Chioggia Beets! Graffiti Cauliflower! Bolero Carrots! Has produce ever sounded so alluring? At the West River Farmer’s Market in Londonderry, Vermont (Open Memorial Day through Columbus Day) there’s a gorgeous bounty of organic greens, fruits, vegetables and a wide array of baked goods just waiting to satisfy your culinary (and noshing) fantasies.
There was a nip in the air as we moseyed on over to Londonderry to snatch up some fresh beets for a raw beet/apple/lemon/mint salad I was craving, and the visit yielded not only root vegetables, but some fun encounters with the locals, too.
Jon Cohen of Deep Meadow Farm, was born a flatlander (he hails from New York) but has over 20 years of experience growing organic produce, flowers and herbs. He gave us a beet-cooking primer and waxed poetic about his love of the land. That’s Jon on the left with his friend and helper. As you can see, they have a knack for growing fuzzy beards, too. I think of them now as the Hirsute Brothers. But that’s just between you, me and Theodore.
A few tents away, we met Lini Mazumdar. A native of India, Lini attended school in Arizona and then later, NYC’s Columbia University. But she’s been a Vermonter off and on now, for over 15 years. Lini’s an herbalist who, under the banners of Anjali Farm and Lotus Moon Medicinals, also raises free-range chickens for eggs, and grows organic vegetables (as well as the medicinal herbs for her practice) along with her husband, Emmett Dunbar. Lini clearly appreciates all that the Green Mountains have to offer but confessed that there are times when memories of her favorite New York noodle shops leave her longing for the city. Chopping wood in the dead of Vermont’s wicked winters is also not at the top of her ‘my favorite things’ list. But we city/country people try not to pre-worry about such things when the warm nearly-autumn-sun is shining so brightly. And just take one look at Lini’s megawatt smile and you’ll see that her love affair with Vermont still burns brightly.
Before we headed back home, we stopped to admire one of the most gorgeous labrador retrievers I’ve ever seen. The pooch is Michael Collins’ dog. Michael’s and his family operate the Old Athens Farm which strives to grow their produce under the most sustainable conditions possible. One example: they burn waste vegetable oil in their tractor. Cool. But back to the dog…it’s always about the dogs, my friends, you know that now. The labby surveyed the lively market scene from atop his perch in the back of Michael’s truck. I’m used to labs with a silly streak, like the ones I had when I was a kid and then, fresh out of college. But this guy, entirely composed and most dignified, seemed like an obsidian deity of some kind. I imagine, even if he could speak, he wouldn’t say much. He seems much more like the laconic, philosophical type. I’m not ashamed to say that I snapped enough pictures of this animal to fill a photo album.
Our visit to West River Market marked the perfect end to the summer season. The beet salad was a huge hit, by the way. And we thank the culinary queen, Julie Harvey, for sharing her recipe.
