Bacon, Lettuce, and Burrata

Local Food: Maplebrook Farm in Bennington introduces locally produced burrata cheese, a kind of stuffed mozzarella that has the softest, most buttery center of fresh cream. Steven carefully places this Italian-style delicacy between layers of baked Empire apples from Champlain Orchards, with crispy bacon from Pete's Greens in the middle. It is served with a salad of greens from Old Barn Farm and drizzled with a cranberry gastrique with a hint of vinegar to add a touch of tartness. Buttered Troika three seed croutons from Bohemian Bread accompany the baked apple and add a bit of crunch. A pesto of rosemary, sage and oregano finishes off the dish with an earthy, herby flavor to complement the creamy burrata. Think of it as somewhere between a traditional mozzarella salad, an Italian bread salad, and a good old grilled cheese.

Around the Galaxy: March means the arrival of gardening books at Galaxy. It's a great time to pick up a copy of The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Ed Smith of Cabot, a bestseller with over 400,000 copies in print. Or pick up his brand new book, The Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible. Both books are packed with full-color photographs and illustrations to inspire your plans.

Music Notes: Be sure to check out Cinder Conk on Thursday, March 3 at 7:30. This Balkan music whirlwind provides dance tunes aplenty to the delight of enthusiasts and first-timers alike. With frenzied accordion riffs, sometimes adding violin, and warm double bass counterpoint with a classic bardic lyricism, Cinder Conk is inviting and transcendent.

Go Green for Pete's Greens: On St. Patrick's Day, Claire's hosts an open mic celebration to benefit Pete's Farm Fund, to rebuild the barn and help Pete and his crew. Celebrate the day by wearing your finest greens, bring some extra greens in your wallet, and show off your talent in support of Pete's. Pete recently announced that in 2-3 years, when his farm is back on stable financial ground, he will repay the money raised to support Pete's Greens to a special fund to support Vermont agriculture and farms in crisis. We're excited to be part of this effort and hope you will join us on March 17th. Email newvermontcooking@yahoo.com if you are interested in performing. If you want to make a more immediate financial donation to Pete's Greens, stop by Claire's and drop it in our donation bucket or go directly to the farm website.

Local Events: Sterling College in Craftsbury is hosting a Northeast Kingdom Food Systems Strategic Planning Summit on Tuesday, March 8 from 5:30-8:30. Learn about the key findings from the Center for an Agricultural Economy and the Northeastern Vermont Development Association in developing a food systems strategic plan. For more information, contact Erica Campbell at 802-272-0886 or erica@hardwickagriculture.org.

Mark your calendars for the Craftsbury Outdoor Center Marathon Tour on Saturday, March 5th. The ski tour starts between 9 and 10 and goes from the Highland Lodge to the Outdoor Center. The tour is untimed and will feature food stops along the way, including one with Steven's butternut squash and apple soup with wheatberries to warm you up.

Reminders: We are open daily after 2:30 for coffee, bar service, and baked goods, and free WiFi, with dinner reservations available from 5-9, Sundays from 5-8. We serve our special Blunch menu Sundays from 11-2. Claire's is closed every Wednesday. We appreciate it when you use cash or a check- credit card companies charge us a fee that really adds up.

Click on the image above to get a closer look!

Laissez le bon temp rouler

Local Food: Inspired by his recent trip to New Orleans, and just as the Crescent City gears up for Mardi Gras ("let the good times roll!"), Steven brings beignets to our menu. One of New Orleans' greatest contributions to American regional cooking, the beignet is of French and Acadian origins. Though it is usually a sweet treat served with a mug of chicory and coffee at Café Du Monde, Steven adapts the beignet to savory notes, adding chunks of Maine lobster and preserved red bell peppers from Pete's Greens. A mixture of rosemary, sage and oregano, all from Vermont Herb and Salad Company, complements the lobster. Each beignet is fried to a golden crisp and the plate is served with an ailoi that incorporates preserved tomatoes from Old Barn Farm that were roasted and canned.

Around the Galaxy: Congratulations to local translators, Alex Smith of Greensboro and Elye Alexander of Craftsbury whose translation of the suspenseful detective novel The Devotion of Suspect X has been receiving national attention. The book, by Japan's most popular bestselling author today, was recently reviewed in The Wall Street Journal and on NPR among other places. Pick up a copy at Galaxy and join over two million readers who have made this book a bestseller in Japan. And if you want to experience the flavor of Japan even more, head over to the Highland Lodge for Japanese Bistro night, brought to you by Yukiyo Matsuzaki-Smith.

Music Notes: Acoustic bluegrass/roots group Wiley Dobbs Duo join us again this Thursday, February 24 at 7:30. Come out and support local music and enjoy the sounds of their guitar, mandolin and banjo.

Go Green for Pete's Greens: On St. Patrick's Day, Claire's hosts an open mic celebration to benefit Pete's Farm Fund, to rebuild the barn and help Pete and his crew. Celebrate the day by wearing your finest greens, bring some extra greens in your wallet, and show off your talent in support of Pete's. Pete recently announced that in 2-3 years, when his farm is back on stable financial ground, he will repay the money raised to support Pete's Greens to a special fund to support Vermont agriculture and farms in crisis. We're excited to be part of this effort and hope you will join us on March 17th. Email newvermontcooking@yahoo.com if you are interested in performing. If you want to make a more immediate financial donation to Pete's Greens, stop by Claire's and drop it in our donation bucket or go directly to the farm website.

Local Events: The Second Annual Highfields Compost Cabaret and Silent Auction is this Saturday, February 26 from 7:00-10:00 at the Cabot Town Hall. It's sure to be an evening of steaming hot entertainment with music, poetry and a silent auction. Suggested donation is $10. Call 472-5138 for more information.

Mark your calendars for the Craftsbury Outdoor Center Marathon Tour on Saturday, March 5th. The ski tour starts between 9 and 10 and goes from the Highland Lodge to the Outdoor Center. The tour is untimed and will feature food stops along the way, including one with Steven's cozy soup to warm you up.

Reminders: We are open daily after 2:30 for coffee, bar service, and baked goods, and free WiFi, with dinner reservations available from 5-9, Sundays from 5-8. We serve our special Blunch menu Sundays from 11-2. Claire's is closed every Wednesday. We appreciate it when you use cash or a check- credit card companies charge us a fee that really adds up.

Click on the image above to get a closer look!

Trippin' on Tofu

Local Food: Even more than corn or pasta, the variety of forms and wide availability of tofu make it a world food. Steven's latest invention shows us these worlds on one plate, starting with Vermont Soy's tofu from Hardwick. First stop, North Africa, where Steven celebrates the winds of change with regional spices, turmeric, and a hint of ginger to flavor the tofu morsels, then fried and served with a carrot sauce, made with carrots from Blackwell Roots Farm. Next, up is vibrant India, with tofu sautéed in cardamon, cinnamon and nutmeg, served on a sauce featuring Sweet Dumpling Squash from Michael Croce at Mystic Morning Farm. The journey continues to warm, sunny Tuscany, featuring tofu rubbed with garlic and rosemary, the latter from Vermont Herb and Salad Company, then grilled for a layer of char, and served with a scallion sauce from Old Barn Farm. The fourth and final stop is a homecoming. Steven bakes applesauce and maple syrup marinated tofu, tops it with crunchy walnuts and serves that with a beet and horseradish sauce, featuring beets from Blackwell Roots Farm and horseradish from Rabbi's Roots. This dish is vegan friendly and gluten free.

Around the Galaxy: Mid-February is a great time of year to head out for adventure. Pick yours from Waterbury author David Goodman's new edition of Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast. Sharing the shelf are the Green Mountain Club's Snowshoeing in Vermont and the Catamount Trail Guidebook and the Snow Walker's Companion. Or if your idea of adventure is escaping into the pages of a great book by the fire, Galaxy has plenty for you too, on Mill Street or at www.galaxybookshop.com.

Music Notes: Chase the winter blues away with "a helping of Green Mountain Soul" from the Rustbucket Brothers on Thursday, February 17 at 7:30. Support local music and get down with their "rootsy Americana rock and country."

Local Events: Experience the magic of moonlight on snow during the Full Moon Snowshoe Walk at Highland Lodge on Friday, February 18. Call the Lodge at 533-2647 by noon on the 18th to sign up. Hot chocolate available by donation after the walk.

Go Green for Pete's Greens: On St. Patrick's Day, come to Claire's for a benefit for the Pete's Farm Fund, to rebuild the barn and help Pete and his crew. Celebrate the day by wearing your finest greens, bring some extra greens in your wallet, and show off your talent at our Open Mic Night in support of Pete's. Pete recently announced that in 2-3 years, when his farm is back on stable financial ground, he will repay the money raised to support Pete's Greens to a special fund to support Vermont agriculture and farms in crisis. We're excited to be part of this effort and hope you will join us on March 17th. Email newvermontcooking@yahoo.com if you are interested in performing.

If you are interested in making a more immediate financial donation to Pete's Greens, stop by Claire's and drop it in our donation bucket or donate directly on the farm website.

Reminders: We are open daily after 2:30 for coffee, bar service, and baked goods, and free WiFi, with dinner reservations available from 5-9, Sundays from 5-8. We serve our special Blunch menu Sundays from 11-2. Claire's is closed every Wednesday.

Green Mountain Loving

Local Love: Enjoy your Valentine's Day with the abundant love of our local farmers and producers. We welcome couples, friends, and families to enjoy a romantic interlude or a convivial celebration. Like every Monday, we'll offer beer, wine, and cocktail specials as well as a menu designed to set the mood.

Local Food: Risotto, a slow cooked rice, is one of the most straightforward preparations in Italian cooking. But it requires a great deal of skill to finish the rice just at that point where it combines pearly firmness and silky cream. Steven is inspired by this careful, slow preparation in creating a version that is truly Vermont. Traditionally made with the arborio that thrives in Northern Italy's rich river valley, a strain of rice that is uniquely able to transform its texture when prepared with patience, Steven instead has selected Vermont wheatberries, a whole grain kernel from Butterworks Farm. He soaks them overnight before plunging them in boiling water so they pop open to reveal their natural creaminess. The wheatberries are then sautéed for a nutty twist. Steven slowly adds vegetable stock, absorbed by the hearty grain, and adds tofu from Vermont Soy, roasted carrots from Blackwell Roots Farm, rutabaga from Westminster Organics, butternut squash from Mystic Morning Farm and sunchokes from Mary McGrath in Greensboro. The risotto is topped with soft and grassy Hartwell cheese from Ploughgate Creamery, with a sage and walnut pesto made with sage from Vermont Herb & Salad Company. Vegans can ask their server to hold the butter and cheese.

Around the Galaxy: A Valentine's treat for you - if you spend $20 or more on a book between February 7 and February 14, you will receive a bonbon made in Hardwick by Marie LaPré-Grabon. Or you can forgo the chocolate and take 14% off a second book. Maybe a gift for your own Valentine.

Music Notes: Montpelier singer-songwriter Jay Ekis returns this Thursday, February 10, at 7:30. Check out an artist who Dan Bolles of Seven Days calls "among the state's stoutest songwriters."

Local Events: Noted author of more than a dozen books Rick Bass will read from his work at Sterling College in Simpson Hall on Monday, February 14 at 6:30.

Go Green for Pete's Greens: On St. Patrick's Day, come to Claire's for a benefit for the Pete's Farm Fund, to rebuild the barn and help Pete and his crew. Celebrate the day by wearing your finest greens, bring some extra greens in your wallet, and show off your talent at our Open Mic Night in support of Pete's. Pete has recently announced that in 2-3 years when his farm is back on stable financial ground, he will establish a special fund to support Vermont agriculture with the money that is being raised to help him now. We're excited to be part of this effort and hope you will join us on March 17th. Email newvermontcooking@yahoo.com if you are interested in performing.

If you are interested in making a more immediate financial donation to Pete's Greens, stop by Claire's and drop it in our donation bucket or donate directly on the farm website.

Reminders: We are open daily after 2:30 for coffee, bar service, and baked goods, and free WiFi, with dinner reservations available from 5-9, Sundays from 5-8. We serve our special Blunch menu Sundays from 11-2. Claire's is closed every Wednesday.