For Immediate Release
October 25, 2007

Contact: Martin C. Langeveld                                                              
802-254-2407
langeveldvt@comcast.net

Strolling of the Heifers Publishes “Celebrating Our Roots Cookbook;”
Publication Party & Tasting Slated for Brattleboro’s November Gallery Walk

Brattleboro, Vermont- The Strolling of the Heifers will host a Recipe Tasting to mark the publication of its “Celebrating Our Roots Cookbook.”  The party to launch the cookbook will take place from 5:00 – 8:00 pm on Friday, November 2, 2007, which is Brattleboro’s Gallery Walk Night. The event will be held at the Robert H. River Garden in downtown Brattleboro and feature recipes created by local chefs. Tickets to the event are $5, and the public is invited to attend. Cookbooks will be on sale, and ticket holders will receive a $5 coupon toward the $19.95 cookbook price.  Approximately 20 of the 106 recipes featured in the cookbook, published by the nonprofit in partnership with the Brattleboro Reformer, will be prepared by some of southeastern Vermont’s best known cooks. Alan Greenleaf and The Doctor will provide musical entertainment. 

PUBLICATION OUTGROWTH OF BUY LOCAL CHALLENGE CAMPAIGN
The cookbook was the outgrowth of the Stroll’s year-long “Celebrating Our Roots’ Recipe Contest.” The contest was created to build public awareness regarding the organization’s ongoing Buy Local Challenge Campaign. The campaign’s purpose is to educate people about how buying locally helps support southern Vermont’s family-owned farms. The public was invited to submit their favorite recipes, preferably those with fresh, local ingredients. Recipes had to be original and were judged on their distinctiveness, taste and ease of preparation. Those submitted ranged from down-home, comfort food to gourmet dishes.  The top three recipe contest winners received cash prizes at an event last spring where the public received the opportunity to sample the prize winning recipes. Notably, many of the recipes were submitted after the contest deadline and solely for use in the cookbook.

MANY AREA CHEFS TO CREATE SAMPLES FOR TASTING
The chefs and food purveyors listed below will prepare samples of their creations at the Gallery Walk Night affair. Tickets to the Recipe Tasting can be purchased at the door. Recipe samples will be offered by the following establishments: Amy’s Bakery Arts Cafe; Boccelli’s on the Canal; Brattleboro Food Co-op; Orchard Hill Breadworks; Chesterfield Inn; Elizabethean Fare Catering; Grafton Cheese; Horizon Organic; Meadowlark Inn; The Old Tavern at Grafton; Orchard Hill Breadworks; Organic Cow; Organic Valley Family of Farms; Putney Inn; Putney Food Co-op Riverview Café; and the Top of the Hill Grill.

Either the Strolling of the Heifers’ Executive Director Orly Munzing or Cookbook Committee Chair Phyllis Trier taste tested all the recipes. Trier, who recently moved to this area from Grandview, New York, formerly ran Bittersweet Pastries, a successful mail order and wholesale dessert company. She founded the company after winning many top prizes for desserts, including a contest judged by James Beard. Jeffrey P. Roberts, the author of the recently published Atlas of American Artisan Cheese, wrote the cookbook’s foreword. His tome for cheese lovers highlights more than 350 of the best small-scale cheese makers in the United States today.

COMMITTEE OF VOLUNTEERS CREATED COOKBOOK
The cookbook would not have come to fruition without the efforts of a small team of dedicated volunteers.  Martin Langeveld, the Brattleboro Reformer‘s publisher, made the cookbook possible by offering to have the Reformer sponsor and print the cookbook. He also enlisted Reformer staff members, Carol Nims and Erika Elder, to handle graphic design and production.  Valerie Stuart, who handles the Stroll’s marketing activities and spearheads the organization’s Buy Local Campaign, created the Celebrating Our Roots theme and tagline for the cookbook and Buy Local Campaign. Stuart also assisted with the cookbook’s copywriting and art direction. Laurie Garland and Jenna Hall-Ross followed up with chefs and members of the public who submitted recipes. Art director Carol Nims and graphic designer Erika Elder are responsible for the cookbook’s charming overall look. Orly Munzing was the cookbook’s project manager and her son Daniel Munzing created the publication’s whimsical illustrations.  

PUBLICATION FEATURES WIDE ARRAY OF RECIPES
Recipes featured in the cookbook include brief histories on where they came from and why they are personal or family favorites. Many of them are unusual and include local ingredients in keeping with the Stroll’s Buy Local Campaign. Appetizer category entries include Garlic Gorgonzola Spread; Warm Goat Cheese and Sun Dried Tomatoes; and (Recipe Contest Prize Winner) Maple-Glazed, Apple-Bacon Brussels Sprouts. Soups range from Butternut Parsnip Soup to Baked Onion and Apple. Side Dishes range from August Corn Fritters to Swiss Chard and Cheese (Recipe Contest Prize Winner). Fish & Seafood Entrées include Grilled Caesar Bluefish En Papillote, Salmon with Cranberry-Thyme Crust and Grilled Halibut with Apple Cardamom Compote. Poultry Entrees include Spicy Cornmeal Battered Pecan Crusted Fried Chicken and Turkey Meatloaf (Recipe Contest Prize Winner). Carnivores can select from Beef Entrées including Beer Braised Pot Roast, Zesty Maple Ribeyes and Moroccan Lamb Tagine. Vegetarian and Main Coarse Entrées range from  Havarti Baked Ziti to Pesto Chili. Desserts include Cream Scones and Frozen Maple Mousse.

WHERE COOKBOOKS ARE AVAILABLE
Cookbooks may be purchased by logging on to: www.strollingoftheheifers.com They also are available on the Stroll ’s Web site as part of a gift basket created by Helen Robb of the Robb Family Farm. The gift basket features local cheeses and maple syrup.  Organizations and stores in the Brattleboro area selling them include Altiplano; Baker’s; Book Cellar; Brattleboro Museum & Art Center; Everyone's Books; Galanes; Grafton Cheese; Heartstone Bookstore; Newfane Country Store; and Verde.

The mission of the Strolling of the Heifers is to promote awareness of the importance of agriculture in our daily lives and to raise money to fund educationally oriented agricultural programs for youth. For details log on to www.strolllingoftheheifers.com