Tarta de Santiago - A Random Recipe

Tarta de Santiago and tea ...

Italian Whole Wheat Walnut and Raisin Bread

This past week, SB and I spent time up Vermont way ... camping is always such an adventure and we had our share of adventures! We weathered two nights of torrential rains without having the tent and gear float away, listened and chuckled at our luck, as a tree fell over in the woods adjacent to one of the sites near ours, rode the bicycles along a beautiful stretch of Lake Champlain shoreline bike path, discovering Michigan dogs at one of the most popular food trucks in Burlington, and enjoyed daily visits to our campsite by a pair of pileated woodpeckers. By the end of the week, my feet were dirty, my clothes were damp and sweaty, the tent and gear were pretty musty, my ankles and elbows sported mosquito bites, and we were ready to return to the comfort of the grey cottage. Vacation is fun, but boy, is it strenuous sometimes!

Summertime in the City ...

SB and I visited Sprout Kate and her boyfriend a couple weekends ago ... we stayed in Brooklyn, but spent time in Manhattan. The new Freedom Tower is up and topped ... hurray!

We walked on The High Line. It's a blaze of color and activity at this time of year. People, sculpture, flowers, adjacent architecture all make for stimulus overload ... and in the distance, The Statue of Liberty holds her torch over all.

Ryder and Topalian's Edible Communities !

Tracy Ryder and Carole Topalian may be able to make a killer salad or fresh local fish fillet or free-range beef roast, but what they have done even better is to take the idea of regional foods and food communities and meld the technology of communication and advertisement on the Internet to create Edible Communities a publishing company that sells franchises and editorial support to regional entrepreneurs who want to publish regional magazines that support and advertise for local farmers and artisan food projects, local community gardens, and all things that support the locavore movement. Pretty clever, huh? So, a project that started with Edible Ojai blossomed to 64 regional magazines and counting. Not only do they produce hardcopy of these local foodie magazines so that copies can be distributed at farmer's markets, restaurants and through Chambers of Commerce, but they support on-line editions that are freely accessed and archived ... now, THAT'S game-changing!

Pickity Place ... Lunch and Herbs

Last week, I met my friends for lunch at Pickity Place. It's a springtime junket that we repeat every year at planting time. You see, Pickity Place is a special hidden garden and restaurant that sits up a long dirt road and in the woods of Mason, New Hampshire. It's a special place on so many levels. It's a lovely herb garden, it's an antique New England farmhouse with all the nooks and crannies and ells and outbuildings that typify old farm life, it's an inventive luncheon restaurant that specializes in light herb-based recipes, it's the inspiration for illustrations of a classic publication of the children's story, Little Red Riding Hood, it's a little bit of heaven far away from the urban sprawl that slowly encroaches on New England.

Mother's Day ...

This was my weekend ... a strawberry rhubarb compote that tasted wonderful, but sat atop a poor show of an egg custard. No crying over curdled milk (and eggs), though. We salvaged the compote to drizzle on toast on Sunday morning. Yum - a sweet accompaniment to our scrambled eggs with herbs and cheese, Kate's Mother's Day breakfast treat. Visiting my girl in Brooklyn was such a fun junket! We packed quite a bit into the three day visit!

Before our 'farewell brunch', though, there was Saturday!

A Jaunt to Parker's Maple Barn

Today was a pretty day for a jaunt ...

Snowy footprints from sap pail to sap pail ...

Mid week is the perfect time to go to the sugar shack for the year's supply of maple syrup and the treat of a huge pancake breakfast. Last weekend was Maple Weekend in New Hampshire and every shack in the state was overrun with local families and tourists wanting to see how syrup is made, eat sugar on snow, chow down at pancake breakfasts, and buy up the sweet stuff. SB and I decided to wait and get our 'fix' when the lines were down and some of the excitement waned, fogies that we are. This year, we headed down the road to Mason.

Old Sturbridge Village !!!

It was cold and blustery on Saturday and as the sled made its way through the grounds of Old Sturbridge Village, it went past the parsonage. There, a hearty group of souls gathered for the work and enjoyment of dinner...

A Study In Light and Space - Hancock Shaker Village

It's not often that I jump up in the air and come down with my feet spinning off on a tangent, but today ... today! I just returned from a spontaneous day trip with my son, Eric. We are both history buffs and so I called him yesterday and asked if he'd like to drive down Massachusetts-way to Hancock Shaker Village. He's very interested in museum work and so he was happy to go with me.

The day was beautiful, I packed us a picnic, and off we went bright and early this morning. I have to say the day was perfect and I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. At the end of the day, I happened into the museum shop and picked up a cook book of Shaker-inspired recipes and a bottle of rosewater ... what follows is one of the recipes that grabbed me.

Try it and see what you think. In the meantime, enjoy a virtual tour of the Village and the craftsmanship of the Shakers...