Great American Culinary Tour

     I began my 1st Annual Great American Culinary Tour exactly one week ago today.  After an easy 5 hour drive north the day before and a fantastic evening meal at Johnny Seesaw's in Peru (the place is a mandatory culinary event on it's own), I was ready to venture out for my first day of exploration into the Green Mountain State.
     After about an hour's drive I made my first stop in the picturesque little town of Norwich, home of King Arthur Flour.  They have been providing high quality baking products since 1790.

     Had I thought about it I wouldn't have really set my hopes too high for this visit.  After all wheat is not grown in Vermont.  Neither is it milled there, but on the open plains of the Mid-West.  So Norwich is home to the administrative offices and a baking education center.  There are no tours because there is nothing to really see being made or produced.  A member of the staff confided in me that most of the Norwich employees have never even seen the milling process.  And to further complicate my visit, they are in the midst of a rather large renovation and expansion project so things are in a temporary mode for staff and visitor alike.  So I took about an hour to walk through the store and savored the aroma of the fresh baked items that were for sale from a small on-site bakery before moving on to drive slowly through the little town. 

 



Before leaving, however, I did manage to purchase a few mixes for my bread machine and will enjoy baking up some Scottish oatmeal and cinnamon raisin breads.

     Norwich is classic New England with a village square and iconic buildings that seem to exude strength and stability and a solid foundation for the residents.  Here are a few of the images I captured with my digital camera:

 

 

   From Norwich I headed north and west with more stops to make, some planned and some unplanned.  So I will continue my Great American Culinary Tour tomorrow with a lunch time detour in the state capital, Montpelier.