Farm fresh veggies for the boys in Oliver was not an option. They would have even been happy to have “Hot sausage and mustard!” but gruel was the order of the day.
We sing “food glorious food”
When we here in the Mad River Valley of Vermont sing of “food glorious food” we know that there are farm fresh, locally grown veggies and products available at our fingertips. Tasty salad greens, veggies of all sorts, plant ripened fruit, grass fed beef and lamb and free range poultry and eggs. Jams and preserves made in small batches, hand made chocolates, grains giving wholesome loaves of bread, ah yes, and local craft beer and wine.
Hardly a day goes by that one doesn’t see an article on healthy eating. Magazines, newspapers, the Internet, and TV programs, are all touting the benefits of healthy eating. How lucky the Mad River Valley is that we have several Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs making healthy eating a “no-brainer”!
Local Farmers Supply Fresh Produce
Each year West Hill House B&B purchases a summer and fall share in the Muddy Boots CSA. That’s 23 weeks and 60 varieties of farm fresh veggies and fruits. Muddy Boots is a collaborative effort which started with 3 organic farms and “special guest” farms from time-to-time to now five organic farms, Cloud Water Farm, Wood’s Market Garden, Tamarack Hollow Farm, Trillium Hill Farm, and Burnt Rock Farm. Farmers and their families each farming for a living, each growing different crops. And we have special “add on” items such as fresh locally grown flowers, locally grown and dried beans and locally made yogurt.
A lot goes into Muddy Boots CSA. All winter the farms have each been planning and preparing for the coming season. Believe it or not, the growing season is underway, it started in February! The crew at Wood’s Market Garden are already hard at work grafting tomato plants in their balmy tropical greenhouses even as the snow is falling outside.
The other two farms have ordered their seeds and soil supplements have been delivered and they are getting ready to to start their seasons as well.
Spring & Summer Fresh Fruit & Veggies
The first share of the season has always included a beautiful array of salad makings: tomatoes, salad greens baby carrots, beets, spinach, and lettuce. Shortly after that we will be getting beautiful, luscious, straight-from-the-plant strawberries along with more veggies.
As mid-summer approaches we look forward to such veggies as new potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots and as summer winds down, along with peppers, onions and eggplants, there is nothing so welcome as watermelon or perhaps cantaloupe melon.
Fall Produce You Can Store
The fall share includes potatoes such as russet, white, red and golden, sweet potatoes, onions and a wide range of winter squash.
The fall vegetables can be stored and last well into the winter months. Salad greens are usually included in the weekly fall offerings along with cabbage, parsnips, napa cabbage, turnips and beets.
Our Breakfasts Feature Fresh CSA Produce
We use these farm offerings in our West Hill House B&B breakfasts. Our guests love the produce from Muddy Boots CSA and appreciate the hard work the farm families undertake to provide us with such bounty.
Oh, and by the way, we know there are folks here in Vermont that make hot sausages and mustard that would exceed the wishes of the young boys in Oliver!
