The bounty from our local farmers markets improves every year.  This past summer I learned about making dill pickles — super easy and delicious.  Our CSA had an abundance of good pickling cucumbers, and I went to The Pickled Pantry by Andrea Chesman for how to make real-deal dill pickles.  They came out good and crunchy.

One short trip Barbara and I made together was part of our extended 50th anniversary celebration, a visit to Woodstock, VT, with dinner at Osteria Pane e Salute.  This remarkable small restaurant, run by Deirdre Heekin and her husband, Caleb Barber, has been on my wish list ever since I tasted her superb La Garagista wines.  I have also read two of her books — An Unlikely Vineyard and Pane e Salute.

Friday night reservations were hard to come by, but I had called several weeks in advance and was able to book it.  Our hosts were extremely gracious, adjusting and choosing to meet our desires and preferences on the menu and the wines, and everything was delightful.  A few highlights included an orange and black olive thin-crust pizza (outstanding), a mini tasting bowl of risotto and pasta (I couldn’t decide which one I wanted, so she gave me a little of each), and the house-cured, home grown pork products, most especially the pancetta which made their rosé wine sing like the angels when tasted together.

We stayed at a beautiful inn nearby, 506 On The River, and the next day drove by some picturesque scenery, such as the famous (though unmarked) Jenne Farm — apparently the most photographed farm site in the country.  You can see why:

Later in the month I visited with our friend Laura, at her home in Cambridge.  We had a very good dinner at her local trattoria, Gran Gusto.  I was much impressed by a bowl of market tomatoes in her kitchen and by the Chitarra with Tomatoes and Pecorino in the restaurant.  A bottle of my favorite Mastroberardino single vineyard Greco di Tufo brought it all together very nicely.