local farms | Littleton Food Co-op

Producer Spotlight: Strafford Organic Creamery

January 27, 2025 By Anastasia Maher

Producer: Strafford Organic Creamery

Founder/Owner: Earl Ransom and Amy Huyffer

Location: Strafford, VT

Found at the Littleton Co-op: Ice cream, milk, eggnog (seasonal)

Website: Facebook Page

Our modern day food systems were built on the backs of People of Color (POC), particularly the Black community, without making room to acknowledge their important contributions. During the month of February, celebrated as Black History Month, we take intentional moments to celebrate Black entrepreneurs, inventors, and businesses that have shaped the way we eat, drink, and live. Supporting a vibrant and diverse producer network is a yearlong goal of the Littleton Co-op, and we are proud to highlight BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) voices. Read more about Littleton Co-op’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work here.

Strafford Organic Creamery– steered by Earl Ransom, Amy Huyffer, and family– at Rockbottom Farm, is a living legacy in Vermont. As the one remaining dairy farm left in Strafford, VT, down from over two dozen in the town’s previous life, there’s a lot of pressure on them. Add the fact that Earl is one of three Black dairy farmers in Vermont*, and the spotlight shines brighter. But in Earl’s experience, “Being Black in Vermont has always been interesting, because it’s existing in a place people don’t expect you to be, no matter your profession.”

No matter the pressures that may or may not be on them, Strafford Organic Creamery is not one to succumb to doing anything any way other than what’s best for their Guernsey cows, their land, or their planet. They’ve been bottling their milk in glass since 2001 and haven’t looked back. Yes, plastic would be cheaper, and doesn’t require constant bottle return solicitations, but it’s nowhere near as sustainable. This goes hand in hand with their decision to remain a standalone farm, which means they do their own bottling on site. This means the Ransom family are the ones directly overseeing the process and setting their own standards. Their cows –with names like Pomegranate, Naan, and Larkspur– roam on organic, diversified pasture for 22 hours a day. Amy sums it up best: “I’ve thought about quitting every day, but I’ve never thought about compromising our values.”

Learn more about Strafford Organic Creamery on That’s Rad Episode 45: Strafford Organic Creamery where Amy Huyffer talks with the Co-op about life on the farm, Vermont’s dwindling dairy industry, and their mouth-watering ice cream.

*according to 2017 US Department of Agriculture census data

Fire Cider Recipe from Heartsong Farm Wellness

January 13, 2025 By Anastasia Maher

We were fortunate enough to host Grace Phillips of Heartsong Farm Wellness Center at the Littleton Co-op in January 2024 to lead a class on fire cider. Participants learned about typical fire cider ingredients and the benefits of this beloved tonic. While herbalist Rosemary Gladstar has the best known recipe for fire cider, it has truly evolved to be more of a concept than an exact recipe after years of adaptation in the herbalism and wellness communities. That being said, you can truly make this your own, so don’t fret about exact measurements or the need to substitute or omit an ingredient. After all, you’re the one who is going to be consuming it, so make it to your enjoyment.

Whatever ingredients you want to include in your fire cider, make sure to grab them here at the Littleton Co-op! We have the North Country’s best selection of local organic produce (often on sale!) to make your fire cider shine. Below is the recipe Grace shared during the Co-op’s fire cider making class:

Ingredients

 ½ gallon raw apple cider vinegar
 2 Onions (yellow preferred), chopped
 1 Lemon, zested and juiced
 2-3 Cayenne Peppers, chopped
 1 Fresh Ginger Root, grated
 1 Fresh Horseradish Root, grated
 2 bulbs Garlic, crushed or chopped
 Small jar of raw Honey

Equipment

 ½ gallon glass mason jar
 1 correct size lid (ideally the plastic ‘no spill’, but regular metal lid is fine)
 Cheese grater
 Paring Knife
 2 Cutting Boards
 4 small bowls
 Small and large spoons
 Parchment or wax paper
 Cheesecloth or strainer
 Paring Knife
 2 Cutting Boards
 4 small bowls
 Small and large spoons

Place your desired amounts (or all of each) of the onion, lemon zest, lemon juice, cayenne peppers, ginger, and horseradish into the canning jar. Cover with apple cider vinegar by two to four inches. If using a metal canning jar lid, place a piece of parchment or wax paper under the lid to prevent the vinegar from touching the metal. Shake well. Store in a dark, cool place for one month and shake daily during that time.

After one month, use a cheesecloth or strainer to separate the solid ingredients and any pulp from the liquid, pouring the vinegar liquid into a clean jar. Add honey to taste and balance out the fiery ingredients. 1/4 cup honey is a good place to start. Stir honey into vinegar until incorporated. Taste and continue adding honey until reaching desired sweetness level. The mixture should taste spicy, hot, and sweet (if desired).

Fire cider can keep for several months unrefrigerated and in a cool pantry, but it is best kept in the fridge. Use as a daily wellness tonic, or as a sauce for salads, vegetables, and grains. And if you don’t want to discard your strained out ingredients, check out this waste-reducing recipe for Fire Cider Chutney from our friends at Shelburne Farms. Enjoy!

Anastasia’s Secret Stir-Fry

August 20, 2024 By Anastasia Maher

My name is attached to this not because I think I invented anything about this dish. Truthfully speaking, I figured once I reveal the ingredients behind this meal, that sound absolutely bonkers, no other group/person would want to lay claim to it. But it’s SO GOOD! Or my family is lying to me. But I choose to reject that narrative and present you with a quick and easy weeknight dinner option that is quite possibly the most customizable recipe out there. The speed in this recipe comes from two things: rice noodles and a “anything goes” attitude.

Ever since I was a kid I have loved all sorts of Asian cuisines. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized the labor and specialized ingredients it can take to recreate certain international dishes at home. Yes, there’s always take-out; but it’s not financially feasible for most of us to eat out every night. This recipe was really accidental (that might not be a surprise once you read a little further). I had an abundance of Thai basil growing in my garden this summer, and then the overwhelming desire to have Pad Basil one night. This is not that dish.

What this ended up being was really my first time cooking “off-book.” I simply went into the night with the knowledge I had to eat something, and the confidence that I could rely on my taste buds to take me in the direction I wanted to go. I am also proud of the accidental zero-waste direction this dish went in. There’s nothing like a hurricane outside to convince you to use what you have. Not following someone else’s directions meant I didn’t have to scrap any plans if I didn’t have a full cup of chopped mushrooms on hand, or fret if my bell pepper’s weren’t perfectly julienned. If you can take that chance on yourself, too, then you can do this!

At this point, I fear I have a confession to make. Soooo “recipe” might be stretching this a bit. There’s no set ingredients. No measurements. No cooking time.

No wait, don’t leave! I’m giving you something great, I promise. Let’s call it an outline. This recipe/outline derives its magic from whatever you have on hand in the fridge and pantry. You can certainly go out and grab other ingredients, but it’s not required. Enough confusion and secrecy, let me walk you through the process:

A Noodle Base

Theoretically, you could use any sort of noodle (or heck, even rice!) as the base to this stir-fry. However, your quickest option is going to be a package of rice noodles. I was absolutely ELATED the first time I picked up a package of rice noodles and saw that they could be prepared without boiling water. I know, boiling water is like, the easiest cooking skill out there. But as a relatively-novice cook, I have a hard time lining up cooking steps to present a cohesive meal that’s all done at the same time, so not having to worry about spending valuable time literally watching water boil is great news to me. You’ll see on the back of a rice noodle package that there is a hot water option for preparing the noodles for stir-fry. Set up the hot water bath and set aside.

Zhoosh It Up

Zhoosh, jeugje, zhuzh, however you say it, that’s what we’re doing here. If you have no idea what I’m trying to spell, I hope you’ll figure out from context clues. Like I said, this meal is the perfect opportunity to use any veggies in your fridge that are…less than perfect. Don’t throw that limp/bruised/squishy/discolored/half-used/almost bad produce away! We’re going to chop it all up into bite-sized pieces and sauté in a large skillet over medium heat. A lot of flavor will come from the sauce, but don’t forget to splash some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and anything else you’d like at this step. Here’s a list of just some of the veggies I’ve added in the past:

bell peppers
onion
minced garlic
green beans
kale
tomatoes
mushrooms
scallion
spinach
broccolini

You are also welcome to add various pre-cooked sources of extra protein such as chicken, shrimp, beef, etc. Just make sure they’re already cooked by this step to add them in amongst the produce. Or, throw a couple eggs to fry up in the pan as well.

Get (Secret) Saucy

I fear that if I haven’t lost you yet, this might be where you close out this browser window. But please here me out!

Once your veggies are soft and tender, add your drained noodles to the same pan. Stir to lightly combine. One thing about me is I hate doing dishes, so I prefer to build a sauce directly into the pan, but you could certainly make it in a separate container. However, I also feel that adding the sauce ingredients directly into the pan promotes the spirit of ingenuity this is based on. Are you ready for the sauce ingredients?

The stir-fry sauce is made from: anything you want.

You think I’m lying? I promise I’m not. My strategy to dress this noodle dish has seriously been “grab anything brown from the fridge and raid the oil shelf.” And if you were to buy a pre-made sauce, you’d probably see it’s made of a similar array of ingredients. I’m just trying to save you the stress of getting measurements exactly right, and the cost of buying anything extra and obscure. Every time I pour a sauce from the fridge over the noodles I measure with my heart. If this stresses you out, here’s a rough estimate of what I add to the noodles. Take anything out, add anything in, modify quantities, I truly don’t care. You’re the one eating it! In approximate order of most –> least added, my sauce may include:

soy sauce
dumpling or chili sauce
oyster sauce
hoisin sauce
Worcestershire sauce
sesame oil
a squirt of lime (I know that’s not brown but it’s worth including! Can be bottled)

If that wasn’t bad enough, the one ingredient I prescribe you use is bullion paste.

“You mean add chicken/beef/vegetable broth, and we can make it from the bullion paste if needed?”

No, I said what I said. Add bullion paste directly to your noodles.

Truthfully, this “hack” if you will was discovered as a result of my aversion to soiling any “unnecessary” dishes. But think about it: why would you want to dilute your dish with water? There will already be plenty of hot liquid in the pan by this point to dissolve the paste, so water, in my humble opinion, is unnecessary. If you’re a rule follower, feel free to prepare the broth as usual; you may just have to cook it longer to cook off some of the liquid. Or just live with a runnier sauce. See — it’s all totally up to you! Make sure to give the noodles and add-ins a good toss so they get evenly coated in your sauce before serving.

Top it Off

As a final touch, feel free to plate and serve topped with extras like thai basil, sesame seeds, chopped green onions, peanuts, etc. Using the full package of rice noodles, this dish can make between 4-6 servings depending on how much you add in and how hungry you are. It’s a great meal prep option!

TADA!

I really hope the brave and willing amongst you will give this recipe a try. I pinky promise it’s all going to come together. And if it doesn’t, there’s always buttered noodles and take-out.

Cheers to eating on a school night before 8pm!

Anastasia

Where’s the Milk?

February 4, 2024 By Anastasia Maher

Many folks have been asking this winter: “Where’s all the Robie Farm milk?” “Why do you not have any Huckins Farm products on the shelves?” Although we’re tempted to stockpile all that local dairy goodness for ourselves, that’s not what’s happening here. We wanted to set the record straight about local dairy this winter.

First, there’s the cows themselves.

Simply put, cows do not produce as much milk in the winter. Unlike childhood storybooks have led us to believe, cows are not constant suppliers of milk that are ready with a fresh squeeze whenever we feel. Many factors affect milk production, and a huge one is weather. When temperatures drop for our infamous New England winters, it changes the life of a cow completely. First, their feed changes. Gone are the rolling acres of fresh green pasture; farmers become more reliant on hay and alternative feeds. Did you know that cows can drink an average of 3 to 5 gallons of water a minute? Cows are pretty fussy about their water temperature. Water that’s too cold or even frozen is not going to fly. No hydration or nutrition = no milk. In addition, cows have to send their bodily energy away from making milk for the winter. It goes either to maintaining their internal body temperature or producing new life to continue the milking cycle.

Secondly, there’s the farmers.

It’s not uncommon to hear a dairy farm being referred to as a seventh, eighth, twelfth generation or beyond operated farm. This means the farm is run by a family, like many of our local farms are. Staffing a dairy farm is a hard task year round, but especially difficult in the winter. Children that would be helping around the farm return back to school, work slows enough to not justify part-time farmhands, and conditions can become brutal for even the most experienced farmers. Suffice to say, if there even is milk to prepare, there might not be enough people around to do it.

So when is the milk coming back?

Short answer is we don’t know, but we’re working hard to make sure it’s as soon as possible. A high priority of ours is cultivating meaningful relationships with our local dairy farmers, and we know they will prioritize getting milk back on our shelves as soon as possible. However, we can’t sell you milk when there is none coming from the farm. The dairy farmers cannot predict what factors will impact milk production in the coming weeks, so, unfortunately, they can’t tell our Dairy Department when they will deliver. We also don’t want to name a random date only to get your hopes up and generate disappointment when unforeseen circumstances kick in.

Then how will I know when it’s back?

The best recommendation we have is to call the store to inquire about a product you are interested in. We cannot call customers when a product comes in or set aside product; we see hundreds of customers everyday and our staff are too busy to carry out special requests like these. This is also a great opportunity to try something new! We have thousands of products in store and new items added weekly. Who knows, you might just discover a new favorite.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this natural part of the milk production cycle.

Support the NH Farm to School Bill

February 1, 2024 By Anastasia Maher

The New Hampshire state legislature will soon be deciding on HB1678-FN, also known as the Local Food for Local Schools Reimbursement Pilot Program or the Farm to School Bill. The goal of this program is to connect more NH school cafeterias with fresh, locally produced foods to serve their populations. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: there are innumerable benefits to eating local, including fresher food, lower carbon emissions, and a strong economy. That is why the Littleton Food Co-op is a proud supporter of the Farm to School Bill. As we know, a thriving democracy only thrives when its members are active participants. Here’s what you can do to help support the passage of this bill:

Educate yourself on the bill

NOFA-NH (Northeast Organic Farming Association of NH) has put together a great resource guide about how this program will work, why it is important to NH, and who will benefit from it. Click here to read more from NOFA-NH.

Read General Manager Ed King’s letter of support for NH HB-1678-FN

To Whom It May Concern,

Food Coops across the country have a long history of supporting local agriculture
and healthy eating. I’m writing this letter in support of a Farm to School Bill that is
currently before the New Hampshire House (HB 1678-FN). The goal of the bill is to
increase the availability of local fruits and vegetables in our school systems
statewide. Similar Bills have failed to pass recently in New Hampshire, leaving a
significant amount of Federal matching funding on the table. Speaking on behalf of
the Littleton Food Coop’s 9 Board Members and over 9,000 Members we feel that it
is imperative that HB 1678-FN passes in Fiscal Year 2024.
We’re not sure why this initiative hasn’t passed before this year? This program has
a modest cost of $241,000 for the state and accesses significant federal matching
funds that have already been approved. Do our representatives have something
against NH Farmers? Or perhaps they’re not interested in better nutrition for our
school children? I doubt that is the case. Maybe I am missing something here? What
we don’t want is the errors of the past to doom a positive path forward. Therefore the
Littleton Food Coop and its Members urge our legislatures to pass HB 1678-FN
during this session.

Cooperatively,
Ed King, General Manager LFC

Sign the official letter of support

NOFA-NH is doing the ground work of centralizing communities across NH into one strong letter of support. Click here to add your name to the letter and an optional short what local food means to you.

Contact your representatives

If this is a cause you’re really passionate about and you have a few extra minutes, use them to contact your state representative directly. Click here to find out who your representative is. If this seems to overwhelming, have no fear! There are plenty of resources and templates online designed to help folks contact their representatives. Many of them allow you to just plug in your name and information, and a sentence or two about the bill you’re writing about.

Help us make local food in local schools a reality!

The 2023 Littleton Food Co-op Member Choice Awards

September 5, 2023 By Anastasia Maher

The RESULTS ARE IN! Scroll Below for our inaugural list of Member Choice Winners!

As a co-op, we love local and we love democracy. In honor of Eat Local Month this August, we’re combining these ideas for the Littleton Food Co-op’s first annual Member Choice Awards. Littleton Food Co-op members now have the opportunity this summer to vote for their favorite local products from the Co-op in a variety of categories including: “Best Local Cheese,” “Best Local Craft Beer,” and “Best Savory Snack,” and more!

“But wait,” you say, “It’s not August yet,” Yes, you are correct. We’re rolling these awards out early to get us all hyped about local foods and fun before the month begins so we can take all month to celebrate the winners (and the not-winners.) Voting is open from July 22nd through July 31st, 2023, so don’t think you have to vote on day one. These are tough decisions we’re asking you to make. Some research (aka sampling) might be required…

Per the name, this is a member-only opportunity. A co-op thrives on the participation of member-owners, and we wanted these awards to reflect that. Not a member yet? Stop here first to sign up for membership before voting.

Once you’ve cast your vote, make sure to tune into the August episode of That’s Rad: a podcast presented by the Littleton Food Co-op to find out if your choices are declared winners!

AND THE WINNERS ARE…….

Best Local Produce: Four Corners Farm Strawberries (31.5%)

Best Local Bakery Item: Bonilla Bread Dutch-Oven Cheese and Herb Bread (20%)

Best Local Deli Prepared Food: Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad (46.2%)

Best Local Pantry Staple Award: White Mountain Apiary Organic Raw Honey (39.1%)

Best Local Meat and Seafood Award: Robie Farm Ground Beef (35%)

Best Local Specialty Cheese Award: Jasper Hill Harbison (28.8%)

Best Local Granola Award: Grandy Organics Classic Bulk Granola (24.5%)

Best Local Dairy Item Award: Meadowstone Farm Eggs (47.7%)

Best Local Frozen Item Award: Giffords Vanilla Ice Cream (21.2%)

Best Local Beverage Award: Maine Root Soda Spicy Ginger Brew (28%)

Best Local Savory Snack Award: Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar Popcorn (37.4%)

Best Local Sweet Treat Award: Lake Champlain Milk Chocolates (39.8%)

Best Local Alcoholic Beverage Award: Rek-lis Brewing Clouded Judgement NEIPA (22.2%)

Best Local Wellness Product: Elmore Mountain Lavender Goat’s Milk Lotion (39.6%)

Thank you for voting, and congratulations to our winning products! Check back in Summer 2024 for a fresh round of nominations and voting.

Questions? Email info@littletoncoop.org or talk to one of the friendly folks at the Service Desk for more information.

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