Blueberry Hunting on Cape Cod

While Vacationing on the Cape I was on the hunt for local blueberries since at home in Vermont it was blueberry season. I purposefully had not brought any with me assuming they would be plentiful on the Cape. I was mistaken—what was readily available were organic berries from Mexico (!) or conventionally grown from New Jersey.

I was almost brought to fist-a-cuffs over my muttering at a produce stand about conventional agriculture in New Jersey. A woman who could have been an extra on the Sopranos said, “Are you saying something against New Jersey?” in response to my private frustrated grumblings to my friend. “You better not be saying anything about New Jersey while I’m here.” Wow. I held my New Yorker tongue like a good Vermonter.

After a failed farmer’s market and no luck at the local stores I got a tip that the Wellfleet Farmer’s Market, held from 8 am to 12 noon on Wednesdays, is where I would find my berries. I was properly advised to arrive no later than 8 on said morning because the berries sell out within the first thirty minutes. Really? I smell a business opportunity in berries. Not wanting to take any chances I arrived about ten minutes before the opening bell to find a small line waiting for the berry booth. Redberry Farm did not disappoint. A solar powered, sustainable farm on five acres in Eastham, Redberry sells at the Orleans and Wellfleet Farmer's Markets. I bought a few containers to tide me over for the week and felt sorry for the folks not in-the-know who would show up midway trough the market only to find no berries.The Wellfleet Farmer’s Market, held behind Preservation Hall at 335 Main Street, also has beautiful vegetables, cheeses, wine, crafts and more.

Organic Summer in Vermont

It is a glorious summer in Vermont this year - plenty of warmth, sun and the usual lush green vegetation. Gardens are bursting and berries are abundant. If you are traveling through the Upper Valley region there are some wonderful spots to seek out. Organic and local farm stands and markets abound including Killdeer Farm stand in Norwich, VT and Cross Road Farm in Post Mills, VT. The fairly large Norwich Farmer's Market is held every Saturday morning from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm on U.S. Route 5 South. Farther west in Woodstock VT you can find the Woodstock Farmer's Market which is a store not an actual farmer' market, selling a variety of local and gourmet foods.

For other fun shopping explore ArtichokeArts - an emporium of Surprises & Delights - located on the Main Street of South Strafford, Vermont.  The owner, artist Kate Siepmann, offers an eclectic mix of antique and new items, many made in Vermont including local hand spun wool and hand crafted products, organic and gourmet foods from Vermont and the globe, handmade books, gorgeous rugs, furniture, kitchenware, unique greeting cards - designed and produced on the premises, Fair Trade Folk Art, mechanical toys, one-of-a -kinds, and many other gems and delights. The store, in an old building one house down from Coburn's General Store (where you can buy local Strafford Organic Creamery milk and ice cream), is spacious, beautiful, fun and full of surprises.

Yard sales, second hand stores and flea markets are plentiful in the area as are all sorts of hiking possibilities including Smarts Mountain in Lyme Center, NH on the Appalachian Trail and farther away, Mount Moosilauke. In Woodstock VT there is Mt Tom and Mt Ascutney in Windsor, VT. There are countless other hikes throughout both states.

ArtichokeArts, 220 Main Street (Rte 132), South Strafford, VT 05070; Tel: 802-765-4335; Summer open Thursday to Sunday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm or by appointment; Call for winter hours
Killdeer Farm Stand, 163 Us Route 5 S, Norwich, VT 05055, Tel: (802) 649-2852
Crossroad Farm Stand, West Fairlee Cross Road, Post Mills, VT; Greenhouses and Farm Stand Open daily from April 24th through Mid October from 9am to 6pm
Woodstock Farmer's Market,  468 Woodstock Rd., Route 4, just outside the village of Woodstock; Tel: 802-457-3658; Open Tuesday to Saturday from 7:30 am to 7:00 pm, SUndays from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm- Sandwiches at the deli made and served until  4:00 pm. Closed Mondays.
For a complete list of Farmer's markets throughout Vermont visit the Vermont State Department of Agriculture web site and find organic farms in Vermont at NOFA.

New and Old Organic Discoveries at the Mercado Central

I love that I can discover new wonderful places even after ten months of living some place. Yesterday I went down one of the many aisles at the Mercado Central and discovered SuperGourmet where lovely Ana showed me the many local products they carry as well as the organic (ecologico) selections. SuperGourmet actually has three stalls in the Mercado Central de Valencia (Central Market) - one for cheese and cured meats, one with fresh baked goods including breads, pastries and olive sandwich rolls, and the third with a very full selection of foods and wines from Spain as well as gourmet products from other countries.

SuperGourmet offers a number of organic products including LA Organic olives oils from Cordoba, Spain (not Los Angeles), local, organic Valencian Orxata de Xufa (horchata de chufa in Castilian- see below), Cueva wine from Utiel-Requena, plus a myriad of other local products - rice from the Valencia region, salt from Andalucia, seaweeds from Galicia, pates, jams and honey. At SuperGourmet you can taste much of what they offer and they sell sample sizes of a number of products which make great gifts.They can also prepare platters, picnics and cater for parties, or you can buy the supplies yourself for a fantastic picnic.

A note about Orxata de Xufa for visitors to Valencia - it is a very popular beverage in Valencia having been introduced by the Arabs hundreds of years ago. You will find it sold on street corners and most cafes. The botanical name for the xufa (or chufa) is Cyperus esculentus, an edible tuber used to make a "milk"- horchata. The organic brands simply contain paste of the chufa and organic sugar. Other varieties can have additional ingredients. The prepared versions can be a little heavy on the sugar for my liking but you can buy the dried chufa and make your own milk and sweeten it to taste. You can find bags of the chufas with instructions at SuperGourmet .

A few aisles down in the market you will find a favorite organic stall, La Morhada, run by wonderful Lucia. Here you will find all manner of organic products and a bouquet of produce. Favorites here include the sheep and goat cheese from Los Corrales, as well as the divine organic fruits and vegetables.

The Mercado Central, a beautiful indoor market, is open from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday to Saturday although sometimes individual stalls have slightly different hours.

Eggs in Europe

Travelers from the United States may be quite surprised when they are shopping at markets and in stores in Europe to find that eggs are often not refrigerated. In fact they are often not even in cartons, but available for the picking into your own container.

At the markets in Spain you will find stacks of eggs at egg stands - brown, white, ecologico, conventional. In France, Germany and Switzerland the same holds true. Once the eggs are purchased, most people store them in their refrigerators at home, but some will leave them in a cool spot if they will be using them within a few days.

Part of the problem in the United States is that the food is often subjected to what I refer to as "shelf-life syndrome" where the focus is not on nutritional value or freshness but rather on how long the products will last on the shelves minimizing waste for manufacturers, grocers and big-box stores. As consumers, we loose, of course, since we not only get food altered to last far longer than nature intended, but we also miss out on the vitality, the richness and the beauty that fresh, local food offers.

I am afraid that eggs in the United States meet with the same fate, unless you are lucky enough to live where there are small farms, so hence they are refrigerated to help them last a long time.

When egg shopping I would err on the side of organic especially when buying room-temperature eggs since studies have shown that while all eggs run the risk of Salmonella, only about one quarter of organic and free range have the Salmonella contamination found more readily in conventional eggs, with the bonus that organic eggs have been found to contain more Vitamin E, beta-carotene and omega-3 fats with up to  a third less cholesterol than industrial-produced eggs.

Having spent time on a farm when I was a kid and later having had my own homestead-scale farm, I am familiar with the practice of storing eggs on a cool, shaded shelf especially when they will be used quickly.  I think this was, and is, customary for truly farm-fresh eggs. So don't be alarmed or put off by the piles of open-air eggs while you are traveling and be thankful for the culture of fresh.

My Green and Local Recipes.....Gluten-Free Pizza with Sheep Cheese & Pesto

A word about my cooking style. As you can see from my recipes I am an "approximate" cook, not a meticulous baker. In our home, my husband, a fine carpenter and house builder, is the baker, extending his precision to eclairs, cakes and other recipes requiring exacting measurements. I, on the other hand, fall into the "a pinch here, a handful there" category, able to improvise with what I have pretty easily. For creations I particularly like I make mental notes of quantities and special ingredients. Here is a pizza favorite, easily changed and adapted for personal preferences in terms of cheeses and toppings, made with some local Spanish delicacies.

Sheep Cheese and Pesto Gluten-Free Pizza with fresh Peppers, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Olives

Ingredients per pizza
Gluten-Free Crust - 1 8-10" crust
Olive Oil (over 40 organic olives oils in Spain to choose from) - 1 Tablespoon
Pesto - 1-2 Tablespoons
Green and Red Peppers - 1/4 each
Olives - handful
Sun-dried Tomatoes - 1-2 slices chopped

Bake the crust with nothing on it for a couple of minutes. Then rub a little olive oil on the crust - not much- about 1 tablespoons - rubbing it to all parts of the crust with your fingers.

Next spread a similar amount of pesto (see below) on the crust. If you are traveling without access to a food processor or great chopping facilities, I would opt for pre-made pesto sold at the markets or in jars in stores.

Slice thinly or grate the cheese. Sheep (Oveja) cheese is quite prevalent in Spain. If you are using it for taste - any will do. If you have allergies to cow milk, then make sure you read the label or ask at the market counter to make sure it is queso puro de oveja sin leche de vaca (pure sheep cheese without cow milk).

My favorite cheese for this pizza is made from smooth raw sheep milk, Queso Extramuros, crafted by artisans in the Natural Park of Sierra de Espadán, in Castellon north of Valencia. Los Corrales makes a variety of cheeses from goat and sheep milk, curing the rind with olive oil so it is edible.You can find this special cheese at the organic food stall, La Morhada, at Valencia's Mercado Central. This cheese melts very quickly so the trick is to watch the pizza as it will easily get overcooked - just a few minutes in the oven. Once it is gently melted, remove the pizza from the oven. Add chopped green (and red) peppers, organic olives and some chopped sundried tomatoes.

Serve with a mixed green salad and Limonada con Menta. All I can say is "yum!"


The Crust:
In Spain gluten-free (sin-gluten) products are fairly abundant and easy to find in large supermarkets and health food stores as well as small herboristerias. The easiest to use are the pre-made crusts, but if you are feeling  creative you can make a crust from scratch - all you need is the flour mix, water and oil ( I do not use yeast in mine). If you are traveling it is simplest really to buy the pre-made crust, or next to that buy a gluten-free flour mix - otherwise you end up with multiple bags of different kinds of flours (rice, tapioca, potato starch, or others depending upon your personal preferences). The pre-made crusts are small, one-two person portion size. Depending where you find yourself in Spain brand names of Gluten-Free pre-made Crusts will include Proceli, Schar, Sense Gluten, and Artediet.

Homemade Pesto (if you have access to a food processor or great chopping  and mixing facilities):
Basil (albahaca in Spanish)- A pile of fresh basil leaves - closer to a small mountain as far as I am concerned. Basil ranks up there with olive oil in my book - the more the better.
Nuts/Sunflower Seeds - Pine Nuts (piñones)are  traditional. I use those or sunflower seeds (semillas de girasol) due to allergies to other nuts, but you can certainly use walnuts (nueces) or almonds (almendras) if you like. About 1/2 cup for every 2-3 large handfuls of basil.
Lemon Juice - just 1- 2 tablespoons
Garlic (ajo)- 1-3 cloves - personal preference
Olive Oil (aceite de oliva) - to make a pasty to runny consistency
Cheese (queso)- Parmesan is traditional, but you can use whatever you like...I tend to not add the cheese if I am using it on pizzas or other dishes that will contain cheese

Put the nuts/seeds in a food processor and grind, then add the garlic, lemon juice, and as much basil as will fit in the bowl with about 1/4 cup of olive oil. Blend  and then keep adding olive oil while the food processor is on until the desired consistency is reached. If you are adding cheese, do that last.

1 Day until Earth Day - celebrate for a lifetime!

My Green and Local Recipes.....Limonada con Menta

It is sunny, warm and lovely in Valencia Spain with the smell of orange blossoms in the air - a perfume that has yet to be captured as perfectly as nature makes it.

As usual the bounty at the mercado central allows for divine treats made with ingredients grown within a few miles from my door. Today's delight is mint lemonade, a personal favorite.

Limonada con Menta (Mint Lemonade)

Ingredients:
Local Lemons - 5
Raw Honey from Orange Flower Blossoms (Miel Cruda de Azahar) - 3-4 Tablespoons
Fresh Mint - 1-2 Handfuls
Good Water - 1-2 Liters/Quarts

Fresh squeeze 5 lemons from the market, or if you are lucky enough to have a friend with lemon trees in their yard, which many do in Spain, 5 from the yard tree.

Mix 3-4 Tablespoons of honey into the lemon juice concentrate (more or less to taste depending upon how sweet or tangy you prefer your lemonade). The raw honey tends to be crystallized so I advise using a fork for stirring. While heating the honey is the usual way to easily combine it with a liquid, the heating somewhat defeats the purpose of using the raw honey rich with enzymes and other nutrients. Once the honey is dissolved into the lemon juice add the water, again to taste according to how condensed or diluted you like your lemonade.

Next cut or crush the fresh mint and add it to the lemonade.

You can serve as is, or add extra crushed mint to the glass.

Enjoy!


2 Days until Earth Day - celebrate for a lifetime!

Flea Hunting In Zurich

Zurich is home to possibly the largest year round flea market (called flohmarkt in German) in Switzerland. Held every Saturday morning with maybe as few as three exceptions (see Web site for closed (geschlossen in German) Saturdays), the market is open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm in a park at Helvetiaplatz.

In the warmer months up to 400 vendors can be selling their wares, but in the winter you can find as few as only six stalls. The winter, with the snow, cold and wind, is for the truly hale and hearty or utterly desperate.

To find the market, walk or take the tram or bus from the main train station (Hauptbahnhof). Look for tram 8 or bus 32 to Helvetiaplatz, or tram 2 or 3 to Bezirksgebaude.

Like any flea market, Zurich's offers a range of items - you can find wonderful treasures or items that should honestly be in a dumpster somewhere, but the exploring is what makes it fun.

Christmas Time and Local Artisans in Valencia Spain

The Christmas markets of Germany and France are not to be found in Spain, but every city in Spain has its own versions of holiday lights, markets and celebrations. Valencia is a beautiful city and one that is particularly so when lit up at night. In addition to the regular bustling markets held throughout the city on any given day, Valencia hosts an artisan market during December in Plaza de la Reina next to the cathedral. Here you can find a variety of beautiful handcrafted goods made in the Valencia region.

Los Oliveros makes a range of items from native olive wood – a golden and brown hardwood. You can find ornaments, kitchen utensils, bowls, rings, and more made from this beautiful wood by self-taught artisans who have been creating these olive wood goods for almost twenty years. 

Mandala Shoes uses vegetable–tanned leather to make a line of shoes and accessories.The shoes are made with natural leather, cork, and some natural rubber on the soles. Leather workers since 1900, the La Mano family now handcrafts these goods including offering custom-sized shoes. They also sell a natural leather care product containing lanolin, beeswax and jojoba oil. In keeping with their environmental commitment, their production waste materials are used as natural fertilizer.

La Casa de la Luna Media is a cooperative making herbal body care products and natural medicinals from organic herbs in the Castellon area of Spain about one hour north of Valencia city.

You will also find silversmiths, leatherworkers, ceramicists, fan-makers, and much more in the artisan market. This is a fantastic place to find locally made products at excellent prices.

If you are not in Valencia during December you can find local craftspeople year round through the Centro de Artesania Comunitat Valencia, Calle del Hospital, 7, 46001 Valencia.

Bargain Hunting In Valencia Spain

For those travelers who can’t pass up a good bargain or market, then plan your trip to Valencia around the Tuesday morning market on Calle Jerusalem, a bustling, shuffle-walking street market crammed with non-food vendors. While everything is quite inexpensive at this market, shoppers looking for second hand clothes and textiles should head to the south end of the market where there are multiple stalls selling items for between 1-3 euros each. Most of these vendors are shouting “Uno euro, uno euro” repeatedly and loudly to draw in shoppers. Go prepared with change and small bills as making change is not done happily especially for one or two items.

My favorite table at this market is piled with beautiful old pillowcases and table linens where I can find divine linen, cotton and damask pillowcases for one euro each – about 1/20th or 1/50th of what they would cost new- - and they feel a million times softer than new.

You will find Calle Jerusalem two blocks west of the Valencia Nord train station. Vendors close up between 1:00 and 2:00pm.

Global Flea Finder - Budget Travel

My idea of a good time!! And I am happy to report that while these are Budget Travel's top choices in twenty cities, there are thousands more to choose from, many of which are listed here at the Traveling Naturally blog or in the Green Earth Guides. Happy marketing!

Global Flea Finder - Budget Travel

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My Rolls Royce

My first car was a Ford Falcon station wagon I bought for $100 in 1976 from a man that worked at the Putney Paper Mill, back in the days when it stunk up the whole town. I named the car Elroy and drove to Maine with a friend, who I needed not just for companionship but also because the transmission was funky and she had to hold down the gearshift on the steering wheel to keep it from popping out of gear, especially first gear as I recall. It was a silly trip, off to see a boy who did not reciprocate my affections - ahh what we do when we are 16!

My second car was an adorable, rusty Fiat that got 40mpg in 1978, and which I very fondly named Fabian. Fabian was an awesome car and between lovingly repairing its beyond-repair rust problems (a very kind way to say that half the car was or had disintegrated), and pouring money into other mechanical issues (and did I mention that it would die mid-ride in a rain or snow storm?) it miraculously survived for me another two years.

I did not have another car until I moved to Vermont in earnest in 1982 and bought an appropriate 4WD Subaru, and basically due to road conditions, have had one ever since.

This long preamble is merely to illustrate that I have never owned fancy, high-end cars - quite to the contrary. But here I am in Spain, ecstatic to not have a car and yet I have bought a Rolls Royce!

Now I know the feeling of buying the top end, best “machine” for the job. It maneuvers wonderfully, is sleek, yet roomy, and well designed. It makes my errands and shopping a delight. Now I understand why people who can afford to buy such luxuries do, although mine does not feel like an extravagance, but rather a necessary tool in this warren of streets that I navigate to get my food and supplies.

Lest you think I succumbed to an automobile, rest assured I am referring to my shopping cart.

The market cart, is an essential tool in a Spanish city, where groceries can get heavy, and distances between stores relatively long. I examined every cart I saw, of which there are a plenty, being such a popular and critical item here. There are plenty of cheap ones to be had - but the details...does it have 2 wheels or four? Folding handles? A comfortable hand-grip? A large enough “bag?” and most importantly, does it have a built in insulated pack to keep your refrigerated items cold until you get home out of the Spanish sun? Well fellow shoppers, there is only one that meets all these, and it is my high-end car - my BMW convertible - my mid-life crisis showcase - my UpGo!

Admire it and weep, for this is the best. And if you get to Spain and need a cart, run don’t walk to buy your UpGO, you will never go back.


*This is not an ad. I really did research carts, and paid good money for my UpGo.

UpGo Market Cart