December 2011

Here's to the Holiday Pour!
FarmPlate Dec 28, 2011 Bottling 0 comments
Localvores and beverage enthusiasts alike have much to celebrate this holiday season. Brewing, vinifying, distilling and bottling are thriving businesses in Vermont today. We've started a list of just a few Vermont-produced beverages you might enjoy serving this season. We'd love to hear from you as well—tell us about your favorite pours and drink concoctions from anywhere in the country by adding a comment at the bottom of this post (you have to be logged in)! AFTER SKATING WARM-UPS Serve warm mugfuls of Boyden Valley Winery's Glogg. Sweeten hot apple cider from Vermont's many fine cider mills (Champlain Orchards, Cold Hollow Cider Mill and Flag Hill Farm to name just a few) with a...
Maple Bread Pudding
FarmPlate Dec 21, 2011 Bread Pudding 0 comments
MAPLE BREAD PUDDINGfrom the FarmPlate Kitchen6 cups one-inch bread cubes (about 1 pound) — Red Hen's Pain au Levain is perfect here 1 cup dark raisins or frozen sour cherries — try Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op!2½ cups half-and-half from your favorite local dairy6 cage-free eggs ¾ cup dark amber maple syrup* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Pinch of grated nutmeg ½ cup chopped pecans or almonds (optional) Vermont Creamery mascarpone or Wilcox Dairy vanilla ice cream, to serve *Tip: Look for a grade A dark amber or even a grade B maple syrup. The darker color indicates a stronger maple flavor, which only adds to the richness of the recipe. Generously butter a 2-...
Vermont Cheddar Gougères with Smoked Salmon Filling
FarmPlate Dec 20, 2011 Cabot 0 comments
VERMONT CHEDDAR GOURGERES WITH SMOKED SALMON FILLINGfrom the kitchen of Liberty Hill Farm in Rochester, VT (member of the Cabot Creamery family) For the gougères:1     cup water1     stick (8 tablespoons) Cabot salted butter, cut into cubes¼    teaspoon salt¼    teaspoon sugar1     cup King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour4     large eggs6     ounces Cabot sharp cheddar, grated (about 1½ cups)⅓    cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided1     teaspoon dry mustardPinch ground red pepper (cayenne) For the filling:8   ...
Americans Staying Put, Buying Local, Living Local
Jeff Gangemi Dec 20, 2011 American localism 0 comments
Blame (or thank) the still-crippled housing market for our renewed commitment to our local communities.  Americans aren’t moving as much, which may be one reason the locavore movement is spreading as quickly as it is.  For the first time in generations, we’re putting down roots again. A great article by NPR examines the impacts not just on the way we eat, but also on the way we do finance, gather and consume news and information, and support causes. Staying put also affects how we behave online, and how we get around – and stay around – town. The results of all of this inertia are anything but small and humdrum, but often innovative and nourishing in very real ways. “You can...
School Lunches Take a Beating in New York Times / Investigative Fund Study
Jeff Gangemi Dec 19, 2011 Investigative Fund 0 comments
A disturbing recent study found that schools are diverting $1 billion of USDA-donated produce and meat and shipping it to food processing operations, who turn it into – well, the school lunches you probably remember – chicken nuggets, French fries, flavored milk and the like.  The sad part? Many school cafeterias no longer actually cook food, but rather reheat the processed creations they’ve outsourced. The outrageous part? Schools are often spending more to process their food (to the tune of up to three times the cost) than it would cost to cook real food. All told, these schools are essentially spending the same amount of money to remove the nutrients from their food.  The...
Local Brewers Tap Small Farms For Ingredients
Jeff Gangemi Dec 19, 2011 barley 0 comments
The locavore movement has officially spread to beer and other spirits.  A recent FarmPlate blog post with food journalist Barry Estabrook revealed several Vermont-based spirits producers.   A recent story in the Washington Post drops in on brewers from all over the country -- Delaware, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Colorado – to report on a number of talented beer makers keeping their art and craft very close to home. They’re taking advantage of a growing interest in local hops and barley cultivation to test the terroir of their personal stomping grounds. And in some cases, their purchases are a much-needed revenue stream for local farmers. Though many haven’t quite...
Transparency and Technology: Secrets of Small Farm Success
Jeff Gangemi Dec 15, 2011 Farming 0 comments
Originally posted on the Slow Food USA Blog. In farming, it seems that size is often rewarded. Government subsidies, economies of scale, and the use of chemical pesticides all conspire to make life easier for large-scale industrial farming operations. But there are a number of advantages to being small. Chief among them may be the ability to connect with individual customers and achieve a level of transparency impossible (or at least undesirable) for larger, factory type farming operations. “I think a lot of people are finding out – not just farmers, but also fish providers and other producers – that transparency in and of itself is a great marketing tool,” says Barry Estabrook, James...
BrightFarms Helps Local Food Go Hyperlocal
Jeff Gangemi Dec 14, 2011 BrightFarms Inc. 0 comments
We all know that one of the challenges of getting fresh produce into everyone’s hands is the transportation cost (not to mention the environmental side effects).  That’s why a start-up called BrightFarms caught our eye. They just raised an initial round of funding for their system of hydroponic greenhouse farms. The small-scale farms can actually be built on-location at supermarkets, eliminating the negative side effects associated with transport. The only requirement for the retailer? They must agree to buy the produce. “BrightFarms, Inc., which has an innovative model to bring local foods to supermarkets, raised $4.3 million in a Series A equity financing round. 
 It's a great idea...
Philabundance: Hunger Relief Organization Raises Money for First Nonprofit Supermarket
Jeff Gangemi Dec 13, 2011 food desert 0 comments
In Chester, Pennsylvania, more than half of the residents earn less than 200% of the poverty level, according to census figures. On top of that, 15% of the city population is unemployed and a whopping 50% of residents are food insecure.   As if to add insult to injury, there isn’t currently a supermarket in Chester, so residents are forced to shop at corner stores and mini-markets, where they spend 10-15% more on many food items. All this makes Chester one of the clearest “food deserts” out there. But there may be hope on the horizon, as Philadelphia’s largest hunger relief organization Philabundance has raised $2.5 million of the $4.5 million needed to open this non-profit supermarket...
Liza De Guia Uses Video to Document Local, Artisanal Food
Jeff Gangemi Dec 12, 2011 artisanal food 0 comments
On December 7, Liza De Guia, the woman behind the Food. Curated. video series was awarded The Village Voice Web Award for Best Use of Video in Food Blogging. De Guia’s video Hurricane Irene Aftermath: The Story of Maple Downs Farm was a featured video in the series.  Even though De Guia has achieved praise and garnered awards for her work, she is still a one-woman operation. She does all of her own writing, shooting and editing, booking, producing, marketing and social media.  De Guia sees herself as a storyteller, and her work as helping both consumers and the food artisans she’s profiling. “I love telling stories, helping people eat better, make better choices and better connect...