comfort food thursday: the carbonara

mr. frederickson has some pretty fantastic friends. legendarily fantastic in fact. however, i have to say the best thing about said friends is the women they have all chosen to share their lives with. it is such a treat when you get to meet such fabulous folks through the wise and romantic choices of yourself and others, don't you think?

anyway, i digress. as the real purpose of this post is to share with you one of vermont's culinary masterpieces introduced to me just last weekend by one of these friends. so here is how it all unfolded...

the backstory: our friends have a terrific tradition of coming to the woods for a few days in february. this year, the group was better than ever and we wined (and LITed) and dined until the cows came home. but the final meal of the weekend was at storm cafe - an adorable little bistro on the bank of otter creek that, to the astonishment of our out of town friends, neither mr. frederickson or i had been there for dinner. they were appauled. so from that moment they learned of this, the lofty expectations were set and the anticipation began for what was apparently the world's best penne carbonara. (a sub par recipe can be found here)

the meal: they did not lie. it was life changing. and i too will be dreaming about this cheesy goodness until next year...cause even though it is in our backyard, i am certain it tastes better with friends. fantastic friends help too.

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happy {hockey} weekend!

i don't have any idea how it snuck up on me so fast, but it's here. hockey season is already here! yes, that's right, tonight marks opening night of the college hockey season up in these parts and i could not be more excited!

admittedly i know very little about the sport, but this team in particular represents so many things i love that i can't help but be excited. i love the experience of it all. i love the way the community comes together. i love the people watching - from toddlers in mini jerseys running in circles in the stands, to the teenage girls drooling over the cutest new players. i love the loyal fans who have sat in the same seats for as long as they can remember. i love that there is another whole community that supports the team from behind the scenes. but mostly, i love how cute mr. frederickson looks barking at his players from behind the bench. and i love that his parents come and still cheer for the guy who wears the number he wore back in his glory days. (#37)

so, see, even for a non-hockey fan....it's a great season. a really great one.

wish us luck (-:

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i spy cartography.

this is simply the coolest thing ever.

i love maps and i love the i spy personals in seven days - where folks can write in about missed opportunities, unrequited love, and crushes in general and it is often specific to location - ie. "the smile that you flashed me with my breakfast sandwich at hunger mtn coop more than made up for forgetting the tomato. i would love to see you again in something other than your chef whites"

and marty schnure, a geography major from middlebury college, combined the two into the most clever and eye catching map i have ever seen. she describes this creation as “a spatial representation of something not often thought of in spatial terms, or as mappable data: human interactions.”

marty's i spy map is a finalist in the national bizarre map challenge. click here to view the maps and vote for your favorite. just make sure to do it by april 26, at 3pm vt standard time.

if the image alone hasn't captured your attention just listen to her reasoning behind it...“(i chose this i spy map) because it is both unique to vermont and universal; while the map is ostensibly very regional, it transcends its regionalism by representing universally recognizable human needs and wants: connection, intimacy, infatuation, making eye contact with the cutie in the produce section, etc.”

yet another brilliant vermonter among us.

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sweet memorabilia & memories.

with march almost behind us, the days where i can muse about the joy of sugaring here in vermont and overuse awkward puns about life being sappy & sweet are quickly fading. however, i am hoping some online searching for these antique sugaring tins to start my collection will help me ease into the next season. ebay, here i come!

i am also hoping that looking at this picture (taken this weekend at the magical bread loaf view farm in cornwall, vt) will help me hang on to my weekend glow and remind me that the sun will shine again - even though today it feels like the rain will go on forever...

hope you are having the sweetest of mondays!

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outhouse love?

question: when was the last time a port-a-potty or outhouse made someone you know smile?

correct answer: me, last night. i mean what is not to love about this little buidling?

outhouse perfection if you ask me.bread loaf view farm, cornwall, vermont

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two b's.

my love affair with vermont officially began on a blustery november night at two brother's tavern. we fell in love over chilled pints of wolaver's ipa, heaping plates of sweet potato fries and pulled pork sandwiches. magic was in the air that night - something about the smells, the sounds, the people, the bartender - and years later, the magic returns every time i walk through the steamed glass doors.
from that point on, the bar was set. and every pub, tavern, and bar in the world will be held to the same irrationally high standards. and these standards can be blamed on two men in particular, the one in the sweatshirt on the bar stool next to me and the one in the suspenders behind the bar.

so, next time you find yourself in middlebury, vt - go in and pay a visit. and if you get a chance, tell beal that i said hi. he won't say much, but his smile will tell you that there just might be some love waiting there for you too.

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