Saturday, August 6, 2011

A Stowe-cation






Sorry for being silent for so long. We were away for a bit and then the computer kept not getting turned on…but it’s on now!



We had a picture-perfect, long weekend in Stowe, Vermont, where we attended the wedding of wonderful young friends. I was nervous for ages before, because it was an outdoor wedding and I prayed to the Sun God to make an appearance and SHE DID! The sun came out the afternoon of the wedding and the gorgeous blue sky made a beautiful backdrop to the gorgeous bride and groom (not to
mention the gorgeous wedding party and the gorgeous parents of both the bride and groom).



But the first part of our trip was a visit to hungry relatives. We had a lovely lunch with Boulder…

This isn't ME making the picture big, he IS big.

Drover…
And Leo…


Oh, and we visited with my father and the Mrs. too. I brought lunch – my fav orzo salad with roasted vegetables and poached chicken and a peach cake (made with nectarines).






Then onward to Stowe for a beautiful 5 hour drive with NO traffic.

Dinner that night was at Harrison’s, which was a homey, cozy bar/restaurant right on the Main Street of Stowe. A lot of choices – I opted for 2 starters – first a goat cheese salad and then the Ginger Blueberry Ahi Tuna - barely seared tuna served with pear slices and a carrot and red onion slaw with a drizzle of a blueberry MAPLE (we WERE in Vermont) sauce. It was slightly sweet…which is how I like my savory things.



The crab cakes were good too and the salmon (with a MAPLE glaze) was perfectly cooked.

 

We had the next day free for sightseeing...aka shopping. :-) The town of Stowe has lots of little outposts for picking up vacay mementos. My favorite places:

Stowe Craft Gallery 55 Mountain Road

They carry all kinds of arts and crafts, heavy on the arts. I found this gorgeous honey spoon there, made by Jonathan’s Wild Cherry Spoons. (I found some honey later on too.)


Jonathan makes a spoon for every occasion, including spootles – a cross between and spatula and a spoon - and a lazy spoon, which rests safely on the edge of the pot AND the handle stays cool.

Stowe Mercantile Depot Building, Main St.

Even the name sounds homey. They have syrup and more syrup and jams, fudge and maple sugar candy. There’s also a great book store with interesting post cards.



Stowe Fabric and Yarn 82 Park Street

What a cute store, even if you’re not a knitter or sewer. They have plenty of homemade things that you won’t be able to resist. I can't tell you what I bought until after Christmas, Oh, there WAS this pretty glasses holder…


Stowe Maple Products 2618 Waterbury Rd.



THIS should have been my first step for syrup, but I didn’t know…so I just had to buy more here. See all that stuff on the shelves? I bought a little of everything.




 

We had time for one last stop at The Taste of Stowe Arts Festival.






Jonathan of the gorgeous spoons was there with even more amazing wooden spoons and implements. And look at these Vermont Rolling Pins.


They are impressive. I might be hesitant to get them sticky and floury, but they are definitely usable. They would look great on the wall too. You can see all their beautiful hand-turned rolling pins here.


We made time to go to the superlative Dutch Pancake Café in the Grey Fox Inn.


I made someone at my table ask the server why there were pancakes on the menu as well as pannekoeken AND I made him pronounce it in a very authentic, weird way with an umlaut sound. The server said they were exactly the same and she had no idea why some were called Dutch Pancakes and some were called Pannekoeken. Alrighty then…



They were all good. The veggie sausage pancake were yummy. The non-meat sausage was excellent.



The frittata looked good, as did the omelet.



My Apple Blueberry Dutch Pancake was the best thing on the table, but I do hope those tiny blueberries were wild ones and not canned.


Oh, I almost forgot we were there for a wedding. As I said, it was a splendid day. The sky was blue;


the bride was ecstatic; the groom was touching and every last detail was perfect. All the syrup I found WAS a fantastic bonus, but with every drop that I enjoy, I’ll remember that the wedding was the real sweet spot of the weekend.



5 comments:

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

Your description is so good, I feel like I was with you, on the trip.

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

Reminds me of my early childhood when my uncle lived in Vermont (worked as a golf pro in various country clubs) and almost every summer my brother and I would go up there for a weekend to visit him. I remember even going to Stowe one weekend to watch him play a tournament there. I still remember a rustic country shop or two.

I want that breakfast! I don't have too many memories of Vermont food unfortunately. My grandparents didnt' like restaurants.

That was an interesting wedding cake for sure!

Sue said...

Hi Bizzy B.,
Thanks so much. Stowe is such a lovely place to visit. There's so much more I want to do there.

Hey Rach,
I wonder where your uncle went during the Vermont winters.

People didn't go to restaurants all the time then like we do now.

I liked the cake. It looked like a birch tree.

I’d have such a hard time deciding what kind of wedding cake to have if I ever needed another one. There are so many awesome kinds of cake – white cake with lemon curd…or chocolate fudge cake with vanilla buttercream, a carrot cake with a cream cheese mascarpone filling…I don’t know! Just not red velvet…Actually, I’d be pretty darn happy with an ice cream cake.

Emily said...

Mmm if I ever get married, I want an ice cream cake.

So that's where you were! I knew you were up to something. :) I'm glad you had a good trip! It seems like a beautiful little town.

I want to go to that pancake place very badly. I love dutch baby pancakes! Did they give you lemon to squeeze on top? I've heard that's the thing to do.

Sue said...

Em!
I feel as if should I rush right back up to the pancake place and demand a lemon. I definitely wasn't offered one.

Your choice of wedding cake will probably be a hard call. Aren't there so many different cakes you love? Oh and I suppose the groom is supposed to have a say too. How annoying!