Editor's Letter: Fall 2018
My favorite time of year is finally here: the transition to indoor living after months spent largely outside. When the days yield a heartbreaking clarity of light (albeit for fewer hours), the night sky sparkles with a cajillion stars, and wood smoke drifts languidly through the air. After an unusually warm summer, crisp days are a balm for the soul. We put the gardens to bed, roll up the hoses and stack the woodpile. Trips to the farmers’ market or CSA pickups proffer the solid bounty that will see us through the coming months. Potatoes, winter squash, onions, leeks, beets, carrots and turnips. Our thoughts turn to nourishing and hearty soups, stews and casseroles. Roasting, braising, slow cooking, baking. ’Tis the season indeed!
Accordingly, this late-fall issue celebrates cooking at home. Sas Stewart, cofounder of Stonecutter Spirits in Middlebury, welcomes us into her home; she shares some tips on easy entertaining with recipes for pitcher cocktails and small bites that can be made ahead of time and stowed in the freezer. Lynn Ellen Schimoler, who oversees the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative of Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, is our Edible Voices guest; she explains how 25 years managing natural food markets and co-ops helped her segue into her new role. Millissa Frost reveals to Laura Sorkin the ins and outs of being a recipe tester, while Corey Burdick highlights how the Good Food Truck, a program of the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, helps alleviate hunger by preparing and delivering meals to six sites around greater Burlington.
Tracey Medeiros sings the praises of the humble Brussels sprout (high in protein? Who knew??) and suggests pairing them with a creamy sriracha dipping sauce. For our Recipe Box, which features duck, we invited Keith and Lisa Drinkwine of Flatlander Farm to share their foolproof method of roasting a duck. The Drinkwines raise 400 pastured ducks, so we definitely appreciate their expertise! Rose and Anatoly Polyakov of Shelburne’s Heart of the Village Inn offer a surprisingly simple way to make duck confit accompanied by potatoes Sarladaise. Lastly, we hit the bookstore and review four new and noteworthy books perfect for inspired reading and cooking.
However you spend your late-fall and winter months, count your blessings for the myriad riches that surround us here in Vermont. As Sas Stewart observes, “This spirit of sharing and working together is unique to Vermont, where people will slog through every hardship to make the things they’re passionate about.”
Cheers to that! And in keeping with that spirit of collaboration, please thank our loyal advertisers who make this publication possible.
Happy cooking!
Maria Buteux Reade | Managing Editor
