Last weekend I was fortunate enough to attend Good Common’s Farm to Table weekend in Plymouth, Vermont. I had never been to Vermont before, so I really had no idea what to expect.
My adventure began with a flight from Charlotte to New York. After hanging around NYC for a few hours, I met the Good Bus on 45th street to take me to Good Commons.
I was in Vermont from Thursday night until Sunday morning. During this time, I ate some amazing food, visited a huge gorge, watched potters and glass blowers create works of art, visited a brewery and saw how some pretty amazing cheese was made. I will bring you all of these stories in later posts, but in this post I want to show you how what happens in a farm to table weekend.
So what is a Farm to Table weekend? It is where you go to a local farm and pick the food that you will be eating during the weekend. The point of this is to learn more about local agriculture and eat fresh foods that are grown in the region. For our farm to table weekend we made a visit to Huckleberry Hill farm in nearby Belmont, VT. The amazing produce we picked was then in the hands of Chef Matthew Wexler.
We arrived at the farm around lunch time, so naturally we needed to fuel up for an afternoon of farming. Matthew had packed us a picnic consisting of
watermelon, a delicious 3 bean salad, a turkey muffaletta, and some amazing brownies!
During lunch, some of the farm’s residents were curious as to what we were up to. I think they were wanting a brownie.
This type of cow is called a Scottish Highlander, and is my new favorite breed of cow. Not that I had a favorite before, but with the shaggy fur and horns, how could you not be a fan?
Good Commons had purchased one of these cows last year and it was served during one of our dinners. Enough with the meat. Now onto the vegetables.
Look at that beet! It is called a candy cane beet ( the color pattern should explain why) and was quite delicious . I found that it was not as sweet as its darker counterpart.
These carrots were a little dirty when pulled out of the ground, but once washed and cleaned they made…
some pretty delicious carrot cake.
Mmmm broccoli…
Say hello to Dinosaur Kale. What do you do with Dinosaur Kale?
You make kale chips!
I had never had kale chips before, but they are a pretty amazing way to sneak vegetables into your diet. I still enjoy the potato variety better, but these were not bad at all. If they were sitting in a bowl in front of me I would definitely have some.
Inside the greenhouse it felt like Charlotte. Incredibly hot, humid, and I immediately start sweating upon entry.
On a side note, the weather in VT was amazing. 50s at night and mid 70s during the day. A lot better than NC. The low in Charlotte was still warmer than the high in Vermont. Here is what Matthew did with the tomatoes.
Tomatoes and Basil with fresh Ricotta Cheese. Amazing…
I found these flowers as well. We did not eat them, but I thought I would include pictures of them anyway.
Look at the size of this zucchini! This would make a whole lot of zucchini bread!
Overall, I had an amazing time in Vermont. Eating locally and supporting local agriculture is something that I try to do whenever possible. I am a big fan of farmer’s markets ( my favorite one is in Dane County), but this experience went further. Going to the farm and pulling the vegetables from the ground provided me with a new perspective of where my food comes from. These were the freshest vegetables that I had ever eaten, and it was really cool to know that they were grown just a few miles away. If you ever have the chance to take part in a farm to table meal I suggest you do.
Thank you to Tesha and Matthew for inviting me up to Good Commons to share in this experience. After spending a weekend in Vermont, I will definitely return.
what a beautiful day you must have had! I love the way you illustrated from earth to platter as with the carrots, kale and beets. Mostly I love that adorable cow.
Now that’s a Texas sized zucchini if I ever saw one. WOW!
I love your photos! I was supposed to go on this trip but was unable to attend. Looks like it was a fun weekend with a little bit of learning as well. I hope to get up to VT and GoodCommons soon 🙂
These are some beautiful photographs! Mind if I ask what lens you’re shooting with when you take these types of shots? They really are terrific.
Jess, Thanks for the compliments I shoot with a Canon 5mkII a 50mm f1.4, 100mm macro, and a 17-40 f4.
Great photos Taylor! are you posting the others you took at Good Commons on their website or on your blog?
Gorgeous weekend and photos to prove it! Wow!
This looks like such an amazing weekend! I’ve always wanted to attend one of these events. Those beets are my favorite and I just used them this summer to make beet latkes!
This looks awesome! That’s a huge zucchini!!!!
wow, i’d love to spend a weekend here to! It looks so beautiful, and the cow is so cute!
Candy cane beet is amazing!!
Getting to pick your own vegetables? Hope exciting! The candy cane beet looks very cool, I’ve never seen one before.
Lovely pictures! And kale chips are so good!
I would like to invite you to participate in my giveaway http://atasteofkoko.blogspot.com/2010/08/mini-pistachio-tea-cakes-40.html
I am Suzanne Frazer’s mother and am a teacher who takes students and teachers to New England each October; I would be interested in expanding this opportunity to include your facility.
I want to go to a farm, now! These are some gorgeous photos!
My family rents a winter vacation home in Plymouth, VT every year…it’s right near Okemo Mountain. Reading this post made me miss all the wonderful times we spent there and look forward to those to come. The food in VT is seriously amazing!! I’m glad you enjoyed your trip.
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