(Gal, Liz and Jenn making Pizza)

Pizza night is a weekly tradition in this house, and something we love to share with friends and family when they come to visit the homestead. Two weeks ago, I had a reunion with my best friend from high school, Liz, or as she is affectionately known to me, Lizard. We fell out of touch, like many of us do, over some boys…and we hadn’t been in touch for nearly 10 years. BAD BOYS. I thought about her often over the years, and we were so happy to be reunited on Facebook! She lives in Brooklyn, with her beautiful family, and she and her awesome husband came to visit us.

Pizza is the perfect food for entertaining. It is also a great way to feed a crowd when you are not sure what kinds of dietary restrictions people might have. Toppings can range from all veggies, to anchovies, some sausages, or whatever. You can even use pesto or barbecue sauce in place of traditional tomato sauce. You can even forego the cheese, if someone in your group is lactose intolerant. Making pizza together is a great way to spend time with friends – rolling out the dough, making personal pizzas, and then enjoying it together, with a nice glass of red, maybe a beer, and a lot of laughs! See how much fun we are having?

We are really passionate about our pizza here. Roberto grew up eating pizza in Italy, and I grew up thinking I didn’t like pizza (don’t blame me, blame “cheesefood”). This all changed when I discovered thin, crunchy, crust, fresh mozzarella cheese and the amazing array of fresh toppings that one can come up with when you make pizza at home! So you could say that we are both very picky pizza eaters. We might even be pizza snobs. So, in order to do justice to homemade pizza, we have been experimenting and creating for the past two years to come up with THE PERFECT PIZZA (TM).

We used to use the Olive Oil bread dough from Artisan Bread in 5, religiously. However, during that time, we had a bit of a wrench thrown into the works, when I discovered that I was having trouble with wheat. So we experimented with gluten free flours, and pizza dough recipes, and all of them really left a lot to be desired. So we had some sad and disappointing Friday nights. I was determined to find a pizza dough that was up to par taste and texture wise, and at the same time didn’t make me wake up with a hangover feeling the next day. This is where the sourdough comes in. I had heard through the blogosphere that people with wheat intolerance (NOT Celiac) were able to tolerate sourdough bread products. It has to do with neutralizing enzyme inhibitors, which interfere with digestion and breaking down phytic acid, which generally blocks mineral absorption. Sourdough cultures also predigest or completely break down the gluten during the fermentation process. Creating a bread that is more digestable. I also used spelt flour, because I have found that it is not as “heavy” as whole wheat, and closer to the feeling of a traditional pizza crust, like you would find in Italy.

For us, one of our secrets to making a super flavorful pizza is to use tomato paste in place of tomato sauce. This is a family secret, that one of my great aunts came up with. Roberto feels that this “proprietary” information should not be shared with the public. But like I told him, now maybe if we have homemade pizza at someone else’s house, maybe they read my post, and we will like it all the better! That punch of tomato paste flavor really comes through in all its sweetness once it is baked in the oven. Also, the cheese matters. Get the best quality mozzarella that you can, not the shredded stuff. Nice slices of fresh mozzarella add something wonderfully light to the pizza – and go easy on it. It is OK to have some bare spots, where you can actually see only sauce. Trust us…

Some of our favorite toppings are: fresh tomato slices, fresh mushrooms, prosciutto, arugula, anchovies, olives (capers if we are too lazy to pit olives) peperoncini peppers, and sun dried tomatoes. And you must remember to salt and pepper your pizza, and a nice drizzle of olive oil over top doesn’t hurt either!  We mix and match the toppings on different pizzas. Usually we make 2 pizzas, and then have leftover for lunches. Another favorite is using pesto as the sauce, and then adding thinly sliced potatoes, that you have baked slightly beforehand.

Perhaps the most important aspect  to the perfect pizza is a HOT oven. We preheat our oven 20 minutes ahead to 500 F. We bake our pizzas on cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper. This makes the crust super crisp and delicious! I have heard all the rage about pizza stones, and one day I might add one to my kitchen tools. But I use my Italian husband as a barometer for a good pizza, and so far, we have done well without the need for a pizza stone.

So we suggest you get your crust ready tonight to have pizza tomorrow!

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup sourdough starter

5 cups spelt flour

2 TBS olive oil

1 TBS salt

2 cups water

3 cups sprouted spelt flour (or you can use regular, if you prefer)

1 tsp olive oil

METHOD:

Combine starter, 5 cups spelt flour, olive oil, salt and water in a large bowl. Cover loosely with a towel or lid and allow to stand in a warm place for 5-10 hours, or overnight is best. Next add 3 cups of sprouted spelt flour and work it into the dough, enough so you can handle it without it being too sticky. Form the dough into a ball, and rub 1 tsp of olive oil all over it. Place it back in the bowl and let it stand 20 minutes. Then knead the dough with your hands until it is smooth and elastic, then place it back in the bowl, and allow it to double in bulk – about 1 hour. At this point you can use it to make pizza. This recipe makes about 4 large cookie sheet rectangular pizzas. If you are not going to use it all, you can rip off 4 grapefruit sized balls and store each one in a freezer bag, until you want to use it. When you want to use it, take it out to defrost, and then roll out, and put your favorite toppings on.

We have had some really scorching days lately! The past several of them have been in the 90′s! I thought I left Florida to get away from the heat, but it looks like it must have followed my mom up here. She arrived on the coolest day we’d had in weeks, lending credence to her idea that we live in The Great White North, but in less than 48 hours, it became an absolute inferno. She loves the heat, so she’s not complaining, but the rest of us are lethargic, even the pets!

So naturally this kind of weather calls for ice cream! But really, we love ice cream and have it quite often no matter what the weather. When I was in Italy, I fell in love with what I called my perfect combination of gelato – one scoop of Frutti di Bosco and one of Nocciola – “Fruits of the Forest” or mixed berries and hazelnut. Such a dreamy combination. Light yet rich at the same time. So I decided to make my own perfect flavor at home, using kefir, a fermented, probiotic dairy drink as the base. We make kefir here at the homestead fresh every day and I love finding new uses for it, beyond a glass straight up for breakfast! So I can now confirm it makes a really delicious ice cream! Next time I will probably add an egg or two to the mix, for a more creamy consistency. But there was nothing lacking in the taste department here! So if you are as hot as we are, or just looking for a different kind of ice cream flavor to cool off on a hot summer day, give this one a try! I promise you will love it!

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups of plain whole organic dairy kefir
1/3 cup of fresh organic heavy cream
¼ cup Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur)
½ cup of raw hazelnuts, toasted
1 cup frozen or fresh organic raspberries
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp ground cinnamon

METHOD:

I have a Vitamix, so I placed all the ingredients, in order listed into the Vitamix and blended just until the nuts were pulverized. I was looking for a creamy consistency. Then I placed all of it, in my ice cream maker and made it according to the manufacturer’s instructions. You can serve it before placing in the freezer for a more “soft serve” texture, or freeze for a harder consistency. I have also found that adding a ¼ cup of alcohol also lends to better scoopability.

I have been wanting to sit down and write this post for days now. As I type this, we are experiencing our first rain in about a week, which means I can take time from the fevered pace I have been working at, enjoy a cup of teeccino (yes, I have finally made the commitment to quit coffee) and get typing! All the while out lovely little seedlings and plants are getting a nice watering!

Although it has been 2 weeks since I enjoyed this meal, the memories are still fresh in my mind. Maybe that is because Bistro Sauce is part of The Vermont Fresh Network, or maybe that is coincidental. I rather think not. Every single eatery I have been to from fine dining to order-at-the-counter places that are part of the Fresh Network have all been memorable.

I really must repeat what I have said before, Vermont is really ahead of the curve when it comes to local eating and the extremely important relationship between farmers and chefs. Without farms we would have no food. Vermont gets that, as do most Vermonters. Gosh, I love my new home state.

(photo courtesy of CrankyCakes)

So to end our fabulous first Foodie Tour of Burlington ( if you missed the first leg of the tour, you can catch up here ) and to celebrate Restaurant Week, Cheryl took us to Bistro Sauce to meet up with Lara, who we had met earlier to kick off Restaurant Week, at one of my all time favorite places, Applecheek Farm .

(photo courtesy of CrankyCakes)

We were really hot when we arrived from a day out in the sunshine, so we started with a local beer at the bar. I had nice and refreshing Switchback which also happened to go really well with my first course – a delicious baby greens salad with pears, aged cheddar and candied hazelnuts. Roberto had the olive plate with grilled bread and the ladies had the Caesar salad with anchovies. Everyone was pleased with their choices.

(grilled olive plate, brandade, baby greens salad, pork shoulder)

The next course was my absolute favorite – Brandade. It was a smoked haddock and potaotes mashed and then fried in a crispy crust, served with remoulade and greens. On top was a beautiful deep fried wild leek, or ramp. The smoked fish and potatoes had the perfect creamy consistency inside to juxtapose the crispy outer coating and the flavor was deep and delicious. Everyone else got the risotto with wild mushrooms and fiddleheads. It was good too, but I was so happy I chose the Brandade.

Third course was pork – Vermont pork shoulder laid on top of garlic mashed potatoes and local spring veggies with a pepita romesco sauce and jus. We all got the same course. Cheryl had some intel that this was the best dish in the course, and we all went for it, not regretting a single bite. The pork was absolutely tender, the potatoes perfect and the sauces divine. Very good course.

For dessert, we all decided to go light with homemade ice cream or sorbet. I went for the bay leaf. I remember how amazing this bay leaf custard was and knew this was a taste I would love. Roberto got vanilla bean, which he felt was not very impressive. Cheryl went for, I believe mango…but the craziest choice, was the cucumber sorbet that Lara opted for. It was totally refreshing.

(photo courtesy of CrankyCakes)

All in all it was a very nice night. For $25 per person, I also believe it was very much a steal. We had a 6 PM reservation, and by 7 PM, the place was packed full of happy diners with smiles on their faces. I would say it was a successful event for Bistro Sauce and a great evening for foodies!

photo courtesy of CrankyCakes

So we have been here officially on the homestead for less than a month, and already I have had the great opportunity to meet some awesome people, as well as reacquaint myself with some that we have met on previous trips to the area. I have certainly learned that people in Vermont love good food, and care about where their food comes from, they also care about their fellow Vermonters.

Vermont has just come off Restaurant Week . It is a big deal here – participating restaurants offer special, prix-fixe menus showcasing their chefs’ greatest dishes. Those menus will feature discounted, three-course “tasting-style” dinners (e.g. appetizer, entreé and dessert) priced at $15, $25 or $35 per person. 10% of the proceeds from event admissions, sponsorships and restaurant participation fees will be donated to Vermont Foodbank.

(Inside Sugar Snap, checking out the produce at City Market, with Cheryl outside of Sugar Snap and City Market!)

To celebrate Restaurant Week and all the fine food that Vermont has to offer, Burlington resident, fellow food blogger, Vermont Fresh Networker and all around Vermont local food expert Cheryl from Cranky Cakes offered to take Roberto and I to all her favorite foodie spots in and around Burlington, ending with dinner at Bistro Sauce in Shelburne, a participant in Restaurant Week, which I will talk about in an upcoming post . We were in for quite a day!

We started the tour off at Cheryl’s Residence, Burlington Co-Housing. It is such an interesting place, the grounds are full of acres and acres perfect for wildcrafting and gardening. She took us on a tour of the grounds where plants, berry bushes, and everything in between are growing, all over the place. Her partner Greg told us that at the height of summer, it likens to a real life Hobbiton with everyone outside working the grounds. All they need are some livestock running around, and I can totally see it!

But the tour must go on, so we headed out in Cheryl’s car. Car conversations revolved around food in the front seat, while in the backseat between Roberto and Greg, major comic drawing and illustrator geekness abounded. It was the perfect arrangement! Geeks unite!

photo courtest of CrankyCakes

Our first stop on the tour was Sugar Snap – an awesome little takeout joint, serving lunch and dinner. Situated right at the beginning of Burlington’s REAL Food Hub, The Intervale . Before hitting the ‘Vale, we needed to fortify ourselves. We hadn’t had lunch yet, so I went with half of their secret recipe chicken salad sandwich on sourdough. Roberto had the Dark and Stormy – ham, mustard sauteed portabellos, on a delicious roll. Cheryl and Greg shared goat cheese quiche. It was a very good start to the tour.

We took a drive through the Intervale, home to many of Burlington’s small farms and community gardens. It was once full of cows, then became more of an industrial center, but is now finding it’s roots again in the natural world. This is where Cheryl and Greg’s CSA, Intervale Community Farm (the second largest CSA in Vermont) is located. The Intervale has a lot of interesting events throughout the year, including Slow Food tastings on Thursdays…sounds like another reason to go to Burlington.

After that we drove through the Old North End, home to many ethnic restaurants and groceries – everything from Middle Eastern and African to Himalayan. This part of town is also home to the Sustainability Academy , in partnership with Shelburne Farms , is the nation’s first K-5 magnet school with a sustainability theme. From their website: “The goal of the Academy is to prepare students to be responsible citizens and agents for change, in their community and beyond. The Academy is an international model for using sustainability as a lens for place-based education and service learning. We maintain the highest expectations for academic and personal growth for all of our students and embrace the rich economic and cultural diversity of our community”. WOW. If I could only go back in time to be a student there!!!

(Roberto and Greg chatting it up in Bulk Foods – but likely not ABOUT bulk foods….Photo courtesy of CrankyCakes)

From the North End we headed to City Market a fabulous co-op full of local, organic and fair trade foods. Kind of like a Whole Foods, but owned by the community – even better in my book! I got some lovely and tasty souvenirs, including cheese from Doe’s Leap. Doe’s Leap, who recently broke my heart. It is a sad tale, indeed.  They advertised a most incredible internship opportunty on their website-  teaching interns about raising goats, goat healthcare, artisan cheesemaking and training herd dogs – all the things I want to learn. But unfortunately they are not offering the program anymore. BOOHOO!!! So I drowned my sorrows in goat cheese from their farm, instead.

I was also able to get some lovely local non-GMO cornmeal from Butterworks Farms, and some black turtle beans from another local farm, both in City Market’s extensive Bulk Food section! After all the shopping efforts, we needed a pick me up, so we left with some amazing Serchan’s Potato salad – a Nepali potato salad, made by one of Cheryl’s neighbors…of course! I swear she knows everyone who has anything to do with good food in Burlington!

(Lambs at Shelburne Farms, a delicious pit stop at August First, Red Wagon Plants, and Sicilian donkeys at Shelburne Farms)

We drove into downtown Burlington for a stop at August First, one of Cheryl’s favorite bakeries. We had been hearing about how wonderful their breads are, from Cheryl and Greg all day, so we were lucky enough to get the LAST baguette of the day to taste. We were lucky enough that they were already out of iced coffee, since the owner Phil then had to improvise by giving us a shot of delicious espresso, that we filled halfway with filtered water and then topped off with cream. YUM. I told him he should always do iced coffee this way. I put a drizzle of honey in mine and it was so good. We decided to catch our breath on their beautiful outdoor patio with the iced coffees and a chocolate, apricot and hazelnut scone, which was out of this world. The name August First comes from the traditional date for the early European harvest festival called Lammas, which celebrates the annual wheat harvest. Way cool.

At this point Greg had to leave the tour to go back home and draw…ah, the life of an artist…so the three of us dropped him off and continued on our way. First stop, plant heaven – Red Wagon Plants , purveyors of heirloom and specialty plants. It was perfect, since Roberto, this family’s resident gardener, had been wanting to go there anyway! We met the fabulous owner, Julie, and then took a tour of their greenhouses looking at all the beautiful flowers, and smelling the best chocolate mint ever! Going back there this weekend to get some for our garden, because we can’t stop talking about it!!!

(photo courtesy of CrankyCakes)

Then we walked over to the neighbors, Family Cow Farmstand , a raw milk farm. They sell their milk to the community and also have home dairy making courses. They had two sweet calves in the barn that after a bit of coaxing came up to sniff and lick us. Their tongues were a bit like a cat’s tongue – a little rough. But their fur was soft and thick. We spent a few minutes checking out their beautiful views and breathing in the fresh farm air.

(The Intervale, view driving through Shelburne Farms, The “Barn” at Shelburne Farms, The Inn at Shelburne Farms)

Our last stop before dinner was Shelburne Farms . This is truly an incredible place, and if you come to visit, a definite stop on our tour of Northern Vermont. I think at this point Cheryl was realizing what a lover of farm animals I am, so she knew that no matter how tight our time was, we had to make this stop.

(photo courtesy of CrankyCakes)

Shelburne Farms is an amazing place that we literally just touched the surface of. Our main focus on this trip was the animals – cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens and donkeys. We met some really cute friends along the way . So cute that if we had brought our truck, I might have had to smuggle! Shelburne Farms offers cheese tours, wagon rides, snowshoeing in the winter, hiking trails in the summer, a sugar shack, a farm store, a farm eats stand and even an Inn – where you can stay or enjoy a rather swanky meal. I will certainly enjoy going there time and again.

I hope you enjoyed the first leg of the tour with me. Join me next time for dinner at Bistro Sauce in Shelburne. If you still want more, and believe me, you so do, you can check out Cheryl’s take on the day here, at Cranky Cakes. She has a great blog!

Well we have finally arrived in Vermont! After two days of driving, and two days of settling, I am online, although briefly. We won’t have reliable internet access until next week. But I couldn’t resist coming online to share this post with you, my loyal readers!

We arrived at night, in the dark, but woke the next day to paradise – green grass, flowers blooming, sweet breeze blowing. We had two glorious days like this, and now there is almost 2 feet of snow on the ground! But that is what you can expect at this time of year in Northern New England. In any case, I wanted to talk about food – and more specifically food while on the road…

If you are like me, planning a trip inevitably involves food. Many times I will choose a travel destination based on what the food scene is like there – are there good quality restaurants with local farms to supply them? Are there unique foodie experiences to be had? New exotic foods to try? Etc… But what do you eat on your way there, where often the choices are less than optimal?

If you are driving, your choices are extremely limited. At the airports, there is little better – mostly in both instances it is a sea of fast food, or if you are “lucky”, sit down chain restaurants, none of which are a part of my food plan because you never know what goes into the food they are cooking. Even so called “healthy” choices on the menu can be cooked with bad oils, and salad dressings can have corn syrup, or the worst of the worst, anything can be loaded with MSG, hydrogenated oils, food dyes or other food preservatives. No, you really never know what you are getting, and eating bad food on the way to your travel destination can have you feeling poorly once you get there – which really defeats the whole purpose of enjoying your time away. In my experience, only in Italy was I able to literally stop at a rest stop and get good, fresh and locally made food– but that is a post for another time, perhaps.

So since I don’t live in Italy, what I have been doing lately is making food for us to take on our trips. This year all of our trips have been road trips, and that makes packing food to take along a little easier, especially if you go with foods that are easy to eat with your hands. All you need is a small lunch box sized cooler (depending on the size of your travel party), a few ice packs, and a smaller grocery bag with non-perishable items. For long trips, remember to pack enough meals for everyone you are traveling with and plenty of water. For Roberto and I, when we head up to New England for example, we need a total of 4 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 4 dinners – 2 of each meal for two days. Imagine how much money that will save you in road meals!

Also, remember, that you don’t need to eat something different everyday for every meal. Usually we take 4 of the same thing for all the breakfasts, and then create a large batch of 2 other choices – one for dinners and one for lunches. If you add some fruit, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, or maybe even some kettle chips and a little dark chocolate, you have enough variety to keep it interesting, as well as some treats to keep you motivated to keep on truckin’!

Here are some of our favorite meals to take along:

1) Oat Cakes with various cheeses, sliced, smoked salmon, or salami (you can pre-package the cheeses and meats into ziplock bags, and pack the oat cakes separately to keep them crunchy. This is a great breakfast choice.

2) Hard Boiled Eggs – which you can either have for breakfast with an oat cake or create an egg salad with for one of the other meals and serve on rolls, or wraps, etc.

3) Lettuce Wraps – large romaine lettuce leaves stuffed with tuna, salmon or egg salad, or beans and corn with salsa, or chunks of mozzarella and tomato drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette or any other creation you can come up with. You can even make a “turkey sandwich” and put it in a lettuce wrap.

4) Homemade Chicken Salad – served on rolls or bread or stuffed in a lettuce wrap. I like putting sun-dried tomatoes in my chicken salad

5) Green Salad Wraps – make a delicious tossed salad full of crunchy veggies, dress it, and fill wraps with the mixture, or one of the other mixtures above, under lettuce wraps.
6) Homemade Maki Rolls – these are the best little finger foods in the world!

For our most recent trip – the drive from Florida to our new hometown in Vermont, we took #1 for breakfasts, and #’s 2 and 4 to divide over lunches and dinners. The prep time for this was about 15 minutes. Enough time to cook the chicken for the chicken salad and mix up both the salads (I had hardboiled the eggs in advance). Plus I did this with my kitchen PACKED for the move – so trust me, anyone can do this! LOL! We are lucky enough to stay with my aunt in Virginia half way, so she lets us tuck our little cooler in her fridge, overnight and sends us on our way the next morning with full bellies!

What kinds of foods and snacks do you like to bring on your trips? What is your worst road food experience?

You can check out my mom’s posts here and here on her blog Travel Closeup for more road trip food ideas!

Brunello di Montalcino is a very special wine variety made in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is known the world over as being a very good wine. Our friends Erin and Chris, who lived for a year in Florence, had a bottle that they wanted to share with us. They had fond memories of a night in Florence that they spent with friends savoring a bottle of this wine, and wanted to spend another evening like that with us! So of course we were game and very excited to taste wine from a very different bracket than what we are used to.

Since they were bringing such a nice bottle, I offered to find some tasty morsels to go along with the wine, so we could have a proper Aperitivo – or the Italian version of Happy Hour! If you would like to learn more about Aperitivo, please check out Ms. Adventures in Italy. Sarah has a great passion for Aperitivo and has great tips on how you can have your own – or where to go for the best ones in her hometown of Milano!

I knew this was a special wine, so I enlisted the help of a professional to come up with food ideas to compliment it. With the help of my buddy, Vince DiPiazza (no known relation – though I am sure there is one somehow, not many of us DiPiazza’s in the world) from D’Italia – an online specialty store of food products from Italy, we came up with a menu of aperitivi, or small plates:

Variety of cheeses of different flavor profiles served with Rosemary Grissini and Garbanzo Crackers

Parmigiano-Reggiano is Italy’s most famous cheese, known as Parmesan in the English language. We know it well as a cheese for grating on top of pasta. However, if you eat it in cubes, it is a whole other experience. The cheese is made from raw cow’s milk, it is then put into a brine bath for 20-25 days to absorb salt, and then aged for 12 months. My favorite part (and Erin’s too) are the little crunchies you get in a good Parmigiano – the crunchies are bits of crystallized salt.

Morbier is a raw cow’s milk cheese from France. It is a Gruyère-like cheese with a vein of ash running through its middle. The two layers of the cheese originally came from two milkings, one in the morning and one in the evening, over it with a protective thin layer of tasteless ash, both to prevent it from both drying out and to keep away the flies. The next day, they would add the leftover curd from the morning milking and production. The result was a two-layered cheese.

Goat Fromage Blanc is from a batch of the pasteurized goat milk cheese that I made recently. I added some basil and a little dried dill – as well as a few sun-dried tomatoes (Vince said they pair well with Brunello) stirred in.

Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar is one of our favorite cheeses, and we decided to add it at the last minute. It never tastes the same from one batch to the next. It is the cheese variety that Cabot used to sell to hunters and truckers…on their way out of town. Chris said it tasted like ham to him, which as a vegetarian, was a weird experience. This cheese is amazing paired with a sweet bread and butter style pickle.

Miscellaneous Treats

Sautéed Mushrooms
Hummus
Assorted Nuts
Assorted Olives
Pickles

Dessert

French Truffles
Chocolate covered mint cremes

*********************************

The Tasting :

When Erin and Chris arrived we opened the bottle to give it about 20 minutes to breathe. We decided to do the tasting in two stages, the first without food, and then one with food. We each had a piece of paper and a pen. We spent about 5-10 minutes sniffing and tasting the wine, and individually writing our impressions of both the nose and the taste without sharing.

NOSE:

Erin: cheese – brie, sweet chocolate, metal
Chris: robust, dank – wet wood or earth, finishes smoky
Roberto: cherries
Jenn: woody, tannins, blackberry/cherry

TASTE:

Erin: milk chocolate, cheddar, old smoke – like what your clothes smell like after a BBQ or fire
Chris: pungent, truffles, finishes with citrus (mild burn, fruity end) and something like ginger, but not quite ginger
Roberto: old fermenting cherries, blueberry and ends with citrus
Jenn: black pepper, herbal/smoky, cherry

After we shared our observations, we found it interesting that both the guys had noticed a citrus end, while the ladies had both noticed a smoky taste. Is it coincidence, or do males and females taste wine differently?

Once we headed over to the food, and had a second glass with food, we all agreed that the wine tasted much sweeter, and it was at that point that Erin and I noticed a bit of a citrus taste.

It was a really fun night. I can’t say that I have ever really enjoyed wine in this way, and I think it is a really great way to spend the evening with friends. We decided we had so much fun, that we definitely need to do it again, with different wines and food pairings.

Well, now that my birthday has come and gone, it is time to start focusing on holiday fare!

This week I was honored to be be asked by Daytona, of Outside Oslo to do a guest post on some Norwegian holiday foods that I particularly love. Her blog focuses on exploring her Norwegian heritage through food, while living in the Pacific Northwest! I enjoy reading her blog and being reminded of all the lovely foods from that part of the world!

For me, the winter holidays always remind me of a few special food items that I enjoyed so much in Norway – Gløgg, Rommegrøt and Risgrøt. To find out more about why and what they are, join me over on Outside Oslo!
God Jul og Godt Nytt År !

(At The Bee’s Knees in Morrisville, VT – YAY for free wi-fi!)

This is the final post I will write about our travels to New England this fall. Last time I wrote about a “Localvore Dinner” at a nearby farm, and how “eating local” is not just a buzzword in this part of Vermont. Today I want to expound upon that, and talk about restaurants that are “doing it right”.

I got a bit of an education about Eating Local while in New England this year. Here in Florida, we have a nice year round Farmers Market with several produce stands, local artisans and various other sundry products. When you drive around the state, you see billboards that exclaim: “Eat Local!”. But what does that really mean? You would think in FL, where the climate is warm, people could eat their local farm produce year round, but I have been disappointed time and again going to the market, and seeing organics from CA mixed in with what is available locally. As for the restaurants, my idea of “eating local” has meant supporting local businesses vs. chain restaurants. Which I think it is great idea. However, in Vermont it is brought to a whole different level. I was actually quite blown away. Let me explain.

Outside of the larger cities in Vermont, of which there aren’t many (Montpelier, the state capital has the smallest population of any state capital in the United States, but has also been rated as one of the top ten places to live in the States by AARP), people might have the idea that things of necessity are scarce or hard to come by, especially when you are used to the variety that city, or even suburban life brings. In VT, it is pretty much life in the country. This is true, however, there is an abundance of good things, where someone like me who is very discerning about what they buy, and eat, can have a certain level of comfort and trust. As Roberto and I toured the area, we noticed there might not be a lot of variety, or duplication, or tons of stores, but that what was there, was well done. Take for example the pet/feed store. It is the only one in town, but they sell only the highest quality foods for all the animals in your life. Then there is the awesome holistic vet we found who does both family pets and livestock. We came to find this level of quality true of the eating establishments in the area as well.

There were a few restaurants in our general area that we were able to visit on this trip. One is The Bees Knees in Morrisville. A stone’s throw from where we will be living. Their menu focuses on home cooked meals with locally grown and organic ingredients. So there it is – a locally owned business that also serves local food. But it is more than that. The owner Sharon Deitz had a vision to start a cafe where people could come and stay as long as they wanted. She wanted the atmosphere to feel like a place that would be like “going to a friend’s house — you never know exactly what’s in the fridge, but you know it will be good.” That is exactly what it is like at The Bee’s Knees. It has a coffeehouse atmosphere by day, and then in the evening, more like a pub and restaurant. It is a well rounded and family oriented place that the people of Morrisville and surrounding towns enjoy for the food, local music and the company of their neighbors. When you are dining, you see families with children and elderly, couples and groups of friends, everybody.

The Bee’s Knees also has a very special story behind it. You can read more about this community effort on the Bee’s Knees About page. But here it is in a nutshell.

Over a year ago, Bee’s Knees owner Sharon Deitz “had considered selling her little restaurant, which desperately needed a new kitchen and more seating. The problem was, the money wasn’t there. But, the community came to the rescue. People who cared about Bee’s Knees and what it means to their town came in droves to offer support, either financially or with their time and hard work. Deitz realized the Bee’s Knees must continue. “The response she got- that this is a really important part of life in Morrisville- just seemed to light her fire,” said Nina Church, a Morrisville resident who contributed financially and showed up to work a screw gun in the final days of the expansion project. “As the economy goes south and global warming continues and all these other things happen, we need a place like Bee’s Knees. We need a place to gather that’s local, a place that brings people together and refocuses us on what we have on hand…People come here to eat Vermont food,” Deitz emphasizes. “Morrisville is where normal people live. This is where locals come to listen to local music and eat local food and connect with their community.”

How cool is that?! So yeah, it is true, there aren’t hundreds of choices of restaurants in Morrisville, but you don’t need many when one does it so right! This one little place really defines what local eating can mean – a locally owned business, serving local food, that has the community’s blood, sweat and tears in the foundation.

There is music every night of the week, awesome food, you can feel good about supporting and eating, great coffeehouse drinks made from Fair Trade coffee and roasted in VT and several awesome local microbrews on tap. Check out their menu on their website! We went there several times, once for lunch and once for dinner and had a great experience and great food each time. There is a warmth to The Bee’s Knees. You really do feel at home. I loved that parents brought their kids to listen to music and have dinner. It reminded me of the pubs in Europe, where it is not an “adults only” atmosphere, but where all locals are welcome, no matter what their age.

The next restaurant I would like to talk about is Claire’s in Hardwick, VT. I found out about Claire’s when they started following me on Twitter (@clairesvt) many months ago. They also have a blog New Vermont Cooking . I saw from their Twitter profile that they are a restaurant in Vermont with a menu focusing on seasonal and local foods. I was excited to hear that such a place existed (this was before I knew about The Bees Knees or any other place like that). So when we finally got up to the area, I was excited to see that Hardwick is about a 15 minute drive from Morrisville! Small world! So we knew that during our trip, we had to have a meal at Claire’s.

Claire’s is another amazing place, and their blog New Vermont Cooking really talks a lot about their challenges with buying exclusively local ingredients (for example, some needed are not available locally, like cooking oils). But yet they strive to do the best they can. For example, “9 cents of every dollar of our food purchases within 15 miles of the restaurant, with the bulk of the remaining purchases to farms and artisans within Vermont.”

We went one day for lunch, to find out that Clarie’s does not serve lunch, so we made a point to go back the next night for dinner (they also have “blunch” on Sundays). Claire’s is what I would describe as affordable upscale dining. Small plates are under $10 and main courses under $20 and each featured dessert is $7. But the style of the restaurant, as well as the menu layout, and food prep is much like what you would find in an upscale place. However, I was happy to see, again, people of all walks of life there for dinner. This is part of their misson : “farm to plate model needs to be carefully planned on the basis of three principles: profitability for farmers and food businesses, affordability for Vermonters, and availability of product”. There are several restaurants in and around Northern Vermont who are working on this very thing. I really suggest reading the whole blog post if you want to learn more about this movement.

Since we had never been to Claire’s and were so excited to be eating there, we decided to get all three courses. Generally we don’t have stomachs big enough (well, Roberto might disagree with that statement!) to handle three courses. But we had to indulge. I must apologize for the photos – the lighting in the restaurant was very dark, and this was the best we could do! LOL!

(Bread with Trout River Chocolate Stout, Fried Calamari small plate)

First they brought a delicious chunk of country baked bread with chocolate chips inside. We decided to pair that with a Trout River Chocolate Stout. It was delicious. As a small plate, we shared the Fried Calamari with radishes, green tomatoes and Kalamata olives. It came with a Feta vinaigrette and aioli. We both agreed this is one of the most delicious and interesting versions of fried calamari we had ever tasted. It looked like it was fried in a cornmeal batter. The crunchy veggies playing off the super crunchy calamari with the tangy, salty vinaigrette was amazing!

For main courses we both got something different. I went for the Chicken with Mole sauce. It came with mashed potatoes and warm Napa cabbage slaw with apples. I very much enjoyed this meal. The chicken was falling off the bone, the sauce was the perfect balance of chiles, chocolate and spices and the slaw was a nice crunchy counterpart. Roberto had the Brisket with Carrots, Early Riser polenta and  wheatberries. It was served with Apple, cranberry and BBC Coffehouse Porter Sauce. The brisket was super tender, and the Coffeehouse Porter sauce was incredible. We decided to get a glass of the Coffehouse porter to share for the main course and it paired really well with both of our dishes. In New England I really discovered my love for coffee porters. Wolavers, our favorite brewery, which just happens to be in Vermont, and is organic,  makes a version as well (called Alta Grazia )which is out of this world and officially my favorite beer!

Unfortunately the pictures of the main course were just not salvageable. So you will have to use your imagination!

The same cannot be said about the dessert course! We just were too enthralled with our desserts, that we actually forgot to take a photo! There were many desserts I would have loved to try. But I finally settled on the Gingerbread with caramel apples, eggnog ice cream and maple fluff. This dessert was incredibly good, each element executed to near perfection. I would have loved the ice cream to be a bit more egg-noggy, but nonetheless, it was amazing. The gingerbread was dark, spicy and moist, and the maple fluff, a fun little substitute for whipped cream. Roberto had the Strawberry Chocolate Pudding Cake. It had strawberry ice cream as well as strawberry caramel swirled in. He liked it. Strawberry and chocolate has never been a real exciting flavor combination for me, so I wouldn’t be a good judge of this dessert. But if he liked it, that is what mattered!

From Claire’s website: “From farm to table, emphasizing local and sustainable produce, artisan products, and responsible business practices that support our communities. From Hardwick, Vermont, an open philosophy inspired by the flavors and cooking of the world.”

So what I learned this fall is what “eating locally”, “farm to table”, “sustainability” and all these other buzz words that are being thrown around lately ACTUALLY can and should mean. It was enlightening and encouraging. So when people ask us why we want to move from Florida to Vermont, where it is so cold most of the year, this is why. These communities are a microcosm for how things could be in the world. So when you see any of the above words being used in your communities, find out if it can be backed up by business practices – and if not, ask why not. Demand better! Be a voice for change in your community. As you can see community efforts can really make big changes. I am proud to be a Vermonter!

If you want to learn more about Real Food check out Real Food Wednesdays  on Cheeseslave.