“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads” – Thoreau

There’s nothing better for the spirit than a strong dose of fresh air and sunshine, a leafy hillside with moss-covered trails to walk upon, and a friend with whom to share the path.   The pleasures of Vermont are simple, serene, homey, and historic – one of the few places I’ve visited that caused me to think, “I could live here.”

Recently, my husband and I stayed at Twin Farms, in Barnard, VT, just a stone’s throw and a covered bridge away from Woodstock, that quintessential New England town with Greek Revival architecture and a quaint village green.  Everything about Twin Farms is exceptional: the 300-acre grounds, the rooms and cottages, the food, the kind staff, and the clear, cold pond stocked with trout.   I even got my husband to paddle a canoe for the first time in his 57 years!

We stopped at Quechee Gorge to take in the view and I took the opportunity to load up on Vermont cheeses.  I bought a couple of bricks of Cabot’s three-year-old artisanal cheddar and used one to make a cheese soufflé.  Cheese soufflés are one of the few dishes that have remained in our menu rotation for as long as we’ve been married.  I bought my first soufflé dish when I first moved to Washington and still use the same recipe that came with the dish.  In the summer, I serve the soufflé with a green salad; in winter, I add carrot soup as an appetizer.

It was a reminder for me of how important it is to use the best possible ingredients when cooking: the soufflé made with the artisanal cheddar was rich, with a substantial flavor to it, but still light as air.   Most grocery stores carry a variety of aged cheeses, so you don’t need to drive to Vermont to make this recipe work.  But if you can, it’s well worth the trip – and not just for the cheese!

The souffle can be made up to 3 hours in advance, and stored in the refrigerator.  Remove from refrigerator 20 minutes before baking.

Serves: 6

Prep time: one hour