Yak It To Me!

Yak It To Me!
Vermont Yak Wagon & Mobile BBQ

Did you know yak meat is one of “the planet’s greenest red meats”? Red meat does get a bad rap because of it’s high use of energy, pesticides, land, water pollution and overall impact on global warming. But yaks are smaller than cows, eat less grass and take up less space. And the meat itself? well it’s lean, nutritious and tastes delicious too. If you love red meat, why not switch to sustainable yak meat?

Now after a successfully funded Kickstarter campaign and meat from yaks around New England, Yak It To Me! is bringing yak meat to Vermonters around the state.

Doesn’t a yak-burger on a Vermont bun with Vermont cheese and locally grown veggies sound good? Or how about a yak-dog or a yak-sausage? How much more local can you get?

Look for the Yak It To Me! mobile cart at the Waitsfield Farmer’s Market on Saturdays as well as around Burlington and festivals around the states. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to find their summer schedule.

As they say, “Once you go yak, you never go back.”

green mountain mustard

Green Mountain Mustard
Gourmet Mustard Made in the Mountains of Vermont

These are no ordinary mustards. Not only are they rich and creamy, they’re also made in Vermont using local ingredients:

• Eggs from local family farm
• Butter from Vermont Cabot Coop farmers
• Maple syrup from local  farms
• Yellow mustard seeds from Clear Brook Farm in Shaftsbury

Every one of their flavors are distinct and delicious:

• Barn Burner
• Garlic Oregano
• Sweet Hot (original flavor)
• Wholegrain Mustard
• Horseradish

The Green Mountain Mustard story is similar to other made in Vermont products that got their start at local farmer’s markets – at their second market they sold their 24 jars in less than 30 minutes! That was in 2010. Today you can find their mustards in over 70 stores nationwide.

Dip pretzels in their mustard, smother your meats or fish with their mustard, use it in salad dressings or in any of these recipes! Good mustard can be used in so many ways!

How can you not switch over to Green Mountain Mustard? And turn on someone else while you’re at it. Can you say party gift? stocking stuffer?

vermont smoke and cure

Vermont Smoke and Cure
Made from scratch in Vermont

Based just outside Burlington in Hinesburg, Vermont Smoke and Cure makes some of the best (possibly the best) smoked meats! They’ve been at it for more than 50 years, smoking meats the old fashion way with only with pure ingredients (yes, including Vermont maple syrup). They really do make everything from scratch!

Think everything pigs. Vermont pigs:

Bacon – 5 knives, natural thick sliced
Hams – uncured half steaks
Peperoni – smoked, of course
Sausages – breakfast, maple, summer, hot & sweet italian

When you eat bacon, or any other pork product for that matter, ever think where it came from? Vermont Smoke and Cure only uses Vermont grown pork from farmers who treat them well – living in open pastures and eating grains and legumes. No hormones! No farrowing crates! These are happy pigs!

Just like they say on their cool website, their meats truly are full of flavor and “Damn fine!”

With the holidays around the corner,  Vermont Smoke and Cure has “7 sweet and delicious stocking stuffers”, according to Real Simple Magazine. Our favorite – the Vermontavore Box!

Buy local. Buy Vermont. Eat local.

vermont brownie company

vermont brownie company
the gourmet brownie that’s down to earth

think about it, when’s the last time you ate a brownie that was not made from a mix in a box? have you ever had a made-from-scratch brownie? if you had, you’d know. they are much better. and how about a made-from-scratch-with-local-vermont-ingredients? ever had a vermont brownie company brownie?

if not, it’s time. not only are their brownies made from local, wholesome, farm-fresh, all natural ingredients; they are original as well. check out this list of flavors:

• apple blondies – apples, cinnamon, homemade maple toffee
• blondies – triple chunk – white, milk, dark
• dark chocolate chèvre – cream cheese with vermont butter and cheese chèvre. yes, you read it correctly – goat cheese in a brownie!
• espresso dulce de leche – green mountain coffee roasters dark roast espresso with swirls of homemade milk caramel. omg.
• maple toffee crunch – it’s all in the name
• peanut butter
• signature – dark, dark, dark
• walnut chunk – walnuts, chocolate chunks, sea salt
• white chocolate raspberry – seasonal

try them on their own or with ice cream. and make sure to spread the vermont brownie company love with:

• baby gifts
• house gifts
• wedding favors
• event favors
• brownie of the month
• holiday gifts

the testimonials are impressive. your mouth will be watering as you read. our favorite vermont brownie company moment in the news is their throwdown with bobby flay – it was their dark chocolate chèvre that got his attention – take a look – just awesome!

so what are you waiting for? buy a box of these homemade brownies today.

you deserve it.

yolo snacks

yolo snacks
gourmet ready to eat popcorn

on their homepage they say that “yolo” is a made up word. well, technically it is – but nowadays many know yolo to be the acronym for you only live once!

it’s perfect. you do only live once. so, if you’re a popcorn fanatic like steve and peter, the yolo guys, then you should be eating yolo popcorn. it’s fresh iowa popcorn popped in vermont and tossed with
“the best and purest vermont flavors” the yolo guys could find. their flavors include:

• original
• maple
• cheese
• hot chocolate

cleverly packaged in a clear bag, you can see exactly what you’re getting with this popcorn. all their popcorn is:

• gluten free
• whole grain
• trans fat free
• 100% natural

you can order online or find yolo snacks at any of these stores (and there are plenty).

yolo – so try a bag today!

daily chocolate

daily chocolate

all handmade in vergennes, vermont these daily chocolates are unique and delicious. owned by chocolatier jen roberts and her husband judd markowski, these chocolates are:

• made in small batches
• hand cut & dipped
• GMO free
• made with local & organic ingredients when possible (monument farms & cabot creamery, just to name a couple)

besides having the basic chocolate bars (dark, milk and white), daily chocolate also creates these flavor combinations:

• black rum caramels
• cara -mallows (that would be marshmallow, caramel & dark chocolate)
• caramel pretzels
• cherry wine clusters
• coconut clusters
• coconut lime creams
• delightful bars (coconut, almonds, dark chocolate)
• english toffees
• ginger orange clusters
• macadamia nut caramels
• peanut butter fingers
• pecan turtles
• peppermint patties
• tangerine infused dark chocolate with sliced apricot

or maybe barks are your thing – check out this impressive list – one for every mood:

• classic almond
• fruity
• hazelnut cherry
• lemon lavender
• midnight mocha
• moroccan
• mountain (toffee, almonds, coconut, cherries, dark chocolate)
• mr. great (almonds, sea salt, milk chocolate)
• pistachio green chili
• toffee almond
• village (milk chocolate with toasted hazelnuts, cinnamon and espresso)

 don’t you think you should be eating your daily chocolate?

start today.

two guys in vermont

two guys in vermont
all natural, no artificial anything, nothing ordinary, delicious foods!

two guys in vermont make the best soup around! their soups are:

• all natural
• plant based
• cooked in small batches
• made with ingredients from local farms
• have no artificial anything
• packaged in glass jars (i.e. no BPA’s)

as of now they have the following soups:

• chunky garden tomato
• hearty curried apple butternut squash
• veggie basil goodness

these are soups that you want to make but never have the time. don’t bother.  stock up on two guys in vermont and you’ll always have all-natural-tastes-like-homemade-soup-because-it-IS in your kitchen at all times.

buy these great soups online or at any of these locations.

and..if you love their soups and want more, consider donating to their new crowdfunding campaign – they need your help to bring you more of their great soups.

come on – you know you want to help these two guys!

p.s. guess how many pounds of regional fresh farm foods they have bought so far? answer here

wholesome cravings

wholesome cravings
you can have your craving and eat it to!

admit it. everyone has cravings.

so when you get that craving for something sweet look no further than these wholesome snacks packed with protein.

these protein bars, brownies and dry mixes are all handmade in vermont with the best ingredients and taste amazing – you’d never know they are actually good for you!

and they are all certified gluten-free*!

their flavors include (both bar and mix):
apple ginger
banana chocolate chip
caramel apple
decadent chocolate
pumpkin spice

you can order these wholesome cravings at these stores or if you are interested in a bulk order or even a private label? just contact them.

snack smart. snack strong.

* just to be clear – the protein snack cake mixes are certified gluten-free and are made in a certified gluten-free facility in vermont. and their protein bars are made without gluten but are not baked in a certified gluten-free facility.

douglas sweets

douglas sweets
traditional shortbread and other scottish treats

ok, we know shortbread is scottish and we’re talking about shortbread made in vermont. this scottish shortbread is absolutely delicious and we think you won’t be buying the imported stuff anymore once you’ve tasted these sweets!

douglas sweets are made from an old family recipe with the finest vermont ingredients. they’ve got a wide variety of choices:

chocolate dipped biscuits

• cappuccino
• chocolate – dark, milk & white
• coconut
• creme dementhe
• hot chile
• lemon
• orange spice
• pistachio lavender
• raspberry
• vermont maple (of course)

traditional squares

• sandwich filled chocolate dipped
• scottish s’more
• peanut butter
• raspberry dark chocolate
• raspberry white chocolate

they also give back. we love that they have created a line of scottish scones in memory of sam cohn and all profits go to sam’s foundation.

you can find douglas sweets at these stores  or better yet, order online today!

p.s. they’ll be at the burlington wine & food festival on june 23rd

vermont fresh network

vermont fresh network
promoting farm and chef partnerships

the vermont fresh network has a vision “to build a flourishing vermont food and farm economy”. all vermonters and visitors to vermont benefit from our farmers and chefs creating direct partnerships so we can all enjoy great local vermont food while eating at any VFN member restaurant.

by connecting chefs of vermont restaurants to local farms the benefits are much greater than just enjoying that amazing local food, the vermont fresh network is also helping to:

• build partnerships between farms, food producers and restaurants in vermont
• strengthen the local economies of members
• connect communities through the relationships of members
• maintain vermont’s agricultural heritage
• promote vermont’s farm economy
• support our farms
• create local jobs
• keep our farmers farming which means open fields and beautiful views
• keep vermont’s carbon footprint down
• have us all eat more local foods
• educate vermonters and tourists on the importance of eating local
• keep vermont GREEN

the vermont fresh network offers an innovative approach to solving so many of the issues we are facing today in our food industry. learn more about VFN or get to know a farmer – don’t you like to know where your food comes from?

it should also be noted that VFN was started in 1985 and was the first statewide nonprofit organization focused solely on building relationships between farms and chefs.

so the next time you’re going out to dinner in vermont, check out the VFN member list or look for the VFN logo at member restaurants to support our local vermont food and agricultural economy!