LUDLOW, VERMONT FARMER'S MARKET

     Walking around Ludlow, Vermont, I noticed a prevalent message, "NO MICKY Ds!" As a kid, McDonald's was one of the best treats and a birthday party haven. Some of the most memorable photographs in our family album are of us sitting with party hats  wearing early 80s shades of brown and orange terry cloth outfits underneath this weird fairy forest tree getting ready to blow out the yellow cake with chocolate frosting birthday cake candles. Its a good thing that these Ludlow tots won't grow up with double hamburger meal nostalgia. 

     It was our first day in Vermont and I was in search of a Farmer's Market and after seeing those signs I had a good feeling one would be lurking nearby. Lucky enough, that afternoon white tents went up on the front lawn of the elementary school. We had just come back from Buttermilk Falls and I was starving. I sampled one of the most delicious broccoli quiches I've ever had. The quiche lady was also selling whoopie pies and chocolate chip cookies. So many food bloggers have been tempting me with photos of their homemade whoopie pies, so I was craving one. I got a banana and a chocolate whoopie pie and a box of cookies for Mike. The banana whoppie pie was the winner. The chocolate was too dense. Whole Foods actually has their whoopie pie skills down. The chocolate chip cookies were delicious and were good at disappearing.

    We bought some Garlic Parmesan Pork Sausages and Grass Fed Hamburger Meat. There was a slight misunderstanding with me and the meat man who I thought instructed me to make the burgers thick, since they are lean, and not cook them for too long so they don't shrink, but he meant thick in diameter not in height, and that night we basically ate steak tartar. It was actually amazing. The sausages were out of this world, too. The raw leftover hamburgers and one odd sausage went into making a delicious hash for breakfast.

    A cool stand was selling clever jewelry made from kitchen utensils. Spoon earrings are all the rage in Vermont apparently.

    There was not a lot of produce up for grabs except some lettuce, but we had CSA veggies to get through. We did get some amazing bread. The whole wheat baguette was something very special. A crisp crust and chewy inside. Perfect. I also got a Kale, Cheddar and Garlic Foccaccia. It was superb.

    We picked up some farm fresh local organic eggs, those light blue ones which I have been dying to try, but in NY they are $8/dozen. These were only $4/dozen. They had the most beautiful yokes I have ever seen and such a distinct egg flavor, not like the poor excuse for eggs you get in the supermarket. I love it when eggs still have dirt and chicken feathers stuck to them because you know how fresh they are.  

   A visit to lemonade stand yielded an unbelievably perfectly sweet and sour glass of cold lemonade and some brioche to make French Toast in the morning. The lemonade man instructed us to slice the bread and let it stale overnight. I would need Maple Syrup and I wanted Grade B. I had seen a Bobby Flay Pancake Throw Down recently versus the owner's of the Clinton Street Bakery, and they preferred Grade B with which they made a Maple Butter. But the maple syrup ladies at the Farmer's Market didn't have their act together, so the next morning I walked to a house a few miles up the road where I had noticed a sign that read, "Maple Syrup For Sale Here." Sweet Rita and her rambunctious grandsons hooked me up with a jug of Grade B and it delivered. Along with all the other local goodies, our stay in Vermont was a delicious one.