A Long Weekend in Vermont: Random Sights - Part 9 - Waitsfield, Vermont, USA

A quiet sidewalk in downtown Waitsfield. Somehow, the color green seems greener in Vermont.

Who can resist a pink VW bus with a portable ice cream freezer and dispenser!

The Mad River flows through and alongside the town of Waitsfield and is a popular float river for visitors.  Have no fear for this intrepid toddler........

 .....mom is following close behind in her own tube.

 The ravages of time, weather, and neglect take their toll on this abandoned barn.

Holes in the roof accelerate the decay process.

This companion structure has already joined the blooming goldenrod in its return to the earth.

A Long Weekend in Vermont: Vegan Cooking Class, The Kitchen at the Store - Part 8 - Waitsfield, Vermont, USA

If there was such a thing as the "main event" for this long weekend in Vermont, this was it: a vegan cooking class on Saturday evening at the Kitchen at the Store in Waitsfield. And what a class it was! Had I been given a magic wand to create any kind of class I could imagine, nothing I could dream of would have been any better that the experience that Chef John Lumbra (front center above) and our group managed to create for ourselves. And I am not much of a cook in real life.

Before we got started, Chef John (at right) discusses an important rule: no drinking wine until AFTER all the chopping/sharp knife work is complete! Smart rule.

Everyone donned a red striped apron and helped out as little or as much as desired.

Our menu:

Starter: Chilled Avocado and Tomatillo Soup

Bread: Naan (an Indian style bread)

Main course: Red Lentil Dal

Main course: Green Beans and Eggplant with Thai Red Curry

Dessert: Watermelon Soup

Chef John was always nearby guiding, demonstrating, and regaling us with tall tales of kitchen lore from his lifetime of food/restaurant experiences.

He was as much a lively entertainer as he was an excellent chef.

The purpose-built kitchen was the perfect laboratory for both participation and observation. Above, preparing to chill the avocado tomatillo soup.

Preparing the watermelon soup.

Eggplant ready for the sauté skillet.

Chef John discusses the secrets of cast iron skillet management. 

Pointing at something.......

........ and more pointing at something.

Browning the naan in the skillet before baking it in the oven.

And the eating begins.........

Chef John watches his students enjoy the feast.

Finishing up sautéing the eggplant, bean, and Thai red chili course.

Just about ready to serve the eggplant, bean, and Thai chili dish.

And yes, I can take a joke. (Photo courtesy: Amy Davies Photography).

Chef John ladles out the final dish, a dessert of watermelon soup.

This was one of those rare occasions in life where everything came together in perfect harmony - location, setting, people, conversation, food, and wine. A wonderful experience is all respects! I'd go to class again in an instant - but only with Chef John - he was the best!

A Long Weekend in Vermont: The Round Barn - Part 7 - Waitsfield, Vermont, USA

We stopped at the Inn at Round Barn Farm, a bed and breakfast and event facility on 245 acres of pure Vermont. I'm not sure if this old VW Bug was a prop or a customer's car but, it sure brought back memories - it looks like about a 1966 or 1967 vintage - just like one I had back in the day - ah, my youth, where have you gone?

Art imitates life - the round mailbox (foreground at right) mimics the round barn (distance at left).

Inside, the round barn is outfitted for a special event tonight.  The soaring wood ceiling and beams reminded me of the venerable Priscilla Beach Theatre (PBT) near my home in Massachusetts about which I have often blogged in this space. You can see more about PBT at this link.

Downstairs in the round barn they had a local photography art show in progress.

And outside, the Inn's property offers plenty of space to wander - except there seemed to be photographers everywhere I turned.

The lily pads in the pond were in bloom.

And Oscar and Meyer's shed had weathered to a wonderful shade of New England gray.

A Long Weekend in Vermont: Von Trapp Greenhouse Gardens - Part 6 - Waitsfield, Vermont, USA

It is truly a wonderful sight when a commercial retail greenhouse still finds time and energy to maintain such a beautiful garden, solely for its customers to wander through and enjoy. Von Trapp Greenhouse Gardens is such a place.

I am not a gardener but, I am married to one and I see the amount of work and number of hours it takes to manage such beauty.

What a pretty spot on the planet.

A number of live frogs call the small fountain in the garden their home. It seems to me that the frog, the rock, and a ripe avocado all have the same skin.