Vermont Things To Do, Things To Drink

Driving from Montréal to Stowe, Vermont, we took a scenic route down a chain of islands in Lake Champlain.


Aya had never seen ice fishers before, and had certainly never seen cars and trucks parked out on a frozen lake.

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We stopped here for a couple of photos. And then, to our surprise, we did this:

The Vermont woods still had very nice snow, especially in the first few days. This is from when it was wetter, but still wonderful.

This calf seemed warm with its long hair.

Its mother hovered close by with her long horns.

The hot tub was a real treat. When we got too hot we rolled in the snow to cool down, then jumped back in.

Aya and Dad teamed up in the kitchen and produced a rich, dark beef stew and some amazing cheese soufflés to replenish our strength.


Thirsts were met by Vermont's excellent selection of local beers. Here, in no particular order, are some that we remembered to take photos of.

Howl black lager by Magic Hat

Circus Boy wheat beer by Magic Hat

Raison d'Être Belgian brown ale by Dogfish Head was particularly good

Demo dark IPA from Magic Hat

Otter Creek's black IPA was a real hit

A straightforward, flavourful ale by Long Trail

As tasty as their beers were, you may notice that we did not provide links to Magic Hat's website. Designed by and for people who attend way too many outdoor concerts, we wouldn't feed its navigation system to our worst dog.

Suffice to say that the menu is a doodle-pad of incomprehensibility that refers to their beers as "Elixirs".

Never mind. The beer is really quite delicious.

Did we miss any Vermont brewing gems? What should we look for next time?

Freeze-Dried (Powdered) Spinach

This stuff is great!

We've been adding a little when we make soup, stew, mashed potatoes, pasta, bread, muffins and milkshakes. It even gets sprinkled on yogurt and granola at breakfast.

It takes 900 grams of fresh spinach to produced 100 grams of freeze-dried/powdered, so it's a great way to get a dose dark, leafy greens in winter.

It adds just a little toasty, vegetal flavour, something like matcha (roast green tea). It also adds a slight green tint, which can sometimes be a bit odd. Just remember the lesson of this classic:

As with all dried food, keep an eye on the sodium content. Small servings, about 1-2 teaspoons, will do.

Tongue Stew with Côte-Rôtie

Tongue is probably not going to make a huge come-back in the kitchens of North America any time soon, and that is a real pity. We had some stewed tongue recently that changed our minds about this challenging cut of beef. The texture was incredible, so tender yet resilient, and a flavour like fine tenderloin. We decided to try making it ourselves.

One beef tongue, onions and parsley.

We simmered everything for about four or five hours and then chilled it in the fridge over night. The next day we gave it another simmer for about four hours.

After all that, the shape has hardly changed at all.

Removing the skin takes a lot of careful cutting so as not to lose any of the meat.

Shimeji are almost too cute to cook.

Another long, slow stew in demi-glace.

A fantastic winter meal, served with peas, polenta and cream. The wine was almost designed specifically for this meal: Domaine Jean-Michel Stephan, 2008 (a blend of Syrah and Viognier) from the Southern Rhône.

Dig-Dig #6: Americana

When staying at Gem Mountain, the closest town for showers and groceries is Philipsburg, Montana.

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A beautifully kept town, maintaining a robust balance between historical preservation and modern standards. It is refreshing to be able to easily imagine life a hundred years ago while lacking for nothing.

The Club Bar is the perfect spot for a drink on a hot afternoon. Very friendly staff and patrons, and we lucked upon "happy hour".

The locally-made Dump Truck Bock was light but full of flavour. Highly recommended.

Delicious thick beef stew at the Gem Mountain campground that night, accompanied by an adequate Zinfandel from Ravenswood.

The view from the dinner table.

On the way to Wyoming.

Afton, Wyoming: home of the world's largest elk horn arch.


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If you are driving down Interstate 15 in Utah with a trunk full of fish fossils and think you feel your front left wheel wobbling and start to fear that your '94 Escort Wagon with 205,000 km on it is telling you the trip is taking a bad turn, you could do a lot worse than to take exit 279 into Lehi and turn right. Big O Tires is there and ready to take a look while you wait.


It is hard to overstate how friendly, polite, professional and speedy the Big O crew were. Taylor, Blair and the whole team made the process painless and eased our worries, finding no mechanical faults in their thorough inspection. Someone around Lehi is bringing their kids up right. And someone knows how to generate a positive impression of a big-chain business, too. Big O charged a big 0$ for this greatly-appreciated service. Highly recommended.

Up next: an oasis in the desert, and a desert in the oasis.