Dan Rather Reports!

Hey folks,

Some exciting news! Vermont Soy, along with several other Hardwick-area businesses, was recently featured on Dan Rather Reports. Our friends at High Mowing Seeds put the video up on their website, check it out if you've got a chance! Here's the link:

Vermont Soy on Dan Rather Reports

We'll be back soon with more updates from the Soy world!

Peace,
Beth

More Pictures!

More pics of Senator Leahy's press conference! In the pictures:

• Senator Leahy
• Andrew Meyer, co-owner of Vermont Soy
• Brian Norder, director of the Vermont Food Venture Center
• Connie Stanley Little- executive director of Economic Development Council of Northern Vermont
• Todd Hardie- owner of Honey Gardens Apiaries

Senator Leahy Visits Vermont Soy!

Hey all,

Exciting events this past week: Senator Leahy came to Vermont Soy to hold a press conference regarding the Food Venture Center. The Senator announced funding for the Food Venture Center, which will soon be moving up to Hardwick, right across from Vermont Soy. The Center is a certified kitchen and incubator for small businesses. For example- if you are a small farmer and want to produce pesto out of the basil that you grow, you can't make it in your personal kitchen and then sell it in markets around the area. You would have to make that pesto in a certified kitchen, which many small farmers and producers do not have the resources to do. And that's where the Food Venture Center comes in. You can rent time and space at the Center, and produce your pesto in a certified kitchen without having to build one yourself. The FVC also provides consulting for small businesses- both businesses that are already established and businesses that are still in the works.

Senator Leahy is excited about the Food Venture Center, and it was wonderful to have his support of the project.

Check out some of these pictures from the event above! More pictures will follow.

Be well everyone,
Beth

Center for Ag. Economy Open House

Hey Everyone,

Just thought I'd let our local friends know that there is an open house coming up at the Center for an Agricultural Economy in Hardwick. Here are some details:

Center for an Ag. Economy Open House and Movie Night!

Please join us at the Center for an Agricultural Economy for our long awaited open house on Thursday, August 27, 2009. We will be serving cookies and cider, and showing the documentary “The Red Wagon: Facing Hunger” starting at 4:00. The Red Wagon is a short film that explores the problem of local food insecurity and highlights the organizations feeding the hungry in Vermont. Cookies and cider will be provided, discussion is encouraged.

When: Thursday, August 27, 2009 from 3:00-6:30 pm

Where: Center for an Agricultural Economy, 41 Main Street between Claire's and the Co-op

Please call the Center at (802) 472-5840 for more information. Background on The Red Wagon can be found at http://www.132main.com/projects/projects_redwagon.htm

If you're around, be sure to come down and check it out! I've heard the Red Wagon is a great film, so come take advantage of that and meet all the wonderful folks who work at the Center.

Be well,
Beth

And Now: Recipes!

Hey all!

2 updates in one day, I know. But we've had some requests for recipes, and there are a couple that I would like to share.

Ginger Tofu Soup

Ingredients:
8 oz fine egg noodles

2 Tbsp. olive oil

10 scallions, including tops, sliced diagonally - 1 in. long

5 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger

7 c. chicken broth, or vegetable broth

1 small head cabbage thinly sliced

14 oz. Vermont Soy Artisan Tofu cut into 1/2 in cubes

salt and pepper to taste

Cook noodles, drain and toss with oil. In large pan, heat oil, saute scallions and ginger for 1-2 mins. Add broth, bring to a boil, add cabbage and cook 1-2 mins. Add noodles, tofu, salt and pepper to taste.

(Adapted from recipe from Sally Lonegren)

And a second recipe:

Thai Red Curry with Vegetables and Tofu

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of oil

3 or 4 garlic cloves

1 1/2 tablespoons of minced ginger

1 onion chopped

2 carrots, sliced into quarter-inch rounds

1 red bell pepper

1 15-ounce can of unsweetened coconut milk

2 to 3 tablespoons of red Thai curry paste, depending on your taste

3 tablespoons soy sauce

14 ounces Vermont Soy Artisan Tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Fresh basil or cilantro leaves (optional)

Pour oil into a skillet. Once oil is hot, add garlic and ginger, and saute over medium-high heat for 30 seconds. Add the onion and heat until it softens, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots and red pepper, and saute until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the coconut milk, curry paste, and soy sauce and stir until the paste is well-blended with the coconut milk. Add tofu and lower heat. Simmer for 4 or 5 minutes.

Ladle over rice or noodles and sprinkle with torn basil or cilantro leaves, if using. Serves 4.

(Adapted from May 18, 2003 Washington Post article)

If you have any recipes using our tofu or soymilk that you think we might be interested in, let us know!!

Peace,
Beth

August Update

Hey Folks,

It's time again for a Vermont Soy update! Today, the temperature is hot hot hot- it feels like Massachusetts weather! Hazy, hot and humid. At my house, we just started eating the first ripe tomatoes from our garden last week, and we've made some awesome tofu stirfry dishes with broccoli, beets, carrots, and cauliflower that we just harvested minutes before cooking. I LOVE harvest season.

As usual, we have been crazy busy here at Vermont Soy, and I have to remind myself to take some time at the end of the day to reflect and share some thoughts with our online friends. Production is rocking right now- we just increased the volume of tofu we are able to produce in one day, which is awesome and more efficient. For the past several months, we've were lucky enough to have Morgane come and help in production as well. Morgane was Vermont Soy's production intern, and she was visiting from France, learning about tofu and soymilk and perfecting her English. She was wonderful- a hard worker, and great fun to be around. She left to return to France on Friday, and we're all going to miss her.

Vermont Soy has been attending some fun events lately. Sophia and I traveled down to Sugarbush Resort in Waitsfield last Monday to participate in A Taste of the Valley- a great evening where local chefs, growers, and producers all come together and hand out samples of special dishes they create. Sophia made over 25 nori (sushi) rolls with cucumbers, gingered carrots, rice, and Vermont Soy's Maple Ginger Baked Tofu! They were a big hit with all the folks that attended, and we were really able to spread the word about Vermont Soy. I was in Burlington last week, doing a few different events as well. I spent a morning sampling out our Baked Artisan Tofu and Fresh Soymilk at Healthy Living, which is an awesome store in South Burlington- definitely worth checking out. I also went to an event at the Intervale, which is always a great place to visit. Every Thursday during the summer and into the early fall, the Intervale hosts an event with an informational workshop, a Slow Food Vermont tasting, live music, and great food! Admission is by donation and benefits the Intervale. Also definitely work checking out.

If you ever want to know if Vermont Soy is attending a specific event, head over to our website and click on the "events" section. You will see a calendar of events, and you can click on them to receive more details! This way, you can stay up to date and come visit us if you'll be in the area. Some exciting Vermont Soy news is that our Maple Ginger Baked Artisan Tofu recently got approved to be in Whole Foods Markets throughout the Northeast, so I'll be headed down to Massachusetts soon to do some demos with the tofu in various Whole Foods. I'll put it in on the calendar, so if you live in the area, definitely stop by and sample some tofu!

So keep up with your gardens, friends, and we'll check in again in the next few weeks. As always, contact us with any feedback or questions at info [at] vermontsoy [dot] com.

Be well,
Beth

Early July Update

Hi Folks!

Happy summer! I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer temperatures and spending lots of time outside. At my house, our garden is in full swing and I go outside every day and give a few words of encouragement to our plants and daydream about all the canning I'm going to get to do later on in the season. I'm going to plant a few soybeans in small pots so I can take the plants to farmers markets with me and show people what soy plants look like! I'm pretty excited about that.

Here are Vermont Soy, we are just as busy as ever! Our Maple Ginger Baked Tofu has come out, and has been receiving lots of positive reviews. Jamie, our tofu master, has made an awesome creamy sesame ginger salad dressing using the baked tofu- it tastes amazing! If you are lucky enough to be a CSA member at Pete's Greens, then you've been able to try some. Todd is getting a lot closer to a final yogurt recipe, and has been spending a lot more time here at the soy plant, which we are all excited about. Andrew has been busy with Vermont Soy and Vermont Natural Coatings, and he's also working hard to help transition the Food Venture Center to Hardwick. The Food Venture Center is an awesome organization that is a shared-use kitchen incubator for value-added and specialty food producers who can rent the kitchen on an hourly basis or arrange for co-packing at the facility. So basically, if' you're a small farmer and want to make pesto to sell, but can't because you don't have a certified kitchen, the FVC is something you could definitely benefit from. Learn more about it at: http://www.edcnv.org/programs/northern_enterprises/food_venture/

Coming up next month (I can't believe it's July already!) is the launch of our new sizes of soymilk- we will be launching quart sizes as well as 10 ounce sizes of our Fresh Soymilk. Sophia and I have had a few meetings with Julie, our awesome graphic designer at Great Big Graphics, to come up with designs for the shrink sleeves that will be going on our bottles. The whole process is very exciting and I can't wait until we can start shipping the quarts and 10 ouncers out to people.

Hardwick is definitely a great place to be as a young person involved in sustainable agriculture. New articles about the Hardwick Agricultural Revolution are being written on what seems like a regular basis, and I'm constantly reminded of my place in this movement. A few weeks ago, Vermont Soy, along with High Mowing Seeds and an awesome organization called the Greenhorns hosted a "Young Farmer Mixer" at the Center for an Agricultural Economy and Claire's Restaurant in Hardwick. It was.. amazing. The Center was PACKED. I've never been in a room with so many young people involved farming, and it was so inspriring and affirming. I caught up with old friends, met new folks, and had a wonderful time. So if society is getting you down, keep the faith! There are so many people working to change it, little by little.

So as always, keep in touch. We really do love hearing feedback about our soy foods! Email info [at] vermontsoy [dot] com and someone (most likely me) will get back to you.

Cheers everyone!

Beth

April Update!

Hello All!

Happy Spring to everyone! The snow is almost all melted and the robins are running rampant. I know the beginning of April is early for it to feel really spring-like, but I can't lie- I was really sick of winter and I'm liking these 60 degree days.

Spring fever has also hit Vermont Soy! Every month, I post that we are crazy busy, but this month we are really are CRAZY busy! We begin distribution of our Maple Ginger Baked Tofu this coming week, and Jamie and Allen and the rest of the soy crew have been working hard to make as much of it as they possibly can. We just got the boxes delivered yesterday, and they look beautiful! They're bright orange and very eye-catching, with the trademark cut-out of the shape of Vermont on the front of the box. Sophia and I have been on the phones, telling as many people as we can about the baked tofu! We use this awesome program called TurnLink to schedule and keep track of phone calls that we make, and Sophia and I both have over 50 calls scheduled for this coming Monday. Crazy! But it's all worth it because the baked tofu is AMAZING. I never even cook it or prepare it at all because I just eat it right out of the package as soon as I open it. Because it's a baked tofu, it's already a prepared food! The convenience of it is really great. This is the perfect tofu for people who aren't sure what to do with tofu.

Another piece of exciting news for us at Vermont Soy is that we are about to enter the New York/New Jersey market with all of our soy foods! I've been working hard to introduce myself to a lot of stores in that region, and Allen has been in constant contact with the distributor that we will be working with down there. There are a lot of really awesome stores and restaurants in New York City and around the state, and it's really exciting that some of those places might be carrying our products!

Right now, our new line of soymilk sizes is due with a launch date in early June. So stay tuned for that! And look for the baked tofu in stores starting at the end of next week! You won't be disappointed, I promise.

Keep in touch, folks! Thanks for all your continued support!

Peace,
Beth

February Update!

Hey folks!

We really are trying to get better at remembering to blog, I promise. It's a little warmer than last time I blogged- recently, temperatures were in the almost spring-like 30's for a short time. Is everyone ready for spring yet? I know I am..

Here at the soy facility, we are getting even closer to our maple ginger baked tofu launch date. The oven to bake the tofu is here and fully installed, and Jamie is doing his first big test run today and tomorrow. I hope everyone is really excited about this baked tofu! I know I mentioned this already, but the samples that I've had so far are incredible. I brought some home to my house and we all stood around the counter and ate them cold, right out of the packaging. That's how good it is! Right now, we're looking at a launch date in early March- that's just a month away!

Todd is still out of the office and working on the soy yogurt. He has already run some test batches, and I hear that they came out really well- creamy and smooth. As for our soymilk, we're still making it every week, and we are currently in the process of deciding on bottle styles for our 8 oz. and quart sizes. Julie, the incredible graphic designer that we work with, has been working on new labels and so far, they are looking beautiful.

For those of you in the Vermont area, you should think about heading down to Randolph next weekend (the 14th and 15th) to the annual winter NOFA conference! NOFA is the Northeast Organic Farming Association, and they put on lots of great events, including the two day winter conference in Vermont. There are tons of good workshops this year, and our very own Andrew Meyer is giving the Saturday keynote. I will definitely be there, going to as many workshops as possible and catching up with my farmer friends. Another perk of the conference- the huge pot-luck lunches they have each day. And it's on Valentine's Day this year! Talking about compost and soil and Community Supported Agriculture and hanging out with cool farmer folks sounds like the perfect way to spend that day.

I hope everyone is healthy and happy! send an email if you ever have questions or cool ideas, or just to say hey! beth [at] vermontsoy [dot] com.

peace!
beth

january update!

hey folks! i hope everyone is surviving the winter temperatures- our thermometer read -38 last night! here at vermont soy, we have been keeping warm by keeping busy! sophia and i have been calling, calling, calling here in the office, and our rockstar production team has been making lots of tofu and soymilk. they are soy masters!

so what's next for vermont soy? we are in the process of coming out with new sizes of our soymilk. right now, our soymilk comes in a pint size and a half gallon size, but soon we will be making quart sizes and 8 oz. sizes! this is exciting for us because it will really help our smaller accounts out. also in the works: maple ginger baked tofu! i've gotten to sample some of the baked tofu earlier when jamie was doing some test batches, and it's incredible. so good that i wanted to snack on it straight out of the fridge. so good that my good friend, who is not normally a soy lover, loved it! so get ready! todd has been busy working on a longer-range plan for soy yogurt, so by this summer we should all be able to enjoy some of that as well.

for now, continue to look for our soymilk and tofu in stores all around the region. if you're not sure where to buy, check out our website! you can type in your zip code and it will tell you where to pick up some soy foods near you. we are always excited to hear from soy fans, so drop us an email if you feel like it.

and most of all: thanks for continuing to support and believe in our small business! local food is our passion, and we're glad it's yours, too.

viva la local foods revolution!

peace,
beth