The Birthday Dinner

September 25, 2017 By Carole

Just a warning: today’s post will make you hungry. #sorrynotsorry

Back in July I told you that we would be visiting Just Right Farm for my birthday dinner. We went Friday night and when I tell you it was amazing just know that I could be using so many more adjectives! The weather was a huge disappointment as it was rainy and windy and, in the words of my darling husband, “probably the worst night we’ve had this year.” He was pretty spot on with that description but Kimberly and the staff at the farm rose to the occasion.

Generally at these dinners the guests arrive and have a cocktail (it’s BYOB which is pretty sweet) while wandering the grounds, feeding the goats, and admiring the bountiful vegetables and gorgeous flowers. Since the weather was utterly uncooperative on Friday the cocktail hour was set up inside the antique farmhouse. While I would normally have been disappointed by this change, in this instance I was actually pretty happy about it. I mean, we had already toured the farm back in July but we hadn’t been able to go into the house. With this change, we got to see the gorgeous house, meet the chefs and the kitchen staff, and relax on couches while we waited for dinner. Win-win, I tell you.

Dinner was served in the screen house, as always. It was warm and cozy inside, probably made even more so because of the blustery conditions outside. We were greeted by this stunning arrangement of kale and hydrangeas.

And on the same table as the flowers was a big framed menu. I already knew what we were having (it had been posted on the website on Wednesday) but I love how they present the menu and I took this photo so you could see. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it?

The screen house is set up with long tables, encouraging conversations and meeting new people. I wondered how that would work – if we would have to secure a spot and how we would decide where we wanted to sit – but that was all taken care of as our seats were assigned. I was happy with that arrangement, honestly, and when we found our name we saw that the bottles of wine we had given to the bartender on our arrival were labeled and waiting there for us.

This is not the first course but rather a little extra something. Dale, being a wise guy, took a photo of this and posted it on Facebook saying how anxious he was to get to the rest of the dinner! It was so yummy, though, that I could have eaten another spoonful or two. It was chevre with a dollop of hot pepper jelly and a fennel blossom. So simple and a great combination of simple ingredients.

This is the first course and I have to say it was my favorite. Grits and greens with housemade smoked sausage. It was an explosion of flavors and they were all fabulous. The creaminess of the grits with the crunch of the greens and the smokiness of the sausage was just incredible.

Course number two, a sugar pumpkin and roasted onion soup, was Dale’s favorite. The bowls were placed in front of us with a sprinkling of pepitas and crispy bacon on the bottom and then the soup was poured into each person’s bowl by a server sporting a little carafe of soup. It kept it piping hot when it was served and added a bit of flare to the presentation as well. And it was very good.

Next up: beautiful tomatoes (grown on the farm, of course) along with an eggplant confit and fennel slaw. You know what? I grow tomatoes and they are good but these were fabulous! Sweet and vibrant and really wonderful. The eggplant was flavorful and the fennel with a bit of caraway was terrific. What a fun take on a salad! There was also a bread station set up at this point and the bread was amazing as was the herbed butter.

Finally, the main course, and as you can see I started eating before I remembered to take a photo. It was roasted cod with blistered tomatoes and a really silky and delicious lemon and shallot sauce. The cod was set on sliced roasted fingerling potatoes and it was perfectly cooked.

But wait! There’s more! Dessert! It was roasted apples with an almond cake with caramel sauce and bourbon whipped cream. It couldn’t have been more delicious. The apples were perfectly cooked, firm but tender and very very flavorful. The cake was fabulous, I love anything with almonds.

Then, for the chocolate lovers in the room, the chef came around with a chocolate ganache tart. Talk about fabulous! The chocolate was rich and smooth and so decadent.

And decadent just might be the perfect word for the entire evening. Luxurious, too. Everything was perfectly cooked and presented with style, it felt more like a performance than a dinner. I originally said we’d just go this one time because, let’s face it, it’s a big splurge. But now that I have gone and now that I know how amazing it is, I can promise that we will go back!

Long Weekending

September 5, 2017 By Carole

It’s Tuesday but it’s the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend and that sure makes it seem like Monday to me. I’m heading back to work after an awesome two weeks off and the end of those two weeks was pretty great.

On Friday I visited Jack. Dale had been going every day but I hadn’t seen him since he was moved out of the hospital and into a rehab facility. The change was remarkable and I was so happy to find him acting much more like his old self. It’s been quite a road he’s been on and he’s still recovering but considering how things were a few weeks ago I’d say his progress is nothing short of miraculous.

After Dale got out of work on Friday we headed to the Cape to spend the weekend with Doreen and Mark. It’s always wonderful to be with them and this weekend was no exception. We started things off with Friday Night Snacks on their deck. It was a relaxing way to wind down and ease into the long weekend.

Saturday was sunny but cool so we scrapped our plans to hit the beach and instead bummed around the house and eventually Doreen and I headed to Eden Hand Arts for one last shopping trip before they closed for the season. I couldn’t resist adding that bottom bracelet. It’s called the Sun and the Moon and it’s a perfect reminder of our lunar eclipse from two weeks ago.

We spent the rest of the afternoon reading (and napping) on their deck and then enjoyed some fabulous caprese salad and some wine, a delicious dinner of grilled steak tips and local corn

And peach pie for dessert! Peach pie isn’t one of my favorites but when the local peaches are ripe it’s hard to resist picking some up and baking a pie.

Sunday was rainy and windy. We shopped some of the local stores, picking up some pottery and kitchen items. We read in the afternoon and ate delicious quahog chowder and we spent the better part of the evening playing Mexican Train.

Dale and I headed home around lunch time on Monday. We took the back roads and meandered our way off Cape and, luckily hit no traffic at all! After unpacking and taking care of a few things we hit the deck for snacks and cocktails.

And oysters for dinner!

It was the perfect way to finish up not just my vacation but also the last long weekend of the summer. It’s a bittersweet time for me as I love summer but I’m learning to embrace it all – even that slight nip in the air that’s suddenly here.

How was your weekend?

On A Thursday Night

August 22, 2017 By Carole

For 10 months of the year Thursday night is Kiwanis night. In the summer, though, Thursday night is free and easy and just for us. In fact, in the summer, Thursday is the new Friday. This past Thursday night was a perfectly lovely one and I snapped a few photos of it to share with you all.

It started with these pretty pretty zinnias in a mason jar. I got them at the farm-stand when I stopped to pick up fresh picked corn for dinner.

It progressed to cocktails and caprese salad on the deck. It was a beautiful evening, warm but not humid, with a slight breeze to help keep the mosquitoes away. We enjoyed some music (I’m loving Spotify, thanks to Vicki’s help) and each other’s company. After the long days and nights at the hospital with Jack we’ve appreciated even more our time on the deck.

And no one is happier when we are home than Mason. He got to come out and sit with us for a bit and he’s quite content, as you can say.

Finally, there was dinner. The perfect summer dinner, really. Hot, freshly steamed local corn. Nothing else is necessary when you’ve got corn this sweet and delicious.

We spent the remainder of the evening at our kitchen table, discussing the news of the day, our feelings on Confederate statues and monuments, race relations, Jack’s improving health and more. We danced and drank wine and had an all around perfect evening.

It was the perfect summer night.

Sometimes Mondays

August 21, 2017 By Carole

Look like this.

That’s right, we are on vacation, enjoying a week on Cape Cod with Hannah, Jessica and Patrick. I’m hoping for glorious beach days and lots of reading and relaxing. I’ll still be checking in with you all, though, throughout the week.

In the meantime, I’m hoping to enjoy the solar eclipse from this particular spot at our beach. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.

A Day at the Farm with the Gardeners

August 7, 2017 By Carole

I love flowers and plants and I have lots of container gardens and a small perennial garden but – the truth is – I’m not much of a gardener. What I mean is – I don’t really know what I’m doing. Nevertheless, I am a member of a Facebook group called South of Boston Gardeners and a week ago Sunday the group was invited to spend the day at Just Right Farm. Dale and I, along with Dale’s brother Randy, his wife Mary, and our neighbor Kathy went and had an absolutely fabulous time.

You know you’re going to be surrounded by gorgeous flowers and plants when this arrangement is the first thing you see. Those blue hydrangeas are breathtaking.

The farm itself is organic and provides food for the farm to table dinners held at the property on Friday and Saturday nights. There are lots of vegetables growing both in the ground and in raised beds. If I’m being completely honest I’ll admit that I would have loved to snag some beets to bring home with me because fresh beets are one of my favorite garden vegetables.

There is a small peach orchard and the peaches are adorable. The blue sky behind them made the perfect backdrop for those green leaves and ripening fruit.

Of course there were loads of flowers, like this purple salvia.

And these stunning zinnias. They were so tall and lovely and I wanted to pick them all for myself!

The farm also hosts meditation and yoga events and this labyrinth is just lovely. I would have enjoyed walking the concentric circles but it was right smack in the hot sun and I didn’t do it. I think it would be perfect in the early evening, though.

One of the flower gardens has a simple water fountain along with this statue. If I lived there I would meditate there as often as possible, it’s just such a serene and peaceful setting.

Of course it wouldn’t be a farm without some animals and there were two very fun and playful goats. This lady was quite anxious to get at the kale that was about to be fed to her by a small child.

Speaking of being fed, we had a wonderful boxed lunch. Chicken salad sandwiches – and the chicken was tender and so flavorful – watermelon and delicious cookies for dessert. We shared a bottle of wine and ate sitting on the ground and it was, like everything else about the day, perfectly lovely.

I’m so looking forward to our return trip here in September to celebrate my birthday. It will be wonderful, not only to have dinner in the screen house, but also to see how the farm looks as the seasons change. Our visit definitely inspired me, not only because of the beautiful location but because of the extremely friendly and helpful people involved with this group.

Local gardeners and events are a very good thing.