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.

Succulently Rustic

Local Food: There's little that's more succulently rustic than a nicely aged potted meat. For the Quebecois, it might be creton, or ciccioli in Italy, also known as rillettes in France. Whatever the name, the variations on this traditional home technique provide a texture similar to a liverwurst spread, but with much more pork flavor. With pork ribs provided by the famous cheese makers at Jasper Hill Farm, Steven slowly cooks the meat in a braise of Shelburne Vineyards NuMondo red wine until it is fall-off-the-bone tender. The pork rests for a few days to let the flavors develop. It's then finely shredded and mixed with blueberries from Shirley's Produce that Steven preserved over the summer. With just the right combination of smooth textures, the rillettes are spread on a hearty grilled slice from a six grain loaf baked at Patchwork Farm & Bakery. Topped with pickled red onions and ramps for a touch of tartness, and served with a sprout salad for a bit of green to balance out the rich pork, the rillettes are drizzled with mustard elderberry vinaigrette to finish, featuring elderberry juice from Honey Gardens.

Around the Galaxy: With Valentine's Day approaching, consider the bright red Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human or a passion infused combination of recipes and travel writing, In Late Winter We Ate Pears: A Year of Hunger and Love by the proprietors of Osteria Pane e Salute in Woodstock.

Music Notes: Birchwood Coupe will make their debut at Claire's on Thursday, February 3 at 7:30. Check out their folk/americana originals and support local music.

Local Events: Spend the afternoon of Saturday, February 5 with Tom Stearns, president and founder of High Mowing Organic Seeds at Highland Lodge in Greensboro. Tour the High Mowing Seeds facility in Wolcott from 4-5, enjoy dinner at the Lodge from 5:30-7:30 and stay for the presentation at 7:30 by Tom about healthy food systems. Call the Highland Lodge for more information at 533-2647.

Super Bowl Sunday is next Sunday February 6. Start your pre-game at Claire's with $2.50 Switchback pints, $4 wine and $5 Hot & Cold Martini.

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.

Reserve some love and make your Valentine's Day reservation today.

Heavens to Dumplings

Local Food: Even as the outside temperature has dipped below zero, the temperature in Claire's remains warm and cozy as you settle in with a bowl of Steven's Chicken and Dumplings. With chicken, shallots, and parsnips from Pete's Greens in our last delivery before the fire, Steven adds carrots from Harvest Hill Farm and potatoes. They are served in a warm jus with white wine, and creamy cornmeal dumplings on top. The dumplings are made with Butterworks Farm cornmeal and greenhouse grown rosemary from Vermont Herb Company for a burst of herbaceousness. Steven browns the dumplings just until they are golden and just a bit crispy.

Around the Galaxy: While the Galaxy takes a break from events for the winter, there are plenty of books to keep you warm this winter. Whether you want to escape with a novel or an adventure tale or spend some extra time near your warm oven, Galaxy has it. This is a great time to explore some of the 270 recipes in Andrea Chesman's Recipes from the Root Cellar, or to sample from Eating Well's Comfort Foods Made Healthy.

Music Notes: Soulful, gritty and sweet singer/songwriter Dave Keller returns this Thursday at 7:30. Come in from the cold and support local music.

Local Events: Help support Pete's Greens in their effort to rebuild their barn after a devastating fire. Visit Bid for the Barn to bid on a wide variety of items donated by Vermonters to help raise money for the effort. Check out our donation, a dinner for four with Pete and two rooms at the Kimball House in Hardwick.

As part of the ongoing mission to raise money for Pete's Greens, we will make a donation from our sales on Thursday, March 17, also known as St. Patrick's Day. 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. 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.

Please remember to make reservations at your earliest convenience. It helps us plan a more enjoyable and relaxed evening for you. Without a reservation, you may have to wait longer for a table.

Upcoming Events: Valentine's Day will be here soon- reservations fill up fast so make yours today.

Take a look as we update our new website.

Serving Community Along with Dinner

With our break behind us and concerns at hand after the fire at Pete's, we re-open our kitchen on Main Street tonight. Community is much on our minds. While Linda had a lot on her plate in Hardwick, from a fresh application of Vermont Natural Coatings on the wood floors at Claire's to working with the Center for an Agricultural Economy, her Claire's co-owners Steven and Mike went to New Orleans to learn from the the emergence of a new food community in a city well-known for its cooking but still struggling in the aftermath of Katrina and last summer's oil spill.

They found exciting new efforts, centered in part on a small program called Our School at Blair Grocery (left and above) in the still devastated Lower 9th Ward. This program helps young men and women from the community complete a high school degree while learning about sustainable agriculture, growing food at affordable prices for the neighborhood and selling produce to both established New Orleans chefs and rising newcomers. One of the best of these restaurants is a casual eatery in Bywater called Satsuma Cafe, named to honor the local citrus and not far across the canal from the Lower 9th (below).

Like Claire's, the Cafe provides a community space where people gather for good food, to keep in touch, and to enjoy an ever changing exhibit of local artists.

Another is Cochon (right) in the more established Warehouse Arts District. Both do their best to source local and sustainable produce in a region where farming and fisheries have been devastated by industry, bad government policy, and neglect, and are just beginning to make a comeback.

Coming home just after the fire at Pete's, Steven and Mike are inspired by how much communities can accomplish when they pull together to realize their dreams - even in the aftermath of overwhelming disaster, antipathy, and indifference. You can learn more about their trip by stopping by at Claire's or reading Mike's blog post and links on the Saint Michael's College website.

Aware that much of the food at Claire's is grown at Pete's, many in our community have asked what will happen now. We are fortunate beyond measure to be in the heart of an agricultural economy of such abundance; we're inspired by Pete's plans to rebuild and by the many efforts to support his plans in creative ways. So close to the farm itself, we are working with Pete on how we might best help, and you can send your support directly to Pete at his Farm Fund. While we look forward to the rebirth at Pete's Greens that spring will offer, the food at Claire's will continue to reflect the abundance of farms all around us.

Claire's is open tonight and every night except Wednesday, with bar service, coffee, and baked goods after 2:30 and dinner seating from 5:00 until 9:00 pm. On Sunday, we are open for Blunch from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm. Reservations are encouraged.