Local Vermont cheese producers

Vermont is one of the premier producers of great local cheeses in the United States. No matter what type of cheese you are interested in, there is somewhere in Vermont where it is being produced. When thinking of Vermont, the first producer that comes to mind is Cabot and their wonderful cheddar cheese and while this is indeed a great cheese, there are many other types of cheese being produced and sold around the state. Here are a few suggestions for cheeses that you may want to try and where you can find them.

Mt. Mansfield Creamery

Mt. Mansfield Creamery's family operated business is producing a wide variety of cheeses that are aged in a cave. They produce raw milk cheeses that are inspired by the great cheeses of Europe. Their happy cows are hand-milked and these are cheeses that will please even the cheese connoisseur. Among their seasonal cheeses, you will find some that are made from pasteurized milk and with the additional of gourmet ingredients. If you are looking to try a Vermont made Havarti, their Forerunner is the cheese for you. 

Cheese can be ordered from their website and if you have ever thought that you might like to try your hand at making your own cheese, they also offer a cheese making class. If you are in the area you can find their cheeses being sold at the Stowe Harvest Market and at the Green Top Market in Morrisville as well as at the Creamery. If you call ahead tours can be arranged.

Hildene Farm Signature Cheeses

When Robert Lincoln chose this area of Vermont to make his home little did he realize where the future would take it. This is one of the newest additions to the Vermont cheese industry and includes goat as well as cow's milk cheeses. Chevre is the first cheese they produced and currently there are several varieties of cheese for sale at the gift shop of the mansion. This is a great way to combine a day trip to southwestern Vermont with a cheese buying expedition. Tour the amazing home and gardens and sample some great local Vermont cheese.

Crowley Hand Crafted Cheese

Crowley is not a fly by night Vermont cheese producer. They have been in business for over 180 years and are still going strong. Their cheese factory is the oldest in the United States and you can visit it weekdays and some Saturdays. It is a factory where all the cheeses are still hand produced and the cheese is made from local raw milk. This gives the cheese its distinctive creaminess and flavor. 

Crowley produces Vermont cheese in wheels and in smaller blocks. You can buy their cheeses directly from them online or at one of their many outlets. Crowley cheese is a relative of cheddar and is offered in mild, sharp, extra sharp and flavored varieties. This is award winning cheese and will not disappoint. 

The Vermont Country Store in both Westin and Rockingham has a great selection of Vermont cheese and you should be able to sample them there as well. We never miss an opportunity to sample their local Vermont cheese and to bring some home as well.  As a matter of fact, we recently bought two different kinds and loved them both.  

Cheese making is a growing and very delicious part of the fabric of Vermont. Why use large batch factory produced cheeses when you can indulge in handcrafted Vermont cheese varieties that add fabulous flavor to any meal, sandwich, cheese platter or just snack?

Fun dining in Philadelphia

Philly is a great place to visit and an even better place to get a good meal. Restaurants abound in every neighborhood which will have you coming back again and again. Dining options in Philadelphia are many and varied. 

Philadelphia is, however,  most famous for one thing, the cheese steak.

Cheese-steak

South Philly is home to both Geno's and Pat's the kings of the cheese-steak. Ordering the cheese-steak is an art and you have to know what you're doing before you try to order at either establishment. There are two things that need to be addressed, with or without onions and Cheesewiz or Provolone. Once you have decided all that is left is to sink your teeth into the meaty, cheesy hoagie. It's a messy job but one that is well worth changing your shirt over.

Crepes

This isn't the first thing that comes to mind when the name Philadelphia comes up but Creperie Beau Monde will make a convert of even the most reluctant diner. Located just south of South Street on Sixth, it has a great atmosphere and even better crepes. It isn't all about dessert either; they offer a typical Breton buckwheat crepe with many choices of savory filling.

Burgers and great drinks

I love Copabanana, not only does it have a great name, they make wonderful burgers and spectacular margaritas and martinis (you have to try the key lime martini). They are an institution on South Street having been here for more than 35 years and they have grown from a single store from to five. If you are looking for a lively place, this is it.

Reading Terminal Market

If you are just hungry and have no specific cuisine in mind the Reading Terminal Market is the perfect place to go. You can feast on the freshest of produce or a typical Amish treat. Some of the most popular breakfast spots in Philadelphia are located in the market, as well as bakeries and candy shops. Check out the rather traditional diner with the overall-clad waitresses for oversized sandwiches and down-home cooking.

Mussels and Frites

If you have an urge for a Belgian beer and some of the best mussels and frites anywhere, head over to Spruce Street and visit Monk's Cafe. They have a beer bible that is something any beer lover will truly appreciate. The mussels come in a bucket and the frites are served with mayonnaise as they should be.

Museum Dining

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has a wonderful cafeteria. The food is fresh, the prices are reasonable and the art in the museum makes a very good case for eating there.

No matter what you are craving, Philadelphia will have a restaurant to satisfy your needs.

Simple and delicious coffee cakes from Bisquick

In 1930, the idea of premixed baking ingredients was revolutionary. It changed the way women baked. It meant that even if you didn't have flour, butter or milk in the house, as long as you had Bisquick, you could whip up a delicious coffee cake, pancakes, biscuits or waffles. In today's world, women are busier than ever. Isn't it wonderful to be able to make a delicious coffee cake quickly and easily on a moment's notice?

This is a very traditional Bisquick coffee cake.

The spice topping:

1/3 cup Bisquick
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons firm butter

The cake

2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk can be low fat but don't use no-fat
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 370 degrees. Butter a 9" round cake pan (I prefer stone). Mix the topping ingredients together until crumbly and put to the side.
Mix the cake ingredients in a large bowl until well blended. Pour into the buttered pan and spread the topping over the cake.

Bake until golden brown, depending on the oven from 18 to 22 minutes.

To take it up a notch by adding  1/2 cup blueberries and/or raspberries to the batter. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and it will impress even your mother-in-law.

Cappuccino-Chocolate Coffee Cake

This basic idea for this cake was from the Betty Crocker/Bisquick website but I have adapted it to my own tastes.

1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
2 tablespoons butter melted
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8 by 8 square cake pan (I like stone) Mix first three ingredients in a small bowl and put aside.

Mix everything but the chocolate chunks and coffee with an electric mixer until it is well blended, at least 3 or 4 minutes. Pour into the pan. Mix coffee and chocolate chips and drop onto the batter and swirl with a knife. Cover with the topping. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until it is golden in color. Stick a tester into the center, if it comes out clean, it's done.

Allow it to cool and slice it like a pie. Serve with a cup of coffee and enjoy. If you want to make it extra special try serving it with whipped cream or ice cream for a perfect dessert.

For over 75 years Bisquick has been making our lives easier and tastier. These recipes for Bisquick coffee cakes, are just a few of the ways you can use this convenience to produce wonderful and innovative baked goods.

Polly's Pantry Royal Tea Room Wildwood, Florida

If you are like me and you just love an English tearoom, Polly's Pantry is just the place to enjoy this most traditional of British activities. Tricia and her husband John have created a delightful atmosphere and the fact that Tricia is a published author just adds to the overall attraction. (her books are for sale at the tea room)

I recommend calling ahead for a reservation. It isn't required but this is a very popular place and while you may be able to get a seat if you just pop in, you will likely have quite a wait for a seat. 

I started with a pot of tea and you will be given the large tea chest to pick a couple of bags to enjoy, there are lots of choices both traditional and herbal. They also have cold tea, soft drinks and more.

If you want a traditional English tea, that must be booked in advance. The menu is not large but it includes the things you would expect, salad, quiche, coronation chicken salad and shepherd's pie. There are also daily specials. 

I love coronation chicken so that was what I ordered, Al being the only man dining there, had the shepherd's pie. 

Don't expect this to be fast food, John seemed a bit overwhelmed the day that we were there but I was totally willing to take a little longer to get what I knew would be a taste of England and I was not disappointed. The coronation chicken was excellent and Al cleaned his plate. We were both very satisfied. 

We decided to share an English trifle for dessert. It is huge and should be shared. It had both ice cream and custard on top and was just wonderful. 

I fell in love with this place and I can't wait to go back. It was obvious that some of the customers are regulars and others like us were snowbirds (we always check the license plates in the parking lot). 

Polly's Pantry is located on South Main Street in Wildwood which is about 25 miles from our home in Ocala. 

UPDATE: Polly's Pantry has closed. The owners had a problem with immigration and had to return to England. 

Easy and delicious rice pudding

I have been craving rice pudding for a while and last night I decided that time had come to whip us up a batch. Usually, I make a baked rice pudding that takes about three hours. This time, I made an on top of the stove version and it took only about an hour. 

What you need:

6 cups milk
1 cup rice (I used long grain)
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (I used coarse sea salt)
1 cap full of vanilla
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg


Add everything to a large saucepan and heat on med-high until bubbles form on the outside of the milk. Stir from time to time. Lower the heat to simmer and cook about an hour. Mine was ready in 50 minutes. You should come back every 10 minutes or so to stir. 

You can serve this warm or cold and I poured a little heavy cream over it and sprinkled a little nutmeg on top, Al sprinkled a little cinnamon sugar on his. 

I was amazed at how easy and delicious this was. 

Tips for cooking summer squash

If you are a home gardener, you know how easy it is get overwhelmed by the number of vegetables that all ripen at the same time. It requires a lot of creativity to find ways to use all these fresh vegetables. One of the most delicious of the summer vegetables is summer squash. During the summer, the squash is smaller, sweeter and much more tender. In other words, they are at their peak. Cooking your summer squash doesn't have to take a long time. 

This delicious vegetable can be prepared many different ways. Some are simple and others more complex but with the delicacy of the flavor, it is wise to let the flavor of the squash shine through and not be covered by other stronger flavors.

No matter the technique you use to cook your squash, you will need to prepare it. Give it a good wash, cut off the ends and remove any damaged spots on the skin, You do not need to peel the squash, the inside is so delicate that removing the peel will allow it to lose its shape.

Steam

To steam summer squash, slice the squash into quarter-inch thick disks. Prepare the pot you plan to use to steam the summer squash by placing water in the pot and then add the steam tray. Place the squash in the steam tray and place the pot on the burner at high heat. When it begins to boil place a cover on the pot and leave covered for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and place the cooked squash in a bowl and season with butter and whatever herbs your family likes. It is now ready to serve.

Grill

Grilling summer squash is a very popular cooking method. Pre-heat the grill and prepare the squash the same way you would for steaming except cut the disks half an inch thick. They will stand up better to grilling if they are thicker. Use a grilling tray, this is a very juicy vegetable and it will fall through the grill if you try to grill directly on the heat. Brush the tray with olive and then brush the squash and sprinkle with rosemary, dill or oregano. Place the tray on the grill and watch closely. Flip when you have grill marks and again watch closely. This will cook quickly.

If you don't have a grill tray you can use aluminum foil or cut the squash in half and place directly on the grill after applying the olive oil and herbs.

Baked

If you prefer, you can bake your summer squash. You can do it as a casserole, cut all the squash into disks and layer seasoning with salt, pepper, and butter and baked at 350 degrees for an hour. This works for whatever amount of summer squash you may have.

If you end up with many more summer squash than you can possibly cook and eat or even give away, consider blanching them and then freezing them in Ziploc bags for use in the fall, winter and spring. When you are eating these vegetables later in the year, you will be very glad that you did.

Healthiest cuts of beef

Beef has received a lot of bad press in recent years, which was bad news for all the beef lovers of the world. If you’re making healthy changes in your life and want beef to be a part of those changes, you should know that not all beef is created equal and there are some cuts that are healthier than others. Here are some things to consider when looking for the healthiest cuts of beef.

Organic and grass fed

Before discussing the healthiest cuts it is important to discuss organic and grass fed beef. Some of the practices that are used to raise beef can certainly be considered unhealthy. Growth hormones, for example, are among the most worrisome.

If your budget can be stretched to allow for grass-fed, certified organic beef, this is one of your healthiest options. Grass fed beef is considerably leaner, which lowers the fat content. On the other hand, fat is what gives beef its lusciousness and it requires careful cooking to not lose that when the fat is lowered.

When purchasing beef, according to the Mayo Clinic, one of the important things to look for is the word “lean.” The wording is regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and must meet certain standards. The USDA defines a lean cut of beef as a 3.5-ounce serving that contains less than:

• 10 grams total fat
• 4.5 grams saturated fat
• 95 milligrams cholesterol
• Extra lean is defined as having less than:
• 5 grams total fat
• 2 grams saturated fat
• 95 milligrams cholesterol

You can let your supermarket help you find the leanest cuts of beef, especially ground beef. There are also 29 cuts of beef that have been given the OK to be called lean or extra lean. The good news is, most of these 29 cuts are favorites that beef lovers are eating already. They include eye of the round, both steaks and roasts, top and bottom round roasts and steaks, sirloin roasts and steaks, and even the chuck shoulder pot roast. If you didn’t see your favorite in this brief list check out this website for the complete list. Chances are your favorites are on it.

How you cook your beef will also determine how healthy it is. Even with the fattest cuts, grilling or using any cooking method that allows the fat to drip away from the meat will keep the fat percentage lower.

Restaurant review: The Barrel Springbrook Township, Penn.

The Barrel is a nondescript red and white building that has an outdoor window; the kind of summer stand that you would go to in the 1950's and eat a summer meal outdoors after ordering your hamburgers and hotdogs. Three dining stools grace the counter but there is plenty of other seating.

Inside you come up the indoor dinner style counter and also booths along the wall. There are two other dining rooms and a porch where you can seat yourself. Just keep walking until you see an empty table. The whole restaurant is nonsmoking so you don't have to worry about where you sit.

Going to The Barrel is like going to your Nana's for dinner. You are going to get homemade stick to your ribs meals with all the comfort you get from Nana. There are specials every day as well as a couple of homemade soups. The menu has French onion soup and chili every day. My daughter always orders the chili.

The menu at The Barrel is interesting. While on one hand, it has all the old favorites like hot wings and real onion rings, they also have gravy fries, cheese fries, and sweet potato fries. More unusual are the mini potato pancakes, pierogies and batter dipped cauliflower.
The kids will be happy with the variety of burgers and wieners and it doesn't stop there, you can have a Reuben, a cheese steak or a meatball hoagie. Healthy choices are offered as well with wraps and salads. These are popular and great for lunch but the dinners and the hot plates are what keep us coming back.

One of the best meals here is the Chicken and Biscuits. It really is quite amazing with the best creamy sauce and homemade biscuits. The chicken is all white meat and melt in your mouth tender. Among my other personal favorites are the stuffed peppers, and stuffed cabbage, meatloaf, the roast turkey dinner and the hamburger steak with fried onions. These are all homemade good and I always have enough to have a second meal.

 Dinners come with two sides and you can choose from homemade mashed potatoes, French fries, baked beans, white rice, coleslaw, pickled beets, applesauce, corn, green beans, glazed carrots, broccoli or a side of pasta. I have to admit I am quite addicted to the gravy fries and have them almost every time I go there.

My husband likes the stuffed pork chop and the roast pork. They do offer a strip steak which is a good deal at $14.25

Dessert here is hard to resist. They make some excellent pies as well as rice pudding and strawberry shortcake. They do serve milkshakes and I have to admit that I love their root beer float. They also do a full range of ice cream sundaes.

If you can't get to Nana's for breakfast, lunch or dinner, The Barrel Springbrook Township, Penn. is an excellent substitute.