Maple syrup, apples, cheese and Ben & Jerry’s all come to mind when we think of Vermont. We had the pleasure of vacationing in the Green Mountain State several years back and it was one of the highlights of our New England and Canadian road trip. One of the many things we learned about Vermont was that not only is it known for the yummy foods listed above, but it’s also a great dining destination for foodies. Vermont is fairly well-advanced when it comes to sustainable, organic and local farm to restaurant cooperatives. One of our favorites was the Three Tomatoes Trattoria in Burlington – delicious!

Tonight, however, we opted to stick with some down-home, traditional recipes from the Dakin Farm including Apple Cheddar Muffins and (mom if you’re reading this, sit down) an Upside Down Ham Loaf. I am not a fan of meatloaf, to which my mom can attest, but this recipe sounded more appealing than most – especially after we adapted it a bit.

Miss A and I began with the Apple Cheddar Muffins. She took care of blending the dry ingredients and together we mixed the wet ingredients with the hand-mixer. A bonus for Miss A, we also used the food processor to grate the apples and cheddar cheese. Once all the ingredients were properly combined and blended we sampled the batter leftover on the beaters. (Easily our favorite part of cooking.)

We then added the batter to the muffin tins and baked for 20 minutes. Miss A, Dad and I all sampled a fresh muffin straight out of the oven and mmmmm! These little things are good! (Mr. N had his when he came home from school.)

As for the main course, we began prep after Mr. N came home. It’s a fairly simple process of combining most of the ingredients into one bowl. The recipe calls for one pound of ground, cooked ham. We couldn’t find ground ham, so we bought a pound of cooked ham and used the food processor to mince it down. The results were perfect for the loaf. Once all the ingredients were in the bowl, Mr. N took care of mixing it together by hand. (He wasn’t real fond of the texture.)

Dad then took care of peeling and slicing the apple which he used to line the bottom of a greased, 8″ loaf pan. He then added the maple syrup and we poured and packed the ham mixture over the top.

The loaf baked at 350F for an hour and fifteen minutes. After it was done, we removed it from the oven and flipped it upside down on a serving tray.

We sliced up the loaf and served it with a side of buttered mushrooms and the apple cheddar muffins. This meal didn’t disappoint in the least. From the ham loaf to the muffins, everything was sweet, savory and oh, so Vermont! Dad gave both the muffins and loaf 3 spoons. Mr. N, Miss A and I all gave the muffins 4 spoons (They are heavenly when heated and served with a dollop of butter.) Like Dad, I too gave the loaf 3 spoons (But the juice resulting from the loaf 4 spoons, it’s finger-lickin’ good!) and both Mr. N and Miss A gave the loaf 2 spoons saying they liked it a little bit.

All-in-all we were very happy with our quick tour of Vermont. Maple syrup, apples and cheddar rarely disappoints!

Print this recipe: Apple Cheddar Muffins

Print this recipe: Upside Down Ham Loaf