On this episode of Dishing with Stephanies Dish”, I chat with guest Tracey Medeiros to discuss her cookbook, "The Vermont Farm To Table Cookbook." Tracey talks about the inspiration behind the book and her passion for community-driven cookbooks. She emphasizes the importance of building a relationship with recipe contributors and provides tips for utilizing excess produce. The conversation then turns to the impact of supporting local farmers and the farm-to-table movement, with Tracey sharing two recipes from her cookbook. The episode closes with discussing the importance of educating the next generation and supporting local farmers to strengthen the community.

Vermont is known for its maple syrup, goat cheese, and farm-to-table spirit. The recipes and stories of ‘The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook” bring a little piece of that Vermont spirit into your home kitchen. After 10 years, author Tracey Medeiros has revised and fully updated this cookbook to highlight the dedication of Vermont’s farmers. Readers can indulge in the comforting seasonal recipes and farm-fresh flavors this beautiful state offers while experimenting with their garden produce, CSA, or Farmer’s market finds, regardless of geography.

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Here is the Burrata Salad Tracey talked about from the ‘The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook”

Ingredients

Basil Pesto

Makes 1 3/4 cups 

2 tightly packed cups of fresh basil leaves

3 tablespoons raw pine nuts

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 2 ounces)

3 medium garlic cloves, coarsely chopped 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 

Salad  

8 ounces baby spinach, preferably local

2 medium strawberries, hulled, and sliced

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste 

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste  

2 (2-ounce) balls fresh burrata cheese, cut in half, preferably Maplebrook Farm

1/2 cup shelled pistachios, salted and roasted 

1 to 2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar, or to taste 

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

Instructions

* To make the basil pesto: Place the basil and pine nuts into the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times.

* Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano, garlic, salt, and pepper, then pulse several times more. While the processor is running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream until well blended and fairly smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 

* To make the salad: In a large bowl, toss together the spinach and strawberries. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, salt, and pepper until well combined. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste.

* Drizzle over the salad, tossing until well coated.

* To assemble: Smear the basil pesto onto a platter. Place the salad in the center of a platter. Place the burrata on top.

* Scatter the pistachios on and around the salad. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar on top and around the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at once.

Here is a transcript of our interview.

Stephanie [00:00:15]:

Hello, everybody, and welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's Dish, the podcast where we talk to fellow cookbook authors, food lovers, and anyone interested in the food space in the same obsessive way that I am. And Tracy Madeiros is actually, like, right in line with all my obsessions. She is the author of The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook. And Tracy, you are having your 10th anniversary with this amazing book. How exciting, ten years later, to get, like, a rerelease.

Tracey Medeiros [00:00:46]:

I was so happy when I received the call asking if I would be interested in revising the first edition, and I said yes.

Stephanie [00:00:58]:

When you think about your original writing of the cookbook, tell me about that process and why you decided to write it.

Tracey Medeiros [00:01:05]:

Sure. Well, I was writing a column for the Essex Reporter in Colchester Sun, and I just felt the dedication and the energy from these folks wanting to be in that column. And I thought, why not? Why don't I write another Vermont cookbook? So I asked my editor at the newspaper her thoughts on me turning my column into a book. And years prior, the publishing house, that Countryman Press, had approached me, and they asked me if I ever write another cookbook again, please let them know. So I called the gentleman up who had approached me about writing a book for them, and I said, hey, I'm thinking about turning my column into a book. What are your thoughts? And he said, I love the idea. And I sent him some sample recipes and some profile examples, and he gave me a contract. And that's how the first edition came about.

Stephanie [00:02:18]:

How many recipes were in the original cookbook?

Tracey Medeiros [00:02:21]:

The original cookbook had 150 recipes.

Stephanie [00:02:25]:

Okay. And I had a cookbook that had 170. So about the same amount. How long did it take you to put it all together?

Tracey Medeiros [00:02:33]:

It takes me, I just work nonstop. The second I get a contract, I just run Stephanie, and it's just all consuming, and it's my life. And I would say about a year. I have that same yeah. So you're like me. You just okay, I get the contract. Because it's a little daunting when you get that contract. It's exciting, but it's daunting because you have that pressure to produce and because you have so many people involved, and people have lives, and they're busy, and farmers are extremely busy. You just have to work nonstop. So I would say about a year.

Stephanie [00:03:21]:

Your cookbook. The Vermont farm to table cookbook reminds me in some respects. So two things. One, I think Vermont and Minnesota are familiar climate wise. There is a rural aspect to Vermont, but also then you kind of have this liberal city in Burlington. So I feel like my daughter went to college there. So I feel like I have some a bit of a touchstone with Vermont. But when I relooked at all of your recipes in this latest 10th edition, I really got that vibe that I got ten years ago or twelve years ago when I kind of fell in love with cooking as an adult in this farm to table movement. Like buying these really cool ingredients at farmers markets and then seeing what I could turn into them.

Tracey Medeiros [00:04:16]:

Vermont has always been ahead of the curve food wise. And I just find that the people in this realm are just so inspiring. And like you said, and I hope when readers open this book, they will just feel the love and the dedication. These contributors are just so dedicated, so passionate, and it's just such hard work and they're just so inspiring. And they really do this for community wellness, because being a farmer, it's not a lucrative business.

Stephanie [00:04:55]:

Right, like writing cookbooks.

Tracey Medeiros [00:04:57]:

Yeah, exactly. You have to have a love and a passion for it. And these folks really do. And I'm just so fortunate that they trust me with their profiles and their recipes. And I always make sure to send the materials back and I tell them, anything you want me to add or omit or edit, please do. Because my books are really a community cookbook and I want them to also, when I feel their love, I want them to feel my love back to them, my thank you for doing what they do. And like, you obviously you love doing cookbooks and you love food. You have to just love these folks because they help you and inspire you to do what you do and do it well. And I always want them to feel my appreciation, and I'm just so grateful for them over the last all these years doing what I've done.

Stephanie [00:06:09]:

I think the reason your cookbook really appeals to me too, is because I think I'm a good cook. But I am a home cook and I am always attracted to newspaper columns about recipes because I feel like you have an aesthetic and a point of view that is like you're imagining me standing in my regular kitchen like I don't have all the special supplies. And I felt like when I was reading the cookbook too, that it was super approachable and like food that everyday people can cook. And I know that sounds silly, but a lot of cookbooks, they're more aspirational and beautiful. Yours is like, I can do the things. I can make the Vermont Cheddar soup, I can make these salad dressings.

Tracey Medeiros [00:06:56]:

Well. That's what's so important to me when I do any of my cookbooks. Exactly what you have stated, Stephanie, that I want someone who doesn't cook that often but wants to cook at home once in a while. So, for instance, I have this wonderful Lebanese salad in there. And I think also when you're trying to educate and the importance of the whole farm to table movement and the reason why you should support your local farmer and the importance you want to have that net as wide as possible, you want to educate and entertain as many people as possible so that movement continues to grow and flourish. And that's why too, when I create these books, they're a recipe book, they're also with the profiles, they're interesting reads. So maybe someone might not try a certain recipe, but they're still learning about that farm and also a travel guide too to entice people to come to this state, but say you can't come to this state, you're still learning about our state.

Stephanie [00:08:22]:

Yeah, I did feel that because I felt like those farm stories, when you read about a goat cheese farmer, for instance, I might not have access to that person specific goat cheese, but it brings me back to a local goat cheese provider in Minnesota that I know has the same aesthetic or works, that same belief system. And it reminds me like, oh, I need to revisit so and so's farm.

Tracey Medeiros [00:08:50]:

Exactly. And that is my goal. Too you're walking through the farmers market and you tell yourself, oh, I saw this wonderful recipe utilizing goat cheese. I can't get the Vermont in my town, but I'm going to support my local farmer at this farmers market. And that's the goal, just to keep these farmers on the land and also to inspire the next generation, just to keep this growing and strengthening this, because it really is so important, the local farmer and what they do is just so connected to, again, to community wellness, to our health. And it's just really important to let them know that we appreciate them, we know what they do, we know that their work is hard work and it's just inspiring. It is really inspiring. Too if you think about it, every year, you don't know what you're going to yield.

Stephanie [00:09:52]:

Yeah.

Tracey Medeiros [00:09:52]:

And it's just hope and resilience at the end of your growing season what you will yield, and you hope that you will yield a lot, but they still every year are just so dedicated to the so dedicated to the community and year after year not knowing what they're going to yield. And it's pretty amazing how resilient they are.

Stephanie [00:10:18]:

I think this book speaks to gardeners, too, because I'm also a gardener, so I'm just coming up on starting to thin the beets and thin the Swiss yard and the radishes are finally poking their heads out of the ground. And I'm really feeling inspired with this book to carry it as a companion from my gardening season.

Tracey Medeiros [00:10:43]:

I love that. That is my goal. Too absolutely. And those who are members say of CSAs, where they exactly, yeah, an overabundance, say of potatoes or leaks that they can go through my cookbooks and say, you know what, this is a great way to use all these potatoes, or this is a great way to use all these tomatoes. So that's my other goal. Too or your garden. Sometimes you yield a lot of zucchini or whatever you're growing in your garden and you can't always give your neighbors extra ingredients that you grow, and that's my goal too. And I know you do a lot of canning. You're a big yes, and that's another wonderful way to utilize extra ingredients.

Stephanie [00:11:40]:

Yeah, sometimes your neighbors see you coming with that extra bushel of zucchini, and they're not so happy to see you anymore.

Tracey Medeiros [00:11:48]:

They're like zucchini again. I love zucchini. Zucchini is great, and you can certainly do a lot with that. But it is funny because they're like, oh, no, let me guess. They're excited in the beginning, but after.

Stephanie [00:12:00]:

The fifth visit, yes, I totally concur. Now, what would you say what I also think is interesting about cookbooks is, like, I can tell you the three most popular cookbook, the recipes in my book, just because I get asked about them all the time. What would you say are your top?

Tracey Medeiros [00:12:19]:

Well, for instance, in the cookbook, there is oh, my goodness, this Maple Brook Farms Burrata Salad. And it uses local spinach and strawberries, which are in season or soon to be in season where you live, basil pesto and pistachios and aged basalmic vinegar. And what I love about the burrata, especially the one from Maple Brook Farms, they use this old world technique, the stretching of the curd, and they put it into the mozzarella and the filling with some cream, and it's just like this luscious texture. And then you have the texture from the pistachios, which is the crunch, and then you have the sweetness of the strawberries and the spinach. I mean, that is by far one of my favorites because it's very easy to make. And visually, it's beautiful, I have to say, because I'm so fortunate, and I live in such a foodie state, when I get these recipes, I'm just so excited. I feel like it's Christmas, because I'm like, oh, how are they utilizing this? Or, I cannot wait to test this. It's just a joy because they take food very seriously, and it educates me as well, and it's just exciting. And then there's this wonderful Stephanie, let me tell you, walnut tart that you can find towards the end of the book when I tell you I could eat the whole tart, it is so good. It's sinful, but it's just like it's so amazing. And you have the walnuts and then the silkiness of the texture. I mean, it's just wonderful. I just love that dessert, and so many people love it, and it's just divine.

Stephanie [00:14:24]:

Okay, one more question before I let you go. In the broader context of cookbooks, and just, like, your experience as a recipe developer and a writer, are there one or two cookbooks that have inspired you, just, like, in your career, of, like, they're always on your shelf. You never take them and put them away?

Tracey Medeiros [00:14:44]:

Well, I love anything that Martha Stewart does. I think she is a genius. I really love I'm inspired by her. I think what she does is amazing. And what I find interesting about her, she's just constantly evolving.

Stephanie [00:15:07]:

A swimsuit model now, so let's just go there.

Tracey Medeiros [00:15:10]:

Oh, I know. Fabulous.

Stephanie [00:15:12]:

Beautiful.

Tracey Medeiros [00:15:13]:

I love the orange. I love the COVID Fabulous. Of course, julia, I mean, anything that Julia had done, she actually was my inspiration as a young child watching her. And so anything from her, I'm inspired by. So I would have to say definitely those two women. Julia just watching her and just being so animated and really when I say not caring, but just wasn't restricted by the camera. She was who she was in front of the camera. Whether she dropped something or didn't have something, she was her, and it was great. And again, with Matthew just an innovator and constantly cutting edge and creative and having the longevity of that career, it's just so inspiring.

Stephanie [00:16:15]:

Well, I've enjoyed connecting with you. Tracy madeiros the Cookbook is the Vermont Farm Table Cookbook, and it is in its 10th anniversary. You have over 3004.5 and a half or greater reviews, which is pretty awesome, too.

Tracey Medeiros [00:16:33]:

Wow.

Stephanie [00:16:34]:

Yeah. I mean, for Amazon, I just think that's amazing so people can find your book there. Also, I'll put a link to it so that people can directly find you on your website. Are you on social media, too, Tracy?

Tracey Medeiros [00:16:49]:

Yes. Facebook the Vermont Farm table cookbook. Facebook. And then I have my website, which is tracymaderis.com all right.

Stephanie [00:17:00]:

And I'll go ahead and put links to that in the show notes. Thank you for spending time with me today. It's been really fun.

Tracey Medeiros [00:17:07]:

Thank you so much. And I hope you have a wonderful day.

Stephanie [00:17:10]:

Thanks, Tracy. Bye bye.

Tracey Medeiros [00:17:11]:

Thank you. Bye bye.

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