the 251 club.

• random fact #1: there are two hundred and fifty one towns in vermont.
• random fact #2: the town of lewis, in the northeast kingdom, is the hardest town to find as it has no highways, definitive markers, or people. the town is home to moose, bear, fisher cats, and other wildlife.
• random fact #3: there is a club is dedicated to exploring each and everyone of these communities, aptly named the 251 club. it costs $7 to join and operates on the honor system.
• random fact #4: i will be joining immediately. this might be the greatest, most aspirational to do list of all time. and you know i love a to do list.

in case you were wonderfing the 251 to do list towns are:

addison, albany, alburgh, andover, arlington, athens, averill, bakersfield, baltimore, barnard, barnet, barre city, barre town, barton, belvidere, bennington, benson, berkshire, berlin, bethel, bloomfield, bolton, bradford, braintree, brandon, brattleboro, bridgewater, bridport, brighton, bristol, brookfield, brookline, brownington, brunswick, burke, burlington, cabot, calais, cambridge, canaan, castleton, cavendish, charleston, charlotte, chelsea, chester, chittenden, clarendon, colchester, concord, corinth, cornwall, coventry, craftsbury, danby, danville, derby, dorset, dover, dummerston, duxbury, east haven, east montpelier, eden, elmore, enosburg, essex, fair haven, fairfax, fairfield, fairlee, fayston, ferdinand, ferrisburg, fletcher, franklin, georgia, glastenbury, glover, goshen, grafton, granby, grand isle, granville, greensboro, groton, guildhall, guilford, halifax, hancock, hardwick, hartford, hartland, highgate, hinesburg, holland, hubbardton, huntington, hyde park, ira, irasburg, isle, la motte, jamaica, jay, jericho, johnson, killington, kirby, landgrove, leicester, lemington, lewis, lincoln, londonderry, lowell, ludlow, lunenburg, lyndon, maidstone, manchester, marlboro, marshfield, mendon, middlebury, middlesex, middletown springs, milton, monkton, montgomery, montpelier, moretown, morgan, morristown, mount holly, mount tabor, new haven, newark, newbury, newfane, newport city, newport town, north hero, northfield, norton, norwich, orange, orwell, panton, pawlet, peacham, peru, pittsfield, pittsford, plainfield, plymouth, pomfret, poultney, pownal, proctor, putney, randolph, reading, readsboro, richford, richmond, ripton, rochester, rockingham, roxbury, royalton, rupert, rutland city, rutland town, ryegate, saint albans, city, saint albans town, saint george, saint johnsbury, salisbury, sandgate, searsburg, shaftsbury, sharon, sheffield, shelburne, sheldon, shoreham, shrewsbury, somerset, south burlington, south hero, springfield, stamford, stannard, starksboro, stockbridge, stowe, strafford, stratton, sudbury, sunderland, sutton, swanton, thetford, tinmouth, topsham, townshend, troy, tunbridge, underhill, vergennes, vernon, vershire, victory, waitsfield, walden wallingford, waltham, wardsboro, warren, washington, waterbury, waterford, waterville, weathersfield, wells, west fairlee, west haven, west rutland, west windsor, westfield, westford, westminster, westmore, weston, weybridge, wheelock, whiting, whitingham, williamstown, williston, wilmington, windham, windsor, winhall, winooski, wolcott, woodbury, woodford, woodstock and worcester.

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forest heavens.

it's that time of year. the time when the temperature during the day climbs ever so carefully above freezing and the earth breathes a sigh of relief that it can relax and warm up a bit. but what that means for the rest of us is simple, we must welcome the frost heaves and the signage that accompanies them.for the next few weeks the roads will be posted with signs as seen above - signifying a bumpy ride ahead (and trust me, bumpy is often an understatement) but for me, this sign reminds me of my childhood, when the ride in the backseat of our volvo stationwagon felt like a roller coaster and my little brother, who was just learning to read, pronounced these bumps in the road to be "forest heavens." a name that has managed to stay with us and will always make me smile.

so, in the next few weeks, i challenge you to take a wrong turn and drive down a bumpy dirt road - you never know where the forest heavens might lead...

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grilled cheese cook-off.

so, since my last post i have done a little (ok, a lot) of research about grilled cheese sandwiches, since it is such an obvious addition to chicken noodle soup. and that's when i made the most amazing discovery of all...

...vermont has a grilled cheese cook off. that's right. it is held every june at the strolling of the heffers weekend in brattleboro. so mark your calendars, for june 4-6th, 2010. grilled cheese heaven, here we come!

just to get your mouth watering a bit, here is a sample of last year's winning recipes. all made with fresh, local, vermont ingredients. now i have to decide what to make tonight. decisions, decisions...

taste of vermont’s seasons goodness
what you need:
2 slices pane siciliano bread from la panciata
1 tbls. cabot creamery butter
2 oz. vermont shephard cheese
2 oz. grafton 2-yr. cheddar
2 each thinly sliced fresh pear
½ tsp. vermont honey
2.5 oz. cob smoked harrington's vermont ham (shaved)
½ tsp. 5-grain mustard
what you do:
lightly butter 2 slices of bread. sauté fresh pear in 1 tsp. butter for 1 minute, add honey – remove from heat. slice cheese thinly – place cheddar on non buttered side of bread. add pear. add ham and spread mustard on ham. top with vermont shepherd and buttered bread. grill until evenly browned and crispy. cut on diagonal (very important) serves 1.

mad good grilled cheese sandwich

what you need:
1 lb. grafton 2 yr cheddar
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced fine
½ cup roasted red peppers, chopped fine(about one fresh roasted)
⅓ cup toasted pecans, chopped fine
1 Tbls. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. tabasco sauce (or more to taste)
1 large handful minced parsley
8 slices red hen mad river grain bread
butter for frying
what you do:
blend softened cream cheese with all ingredients except the grafton cheddar, stir in the cheddar. heap a generous amount onto bread. heat butter in heavy pan, add sandwich and fry each side over medium low heat till melted and browned. serves: 4-6, depending on who is loading them.

south-of-the-border grilled flatbread, vermont style
what you need:
1 12” against the grain gourmet 3-cheese pizza shell
4 oz. neighborly farms chipotle cheddar cheese, grated
2 tbls. refried black beans
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (vermont smoke and cure, thick sliced)
2-3 tbls. cilantro vinaigrette (1 tbls. fresh chopped cilantro, 2 parts oil, 1 part white balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper to taste)
what you do:
prepare cilantro vinaigrette ahead of time for optimum flavor. cut pizza shell into halves. brush the top surface of each half liberally with cilantro vinaigrette. spread a thin layer of refried black beans on the bottom surface of one half, and top with grated cheese and bacon crumbles. close the flatbread sandwich and place on grill. Grill for 4-5 minutes until the cheese is melted and shell is toasted with golden grill marks. cut into quarters with pizza cutter to serve. serves: 4

the apple snap

what you need:
2 slices vermont bread's organic white bread
4 slices grafton-5 star cheddar cheese
3-4 slices tart apple (honey crisp, empire, etc.)
1 ½ tbsp. caramelized onions
what you do:
caramelize onions. peel and slice apple. grate cheese. melt butter in pan. grill sandwich. serves 1.

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hometown hero.

the first usa olympic gold goes to....

...vermont's own hannah kearney!!
congratulations!!!

(she may have trumped the rest of us, and had the best day ever - but VERY well deserved)

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spilled milk.

today is national don't cry over spilled milk day

best national holiday ever* because today, the holiday czar** is reminding us to "stop worrying about the little things, the everyday things out of our control. things happen, don't worry, or fret or cry, just get over it..."

the holiday czar is quite smart.

although, if i could make one complaint, it is that no one seems to have any idea where the spilled milk phrase came from. although, if i had to guess, it would be from one of the fantastic dairy farms in vermont. which is precisely what i will spend the rest of the day researching...stay tuned.

*that is an unfairly dramatic and untrue statement. there are better holidays. thanksgiving, please accept my apologies.

**in my next life, i want to be the crazy lady that sits on a porch swing somewhere and helps the holiday czar think up national holidays - like national spilled milk day, national waffle day and national dance like a chicken day....

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valentine's day phantom.

vermont has a phantom. a valentine's day phantom.

here is what we know...
his date of attack: february 14th
his location: montpelier, vermont
his weapon: thousands of red paper hearts
his true identity: unknown

clearly this phantom (aka the love bandit) is no ordinary phantom. this phantom writes poetry, has a theme song, a youtube video, a facebook fan page AND has single handedly turned the word heart into a verb. forget cupid, vermont's valentine's day phantom is sooo much cooler.
so this weekend, if you can't make it to montpelier, be your own phantom and heart your home town. red construction paper is a powerful weapon.

"all you need is love. love is all you need."

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happy birthday, norman.

"without thinking too much about it in specific terms,

I was showing the america i knew and observed

to others who might not have noticed."

- norman rockwell

the beloved norman rockwell was born on this day in 1894, so today would have marked his 116th birthday. though stockbridge, ma is where he spent much of his life and where the official museum is located, he spent nearly 20 years of his life in arlington, vt and many consider these years to have been the most profound and fruitful of his career and where his work first began to reflect small town american life.

luckily, the berkshires haven't stolen all the rockwell fame. the norman rockwell museum in rutland, vt is the largest collection of his vermont works and magazine covers. and one of the norman's longtime friends and boy scout models, james "buddy" edgerton currently resides in south burlington, vt and recently co-authored a book of stories and recollections from his childhood entitled "the unknown rockwells"

so, thank you, norman for everything. and, if i may say so, i think, if you were still with us, you would be proud to be painting life in vermont, circa 2010.

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