Veggie Fermentation

In the context of food preservation, fermentation is the transformation of food by various bacteria, fungi, and the enzymes they produce in an effort to preserve them. Our ability to ferment foods as a means of preservation dates back to the dawn of recorded history. It is a process that is inextricably linked to our culture as human beings and is, in large part, responsible for our survival as human beings, as it allowed our earliest ancestors to preserve and store food to get through long winters and periods of famine. It also renders our food more nutritious, more flavorful, and easier to digest, delivering a healthy dose of living probiotic bacteria to our microbiome. Join Jason Elberson of Sobremesa at Wool Folk Homestead in this hands-on workshop where you’ll learn the basics of veggie fermentation and leave equipped to give this a try at home!

Jason Elberson, along with his partner Caitlin, are the founders of Sobremesa Farm to Ferment. They reside at Wool Folk Homestead in Charlotte, VT, where they practice regenerative agriculture, raising a diverse polyculture of perennial and annual veggies, fruits, and herbs, along with rotationally-grazed Icelandic sheep and laying hens. They began Sobremesa with the desire to provide their community with nourishing food and to encourage people to slow down for mealtimes and connect and converse after sharing a meal. “Sobremesa” is a Spanish word that describes the time after a meal spent lingering around the table, having food-induced conversations with people with whom you shared the meal. Sobremesa is a time to digest and savor food, family, and friendship. These connections are the heart of their vision: to provide their community with local food, including traditionally preserved foods, year-round. 

Advance registration is required. Please register at least one week in advance. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first-come, first-served. All classes are $30, or FREE for members of the Co-op’s Food For All Program. To register, email Denise at the Hannaford Career Center (dsenesac@pahcc.org) or call (802) 382-1004. 

Tamales

Microfiber Lab: Exploring the Effects of Washing Machines on Textiles

Welcome to the fun, hands-on introduction to microfiber pollution! Guided by microfiber experts Brooke Winslow and Ashley Sullivan, design the experiment yourself to learn how washing machines are causing shedding and the simple strategies you can use to make your everyday laundry routine more sustainable while saving money and energy. Participants will leave with a free Cora Ball! 

Brooke Winslow is one of the co-inventors of Cora Ball and a passionate ocean and lake lover. She grew up sailing in the Pacific Northwest before coming to the East Coast for college and falling in love with Vermont. Together with the founders of Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean, she learned about microfiber pollution from washing machines and was inspired to develop a solution accessible to everyone. With inspiration from coral filtering plankton from the ocean, Cora Ball was made to protect our waterways and our clothes!

Ashley Sullivan grew up on an island surrounded by the sea in South Florida and has been involved in the design, implementation, and ongoing management of Environmental Education programs at multiple nonprofits for the past 20 years. She is the Executive Director of the Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean, a lifelong sailor, ocean lover, and a USCG captain. Ashley’s strength as an Educator is her creativity and ability to connect with people of all ages. In addition, she is one of the captain’s aboard Rozalia Project’s oceanographic research sailing vessel, American Promise, which travels the U.S. recovering marine debris, collecting data, and sharing the story of Rozalia Project. Ashley loves to inspire people to be part of the solution through storytelling, cleanups, education programs, and presentations. When she is not traveling she lives in Vermont and spends her days in the snowy mountains with her dog, riding her bike or playing in, on or near the shores of Lake Champlain.

Advance registration is required. Please register at least one week in advance. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first-come, first-served. All classes are $30, or FREE for members of the Co-op’s Food For All Program. To register, email Denise at the Hannaford Career Center (dsenesac@pahcc.org) or call (802) 382-1004. 

Crop to Cup: Spilling the Beans on Specialty Coffee

Join Steven Colageli from Paradiso Farm Coffee for an exciting dive into the world of coffee. We’ll learn about the farmers from whom Colangeli sources his green coffee beans, green coffee processing methods, green coffee purchasing, coffee origins, coffee roasting, and the way that roasting impacts flavor profiles. Participants will also explore different brewing methods and we’ll brew coffee together using the pour-over method. Bring your coffee questions — there will be plenty of time for Q & A. And everyone will leave with a free bag of Paradiso Farm coffee!

Steve Colangeli and Dovie Bailey are co-owners of Paradiso Farm Coffee, a micro-batch, farm-roasted coffee business located on their farm in Charlotte, Vermont. Paradiso Farm is committed to their local community, being sustainable in all aspects of business, and having fun while doing it! Armed with a degree in Horticulture and Agronomy, Colangeli has always had a passion for working with the land and has dreamed about owning a small organic, community-based farm for as long as he can remember. His mission is to educate coffee customers on not just how to experience the best cup of coffee but to understand where their coffee is sourced and the amazing stories of the farmers that grow the coffee. A portion of sales are donated to local non-profit organizations and Colangeli strives to purchase organic and wild-grown coffee beans whenever possible. He also delivers by bike for local deliveries!

Advance registration is required. Please register at least one week in advance. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first-come, first-served. All classes are $30, or FREE for members of the Co-op’s Food For All Program. To register, email Denise at the Hannaford Career Center (dsenesac@pahcc.org) or call (802) 382-1004. 

Cooking Grass-Fed Beef

Industrial livestock production has been rightfully implicated in many injurious processes including land degradation, excess water use, nutrient excretion, fossil fuel use, and emission of greenhouse gases. However, when livestock are raised on their natural diets of grasses and other diverse forage, they offer great potential to positively impact human health and the health of our environment. Properly managed grass-fed cattle raised in silvopasture systems, like those at Squier Family Farm in Tinmouth, VT, are capable of sequestering carbon and regenerating land by restoring soil microbial diversity and increasing soil organic matter, making land more resilient to flooding and drought. This practice can also boost the nutrient content of the meat, resulting in more heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, more antioxidants, and more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Join Meadow Squier of Squier Family Farm to learn more about how her cattle are raised and how to prepare the meat, including one of her favorite recipes for “farmers deli meat”, a dish made from a marinated, sliced beef roast.

Meadow Squier is the female force behind a small, local family farm that focuses on regenerative agriculture and farming in ways that provide maximum ecological benefit while providing high-quality food for their community. They are excited to be building a large-scale silvopasture system on their 300-acre farm and seek to continually learn more about how they can better integrate regenerative food production on their steep, rocky terrain in Tinmouth. They take their land and animal stewardship roles very seriously and take pride in building ecologically beneficial farming systems that nourish their community.

Advance registration is required. Please register at least one week in advance. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first-come, first-served. All classes are $30, or FREE for members of the Co-op’s Food For All Program. To register, email Denise at the Hannaford Career Center (dsenesac@pahcc.org) or call (802) 382-1004. 

Mushroom Walk

Are you fungi-curious? Do you see interesting mushrooms in your travels and wish you knew more about these fascinating organisms? In this workshop, we will explore the woods and learn about the mushrooms we find along the way including what they are, how to identify them, and the essential roles that these fungi play in forest ecology. We will also discuss the importance of community science and learn tips and tricks for taking mushroom photos. We will meet at Wright Park on Seymour Street Extension in Middlebury at 5:00 pm. Wear comfortable walking shoes, weather-appropriate clothing, and bring your questions and curiosity! A smartphone equipped with the iNaturalist app is a plus, but not required. 

Fungi educator, author, and professional photographer, Meg Madden, can often be found in the forests of her childhood practicing what she calls “mushroom yoga” — laying on the ground, standing on her head, or balancing precariously on a log — to capture the perfect snail’s-eye view of her favorite photo subject: Fungi! Her colorful, highly detailed mushroom portraits offer an intimate look into the often-overlooked world of these extraordinary organisms. Inspired by the belief that people are more likely to take care of something they love, she finds great joy in facilitating fun and meaningful connections between humans and nature. Meg shares her knowledge and contagious passion for the fantastic world of fungi through visually engaging presentations, mushroom walks, and via her Instagram gallery @megmaddendesign. An advocate for fungal diversity and community science, Meg teaches iNaturalist classes, organizes educational workshops and Bioblitzes, and is compiling an Atlas Of Fungi for the state of Vermont.

Advance registration is required. Please register at least one week in advance. Enrollment is first-come, first-served. This class will be capped at 15 participants. All classes are $30, or FREE for members of the Co-op’s Food For All Program. To register, email Denise at the Hannaford Career Center (dsenesac@pahcc.org) or call (802) 382-1004.