You’ll notice a wide array of Butternut Mountain Farm products inside Vermont’s Own on Main Street in Middlebury. Why? Because they are absolute top shelf when it comes to certified organic, non-gmo, and kosher!  
 
Owned by the Marvin family, Butternut Mountain Farm has been in operation for more than forty years. As sugarmakers go, family patriarch Dr. James Wallace Marvin is one of the best! He even co-founded the Proctor Maple Research Center and the Vermont Maple Industry Council.

His work carries on through the newest generation of Marvins who continue his legacy with a booming Vermont business that reaches far beyond the farm!

At Vermont’s Own Products we stock up on not only Butternut Mountain Farm’s syrup, but also their specialty mustards, maple pepper, maple popcorn, maple baked bean kits, maple drops, and a special taste of Vermont maple grade sampler!

Their 75,000 square foot production facility in Morrisville is certified organic, Kosher, and SQF. They say, “Vermont pride informs our team’s culture. It drives every one of us to consistently deliver the best maple products and the highest level of customer service. Butternut Mountain Farm is, indeed, a family business – a family that has blossomed to over 80 employees, hundreds of farmers and thousands of customers.”

Mustard has been around since Jesus was a baby, but that doesn’t mean we should take it for granted! And it’s not just for sandwiches. Vermonter’s have whipped up some specialty mustard concoctions that make for delicious marinades, salads, and dressings. Take a peek at some of our favorites!
 
Franklin’s Own Potato Salad
 
You will need:
5 pounds of cooked, cubed potatoes
½ cup of Butternut Mountain Farms Maple-Horseradish Mustard
2 cups of your favorite mayonnaise
6 chopped hard-boiled eggs
1 cup of chopped onion
3 chopped dill pickles
Salt and pepper to taste
 
Boil potatoes for about 12 minutes or until tender. Drain well, and place in a serving bowl. Stir in onion, salt and pepper, then set aside to cool.
 
After cooled, remainder of all ingredients, then chill.
 
Foxy mustard-glazed chicken breasts
 
You will need:
6 boneless chicken breast halves, skinless
½ cup Fox Mustard
½ cup honey
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp parsley
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and smooth half of this mixture over the chicken. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn chicken over and brush with the remaining mustard mixture. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Bon Appétit!

All of our Vermont-made, specialty mustards are sold in our store on Main Street in Middlebury and online at www.VermontsOwnProducts.com! Online be sure to use promo code Vermont50 to take 20% off orders $50 or more! 

I met up with Redbud again this year! My hubby even came along for the ride! We took a tour of Otter Creek from the River’s Edge Campground to Vergennes Falls with wonder duo Russ Steeves and Joyce Chambers on their pleasure launch. I’m always so excited to meet up with these two retired steamboat enthusiasts!

You might recognize my byline from some local newspapers. I've been a journalist in the area for the past decade. Now I'm the social media manager at Vermont's Own. I must say, being surrounded by maple syrup every week is not a bad gig! This is the first installment of many blogs to come about local happenings.

Back to late July on Otter Creek ... English-style Redbud is a re-creation of an affluently-owned pleasure boat of the 1890s. The fastest she travels is about 8mph. At 19-feet long, this steamboat is a little below average. Most are about 23-feet. And of course, it's wood-fired and steam-powered.

Russ and Joyce tow Redbud from Massachusetts to Vermont every year to meet up with their pals from the North American Steamboat Association. This year was the biggest regional meet to date, Russ said, with about 20 boats. It’s been happening here for about two decades because Otter Creek is one of the best locations for the hobby due to its proximity to Lake Champlain.

There’s a bit of relevant history, too. In the 1800s, C.P. Van Ness ran a Lake Champlain steamboat company in Vergennes. And back in the early 1900s, steam provided the most modern mode of water transportation, Russ said. 

Today, steamboats on the lake are a rare spectacle. Russ is also a cannon builder (the man is a jack-of-all-trades!), so he helped my husband be the biggest spectacle of all, on the afternoon of our trip, when he got to fire a cannon near Vergennes Falls! It was a little loud for me, but a welcomed step back in time. I hope we can do it again next year. I might even muster up enough courage to shoot the cannon!

Take a look at this fun video from the day! Warning: CANNON FIRE!