>> NARRATOR: Coming up on Weekends with Yankee, Richard is in West Cornwall, Connecticut.

>> RICHARD WIESE: I'm anxious to meet the llamas.

>> NARRATOR: Making some new furry friends.

>> This is Gordon, Bentley... Cooper is the little one there, Robert.

>> WIESE: I don't know if Robert's quite warmed up to me yet.

>> NARRATOR: Then Amy is in Sudbury, Massachusetts.

>> AMY TRAVERSO: Look at this one, it's like a Mack truck of turnips.

>> NARRATOR: Digging up a fall feast with farmer Chris Kurth.

>> We'll bring a bunch of these back for Ana to cook with.

>> NARRATOR: And cooking with chef Ana Sortun.

>> This is one of my favorite turnips because it's super sweet.

>> NARRATOR: And then, inspired by Sienna Farms, Amy is at home in her kitchen.

>> TRAVERSO: This really is just such a happy food.

>> NARRATOR: Turning a fall staple into a surprising treat.

>> TRAVERSO: They really straddle the line between muffin and cupcake.

Mm, they're so good.

>> NARRATOR: So come along for a once-in-a-lifetime journey through New England as you've never experienced it before, a true insider's guide from the editors of Yankee magazine.

Join explorer and adventurer Richard Wiese and his co-host, Yankee senior food editor Amy Traverso, for behind-the-scenes access to the unique attractions that define this region.

It's the ultimate travel guide from the people who know it best.

Weekends with Yankee.

>> Major funding provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> The Vermont Country Store, the purveyors of the practical and hard-to-find since 1946.

♪ ♪ (chickens clucking, rooster crowing) >> WIESE: It's an unusually gorgeous day in Connecticut.

You hear chickens in the distance.

But the one thing that you don't expect to see in this part of Connecticut is llamas.

♪ ♪ Hi, Debbie.

>> Hi, Richard.

>> WIESE: I'm anxious to meet the llamas.

>> All right, well, here, I'm gonna hand you some dishes.

>> WIESE: Okay.

>> You carry those on over and I'll grab the rest.

I've had llamas since 1988.

Started out as a breeding farm.

Did not like selling the baby llamas because they were too cute to sell.

So I learned very quickly that breeding wasn't for me.

>> WIESE: Something tells me it's feeding time.

So I guess the question is, are they friendly?

>> Definitely.

>> WIESE: Is this all they eat?

>> It's more the vitamins.

>> WIESE: Oh.

>> The sprinkle of the grain is there just for that, but it's more important for them to get the vitamins.

I know, Theo, you gotta wait-- be patient!

>> WIESE: This is Theo-- hi, Theo.

>> The educational programs and the pet therapy programs that I now do materialize from having my young children at the same time.

And their school asked me to bring a llama.

The library in town asked me to bring a llama, and the local convalescent home asked me to bring a llama.

So what I have now developed as... what's known as Hooked on Llamas is the program that I present at schools, libraries, daycare centers, and pet therapy and convalescent homes.

So, Richard, go ahead, you plunk them right down in there and come right along the line here.

You can go ahead and plunk this one down here for Bentley.

>> WIESE: Hi, Bentley.

>> Cooper is the little one there.

This is Gordon.

>> WIESE: Hi, Gordon.

>> You can plunk his down and he'll come over and get it after you put it down for him.

>> WIESE: Okay, Gordon.

>> Except he is gonna be pushy.

>> WIESE: Llamas have a reputation of being a little ornery.

Like, people always talk about llamas spitting at them.

>> My guys don't-- will not spit at people.

It's not normal for llamas to spit at people.

It's normal for llamas to spit at each other.

The reason the dishes are spread out is to prevent that.

For the most part, a llama is a very docile animal.

>> WIESE: Right.

>> And they all have different personalities.

>> WIESE: I just love that face when the ears sort of perk up and they sort of turn-- their body stays one way and the head goes in another... >> Yes, and that is totally body language.

They are very in tune and alert to the fact that we're here.

Something new is going on.

He's not mad.

The ears naturally rest where he has them there.

People often think that they're mad when they're like that and they're not.

>> WIESE: Right.

♪ ♪ >> Theo is currently my oldest llama, and he's ten.

Llamas live 18 to 20 years.

He weighs in just under 300.

Full grown llamas can range anywhere from to 250 to 450 pounds.

>> WIESE: Right.

>> So Robert, the one standing next to him, he's a 250-pound llama.

And he's seven, he's full grown.

So that's the size he will be his entire life.

Come on in and we'll hay the llamas at this point.

♪ ♪ Just pick up one of the hay bags.

>> WIESE: Okay.

>> And put it across one of the panels here.

Down here in the bag.

Yep.

>> WIESE: Okay.

>> Easy enough.

>> WIESE: And how do they eat it through here?

>> Well, the purpose of the bag is so that it does take them longer to eat it.

They have split lips on the top, use it like fingers, and they can get right in there and pull the hay right out and take their time eating.

>> WIESE: Okay, all right.

>> So in the hay rack, it's easier because there are bigger holes.

>> WIESE: This is the slow school of eating.

>> (laughs) ♪ ♪ My llamas are very people orientated and probably more so than most llamas.

>> WIESE: Right.

>> So my guys are less curious about you because they are so orientated to people.

If you went to a different llama farm, they would be more curious about people.

>> WIESE: I offered some hay and friendship, and Theo turned his back to me.

But I will win.

(chuckles) Maybe not.

(both chuckle) ♪ ♪ I guess one of the joys of having a llama is taking the llama for a walk.

>> Yes, would you like to take a llama for a walk, Richard?

>> WIESE: I would love to take a llama for a walk.

>> All right.

The other part of my business is the llama walks.

A lot of general public people just call me up and say, "Hey, I saw this was a possibility."

It is something unique and something different to do.

And what they find out is it's so relaxing to walk with llamas because llamas have that relaxing personality and therapeutic value.

I remember a family recently that walked with me, and the father was a little leery walking with the llamas to begin with, two young children, the mom and the dad, he constantly said to me on the walk, "I can't believe how chill they are, I can't believe how chill they are."

(laughs) And so in return it chilled him out too, he loved it.

So we're gonna go ahead and halter up Robert.

Hi, buddy-- I know.

What do you think, huh?

Hey, bud... that's a good boy.

Once they got their halter on, it's like, they know they're working.

So... and they are, they're a work animal, and the walks are like almost a natural thing for a llama to be out doing, and they'll pretty much follow me anywhere.

(gate unlatching) >> WIESE: Come on, Robert.

♪ ♪ I don't know if Robert's quite warmed up to me yet, but come on.

>> So this is Harley, Harley is also gonna join us for our llama walk today.

So I'll load Harley first.

So I do travel in a minivan with my llamas.

And I've always had a van ever since I've had llamas, I never got a horse trailer.

>> WIESE: I can honestly say this is the first time I've ever seen a llama in a minivan.

I mean, this is pretty funny.

>> That is an eye-opening experience for people that see a llama going down the road in the van.

>> WIESE: Come on... (clicks tongue) >> I definitely get a lot of unique looks.

>> WIESE: There he goes.

Okay, not bad.

That's pretty cool.

>> Move over.

>> WIESE: Okay.

>> Thank you-- yep.

Harley's laying down.

>> WIESE: Okay.

>> Okay, close it now.

♪ ♪ ♪ La, la, la, la, la, la ♪ ♪ La, la, la, la, la, la ♪ ♪ La, la, la, la, la, la ♪ ♪ La, la, la, la, la, la ♪ >> WIESE: Okay, what's the routine now?

>> He's gonna step right out.

One sec... All right, you can take Robert.

>> WIESE: Okay.

>> And I will get Harley.

>> WIESE: There you go.

>> Okay.

>> WIESE: So they've been here before-- I can tell.

>> They've been here many times and know exactly what they're here for.

Trinity Riverside Trail in West Cornwall is a beautiful trail along the Housatonic River.

And that's where I love to walk with my llamas.

It's very scenic, it's very relaxing.

Not a lot of people know about the trail, so it's just a very ideal trail to walk with llamas.

>> WIESE: What's the biggest surprise about llamas since you started raising and being with them all the time?

>> Well, I'll say one thing that continues to amaze me is their interaction with the folks that kind of need the extra interaction.

That they know that person that needs the extra loving or the extra attention that day, and that's the person they want to hang around with.

So that's... >> WIESE: Is that... that's gotta be gratifying.

>> It is very gratifying, and that's why I continue to do what I do.

>> WIESE: I knew that I would like walking with llamas, but the idea of feeling as therapeutic and gentle is something I didn't expect.

So thank you very much for that.

>> That's great, Richard.

Yes, no-- thank you.

I've enjoyed being with you as much, and it's definitely true, that's what people think.

They want to walk llamas for the therapeutic value.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: I'm so excited to be cooking today with one of my favorite chefs, Ana Sortun.

Ana has three restaurants in Boston that all draw their inspiration from the flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean.

So while she's cooking with ingredients like za'atar, and halva, and labneh, she's also sourcing most of her produce from this very farm in Sudbury, Massachusetts, where the farmer happens to be her husband, Chris.

So she is literally married to the farm.

>> All right, Amy, can I show you the roots cellar?

One of my favorite spaces on the farm.

>> TRAVERSO: So how long in here... all the way through the winter?

>> Deep into the spring, even.

Here in New England, we can grow you know, pretty good tomatoes in the summer.

But I'm sure you can grow better tomatoes in California.

>> TRAVERSO: Mm-hmm.

>> I don't think you can grow better carrots in California than you can here.

The deep, hard frost that we get that kind of knock back the greens, sort of caramelize sugars in the roots of the carrots and other fall crops so that the eating quality of a... of a fall carrot is just so different, so much better.

>> TRAVERSO: So what are some of the other crops that are better after the cold?

>> Yeah, let me show you over here.

We have some winter radishes.

>> TRAVERSO: Look at these colors.

>> Yeah, the purple daikon here.

>> TRAVERSO: Just like such a simple salad.

If you just very thinly slice this.

>> Yeah, yeah, with a mandolin.

>> TRAVERSO: Yeah.

>> And then the star of the show, the watermelon radish, which, technically, is a daikon radish.

You know, it's a showstopper... >> TRAVERSO: Yeah.

>> For your guests, you can slice and dice it, matchstick it up and, um... >> TRAVERSO: This is so fun.

And so these are going to get sweeter.

>> Yeah, kind of like the carrots are bitter in the summer and much sweeter in the fall.

Radishes will be spicier in the summer and the early fall.

And then the hard frost just kind of mellow out the spiciness and bring in the sweetness.

>> TRAVERSO: All right, well, I want to see some of these other, uh, other vegetables.

>> Yeah.

>> TRAVERSO: So what do we got here?

>> All right, these are our prized Macomber turnips.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, yeah, Macomber, they're local, right?

They were... >> Yeah.

They're one of the only vegetables I'm aware of that was bred right here in Massachusetts.

Thank you.

>> TRAVERSO: Actually, the butternut squash was also-- >> Oh, that's right.

The Waltham butternut, yeah.

>> TRAVERSO: Yeah.

>> So they're sort of a cross between a rutabaga and a turnip.

>> TRAVERSO: Look at this one, it's like a Mack truck of turnips.

>> Nice one.

>> TRAVERSO: Ooh!

>> (chuckles) >> TRAVERSO: Big guy.

>> We'll bring a bunch of these back for Ana to cook with this afternoon, but let me cut this one open.

see how it's looking inside... >> TRAVERSO: Oh, look at that.

>> Beautiful, yeah.

>> TRAVERSO: Beautiful.

Do the CSA members get these or does Ana use up all the Macombers?

>> Ah, good question.

>> We're growing more and more of them every year because they're so popular.

>> TRAVERSO: Right.

>> We grow other types of turnips as well, but of course Ana gets first dibs.

>> TRAVERSO: Yeah.

How much does she weigh in on what you plant?

>> Quite a bit, over the years, I think our crop plan has been very heavily impacted.

Just kind of thinking outside of the box of, you know, what the crop is and what parts of it you can use.

>> TRAVERSO: So bringing that chef's mind to the ingredients and just, yeah, how to use them.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> TRAVERSO: Like maybe people at home, CSA members would not necessarily know how to use these greens.

But when you have a chef on call, you can give them some good ideas.

>> Turnip is a great example where a little bit of culinary knowledge goes a long way to make something that's kinda bulky and awkward-seeming at first... >> TRAVERSO: Yeah.

>> Become a real treasure in the kitchen.

>> TRAVERSO: Well, I know Ana has a really delicious recipe based on these turnips, so why don't we maybe pick a few more and bring them over to her.

>> Let's do it.

♪ ♪ Chris and I went out in the fields and we found some Macomber turnip, and it's a beauty.

>> That's a lovely one, too.

Yeah, it's really, really pretty.

So I wonder what you're gonna make with it.

>> Well, I thought I'd make a version, a spin on a latke with Macomber turnip.

This is one of my favorite turnips because it's super sweet, um, and juicy.

>> TRAVERSO: So you're taking the classic latke with sour cream and applesauce.

but you're putting your spin on it.

>> Exactly.

>> TRAVERSO: Well, so, show me what you first do with the turnip.

>> Basically gonna go around as if it was the globe.

You start at the North Pole and you go around the equator to the South Pole.

>> TRAVERSO: Mm-hm.

>> We're just going to cut it into some manageable-sized pieces that we can fit in our hand, grab the large holes of a box grater, and then same with potato, too, we're gonna basically do the same thing, we'll peel it and grate it just like this.

>> TRAVERSO: Now your food is really interesting because on the one hand it's very global.

You're inspired by a lot of ingredients from all over the world, but particularly the Eastern Mediterranean, but meanwhile, it's exceedingly local-- you couldn't get much more local than actually living across the street from the farm that the ingredients are coming from.

>> I mean, I think I am a stickler for ingredients.

I really love cooking vegetables.

You know, one of the things that was really important to me when we opened Oleana awhile ago was to expand people's perspective or understanding of what Mediterranean food was.

Really, it's where East meets West, or Eastern ingredients meet Western technique.

And then I'm just gonna put equal parts into a bowl.

I'm gonna lightly salt.

And this is what's gonna draw out the moisture.

>> TRAVERSO: Mm-hm.

>> Mix it around and let it sit for maybe five minutes or so until it starts to leach a little bit of it's liquid.

We're gonna make a quick little maple labneh.

So... >> TRAVERSO: Do that now?

>> Yeah, so labneh is a really thick yogurt where-- so thick that you can stand a spoon up, almost, in it.

It's basically yogurt that's been strained of all of its water.

We're gonna add a little bit of salt, some maple syrup, and some chilies-- these are my favorite red chilies.

These are marash pepper-- they're from from Turkey, and they're a really sweet sort of oily, vegetal-flavored chili.

>> TRAVERSO: Mm-hm.

>> So this just basically is a, is a spin on some sour cream, but it's got... >> TRAVERSO: Right.

>> ...sort of the sweetness of maple.

>> TRAVERSO: I have to say I make latkes every year and I love the traditional, like, homemade apple sauce and sour cream.

But I don't know, this year we might be mixing it up after seeing this.

(chuckles) So this has been sitting now, the veggie mix for a few minutes.

>> Yeah.

>> TRAVERSO: Does it look like it's ready for the next step?

>> Yeah, it does, actually.

It's not so dry and fluffy anymore.

It's definitely starting to get a little dense and wet, so the water is coming out of it.

So then I was just going to add some flour to it.

Um, so basically, I'm just looking for it to kind of come together when I press on it.

>> TRAVERSO: So you've got a little bit of starch and a little bit of gluten that are interacting to kind of hold the thing together.

>> Exactly, so I can kind of tell just by pressing that that's going to stay together.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay.

>> And then what I'm gonna do is I'm just gonna squeeze... >> TRAVERSO: Right.

>> And you can see all the starch coming out too, which is great.

>> TRAVERSO: All right, so it's frying time.

The most fun time of all.

(chuckles) >> I like to use, like a-- like a lid or something to help me sort of shape these into some fat patties, and how much-- it's not gonna come out, and it does, good-- phew!

Sometimes I have to oil it, sometimes I don't.

(light sizzling) That's the kind of noise that you're looking for.

>> TRAVERSO: And how long do they cook?

>> Probably, like, six minutes per side.

You just, kind of, watch the edges, and we're going to get some nice golden color after about four minutes and then we'll turn it and do the other side.

>> TRAVERSO: Okay.

Looking really, really pretty.

>> Aren't they?

Yeah.

>> TRAVERSO: Yeah.

I love the way the... on top has just that gorgeous kind of raised, brown swirl.

>> Yeah they're kind of like giant hash browns.

And I'm just gonna season these lightly a little bit with salt and let the other side get a little crispier.

But that's basically it, and we serve them with the labneh.

>> TRAVERSO: This looks great, I can't wait to eat it.

Should we plate this up here or do it at the table?

>> Let's do at the table.

>> TRAVERSO: All right, let's go feast.

So how have you... how has your, you know, relationship and work and doing the work you do changed the way each of you does your jobs?

>> It's basically taught me seasonality-- I mean, I think, um... and I still continue to learn every year.

I mean, learning about the nuances of garlic or the different kinds of turnips, which ones grow really well in New England, which ones are harder?

The crops that thrive, the bumper crops, how to use them in different ways and being able to be flexible.

You know, these days you pick up the phone or you go to the store and everything is available.

You can buy strawberries right now if you want.

And I think when you're dealing with things that are local and from your farm, you've got what you've got, and you're really-- you're really understanding, too, what the risks are, like, if it is bad weather, what happens?

You know, it makes me appreciate flavor and vegetables a lot more than I ever would have imagined.

>> TRAVERSO: I, as someone who eats at your restaurants, I just really appreciate the way I can see this fusion between New England ingredients like maple syrup and fenugreek, you know, which actually are very complimentary.

>> Exactly, right.

>> TRAVERSO: But that kind of particular cuisine only exists here because it's these ingredients and your imagination and your, you know, your knowledge of farming all comes together right here on the plate.

You know, I think the term farm to table gets a little overused, but in this case, it's truly farm to table.

And I think with you being a farmer and you being a chef, this is just, you know, a real marriage on the plate.

And it's delicious and wonderful.

So thank you for letting me come and see how you do what you do.

>> Thank you so much.

>> Thank you so much, Amy.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: I loved visiting Sienna Farms in the fall and seeing all their root vegetables that they have ready for the winter.

Last spring I joined a CSA and I had so many potatoes, I really didn't know what to do with them all.

And I was trying to think of novel ways to use them, and I remembered this tradition in Maine.

Aroostook County in northern Maine is the potato growing capital of New England, and they find all kinds of novel ways to use potatoes, including in potato doughnuts.

So I wanted to adapt the potato doughnut to a muffin, so I came up with these glazed chocolate potato doughnut muffins.

The potatoes add this incredible moisture and wonderful texture without making the doughnuts heavy or tough.

It's-it's kind of magical.

I've got my mashed potatoes here that I made for dinner last night.

So let me show you how to make them.

So like many cake and muffin recipes, this starts by creaming some butter and sugar together for three to four minutes until it gets fluffy.

I have one cup of brown sugar and six tablespoons of salted butter.

(mixer whirring) So my mixture has the texture of kind of a slightly fluffy sand.

And now I'm going to add two eggs and that's really gonna fluff it up.

I'm gonna do this one at a time and mix after each.

♪ ♪ That's my base.

Now I'm gonna mix my dry ingredients, and this is really, really simple.

So I've got one-and-a-half cups of all purpose flour, a third of a cup of cocoa powder, one teaspoon of baking soda, and a half a teaspoon of table salt.

And now I just whisk this together until it's evenly blended.

For the final mixing, I'm gonna start by adding a third of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.

Mix that up.

So now I'm gonna add my mashed potatoes.

You can really use any mashed potatoes you have.

I made these the other night.

They have butter and salt in them.

If you don't have any mashed potatoes on hand, you can always cook some up and rice them and they'll be good to go.

For my last ingredient, I've got two-thirds of a cup of buttermilk, which I'm going to add, alternating with the dry ingredients.

♪ ♪ Now one of the things that it's hardest to replicate when you're turning a doughnut into a muffin is the crunchy exterior.

So to work around that what I've done is I've buttered my muffin tin, and then I sprinkled sugar and I kind of tilted the pan around to spread it.

So you get that little crunch on the outside, which is really nice.

So I'm using a large cookie scoop to just scoop the batter into the muffin wells.

♪ ♪ So I'm gonna put this in a 375 degree oven, and you can bake it until they're nicely puffed and look set, which is about 15 to 18 minutes.

♪ ♪ My doughnuts are out of the oven and they're cooled, which is important.

And I love how they have this texture.

They have these sort of cracks on the surface, which is just like donuts look, when they come out of the fryer.

So this is a fun food, and I wanted a fun topping.

To make the glaze, I've got two-and-a-half tablespoons of milk and one-and-a-half cups of powdered sugar.

Just mix that together--- it gives you just the right pourable consistency, but not too thin.

You want it to kind of cling to the muffins.

The texture of this glaze is a little bit like honey.

It's nice and thick, and I kind of start in the center and, like, do a little bit of a circle motion working out to the side so that it oozes evenly.

♪ ♪ So I've let my glaze sit for just two minutes just so it stops moving, because now I'm gonna add the sprinkles.

They're gonna bounce, it's okay.

This really is just such a happy food.

It makes me happy to make and to see it.

And, really, you can serve these for breakfast or a snack or even dessert.

They really straddle the line between muffin and cupcake.

So serve them whenever you like.

And now I've got to try one, because they just look too good.

Mmm...

They're really chocolatey and rich.

It was important to me that this have the texture of a doughnut, and they do without being heavy, and they're easier to make than donuts.

So I think this is a good one.

>> NARRATOR: For exclusive video, recipes, travel ideas, tips from the editors, and access to the Weekends with Yankee digital magazine, go to weekendswithyankee.com and follow us on social media-- @yankeemagazine.

Yankee magazine, the inspiration for the television series, provides recipes, feature articles, and the best of New England from the people who know it best.

Six issues for $10.

Call 1-800-221-8154. Credit cards accepted.

>> Major funding provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> The Vermont Country Store, the purveyors of the practical and hard-to-find since 1946.

♪ ♪ >> WIESE: There he goes.

♪ ♪