Garlic Rain

On Saturday I drove up to my Awesome Helen’s new home, the old Maderer pad, in Hoosick Falls. The family is settling in just dandy with curtains up, new lights and old ones restored, repair projects are underway and the girls are starting school on Wednesday. Ballet classes begin the week after at Miss Olivia’s -- both in walking distance.

All this AND there’s now a brandy new big gorgeous bucket of bright pink petunias hanging next to the front door.

It is 12,000 kinds of wonderful to see so much LIFE in this wonderful old home again.

When I first reentered my Aunt Mary Ann’s life (after a few years of not seeing each other) the house was in desperate need of a paint job, the roof had begun leaking like a sieve, the yard was a mess, the paperwork of two lifetimes was everywhere and so much more. I saw to loads of fixes and now, John and Helen are doing the rest.

Just makes me smile and then grin endlessly. LIFE!

Despite the rain, we all piled into the car and went over to the Southern Vermont Garlic and Herb Festival happening just outside Bennington (just ten miles down the road). I can only imagine how jam packed the fest would be on a sunny day -- as it was, in the drizzle and mist, there were far more hardy fest goers than I’d anticipated.

Not garlic but gorgeous nonetheless

It was hard not to stop at every damned booth, sampling the sauces, cheeses, fudge (garlic fudge!!!) and wines. Molto difficile, I’m tellin’ you!

One of the first tents that pulled us in like a tractor beam was Putney Mountain Wines. Wine. Of course!

My fav was, possibly, the Vermont Cassis .
This is a dessert wine but, OH MY, it’s wonderfully tart. Def not at all unbearably treacle sweet, like port, as I’d anticipated.

The blackcurrants that go into our Vermont Cassis come from less than an hour away - Cherry Hill Farm in Springfield, Vermont - the blueberries and raspberries are from even closer to the winery. Crafted from a subtle blend of these fruits, this rich, luscious dessert wine features an intense, complex fruit flavor and finishes with tartness characteristic of blackcurrant.

I was also pretty damned keen on the Blueberry Blush.

First, we make a rich, full-bodied dry wine from the fresh-picked blueberries. We then blend in enough heirloom apple wine to give the blueberries a touch of backbone. The result is a dry, mellow "red" wine that has a rich body and smooth finish.

and then there was Simply Rhubarb.
This was the last one I sampled so my taste buds were sort of confused and muddy BUT I do recall that it was dry, not too sweet and most certainly tasty.

A rhubarb lover's wine, our Simply Rhubarb is full of surprises. Complex and semi-dry, Simply Rhubarb has a full-bodied balance of acidic and fruity. We get our organic rhubarb from Dummerston, Vermont, only a few miles from our winery.

Madison, Helen’s fab seven year old and I wandered off, hand in hand, looking for new discoveries. So much to see and try.

She allowed that some garlic caramel corn from the Village Chocolate Shoppe tent would really hit the spot. Who was I to object -- after all, they also had white chocolate garlic fudge which I felt, you know, all compelled to try. And shit. It sounds like it'll be simply wretched but, oh my, NO!

John Waller of the Bennington Banner spoke to Nicholas Monte, the Shoppe’s owner.

At the Village Chocolate Shop's stand, people tried garlic-, thyme-, chili- and sage-infused chocolate, garlic fudge and truffles and the garlic caramel corn. Owner Nicholas Monte said the different infused spices are supposed to add to the chocolate's flavor, not overpower it. "You don't get any of (the flavor) until you let it go in your mouth," he said.
He said the garlic fudge and truffles, which use roasted garlic, will probably remain specialty items, but the feedback he received on the chocolates, especially on the garlic-infused and chili-infused, might make them standards at his store. "We've been getting good reports all day," said Monte, who owns stores in Bennington and East Arlington. "The garlic and chili chocolates go great with wine."

I can just imagine!

Here’s the other absolutely tremendous thing about the Village Chocolate Shoppe tent -- when the lovely woman who took our order started talking to me, I quickly stopped her with my usual spiel ‘I’m deaf -- speak slow and I’ll try to read your lips.’ She IMMEDIATELY switched to ASL!!! How cool is that?!

Now, y’all know that I’m not fluent -- I stumble along, relying on a combo of lipreading and sign. Even with me being pretty weak, it’s an unexpected, awesome plus bit of happy kismet when a shopkeeper, customer service rep or anyone really, knows some sign -- even if it’s just finger spelling.
Between the white chocolate garlic fudge and the signing, I will assuredly be visiting their store in Bennington on my next trip.

 From the fest, Helen, John, the girls and I voyaged over to The Man of Kent Tavern, just outside Hoosick Falls on Route 7, for dinner. This is just a little upstate, back road place so I was way surprised to find the food so divinely delizioso. We started with the Ahi Tuna appetizer -- I then had the beer battered cod. A big solid WOW. All this AND they had Old Speckled Hen on tap. The joint’s seriously brimming over with win.

I drove up to visit Helen and famiglia on a whim. I can do that now. I can just zip (OK, a three and a half hour 'zip') up to Hoosick Falls, see my sweeties and have a wee holiday in one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

Christ almighty, life's grand.