What a great day to enjoy Western Ma and the Berkshires today. Helene and I made it a diverse but fulfilling day. We started with our Sunday walk in the woods and did a bit of foraging while we were there. The Fiddle Head Ferns are at prime time to pick and we again did some diggin for this week’s dinner. We went home and got ready to head for the hills for some culinary
delights and visual pleasures in the Berkshires. We headed out to The Clarke Museum of Art in Williamstown Ma. On the way there we made a stop at the Legendary Teo’s in Pittsfield for a couple of Dogs and a Genny Cream Ale.  Teo’s is a dive bar in need of a facelift but it has history and without a doubt the best dogs around. We ordered two each, I got the "Everything" which is mustard, meat sauce (not chili), and onions and Helene ordered her standard which is mustard relish and onion. These dogs are actually baby wieners (4 inch) that have a nice snap and are served on a steamed bun. This was Helene’s first trip to Teo’s and she was very impressed.  After trying a bite of my “Everything” dog she said that it was the
best meat sauce she ever had and then went on to order the fries with the meat sauce and cheese for dessert. Yes it was a good dessert that we split. All I can say is there is no better dog with meat sauce in Western Ma. Period and a glass of
Genny just go together perfect.

We finished and continued up the road to the Clarke Museum of Art in Williamstown. If you have never been there then should be a must on your places to go. The museum presented Brian O'Dougherty who conducted a lecture on the works of Edward Hopper. After we listened to the lecture we took the tour of the museum. There is a nice collection of works from French
Impressionist such as Monet, Renoir and Degas as well as works by American Artist Sargent, Inness and my favorite Winslow Homer. The museum is currently under construction and building a major addition to house the huge collection of works that it
currently has loaned out to other museums throughout the world. It was a little early in the year for us to take a walk on the grounds but the views from the property are breathtaking from the higher grounds. The museum admission is free until
June 8thwhen the charge will be $15. Per person.

On our return we made a stop at the other dog joint in Pittsfield. The Hot Dog Ranch in downtown.  It was time to make the comparison on who has the better wiener,  which is how they are served in the Berkshires. This place is also a bar that you can eat in or they have a nice takeout area that is not inside the bar. The Ranch prices for a wiener are the same as Teo's $1.20 each. The bar is much cleaner looking inside with Sports memorabilia on the walls. They also serve the same dog and steamed bun as Teo's. The dog and bun were very hot and had a good snap The difference came down to the sauce. The
sauce here at the Ranch was much stronger than I had at Teos. The bottom line is they also have a good product but we enjoyed the dogs at Teo's the best. 

Having been glued to the media coverage of what happened in Boston, I am just sickened and my thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims. This is truly unsettling and heartbreaking. Marathon Monday has always been a celebration for us in New England and for the thousands that have made participating in the Marathon a personal goal. A feeling of good will that is shared by all, runners in achieving their goal and the spectators who are offering their support by cheering them on. A celebration for all that’s good was abruptly taken. We are now left emotionally shocked, stunned and angry. It was especially devastating because the blasts were set to go off when high concentrations of runners were arriving at the finish line. Not the elite runners but those people that came from all walks of life to achieve their goals. They way the devices were placed on the ground and filled with pellets and nails for the purpose of maiming was done by an animal that is pure evil.

Yes there are animals that walk amongst us. They look normal and at times even act the part of you and me. They are however more absorbed in achieving their agenda which is inflecting pain and suffering on us and our way of life. The reaction
to this is to refuse to be terrorized. Don’t allow them to win. Terrorism is a crime against the mind as well as the body. I believe that the authorities will find these animals and bring them to justice. They cannot be allowed to walk amongst good people or be part of a normal society.  My mind has changed on one thing though. A rabid animal cannot be cured.

Today was the reinforcement that spring is here and it is Fiddlehead season. I have never been aware of the Fiddlehead until I saw Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods do a show on them a few years back in Maine.  It was then one Spring Day last year that on a walk through the woods, with Helene we  came upon an area that had Fiddleheads as far as the eye  could see. The fiddleheads are the young shoots of ostrich and cinnamon ferns that peek out of the ground once the weather starts to warm and yes today was the day. They are about an inch in diameter, can be identified by the brown papery scale-like
covering on the uncoiled fern, as well as the smooth fern stem, and the deep ”U”-shaped groove on the inside of the fern stem. Look for ostrich ferns emerging in clusters of about three to twelve fiddleheads each on the banks of rivers, streams, and brooks in Mid April till the end of  May. They are supposedly the first “green vegetable” of the year but I can say that the skunk cabbage has been growing  since last week and there is no one eating that stuff, the fiddlehead fern heads are tightly coiled and get their name because they look like the coiled head piece of a fiddle. Once the fiddleheads uncoil then they are no longer edible and (toxic) so the season is (over).

They taste a little earthy, and have a slight similarity to asparagus. You pick (cut) them, rub the brown papery chaff off the outer layer of the coil. Rinse well under the faucet then let them soak in cold water, change the water a couple of times, then remove the dark bottom edge of the uncoiled fern stem. To cook the fiddlehead, you can boil, steam or sauté.

To boil, bring lightly salted water in a pot to a rolling boil and add washed fiddleheads. The water should fully cover them. Bring  water back to a steady boil and hold for 12 minutes. Remove from water then Blanch in ice water for two minutes. Strain
from and dry well. Serve with melted butter or my favorite a light sprinkle of Cains Balsamic Vinegar dressing.  They are a tasty seasonal treat that made a believer out of me and gave me  new ties to  traditional New England roots and the enjoyment of foraging.  I am glad I live in an area where fiddleheads are not serious business. I  remember watching the show on TV and they spoke of how the forager’s keep their locations carefully guarded secrets.  I think that those of you that know Helene and me and where we take our weekly Sunday morning walk got a pretty good idea of this area.

Good Diggin

For those of you that are looking to get out and hit the road on your Bike next weekend there is a big time ride on Saturday the 27th.  Boston's Wounded Vet Run is dedicated to Veterans with all proceeds raised going towards housing modifications for the disabled veteran. The 2000+ bike motorcade is approximately 40 miles long and takes an hour and a half to complete. The ride will start at Boston Harley Davidson in Everett Ma and will finish at Suffolk Downs Race Track East Boston. If you want more information or to donate to this great cause,  check em out     
 Some gave all….All gave some

I was just watching the Today Show and there was a great segment on getting ready to fire up your grill this year. There was a piece of safety information that host, Sunny Anderson really emphasized. Never use a wire brush to clean your grill top. I believe it is important enough to pass it on here. We had my son and his family over a few years ago for some Pork Chops on the grill and I had brushed the grill with one of those wire brushes and then followed it up with an oiled cloth to get it clean. A tiny piece of wire from that brush broke off and lodged in the grate of the grill. When I put the pork chops on the grill the wire then became dislodged and went into the Pork Chop. My son Darrel ate the chop and that tiny piece of wire became lodged in his throat. It was a very scary issue for him and the family that night. It did require a trip to the ER where they took an X-ray and then removed it. Bottom line….. do not use those cheap wire brushes.

Winter is finally over and the snowfall accumulation numbers are complete. We know that parts of New England had it rough this winter and here it is. Worcester is number two in the USA for total snowfall with  108.9 inches. There were four cities in New England that made the top 20. You can check em all out  here.  It’s time for the good stuff to get underway. By the way, I even heard the little birds chirping when I left the house before dawn yesterday.       Nice

Do you know that 80 years ago tonight people were lined up outside the breweries in Milwaukee waiting for their doors to open on the 7th and purchase some beer!  President Roosevelt had Repealed Prohibition, It was a Thursday night and the people of that city were waiting with eager anticipation. When the doors opened that Friday and the numbers totaled it was said that in the first 24-hours after the Repeal of Prohibition over 1.5 million barrels of beer were consumed. Make sure tonight you enjoy a  good quality beer. Back then the  government set a limit of 3.2%or 4% ABV   for light beer only. Then enjoy another in memory of those hardy folks who were standing outside that night in Milwaukee.............. which I’ll bet was cold.

Here we go again...... Another story being reported today by MSN of a Staten Island woman who just turned 101 on March 30th and her recipe for longevity includes booze. Nancy Lamperti of Long Island Ny, who was born in 1912, has a diet each day that includes four alcoholic drinks: two glasses of wine with lunch, a glass of Southern Comfort before dinner (Now that’s Hardcore) and a can of Bud after dinner. She also gets up at 5 a.m. and goes to bed at the early hour of 10 p.m.                      

Studies have shown repeatedly of people who drink moderate alcohol throughout the week stay healthier as they age than nondrinkers. Moderate drinking, which is defined as one to three drinks per day, is associated with the lowest mortality rates in all alcohol studies. Moderate alcohol use  (especially when the beverage of choice is red wine) is thought to improve heart health, The Centers for Disease Control has boiled the secret to living well and living long down to four healthy habits: Don’t smoke, eat right, exercise and the fourth is drink in moderation! By moderation, the CDC means two drinks a day for men, and one drink a day for women. A study  published by the American Journal of Public Health  states that any one of the healthy behaviors can make someone live longer. But taken in concert, they can lower the risk of dying (from all causes) by 57percent, compared with those who observed none of the healthy behaviors. That means you can’t sit on the couch everyday and pound down the Buds.

There are also the negative effects from a little too much Par-tay which include, higher risk for cirrhosis and several types of cancer (particularly cancers in the mouth and esophagus), impair your memory severely and it can lead to nonlethal falls and other mishaps that can screw up your life Big Time. There's also the dependency issue: if you become addicted to alcohol, you may spend a long time trying to get off the bottle. That said, countless studies have provided the strongest evidence yet that moderate drinking is not only fun but good for you. Talk to ya later,  I’ve got to run to the store for Grandma.