes, himself, contributes blackberries, herbs and produce from his own home garden. Chef Kevin graciously offered a delicious recipe for Green Mountain Smoke House Bacon-Wrapped Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery Bonne Bouche with McIntosh Chutney. 

Green Mountain Smoke House Bacon Wrapped Bonne Bouche Cheese with McIntosh Chutney

Ingredients:

                  1 Vermont Butter and Cheese Company’s Bonne Bouche 

                  2 slices Green Mountain Smoke House Bacon (par cooked)

                  8 fresh baquette slices+

                  2 Vermont McIntosh Apples (peeled, cored and ½ inch dice)

                  I small red onion (small dice)

                  ½ sweet bell pepper (small dice)

                  ¼ cup brown sugar

                  1/8 cup raisins

                  ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

                  ¼ tsp allspice

                  ¼ cup Cold Hollow cider

                 ¼ cup Cold Hollow cider vinegar

Preparation:

                  Chutney:

                                    Place apples, onion, pepper, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, cider and cider vinegar in heavy saucepan. Stir mixture, bring to a simmer, and cook until apple cubes just start to soften but retain their shape. Remove from heat and add raisins and stir once more. Place mixture in a nonreactive container and refrigerate. Leave refrigerated until Bonne Bouche is ready. (make about an hour ahead of cooking cheese)

                  Cheese:

                                    Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Wrap par cooked bacon slices around Bonne Bouche cheese with tooth picks or skewers to hold bacon in place. Place bacon wrapped cheese on a sizzle platter or similar pan. Once oven is at temperature, place wrapped cheese inside oven. Heat until bacon just starts to crisp and cheese just starts to soften (about 5 minutes).  Serve immediately with chilled chutney and baquette slices.

Source: Dig in VT Trails

nika

Chef Dennis Vieira serves up bold, Mediterranean flavors with a Vermont twist at nika, the new downtown Burlington restaurant that formerly housed Three Tomatoes. Owner, Robert Meyers, has made a point of designing the European-inspired menus of his four restaurants to utilize the best of local ingredients- you can see it at nika in dishes like the Boucher Blue stuffed Dates, and the Vermont Family Farms pork they use in the house-made sausage and bacon.

What is Chef Dennis excited about right now?

Spring, and his Vermont Foraged Salad…

Chef Dennis has been running a special that highlights some of Vermont’s best wild edibles, most foraged from Bridgewater, VT by owner, Robert Meyers, himself! The salad features wild ramps and pheasantback mushrooms, wood fired in their roaring oven, dandelion greens doused in olive oil and grilled, blanched fiddleheads and asparagus tossed with petit arugula, spinach, flakes of parmesan cheese and dressed with a parmesan vinaigrette.

Source: Dig in VT Trails

The Kitchen Table Bistro

“Foragers are coming out of the woodwork,” Steve Atkins, chef/owner of the Kitchen Table remarked jokingly. All puns aside, The Kitchen Table Bistro (KTB) is known for their creative use of seasonally foraged ingredients. Steve receives calls daily from foragers hoping to see their harvest on the plates of his critically acclaimed restaurant.

What is Chef Steve excited about?

Wild Ramps…

Wild leeks have a short, concentrated growing season and, while in supply, Chef Steve celebrates ramps creatively and they work their way into many KTB dishes. While we spoke, Chef Steve was preparing his wild ramp romesco sauce, which blends grilled ramps with red pepper and almonds into a coarse puree. Pickling ramps is another favorite at KTB. Chef Steve will pair his pickled ramps simply—with a tartar or pate, or create a pickled ramp relish that’s perfect for fish. The Kitchen Table Bistro’s restaurant week menu is filled with ramps and their new patio beckons spring diners.  

Source: Dig in VT Trails

Hermit’s Gold Wild Edibles

Colin McCaffrey is obsessed with wild things. Taught about wild edibles and natural medicinal plants by his mother and grandfather, Colin spent his childhood hunting, fishing, and foraging in Southern Vermont. In college, he found himself using the forest as his classroom, focusing on identifying species – especially mushrooms.

What is Colin excited about?

His hunt for morels…

 Morels need the moisture of a wet spring to really flourish, with little rain in the forecast Colin is keeping his spirits up by foraging for other seasonal wild edibles. He is already harvesting wild leeks, fiddleheads, nettles, toothwort, and pepper root—which Colin described as a mix between wasabi and wild ginger. Colin works under the name of Hermit’s Gold Wild Edibles in Washington County and the Northeast Kingdom and you can find his wild edibles on the table at Hen of the Wood, Frida’s, and at the Plainfield Coop.     

Source: Dig in VT Trails

Chef Martin Schuelke moved to Vermont a year ago to take over the kitchen at the historic Grafton Inn. With plans to integrate more local food into his menu, Chef Martin asked fellow chef, friend and former VFN board member, Jason Tostrup of the Inn at Weathersfield to introduce him to area farmers.  Gayle Morabito of Coger Farms and Greenhouses was the first farmer connection Jason helped Martin make.  Gayle grows rare culinary herbs and highly desired, unusual produce. She is happy to grow custom orders for her chef partners.

Chef Martin is currently using Coger’s special variety of wild arugula, spinach, choi, mustard and beet greens along with lemon balm, amaranth, wrinkled cress and other herbs guaranteed to thrill any creative chef! In celebration of Earth Day last week, Chef Martin shared this recipe for Coger’s Greenhouse Spring Greens with VT Fiddleheads and Apricot Vinaigrette. The day we spoke, Chef Martin received a delivery of 15 pounds of foraged fiddleheads, in fact, a Fiddlehead Dinner celebrating the wild edibles is in the works for May 25th at the Grafton Inn!  

Source: Dig in VT Trails

Food shopping suggestions:  Before you go shopping, make a list!  Remember to shop the edges and try to buy as much bulk/whole food as possible.  Whenever possible, buy in bulk from local vendors.  You can place a special order through your Coop, go to the farmers market (Saturdays in Montpelier on State Street), or visit the vendors.

 

For local food sources, visit vermontfresh.net to search an extensive listing.  Here are some to get you started:

Butterworks Farm – butterworksfarm.com – spelt, oats, rye, cornmeal, dry beans, yogurt, sunflower oil

Applecheek Farm – applecheekfarm.com – chicken, lamb, veal, pot pies, sausage

Cate Farm – catefarm.com – seasonal organic produce

 

Food selection criteria (Colbin, AnneMarie. Food and Healing. Random House, 1986.):

Keep it whole. Try to eat food as nature provided it, with all its edible parts intact.  The body is smart: if there are nutrients missing from the food we eat, it is likely we’ll crave what’s missing and try to get it from other sources. 

Choose fresh, real food. Avoid canned or frozen foods whenever possible; read labels and try to choose foods free from artificial sweeteners, antibiotics or hormones. If you can’t pronounce a word in the ingredients list, don’t eat it!

Cook with seasonal, local, non-genetically modified meat, dairy, grains and produce. Whenever possible we source ingredients direct from farmers using CSAs (community supported agriculture), and markets.

Prepare foods that are in harmony with tradition. Gain inspiration from the cuisines of different parts of the world and recognize that food many times can spark a memory of one’s history.

Find balance. Cook colorful foods that offer enticing flavor and texture; savor your meals! Sit down, breathe, and appreciate the nourishment that you need to live.

Dandelion Leek Frittata

You will need:

4 Tablespoons olive oil

1 large leek

2 teaspoons each: salt and black pepper

1 bunch fresh dandelion greens

6 eggs

1 teaspoon each: cumin and coriander powder

Juice of half a lemon

 

Chop 1 large leek into rounds.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and add leeks.

Reduce heat to medium low. Add salt, black pepper, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add dandelion greens. Simmer for 10 more minutes or until most of the liquid has cooked out of the vegetables.

 

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease a pie plate with olive oil.

 

In a bowl, beat 6 eggs, cumin, coriander, and a splash (about 4 Tablespoons each) of water and lemon juice.

Pour egg mixture over the top of the greens and bake for 40 minutes.

 

Healing Properties

Eggs: each one contains 6 grams of protein, 9 essential amino acids, and only 1.5 grams of saturated fat; rich in lutein, which helps prevent macular degeneration and cataracts; improve human lipid profile, thereby balancing cholesterol; contain naturally occurring vitamin D.

Dandelion greens: these iron-rich, fiber-filled spring greens stimulate the bitter flavor on the palate, which encourages bile production, thereby strengthening digestion and aiding liver rejuvenation.

Leeks: strengthen lungs; anti-microbial; anti-bacterial; offer rich source of fructo-oligosaccharides, which stimulate growth of healthy bifidobacteria and suppress the growth of potentially harmful bacteria in the colon. 

 

Oaty Corn Bread 

This is a great thing to bake with leftover oatmeal!

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together:

1 cup corn meal (I like ‘early riser’ cornmeal from Butterworks farm)

1 cup leftover oatmeal (you can order 5 pound bags of local oats from Butterworks farm)

1 teaspoon each: salt, baking soda, baking powder, coriander and cumin

¼ cup vegetable oil (I like sunflower oil from Rainville farm)

 

Grease any 8 inch pan with vegetable oil.

Pour batter into greased pan.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center tests clean. 

 

Healing Properties

Oats: high in fiber to lower cholesterol levels and reduce risk of heart disease; ease digestive stress and support healthy transit time; enhance immune response to infection and stabilize blood sugar.

 

Savory Sweet Potato Bread

Dry ingredients:

1½ cups rice flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:

1 egg

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Grated zest of 1 lemon

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 ½ cups steamed, mashed sweet potatoes

2 Tablespoons unsweetened, whole milk yogurt

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Grease 8 or 9 inch pan with vegetable oil.

Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir together.

Make a well in the center, combine the wet ingredients and stir until thoroughly blended.

Incorporate wet and dry ingredients until they are well combined.  

 

Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center tests clean.

 

Healing Properties

Sweet potatoes: high in omega 3 essential fatty acids to tonify the internal organs and strengthen immunity; rich in carotenoids and omega-3s, whose anti-oxidant content offers anti-inflammatory support; high in vitamin C to boost immunity; rich in B vitamins to reduce stress. 

 

 

Energy Bars

You will need:

¼ cup dried, unsweetened apricots 

¼ cup dried, unsweetened dates

¼ cup raisins

 

¼ cup sesame seeds – toasted

¼ cup pumpkin seeds – toasted and coarsely chopped

½ cup walnuts, pecans, almonds (choose any combination of these) – toasted and coarsely chopped

 

1 cup nut butter (almond, cashew, peanut butter or a combination of these)

¼ cup honey

4 Tablespoons shredded, unsweetened coconut

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch salt

 

Boil 2 cups water. As water boils, coarsely chop all dried fruit and place it in a small mixing bowl.

Pour boiling water over fruit. Soak for 15 minutes and drain.

 

Meanwhile, mix honey, nut butter, coconut, cinnamon and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

Chop walnuts/almonds and pumpkin seeds. 

Toast all seeds and nuts. Add to mixing bowl and mix.

 

Add soaked dried fruit to the above ingredients. 

Oil a glass baking dish: 7×11″ is a good size.

While the mixture is still warm, press it flat into the dish with wax paper. Chill for 1 hour. 

 

Slice into squares. 

Cover with plastic wrap or store in baking dish in the fridge. Keeps for 2 weeks refrigerated.

 

Healing Properties

Almonds: high in monounsaturated fat, which promotes heart health, helps reduce LDL cholesterol, and aids in carbohydrate metabolism, thus contributing to weight loss; contain flavoproteins to balance blood sugar and improve energy levels.

 

Sunflower seeds: contain selenium to detoxify liver and blood; contain magnesium to strengthen bones, calm nerves and support immunity.

 

Walnuts: rich in omega 3 essential fatty acids; gently laxative; cardio-protective; contain ellagic acid, which supports the immune system.

 

Zoom Balls

You will need:

1 cup tahini (roasted sesame seed butter)

½ cup cashew or almond butter

¼ cup honey (more or less to taste)

1 teaspoon each: cinnamon and cardamom powder

3 Tablespoons coarsely chopped walnuts

½ cup coarsely chopped almonds

2 oz unsweetened shredded coconut 

 

Mix tahini, nut butter and honey until smooth. 

Add coconut and nuts – mix in well.  Mix in enough coconut to make dough thick.

Roll the dough into small balls. You can also spread the mixture onto a baking sheet and cut into squares.

Store the balls in baking tins in a cool place. They will last for 3 weeks.

 

Healing Properties

Coconut: plant-based alternative to saturated animal fats. It stimulates brain function and promotes intestinal motility; its anti-bacterial benefits make it an important fat to choose during times of illness or infection and is specifically indicated for combating intestinal parasites. 

 

Tahini (roasted sesame seed butter): promotes elasticity of bones and joints; helps colon to extract water from food waste before elimination occurs.

 

Visit Lisa’s website at http://www.harmonizedcookery.com/

 

 

 

Source: Dig in VT Trails

The locavore index rates states in relation to both how available locally grown food is and the extent to which it is consumed. The index is compiled by Vermont’s Strolling of the Heifers, which is a group that has been working to promote local food since 2002. It looks at data from the US Department of Agriculture relating to items such as farmers markets, agricultural ventures supported by the local community and food hubs (facilities that help small farmers to distribute and market their produce) per head of the population. These factors are grouped and referred to as locavorism. For the second year, Vermont has topped the list and was followed by Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Iowa; Texas took the last place and Arizona, Florida, Louisiana and Nevada were also at the bottom of the table. The index doesn’t just serve to commend those states doing well with respect to interest in local food production, it encourages all states to become more involved in efforts to make local food the norm again.  

The potential of local food

Vermont’s agricultural heritage and the high priority placed on investment in strategies relating to local food production have led to its standing in the index. The benefits of developing and using local food systems is summed up well by Chuck Ross, the Secretary of Agriculture for Vermont. “A strong local food system creates economic opportunities, preserves the working landscape, serves the nutritional needs of a region, and provides a point of connection for the community.” However, he also acknowledged that there are still many further improvements to be made before we reach a stage where we can feeds ourselves fully using locally sourced items.

Vermont has recognized the benefits of local food not just to its residents, but to the economy of the area and also helps the wider environment. Leading on from Chuck’s summary, here are some of the reasons why Vermont has invested so heavily in its regional food production.

Reduced food miles

By having so many people who grow crops and raise livestock in the state, as well as so many businesses and consumers keen to source food items locally, produce travels a far shorter distance from farm to plate; rather than travelling hundreds or thousands of food miles, it could be less than ten. This helps to significantly reduce the fuel needed for transportation and therefore carbon dioxide emissions; this is very relevant, as global warming remains a key issue.

By having a shorter journey time, spoilage and waste is reduced. This means food is a lot fresher when it is sold and when you come to eat it. Fresher food certainly provides a better food experience – you can definitely taste and smell the difference, as well as appreciating more of a crunch – but it also provides nutritional benefits. The vitamin and mineral content of produce declines with time, so whether it’s a couple of days after picking or a couple of weeks, it potentially makes an impact on the nutrition you receive. The vitamins and minerals found in fruit and vegetables are known to guard against the likes of heart disease and cancer – two of America’s biggest killers – but also can aid your appearance. While you can use all manner of products to help prevent hair loss, wrinkles and brittle nails, what better way to guard against this than nourishing your body from within?

Promoting soil quality

In many parts of the United States, field upon field is devoted to what is known as monoculture, where only one type of crop is grown. While this might be great for producing vast quantities of say corn or wheat, it does little for the soil, as the lack of variety of what is grown contributes to the depletion of nutrients from the soil and also makes it easier for plant diseases to take hold. As a consequence, fertilizers and pesticides need to be used to promote good yields; both items are of further detriment to the soil and a source of pollution. However, the methods used by small local growers tend to steer clear of growing single crops, instead looking to grow a diverse range of items, which maximizes the health of the crops and therefore what they can offer you nutritionally. Without the need to use fertilizers or herbicides, this paves the way for organic farming.

Promoting the local community

More often than not when you shop in a large grocery store, the dollars you hand over to pay for your purchases go to a national chain. However, when you make a spend on locally grown items, this helps to build the area’s economy; supporting family run farms creates jobs not just on their land, but those relating to local processors and distributors as well. Another way that the growth of food close to home can inject money is through the development of agritourism. The opportunity to visit farmers markets and the farms and producers that made the produce they can buy here really does draw people in to visit the area. The growth of tourism helps non-food businesses such as hotels in the region too. Finally, local food also helps to promote community spirit, with many people getting involved and getting to know others who they may never have otherwise met.

Source: Dig in VT Trails