One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.

Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

MRV Localvore Project 2008 Educational and Informational Activities

Workshops, Presentations, Socials, and Demonstrations

Tomato Chutney Social

Wednesday, August 13 5:00pm to 7:00pm at Robin McDermott's home in Waitsfield - $10 Material Fee  Register for the workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.  Class size is limited; advance registration is required.

Phoebe Garfinkel, food systems coordinator for Shelburne Farms, will teach us how she and her mom make tomato chutney each year at the peak of the tomato season.  The chutney is delicious with chicken, fish, lamb and stir-fried vegetables, or as an accompaniment on a cheese plate, but Phoebe loves it with Dominican Rice and Beans.   It also makes a great gift at Christmas time!

The chutney can be served fresh, frozen or it can be water bath canned which is how we will be doing it for the social so it is a great opportunity if you have never done canning to see how easy it is. 

There is a suggested $10 fee to cover materials.  The Localvore Project has scholarships available so if you need a scholarship to cover your fee, just ask!  All participants will leave with a jar of Tomato Chutney. 

Social:  Raising Chickens for Eggs

Monday, August 18 5:30pm to 6:30pm at Ellen Straus and Jim Sanford's home in Warren - FREE  Register for the free workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.

Most people don't believe there can be a BIG difference in the taste of eggs yet once you have a good one, you will never go back to pale yellow factory farm eggs.  Home grown, free range eggs simply cannot be beat in terms of color and flavor!  Ellen Strauss and Jim Sanford will host a social on raising egg laying hens.  They have been raising egg-laying hens on a backyard home-scale for many years.  The two gained Localvore notoriety in past Eat Local Challenges for eating food grown within a hundred YARDS of their home for the entire week so this is clearly a couple that other aspiring Localvores can learn a lot from. 

Social:  Preserving Tomatoes for the Winter

Tuesday, August 26 5:00pm to 7:00pm • Suggested $10 Material Fee • Register for the workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.  Class size is limited; advance registration is required.

Although it is fairly easy to grow tomatoes, our season in Vermont for fresh tomatoes is really short so it is wise to preserve some tomatoes for the long cold winter.  The great thing about tomatoes is that there are so many different ways to "put them up."  Many Localvores use a combination of techniques and that is what this social is all about.  Nancy Baron, Nancy Turner and Robin McDermott will share with you their favorite tomato preservation techniques including canning, freezing, roasting, and drying.  Participants will get to sample the results of each method and will go home with a jar of freshly canned tomatoes.

There is a suggested $10 fee to cover materials.  The Localvore Project has scholarships available so if you need a scholarship to cover your fee, just ask!  All participants will leave with a jar of canned. 

Social:  Elderberry Jelly

Wednesday, September 10 6:00pm to 8:00pm • Suggested $10 Material Fee • Register for the workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.  Class size is limited; advance registration is required.

Kate Stephenson will lead participants through the process of making Elderberry Jelly from picking to cooking to water bath canning. Participants will each take home a jar of homemade Elderberry Jelly and the knowledge and skills to make it at home on their own. There is a $10 material charge for the social payable at the workshop.

There is a suggested $10 fee to cover materials.  The Localvore Project has scholarships available so if you need a scholarship to cover your fee, just ask!  All participants will leave with a jar of elderberry jelly. 

Social:  Sauerkraut and Kimchi

Monday, September 15 5:00pm to 7:00pm at Nancy Baron's House in Warren • Suggested $10 Material Fee • Register for the workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.  Class size is limited; advance registration is required.

Learn how to use lacto-fermentation to preserve summer vegetables. We’ll make sauerkraut and kimchi, enough for everyone to bring home a jar of each. The suggested $10 donation covers the produce & materials. At Nancy Baron’s house in Warren.

There is a suggested $10 fee to cover materials.  The Localvore Project has scholarships available so if you need a scholarship to cover your fee, just ask!  All participants will leave with two jars of fermented vegetables. 

Social:  Applesauce and Chutney

Wednesday, September 23 5:00pm to 7:00pm • Suggested $10 Material Fee • Register for the workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.  Class size is limited; advance registration is required.

Nancy Turner and Carlene Ramus are going to show us how to make delicious applesauce and Chutney using wild apples gathered from around the Mad River Valley.  In addition, Carlene is going to demonstrate how to pressure can the applesauce.  This is a great opportunity to see pressure canning in action.  Carlene says it is really easy and since pressure canning is necessary for some vegetables, it makes sense for the serious Localvore to learn about it.

There is a suggested $10 fee to cover materials.  The Localvore Project has scholarships available so if you need a scholarship to cover your fee, just ask!  All participants will leave with one jar of canned applesauce and one jar of chutney. 

Social:  Cooking Under Pressure

Wednesday, October 8 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Robin McDermott's home in Waitsfield • FREE • Register for the workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.  Class size is limited; advance registration is required.

Kate Stephenson swears by her pressure cooker and here is why - Kate is a busy person who has a full time job, continues her education on the weekends and still manages to eat local for most of her meals.  Usually she does not have hours to spend in the kitchen cooking.  Yet, she likes great food and does a lot of cooking and food prep.  So, the pressure cooker is a natural fit for her lifestyle.  A pressure cooker is your grandmothers answer to the microwave.  With it, she was able to whip up a hearty and deeply flavored stew in under an hour or a batch of beans in even less time.  Yet, we have all heard the stories of pressure cookers blowing up and exploding food all over the kitchen.  Kate is going to show us how to safely use a pressure cooker to quickly prepare local meals that the whole family will enjoy.

Social:  Community Cider Pressing

Saturday, October 11 at Mike and Kristie Ketchels in Warren • FREE - everyone should bring apples • Register for the workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions

If wild apples are as abundant this year as they were last, this should be a great family activity!  Bring some wild apples along with you and see a real cider press in action as we churn out gallon after gallon of fresh, natural and FREE apple cider!

There is no charge for this social, but everyone is encouraged to bring a supply of wild apples to contribute to the cause.

Workshop/Social Registration

Past Workshops

March 15, 2008 11am to 12 noon  Season Extension - Keeping your garden producing YEAR-round ***FREE***

Learn about the season extension techniques that Valley resident Gene Fialkoff uses to grow greens in his Bragg Hill vegetable garden throughout most of the winter. Gene has a greenhouse that covers his summer garden starting in the late fall and he can harvest hardy greens like spinach, collard greens, kale, and mache on even the coldest days in January. Come see Gene's set-up and get tips for growing your own greens in the winter. The workshop should last about an hour. It is free and all are welcome. To register and for directions, call Robin at 496-3567 or register on-line.

March 30, 2008 1pm to 3pm Backyard Sugaring Social  ***FREE***

Localvores Nancy Turner and Dave Cain are at it again and this time they are making maple syrup!  Come see Nancy and Dave's backyard sugaring operation, learn how they collect sap, and check out their home-scale evaporator.  Nancy and Dave have inspired many in the valley to make their own pickles, sauerkraut and yogurt as well as start their own gardens and now they want to share what they have learned about sugaring with other aspiring do-it-yourselfers!  It is free and all are welcome. To register and for directions, call Robin at 496-3567 or register on-line.

Foraging Wild Edibles Safely and Sustainably

Wednesday April 30th, 7pm to 8:30pm at Lareau Farm Inn - FREE

In the spring we are craving fresh grown food and since our gardens aren't producing yet it is tempting to rush outside and start foraging for wild edibles.  However, we have stories right here in the Mad River Valley of people getting sick either from misidentification or improper preparation of foraged foods.  And, of course, there is also always a concern about how much you need to leave behind to be sure that the plants return in coming years.  So, before we all run out into our fields and woods to gather food, Annie McCleary, director of the Wisdom of the Herbs School in East Calais, is going to show and tell us how to safely and sustainably harvest wild food.  T

Season Extension:  Coldframes

Saturday, May 10 10:00 to 11:30am at Nancy Turner and Dave Cain's Place - FREE

Register for the free workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.

Cold frames can be purchased, but they are easy and inexpensive to make by using cheap or free salvaged materials. Dave Cain and Nancy Turner, Waitsfield residents and Localvores, have been experimenting with cold frames for the past few years and now want to share their success with others. On Saturday, May 10th Dave and Nancy will host a cold frame workshop at their home from 10am to 11:30am. In the workshop Dave will focus on the various options for creating cold frames from arranging strawbales with a window pane to building or buying a more elaborate version out of wood. He will also discuss the principles of a coldframe including the conditions that a cold frame creates and how it fosters growth by protecting and warming the soil and plants. The pair will also talk about management of the coldframe and their process of moving and starting seedlings in the frame in the spring.

Grass-fed Lamb:  What it is and how to grow your own

Friday, May 16 4pm to 6pm at Knoll Farm - FREE - Call Knoll Farm at 496-5690 to register.

Come visit Knoll Farm's newborn lambs and their flock of about 50 registered Icelandic Sheep. Have you entertained the idea of raising a small flock of sheep to mow your open land and provide you with healthy winter food? Or are you wondering what makes grass-fed meat healthier for the land and for you? Helen Whybrow and Peter Forbes of Knoll Farm will explain the benefits of eating and raising grass-fed meat, demonstrate their own methods of raising lambs for market and also talk about the heritage breed of Icelandic sheep and how to raise your own without a barn.

Wild Edibles Walk, Discussion and Tasting

Wednesday, May 28th, 4:30-8:30pm at Knoll Farm - $25 per person

PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED • LIMITED TO 20 PEOPLE • Call Knoll Farm at 496-5690 to register.

Join wild edible legends Nova Kim and Les Hook for an informative wild edibles walk around the Knoll Farm beginning at 4:30. After the walk, Chef David Hoene of Pauline’s Restaurant in Burlington, will demonstrate how to safely and deliciously prepare wild edibles. A tasting and further discussion will follow. Nova and Les are renowned foragers with over 80 years combined experience hunting the woods and fields of Vermont for wild foods and medicines.  They supply six high-end VT restaurants, a CSA for wild foods, and fulfill much of their own food and health needs with the fruits of their gathering. Much of Nova and Les' lives have been spent teaching and advocating for the woods and all the other beings.  For more information on Nova and Les, click here.

Rain or Shine. Suggested donation $25 per person.

Deans Mountain Permaculture Farm and Homestead Tour in Moretown

Thursday, June 5, 5:30-7pm at the homestead of Ben Falk and Kristen Getler in Moretown - FREE  - Register for this tour on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.

Come tour the regeneration of a Vermont hillside farm! Ben and Kristen’s 10-acre site located on Deans Mountain in Moretown serves as combined homestead and land-use proving ground for perennial food, material and energy systems. Now 5-years underway, the once over-grazed sheep farm is the scene of 3 ponds, 1000+ square feet of annual gardens, ~100 fruit, nut and timber-bearing shrubs and trees, morel mushroom patches, stump and log mushroom cultivation, soil-building experiments and natural building systems. We will tour the pair’s efforts to create a rich, diverse, and durable homestead through:

·         Biointensive annual and perennial gardens

·         Creation of microclimates for hot-loving crops using terraforming, water, and stone

·         Use of ponds for ecological restoration, food yield, climate-buffering, recreation, and daylighting

·         Degraded land and heavy clay soil building techniques

·         Low and no-mow groundcovers

·         Minor fruit and mushroom production

·         Rainwater harvesting, drip irrigation and keyline agriculture

·         Biodiverse perennial tree crop establishment

·         Edible and fuel-wood producing living fences

·         And more!

Ben and Kristen hope you can join them for a tour and discussion of successes and lessons learned from this experimental landscape designed for a changing climate. for more information on their homestead, click here.  See their homestead.

Dinner at Mary's at Baldwin Creek, Tour of Greenhouses, and presentation on Vermont's Culinary History

Friday, June 13, 5:15pm to 8:30pm at Mary's Restaurant at the Inn at Baldwin Creek in Bristol - $25 (+tax and tip) per person includes a three course dinner, a special Localvore tour of the hoop houses, and a talk by food author Marialisa Calta.  Reservations required - call (888) 424–2432.

Vermont at the Plate: Tracing Vermont's Food History  Cookbook author, food journalist and Vermont Life food editor, Marialisa Calta of Calais, Vermont traces Vermont's culinary history - from salt pork and milk gravy to braised pork bellies. Come hear how Vermont transformed itself into a "foodie state". www.marialisacalta.com.  Special Guided Tour of our Hoop Houses with Chef Doug Mack before the Table Talk: 5:15. The tour is free, but reservations necessary.

Growing Great Greens Workshop

Friday, June 20th, 5:15 to 7:15pm at Aaron Locker and Suzanne Slomin's garden in Waitsfield - FREE  - Register for this free workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.

One of the fastest and therefore most rewarding things that beginning vegetable gardeners can grow is salad greens. They grow fast (from seeding to plate it can take a little as 30 days), can be harvested as needed (for unsurpassed freshness) and the mix can be customized to suit one's palette.

Although growing salad greens does not require a lot of land and will not make one a slave to the garden, there are still some important growing tips that help ensure a healthy bounty of lettuces throughout the summer using organic growing methods. Aaron Locker and Suzanne Slomin, Valley newcomers who farmed commercially for several years in central New York and Western Massachusetts, will conduct a workshop on Growing Great Greens on Friday, June 20 at 5:15 at their home garden in Waitsfield. After showing how to grow the greens, Suzanne, who also has years of restaurant experience, will show attendees how to make the most of their greens by preparing a simple vinaigrette and properly dressing the salad.

Rootcellar Tour

Sunday, June 22nd, 4:00 to 5:00pm at Bob and Nancy Baron's home in Warren - FREE  - Register for this free workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.

Now is the time to start thinking about how you can store food for this coming winter - while you still have time to plan for a root cellar.  Nancy and Bob Baron did it last summer and enjoyed to "fruits" of their labor throughout this past winter.  They took a corner of their basement and retrofitted it into a root cellar.  In the process they learned about the importance of humidity, temperature, and airflow in keeping their carrots, potatoes, beets, turnips and celeriac as fresh as possible.  They also learned what NOT to store in the root cellar, such as winter squash, onions, and garlic. 

Bob will share with participants the basic principles of a root cellar.  Although Bob and Nancy had a space in their basement for the root cellar, the principles they applied to build theirs can be used to fashion a makeshift rootcellar in a cold section of your house or garage.

Homestead Tour and Yak Farm Visit

Thursday, June 26th, 5 to 7pm at Rob and Kate Williams' homestead in Waitsfield - FREE  - Register for this free tour on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.

Rob and Kate Williams have a wonderful little homestead right in their backyard in Waitsfield that we thought fellow Localvores would love to see. On a surprisingly small piece of land (basically their backyard) they have egg laying hens and grow a lot of their own veggies in beds around their house. They also have a cute little greenhouse that gives them a jump start on the season and they recently planted several fruit trees. If you are wondering how you can possibly grow anything to eat on a postage stamp of a backyard, you will be inspired by the Williams' homestead.

The tour will be on Thursday, June 26 from 5 to 6pm and then we will hop in our cars and head over to Steadfast Farm to visit the Yaks and learn about Vermont Yak Company from 6 to 7pm. You can attend one segment of the tour or both.  Rob and Kate are even tempting us with sample yak meat tastings!  To learn more or register for the homestead tour, click here. 

Social:  Raising Chickens for Meat

Thursday, July 17 5:00pm to 6:00pm at Joan Rae and Paul Sipples Home in Fayston - FREE  Register for the free workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.

One of the benefits of raising chickens for meat is that you get them as chicks and in only about two months they grow to the perfect size, you slaughter them, freeze them, and you are done for the year.  Hosts Joan Rae and Paul Sipple who will show how each summer they raise and slaughter enough meat birds to feed themselves and another family throughout the winter. Attendees will be able to see this summers flock of new chicks and will learn from Joan how they care for the birds over their short lives and then work with a professional who comes to their home to slaughter and process the chickens. This social will be held at Joan and Paul's home in Fayston on July 17 from 5:00pm to 6:00pm.

Blueberry Jam Social - ****CLASS IS FULL****

Thursday, July 31 10am to 12noon • Suggested $10 Material Fee • Register for the workshop on-line or call Robin at 496-3567.  When you register we will provide you with directions.  Class size is limited to 8 people; advance registration is required.

Several people have asked us to do a workshop on making jam with local honey as the sweetener instead of sugar and Sally Kendall of Little Hands Farm has offered to do just that!

At this social you will help make a batch of blueberry jam made with honey and then seal it using a water bath canning method. Each participant will take home a jar of the jam and the knowledge and confidence to make more at home.

Homemade blueberry jam is delicious on toast is a delicious way to remember the summer on a snowy winter morning and also makes a beautiful Christmas gift.

There is a suggested $10 fee to cover materials.  The Localvore Project has scholarships available so if you need a scholarship to cover your fee, just ask!  All participants will leave with a jar of canned. 

Special Note: While there is not "childcare" available, Sally asked us to mention that she has a 5 year old daughter Anda who would love to have a play companion or two while the social is going on so please register by phone (496-3567) if you would like to bring your child of a similar age.