Join Vermont food writer Melissa Pasanen, to hear how she and her coauthor, chef Rick Gencarelli of the Inn at Shelburne Farms, were inspired by Vermont's food and agricultural landscape to create their 2007 New York Times Notable Cookbook, Cooking with Shelburne Farms: Food and Stories from Vermont (2007). Learn more about this book at http://www.shelburnefarms.org/news /cookbook.shtm.

Learn why Shelburne Farms believes a local, sustainable food system is a key part of building healthy communities, how a professional chef and food writer worked together to develop more than 100 Vermont-ingredient-focused recipes; and get tips and ideas for cooking with Vermont ingredients – even in February! Recipe sampling included.

Melissa Pasanen is a Vermont-based freelance journalist specializing in food and agriculture. She is the chief food and restaurant correspondent for the Burlington Free Press and a staff writer for Edward Behr's Art of Eating, as well as a regular contributor to Vermont Life and other regional and national publications.