This week, my dear friends Laura Koritz and Steven Hazen Williams both got a little older. We ate tacos and drank margaritas. Happy Birthday to both of you!!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Family Time!
I had a totally awesome couple of days with my sis and her family while they were here in Vermont visiting! We managed to completely fill our days with blueberry picking, The Addison County Fair (Gretchen's pig won the race!), homemade ice cream (mint chocolate chip, vanilla, chocolate and cheesecake-4X in two weeks!) a hike up Mt. Philo, swimming, "Make Your Own Pizza" night w/ Chef Luigi, nature walks, tennis and Summervale's Festival in Burlington. We were ready to fall into bed about 20 minutes after the kids were asleep-every night. Party!
Ahh...beautiful Lake Willoughby!
I made a quick trip up north to visit Laura at her new place in Newark, VT this past weekend. We grabbed some breakfast, saw the school she'll be teaching in, scared her new colleague by mistake and then made our way up Mt. Pisgah to find these views of Lake Willoughby. Outstanding! Unfortunately, I was a bit ill prepared for the hike so, my body is still sore-4 days later. Hmm...Enjoy the pics!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Food Forum Festivities!
Allison, Max and I hit up the VFN Forum at Shelburne Farms Coach Barn last night. I had never been to this event before so, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Max is a food buyer at City Market here in Burlington so, he shared his experiences from past events. The main event was a walk-around tasting dinner inside the Coach Barn. Fun! There were a few familiar faces there so, we spent some time comparing notes in passing with Nelia & Marin and Jeff & Cristina. I was lucky enough to get a discounted ticket this year through work so, I figured why not try it out? Most of the food was very tasty. I grabbed some descriptions from VFN's FB page just to give you a sampling:
-Smoked Duclos & Thompson Lamb Shoulder Flatbread Taco with Native Berry Mole, Feta, and Honey Habanero Pickled Onions
-Hard Cider Braised Veal Breast with Harissa, Smoked Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuit & Lemon Balm Aioli
-Misty Knoll Chicken Confit with Lower Notch Berry Farm Blueberry Compote and Rosemary Pain Perdu
(+) Yep. Serious. My favorites were the lamb pastrami sandwich, gazpacho w/ a dollop of smoked sour cream on top (so good!!), cheesy risotto fried rice ball (it had a more sophisticated name than that but, I was too hot to remember it), Nelia's brother's QUAIL!! OH and the goat cheese gouda. There were some others at the top of the list too. I'm sure I consumed at least 6 types of slow cooked beef. We decided that was the trend of the evening. No complaints from me.
(-) What I will comment on it the temperature of the Coach Barn. Get it together Shelburne Farms! I don't like AC but, when there are that many ticket holders inside eating hot food, they should be cool. Second, I appreciate the recycling situation but, when you get a new toothpick or plate every 5 minutes, you need a place to put them. How about a few more recycling bins next time so people don't have to pile their trash on the table. Third, include at least 1 glass of wine in the ticket price-I think that's only fair.
The event was schedule to run from 5-9. We took off at 7:30p after having some coffee ice cream. There weren't any speakers this year so, I'm still wondering how they filled the last 1.5 hours of the event.
I'm really glad I went. The company was fantastic and the food was very tasty but, I think they could do better next time.
Blueberries!
The Scott Family, mom and I went blueberry picking yesterday at Pelkey's in Charlotte. We discovered at 11:45p that they closed at 1pm. I think we made the most of our 45 minutes!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
3rd Annual Lobsterfest!
Last Friday, I hosted the 3rd Annual Lobsterfest at Crooked Path. It's gotten much easier to have larger dinners now that we have this totally awesome long table (yard sale find!) that lives on the side porch. I was also able to borrow Max and AB's 5 gallon pot and burner that allowed us to cook all of the lobsters at once so we could serve everyone at the same time. Lifesaver. We started the meal with a toast "To Lobsterfest!" and some strawberry infused vodka that I put together after a day of strawberry picking a few months ago. It was pretty tasty. Just as we were finishing up our dinner, the bugs decided to join us. We moved inside for some ice cream. Jay (who works at Ben and Jerry's) was nice enough to bring us 8 pints! It was a sweet way to end the evening. Thanks for coming everyone! I hope you had as much fun as I did. xoxo
*SPOILER ALERT* (Max, stop reading here)
Hey y'all. I stopped by to see AB on Monday. She's been busy creating fabulous frocks to wear on her wedding day. She is re-working her mom's wedding dress so that it's a little more AB 2011 style. I took a few pics of the work-in-progress. It's going to be amazing. She gave me permission to post a few pics here since nothing is final quite yet. It's so exciting to see this come together!!
Hiking Bolton!
Did anyone else know about the great hiking (and mt. biking) trails at Bolton? We didn't. That's the trouble with Bolton. No one is focused on getting people to the mountain in the summer. The mountain has an amazing view from the top and so much potential for summer and winter activities but, it needs a facelift to get people to come and enjoy everything it has to offer. At a glance, the "resort" looks tired. For now, it will be our little secret...a place to hike without the crowds.
Jay, Maegen and I hiked up last Saturday. We had the mountain to ourselves. We got to the top, cracked a few beers and pulled the chairs out of the hut at the top of the mountain. We ran into two other people throughout the hike, which for a hot Saturday in July was unreal! Then, we headed down Rt. 2 to Waterbury to get post-hike wings. Yum! It was a great summer day in VT.
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