The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook (a review)

Have you ever wanted to eat your way across the entire state of Vermont? Or get a first-hand taste of real farm-to-table eating?

Well, now you can, in your own home, via Tracey Medeiros' new book, The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook: 150 Home-Grown Recipes from the Green Mountain State. 

(photo courtesy of The Countryman Press)

Medeiros' book, supplemented with gorgeous food and Vermont scenery photography from Oliver Parini, is refreshing in that while it includes the expected recipes from chefs at Vermont's most celebrated restaurants, it also offers favorite family recipes shared by the farmers who provide many of the key ingredients to those same food professionals.

Additionally, Medeiros offers a profile of each contributor or the backstory behind the recipe, which makes each feel like one you received from a friend or relative.

I have already started cooking my way through The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook and have been delighted with the recipes I have tried, especially L'Amante Ristorante's Orecchiette with Carmelized Turnips and Kale (pictured below) and Scott Farm's Applesauce Cake, both of which were simple enough to prepare even during a busy workweek.

Perhaps my favorite recipe so far, however, has been the Ski Vermont Farmhouse Potato Chowder -- quite possibly the best soup I have ever made, according to Mr. Ninj. (Stay tuned: I'll be featuring the recipe, from Timbers Restaurant at Sugarbush Resort, later this week.)

Moreover, I was pleased to read in the acknowledgements that a portion of the proceeds from the book's sale will be donated to the Vermont Foodbank.

If you're looking for a way to experience local Vermont eating no matter where you live, I highly recommend The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook. In fact, I think it is going to be my favorite holiday gift to give this year.

(Note: While I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book by its publisher, The Countryman Press, I was in no way asked to provide or compensated for this review. The opinions I expressed above are genuine.)