Eating (very) Locally in MA

So, you may recall from earlier posts that Mrs. Bob and I are trying the "eating local" thing. Here we are visiting my ancestral home in the Berkshires. For a change (recently) we happen to be here, when the blueberry crop is in. On Wednesday, between rainstorms, we all went out and picked berries. We got about 3 quarts before everyone was to tired to reach the berries that were still ripe. These are the smaller tart blueberries that grow wild, as opposed to the big mushy ones that are more readily available in most grocery stores.

We had so many; I was inspired to make a blueberry pie. I don't believe I have EVER made a blueberry pie, though I have certainly enjoyed my fair share in my life. We didn't have a readily available Fannie Farmer cookbook, so I did the next best thing. I jumped on-line, and found this blog cum recipe. I followed the recipes generally. For the crust, I used a whole stick of butter flavored Crisco and 2.5 cups of flour. It came out great. For the filling I used a little more than a quart of blueberries, cause I had a deep pan. I also only used 2/3 of the requested sugar, and a little more than a tablespoon of lemon (maybe 2). The pie came out deliciously slightly tart, which balanced with the buttery taste of the crust beautifully. I braved making a lattice crust, which was fun, if a little thick and slightly indelicate.

You can see in the photos that I was enjoying a little of the post-dinner Pinot Noir, while making the pie. You can also see that I plated the pie with a couple slices each of some wonderful cheeses from Rubiner's in Great Barrington. The lechevrot was my favorite of the two cheeses the previous night, served on a baguette. However, the Bonnema State Boerenkaas paired better with the pie. In either case who ever heard of a cheesemonger? Great Barrington may well have become more hoity toity than before, but I am certainly enjoying the results of that.

What to do when it rains in western Massachusetts

We've been in the Berkshires for two days now, and apart from the rains it's been lovely. With two children under 10 in the small house, we have been looking for other cabin-fever beating activities. Today several of us drove to my mother's house to pick up some things we needed. While we were in that neck of the woods, we brought the kids to the Magic Wings butterfly conservatory in South Deerfield, MA.

There were a TON of butterflies. We had a fun time being both indoors and not cooped up in the house, and trying to photograph the butterflies. The camera had a hard time focusing on them, and they had a habit of flitting about. Following are the best I could do.

Vacation Stop #2 – Plimoth Plantation

Did you miss stop number 1? Oh yeah, we packed the family into the car for the 11 hour ride from Pittsburgh to Woods Hole. We didn't take any pictures there, because we have been so many times, there was not too much new to shoot. We were too busy enjoying the ocean and our friends to bother with taking photographs. You'll have to be content with my profile photo which was taken last year in Woods Hole.

So what was stop #2 already? Plimoth Plantation. It's a living museum, with an English settlement a la 1627, and a Native American village of the same vintage, both with re-enactors. I haven't been to there since I was 8 years old or younger, but it all came rushing back to me like it was yesterday. It was a lot of fun, and the progeny and spouse enjoyed it greatly, as did the Woods Hole friends who joined us, even though their 4-year old was a little jaded by the whole affair. Big fun and we were off to the ancestral homeland in the Berkshires. Enjoy the Plimoth pics, and I'll post more soon.

You are supposed to READ the owners manual?

Mrs. Bob has a Chrysler PT Cruiser. It's cute, but after 3 years, the bloom is off the rose. It's not the best car either of us has ever owned. But it's not the worst either, I suppose.

Well, today we switched cars, because she needed my larger vehicle for something. I go out to get in her car…turn the key… it starts up…runs for a few seconds..dies. It does this several times, and then won't even turn over. I am fuming at this point, because I am supposed to be at work pretty soon. Grrr. She comes home from a morning appointment, picks me up and drives me to work, thereby wasting some of her morning.

Flash back a month or so, when this happened to me last time. Mrs. Bob and our daughter went away for the weekend with my car, leaving me with hers. I drove it to Home Depot Saturday morning to pick up some supplies, and the same exact thing happened to me there. That day I ended up walking the 3 miles up and over the very high hill back to the house, carrying my tool bag.

Don't we get home tonight, and I try it again…same thing. Mrs. Bob jumps in the car to try it, though I am sure nothing will happen. Whadaya know, it starts right up. We look at each other incredulously. I give her my key. She tries it and replicates my experience. Back and forth with her key and mine, starting and not starting. We go in the house, shaking our heads in disbelief. I grab the Owner's Manual on the way in, and here's what it says:

Hmph. Who'd have expected that in a krappy, cheap, PT cruiser? Anyone want a PT Cruiser key? The one on the left is available.