Because, not only are there so many types of produce, but there are heirloom beans.
Baer's Best Beans are grown in Maine and are perfect for heaping bowls topped with sea salt, olive oil and a bit of vinegar.
Because there are blue eggs, care of Pete and Jen's Backyard Birds that are laid by chickens right in Concord. 
Because there are homemade pickles-grapes, carrots, asparagus and even, yes, cucumbers.
Because, if you are lucky, there are goats, bunnies and baby lambs.
And because the setting, Russell's Garden Center provides color in the grey winter.
(Photos care of my four year old son who was enamored with the silk flowers and ribbons!)We love the Wayland Winter Farmer's Market at Russell's Garden Center in Wayland.
Remember when you used to have go to to NYC to get really original food that didn't break the bank? I am talking about dishes that reflect a chef's unwillingness to stick with one genre, but to mix up the best of Japanese-Thai-Korean-Chinese flavors with New England seasonality. 
When you imagine Strip T's in Watertown, think Momofuku meets Craigie on Main...in a former diner of sorts. Yup-just sitting in Watertown is a gem that you may want to catch now before the lines make it too hard to get in. Strip T's, a restaurant since 1986, was taken over by son Tim Maslow last April. The fact that Chef Maslow trained at the French Culinary Institute and worked at Momofuku may be the keys to getting best of NYC in MA.
Chef Maslow is thinking fresh. As we drove up he was getting a shipment of bass and tautog caught two hours prior by Ann, harpooning off of a kayak. In fact, it was too fresh to be served moments later as the restaurant opened. The restaurant takes some reservations, but for those walking in, 5:00 may be it. In fact by the time we left, at 6:30, the wait was 1 1/2 hours. 
I began with one of my hand's down, favorite, all time bites. It was an oyster from Wallace Bay, Nova Scotia. But wait. The oyster was topped with two seemingly contradictory tastes: pickled rhubarb and knotweed, a Japanese herb (and considered by some as a weed!) Just go there. Try it. Tell me what you think.
Our first salad of the night consisted of grilled romaine, piled with tender oxtail (similar to short rib), a poached egg hand-delivered from Cepage Farm by Jonathan the general manager. The grilled romaine was just smoky and crispy enough to scoop up the creaminess of the egg.
We would have returned to Strip T's for the cauliflower alone. It was dipped in hot oil making it crispy and brown and sat on a golden puree of spicy chorizo. It was topped with cotija cheese and sweet pickled onions.
The japanese eggplant banh mi could easily have been a main dish. It consisted of a chunk of french bread, filled with pillowy fried tofu, pickled daikon and carrots, fresh cilantro and tender eggplant. It was good, but it didn't knock us to the ground like the cauliflower.
The native squid salad was the unexpected star of the night. The tender grilled squid were topped with heavenly house cured, thick chunky bacon. Fresh mint, pine nuts and sweet gently pickled cherry peppers somehow created a dish that brought out the glory of each component. I would return for this dish and for that bacon alone!
I loved the idea of the grilled sweet peas. And in fact, they are the one dish that I may try (and be able) to replicate at home. They grilled the little guys until they were black and then topped with sea salt and the warm aleppo pepper. I suspect this would work just as well with edamame.
We struggled to choose between main dish. I had read about the buttermilk fried chicken that is served with waffle. A glimpse at the hamburgers that came with glorious skin-on the edges French fries were clearly the choice of the kids at adjoining tables. But our lovely server, Kerry, suggested we go for the seasonal speciality: fried soft-shell crab. She sold us on the curry broth that was poured at the table. The dish was good. It was. I loved the combination of the chunks of celery root and Japanese yam that nestled in the bottom. But the rest of the dishes had spoiled us, persuading us that EVERY. SINGLE. DISH would be awe-inspiring. We still scooped up the broth and nibbled at the crab. Next time I may actually stick with the appetizers or try another of the main dishes.
If you are lucky enough to get there soon, you too may be able to pick glorious ruby red strawberries at Verrill Farm. (We picked 6.3 pounds. Pretty impressive for 4 small hands. And only $20!)
Head inside the farm stand and stock up on fresh rhubarb, the sweetest peas possible, vibrant icicle radishes, and their always tender mixed berry scones.
If you are one of the lucky few, go down the street, peer into Pete and Jen's Backyard Bird's tiny farm stand and choose from tiny pullet eggs or larger ones. We also snagged some fresh wheat berries but saved cheese and homemade bacon for our next visit.
Then, if you are a big kid or have some of your own, finish up with a picnic at the wonderful playground at the Peter Noyes Elementary School in Sudbury. Go home. Eat more the eggs on top of sautéed radish greens. Nap. Make a salad. Make biscuits. Eat more strawberries. This was our Father's Day. It was pretty perfect.
The intoxicating smell of mint rose up as soon as I tore open the first of three packets. That alone surprised me. Even better, in less than 10 minutes with almost no prep, I was sitting down to eat sautéed shrimp with quinoa, Greek herbs and raisins. I was trying out the new Chef Sets, a collaboration of one of my favorite chefs, Ana Sortun (of Oleana and Sofra) and SetPoint Health in Newton. When I was asked if I would want to sample the new line, I never hesitated. Easy to prepare meals? Vegetarian options? Complex flavors? Sure! As a working single mom I struggle to find ways to get healthy, interesting meals to the table in less than 15 minutes. These kits easily fit that need. Chef Sortun and Set Point Health have created 4 different options. Each set comes with 3 packets, easy directions and a vegetarian option. I tried two with the protein they suggested, and two vegetarian style.
Quinoa with Greek Herbs and Raisins: This was the dish with the wonderful mint. The herb shaped the dish, lifting it up and mixing gently with dried orange. In fact, I could have happily served this at a dinner party. The suggestion which I replicated, is to use shrimp and feta. I always keep Whole Foods' frozen shrimp in my freezer for an inexpensive and easy protein fix. Ironically, though, I loved the broccoli and quinoa the most. In fact, next time I may try pan roasted tofu. I never would have thought (or taken the time) to grate an orange and find good dried mint for a mid-week dish.
Quinoa with Crushed Pistachios and Za'atar Spice: I loved the quinoa preparation which involved mixing it with sautéed onions and peas before adding the spice mixture. In this set, you top the quinoa with salmon and spoonfuls of Za'atar, a mixture of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds. My favorite part? The crushed pistachios that added a wonderful contrast to the tender salmon.
Couscous with Moroccan Spices and Almonds: With little in my pantry and exhausted from packing up to move, I reached for this set. And this time I decided to try the vegetarian recipe featured on the Chef Set Meals website. Instead of chicken, I tossed chickpeas in with the sautéed onions and Aromatic packet. I scattered the almonds from the Garnish packet on top of the chickpeas and couscous. I wasn't quite as taken with this set as the others. In retrospect, cooking the couscous with broth would have added much more flavor. This dish was just much more subtle than the others. But I still ate it all. In fact, I loved it the next day, cold and tossed with a bit of olive oil and sherry vinegar for a salad.
Bulgar Pilaf with Turkish Pilaf and Pistachios: This was by far my favorite grain mixture of the Chef Sets. By using Trader Joe's precooked lentils, I was literally able to prepare this set with less than two minutes of prep. And the bulgur pilaf cooks up in 6 minutes. The point? I had a fabulous vegetarian meal together and full of cumin, spearmint, sweet and hot peppers. The pistachios added a lovely crunch while the pepper added warmth and color to the lentils. The cucumber sauce would be just as fantastic of plain burgers or falafel.
This wreath was a gift and came from The Wreath Farm.
Hootie in his Christmas sweater he got from Jessica and David. Oh, and his snowman headband. He he.
This is the manger from when I was a little kid in Pennsylvania.
Patrick played ball with the dogs after our first big snow this week.
This measurement was taken after we had shoveled the deck a few times!Patrick has a hat that matches mine. They were gifts from Jessica & David. 
Our deck.
The river.
Baby Rocket Dog on our night time walk.
The cabin from a distance.
These 2 photos are of Patrick clearing the snow off of our deck roof.There were areas that had 4 feet of snow!
He had a rope around his waist in case he started to fall. That didn't happen, thank goodness.
I want to wish all my friends in the blogisphere a 
