Author: vermontnews

Yesterday, we had a Dig In Vermont intern at the farm.  She is interviewing a few of us Floating Bridge Food and Farms Co-op members for a short video to be featured on the Dig In site.  One of her interview questions was a simple one, but sometimes those are the best, right?  “What do you like best about living and working in Vermont?”  I hardly had to think about it.  Of course, I mentioned the natural beauty that we get to steep in everyday–the mountainscapes free of distracting billboards, the working pastures and forests rolling all about–but what I really wanted to speak to was the community we have here, and how extensively engaged and supportive it can be, without seeming cheeky or contrived.

Our neighbor to the north maintains the woodland trails we wander in our free hours (and she’s a fount of knowledge on the wild edibles to be found there!)  Our neighbor to the south taps the maple stand that provides us with syrup for our pancakes (and maple milk!).  My candles and soap are made by Marda of Brookfield Bees, the honey for my yogurt from her husband, Dan. My dishtowel was woven by Sue, from Williamstown.  And it just goes on and on! These skills braid themselves into a cloth that’s made quite an impression on me. We don’t just have community, we have a connectivity within our communities that makes them so much more resilient, and truly pleasant to be a part of!

Of course, this way of relating to neighbors, friends, and family was commonplace a mere 200 years ago all around the country, but now it’s not so easy to come by.  In this neck of the woods though, it’s been preserved, tended to, and conditioned.  We’re not playing local, we’re thriving in and benefiting from an age old local economy that’s been bustling about in these hills for a long, long time. It’s worked here before, and it’s workin’ now.

With the Floating Bridge Food and Farms Co-op, we’re seeing how effectively we can share this richness with others. Our focus is–you guessed it–food and farms, but we’re not just sharing our story of vegetable, meat, and milk production, we’re trying to show all the different ways food works itself into our community, how it connects us in sometimes rather subtle ways.  Amongst us are food, flower, and christmas tree farmers, caramel makers, picklers, a logger, beekeeper, candle and soap maker, a chef, a wreath-maker, a woman who works with locally-harvested plant-based dyes, an inn, and a retreat center.

Can we invite folks to learn about the honey harvest at Brookfield Bees, follow it with a milking session at our farm, and a cheese making class that transforms the two products into a wholly local cheesecake, bearing witness to the whole process, hive to table, teat to table? Or provide a wedding package with locally produced meals, catering, floral arrangements, a pastoral event space, and lodging for guests?   We’re eager to spread the word about the tours, weekend stays, and events that we offer as a group, and the potential they hold to demonstrate, in a hands-on way, what it means to have a relationship with your working landscape. We also hope you’ll get curious and check out some of our fellow Co-op members for the variety of products and services they offer as individual small businesses.

If you’ve been to the farm stand lately, you’ve surely noticed the sweet additions lining the shelves from fellow FBFFC farms. We hope that the blueberries, caramel, syrup, honey, beef, and lamb not only liven up your localvore dinner plate, but that they provide a deeper peek into the richness of this community, and its apparent ability to really provide for itself, in so many ways.  Dig In, folks!

Source: Dig in VT Trails

Snow squalls swirl round the windows, while shrill winds shake the barn cupola from where I write here on Walden North Farm in Vermont. Much of New England this weekend is wrapped in blizzards of snow “whirling wild without” (to borrow Thoreau’s words). The endless landscapes of white that weather experts are calling “epic,” is for us Vermonters, —simply another winter’s day. 

Whenever asked about Vermont winters, particularly how we stand frigid temperatures that plunge to unthinkable depths, I smile and quote Camus:

“Au milieu de l’hiver, j’ai découvert en moi un invincible été.”

“Even in the midst of winter, I find there is in me an invincible summer.”

Perhaps our secret to embracing winter up here escapes the warm scrutiny of summer residents & visitors: we cold-hardy, multi-generational & transplanted Vermonters simply transform winters into invincible summers. Amid the several feet of white that seasonally blanket our Vermont fields, we see green. Vermont farmers, growers and homesteaders have found ways to maintain an invincible summer, —not only in their hearts, but in their plots as well. 

Even amidst the coldest days of winter, there are those of us who, again in the words of Thoreau, “make the earth say beans.” Well, if not beans exactly, certainly greens. 

During the winter months, Vermonters host, support, & frequent Farmers’ Markets, CSAs, farm stores, & local food restaurants (like the famed Claire’s in Hardwick) that offer a wide array of local root, as well as fermented vegetables, micro- and cold-hardy greens, sprouts and other winter vegetables.  

Some of us go even farther in our attempts to extend the growing season. Like our neighbors to the east in New Hampshire & Maine, we have adopted the classic French tradition of creating invincible summers—techniques for four-season growing, to borrow a phrase made famous by Eliot Coleman, whose book of that title has inspired countless Vermonters to grow year round—with simply astoundingly succulent, fresh, green results. 

Some professional growers, like Dave Allen at Hazendale Farms in Greensboro, Pete’s Greens in Craftsbury, and Bread and Butter Farm in Shelburne grow cold-hardy vegetables such as spinach and kale, arugula, Asian greens, herbs, —even onions and scallions—throughout various months of the winter. Surrounded by snow, a variety of greenhouses, glass cold frames, plastic tunnels, hoops, domes, pods, south-facing windows, and other creative growing spaces contain vegetables sprouting, shooting, blossoming, & growing more or less contentedly. (After all, how content can a salad green be in sub-zero temps?)

In our solar and (sparsely) wood-heated greenhouse here at Walden North Farm, (where we build & sell post & beam greenhouses), we grow an array of vegetables all winter, including greens of various types: mesclun, salad, beet, Asian, & mustard, as well as cold-hardy herbs, peas, scallions, kale, cabbage, spinach, broccoli raab, carrots, and leeks. Even potato plants and tomato seedlings have sprouted in my greenhouse this winter—despite the particularly cold days and even colder nights. 

Some of us rely on a host of techniques inspired by not only fellow New England neighbor-authors Anna Edey, the Poissons & Eliot Coleman, but by our own attempts at keeping warm—creative layering. (I write this now shivering in my barn cupola, as the temperature dips below zero, —where I sit in my own creative insulation of double wool socks, various Ibex inventions to divert the cold from invading the soul, & topped with my grandmother’s Irish sweater.) When temps plunge down—like tonight—to -20F or lower, I add an additional layer of protection for my more tender vegetables, such as my potatoes and tomato seedlings—a Vermont version of the classic French cloche—Mason jars!  (What Vermonter doesn’t have more than plenty of those in stock?) 

For me, one of the most inspirational experiences in my growing life occurs at dawn on early January and February mornings when the outside thermometer reads -20F. Dressed in woolens, I venture into a frosty greenhouse whose temperature reads +20 something, only to find, —protected beneath layers of plastic—, beds of fragrant greens, trellises of pea vines and spicy scallions glistening in the dawning sun. There’s nothing quite like the aroma of Fresh on a frigid winter’s morning to inspire one to believe that anything—and everything—is possible. Like Thoreau, we Vermonters evince great “faith in a seed”—particularly those growing in the midst of winter. 

For true, albeit, frosty inspiration, come visit our farms, markets, & homesteads in Vermont this winter!

(Just how winter growing fits in with Thoreau’s admonition to “live in each season and eat the fruits of each,” we’ll save for another posting.)

Written by Sile Post, www.silepost.com

Source: Dig in VT Trails

“Blown away!” We weren’t talking about the wind. We were neighbors from Northfield, journalists from Montpelier and guests from Connecticut, basking in the glow of the barn, music and community. Mary Bonhang and Evan Premo and the talented colleagues they assemble for Scrag Mountain Music concerts seem to have a blast playing in our barn. 

The musicians say it is because during the farm suppers they begin connecting with you who attend, sharing the meal, watching the goats, figuring out the key of a certain farm sound! And we in the audience are more enthralled than typical. We ate with the musicians, know them to be mortals—folks who share our penchant for farm fresh food. Connecting is not only a hunger, it is a feast.

Our farm sells tangible products from eggs and heirloom tomatoes to chorizo, from catered meetings and tours to farmstays. We offer multiple full diet, year round, free choice farm shares. What our customers value is that we sell these products in the beautiful context that makes the products special in the first place! So here is where it gets complicated.  Green Mountain Girls Farm transactions include intangibles, the kind of things American Express has tagged with a value of priceless. 

Together with our colleagues in the Floating Bridge Food and Farms Cooperative, we organize hands-on farm experiences. This winter, Ariel’s Restaurant Chef Lee Duberman is teaching a series of cooking classes at our farm. Richard Fink, Ariel’s co-owner pairs wine to accompany what the class prepares. When the table of 12 sits to enjoy the meal there is a sense of joy and belonging. The food is to die for. We feast on the unique connections made possible by the fresh food, the talents of gifted teachers, the promise of new friends and enhanced community.

We hope you join us for upcoming concerts and classes or visit the farm soon. In the meantime, feast on the farm’s ambient beauty via the web and connect with us!

Source: Dig in VT Trails

Vermont has been a haven for microbreweries and housed impressive, fertile vineyards for the last few decades. Now Vermont produces award winning wines, spirits and award winning micro-brews! Here is a guide- brought to you by the experts themselves, of the best wines and spirits to gift and grace your holiday table.

Vodka from Vermont!
Vermont White Vodka is distilled from pure milk sugar. This unique base ingredient gives Vermont White its smooth texture and creamy mouth feel. Vermont White is perfect on its own or in any cocktail, and makes a perfect Dirty Martini, Bloody Mary, or Cosmo.  
Vermont Gold Vodka is a pure, delicate vodka distilled from the sap of maple trees, the very essence of Vermont. Maple is a complex sugar which yields a wonderful aroma with a hint of warmth in the finish. For the vodka purist, enjoy Vermont Gold on the rocks, or in a martini with a twist. 
Available direct from the distillery in Quechee or at Vermont agency liquor stores. For out of state deliveries, you can order online at www.drinkupny.com, http://www.parkaveliquor.com/ or http://www.astorwines.com/
Vermont Spirits 

For the holidays I prefer the Traditional semi-sweet mead, Spiced mead or Cranberry Mead.
All of the mead is made with Vermont Honey and Vermont grown fruit. These three styles represent the most popular flavors for this time of year.
Mark of Artesano Mead

We love to give small bottles of our Honeycrisp Ice Cider as holiday gifts.  They are the perfect size to end a special dinner for two! It is beautifully packaged in a stunning 375ml or 100ml bottle.  If purchased directly from our farm market, we are offering a 10% discount on a 12 count box of the 100ml bottles, perfect little gifts, stocking stuffers or trial size.
Here is a link to our website, where we take orders for Holiday Apple Gift boxes and a variety of other apple products!  
Jen Abbey and Julianna White of Champlain Orchards

A great holiday gift from VT…. Tough to go wrong with a bottle of Boyden Valley Winery’s own Riverbend Red from Cambridge VT! Perfect for any holiday meal or just relaxing with friends & family around the holiday fire! Happy Holidays from Arvad’s Grill & Pub,
Patrick Dwyer, GM of Arvad’s Grill and Pub

I can’t think of a better gift, for friends, family or for yourself, than one of our wonderful award-winning, Shelburne Vineyard Vermont wines crafted from the grapes we grow on our vineyards here in Shelburne.     Fresh Feed or Blog We’ve just released our Ice Wine “Duet,” harvested last December at about 15 degrees F. from our Arctic Riesling and Vidal Blanc grapes grown on our vineyards in Shelburne.   With a rich, smooth texture and flavors reminiscent of baked fruits, it’s a perfect dessert for any holiday meal and is available only at our Shelburne Winery and Tasting Room.     Other choices, more widely available, are our crisp, dry white wine, Lousie Swenson, with its slightly floral and citrusy nose, refreshing acidity and stony minerality, our semi-dry white, LaCrescent, that exudes an elegant balance of sweetness and crisp acidity and a rich, warm apricot nose, and our rich and complex red, Marquette, with notes of dark berries and a warming spiciness that balances its oak aged, unfiltered richness.  Taken by themselves or paired in one of our gift baskets with our souvenir wine glasses and a selection of Vermont’s wonderful hand-crafted cheeses and chocolates….a gift to savor!
Gail of Shelburne Vineyards

Here at Caledonia Spirits in Hardwick, VT we find that people are looking forward to enjoying our Barr Hill Gin and Elderberry Cordial in festive combinations over the holidays. The Barr Hill Gin 375 ml bottle as well as the Caledonia Spirits Elderberry Cordial 375ml bottle make great house warming gifts any time of year! Enjoy these recipes for Vermont drinks with your friends and family over the holidays:
 
Elderberry Gin Fizz
½ oz Barr Hill Gin
¾ oz Elderberry Cordial
¾ oz simple syrup
¾ oz lemon juice
Egg white
Shake all ingredients together and strain over ice.
The Vermonter
½ cinnamon stick                              ½ fresh pear             
2 lemon wedges                              2 ½ oz Barr Hill Gin
½ oz maple syrup                         In a shaker, muddle all except gin. Add 
gin, fill with ice. Shake well and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Happy Holidays,
Todd Hardie of Caledonia Spirits

I may be biased but I think that Vermont Wine is the perfect holiday gift. Many of my happiest and most fun memories involve wine. Why not support local wineries while giving a gift that not only tastes great, but promotes entertaining social interactions too! My favorite Vermont Wine is The Digger’s Dance by Fresh Tracks Farm and it makes the most delicious red wine brownies I have yet to try. Drizzle some Fat Toad Farm over the top of those babies, and you are surely in for a treat!
Tracy Roux of Fresh Tracks Farm Vineyard and Winery

Ice wine is one of my favorite things to give this time of year.  Ice wine– a rich dessert wine made from grapes left on the vine till they’re frozen– is dessert in a bottle, and makes a special ending to any dinner.  I also really enjoy ice cider, a dessert wine made from frozen sweet cider with an apple-y tang.  I highly recommend Windfall Orchard’s ice cider (www.windfallorchardvt.com), available at the Middlebury Farmer’s Market and in select stores.  Here at Lincoln Peak, we also make an ice wine, Nightfires, available at our tasting room just north of Middlebury and on our website.

Sara Granstrom of Lincoln Peak Vineyards

Source: Dig in VT Trails

Here are a few holiday good gift suggestions from our members, but don’t overlook a gift certificate to your favorite Vermont restaurant. Send a loved one out to eat; a relaxing meal after the holiday rush is sure to be a treasured evening.

Perfect Gifts for the Home Chef 

Encourage homemade creativity with the gift of the cookbook- Cooking Close to Home. This book is a collection of inspirational recipes to guide your cooking through the natural seasons of the harvest, and to help those who enjoy cooking learn more about preparing and buying local foods.  For anyone who has recently joined a CSA, this book will serve as a seasonal guide to using the foods typically received in a farm share.
Diane Imrie of Director of Nutrition Services at Fletcher Allen

There’s always gift certificates for dinner at Ariel’s, or even better a cooking class, which I give every other Sunday January through March at the Inn at Green Mountain Girls Farm.  
Chef Lee Duberman of Ariel’s Restaurant
(You can see Lee’s other suggestions under Vermont Artisan Producers!)

Need a great gift for that hard-to-buy-for foodie in your life? The Essex Resort & Spa has you covered with a two great gift options!
Savor our buy-one-get-one-free offer for any three-hour 2013 Cooking Classes in Cook Academy, including our Supper Series and World Series classes. ($300 value for $149.00).
And for a stocking stuffer, enjoy admission for two to the Amusing Hour in Amuse Restaurant ($20 value for $10). From 5:00-6:00 p.m. nightly, our Chefs prepare a selection of locally-sourced appetizers, amuse bouches, and other culinary inventions right before your eyes. Good any day. Single use only. One per table/visit. Not valid with any other promotion. Present before ordering. Tax and gratuity not included for Amusing Hour. Offer Expires December 31, 2012. No cash value, no refunds. All sales final.
Stop by The Essex Resort & Spa, or call 800.727.4295!
Christine Frost of The Essex Resort and Spa

Vermont Cheese is Always a Hit! 

I always give Cabot Cheddar to folks on our list. They know our cows contribute to making the best cheddar! Everyone loves the seriously sharp. You can give in whatever size fits the person, 8 oz bar to 3 lb block!! Flavors are fun!! Add a Maple Landmark cutting board and it makes a wonderful gift. Top it off with homemade jams, relishes, or any Vermont maple product and you will be the star! From our farm to your table!!
Beth at Liberty Hill Farm

My favorite gift for the holidays is an assortment of Cabot cheese and Dakin bacon.
A variety of combinations are available!
Chris Pierson of Cabot

Vermont Butter & Cheese Bonne Bouche and Shelburne Farms Cheddar along with Lake Champlain Chocolates, of course!  Sea Salt Caramels & Chocolate Covered Almonds….
Meghan Fitzpatrick of Lake Champlain Chocolates

Cheese is the specialty. Boucher Blue is my top pick, along with the Tarentaises of Springbrook and Thistle Hill. A little harder to get, but always delightful, are any of Bonnieview’s cheeses.
Cranberry Bob of Vermont Cranberry Company    

Bring on the MEAT!

We love to give a holiday housewarming gift of our Maple Wind Farm, No Nitrate, Summer Sausage made with our 100% grass fed beef and pasture raised pork. It’s just the item that pairs so well with local cheeses/ fruits and chutneys for a great hors d’oeuvres plate. Think stocking stuffer!
Beth of  Maple Wind Farm

Lamb, pork and chickens – pastured & whole grain fed! Chickens are  processed on the farm – pork and lamb are processed at USDA inspected abattoir. Local, natural, & 100% awesome.
Mary Dollenmaier & Fred Nadon of Callahan Farm

Sausage and chacuterie.
Frank Pace of the Farmhouse Group

Our “Vermontavore” box of bacon, ham and sausages from pork all grown at Greg Finch’s farm in Franklin.
Also our RealSticks sampler:  6 pieces each of our three flavors of RealSticks – the ‘damn fine tasting, natural and healthy snack sticks with half the fat and salt of leading sticks.  And made with Pineland Farms beef from New York and New England!
Chris Bailey of Vermont Smoke and Cure

A favorite Vermont gift for us is the Family Pack of meats from Graze and Gaze Farm. It is a wonderful practical and delicious gift. A small family pack costs $150 for 20 pounds of grassfed beef, pastured chicken and pastured pork.    The pack includes a nice roasting chicken, 4 packages of hamburger, a pack of pork sausage, some pork chops and some beef steaks. Family packs can be picked up at the farm by appointment.
Loretta of Graze and Gaze Farm

We are giving bacon and sausage from our pigs from our farm, Do Nothing Farm– though wrapping and keeping frozen is always a challenge!  (It’s usually a give-away what they are getting when we tell them to store their present in the freezer until Christmas morning!).
Sharon Deitz Caroli of The Bee’s Knees
(You can see Sharon’s other suggestions under Vermont Artisan Producers!)

Gifts from Vermont Artisan Producers!

I think this goes without saying, but we give Switchel to all our friend and family as holiday gifts!!! We also just started giving our Specialty Switchel Ginger to our local restaurants and food producers to make holiday baked goods and butter! It’s darn delicious.
The Switchel Crew

I am giving Green Mountain Sunshine Vodka, Sumptuous Syrups Ginger Syrup & Urban Moonshine citrus bitters…. because everyone likes a fun cocktail.
I also like to give VT Artisan Coffee with coffee mugs handmade from my friend, Heather Stearns, of Muddy Creek Pottery…. because there is nothing I love better than drinking my morning coffee in one of her mugs.
Sharon Deitz Caroli of The Bee’s Knees

Favorite VT go-to holiday drink…..Fresh Apple Cider!  It is sweet, goes with almost anything and is non-alcoholic (unless you want it to be)! 
Adams Apple Orchard

Chef Kali Alvarez from Vermont Works for Women’s FRESH Food enterprise recommends Vermont Brownie Company’s Blondie Brownie. In collaboration with VBC, Chef Kali bakes the Blondie Brownies in the FRESH Food kitchen in Winooski. Support two locally owned, woman run businesses – FRESH Food and Vermont Brownie Company. 
Melissa Corbin of Vermont Works for Women

I give Vermont Pure Maple Syrup as gifts because it is my favorite sweetener. I have it on my Vermont Greek Yogurt or Oatmeal every morning. It is delicious and has so much more character than refined sugars. And Vermont ‘s Maple Syrup is famous around the country so why not spread the wealth!
Irene Maston of Andrie Rose Inn

My favorite Vermont Holiday gift (and also for many other occasions) is Vermont Fresh ravioli and/or pasta and Vermont Fresh sauce to go with it! I love to give this gift because it is always much appreciated and comes with a big thank you! It is a very quick and easy dinner especially during the busy holidays!  Our fresh ravioli only take a few minutes to cook, heat the sauce…mix them together…and presto, a fresh, all natural Vermont dinner! 
Tricia of Vermont Fresh Pasta 

We always send a jar of woods cider jelly, but also have a new item we are featuring in our gift basket from Blake Hill Preserves from Grafton.
Chef Jason Tostrup of the Inn at Weathersfield

I have so many products (over 700!) that is it hard to select just one. However, we just brought on a new producer-partner that is already receiving national attention. Blake Hill Preserves- Even Bobby Flay is a fan!
Bonnie Kelsey, President of Best of Vermont, LLC

(Blake Hill Owner, Vicky is offering  a custom Preserves Gift Bag containing four artisanal preserves– a perfect gift.)

The holidays aren’t complete without cozying up with a cup of Lake Champlain Chocolates Aztec spicy hot coco mix – we add it to our brownie batter and our fondues too! Makes a great hostess and holiday gift with a mug thrown in!
Lisa Rubin of The Farmhouse Catering Co.

I give quarts of delicious and Creamy Egg Nog in glass quart milk bottles from Strafford Organic Creamery & Quarts of VT Organic Maple Syrup in Glass Quart Jars from Kingdom Mountain Maple. Who doesn’t love these two VT favorites for holiday traditions? My employees here at CVU work tremendously hard to serve the students the best VT local products we can offer, and my employees deserve to be rewarded with the same great products for their hard work.
Leo LaForce of Champlain Valley Union High School

I generally make a few products and package them for gifts which we sell year round from Ariel’s small retail store, in the sitting area of our restaurant.  The gift products that I’ve been making are:  Lee’s A-Maize-Ing Turtles (dark chocolate dipped salted caramel with artisan corn-nuts- gluten free) which I sell in 8oz. packages for $15.00; Toasted Pistachio Biscotti and Finkerman’s Original BBQ Sauce.  We also have a well-curated selection of Vt. food related products for sale, especially products made by members of our Floating Bridge Food and Farms Coop, including several flavors of Fat Toad Farm Goat Caramel and Brookfield Bees honey, syrup, candles and soap.  We also love Jeff Tracy’s artisanal cutting boards and the amazing linen aprons from Anichini in Tunbridge, both of which are for sale here. 
Chef Lee Duberman of Ariel’s Restaurant

Homemade with Love and Vermont Grown Ingredients

Preserves are always a great gift, and you can make it in advance when all of the wonderful local fruits are in season.
Local Herb infused vinegars are also a nice gift because they are really attractive and you can use whatever you have in season.
Laura Kloeti of Michael’s on the Hill

The Lodge at Otter Creek is giving to our residents and friends a couple of items, one being a freshly baked in house miniature pumpkin bread. Ingredients for the bread include pumpkin grown at Bill Scott’s Ferrisburgh farm, Maple Meadows Farm eggs, King Arthur flour, Monument Farms milk and Cabot butter.
George Schreck of Lodge at Otter Creek

I am pretty bad about being able to give out gifts that I can make (pies and the like), mostly due to the fact that it is always super busy at work around the holidays (and of course, because I wait till the last minute). The one thing that is always in great supply is jars of Tomato Jam. All summer long I am asking the farmers for “seconds”, which make perfect Jam. I attached (below) the recipe I have been using for years. It’s great with soft cheeses, cheddar biscuits for breakfast, and even cheese cake or ice cream!

Tomato Jam: This tomato jam is a truly useful condiment to have around the house. We use it as is on our Vermont Cheese boards, and it lends itself especially to creamy, brie-like cheeses. Adding some chili powder and a hint of clove makes this little sauce stand up to flavorful meats, and adding dijon mustard will make it even heartier. Play with it and you’ll find your favorite incarnation!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups tomatoes – Peeled, seeded, diced and drained of excess liquid
• 3 ½ cups sugar
• 1 lemon’s zest and juice
• 1 cinnamon stick

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive (stainless steel or glass) pot over medium to low heat, stirring to prevent scorching. Cook for 1 hour or until mixture thickens.
2. Transfer to sterile Mason jars and process in boiling water for 10 minutes (please be careful to follow proper canning technique and procedures). Alternatively, allow to cool and store in a tightly closing container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Chef Charlie Menard of Inn at the Round Barn/Cooking from the Heart

Where do I start with holiday favorites! But here are some that I love:
Cookie Platters: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Thumbprints, Buckeyes, Gingersnaps, Peppermint Brownies, just to name a few!  
Pies: Apple, Pumpkin, Maple Cream, Chocolate Cream, Keylime, plus many more! I love Champlain Orchards and all the wonderful apples they supply me so I can make lots of Apple Pies!!!!
Wonderful homemade bread, Cinnamon Rolls, and Maple Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.
On the savory side: Spinach Balls, Homemade Crackers, Homemade Hummus and Naan, Mango Black Bean Chutney in Won Ton Cups!
Kelly Murphy of Lewis Creek Catering LLC.

My wife and I give our friends and family foods from our garden that we have preserved. We started doing this because we didn’t have enough money to buy them gifts, but it became such a favorite that we continued to do so. These usually include canned tomato sauce, fruit jams (we buy the fruit from Adam’s berry farm), and pickles. We make a large variety of pickles and give them to family members based on their preference. For example, my mom loves pickled beets and Meredith’s grandparents like bread and butter pickles.
Meredith has also made dried herb wreaths out of herbs from our garden. They are decorative and useful, however our mothers couldn’t bring themselves to use the herbs because they like the wreaths so much.
Whenever we’re fortunate enough to travel to NC for Christmas I make her father’s family a meal as their gift. I usually make some sort of stuffed pasta, but I make enough to freeze a dinner’s worth so that they can make homemade ravioli for themselves too. Frozen homemade pasta paired with a can of home grown tomato sauce is usually a very well received gift.
Sometimes I like to give my parents a culinary gift that I know they will appreciate, but would never spend the money on for themselves like really good olive oil or a bottle of 20 year old port.
Another idea (not one I’ve tried) could be a homemade herb or spice blend with a recipe that calls for that blend attached. Infused olive oil is kind of hokey, but I imagine there are some who’d appreciate it.
Phillip Clayton of The Farmhouse Group

Source: Dig in VT Trails

Brené Brown suggests courage is borne out of vulnerability, not strength. She goes on to say the original definition of courage is “to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart.” Her findings on shame and “wholeheartedness” are inspiring millions.

This week Scrag Mountain Music will once again grace our barn. We at Green Mountain Girls Farm still need to pinch ourselves as we enjoy their international caliber music. Mary Bonhang and Evan Premo, Scrag’s Artistic Directors, and their friends the Spectral Quartet (from Chicago), bring chamber music to non-traditional venues in hopes of enabling more people. They stress that while classical music provides intellectual stimulation, what they seek and cherish about playing in places such as our barn is increased emotional connection with individuals and the audience. Our farm seeks the same and we would love to offer you a hot bowl of soup (for a small fee!) prior to the concert downstairs in our farmstand.

Like Scrag Mountain Music, our Floating Bridge Food and Farms Cooperative intentionally invites engagement. We, the participating individuals and businesses of the Cooperative, engage each other as we struggle and innovate to improve the viability of our small farms and food-based enterprises. We engage visitors who crave the opportunity for authentic rural and farm-based experiences and wholesome products. In turn, visitors are central to the viability of our businesses and communities. All this brings us back to vulnerability. In the best moments our Cooperative meets in warmth, with snacks, great ideas and executes successful events. But collaboration requires that we all stretch to relate to others. Positioning our businesses to embrace visitors, inviting them into the intimacy of our family farms and home-based businesses and community is by definition about vulnerability! But what we the members of the Cooperative keep being wowed by is that the result of all of this wholeheartedness is rewarding beyond expectation. We learn as individuals and our group advances. Brookfield isn’t yet the epicenter of agritourism like Tuscany but we present intimate invitations to the world and the energy of participants attending our events is contagious. This energy, together with financial participation, re-energizes and make our farms and community-based art and businesses viable.

Recent years have seen the emergence of “flash mobs” singing carols in public spaces. Caroling has been a tradition in Vermont villages and towns since colonial days, sometimes in religious celebration, sometimes more like folks songs, reminding the community of what it once did or thought important. Caroling manifests wholeheartedness.

Next weekend (Dec 8^th and 9^th) we hope you are able to join us at the Floating Bridge Food and Farms Cooperative’s annual Holiday Market (details on event poster). If you want to play along intensively experimenting with vulnerability and courage, we will be thrilled if you bring your voice over the hills and through the woods to the Floating Bridge for some Community Caroling! While you are at it bring accordions, banjos, guitars, flutes, horns and drums of any type. Tell your friends.

 If you can’t join Scrag Mountain Music this weekend or our mini-mob of carolers at the Floating Bridge Cooperative’s Holiday Market next weekend, embrace vulnerability where you are. It appears that this, even more than fresh air and rural experiences is the birthplace of joy, belonging and fulfillment. Wholehearted holidays to all.

Source: Dig in VT Trails