In the midst of mud season, it might be a good time to hole up in the kitchen. Upcoming lessons in food preparation include two chances to make dairy products.
First up is a cheese, butter and yogurt making class at Earthwise Farm and Forest on MacIntosh Hill Road in Bethel on Sunday from 1 to 4:30 p.m. The same course will be offered again on May 20.
Lisa McCrory will instruct participants in how to make soft cheeses, yogurt and butter at home. The class will provide information about how and where to purchase local, raw milk. Participants should bring a container to take home milk, cultures or product samples.
Register in advance by mailing a registration fee of $40 per person or $75 for two to: Earthwise Farm and Forest, Dairy Class, 341 MacIntosh Hill Road, Randolph, VT 05060. Make checks out to Lisa McCrory.
For more information, contact McCrory at Lmccrory560@gmail.com or 802-234-5524.
Vermont Technical College will offer a course in yogurt production at Vermont Tech’s Norwich Farms, on Turnpike Road in Norwich, April 28-30, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
The $500, three-day training, taught by cheesemaker Chris Gray, will cover food safety issues, fermentation science, milk biochemistry, inoculants, sweetening, packaging and economics.
Participants will also learn state and federal laws that apply to yogurt production and build cash flow worksheets for yogurt businesses.
The first two days will be spent making six types of yogurt in a classroom. The third day of the training will include visits to three yogurt production facilities.
For more information, contact Molly Willard at molly.willard@vtc.edu or 802-535-5315. Register online at events.vtc.edu/Register/YogurtProduction.
Learning Opportunities
Eric Bragg, a plant health care specialist for Henderson’s Tree and Garden Service, will host a pruning workshop at Cobb Hill Co-Housing in Hartland on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.
Bragg will teach proper pruning techniques for common and uncommon trees, hardwoods and shrubs.
This workshop, organized by the Windsor Chapter of the University of Vermont Extension Master Gardener Program, is designed for all ability levels, counts for master gardener continuing education hours and is open to the general public.
The workshop is free to master gardeners, master gardener alumni and students. There is a suggested donation of $5 for the general public.
Participants should bring their own pruning tools and bag lunch.
For more information, contact Helen Prussian at hprussian@comcast.net or 802-436-5950, or Cindy Heath at cheath58@gmail.com or 603-675-9123. To register, visit bit.ly/2ov7rnm.
Vicky Allard, co-owner and executive chef at Blake Hill Preserves in Artisans Park in Windsor, will offer two chances to learn to make champagne marmalade on Saturday, first from 9:30 a.m. to noon and then from 2 to 4:30 p.m.
The $40 classes are part of Blake Hill’s monthly series, “The Art of Fine Preserving.” Each course includes a recipe sheet, a jar of preserves and 15 percent off purchases on the day of the class.
For reservations, call 802-674-4529 or email mball@blakehillpreserves.com.
“Fresh Eggs Daily” blogger Lisa Steele will lead a free poultry-raising workshop at West Lebanon Feed and Supply on Tuesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Steele is a 5th generation chicken keeper, a Maine master gardener and author of the Better Homes & Gardens blog “Fresh Eggs Daily.”
For more information or to sign up, call 603-298-8600.
The Thetford Historical Society will host two free food-related talks as part of its “Weather or Not” series. On Thursday, Mark Isselhardt of the Proctor Maple Research Center in Underhill, Vt., will describe the science and practice of turning sap into syrup, current research and ways producers are adapting to shifting seasons. The talk will take place at 7 p.m. at the Thetford Elementary School.
Sylvia Davatz, of Solstice Seeds in Hartland, will lead a talk on heirloom seeds at the Thetford Center Community Building on April 13 at 7 p.m. She will talk about open-pollinated varieties, planting, harvesting, cleaning and storing seeds. Participants will leave with three heirloom seed samples and a bag of compost.
Find more information at thetfordhistoricalsociety.org/2017SpringSeries.php or by emailing info@thetfordhistoricalsociety.org
The Bradford Conservation Commission and the Bradford Library will host “The Round and the Furry,” a talk about bumblebees, at the Bradford Academy on Monday at 7 p.m.
Speaker Sara Zahendra, of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, will describe why bumblebees, native pollinators, are essential to our food supply, and why they’re in trouble. Zahendra will cover bumblebee life history, the role native pollinators play in our ecosystem and the current status of specific species in the Northeast.
The talk is by donation. For more information, visit bradfordvtlibrary.org or call 802-222-4536.
Book Swap
The Norwich Public Library on Main Street will host a free cookbook swap on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Participants are invited to bring cookbooks to trade in. For more information, call 802-649-1184 or visit bit.ly/2o3tBNp.
Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.
