Mezze Bistro: wondering over the border to our friends in Wiliamstown, MA

Mezze Bistro + Bar
Sunday – Thursday (closed Wednesdays): 5 – 9 pm
Friday + Saturday: 5 – 10 pm

I went back to VT last week to pick up my dog and decided to treat myself and a friend to a nice early birthday dinner. My friend suggested Mezze Bistro in Williamstown, MA. I hadn't been since I was a teenager so thought that sounded great. They moved locations and I was interested in seeing the new place.

The restaurant is a bit of a hike from downtown Williamstown but we had to drive there anyways so it doesn't matter. I was impressed from the moment we entered. The welcome table is a beautiful piece of wood across from a very elaborate and beautiful wall of wallpaper.

As you walk into the restaurant you pass by beautiful modern well lit art. Once in the dining rooms everything is color coordinated in a modern meets classic decor. I was in heaven because it was a similar feel to my condo renovations. 

The menu made me smile. Not too many options and each item listed which ingredients came from local farms. We both ordered the wild mushroom bisque. It was good, however not out of this world. We also split the Mighty Food Farm Beets with Berle Farm Yogurt and dill oil. They were out of this world good! 

Wild Mushroom Bisque

Mighty Food Farm Beets w/Berle Farm Yogurt & Dill Oil

For dinner my friend had East Mountain Farm Chicken Confit w/ Foraged Hen-Of-The-Woods Mushroom, Fingerling Patato, Green Bean & Braised Leeks and I had the Roasted Pumpkin Arancini w/ Kabosha Squash Puree, Fried Delicata Squash & Sage.

East Mountain Farm Chicken Confit 

Roasted Pumpkin Arancini 

We ended the meal with Mild Chocolate Cardamon Pot De Creme w/ Chocolate Mousse and Cardamom Shortbread as well as delicious Barrington Cooffee Roasting Compnay French Pressed Dark Roast Coffee!

It was completely joyful and although not VT still considered the Southern Vermont area. I CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK!

Silver Fork: 6 tables & 5 bar stools in Manchester VT

THE PERFECT NEW RESTAURANT FOR YOUR ROMANTIC GETAWAY  TO VERMONT FROM THE LATE AUGUST SULTRY CITY! 

SILVER FORK: 4201 Main Street Manchester Ctr, VT 05255‎ 

(802) 768-8444

Dinner- Mon-Sat, 5-Close 

Lunch: Friday & Saturday, 12-2 

CLOSED SUNDAY 

When I find a new restaurant within 30 miles of my VT house that serves local food it's a big deal! A really big deal!!!

This new (about a year old) tiny little gem in Manchester, VT is run/owned/operated by a charming couple, she manages the house and he cooks.

There are 6 small tables and 5 bar stools, so make sure you make a reservation in advance. I went to dinner with my sister and a friend for an 8:30 reservation which is very late for Vermont on a Wednesday night and when we arrived the place was full but for our table. This is a good sign and a rarity in the lush green wild lands of VT. 

Silver Fork uses as much local food from area farms as possible and has a seasonal changing menu with a slew of specials.

and.... is also equipped with a full bar that includes fresh homemade local juices to quench your thirst.

We ordered a combination of the specials which the hostess/wife/waitress did a great job selling as well as items from the menu.

Below is a sampling of our orders.  Sorry about the low quality photos, my camera died earlier that day and we had to use an i phon.

Delicious french onion soup with homemade onion rings

Grilled peach with goat cheese 

Duck rolls 

It is definitely a new favorite and I will go back often (when I remember to make a reservation) ! 

X- Shira 

We can fall in love in the August heat! "TRUE LOVE FARM"

♥ 

Almost directly above my house sits a small patch of heaven named "True Love Farm". 

The farm is located at 925 Cross Hill Rd and owned and operated by Karen and Steven Trubitt. 
 

I actually run by the farm on my 9 mile loop around the block, however, didn't realize it because, like many small farms in VT they are hidden in the wild lands and don't have a sign.

Karen had reached out to me a few months ago because she heard about my interest in connecting the community to local farms.

We had been e-mailing back and forth and finally met up this week. I helped a tiny, tiny bit by picking some green beans, but mostly enjoyed a wonderfully enthusiastic and immensely kind tour of the grounds. I think I may have fallen in love 3 or 4 times during my visit. 

Karen and Steven moved here from Minneapolis 10 years ago, they found the land with no initial plans of farming but since have completely restored the barn as their house and built the most romantic farm I have visited yet.

The farm is filled with chick for meat, chickens for eggs, a rooster, beans, ginger, melon, flowers that take your breath away, a very large selection of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, including Italian pears, indigo, green zebras and many, many more as well as basil, kale, potatoes, blueberries and the list goes on and on...

They aren't "certified organic" but are far beyond/better than organic in my book. They don't use any pesticides and use as little organic spray as humanly possible. They even have a moving chick trailer that allows the chicks to fertilize the ground for the following year.

True Love Farm is at the Walloomsac Farmers Market Saturday's (10-1) and Tuesdays (3-6). They also sell to Allegro's (my favorite restaurant in bennington)as well as Gringo Jack's in Manchester. You can keep up with them on facebook.

The farm is a true treasure! I hope you will stop by the farmers market on Saturday's or Tuesday's to say hello to Karen & Steve. You will certainly taste the love in the food! 

XXX 

Earth Sky Time Community Farm in Manchester, VT

1547 Main St. (Route 7A south)
Manchester Center, VT 05255
(802) 384-1400
earthskytime@gmail.com

Last week as part of my marathon recovery, my good friend, Avi, brought me to this farm for a visit. He worked at the farm a few years back and is very close with the owners Bonnie and Oliver.

Bonnie saw Avi and came running out with joy. Avi was excited to see all the new editions and Bonnie quickly brought us inside to show us the new Llopis oven from Barcelona. It was epic and by that I mean the largest/sexiest oven I have ever seen in my life! They use it to make all kinds of breads, veggie burgers, croissants and lots of other delicious treats.

The farm/bakery is a registered organic farm and active member of the WWOOF community! They are always looking for people to help so if you have some time to kill and are a farm/food lover you should give them a call!

They live/cook in a beautiful old house:

Avi and I left happy with 18 eggs each and our bellies satisfied from delicious croissants! They are always looking for egg cartons if you want to collect them and then drop off. I am a big fan of reusing over recycling.... 

You can find their food at local farmers markets, at Manchester Bar & Grill and occasionally at SoLo Farm & Table. 

If you haven't already been convinced that this is one of the most amazing places for food and farming in VT check out this video! 

Happy June Eating Everyone! 

XO- 

Shira 

Venturing overseas- food in Gueoul, Senegal

I am going to try to keep this blog to the Southern Vermont region but it is not often that I travel overseas so I thought I would post from my February trip abroad.

I spent the first 5 days of my trip in Senegal visiting my friend Lyzz Ogunwo who is in the Peace Corps there. 

Other than the heavy amounts of MSG in the flavoring packets they use, the food is local and delicious. The chickens, cows and goats that roam around the village end up on your plate for lunch and dinner.  

The food is served on rice on a very large plate. Everyone washes up in two large bowls and then sits around the plate and eats with one hand. The adults divide the meet and vegetables by breaking them up and throwing them to your section of the plate. 

It was great fun except for the times there was fish. Sadly I don't eat fish and couldn't get past two or three bites.

The family hated it when I only had three bites and would insist on making me something else and this is when I tried goat.

Anyhow, its a joyous experience! I hope to host lots of Senegal dinners at home in America when I return. 

Meet Screaming Eagle and Enjoy Raw Honey at However Wild Farm on Myers Road in Shaftsbury, VT

This should have been my first post, but I waited because I wanted it to be perfect! My first stop on my food adventures was a few weeks back at Gail Howe's house/farm. My neighbor and I stopped over to talk to her about her raw honey. It was an extra special trip for me because Gail used to give one of my students horse back riding lessons. 

When I was talking with Gail she introduced me to "Screaming Eagle" (photo above).  I thought he was the cutest little guy in the world and decided to name my blog after him! 

Here is a bit about raw honey: 

Raw Honey is bottled as it comes naturally from the hive. Raw Honey contains other hive products such as propolis, pollen, and capping wax, each of which have beneficial properties.

Processed honey has been heated and filtered to make it easier to bottle, and to destroy the natural crystals. 

Many people prefer the flavor of Raw Honey. It will granulate to grades from fine to coarse and may be used as a spread. 

Raw Honey is one of nature's most valuable and widely available medicines. While commercially processed honey loses many of its original qualities, Raw Honey retains its original nutritional content and medicinal properties. 

Raw Honey offers trace amounts of vitamin A, beta-carotene, all of the B-Complex vitamins, vitamins C, D, E, K; magnesium, sulfur phosphorus, iron, calcium, chlorine, potassium, iodine, sodium, copper and manganese. It also contains proteins, carbohydrates, hormones and antimicrobial and antibiotic factors. It has one of the highest enzyme factors of all foods. These live enzymes are important to many systems of the body! 

The honey can be bought at 1242 Myers Rd, Shaftsbury, VT- 802 447 7040 (currently they are out) 

You can also buy it at Spice & Nice in Bennington 

Breese Hollow Dairy: Organic Raw Milk, Grass Fed Beef and Eggs

 

Today my former nanny, Jeannie, brought me and one of her belly dancing friends to Breese Hollow Dairy Farm in Hoosick Falls, NY. She heard about the farm from a friend who lives up the road. When we arrived there were 5 or 6 calves chilling in the front yard.
We parked the car and I quickly tried to snap shots of the little brown guys but they were scared and ran off. We entered the barn where we found a cooler with milk and eggs and a fridge with beef.
There was a small sign that read "grass fed beef $6 a pound, milk $6 and eggs $3." Sadly I have eggs coming out my ears, so we just bought a gallon of delicious milk and a pound of beef. The family of 8 or 9 arrived home while we were making our purchase. The woman kindly introduced herself (I don't remember her name) and then went inside with her kids.

We took the milk home and did a blindfolded test. It is remarkably easy to tell the difference between raw and regular milk. Raw milk is delicious!

I am making burgers for dinner tonight with the beef and will top them off with organic spinach!

Breese Hollow Dairy Farm is located at 54 Breese Hollow Road, Hoodisck Falls, NY.  It is on your way into or out of town from Albany. The "store" is open all the time but I believe silly USDA shuts the milk operation down from time to time.

My raw mild experience really brought the beauty out of this rainy VT day!

EGGS, PORK AND CSA: Mike Foley on Timber Trail Rd in Shafstbury & Clearbrook Farm

Last week my neighbor called me and invited me to go with him to pick up his last CSA for the winter and his eggs for the week.

Our first stop was Clearbrook farm to pick up the CSA. Clearbrook was my favorite place to food shop in the summer and fall. My sister would drive out to pick up local veggies, cheese and the most delicious chocolate milk on earth!

I should have signed up for the winter CSA but wasn't sure of my schedule. Anyway, we loaded up on delicious winter veggies and I bought local organic maple beef sausage from Burley Farm (I will do a sperate blog for that farm).

After picking up the CSA share we headed down to Timber Trail Road where Mike Foley lives. He moved to VT from NYC after 9/11 and restored an old house and started farming. We picked up 3 dozen eggs and chatted for a bit.

Mike sells his eggs to Henry's Market in Bennington and the Shafstbury Country Store. Mike feeds his chickens organic scraps from Shaws market in Manchester. He makes a trip to Manchester everyday to pick up the extra food. He also has his children's classes at Shaftsbury Elementary scraping food scraps for the pigs.

If you want to buy eggs from Mike directly, you can call him at 375-2889. Tell him the girl writing the food blog sent you. He is also currently raising pigs if you are interested in some pork this year. I am going to share one with a couple people. I have already named it Yiddle (yiddish for little jew).  Mike raises the pig and then hires a butcher to, well, butcher it. The pigs are happy pigs raised above his house and fed local food scraps!

Happy eggs and piglets :)

My 29th Birthday Dinner at SoLo Farm & Table

I arrived back in VT October 5th, 2011. I was planning on doing a NYC birthday with my family at a vegan restaurant but needed to be in VT. It turned out to be one of the nicest birthdays I have ever had.

My sister knew I would want to go out for a nice meal so she suggested her friend Miles' sister's new restaurant in South Londonderry, VT. SoLo Farm & Table!! Sadly it was so long ago that I don't remember everything I ate. However, the dessert I will never forget!  Homemade basil ice cream--it was simply divine. 

I was in heaven the entire evening because, from a social justice standpoint, I felt good about eating the meat. They locally source almost everything. The owners, Chloe and Wesley, work in the restaurant.  She is the maitre d' and he is the head chef.

The matzah ball soup also tasted like heaven (everything made from scratch).  It was so good we brought some home to my dad. The bread is delivered fresh three times a week from Red Hen Baking Company.

The restaurant is located in an old house with charming rooms and tables and a very nice bar. I give it 5 stars for food, social justice practices, service, and atmosphere and I hope to go back very soon!

WELCOME

Hello everyone-

To go along with my screaming eagle food guide to southern VT, I have decided to start a blog. You will have to bear with me as writing is not my strength. I am hoping through this exercise it will get a bit better.  If you are ever reading and feel so inclined to edit, I welcome edits and critiques with open arms.

Over the past couple of months I have become somewhat obsessed with all things "food." In 2011 I did a Social Justice fellowship through Jews United for Justice that forever changed my life. My final project was supposed to be a social justice food guide to DC but my life changed a bit in October  and I moved back to VT for a few, what turned out to be glorious, months.  

It also turns out that the idea of making a social justice food guide for southern Vermont is much more of a realistic project in terms of size than DC.

The idea is to provide a guide for locals and tourists that connects local food to people. A couple friends and I have started a google doc and we already have some data on over 50 nearby farms. The long term hope is that we can cultivate the guide and farmers together and create a co-op!

If you are interested in the project please, please e-mail me/ call me :)

So welcome and thanks for reading!

My motto for 2012 is to fall in love with everything- so I hope that while reading the guide you fall in love! Maybe not with my writing, but with a farm, farmer, or a specific food.

Kisses forever- Shira