I will admit that until a few weeks ago I had never heard of burrata. This dreamy sphere of fresh mozzarella stuffed with a decadent creamy filling originated in Puglia, Italy. The story goes that cheese makers needed a way to use up small bits of mozzarella and began making burrata in the 1920′s. Continue reading
Posted in Vermont
Vermont Cheesemakers Festival at Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Vermont
The 5th annual Vermont Cheesemakers Festival was held on July 21, 2013 and for the first time, I was able to go! This event sells out every year, so I ordered my ticket online before I left California. The day turned out to be the most perfect Vermont summer’s day that I can remember! Continue reading
Mimi Avocado Visits Cabot Creamery in Cabot, Vermont
Last Saturday I drove out to Cabot, Vermont to see the Cabot Creamery. It has been many years since I’ve been there…33 to be exact. The last time I went to Cabot was in 1981 when my then-boyfriend had come to Vermont to meet my family. We bought an old fashioned wheel of special Cabot cheddar cheese to take back to California, and shared it on the day we announced our engagement to his family.
- Here we are in 1981, cutting our wheel of Cabot cheddar cheese at the avocado ranch in California. We carried that cheese in our suitcase, all the way to California from Cabot, Vermont!
If you are ever in central Vermont, plan to take the beautiful drive through the greenest fields and forests that you’ll ever see. Enjoy the old farmsteads with manicured lawns, magnificent flower gardens, picturesque villages, forests, streams…and the bluish purple mountains that layer themselves in the changing light from early morning to late evening. Drive up into the hillside village of Cabot, Vermont to find the historic creamery Continue reading
Susie’s Blueberry Tart: A Summertime Treat!
It’s summertime in Vermont, and that means blueberries! There are several blueberry bushes in my mother’s yard, but we have never seen many berries on them. I was so surprised when I arrived for my summertime visit and walked around the yard. Those bushes are loaded with plump, juicy berries this year! With all the rain this summer, farmers have had trouble planting corn, but the blueberry growers are thrilled! Our local TVl news station even did a story about blueberries: how the rain has been great for them and how a flock of birds will fly in and devour an entire crop of berries in a few hours.
Have you ever read the children’s classic Blueberries for Sal? My mother read us that book, and to this day I can’t pick blueberries without thinking about that story.
With blueberries ripening it’s the perfect time to bring out the recipe for blueberry tart that we have enjoyed for many years. Continue reading
From California to Vermont: Avocados are the Perfect Gift!
It’s amazing to know that the avocados in that box were still on the trees in California on Monday morning…and today is Wednesday, and they have arrived by mail in Vermont. ! And today I’m in Vermont too!
I know those avocados were picked Monday because I could hear the clatter of the ladders being moved as I enjoyed my coffee on Monday morning at home on the avocado ranch. (Yes, we call it a ranch!) I knew I would be traveling to Vermont to visit my mother on a red-eye flight that evening. I planned to carry some avocados in my luggage that were picked last week…so they would be ripe for the weekend. But I also wanted to order a gift box from our family farm business called California Avocados Direct. Continue reading
