How beautiful is it to do nothing, and then to rest afterward.
After a very busy spring, I think this quote sums up what the rest of our plan is for summer! With most gardening and house projects behind us for the season, it is time to enjoy all of the Berkshire splendor and beauty.
We kicked off summer with a bang! Our Julia was home from California for a week over the 4th of July!
Julia is working at The Madison Gallery, in La Jolla, California. She is really loving it, and learning all of the inner workings of a top 500 Gallery. We are so happy for her, and even though we miss her, watching her thrive and navigate adulthood is wonderful. She is the joy of our lives! She made sure to be home on the 4th of July because it is a tradition!! Go James Taylor! Your #1 fan is 24 years old and traveled from California to see you at Tanglwood!
Our favorite Berkshire activity is picnicking on the Tanglewood lawn. We have been to Dolly Parton and James Taylor so far. Sometimes we splurge for a shed ticket, but making a picnic, relaxing on the lawn, and people watching under the stars tops the list! On Sunday afternoons we usually bring a bottle of wine and get a concession lunch after a busy weekend with guests. I must say the concession food is really pretty good. This picnic was simple and healthy. Just for Jeff & I having a romantic picnic listening to Dolly Parton!
Another place we love to picnic is Jacob’s Pillow. If we go to the Inside – Out series we bring a bottle of wine and a little picnic and relax before of after the show. They also have very nice concession sandwiches. It is a lovely campus with amazing beauty everywhere you look.
For the past few years The Mount has been offering music on Friday and Saturday nights – early evening. We love to support this free venue by buying our wine and food there. This year Naumkeag is hosting music every Thursday evening offering food, wine, and beer too. It is a great way to visit the gardens, be outside and listen to local musicians. Those are relaxing outdoor activities that are unique, and a great way to experience the Berkshires Gardens.
Of course food is a top priority in this house for picnics, and of course breakfast. For our picnics sometimes we make this pasta dish. It is a staple in our house, and I usually have everything on hand to whip this together. I fill up mason jars with the pasta, for easy travel and serving. A fresh baguette and viola ~ a simple tasty picnic! Recipe: Chop of lots of fresh garlic, 1 lemon juice and rind, pine nuts, basil, basil and more basil, olives or capers, olive oil, and cherry tomatoes. Let this marinate as long as it takes to boil and cook the pasta, or if you really have your act together first thing in the morning. It always comes out good!
I served this Mexican Egg dish a couple of weeks ago for breakfast. Whenever I share this recipe with guests, it is with the confession that it is the easiest crust-less quiche dish ever. This makes a great breakfast, lunch or dinner too! Pop over to my facebook page for the recipe.
Everyone is talking about avocado toasts these days. It’s a food craze. Because of our vegetarian diets we have been living on avocado toasts and sandwiches for at least 20 years. We call them avocado delights. Sometimes in the summer we add tomatoes from the garden. Our daughter grew up on these, and introduced them to all of her friends. She makes a mean avocado delight ~ Julia style ~ in the summer with lettuce, arugula or basil from our garden. Sometimes they have made it to our Tanglewood picnics too. If you haven’t become hooked on these – you must try one.
We also love sweet potato toasts, tomato toasts, almond butter – banana – slivered almond toasts. The list is endless. We use Berkshire Mountain Bakery Bread. We like the San Francisco Bread the most for sandwiches. We also like the bagels from The Great Barrington Bagel Company. Julia REALLY misses their bagels! When she came home she ate them as much as she could!
When I saw this waffle idea online ~ I knew it would be a Crabtree hit! Maybe you will be the first to try our version of this!
We also have guests on special diets here at Crabtree. Here is a poached egg dish with sauteed vegetables I served to my paleo diet guests. This was topped with hollandaise sauce but it didn’t show up in the photo. I need a pro for this job, haha.
Summer is amazing in the Berkshires ~ we look forward to welcoming you to our cozy cottage. Thank you for coming by my blog today.