A Weekend Away

We went to New Paltz for the weekend to see a photography exhibit at SUNY's new gallery. It's a gorgeous gallery, huge, and the photography exhibit, which is primarily from the school's collection and is around the theme of materiality, is worth the trip. Especially if strawberries are in season and you stop by Dressel Farms on 208 and buy some that were just picked, then sit in your hot car in front of the stand eating the warm, red-red berries. I bought extra to do some baking and some heavy cream to accompany them tonight, too.

We also stayed at a B&B, Country Meadows, and I had some great French toast on Sunday morning. The owner, Judy, crusted the toast with some cranberry-almond flake cereal that had taken a ride in a food processor. She grated a bit of whole orange (rind and all) into some heavy cream with an egg mixed in, soaked Italian bread slices briefly in it, then patted the slices in the cereal crumbs. Cooked it in butter like regular French toast. It didn't even need any adornment, and was really good, with the crunchy crust a nice contrast to the creamy center. Todd's scrambled eggs had chives and herbs cut that morning from pots out front.

It really was a great place to visit. With all the farms and wineries around the food available is so fresh and thoughful. We ate at The Village Tearoom, and I had an arugula salad with local cheddar cheese and mustard vinaigrette. We went there to have their afternoon tea but decided it was just too hot for that (so now we have to go back). We did take some cookies (checkerboard, pecan tassie and gingersnap) with us for a nighttime snack after August had gone to bed.

We also did a bit of wine tasting and bought some bottles. And Todd took some great photos. Whew! And it's only June, so the fantastic parade of flavors is just beginning.