Local Oktoberfest Dinner

It’s a lot of fun to celebrate culinary traditions, even when they aren’t necessarily a part of one’s personal cultural heritage, as long as we remember to honor the line between appreciation and appropriation. These experiences help open our minds and our palates to the unique traditions and flavors of different cultures. With this in mind, we’re sharing a delicious recipe for an Oktoberfest meal with a unique Vermont twist! Dabbling in this German culinary tradition is also budget-friendly since many of the ingredients are featured in our weekly sale from September 28th – October 4th, so pick up some Picnic Provisions bratwurst, Flack Family Farm kraut, and a VonTrapp brew, and revel in the flavors of Oktoberfest in Vermont!

Cherry Strudel

Our weekly sale from September 29th – October 5th celebrates the culinary traditions of Oktoberfest, and an Oktoberfest celebration isn’t quite complete without a cherry strudel for dessert! You’ll find frozen tart cherries in the weekly sale display and this recipe will help you roll them into a decadently delicious strudel!

Localvore Cottage Pie

As our September Eat Local Challenge rolls on we hope you’re enjoying the bounty that Vermont has to offer! We’ve been thrilled to see the rows of corn kernels continuing to grow on our Big Corn at the store entry, indicating the dollars paid to local farmers and producers thus far this month! Our Weekly Sale from September 21st – 27th features another lineup of local ingredients that can be pulled together into this hearty localvore Cottage Pie that will fill your belly, earn you points in the Eat Local Challenge, and help us add even more kernels to Big Corn! 

Apple Yogurt Parfait

As we reach the halfway point of our September Eat Local Challenge, we’re excited to share this quick and easy Apple Yogurt Parfait featuring a list of some of our favorite local ingredients. This parfait makes a delicious breakfast, snack, or dessert that you can prepare in advance and enjoy on the go! For the dessert version, consider subbing in a local ice cream in place of the skyr and drizzling the top with a bit of local honey or maple syrup. You’ll find most of the ingredients you’ll need in our weekly sale from September 14th – 20th, including Gammelgarden Creamery skyr and Quaker Hill granola, so it’s a perfect time to whip up this localvore treat!

Localvore Pizza

What do you get when you layer local Vermont Fresh basil pesto, Maplebrook Farm fresh mozzarella, Dell’Amore pizza sauce, and local, organic red peppers onto Slice of Vermont fresh pizza dough? A localvore pie that raises the pizza night bar to new heights! You’ll find these ingredients featured in our Weekly Sale from September 7th – 13th at a great price, and they’ll all help you tally points in the September Eat Local Challenge. They’ll also help us continue to add kernels to the Big Corn located at the Co-op entry, which tracks dollars paid to local farmers and producers all month long! 

 

Grilled Sausage & Veggies

Savor these last sweet days of summer with this simple recipe that calls for putting it all on the grill. It’ll keep the heat out of the kitchen, minimize cleanup, and it’s a perfect way to celebrate the flavors of the season. You’ll find most of the ingredients in our weekly sale from August 31st – September 6th, including local sausages from our friends at Vermont Salumi, and it’s a perfect way to kick off the September Eat Local Challenge

Grilling Cheese

We know what you’re thinking: “Wait, cheese on the grill? What a gooey, sticky mess!” And we get it:  a slice of cheddar or mozzarella would melt right through the grates. But thanks to a category of grilling cheeses including halloumi, berloumi, paneer, and coalho, to name a few, you can enjoy a cheese that sears and becomes crisp and charred on the outside, while remaining soft and almost squeaky on the inside. Halloumi, which hails from Cyprus, is perhaps the most widely-known grilling cheese and has a uniquely firm texture and high melting point, so it can stand up to all sorts of cooking methods: pan-frying, roasting, broiling, grilling, or frying. Halloumi is a registered trademark owned by the government of Cyprus as a protected Designation of Origin, so only those products made in certain parts of Cyprus can be called “halloumi”. Therefore, halloumi-style cheeses produced outside of Cyprus are often simply labeled “grilling cheese.” Our weekly sale from August 31st – September 6th features Kourella’s Grilling Cheese, so this is a perfect time to fire up the grill and give it a try! It’s a highly versatile dish that can be enjoyed as an appetizer, a salad, a sandwich addition, or even drizzled with honey for a sweet-and-savory dessert!

Grilled Sausage & Veggies

Savor these last sweet days of summer with this simple recipe that calls for putting it all on the grill. It’ll keep the heat out of the kitchen, minimize cleanup, and it’s a perfect way to celebrate the flavors of the season. You’ll find most of the ingredients in our weekly sale from August 31st – September 6th, including local sausages from our friends at Vermont Salumi, and it’s a perfect way to kick off the September Eat Local Challenge

Tuna Waldorf Salad

It’s back to school time, and whether you’re packing lunches to send with your kids or pulling together simple lunches for homeschool breaks, we think you’ll love this twist on a classic salad. You’ll find many of the ingredients in our weekly sale from August 24th – 30th, so it’s a great time to give it a try.  Serve it over a bed of greens with crackers, on your favorite sandwich bread, or in one of the wraps featured in this week’s sale! 

Peanut Butter Raisin Granola Bars

Back-to-school time is just around the corner and we think these healthy and versatile homemade granola bars will be a big hit with your little lunch packers. You’ll find many of the ingredients featured in the weekly sale from August 17th – 23rd, so it’s a perfect time to whip up a batch or two. If nut allergies are of concern, feel free to use sunflower seeds instead of almonds and sun butter in lieu of nut butter. Also, feel free to be creative with add-ins. Substitute 1/3 cup of the oats for 1/3 cup of shredded coconut, add chocolate chips instead of raisins (or a combo of the two!), sub in other dried fruits, add up to two tablespoons of chia seeds, add cinnamon or cocoa powder…you get the idea!