Wahoo!!! THLG field trip to King Arthur Flour today!

Tucked in the hills of rural Norwich, VT off Route 5 is the beautiful and newly renovated King Arthur Flour campus.

A 100% employee-owned company, King Arthur Flour began in 1790.

I get really excited about King Arthur Flour. King Arthur is all about pure ingredients, excellent baking supplies, and bringing joy to others through baking. Makes me smile just to step inside. There’s the Baker’s Store, Bakery, Cafe and Baking Education Center. I’ve not taken a cooking class there. (Yet.)

 Love the vaulted beam ceiling in the Baker’s Store and Cafe.

You’ll find everything you could possibly need for baking.

And more. (Jon gets nervous when I come here.)

Need a spatula?

Among other things, I bought the KAF popover mix,

And baked these yummy popovers later. Lots of happy boys at my house.

How ’bout CHOCOLATE? The chocolate comes in 2 lb. triangle blocks like this.

So many dizzying choices on the shelves!

Boy I’d love to snag this wooden sign, make a dining room table. It’d be difficult to tuck under my arm, and could only work if I lived at the Biltmore. (Besides, it would be larceny.)

Check out this fancy chalk board wreath. Lots ‘o JOY!

Now we’re peeking into that all important room, the Bakery! (And Cervantes had it right.)

 A closer peek at the bread artisans at work!

Check out the many delights behind the glass at the Cafe….

Oo oo oo! See the whoopee pies? (Pumpkin today.)

So many great lunch choices in the Cafe…I chose Carrot Ginger Bisque, with a baguette.

Love the pictures…

Nice to see the local Maine support…:)

The best way to enjoy King Arthur Flour is with good friends! King Arthur is an experience in every sense of the word. From shopping, to bread baking, to lunch in the Cafe…I’ve never been disappointed by a King Arthur visit. If you’re a foodie and baker, put it on your bucket list. If you like to shop, add it to the list.

King Arthur also puts out a great catalog, The Baker’s Catalogue. So if you’re too far to visit, the free catalog is an experience in itself: excellent photography, inspiration, recipes and of course, shopping! Plan a visit today: King Arthur

Related post: Sugarbush Farms

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This silly “conservation” soap, manufactured in Cranston, RI is sure to bring a smile and can be found at The Vermont Country Store.  http://www.vermontcountrystore.com  I found it in the store but not on-line, FYI. (I don’t suggest gifting this soap cavalierly!)

It’s far more bless-ed (fun!) to give than receive. We all know that. I’ve been having fun planning my gifting for Christmas. It’s not necessarily the what or the dollar amount, but the thought behind the giving that brings me joy.

This week I’m thinking about stocking stuffers and creating The Sophisticated Christmas Stocking. So let’s up the ante a little. Not in dollars, but in joyful, thoughtful giving. Yes, let’s up the “thoughtfulness” ante. Here are some ideas:

How about a little mousie cheese board and spreader from New Hampshire Bowl and Board?  www.newhampshirebowlandboard.com  (I found this one at 103 Artisans Marketplace in Chester, Vermont  www.103artisanmarketplace.com )

You’ll need  some gourmet Vermont cheese for the board. Check out Cobb Hill. I liked the Ascutney Mountain.  cobbhillcheese.com/buy-cheese  Or choose something extra special from Cabot Cheese.  http://www.cabotcheese.coop/pages/our_products/  I love Cabot’s Artisan Reserve Cheese. http://www.cabotcheese.coop/artisan-reserve-cheddar  A stick of hard salami would be a great addition to The Sophisticated Christmas Stocking!

How about a personalized coupon date book for your sweetheart from www.datevitation.com? They give you over five hundred ideas and make it easy for you to design online.

This mason jar soap dispenser turns an ordinary mason jar into a soap dispenser. Cute for the kitchen or bathroom. I found this at the Vermont Country Store. http://www.vermontcountrystore.com

How about a set of specialty extracts for The Sophisticated Christmas Stocking? I got these at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont. I use the Maple Flavor for Maple Walnut Biscotti. The Fiori Di Sicilia flavors cakes and muffins. I’ve used the Eggnog Flavor in sugar cookies. You’ll find a huge assortment of high quality flavorings and extracts at http://search.kingarthurflour.com/search?w=extracts%20and%20flavoring&af=type:products

I loved this book Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, wife of Charles Lindbergh. It will make you think, in a good way. Anne was amazing: a gifted author, wife and mother. She was a thinker.  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_14?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=gifts+from+the+sea+by+anne+morrow+lindbergh&sprefix=gifts+from+the%2Cstripbooks%2C236

I devoured the above insightful book in about three hours on a flight to California last summer. Check it out here. http://www.amazon.com/Essentialism-Disciplined-Pursuit-Greg-McKeown/dp/0804137382/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418266528&sr=1-1&keywords=essentialism+the+disciplined+pursuit+of+less&pebp=1418266531516

Not all spices are created equal. A friend gave me this set for my birthday last year. WOW! She’s a great gift giver, and I love these. The Vietnamese cinnamon is wonderful. Penzeys is known for their high quality spices and mixes. https://www.penzeys.com  Penzeys Spices is located in Arlington, Massachusetts.

I just discovered this wonderful hand and body scrub locally at Arcadya Salon & Spa. This month’s specialty is Ginger and Vanilla, made of European Dead Sea Salts and natural oils. Arcadya actually makes it! It smells so incredible you’ll want to eat it from the jar with a spoon. (Don’t.) This is a rare treat, and the same product used for the pampering treatments at Arcadya Spa. Message my friend Joni for more information or to order.  www.ArcadyaSalon.com

You could make some homemade Vanilla Bean Maple Syrup. That would be a very welcome gift. Directions here: http://throughherlookingglass.com/?p=1156

You can buy this rich nourishing cream at the Moon Dog Cafe in Chester, Vermont. You can also get it at Amazon.com.  http://www.amazon.com/Naturally-European-GINGER-Luxury-Butter/dp/B004JEV2GE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1416949776&sr=8-3&keywords=ginger+%26+lime+luxury+cream  

How about a nice garlic press?  Check out this one: http://www.amazon.com/Prepworks-Progressive-International-GIGP-93-Non-Stick/dp/B0000DZ10V/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1418267296&sr=8-8&keywords=garlic+press 

A funky roll of duck tape would be nice. Everyone needs duck tape. I got mine locally at Five Below. http://www.fivebelow.com

A favorite cocktail or martini recipe attached to a shot would be nice. (Or a couple coupons redeemable for different bottles of international beer you’ve previously stashed in the fridge.)

Give a “coupon” for a homemade pizza date night “in”. Attach it to this great Pizza Dough Flavor from King Arthur Flour. The cheeses and spices make homemade pizza dough extra special. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/pizza-dough-flavor-4-oz-jar

A few more ideas:

• A  delicious bottle of wine mead from www.Artesanomead.com in Groton, Vermont.  “Located in beautiful Groton, Vermont, Artesano produces high quality, hand crafted meads from local Vermont honey and fruit. Small batch sizes and attention to detail transform one of nature’s sweetest gifts to a fine wine that can be enjoyed throughout the year.”
• Carwash coupon book
• Gourmet coffee and tea
• Starbucks giftcard
• Movie tickets
• Homemade treats – peppermint bark, sugared pecans, jams and jellies
• Nuts and fruit

Have fun spoiling the wonderful people in your life this Christmas. Hope this list was helpful. Please comment below and share your stocking stuffer ideas with the rest of us!

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A few girlfriends and I recently flew the coop for a little Vermont getaway. Flap flap flap, all the way to the Green Mountain state. The mountains were still green. But they won’t be for long. The first significant snowfall of the season is forecasted today. It’s not that I’m surprised. I was born in New England. I get it. It’s just that it was sixty-seven degrees yesterday. (Oh right. I live in New England.)

So we had a great trip. One of our “finds” was a lovely little “town on the green” in Chester, VT. Lovelier still, were the many artisan shops that surround it. We oohed and ahhed over handmade pottery, jewelry and other unique items. My favorite boutique was Sage Jewelry, with lots of artsy home decor items including beautiful, funky jewelry.  www.sagejewelryVT.com

We finally wrenched ourselves away from our delightful rainy shopping adventure for a late lunch at the Moon Dog Cafe in Chester. We found it completely by accident, a local shopkeeper put us onto it. Check out their blog, Moondogcafe.blogspot.com It’s a little out of date but gives you the flavor. You can also find Moon Dog Cafe on FaceBook.

We didn’t find the moon or a howling pooch inside, but definitely a feast for our senses. There were several dimly lit seating areas in the quaint café, and a cozy alcove with window seats and a Main Street view. The menu included creative sandwiches, wraps and homemade soups. I chose an apple and brie wrap with Vermont Maple Mustard. Divine. There were steaming drinks, coffees and lattes. Pumpkin latte and a “hot maple” were high on my “wanna try” list. I picked the “hot maple”. (More on that another day!)

The pie case was jammed with every imaginable sweet: enormous thin, homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin and Ginger Scones, New York Crumb Cake, Moosewood Brownies, Pumpkin Cupcakes, Coconut Macaroons, Coconut Chocolate Chip Biscotti, Blondies, Blueberry Pie Bars, and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars.

I quickly realized that the Moon Dog Cafe is a magical place to visit, but I could never live in Chester. Or even nearby. A few days of this and I’d be unable to waddle out the back door. (Which wouldn’t be all bad.) Far too many naughty temptations for such a sweet little café.

And last but not least, there was even more shopping at Moon Dog Cafe. Wonderful scents, lotions and soaps in abundance. I swooned at the Ginger & Lime Luxury Hand Cream, 20% shea butter by Naturally European. Made in England, the cream is rich and moisturizing, the scent clean and fresh. I also loved the Lemon Verbena.

Men, are you listening? This would make an A+ stocking stuffer next month. You can buy it at the Moon Dog Cafe in Chester, Vermont. But you can also get it on Amazon.com.

http://www.amazon.com/Naturally-European-GINGER-Luxury-Butter/dp/B004JEV2GE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1416949776&sr=8-3&keywords=ginger+%26+lime+luxury+cream  

(While on Amazon I also discovered Ginger & Lime Luxury Foot Cream and Ginger & Lime Body Cream. Amazon: a dangerous place.)

Better yet, maybe you can find Ginger & Lime Luxury Hand Cream by Naturally European locally.

I did splurge on the Ginger & Lime Luxury Hand Cream. (And I’m not sorry!)

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So last summer my boys and I stumble-tripped our way along windy Route 15 towards Cabot, VT. We were coming from my aunt and uncle’s lake cottage in lovely West Danville, VT. It was a cloudy day, but the scenery and mountain vistas were still breathtakingly beautiful.

We passed the most photographed scenic valley in Vermont on our left. It’s directly across the road from Al May’s house.

Who is Al May? Why he was the wonderful Man with the Derby Hat, an auctioneer in Cabot for nearly fifty years. Talk about a character! The stories he could tell.

I’ll have to fill you in more another day. Sadly he’s no longer with us, but he’s pictured above with his dear wife Velma. Jon and I visited Mr. May and his barn when we honeymooned in VT in the summer of ’93. I use the term visit loosely.

We picked through the floor-to-ceiling pile of for-sale antiques (and random junk!) in the ramshackle barn overflowing with leftover treasures from his auctioneer days. But that’s a story for another day. (I will say, I’m so glad we had our ’84 pick-up truck along!) We continued east on VT 215, rounded a few more bends and landed in Cabot.

  Just one more left turn and we arrived at Cabot Creamery.

We saw this in the parking lot. (Vermonters take their snow-mobiling very seriously.)

We  toured the Creamery. It was big, impressive. (And we obediently kept our paws off the windows.)

We were amazed by the ingenuity and foresight of the  dairy farmers who banded together back in 1919 as a Cooperative Creamery to ensure the survival of their dairy community. (It worked! And how.)

There are  so many wonderful dairy products in the Cabot Creamery store. Our favorite is the Artisan Cheddar Cheese, packaged in red wax. (Not  pictured here.) We sampled. And sampled. (And sampled some more!)

And then it was time for dessert. Have you ever had one of these incredible Butternut Mountain Farm Maple Leaf Cookies? They are absolutely amazing. Even more so with a hot cup o’ joe. If you love maple syrup, these are the cookies for you.

And if you’ve been searching high and low for a pair of men’s hot pink moo-moo boxers, you can find them here! (None of my boys seemed interested.)

They also have a wonderful selection of organic honey products. Mmmmm.

Bar none, my favorite product in the store was the Vermont Maple Syrup with Vanilla Bean from Butternut Mountain Farm.  I took one taste, shut my eyes, opened them again. My feet were still firmly planted on earth. The essence of vanilla beans combined with maple syrup is heavenly. I loved it so much that I came home and researched bottling some myself. I’m very excited to share that simple recipe with you very soon. (Hint: it would make a great Christmas gift.)

We had such a wonderful visit to the Cabot Creamery. I hope you get to visit someday.  http://www.cabotcheese.coop

As a bonus, we found this cute little furry guy in the parking lot on our way out!

Do you have a wonderful Vermont memory? Please share in the comment section today! (Especially if you saw a moose!)

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