My mom lives far away. So every Mother’s Day I dutifully send a gift–usually flowers or something that I consider feminine–for whatever reason. Maybe socialization? Who knows.
Anyway, I never considered sending food for Mother’s Day till recently, when we revved up our Mail Order Gift Boxes. And then it hit me. Why not food? My mother was a huge influence on me, my cooking and the entire business model that we’ve developed here at the Farmers’ Market. She loves all foods–extra virgin olive oils, coffee, jams, chocolates…and most importantly gets excited at the thought of receiving great food.
All those years wasted sending flowers or jewlery or something that I thought she might like when right under my nose there was FOOD! And there is nothing like sending great food to someone you love. It’s so immediate. It’s so fullfilling. It’s so personal. And it works. As a matter of fact, I just got off the phone with my mom who loved the organic extra virgin olive oil and coffee I sent her from the Farmers’ Market .
And PS, when I suggest sending food as gifts for moms or for whomever, I’m not talking about some silly vinegar in an expensive goumet glass bottle that no one in their right mind knows what to do with. I’m talk’in about real FOOD–brownies, cookies, coffee, olive oil, Vermont Maple Syrup–stuff that you can use everyday–especially artisan or small batch made.
The point being–and this is where the connection with food is so personal– when your loved one drizzles the organic olive oil on a salad, pours the maple syrup on pancakes, or spreads the jam on toast, it’s an immediate reminder of you, the-gift-giver! Flowers die, gadgets get tossed aside but great food is consumed heartily…tasted, swallowed, appreciated…it’s really like no other gift in the world. It creates long lasting memories of family, which is hard to top in the world of gift-giving.
Patrick
May 8th, 2010 in
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Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla. History has it that in 1862, the French came snooping around collecting debts from then President Bentio Juarez. But the French had other ideas up their sleeves. They didn’t very much like Mexico’s northern counterpart—the U S of A, who was embroiled in their own Civil War. Smelling that the US was distracted, the French ended up sticking around and trying to outwit a very smart Mexican army which ended up slaughtering the French Army in a famous battle outside Mexico City. The victory helped keep Napoleon’s Army from supplying the confederate rebels—who were subsequently defeated in the Battle of Gettysburg only 14 months later. Subsequently, Union forces were also rushed to the border of Mexico to make sure the Mexicans got all the ammunition and weapons they needed to expel the French.
It might be a historical stretch to credit the survival of the US to a brave Mexican army but who knows? That’s why Cinco De Mayo is such a great celebration of US and Mexican relations—plus, it’s a great excuse to celebrate the great fusion of Mexican and American foods!
Here at WFM, we’ve got a great menu going for Wednesday, the high-holy day for Mexican-American food. Chef Michelle and her crew are making some mean fish tacos, beef enchiladas, tortilla soup and seafood frittatas. And me? Well, Cinco de Mayo reminds me it’s time for my favorite gringo creation–Kitchen Sink Burritos, where Stacy and I pull together a bunch of meat and veggies, spice it up, cheese it up, turn on the blender and tequila-it-up! It’s easy, it’s fun and each time out, our creations are different.
For me, creating a great meal doesn’t have to be a high flatulent thing. You just have to have great ingredients, a little direction, great drink and great people! And that’s what I love most about my recipe. Try it out. It’s easy, fun and quick… and a great way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!
Patrick
May 4th, 2010 in
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Our roaster— Benbows, in Bar Harbor Maine, has been around for over 20 years and roasting our coffee for about 18. Their vision was to create a unique roasting style similar to the Europeans—finding fine estate coffees being produced by regional roasters overseen by a master roaster. Most importantly, these artisans had strong relationships with the farmers that produced their coffee, plus they had a unique style of roasting.
Our coffee guy, Ron, found an engineer in Massachusetts who was willing to build a roaster like the ones they found in several in small towns in Europe—forcing hot air over the beans so they would float in hot air rather than churn over a hot flame and burn. That was over 18 years ago.
Cut to 2004. Wanting to keep the tight relationships with the small markets like us was easy but growth with the now three roasters was becoming difficult, so last year they looked for a new roaster…the Loring Smart Roaster. It does more than the work of 3 and then some. It’s a low emission “eco-roaster” plus it recycles its own heat to save energy. The result is a significant reduction in CO2 gas emitted into the atmosphere. Only the third of its kind ever built, it’s the first low emissions system in the industry.
Just as important to us is the incredible resultant coffee! It roasts a smooth, less bitter coffee, making our coffee very smooth—even the darker roasts seem smoother and less edgy than most blends we’ve tried.
Benbows carefully chooses to buy beans directly from farmers that treat the earth with dignity and respect. These farmers are often certified organic, Fair Trade or Songbird certified or just small farmers who grow coffee in a sustainable, earth friendly way. This ensures our coffees are Earth friendly from the entire chain—from farmer to roaster to retailer.
Their eco-friendly facility is mostly heated and lit with natural light and the company itself promotes sustainability and the creation of viable communities. Way to go Benbows!
Among the many Earth Friendly foods WFM champions, our goal has been to seek out products that are small farmer produced, with minimal carbon foot print, using products or ingredients that are locally produced or grown.
Celebrate Earth Day–all month– WFM Style…We’re giving away a free ½ lb. of Organic, Eco- Roast Coffee with every online order over $50 through the end of the month!
Dark roasted and perfectly blended…we’re featuring what we call Black Magic — our French roast blend.
“Small, thoughtful changes can make colossal strides in helping Mother Earth!”
www.woodstockfarmersmarket.com
Patrick
It’s funny–I don’t know about you, I never gave Earth Day much notice. For years it would come and go with no personal fanfare. But for some reason this year, I’m taking more note. For me, being more aware is simply slowing down and asking: what are things I do everyday to help the planet earth?
And I began to actually compile a nice list. We’ve pretty much changed to those little curly q light bulbs at home; we always drive the car with the best mileage when we take a longer trip; we traded in our old pickup for a new one that gets better mileage; we use compostable garbage bags and use Nalgene bottles to carry our water rather than constantly buying bottled water. We’ve installed energy efficient windows and doors in our home. The list could go on. But what’s cool about all of this is that I can’t be alone. I think many folks one are doing these things everyday to help extend the life of our planet. It’s that group effort that’s pretty powerful.
At WFM, we are making every effort to do our part too. We have some cool “green” things that we do…but frankly we’ve been doing green things for years. A short list includes composting all our raw waste–a pig farmer comes once a day and takes a large Rubbermaid garbage can of raw waste and scraps from out kitchen. We use garbage bags that decompose instead of cheapo plastic ones; we recycle almost all plastics, metals, and glass; we use all certified “green” cleaning products when cleaning the store every night; we do use regular halogen bulbs in our store but have replaced many lights with metal halite or LED lights. And in a significant move, we are purchasing over 100K of new energy efficient refrigeration equipment to replace much of our older, more wasteful cases.
But green is more than just changing light bulbs. It’s a way of life– it’s dealing with local communities and helping local economies…it’s really a universal bond that transcends a definition–it brings us all together with realization that we are all responsible for preserving the planet we live on. For us, we support every “buy-local” initiative we can. We support a huge network of local farmers–dairy, pork and beef, cheese, produce and we go out of our way to carry artisan, small batch produced grocery products be it either here in Vermont or from great communities around the country. Buying local is indeed the epitome of being green. It reduces the carbon footprint and energy needed to bring family farms to the table.
So I feel pretty good about Earth Day this year. I think from now on, it’s definitely going to be a highlight on my calendar. It’s a good reminder for me to take stock in what I’m doing to preserve the planet for generations to come.
PJC–Chairman of Fun–WFM
April 9th, 2010 in
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We were in a meeting yesterday and an astute staffer said, “What’s up with Easter eggs anyway?” And to that we all looked at each other with same blank look. Which got us to thinking, what is the origin of the famous “Easter Egg?”
Turns out eggs are symbols of Spring, new life and fertility. And in most Christian circles eggs are thought to be the seed of life—hence very symbolic in regards to the resurrection of Christ at Easter. Plus another interesting fact—eggs were forbidden to Catholics during the fast of lent which led to the abundance of eggs around Eastertime. Interesting—to say the least.
And in a curious link with eggs and bunnies (as we know bunnies don’t lay eggs!) the Easter Bunny is thought to have origins as a symbol of fertility since rabbits have frequent multiple births!
This still does not put to rest how the Easter Bunny actually is able is hop around to all deserving little boys and girls Easter morning, but we’ll leave that for another day….(Perhaps that’s how we got the saying “Quick like a bunny!”)
We still have some Easter chocolates and jelly beans left at our Woodstock store. Check it out…plus we are indeed open on Easter Sunday 9-3. And btw, check out a cool spring gift to send to your spring foodie.
Happy Spring, Easter and Passover….
PJC – Chairman of Fun-WFM
Looking to buy gourmet brownies? Donna’s baked goods selection is divine! Available online now!
Growing up in Vermont, I didn’t know that not everyone put pure Vermont maple syrup on their pancakes, waffles or ice cream. On a family trip outside New England, I was admonished by my father to order something other than pancakes for breakfast because the syrup would be “fake” maple syrup. Unable to forego the pancakes or heed the parental warning the breakfast arrived with the aforementioned “fake” syrup. Dad was right—it was disappointing.
It’s hard to explain to folks outside the New England area what a joy pure maple syrup brings to any breakfast table. It’s so ingrained throughout our culture in Vermont —plus it’s our signature product, so we are kinda biased. And its flavor is so rich and so unique that many folks around the country just don’t understand the big deal.
But what a wonderous process. In the spring, Maple trees are “tapped” and when the temperature rises above 32, they drip a slightly sweet watery sap which is collected in buckets hanging from a spigot, or in more modern maple sugaring operations, through plastic tubing which is connected to collecting tanks. Then the sap is boiled down to create a thick syrup. Approximately 40 gallons of sap are required to produce one gallon of maple syrup, making maple syrup a pricey commodity.
Right now all of our neighbors are anxiously watching the weather forecast…next week, it’s likely to get up above 32, with calm winds and sunny skies–perfect weather for the sap to start running!
We’ve got a great selection of some of the best maple syrup on the planet..check it out!
February 20th, 2010 in
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OK. So I just asked Amelia why chocolate is such a big deal at Valentines Day. Quickly, I realized the idiocy of my comment as she immediately said, “it’s an aphrodisiac!” seemingly to imply that I was completely out of the loop.
Of course I had always heard that and not to appear too defensive, I quietly checked around, thinking this really can’t be…and sure enough, there is no scientific evidence to support that claim. BUT…(and Amelia may be onto something) there are indeed trace amounts of two critical elements responsible for getting you in the mood: phenylethylamine and tryptophan. But most experts agree you’d have to chow down a ton of chocolate to have any effect!
Still, even though there may be no actual proof, we do believe in the spirit of Valentines and the Great, Amazing Chocolate and it’s supposed aphrodisiac qualities…so much so that we’re having a month-long Brownie sale! Take 20% off all Gourmet Brownies, including half dozen and dozen amounts, plus 20% off Brownie Macaroon Boxes and Whole Enchilada Boxes!! Just use “Love” in the promo code box at checkout! (This is a web only Brownie Sale…for our local readers’ information…)
We can’t promise our Brownies will do the trick but if you put your mind to something, anything is possible. Remember, we belong to the Fudgy Brownie School, which favors a bar so rich, moist and dense that a dentist could positively identify you from the marks your teeth leave behind.
And if the brownie sale is not enough, we’re stoking up our flat rate shipping specials again! This time it’s $7.95 Flat Rate Ground Shipping to all areas of the country! Our $7.95 excludes air upgrades for expedited shipping and perishable shipping to some parts of the country. Our Brownies do need to arrive within 3 days so areas of the country where UPS ground will not deliver in 3 days, we do require you to upgrade to 3 day air (a $10 charge). Please check out the shipping chart if you have any questions or give a shout.
February 4th, 2010 in
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So it comes to our attention that monkeys at the Coppenhagn Zoo prefer organic bananas over conventional.
Fasinating.
From a 2003 report, a zoo keeper reported that chimpanzees are actually able to tell the difference between the organic and regular fruit quoting, ” if we give them organic and traditional bananas, they systematically choose organic bananas, which they eat with the skin on. But they peel the traditional bananas before eating them, ” he added.
For me, it’s no surprise that the chimps prefer organic. While our human customers are still debating price vs. quality, the honest fact is that organics do taste more like real bananas; and when customers doubt our claim, we put it to a taste test and virtually every time, organic wins. Still, there is a cost benefit analysis here…organic bananas are often 30 to 50 cents more per pound…and in this economy that difference causes folks to at least think twice before going organic.
But throw in the fact that conventional bananas are sprayed with non-organic pesticides and are farmed by large agri-businesses that have shown to have little concern for the environment where they are grown, you have some pretty good reasons to go organic.
Just ask the apes. And BTW, not to sound like a used car salesman, we have organic bananas on sale all month for $.99/lb.
February 2nd, 2010 in
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If anyone knows about romance, it’s the Italians. Passionate people make passionate products, and the foods I tried while travelling through Italy last September are no exception. At each stop on my route, which started in the Piedmont and ended in Sicily, I met artisan food manufacturers. All were different, from different regions and different areas of specialization, but what they had in common was incredible dedication to, and belief in, making the absolute best foods possible.
At Pasta di Aldo in the Marche, Luigi Donnari told me that he wanted anyone who tasted his pasta to “become emotional”. Donatella DiPietro of Acetaia La Bonissima said that when you used her balsamic vinegar you were tasting the history of her family. In Sicily, beekeeper Vultaggio Agnese, a small, shy, bee-like man, spoke of the lifecycle of bees as though he were delivering a holy sermon. And the lovely, charismatic Stefania Callegari of I Liveri jams in Faenza, told us of how she started her business as a way to spend time in the kitchen cooking for family and friends, because that’s what makes her happiest.
There is a lot of good food in the world—a lot of great food, even. But when great food is produced with great love and passion, it is transformed into something more than simply something to eat—it becomes nourishment for the entire being, body and soul, heart and mind. The foods we imported last November fall into that category.
My nomination for the ultimate Valentine’s Day indulgence: the Amelia’s Trip to Italy Gift Box. Second choice: any item from our list of Italian Imports. For a special dinner with your loved one: Pasta di Aldo Papardelle with sautéed shrimp and truffle oil, followed by a salad of arugula and goat cheese dressed with Acetaia La Bonissima’s balsamic vinegar, and ending with chocolate from Antica Dolceria Bonajuto. The Italians will set the mood—the rest of the evening is up to you!
January 28th, 2010 in
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We get alot of questions here at the store about how to buy balsamic vinegar. It’s hard to go into a sermon about it quickly when the store is packed and everyone is pressed for time. But here is a great summary that might help you wade through the miriad of lexicons that you might have heard over the years.
Italians refer to real balsamic vinegar as tradizionale in contrast to industriale or artigianale which you will find on supermarket shelves. But don’t be fooled by the stuff on the supermarket shelves….it’s probably not the real thing. Real balsamic is never ever cheap. It is almost always expensive.
Why?
Real balsamic vinegar (tradizionale) is not a wine vinegar at all. It comes from grape must (juice). Briefly, here’s the process: Farmers grow the grapes (like Trebbiano and Lambrusco, to name a few), leaving them on the vine until the last possible moment to ensure great sweetness; then they press them and cook them down to a thick syrup; then the whole concoction is aged for more than 12 years in real wooden barrels made of oak, cherry, juniper and the like. The fermentation and aging is done, unlike with wine, open to the air to achieve even more concentration of flavors, and combined with the blending of older and younger vinegars in the process results in a perfectly balanced marriage of mellow, fruity-sweet vinegar and deep woodsy and spicy notes from the barrels.
So we’re talking a pretty sizable process and years of no return on investment for the artisan balsamic maker. Makes sense that a 250 ml bottle of the real stuff could cost upwards of $100 or more. Very expensive, to be sure, but also amazing.
So that’s real balsamic—but what’s a balsamic condiment? Condiments are close cousins but not quite the real thing. Through the careful process of fermentation, blending and aging (though usually less than 12 years), they can achieve a rich sweet flavor that comes very close to the real thing. Thick, rich and syrupy Villa Mandori comes to mind. Or one of our newest finds, Farmacia Oro–an amazing artisan produced condiment–is so good, you’d really think you were tasting the real thing. It’s truly incredible. (soon to be featured in our on line store.)
The cheapo stuff that you might find on a supermarket shelf, while perfectly fine for cooking or for a home made salad dressing is made only partly from grape must and unaged wine vinegar. And the brown color is usually from caramel not from the natural aging process in wooden barrels. The whole thing is aged about as long as it takes to get a boat from Italy to the U.S.
Our advice: steer toward Balsamic Condiments. Most are pretty darn good, have been aged for many years versus minutes, and are usually your best value. Plus, many condiments are artisan-produced and help the smaller economies around the world. Condiments will vary in price depending on age and manufacturer but you can get a good one for $25-$35 or so. That may seeem pricy but you only use a little so even a small bottle can last for months. Our two favorites are Villa Mandoori and the well known Cavalli. P
December 31st, 2009 in
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