Food

Picking Flowers at Small Farm

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Looking for a quick escape from Boston? Just 30 miles west, in the small semirural town of Stow, is an organic pick-your-own farm where rows of basil, sage, and mint fragrant the air, and sunflowers, snapdragons, and zinnias color the sky.

Small Farm Sign

At Small Farm, you can surround yourself with cherry tomatoes in a mini maze, pick your own flowers by the quart, or snip your own herbs by the bag and bask in the farm’s peacefulness and tranquility.

Picking flowers at Small Farm

Butterfly at Small Farm

Organic lettuce, cucumbers, onions, peppers, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, beets, and sometimes corn are available for purchase as well.

Organic produce at Small Farm

You might even find local honey or jam sold by the cash register.

Small Farm Just Picked Flowers

Enjoy your bounty, and when your tomatoes are eaten, your pesto devoured, and your bouquets have faded, Small Farm will be waiting for your return, at least until after the first frost.

Trip taken: often. Photos taken August 2012.

Eating and Shopping in Point Reyes Station

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If Point Reyes National Seashore is your destination, be sure to allow time to visit the small town of Point Reyes Station before or after your trip to one of the most striking locations on the west coast. Once you’ve visited the Bear Valley Visitor Center, made your way to the beach at Limantour or hiked to Abbott’s Lagoon, seen the Tule Elk and maybe driven out to the lighthouse, stop in at the small town of Point Reyes Station for a bite to eat and a little shopping.

Point Reyes Visitor CenterEvery time we make Point Reyes Station our destination, we visit a few of our favorites. We stop at Bovine Bakery for coffee and a sweet or savory snack and at Cowgirl Creamery’s Deli in Tomales Bay Foods for the best cheese around.

Tomales Bay FoodsYou can find picnic essentials at Palace Market and a book for the beach at Point Reyes Books. On our last visit, we walked through a tiny flea market, browsed the variety of items at Toby’s Feed Barn, ogled the fine art at Gallery Route One, and bought a wetsuit at Point Reyes Surf Shop.

Point Reyes Surf ShopIf you go, be sure to dress in layers. It’s usually cooler and windier on the coast. The town of Point Reyes Station is located on Highway 1, about an hour’s drive north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Trip taken August 2012.

Sampling Local Food in Point Reyes Station

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Though not as big as the farmer’s markets of southern Marin County, the farmer’s market in Point Reyes Station is every bit as colorful and unique. On a trip to San Francisco last August, we headed up the coast, stopping in the small town of Point Reyes Station for lunch.

Cyclists abounded. We followed them and a few locals behind Toby’s Feed Barn and discovered a completely local and organic market.

Toby's Feed Store We meandered about the kale and figs, the booths of soap and candles, the squash and peaches, the jam, the hummus and pita bread, the chips and salsa.

Point Reyes Farmer's MarketWe listened to a local folk band, choosing freshly made quesadillas and tacos over oozing grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. We sat at a picnic table next to the town’s community garden.

Point Reyes Community GardenIf you want to go, choose a Saturday morning. The market is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, follow Highway 1 north about 34 miles to Point Reyes. The farmer’s market is located behind Toby’s Feed Barn, right on Highway 1.

Trip taken August 2012.

On the Road: Looking for a Burger

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You’re in unfamiliar territory. You’re driving (or flying) for miles, and you need a burger. Or at least someone in the backseat does. Besides the obvious and familiar chains, where do you find a good and quick burger when you’re far from home? Here are a few places we’ve found while driving up and down the West and East Coasts.

The West Coast, South West, and Texas

In-N-Out Burger: The menu at In-N-Out is simple and old fashioned: just burgers (made with 100% beef), fries (fried in vegetable oil), shakes (made with real ice cream), and beverages. If someone in the family doesn’t eat meat, they can order a grilled cheese. If you’re gluten-free, be sure to order the “Protein Burger,” a burger wrapped in a lettuce leaf instead of a bun. Messy but yummy.

IN-N-OUT BURGER

All Over (Almost)

Five Guys Burgers and Fries: We first discovered this burger place on a trip to Florida only to learn there was a location close to home. With another simple menu, Five Guys Burgers and Fries specializes in burgers and hot dogs with your choice of a plethora of toppings. And the fries are good and plentiful. But don’t come here if you’re allergic to peanuts. Five guys uses peanut oil and offers peanuts to customers as they wait for their burger. If you’re gluten free, just get a burger without the bun. The burger is gluten free, even if the bun isn’t. Five Guys is located in 47 states. If you live in Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, or South Dakota, you’ll just have to travel.

Five Guys

New England

A small New England burger chain, Wild Willy’s has only six locations in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. While its burgers are made with certified Angus, all natural beef or even bison, Wild Willy’s offers more than specialty burgers. There you can get a grilled chicken or steak sandwich, or salad with fries or onion rings and a shake. If you’re gluten free, make sure to ask for a gluten-free bun, and check to see if the fries or onion rings are fried in a dedicated deep fryer. Last time we checked, both were gluten free at the Worcester, Mass. location.

Washington, D.C.

While traveling in DC in April, we discovered another simple and fast burger joint, just off the highway, Burger 7. Burger 7 offers a healthy alternative to those who crave a burger but are trying to eat healthy at the same time. The menu includes grass fed hot dogs and hormone free beef, turkey burgers and veggie burgers, whole wheat buns and lettuce leaf wraps, potato fries and sweet potato fries both cooked in olive oil, plus shakes made with organic milk. Burger 7 has three locations in the DC area, but we ate at the one in Tyson’s Corner.

IMG_0176

Where else can you get a burger? Do some sleuthing on the internet if you’re visiting a particular place or check out these links for favorite burger joints in Los Angeles,  Boston, the Midwest, in South Carolina, and across the U.S.

Who serves your favorite burger?

Trip taken 2012 and 2013.

In-N-Out photo used under Creative Commons from whatleydude.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries photo used under Creative Commons from kennejima.

Twist – Where Everything Tastes Good

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There aren’t many restaurants where everything is gluten free … and everything tastes good.

Twist Bakery & Café in Millis, Mass., does not advertise its gluten-free qualities, but word of mouth has spread the good news. Not only can those on a gluten-free diet choose their food without thinking too much about it, they can bring their friends, too. All food is gluten free and peanut free and most items are soy free, dairy free, and nut free as well.

On a recent visit for lunch, the gluten-free and non gluten-free diners in our group were excited to choose from the extensive menu.

Twist Bakery

Hot Reuben sandwiches, turkey melts, and tuna salad on rolls, quiche, pizza, cupcakes, lemon bars. Everything we tasted was good. Nothing tasted “gluten free.”

Twist Bakery

If we could change one thing, it would be their location. While Millis is only 25 minutes from Needham and 45 minutes from Boston, it’s an hour’s drive for us. If only they were closer, we’d be there almost every day.

Trip taken November 2012.

Finding Gluten-Free at Farmers’ Markets

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On a recent trip to Marin, I found several gluten-free products available for sample and purchase at the Marin Civic Center Farmers’ Market.

Besides fresh strawberries, peaches, and other fruits and vegetables, my gluten-free daughter and I tasted gluten-free granola, gluten-free scones, and gluten-free cupcakes.

Bag of granola

plate of scones

We found gluten-free veggie burgers, kettle corn, and gluten-free tamales.

Next time you’re in San Francisco or Marin, consider going to a farmers’ market for lunch. You’re bound to find something that’s not only gluten free but yummy and locally made as well.

Trip taken August 2012.

Picking Strawberries in August

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Green containers in hand, we probed carefully, searching for the reddest, the ripest and juiciest strawberries. In spite of the many berries which stained our lips and our tongues, it wasn’t long before the buckets were over flowing and it was time to pay.

We were at Swanton Berry Farmstand, an organic growing and union working farm located on Highway 1 near Pescadero, California.

truck sign at entrance to farm

Inside the farm store, we weighed our berries, calculated our cost, and paid on the honor system before sampling the many jams (blackberry, strawberry, loganberry, etc.) and purchasing berry truffles, a pie, and even berry lemonade.

counter and cash register

We ate our own lunch on picnic tables inside the store, perused the many old photos and articles on farming and union labor decorating the walls, and played a few of the old wooden games (you know the one with the small silver ball and the maze and all the holes?).

In August we picked strawberries, but if you come another time of year, you can pick ollalaberries (June), blackberries (July), and kiwis (December).

Trip taken August 2012.

Road Trip to Burlington, Vermont

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The 150-mile drive from Canton, New York, to Burlington, Vermont, went quickly as we listened to a book on tape (“Dog on It,” By Spencer Quinn) and looked out the window at windmills and Amish buggies going by.

We toured the University of Vermont with 20 or so others, exploring the campus with our tour guide, a biology major.

She led us around the sprawling university which bustled with activity in spite of the day of the week (Sunday).

We learned about the seven undergraduate colleges where 10,500 students pick from 101 majors and the average undergraduate class size is 31. We learned about UVM’s “green mindset”: UVM was one of the first college campuses to ban bottled drinking water and has several LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings on campus.

We learned that there is always something to do when you’re not studying:  there are over 150 student clubs and organizations and over 70 opportunities to play sports, from varsity to club to intramural. And we learned (second hand) that the food is good and accommodates students with a variety of dietary restrictions, including vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, and food allergies. There is even a Ben & Jerry’s on campus.

We spent the afternoon and evening strolling around Burlington, in and out of stores on Church Street and swinging in swings by the shore of Lake Champlain.

We ate a snack at El Cortijo Taqueria and Cantina (I had a yummy taco with sweet potatoes, guajillo salsa, kale, and pepitas) and dinner at Sweetwaters where my daughter ate gluten free, and everyone agreed that the burgers and mashed potatoes were the best they’d ever eaten.

Trip taken October 2012.

Road Trip to Upstate New York!

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Blue lights flashed behind us as we drove through the small town of Malone, New York, about 11:30 p.m. and just 40 miles from our destination, St. Lawrence University. Our right rear tail light was out according to the chatty young policeman who pulled us over. Less than 5 minutes later, blue lights flashed again, and another friendly policeman, this one from the state, told us the same thing. It wasn’t until after midnight that we pulled into the town of Canton, after 7 hours and over 370 miles in the car.

After replacing the tail light, we drove over to my husband’s alma matter where the trees were turning, the rain intermittent, the buildings old but majestic.

On our semi-private tour, with just one other family, we toured the campus, walking in and out of classrooms, lecture halls, and even a dorm room where a real student studied. (Unexpected bonus: students on the tour receive a giant cookie and their application fee waived.)

We saw the “treehouse” study areas at the library, bought shirts at the bookstore, and ate lunch in one of the dining halls, with meal passes from the admissions office: pasta, pizza, a turkey sandwich (on gluten-free bread), salad bar, and frozen yogurt.

As we drove around campus, we stumbled upon a soccer game and stopped to watch SLU beat Hobart in the game’s second half (3-0).

After gluten-free Mexican at the Hot Tamale in downtown Canton, we joined the crowds at Appleton Arena to watch the Saints’ ice hockey team beat Carleton University in overtime (3-2).

A pizza roll at Sergi’s was the late night snack for the boys.

According to its website, SLU was founded in 1856 and is a liberal arts college offering over 60 majors to its 2300 undergraduates. Seventy percent of the students participate in volunteer or community service while enrolled at SLU, and 50 percent of the students choose to study off campus, whether in the Adirondacks or abroad.

Pizza roll photos by Tommy Taft.

Trip taken October 2012.

Gluten-Free Backpacking

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When my son and husband signed up for a Boy Scout backpacking trip in the Eastern Sierras, I was determined to find an equally exciting adventure for my daughter and me. And I did, without much searching. I was surprised to find a week-long gluten-free beginner’s backpacking trip offered by the Sierra Club in the Emigrant Wilderness just north of Yosemite. Since my daughter is gluten free and a beginner backpacker, and it had been over 15 years since I carried a pack, we signed up.

Over the next few months, our leader changed from a woman with celiac disease to a woman who does NOT eat gluten free, and the trip description changed to a beginner’s backpacking trip.”   We were given the option to opt out of the trip but were assured that my daughter and another backpacker would still eat gluten free, and they did.

From burritos to quinoa to pasta with pesto or sundried tomatoes to lentils and rice, we all ate well. We ate granola, oatmeal, and scrambled eggs for breakfast; tuna, peanut butter and jelly, and cheese and crackers for lunch. At breakfast and lunch, while the rest of us ate cereal, crackers, tortillas, and pita bread containing wheat, my daughter ate gluten-free substitutes. Dinners were gluten free for all.

The trip was great, she was never sick, we were introduced to a few new gluten-free products, and the rest of our 11-member group learned a lot about eating gluten free and preventing cross contamination between wheat products and gluten-free ones.