summer

Sea to Table

~ MaryG ~ 26 Comments

What’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while traveling?

Summer is far and away my favorite season in New England—my lifelong home. I generally stay within its six states in summer. Why leave? I know it’s been very hot here, but I’m a swimmer. Outdoor pools and oceans beckon me. The water temperature at Rhode Island beaches was 70F last weekend. Perfect.

A plate of fresh, farm-raised oysters at Westport Sea Farms in Westport, MA
Jonathan Richman—a Boston original.
He gets it.

OK, if I HAD to rank them, I’d go:

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Maine

New Hampshire

Vermont

Connecticut

But they’re all great – in the SUMMAH.

Pumpkin spice, stay away!

eat dessert first

~ MaryG ~ 33 Comments

What is your favorite quote?

I’m not sure who said this originally: Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first

But I will always attribute it to my dear friend’s late father. Last summer, at her daughter’s wedding, when I arrived at my seat for the reception, this was my place setting.

And in that spirit, here’s a photo of an amazing dessert I had last night. (I actually had it after dinner, but I was not too full and enjoyed every bite.)

The flavor is “vanilla blueberry crumble” and it is delicious. It’s vanilla with fresh blueberries and graham crackers from the locally famous Kimball Farm.

That’s a small! (I finished it, obvi)

I don’t know if other parts of the country have local ice cream stands that were originally dairy farms operated by hearty, entrepreneurial types who decided to expand into ice cream in the early part of the 20th century, but eastern Massachusetts has many great options. Many have been in continuous operation since before WW2 and the ice cream is amazing.

Here are my top four:

Kimball Farm

Bedford Farms

Great Brook State Park

Crescent Ridge Dairy Bar

Local food

~ MaryG ~ 15 Comments

What’s a promise you made to yourself that you’ve actually kept?

When this latest poorly-managed public health crisis started, I promised myself I’d patronize our local farmstands more.

Yesterday, we went to two of them and bought lettuce, cucumber, broccoli, and berries.

There’s a slice of pound cake under that pile of berries. And yes, I added whipped cream before eating. 😋

Atmosphere

~ MaryG ~ 28 Comments

Which outdated technology do you miss the most, and why?

I’ve been enjoying reading a good old analog book by the pool this week. The book I’m reading is Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

It reminds me of summers of yore, when that’s what we did—we laid around and read books.

Our phones did not distract us from our books, because our phones were home in the kitchen—attached to the wall.

My pool is in a condo community for older people, so there are always several other people sitting around reading real books. When I walk around the pool, I check out the titles of other people’s books. Sometimes people stop and ask each other about the book they’re reading. (This doesn’t happen when everyone is reading on their phone or Kindle.)

So yeah, hardcover and paperback books. They’re not actually gone, but I’ve missed them.

So far, it’s good. Please don’t tell me how it ends.😉

Summah

~ MaryG ~ 18 Comments
Boiled lobsters for sale at Woodman’s in Essex, MA
The tip jar at Woodman’s—a family-run business since 1914
The “Italian garden” at the Crane Estate in Ipswich, MA (my Italian is on the far right 😉)
The property is now owned and managed by a nonprofit organization: The Trustees of Reservations
The Great House (with a wedding reception underway on the lawn)
The “rose garden” at the Crane Estate is now mostly filled with more sustainable plantings.
The Crane Estate’s salt marsh is part of the largest continuous salt marsh system north of Long Island, spanning nearly 25,000 acres across Essex County.
Everyone around here knows that the one big drawback to this part of our beautiful state is Greenhead fly season. Those little buggers love the salt marshes and their bites really hurt! I was not being bothered by the flies, but they were really going after my poor husband. Maybe they prefer 100% Italian-Americans. (I’m only 50%.) My Irish was protecting me ☘️ 😊

“Summah” is Boston for “summer.” The truth is I’ve never had much of a Boston accent and my husband has mostly lost his, but I do like to hear it when I’m away from home. There are different versions of it, based largely on socioeconomic class. In my opinion, the upper class “Kennedy” version is fading away. You rarely hear it. (Listen to JFK say “summer” at minute 6:00 of this speech.)

The middle class/blue collar version of the accent is way more common. Former Boston Mayor Mahty Walsh had a good one.

We’ve got four distinct seasons here in Massachusetts and there’s just no doubt about it…

Summah’s the best.