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The Plainfield Co-opNewsletter

Spring 2017

Management Collective Anji Domino

Chloe BudnickCris CarnesDawn FancherJeannine DeWaldKaren StarrKathleen Hayes

Margie YoderMatt Borg

Nancy Ellen

Regular StaffAnnie ReedDorothy WallaceJezebel CrowKayla Pelloni

SubstitutesCharlotte DominoCypress EllenRosemond Wallstrom

Co-op Board MembersGail Falk, President, 595-4614

[email protected] Fancher, Treasurer, 454-7247

[email protected] Hamilton,

[email protected] Gainza, [email protected] Checchi, [email protected] Phillips, 476-8360,

[email protected]

Committee ContactsBuilding: Allen Banbury, [email protected]

Newsletter: Glenda Bissex, [email protected]

Marketing & Outreach: Joseph Gainza,[email protected]

Art & Photography Cover art: Erik GillardArt on pages 9, 10 & 15: EleanorRandall (Randy)

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Newsletter Advertising Rates

Copy Deadline:May 15 for the Summer issue

Ad copy should be submitted to:

Lorraine Checchi, Ad CoordinatorP.O. Box 347Plainfield VT [email protected]

When your copy is submitted, senda check made out to Plainfield Co-op to:

Cris CarnesPlainfield Co-opP.O. Box 266Plainfield, VT 05667

Electronic graphics files preferred,but we are able to work with anyclear copy. For questions about adcopy, contact Sarah Albert, 802-476-0526 or [email protected]

4 Consecutive

Ad size Single issue issues (prepaid:

20% discount)

Full page $75 $240

Half page $50 $160

Quarter page $25 $80

Kristin BroskyLaura ConklinStella James

Aside from somegreat recipes, thisissue is less aboutfood than about peo-ple—people who havesustained and are nowsustaining and will in

the future sustain our Co-op, includingyou. Yes, the Co-op is about food, butit’s about all of us working together (co-operating) to create and re-create a com-munity store that is here not to makemoney off of us but to serve us, a storethat we can love and believe in.

Our Co-op is small enough that every-one involved in it makes their mark.When they move on we notice and missthem yet something of them remains.We’ll be saying farewell to Board mem-ber and President Gail Falk when herterm ends after the April AnnualMeeting. (See her report elsewhere inthis newsletter.) I remember beingimpressed when I saw Gail working inthe store to get to know its operationdirectly. Joseph Gainza is almost leav-ing when his term on the Board likewiseexpires—I say “almost” because he will

continue to head the Marketing andOutreach (formerly Communications)Committee, which he writes about inthis newsletter. He will no longer beBoard liaison to the NewsletterCommittee, where we will miss hisenergy and dedication to the Co-op’smission. Finally, a friendly and gentlepresence is already missing from thestore—Petra Gates who, along with AnjiDomino, became the first ever ProduceDepartment co-managers.

The Newsletter welcomes your feed-back, letters, and art work. Deadline forthe summer issue is May 15. Contactanyone on the Newsletter Committee:

Sarah Albert, layout and design([email protected])

Glenda Bissex, editor([email protected])

Lorraine Checchi, advertising and distri-bution ([email protected])

Debra Stoleroff ([email protected])

Karen Starr, staff liason([email protected])

Thanks to Eliza Cleary for help withmailing print newsletters. w

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About This Newsletter

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Save the Date! Plainfield Co-op Annual Meeting

Sunday, April 2nd, 3–5 PM

Twin Valley Senior Center2

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President’s Report February 2017 by Gail Falk,

The Board and Management Collectiveare looking forward to talking with ourmembers at Annual Meeting on April 2.For this year’s Annual Meeting, wehave not scheduled a performer or aguest speaker, because we want tospend all our time together focusing onthe current status of the Co-op andgrowing into the future.

You will hear at Annual Meeting thatour sales stagnated last year whileexpenses exceeded the budget. As aresult, we cannot afford to pay a patron-age dividend. We will tell you ourthoughts about why this happened andplans to hold expenses in line in 2017.We hope you will come ready to shareyour own perceptions.

Looking ahead, we are excited aboutplans to step up marketing and beginimplementing our Strategic Plan. Acommittee of the Board wrote and sub-mitted a Rural Development grant appli-cation to the USDA (United StatesDepartment of Agriculture) to pay for amarket survey and other initial planningstates. We’ll tell you about that, andhope that some members will beinspired to join our outreach and mar-keting team.

We also want to discuss with you thepossibility of incorporating theCommunity Center as a 501 c(3) non-profit.organization. The purpose of thisis to qualify for accessibility grants andother funding available only to non-profits.

You will be asked to vote on a by-lawamendment to authorize e-mail noticesabout dividends and meetings, and wewill elect new board members. SarahPhillips and Jean Hamilton are runningfor the Board. Both of them wereappointed to the Board to fill vacancies,and are now up for election. We arelooking for one to three more candi-dates. If you are interested in learningmore about serving on the Board, con-tact me at [email protected], or 802595-4614.

This is my last newsletter report beforemy term as Board President ends. Iwant to express my admiration andappreciation for the hard working staffof the Co-op, who are dedicated to tak-ing care of all the big things and littledetails necessary to keep our communi-ty grocery store open day in and dayout. Remember to thank them for allthey do when you are in the store.

I also want to recognize the contribu-tions of Joseph Gainza, whose term onthe board ends in April. Joseph haspitched in to a myriad of Board tasksover the years. But more important, hehas been an ongoing reminder to us thatwe are more than a store, more than abusiness: as a member-owned coopera-tive, Joseph has reminded us, we arejoined with other cooperatives in build-ing an alternative to business-for-profit,and, as we serve our community, wealso build community. Thank you,Joseph, for personifying theCooperative Principles. w

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RUN FOR THE BOARD Are you interested in talking with other Co-op membersabout the Co-op’s long-term and short-term future? InApril, the Co-op will have two vacancies on its board of directors. The Board represents the membership insteering and monitoring the organization’s directionand activities. Board members receive training anda working member discount. The board meetsonce a month. For more information, contactBoard President Gail Falk, [email protected],802 595-4614.

Challenging Year2016 was a financially challenging yearat the Plainfield Co-op. The Sales for2016 were $1.12M, an increase of 0.3%over 2015. But, Sales still fell short ofwhat we had anticipated for the year.Even though Sales increased, they didnot increase as much as we planned.Our Gross Profit (Sales minus Cost ofGoods Sold) was 5% under the amountwe had budgeted.

Since we had anticipated more Sales forthe year, we budgeted a correspondingincrease in Expenses (the costs to runthe store and pay the staff). As a result,the Ex penses were greater than theSales could support and our profit wentin the red.

In short, we sold less than we plannedand spent more than we could coverwith the reduced Sales. The result wasthat our profit was negative $11,160.

Since the dividends we pay the member-owners come from the profit, we willnot be able to pay a dividend for 2016.

Why were Sales so much lower than weexpected? We think one cause isincreased availability of organic andother healthy foods in ’traditional’ gro-cery stores. People are discovering whatwe already knew—that natural andorganic foods are healthier and bettertasting than processed foods. The biggerstores see this trend and are carryingmore organic products. Bigger chainstores can buy and sell food at a muchlower cost than small stores like us. Insome cases they can sell the same foodfor less than our cost.

To offset this increasing competition, wehave begun to focus on our strengths.Strengths the bigger stores cannotmatch. Strengths like being local inPlainfield; having the freshest produce

Plainfield Co-op – 2016 Annual Review by Bob Fancher, Treasurer

continued on next page

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2016 Profit & Loss Comparison2016 2015 % change

Ordinary Income/Expense

Sales $1,118,203 $1,114,509 0.3%

Cost of Goods Sold 744,406 746,031 -0.2%

Gross Profit 373,797 368,478 1.4%

Operating Expenses

Personnel 275,526 258,801 6.5%

Administrative 40,566 37,309 9.6%

Building 31,142 32,759 -4.9%

Operating 38,148 39,910 -4.4%

Total Operating Expense 385,382 368,779 4.5%

Net Income From Operations -11,585 -302 -3,738.8%

Other Income 4,899 7,184 -31.8%

Other Expenses* 4,474 5,115 -12.5%

Net Income* -11,160 1,767 -731.6%

* Some items are not available until later in the year and are not included in the abovenumbers. The items are dividends paid to our members and depreciation expense.

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available from local farmers; providingthe Community Center as a place forgathering and educating; having thefriendliest and most knowledgeablestaff anywhere and listening to our customers about what they want.

At the same time, we are examiningevery dollar of our expenses and everyhour of staff time to make sure we arespending wisely.

In summary, the Co-op has hit a bumpin the road in 2016. The Board, theManagement Collective (MC), and therest of the staff are doing everythingthey can to get us back on track. Weare still very optimistic about ourfuture.

continued from previous page Looking ForwardWe are so optimistic that we are continu-ing to consider some renovations to thestore and possibly an expansion. At thesame time, we are going to proceed verycautiously. We are taking a realistic lookat the market we live in and what itsgrowth potential is.

We will insure that any money we spendis directly related to bringing in cus-tomers, increasing sales and increasingour contribution to the community.

If you are a Co-op member, please con-sider coming to the Annual Meeting at

the Twin Valley Senior Center on

April 2, 2017 at 3:00. The Board andthe MC want to know what you think.

As always, thanks to our members andcustomers for their continuing support.w

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Two grey geese announce my arrival inRandy’s Maple Hill driveway. Two ele-gant chickens, black with large silverdots, scurry around. From behind afence three horses quietly gaze at me—like the horses in so much of Randy’sart. But I’m here to talk with her abouther many years with our Co-op.

Randy came here in 1992 and soon metEllen Bresler, long-time, beloved Co-opstaff member and manager. “She wasthe rope that pulled me into the Co-op,”said Randy. “She was so kind and inclu-sive, with endless energy for people. Iloved the Co-op—getting involved wasthe best thing I could have done. I felt Ibelonged here when I became part ofthe Co-op.”

But at that time the Co-op was about togo under. To help rescue it, Randyinvented the indoor yard sale. She andLawrence Black and Constance Koehlerwent door-to-door and business to busi-ness in the area asking for donations of

items to sell. Everything was stored inRandy’s barn until the time of the sale,when it was all hauled up the steepstairs to the Community Center, includ-ing an exercise machine! $3000 wasraised to help keep the Co-op afloat.There were one or two more indooryard sales after that. Randy served 3terms on the Board.

She also had a show of her art, includ-ing some extraordinarily powerful paint-ings of horses, in the CommunityCenter. She famously baked for Co-opevents, and did not stint on the best andrichest ingredients, as you can see in herSacher Torte recipe (page 12).

As Randy and I recollected, during hermost involved years the Co-op survivednot only a financial crisis but a man-agement crisis that stunned many of itsmembers, a bit like the shock of ourrecent presidential election. Ellen wasfired and a new manager with a verydifferent approach and personality washired by the Board. Perhaps having asingle manager was never the right fitfor our Co-op. Many managers havecome and gone, but with the collectivemanagement system that has evolved,the Co-op has achieved a stability,seeming smoothness of operation, andoverall good spirit that give one confi-dence it can survive continued chal-lenges. We owe much to dedicatedmembers like Randy who strengthenedour Co-op in the past and to peoplewho are revitalizing and re-envisioningit now. w

Pillars of the Plainfield Co-op: Randy Keaneyby Glenda Bissex,

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“No more shall trenching war channel Her fields . . .” Henry IV part 1, W. Shakespeare

print by Eleanor Randall (Randy)

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Management Report by Karen Starr

This winter finally brought us somegorgeous snowfall, a welcome changefrom the various varieties of frozensleet and rain we’ve become morefamiliar with the last few years.Recently I sat in the living room withmy rabbits Peter and Bianca watchingthe snow fall quietly and feeling myselfto be the most fortunate person in theworld. With so much that’s difficultgoing on in the world, it’s important totake a few minutes of appreciation forthe good things in our lives before get-ting on with whatever projects we’reinvolved with. One of the things I feelmost grateful for in this little town isthe Plainfield Co-op. I have heard fromso many that they feel the same. In spiteof the affection many feel in their heartsfor the Co-op, we have struggled finan-cially over the last eight or nine monthsand actually ended up in the red at theend of 2016. As many of you probablyare aware, the last year or so three

Plainfield businesses (The Bead Hive,Local Potion, and The Blinking LightGallery) have closed their doors. Wemiss all of them, but we are determinednot to be the fourth.

The Management Collective is takingsteps to address the issue of fallingsales, including some reorganization tomaximize efficiency. Look for moreinformation on this in an upcomingnewsletter. As part of our efforts toincrease sales to a sustainable level, thefinance committee met in February withAnnie Harlow from Farm to Plate andJean Hamilton, a new board memberwho happens to have extensive market-ing experience. We learned a tremen-dous amount from both of them andlook forward to implementing many oftheir suggestions and continuing towork with them in the year ahead. TheCommunication Committee has alsobeen meeting regularly to plan outreachand member activities and events aswell as assist the ManagementCollective with marketing and memberservices. But beyond all that activity,we are counting on you for your sup-port. It’s easy to get used to the ideathat the Co-op will always be there, butto make that a reality we really needyou to shop with us regularly to what-ever extent your budget makes possible.And if you’ve ever considered being amember worker, now is the time! Work1 hour per week to receive a 3% regis-ter discount, or 2 hours per week for a7% discount. Member workers help

art by Eleanor Randall (Randy)

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stock the store and keep it looking freshand snazzy. We also need new membersfor various committees, board projectsand a variety of other things. At themoment we have the following MemberWorker needs, but feel free to inquireabout other possibilities.

1 hour/week cleaning in supplements & households

1 hour/week clean kids’ space

2 hours/week stock/ clean bulk herbs

1 hour/week clean & dust body care shelves

2 hours/week produce

1 hour/2 x month clean/ refresh bulletin boards

2–4 hours/month Communication Committee

Many of you will remember that last yearthe Board convened a planning groupwhich included Management members,Board members, and members at large towrite a Strategic Plan for the Co-op. Thetext of the Plan is available on the Co-op’s website <www.PlainfieldCoop.com>for those who haven’t seen it. At thistime, the two sections of the Strategicplan being worked on are research onthe feasibility of building an addition toincrease sales space, and the workpassed to the Communication Commit -tee to increase sales and communityinvolvement. Other sections are beingtemporarily deferred until we get backon more secure financial footing. Therewill be an update on this work at thespring member meeting.

continued from previous page


ast Hst HEa e Fill Tre arme F Farm

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Meantime, we continue to do our best tobring you great products at the mostcompetitive prices we can find. We real-ly are fortunate to have so many out-standing local breweries, and Nancy hasa knack for bringing some of the bestexamples to our shelves. We also havean awesome selection of hard ciders andsome of the best wine values and selec-tion around for a store our size. Chloe isalways bringing something new to thecheese department. Recently it was atasty and affordable Italian style Fontina.Feel free to leave her requests for yourfavorites. Fresh and frozen meats, frozenfruit, veggies, entrees, grab and go food,we have them. The Produce departmenthas benefited from a couple of newishstaff spending time in that departmentkeeping it looking sharp! Some newproducts include New Hampshiresourced hydroponic mesclun and micro-greens. The navel oranges have beenspectacular.

We’ve pretty much got everything fromsoup to nuts on the shelf. Whether you’relooking for corn or potato chips, pasta,an extra can of tomatoes, spices or herbsfor that dinner recipe, or special grainslike polenta, or gluten free flours, we’vegot it. Coffee, tea, bulk (including herbs),baking supplies, baked goods, dairy,band-aids, toothpaste, shampoos, mas-sage oils, essential oils, supplements,cold remedies, household needs, andgifts. And birthday candles, condoms,aspirin, Advil, bath salts, you get theidea. If you’re not sure if we have some-thing, you can always give us a call.Want to save a little money on somethingyou use a lot of? Ask a staff person about

Randy’s Sacher Torte

Cake:

Melt & cool 8 oz. semi-sweetchocolate

Cream together: 8 oz. unsalted butter,1 c. sugar, 3⁄4 t. salt, 2 tsp. vanilla

Add 8 egg yolks, one at a time

Stir in the chocolate

Beat in 8 oz. finely ground walnutsmixed with 1⁄3 c. flour

Whip 8 egg whites until stiff andfold them into the batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Randy’s recipe doesn’t specify the sizeof the pan, but my Viennesecookbook says “Dust a well-greasedspring mold heavily with fine breadcrumbs.”

After the cake has cooled for 20mins., remove it from the pan andspread top and sides with 2⁄3 c.apricot jam, heated.

Icing:1⁄2 c. heavy cream2 t. instant cofee6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate,chopped (not chips)

Scald cream, whisk in coffee &choco late, stir over heat until smooth.

Cool to warm and spread overcake.



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placing a special order. Or arrange tosplit a case of something with a neighborto get a better price. And if supportinglocal producers is important to you, youmight like to know that around 40% ofour sales in the last year were local prod-ucts. Whatever you’re looking for, wehope to see a lot more of all our neigh-bors in the next year. Come see whymany towns’ people think of us as theheart of the village. And don’t forget tocheck out the great classes and events atthe Community Center upstairs.

By the time this comes out, theWoodpeckers will have begun drummingin earnest, Gray Jays will have nested,

and Eastern Phoebes will have arrived.Already the light has shifted and the airhas subtle hints of spring. Tomatoes andother plant starts will soon be lined up inwindows and under heat lamps whilethey wait for the ground to warm up.And we’ll be waiting too. Waiting for themiracles of spring that never becomemundane, arriving Warblers, the littleflock of Chimney Swifts that nest in thevillage, perennials pushing up out of theground for another year of growth. Also,the flying squirrels, Merlin falcons, thelittle skunk in the garden. Rain and meltand mud. Yes, spring will be here soonerthan we can imagine and I wouldn’twant to be anywhere else to greet itsarrival. w


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Just as the rest of the country is experi-encing unsettling times, so is your Co-op.The difference is, that while it will takesustained action of millions of peopleacross the US to set things right in ournation, our Plainfield Food Co-op com-munity can turn things around by simplyliving our values and taking responsibili-ty for the food we consume and fromwhom we buy it. It may not be obviousbut by building up our Co-op and thelarger cooperative movement, we can becountering some of the worst economicand environmental effects of the actionsof our national government.

Three years ago the Board of the Co-opcreated the Communications Committeeto provide our member/owners and thelarger community with information theycould use to access healthy foods, andinformation about the benefits of buyinglocally. The Board also wanted to pro-vide opportunities for everyone in ourcommunity to learn about ways that our

Co-op contributes to our common life.

With ever greater competition from largecorporate stores such as Walmart andShaws, which now carry organically pro-duced food, and chain stores like WholeFoods, which attract many shoppers withtheir down home and natural foodsimage, our Co-op has seen sales drop offover the last year.

The Management Collective (MC) of theCo-op has stepped up its ongoing effortsto reduce costs and increase sales; earlyindications are that their effort is suc-ceeding. Additionally theCommunications Committee has focusedour efforts on marketing and outreach,keeping our initial focus and recognizingthat what we do is part of marketing. Toreflect this wider responsibility, theBoard changed the committee’s name toMarketing and Outreach.

Marketing and Outreach to Grow our Co-opby Joseph Gainza


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Recent efforts to increase visibility of theCo-op include presenting a film and dis-cussion series which will examine theenvironmental, spiritual, economic, cul-tural and political contexts in which thecooperative movement seeks to buildlocal economies and cooperative enter-prises. Our first offering was on Thurs -day, Feb. 23 when we viewed planetary,a visually stunning film which examinesthe beauty and fragility of our planet andthe unity of all life, including human life.The clear message is that our consump-tion oriented and individualistic culture

must embrace the living earth in deter-mining how we are to meet our materialneeds. The subtle message is that wemust turn to an economics of cooperationwhich does not exploit the natural worldbeyond its ability to regenerate what wetake and absorb our wastes.

The next films in the series are Human,an examination of what it means to behuman in a complex global communityon a living planet, to be shown onThursday, March 30, and Food forChange: The Story of Cooperation in


art by Eleanor Randall (Randy)


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america, also at the Community Centeron April 27. Both films start at 7:00 PM.

Any effort by a committee to strengthenour cooperative will fail unless you, themember/owners of the Co-op takeresponsibility for encouraging yourneighbors and friends to give the store atry. Encourage them to see how shoppinglocally for locally produced food, theproduction of which is gentle to theearth, is a political and moral act. Theywill find that the immediate reward is

great tasting and healthy eating, and thelonger term reward is a strengthened,more diverse community, and a naturalworld they can feel good about passingon to their children and grandchildren.

You may want to take another step andjoin our committee. We are looking forcreative people who know that the bestway to resist destructive policies andbehavior is to build a more just alterna-tive. To discuss how you might plug in,contact me at [email protected]. w

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Suggestion Box (selected Suggestions, Answers and love notes from the store)

Best co-op ever!

S: Uncured turkey bacon.

A: It’s here.

S: Would you make a weekly or monthly on-sale chocolatebar or brand? I love chocolate bars and buy them often,though I follow sales to feel better about spending $3-6 on a few ounces of anything.

A: Great idea! I’ll work on this!

S: Unsalted mixed nuts please.

A: We can try this once I have space.

S: Citizen Cider wit’s up 4 pk.

A: It’s here now.

Dear Staff, I love you.

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Rice-Spinach Timbales with mushroom Sauce

Spring Green Salad with maple Balsamic Dressing

apple Bread pudding

The pickings are pretty slim this time ofthe year; the overwintered roots are get-ting a little long in the tooth and the newvegetables aren’t really in yet. One cropthat our local growers produce in earlyspring greenhouses is spinach. Andyummy it is, too, tender and flavorful.Here’s a simple recipe that’s warmingfor those mud season evenings andbesides, everyone likes gravy.

Timbales

2 C. short-grain brown rice (it’s stickier)1 C. brown Basmati rice5 C. water1⁄2 t. salt1 lb. spinachnutmeg1 T. tamari

Wash rice and put in pot with boilingwater and salt. Bring back to boil andsimmer, covered, for about 55 minutes.

Wash spinach and cook in the waterclinging to the leaves till wilted.Squeeze out excess moisture and chop.

Grate a little nutmeg on the spinach, adda little salt and the tamari and toss withrice. Adjust to taste and keep warm inoven.

Mushroom Sauce(I use this whenever a nice gravy iscalled for; it’s basic.)2 small onions1 lb. mushrooms2 T. butter1 T. olive oil1⁄4 c. whole wheat pastry flour2 C. vegetable stocksaltfresh ground pepperchopped parsley for garnish

Chop onions fine, mushrooms too.

Heat butter and oil in heavy pan andsauté onions till translucent.

Add flour and sauté till fragrant, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Slowly whisk in hot stock till thickened.

Add mushrooms and salt and pepper totaste. (Remember that most stock is salty.)

Cook covered about 15 minutes.

Using an ice-cream scoop, put 3 scoopsof the warm spinach/rice in the center ofa plate and cover liberally with gravy.Garnish with parsley.

A nice addition is grilled BBQ tempehon the side.

Early Spring Menuby Daniel Marcus and Amba Connors

with wine pairings by Nancy Ellen

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Dressing

Also coming into the Co-op this time ofyear is the first of the salad greens. Try itwith this simple dressing:

6 T. olive oil1 T. maple syrup2 T. balsamic vinegar (get the best youcan afford)pinch salt

Whisk it all together and dress salad.

Apple Bread Pudding

A lovely dessert, also nice heated up forbreakfast, a favorite around here.

4 C. stale whole grain bread, cut into 1⁄2inch cubes. There’s much debate amongaficionados of bread pudding about whatkind of bread to use. We just stick theends and odds and sods in the freezerand when there’s enough we make pud-ding. So it’s often a mix of Manghi’sMaple Walnut, Red Hen whole grain,Sesame O Bread, etc. Always different,always interesting.

2 C. sliced apples, tossed with juice of 1 lemon

1⁄2 C. raisinscinnamon2 C. milk1 egg1⁄4 C. brown sugar1 t. vanilla extract1 T, butter

Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease 8x8 pan orround casserole dish, etc.

Whisk together milk, egg and sugar.

Put 1⁄3 of bread in bottom of pan, coverwith 1⁄2 of the apples, half the raisins anda sprinkle of cinnamon.

Pour 1⁄3 of the liquid over the ingredientsin the dish.

Repeat bread, apples, raisins, cinnamonand pour another 1⁄3 of liquid over ingre-dients.

Finish with last of bread and remainingliquid, another sprinkle of cinnamon anddot with butter.

Let sit for 20 minutes.

Bake, covered, for 45 minutes and letcool slightly before serving with a driz-zle of Fat Toad Farm caramel and per-haps a blop of whipped cream orStrafford Farm vanilla ice cream.

Wine Pairings

To pair with this meal, a nice dry roséwould be lovely with the timbales andsalad. I would recommend either theFresh Tracks Vermont rosé (a trulysuperb Vermont pink, which is hard tocome by!) or the Mont Gravet rosé fromFrance, an excellent and affordablechoice that goes as well with this meal aswith a hearty grilled ham and cheesesandwich! For those who aren’t rosélovers (but why not?!) another good pair-ing would be the Domaine Jean TouzotMacon-Villages chardonnay. This wine isunoaked and has a fresh citrusy livelyquality, but has some dimension as well.

For the dessert course, you could go inseveral different directions. For some-thing light and bubbly to complement thehomey pudding, Samuel Smith’s neworganic perry, or sparkling pear cider,would be a great choice. For something abit more refined, but with a slight kick,try Artesano’s chili cinnamon mead. Andlastly, something quite different, but deli-ciously so—the Evolucio furmint fromHungary. This is a beautiful white winefrom the Tokaj region of Hungary, whichtends to be better known for its sweetwines. This wine is not sweet, but neitheris it very dry; its character is uniqueamongst the usual whites—some floraland pear notes but with strong mineralitytoo. Try it, you won’t regret it!

Enjoy! See you in the summer! w

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