The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook

BY TRACEY MEDEIROS
PUBLISHED BY COUNTRYMAN PRESS, 2023

Fiddlehead Quiche. Pan-Roasted Berkshire Pork Chops with Vermont Ice Cider. Bayley Hazen Blue Cheesecake with Hazelnut Crust and Poached Pears. Celeriac, Fennel, and Leek Chowder Baked in Winter Squash. Vermont Spirited Apple Ice Cream. Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Chèvre and Sautéed Ramps served with Pickled Ramps and Rhubarb Gastrique.

It’s hard to fathom that a decade has passed since Tracey Medeiros captivated readers with her acclaimed The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook. This spring, she rolls out the 10th anniversary edition of this treasured ode to all things lusciously Vermont. The 84 farmers, chefs, and food producers profiled in the book each contributed these rustic yet refined, unmistakably Green Mountain–inspired dishes.

Tracey’s book is a love letter to those who work the land and prepare nourishing meals from Vermont’s bounty. Portraits of working farmers and chefs, timeless scenes of farms and barns, lush pastures, and meandering country lanes celebrate the rural lifestyle. Other mouthwatering photographs capture colorful produce, artfully arranged salads, and farm-centric entrées prepared in rustic earthenware or well-loved cast iron. Readers can visually savor the yeasty warmth emanating from a basket of just-baked dinner rolls, or imagine dipping a spoon into a bowl of bright green spring pea soup.

Tracey has long been a proponent of Vermont’s small, independent farms, and she lauds the state as a respected role model, both nationally and internationally.

How does this new tome differ from the original? In addition to 12 new contributors and 24 fresh recipes, Tracey believes the themes of hope, resilience, love, and community come across in every story. “When readers open the book, they will feel so much love. The people featured here have an unshakeable faith in what they do and prepare. They plant seeds with no guarantee of yield; they create wellness for their communities; they keep the Vermont agricultural lifestyle and traditions alive. And they have been so generous with their stories, their recipes, their photographs.”

“I look at food as an expression of art or music, and each contributor adds depth to the finished piece,” Tracey says. If she views recipes as edible stories, then this anniversary edition contains 125 delicious tales that feature seasonal produce, dairy, meats, poultry, seafood, desserts, and drinks. One of Tracey’s greatest joys is having the opportunity to get to know each of the 84 farmers, chefs, and food producers she highlights, and she shares the stories of how their varied operations have evolved during the last decade.

Tracey has long been a proponent of Vermont’s small, independent farms, and she lauds the state as a respected role model, both nationally and internationally. She notes that “Vermont, like the rest of the country, has weathered a variety of ups and downs during the past 10 years. Yet through it all, the Green Mountain State remains true to its mission of preserving its agricultural system while continuing to promote local farms and businesses.” She sees this book as a “culinary tribute to farmers, chefs, and food producers and to their resilience. I have a duty to help promote these hardworking people who do so much to bring health and wellness to their communities.”

“Vermont has always been ahead of the curve, and I find that people in the food realm are so inspiring.” –Tracey Medeiros

Health and wellness are essential to Tracey, whose love of cooking as a child pointed her to a culinary arts diploma from Johnson & Wales University. Yet rather than pursue a career as a chef, she put her culinary passion to use in food media. Her first book, Dishing Up Vermont, was inspired by the Vermont Fresh Network and published in 2008. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of that book was donated to the Vermont Foodbank. Tracey also served as a journalist for the Colchester Sun and Essex Reporter newspapers where she penned a column that told the stories of Vermont farmers, chefs, and food producers. Those columns generated significant public interest and became the genesis for her second cookbook, The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook, which came out in 2013. The Vermont Non-GMO Cookbook arrived in 2017.

“Vermont has always been ahead of the curve, and I find that people in the food realm are so inspiring,” she says. “The folks featured in these cookbooks all represent hope, resilience, and love of community. They speak and show their love through the food they grow, cook, or produce. Farmers and chefs create solid networks, and everyone helps one another because they understand that collaborating makes the challenges seem a little less daunting. I feel so fortunate to be part of this vibrant Vermont food community that spreads throughout the state. I’m deeply appreciative that these people trusted me with their stories and enabled me to have a platform. My thank you in return is to give public recognition and love back to them through my writing and publications.” 

• traceymedeiros.com

The Art of Cooking with Cannabis: CBD and THC-Infused Recipes from Across America

By Tracey Medeiros

Skyhorse Publishing, 2021
 

Tracey Medeiros’ other recent work, The Art of Cooking with Cannabis, was published in 2021 amidst the pandemic. What sparked her interest in this topic? “Cannabis has become part of our world since it has been legalized in many states, including Vermont. I wanted to learn more about this ingredient from a health and wellness perspective,” she explains. “Cannabis is a beautiful plant with multiple wellness and healing properties. In preparing the book, I interviewed people who told stories of how the plant helps them manage various cancers, seizures, chronic pain, and even psoriasis. I spoke with craft growers, private chefs, and dispensaries who work with the products responsibly. This book invites readers to develop an appreciation for cannabis as a legitimate culinary ingredient, not merely a recreational drug. This is not a stoner cookbook by any means.”

As the book’s subtitle indicates, many of the recipes include CBD or THC carefully modulated as an ingredient that enhances a dish. Chicken Kale Meatballs with CBDInfused Cherry Tomato and Pesto Sauces. Raw Sweet Corn and Cashew Chowder. Avocado Mash with Nori and Cucumber. Vegan No-Bake Cashew Cheese Cake. These unique and delicious dishes would be welcome on any table, with or without the cannabis.

Tracey laughed as she recounted anecdotes of getting the book off the ground in early 2020. “I was still in the research and writing process when the pandemic hit. I couldn’t travel as I had planned, and it even became challenging to get basic ingredients such as flour for the recipes I was developing! But we found ways to make it work, just like everyone else had to do with their lives and businesses.” She says the response from the public and the press has been incredibly positive and encouraging. “People see this is a unique, serious, and beautiful book that honors the wellness aspects of the plant.”