birthday celebrations, part 3

At long last, it is time to talk about all the yummy food we ate on our weekend away. There was lots of it, and most of it was already resting happily in our stomachs before I realized I should have gotten a picture of it, but these are a few of the winners.

Eggplant fries with a spicy Indian and goat cheese dip. This was the starter at dinner on our first night in town at a place called The Perfect Wife. So so good. I never would have put goat cheese with Indian spices, but the flavors were fantastic.

Remember this picture? Despite the unhealthy yellowed look it is getting from the candlelight, this dessert was incredible and delightfully simple. We both spied it straight away on the menu at Candeleros and decided to order before we had even selected our entrees (this was big, considering Brendan doesn't typically do dessert). It was a southwestern take on strawberry shortcake using grilled cornbread. Great buttery warm cornbread with loads of fresh strawberries and melting whipped cream...delish!

These last few shots are from our stop at a farm stall outside of Brattleboro where we stocked up on most of our picnic goodies. Truth be told, I pretty much wanted to buy everything- the produce looked fantastic, the baked goodies were warm and smelled so good. 

In the end, we bought strawberries (the best tasting ones we've had all summer), a loaf of oatmeal bread to go with the cheddar cheese we got earlier, and a peach raspberry pie. Oh those pies...they had so many that wanted to come home with us. We bought just the one and may or may not have eaten all of it in one sitting. A lady never eats and tells...

birthday celebrations, part 2

Friday we zipped out of town to Vermont for the weekend. I love the Green Mountain State and Brendan hadn't been there, so it seemed just the place for a joint birthday getaway. Parker, however, was none too pleased to see us leave. He watched from the window as we packed the car up.

pre-departure snap

we've arrived!

We stayed at a bed and breakfast on an 18th century farm. 

There were chickens, goats, horses...all very delightful and farmy. The B&B was on the Battenkill River and had a few miles of walking trails on site. 

Saturday was Brendan's birthday and we had big plans. I tip toed downstairs to sneak us up some tea in bed, and then he opened presents and got some birthday skype wishes from the fam. After a very hearty farm breakfast we were off for a canoe trip on the Battenkill.

 

It was a lovely warm morning, and we had the river to ourselves for most of the 3 hour journey.

After a quick clean up, we were off to a local pub for the USA vs Ghana game. 

Sadly, the USA is out but it was a great result for the African continent. We resolved henceforward to support Ghana fully. 

That evening there was a birthday dinner, a candle blown out, and a wish made that will hopefully come true.

Sunday brought another walk, another fun farm breakfast, and another game of soccer (England's loss prompted further resolve to root for Ghana). We made a slow trip back home, stopping at all sorts of places along the way, including the famous Vermont Country Store.

This classic old general store-style shop has all sorts of things, ranging from the very useful to the very silly but still fun (I would put their Yodeling Pickle in this category).

The masks also fall into that latter category.

And, it being Vermont, there was plenty of maple syrup to be had.

We tried maple mustard, maple cheese, maple dips, and maple cookies.

There were more stops at farm stalls and country shops picking up goodies (I'll do a separate post on the food later on), and posing for a funny photo here and there.

Our final stop was just outside Brattleboro at a river we spied on the way up. We had a picnic lunch and a dip in the cool water before getting onto the highway. A great end to a lovely weekend.

Northern Hemisphere Farewell Tour: sixth stop

As our days as residents of the nutmeg state become fewer, it was really important to me that we make a trip to my hometown of Washington to say some goodbyes to the people and places that make me love it so.

Now this town is really special. It was the first town in the United States to be named for George Washington because that old chap traveled through here on a few occasions. It was the inspiration for the town of Stars Hollow on the Gilmore Girls (a fabulous tv show). It is the place where my brothers and I spent our formative years. We moved from New Jersey to Connecticut in 1993, when I was 12 and delightfully awkward. And it is the place where Brendan met my family for the first time (they have since moved away), where he proposed, and where we were married. All in all, best town ever. 

We started the day in the center of town, known as "the depot" as the train used to run through there and (not surprisingly) there was a train depot. I bought one of the annual town of Washington 4th of July t-shirts in front of the market, and saw about 47 people I knew. This is Washington...stuff like that happens here. 

We cut across the main road, past the bookshop...

...to Titus Road. 

My mom and dad bought this building vaguely around the time we moved (I was a kid, and kids don't pay attention to details). My mom ran an antiques shop on the first floor until she got too sick. It was called Once Again, and it was cute. Upstairs lived and worked this super cool woman named Banji. She ran a framing shop. My first real job was as an apprentice in her business. She was also certified by the Audubon Society to rehabilitate birds, so there were always baby snowy owls, parrots, rock doves, finches or the like around the shop. My favorite was Hummy, the hummingbird who got stuck in the screen of the building next door. The end of her beak had to be amputated, as did the length of her tongue, so she couldn't be released back into the wild. She lived in Banji's kitchen and was a delight. Many years later, my grandmother moved from New Jersey to Connecticut and lived in that upstairs apartment. It is right behind the Pantry, the next stop on our tour, and I dashed back and forth across this road many times bringing goodies (particularly sticky buns) to my Gram.

The Pantry- another notable landmark in Schrier family history. I worked here during summers, on college holiday breaks, and when I found myself back in Washington after Hurricane Katrina. Many years were spent behind the counter slinging sandwiches, occasionally to celebrities like Conan O'Brien or Harry Connick Jr. This is also the place where my dad and step mom were set up on their first date. My brother Dan worked here for ages too and happy were the times when we were working together. Brendan and I hosted our day after the wedding brunch here as well. There was baked brie. I had a brand new husband. It was a good day.

The menu is written each day on the boards above the counter. 

Bread is baked daily, and is out of this world.

And the people? Oh they are the best.

This is Theresa. She's the Pantry superstar. She calls me "Rebby." She's a bundle of fun. When I asked if I could wear a apron in our picture, she gave me the nicest one. That's the kind of person she is.

Here's Michael and Nancy. They own the Pantry, fill it with great food, and keep everyone coming back for more. Nancy also has the biggest, best, most un-subtle laugh ever. You hear it and cannot help but smile.

Chef Martin, creator of edible delights and co-creator of some very cute children.

June, hostess with the mostess, lover of pickles and oversized rhinestone jewelry.

 And the food?! We got a few nibbles to have on a picnic later:

Theresa's special sandwich for Brendan- Pantry baked ham, claverolle cheese, lettuce, tomato, and honey mustard on Newfoundland bread (made with molasses so it's a bit dark and sweet). 

The vegetarian sandwich- lettuce, tomato, avocado, pickled onions, radishes, cucumbers, havarti cheese, and Pantry cucumber dill dressing on Newfoundland bread, extra saucy.

Cherry pie. There are no words suitable besides YUM. It's an edible miracle, and very appropriate in a town named for George Washington.

We took our vittles, tried to do this one hike above Lake Waramaug, never found it, and ended up enjoying our picnic next to the water. 

The lake makes us happy. We got married here. It was the fall and was gorgeous.

See. 

After lounging for a delightfully long time, we ended the evening at our friends Cheryl and Scott's house. 

It was warm, summery night. I tucked into way too much of Cheryl's heavenly guacamole. We told many of stories and laughed a lot. It was a perfect end to a most perfect day.