Posts Tagged ‘Woodstock’
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Build a Table for a Feast
It was gray and drizzling in Woodstock, Vermont, last Sunday, but the weather didn’t diminish the festivities for the 128 people who gathered just off the Green, under the Middle Covered Bridge, to celebrate a weekend spent hand-building tables and feasting on a lunch made from locally grown foods.
Bagpiper Tim Cummings blew up a stately march to welcome diners who took their places around the tables, which were hand-built that weekend by 17 individuals and families who participated in the Naked Table Project sponsored by ShackletonThomas.The Naked Table was conceived by well-known furniture maker Charlie Shackleton last year. Shackleton had a vision of people hand-building a table from sustainably harvested wood, a table that would serve as the center of festive meals for friends and family for years to come. It’s a tangible reflection of Shackleton’s passion for handmade things that connect people to each other and to the environment.
Participants in the weekend’s workshop built tables from maple harvested from land in South Woodstock. “These trees were seedlings 80 years ago,” Shackleton pointed out. “That’s when Herbert Hoover was president and the Great Depression was well underway.” After cutting, the lumber was dried and milled in Hartland. The tables were then assembled by their owners under the tutelage of Charlie and other craftspeople from ShackletonThomas Furniture in nearby Bridgewater.
On Sunday morning, the tables were trucked into Woodstock and set end-to-end under the village’s covered bridge. Chefs from The Woodstock Inn prepared a feast from locally sourced cheese, meat and produce. Diners started with a roasted beet salad with Jasper Hill’s Bayley Hazen Blue, baby arugula and herb vinaigrette. The main course consisted of slow-poached Misty Knoll chicken with sliced heirloom tomatoes, yogurt and lemon verbena. And for dessert—an array of pies baked by members of the Prosper Community Club.
The tablemakers were joined by some of the people responsible for harvesting and milling the lumber, by family and friends and by local residents who were lucky enough to cop one of the few available seats. The meals were served by volunteers recruited by Sustainable Woodstock, a local environmental organization and the beneficiary of proceeds from the lunch.
This is the seventh Naked Table weekend that ShackletonThomas has hosted and the second time the celebratory lunch was held under Woodstock’s covered bridge. For more information, visit The Naked Table website.
Slow-Poached Chicken with Sliced Tomatoes, Yogurt & Lemon Verbena
from Chef Jason Lawless, The Woodstock Inn, Woodstock, VT
Woodstock Inn chefs Chris Babbin & Chris Lauinger serving Slow-Poached Chicken
2 tablespoons butter
Four 10-ounce organic Misty Knoll chicken breasts
About 1 quart plain yogurt
One 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 stalks fresh lemongrass, tough outer leaves removed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bunch fresh lemon verbena, finely chopped
2 medium heirloom tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
¼ cup pure Vermont maple syrup (try syrup from Kedron Sugarmakers)
Chopped fresh basil leaves for garnishPreheat the oven to 250°F.
Melt the butter in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts, skin down, and sear just until the skin turns golden brown, about 1 ½ minutes. Remove from the heat.
Pour 3 cups of the yogurt over the chicken. Stir in the ginger, lemongrass and one-quarter of the lemon verbena. Cover with foil and bake until cooked through, about an hour.
For the yogurt sauce, place the remaining 1 cup of yogurt in a bowl. Stir in just enough maple syrup to balance the tangy yogurt flavor and the rest of the lemon verbena.
Divide the tomato slices among the four plates. Slice the chicken breasts and arrange on top of the tomatoes. Spoon some of the yogurt sauce over the chicken and garnish with the basil.
Serves 4
See more great images of the Naked Table Lunch on our flickr page!
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Chocolate’s Good for You, According to Hershey
If research statistics like “nine out of ten registered dietitians strongly believe that chocolate can be part of a balanced lifestyle” sound too good to be true, they just may well be–check the source.
That figure, and additional studies that cite the benefits of chocolate, are published by the Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition, the affiliated research branch of the Hershey Company that “promotes the chemistry and health benefits of cocoa, chocolate, nuts and other nutritious ingredients,” according to their website. The mix of science and marketing leaves the consumer to be the judge when determining the risks and benefits of eating chocolate.Publishing pro-chocolate stats from a research organization bearing the Hershey name is one thing, but last week, The American Dietetic Association announced that Hershey has joined the ADA, the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, as a corporate sponsor.
The ADA website states they are “committed to improving the nation’s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy.” Hershey isn’t the only name on the corporate sponsor list that might raise eyebrows: soda and snack producers Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Mars Inc. are also ADA sponsors.
More National News
July 24: Federal government moves to set strict standards for advertising of foods aimed at young children. New York Times
July 21: Perdue Farms has recalled more than 90,000 pounds of frozen chicken nugget products after consumers found blue plastic bits in the chicken. CBS News
July 21: Burger King is now introducing a kids’ meal option for breakfast. New York Times
July 21: Del Monte Foods Company announced its commitment to lowering sodium in broth products by 20 percent by 2015. Market Watch
July 21: Sodexo, the food services provider to 21 school districts in New York State, will pay $20 million as a settlement for overcharging school districts and the SUNY system for food services. WBFO
July 21: California farm workers are rallying to support a state bill that would require overtime pay. Fresno Bee
Regional News
July 21: Vermont Senators Sanders and Leahy introduced legislation that would allow the Marsh-Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park to acquire Woodstock’s King Farm. Vermont Business Magazine
July 21: The last dairy farm in Rockingham, Vermont, has sold its herd. Rockingham once had as many as 50 dairy farms. Vermont Public Radio
July 20: The Vermont Farm Bureau has broken tradition from the American Farm Bureau and announced their support for legislature geared toward ending milk surplus by enforcing a policy of mandatory supply management. Vermont Public Radio
July 20: The Village Grocery in Warren, Vermont, has created a “Giving Gas Station,” which will donate a penny to the Vermont Food Bank for every gallon of gas pumped. WCAX
July 19: In an attempt to prevent invasive species from entering Lake Bomoseen, boats will be screened when entering lake access points. Times Argus
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It’s a Bus Age Wonder
Against the verdant green backdrop of the Woodstock Green, a green tour bus might go unnoticed. It’s summertime, a lot of buses roll through town. But a 45-foot-long refurbished 1989 MCI motor coach equipped with solar panels on the roof and
the words “The Big Green Bus” painted in sunny yellow along the side? That’s a bus to be noticed.The BGB and its crew of 12 circuit riders for the environment pulled into Woodstock, Vermont, yesterday afternoon for their kickoff event hosted by Sustainable Woodstock. The six men and six women on this “vehicle for change” are all Dartmouth students. They’ve spent the last four months getting the bus ready for a three-month coast-to-coast tour to promote environmental awareness and sustainable living. I couldn’t wait to climb aboard. The bus’s interior has been fitted with interactive displays that showcase energy-saving, environmentally friendly, affordable improvements people can implement at home. The entire display is powered by the solar panels. Even the floor is made of sustainably harvested bamboo.
It’s fortunate that Americans love fried food: the BGB’s engine is fueled by waste vegetable oil. The crew has stops planned all along their route to collect the old oil from restaurant Fryolators. The bus has it own oil-filtering system. The quality of vegetable oil doesn’t matter too much, as long as it hasn’t been chemically treated (no McDonalds).
This is the sixth season for the BGB tour. This year’s mission focuses much more on the individual. “People are discouraged because they think environmental issues are over their heads and the individual can’t do anything about it,” says Ben Paly, class of 2011. “But environmental awareness is easy and can save you money. Start by going vegetarian for at least one meal a week.” (The beef industry contributes to 18% of global carbon emissions.) “Think about your commute to work, try to freshen it up with an alternative that burns less fossil fuel.”
Follow the BGB tour here—and look for them in your town!
See more great images of the Big Green Bus on our flickr page!
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Trek to Taste
Combine exercise with healthy, locally grown food and you have a good start on a healthy lifestyle. Everyone can join in learning what this means in practice by visiting Woodstock, Vermont, on Saturday, June 5, for “Trek to Taste,” an event that combines outdoor exercise with enjoying a variety of seasonal, local foods.
According to Peter Allison, Trek to Taste’s coordinator, the event has grown from its origins several years ago as a series of walks designed to showcase the network of 30-some miles of hiking trails around Woodstock to one that showcases a
host of local farmers, food producers and food products. Last year, some 400 people participated in various treks and tastes. This year, organizers have expanded the range (and ambition) of the food offerings and expect a larger crowd.“I think it’s just a fantastic event, especially for families,” Allison said. “We made a real effort this year to connect it to local foods and to the Mount Tom Farmers’ Market.” This 25 year-old farmers’ market operates every Saturday through the fall and features local producers selling vegetables, prepared foods and crafts.
The “tastes” might be more obvious than the “trek” part of the event. Organizers created 3 walks to various locations in the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. As each walk offers a different level of challenge to participants, each destination will offer different tastes and experiences to those who reach it.
The event will run from 10 am to 3 pm. Participants may pick up a map and choose any —or all—of the three walks, or join guided tours at 10:30 am and noon. The first walk, an easy 1-mile loop, will travel the Stewardship Trail to Purple Crayon and the Mount Tom Farmers’ Market. Children can jump into art projects and meet local animals at Purple Crayon. Farmers at the Mount Tom Market will offer samples of their foods—and visitors can purchase produce and other goods to take home.
The second walk heads from the Market to the Nordic Cabin in the National Park where the Woodstock Union High School Farm to School team, Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, the Agriculture Exploration Club and other high school groups will make wood-fired pizza and offer samples of other local foods. There will also be music and family activities at this location.
Those ready to tackle a longer walk can continue on the 4.5-mile loop to Mount Tom’s South Peak for a sampling of foods from local farms prepared by Sustainable Woodstock and Hand-to-Hand, a nonprofit that sponsors a free dinner in Woodstock on Thursday nights. The menu still hasn’t been set. One planner said, “We’re waiting until after the weekend to see what some of the local farmers are harvesting and we’ll cook based on what they can sell us.”
All walks begin at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park’s Forest Center, where an Ice Cream Social, featuring homemade ice cream from Woodstock’s Mountain Creamery, will begin at 1 pm.
Trek to Taste is entirely free. For more information, visit the Walk Woodstock website.
See more great images of last year’s Trek to Taste on our flickr page!
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Cloudland Farm: Still in the Family a Century Later
“Cloudland.” The name rings a little ’60s psychedelic, but it’s generations older than that. The farm was already called Cloudland Farm back when the Emmons family purchased the property in 1908. Today, Cathy and Bill Emmons and their three children work the hilly farm in North Pomfret, Vermont. Once a dairy farm, Cloudland is now home to Black Angus beef cattle, pastured poultry, pigs, horses, a certified tree farm and the Cloudland Farm Country Market.
Most visitors to the farm and market arrive by car, driving the four miles up Cloudland Road from River Road in Woodstock. “They come to buy our roasting chickens, local beef and specialty sausages,” says Cathy Emmons. “Our beef cattle are grass-fed and finished with a minimum of cracked corn to give the meat a light marbling that contributes to its juiciness.” More than a few visitors arrive on foot, especially in the summer months, because the Appalachian Trail traverses the farm. Hikers can stop and purchase Cloudland’s nitrate-free beef jerky.We caught up with Cathy during one of Wednesday’s snow squalls! She’s more than eager for spring to come and the work to finish on Cloudland’s newest addition: a commercial kitchen and dining room. “We’ll be holding weekly farm dinners here serving farm-raised foods,” she said. “We hope to be open by the end of June.”
You can find Cathy and Cloudland’s superb products at the reopening of the Norwich Farmers Market this Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm. Cathy is also one of the founders of the outdoor Woodstock Market on the Green. She’ll be there when the market opens for the season on Wednesday, May 19 from 3 pm to 6 pm.
Teriyaki Cloudland Beef
from Cloudland Farm, North Pomfret, Vermont
1 pound semi-frozen boneless beef sirloin, preferably Cloudland Farms Black Angus beef
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider or apple juice
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup waterWhile the beef is partially frozen, thinly slice across the grain into long strips 1/8-inch thick.
Combine the soy sauce, cider or juice, molasses, dry mustard, ginger, garlic and water in a glass dish. Add the sliced beef and set aside to marinate for 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature. Drain the meat, reserving the marinade.
On 8 long skewers, loosely thread the meat accordion-style. Place the skewers on a broiler pan or preheated grill. Broil or grill to the desired doneness, 5 to 8 minutes, turning and brushing occasionally with the marinade. (Discard any uncooked marinade.)
Serve immediately.
Serves 4
Cloudland Farm • 1101 Cloudland Road, North Pomfret, VT • 802.457.1520 • vtangus@sover.net
See more great images of Cloudland Farm and the Woodstock Market on the Green on our flickr page! -
Holidazed & Confused on Tap
Straight-from-the-hearth pizza isn’t the only draw at American Flatbread on a cold winter’s evening in Burlington, Vermont. The St. Paul Street eatery is also home to Zero Gravity Tap Room, where if you were to sip a different beer every night starting tonight, you’d be there until the first day
of spring. As the Winter Solstice approaches, Zero Gravity’s staff is getting ready for the annual Holidazed & Confused Festival.The celebration of “holiday madness, cellared wonderment, aged beauties, seasonal specialties and winter warmers” takes place for two full nights this year, next Monday and Tuesday, from 5 pm to midnight, and will feature more than two dozen seasonal brews, including ZG cask-conditioned Dubbel with cherries, Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence ‘08 and Anchor Xmas ‘07.
More Regional Events
(All events take place in Vermont unless otherwise noted)
Friday, December 11
Meet the Man With the Magic Hat: Alan Newman, founder and president of Magic Hat Brewery in Burlington is the featured speaker at the “Table Talk: Side Dishes for Thought” monthly discussion at Mary’s Restaurant at the Inn at Baldwin Creek in Bristol. Dinner begins at 6:15 pm followed by the talk at 7:30 pm. $25 dinner; the talk is free. Call 888.424.2432 or email linda@innatbaldwincreek.com. For more information on this event, check out FarmPlate’s feature on it. -
Thanksgiving All Weekend Long
Back before green bean casserole and jellied cranberry sauce from a can were standard Thanksgiving fare, America’s cooks toiled for days to get ready for our national celebration. To experience how things used to be – and used to taste – visit the Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock, VT, this weekend.
Bring the family and watch interpreters in period dress prepare a harvest feast in the 1890s farmhouse. Sample homemade treats and go for a horse-drawn wagon ride too.The Thanksgiving Weekend program takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission ranges from $3 to $12, depending on age.
More Regional Events
Friday, November 27
The annual Vermont Farmer’s Market Christmas Fair takes place at Poultney High School from 9 am to 4 pm on Friday and Saturday. The fair offers crafts, folk art, gourmet foods and more.
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Vermont’s Own (and Only) Cranberries
“A sound berry bounces,” explains Bob Lesnikoski, Vermont’s only commercial cranberry farmer. “A rotten berry won’t.”
When you buy a box of fat, round garnet-colored cranberries from Vermont Cranberry Company you can bet they’ll all be bouncers.Lesnikoski excavated and planted his first cranberry bog 13 years ago on a small farm in northwest Vermont. He began selling fresh cranberries two years later. “It’s not the easiest crop to grow here,” he says, “but it does work. We produce a premium berry. Our size sorting and color sorting is quite a bit more rigorous than just about any other fresh berry out there.”
Each October Lesnikoski can expect to harvest and bounce-test about 30,000 pounds of berries from his three-acre farm in East Fairfield. Of that yield, about 60 percent is sold fresh to area markets and restaurants. The rest become dried cranberries, frozen cranberries, cranberry juice, cranberry wine or specialty cranberry preserves. Some of these products will bear the Vermont Cranberry Company label. Some berries turn up in other fine local products including Champlain Orchard’s Cranberry Apple Cider and in Boyden Valley Winery’s Cranberry Wine (which, BTW, makes the most refreshing pre-dinner spritzer imaginable).
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One Sweet Weekend
Master chocolatiers and amateurs alike can learn, shop and best of all indulge at the Festival of Sweets this Saturday and Sunday at South Burlington’s Doubletree Hotel. The festival, formerly known as the The Vermont Chocolate Show, showcases world-class confectioners working in Vermont today.
Culinary students from NECI and St. Johnsbury Academy compete for prizes in sugar and chocolate sculpture.Presentations include Kim Greenwood on Vermont beekeeping, Ken Hastings on making maple candies, NECI chef Adrian Westrope on making a decorative chocolate cake, Drew Emory on making a great cheesecake and lots more.
The festival runs from 10-6 on Saturday; 10-4 on Sunday. Admission is $10 for adults, $6 for children.
More Regional Events
Thursday, November 19
As part of a Sustainable Living in Vermont series, Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center hosts Alan Benoit of Sustainable Design who will discuss how passive solar technology can be incorporated into new and existing structures. The talk begins at 7 pm.
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Smart Choices Program to Stop Labeling Food
The Smart Choices Program stated it will postpone active operations after federal regulators announced they would review the criteria behind the Smart Choices label.
Launched in August 2009 and funded by food industry leaders, the Smart Choices Program permits manufacturers to label their products as “healthy” with a bright green checkmark on the packaging.In an effort to prevent misleading nutritional labels, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg announced on Oct. 20 that the FDA will develop standardized criteria for front-of-package labeling. Hamburg noted that some of the products labeled “Smart Choices” were actually 50 percent sugar, reports the Chicago Tribune. Sugary cereals including Fruit Loops and Cocoa Krispies have the Smart Choices seal of approval.
Three days after the FDA’s announcement, the Smart Choices Program stated in a press release that they will halt production and “welcome the opportunity to collaborate on front-of-package labeling with the FDA.”
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