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| Shepard Farm in Putney, VT |
If you've been following this blog for a while, you might
remember a post from last January 2012 where we described a day trip Tara and I took
to Vermont to explore its dairies. We
were so enchanted by that 12-hour trip that we vowed to return with enough time
to fully experience the New England farm life.
That vow brought us to the mountains of Northern Vermont for a week (this past October) to
taste cheeses, wines, maple products, apple products, and anything else we
could eat. The trip cemented Vermont’s
status in my mind as the best rural vacation spot in New England because, as
most food swappers can surely relate, the locale with the best food wins!
Our Vermont adventures started before we even arrived at the
resort when we stopped at the Ben and Jerry’s factory for a scoop. On our last trip, we remembered a tiny
shopping center down the street with wine, chocolate, and cheese, so we stopped
there too. Between the first shopping
center and the resort, we discovered the Cold Hollow Cider Mill store (complete
with yet ANOTHER wine tasting on the property) where we could watch cider pressing and buy cider jugs, donuts, fudge, and hot dogs! So, on one road in Waterbury, Vermont
(Waterbury-Stowe Rd for those of you who won’t get to the end of the sentence
before your GPS is programmed) we found an ice cream factory, two wine
tastings, cider heaven, a Lake Champlain Chocolate store and a Cabot cheese shop! We even heard that the Green Mountain Coffee Company is on a different street within a mile or two from this delicious strip
although we didn't make it this time.
Therefore, we renamed Waterbury, VT “Mecca” because it is the holy land
for your mouth.
Throughout the week, we visited a number of actual farms
across the state. In January, we only
made it to the Fat Toad Farm after dark when we couldn’t take a tour so it was
our top priority this time around. This
time, we got to meet the goats as well as their cows, pigs, chickens, and dogs! We also witnessed the humans making
epic goat’s milk caramel. The team at
the farm had the stroke of pure genius to add bourbon and salt to their caramel
to make a seasonal treat that is mind bending.
We did, however, learn that their incredible chevre is no longer in
production. Thankfully, we bought several
tubs from the final batch!
The most beautiful farm, hands down, was in Shelburn. The Shelburn Farm is actually a gilded
age-era agricultural estate turned non-profit farm education center. Besides the horses and sheep, here you can
also see Olmstead designed landscapes, architecturally breathtaking farm buildings, and the Lake Champlain shoreline.
Being true urbanites, we needed a few quick breaks from the
rural mountain air. To get our city on,
we enjoyed a dinner at the Farmhouse Tap & Grill in Burlington and even
sampled poutine north of the border in Montreal. At Montreal Poutine, our adorable French-speaking waiter noted that this was our poutine "baptism" and asked if our happiness was big! The highlight of the Canadian leg of the trip
was waiting for the French speaking maple syrup pitchman at Les Délices de l'érable to do the English
version and realizing from a single sentence that he was a native
Bostonian! Here, we learned to make
“maple on snow” and bought syrup mixed with rum!
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| Bragging just a little at King Arthur |
The final leg of our edible pilgrimage led us on a two hour “hunting”
expedition at the King Arthur Flour baker's store. If you like to bake (and really, who among us doesn't?) King Arthur is essentially a giant toy store. Not only did I leave with a bucket full of
cool tools (literally, a bucket full – I bought a multi-gallon food-grade
bucket!), but I also left with a fat list of Christmas ideas for my family and
myself. In fact, I think their multi-tiered cooling rack is the must-have accessory for every cookie swapper this holiday
season.
So despite GPS giving us the choice of plunging down a
ravine or driving over a wooded dirt pile, driving for hours to get to a closed
farm, and a little hurricane you may have heard of, our bellies were
happy. And a happy belly makes for a
memorable vacation.
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