We love our Opinel Knives! If you have one (or more like us), it's time to take it out and take it with you.
Here is our oldest Opinel, a traditional #8 with a carbon steel blade. Yes, we have to make sure it's clean and dry when we put it away but it has provided a sharp edge for years and years with just routine home maintenance.
Because Opinel knives are inexpensive (considering how well they work), we keep a few of them packed and ready to go (in the travel kit shown above) for cooking in other people's kitchens. There's one in our roof deck dining bag so we always have a knife to share a bit of cheese with friends. Back in the days when we had cars, we had one of these in each vehicle.
They make great gifts for anyone who loves to enjoy an impromptu bit of food and fun.
We love our Opinel Knives! If you have one (or more like us), it's time to take it out and take it with you.
Here is our oldest Opinel, a traditional #8 with a carbon steel blade. Yes, we have to make sure it's clean and dry when we put it away but it has provided a sharp edge for years and years with just routine home maintenance.
Because Opinel knives are inexpensive (considering how well they work), we keep a few of them packed and ready to go (in the travel kit shown above) for cooking in other people's kitchens. There's one in our roof deck dining bag so we always have a knife to share a bit of cheese with friends. Back in the days when we had cars, we had one of these in each vehicle.
They make great gifts for anyone who loves to enjoy an impromptu bit of food and fun.
In April, we took a two-week vacation to our favorite, little beach house on Provincetown Harbor. The tiny house has a complete kitchen and this particular unit at the Bayshore/Chandler complex is well equipped for a cook with good pans, solid cutting boards, and sharp knives. But this year I decided to take a break from cooking and enjoy the wonderful take-out options that are now available year-round in Ptown.
I did sear off some scallops for Ed on a couple of evenings. Mac's Fish House Provincetown offers pristine seafood in the market adjacent to their restaurant.
They would have been happy to cook a lobster for me, but past experience told me the lobster meat offered by the pound would make an excellent lobster roll without the work of cracking and cleaning the crustacean.
Take-Out options at Far Land Provisions change daily. (Photo courtesy of Far Land Provisions website)
Casual Dining Options
Having a full kitchen and comfortable indoor and outdoor dining areas opens up your food options. You don't have to dine out, but you are also not required to cook. Breakfast is pretty routine for us. We both prefer oatmeal and fruit. Once settled and unpacked, we make a supermarket run and stock up on breakfast food, drinks, salad ingredients, and snacks. After that, we try to add some prepared food each day from local shops like Angel Foods and Far Land Provisions.
Shepherd's pie from Angel Foods with layers of meat, vegetables, and potatoes
Tips For Vacation Take-Out
After years of practice, we've come up with some recommendations for those who may decide to supplement dining out with some take-out food in a vacation rental.
Early in the vacation, if you have a larger group, a roasted chicken can be a good start on having a protein supply on hand.
To be sure we would use up our chicken (and because I wasn't planning to cook anything that might use a whole chicken), we opted for grilled chicken breasts. Sliced, they can be used for sandwiches or tossed in salads.
To ensure we kept up a fairly balanced diet, we tried to have a variety of fruits & vegetables on hand along with dairy, grains, and protein – which in our case meant lots of fresh seafood.
Prepared meals like the shepherd's pie from Angel Foods (shown in the photo above) offered an easy but healthy, balanced dinner.
Don't forget the soups. We always pick up a frozen soup from Angel Foods as a part of our first supply run. Then there's something for anyone who wants a lighter meal. And, if you don't use it, it will help keep the cooler chilled on the return trip.
Grilled salmon from Farland is another wonderful base for a meal. You can warm it, enjoy it cold, add it to salads, or mash it with some sour cream to top toast.
Farmers markets, when they are open, can be great fun on vacation. In Provincetown, we enjoy seeing old friends like the folks from Silverbrook Farm in a different setting.
Enjoy favorite foods from favorite places. They were not open for the season during our April trip, but this fall we'll be sure to have the clam chowder (photo below) from The Canteen.
Remember the full-service restaurants. Some of these will be happy to prepare a take-out meal for your enjoyment.
In April, we took a two-week vacation to our favorite, little beach house on Provincetown Harbor. The tiny house has a complete kitchen and this particular unit at the Bayshore/Chandler complex is well equipped for a cook with good pans, solid cutting boards, and sharp knives. But this year I decided to take a break from cooking and enjoy the wonderful take-out options that are now available year-round in Ptown.
I did sear off some scallops for Ed on a couple of evenings. Mac's Fish House Provincetown offers pristine seafood in the market adjacent to their restaurant.
They would have been happy to cook a lobster for me, but past experience told me the lobster meat offered by the pound would make an excellent lobster roll without the work of cracking and cleaning the crustacean.
Take-Out options at Far Land Provisions change daily. (Photo courtesy of Far Land Provisions website)
Casual Dining Options
Having a full kitchen and comfortable indoor and outdoor dining areas opens up your food options. You don't have to dine out, but you are also not required to cook. Breakfast is pretty routine for us. We both prefer oatmeal and fruit. Once settled and unpacked, we make a supermarket run and stock up on breakfast food, drinks, salad ingredients, and snacks. After that, we try to add some prepared food each day from local shops like Angel Foods and Far Land Provisions.
Shepherd's pie from Angel Foods with layers of meat, vegetables, and potatoes
Tips For Vacation Take-Out
After years of practice, we've come up with some recommendations for those who may decide to supplement dining out with some take-out food in a vacation rental.
Early in the vacation, if you have a larger group, a roasted chicken can be a good start on having a protein supply on hand.
To be sure we would use up our chicken (and because I wasn't planning to cook anything that might use a whole chicken), we opted for grilled chicken breasts. Sliced, they can be used for sandwiches or tossed in salads.
To ensure we kept up a fairly balanced diet, we tried to have a variety of fruits & vegetables on hand along with dairy, grains, and protein – which in our case meant lots of fresh seafood.
Prepared meals like the shepherd's pie from Angel Foods (shown in the photo above) offered an easy but healthy, balanced dinner.
Don't forget the soups. We always pick up a frozen soup from Angel Foods as a part of our first supply run. Then there's something for anyone who wants a lighter meal. And, if you don't use it, it will help keep the cooler chilled on the return trip.
Grilled salmon from Farland is another wonderful base for a meal. You can warm it, enjoy it cold, add it to salads, or mash it with some sour cream to top toast.
Farmers markets, when they are open, can be great fun on vacation. In Provincetown, we enjoy seeing old friends like the folks from Silverbrook Farm in a different setting.
Enjoy favorite foods from favorite places. They were not open for the season during our April trip, but this fall we'll be sure to have the clam chowder (photo below) from The Canteen.
Remember the full-service restaurants. Some of these will be happy to prepare a take-out meal for your enjoyment.
Meet Beau! This little guy stepped right up to greet the three of us on a recent trip to Provincetown.
We hadn't realized that there was now an official greeter to welcome dog visitors and their people to Provincetown. (Maybe the town meeting hasn't actually appointed him but they should, since he is doing such a fabulous job.)
When Beau learned that Poppy was a Duchess, he did a little dance! He does meet a lot of celebrities, but very few Peers of the Realm.
He and his most kind person were happy to pose for photos. Their easy manner told us they were used to being the center of attention when the paparazzi are in town.
It was great meeting you, Beau. We'll see you in the fall!
Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.
Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.
Meet Beau! This little guy stepped right up to greet the three of us on a recent trip to Provincetown.
We hadn't realized that there was now an official greeter to welcome dog visitors and their people to Provincetown. (Maybe the town meeting hasn't actually appointed him but they should, since he is doing such a fabulous job.)
When Beau learned that Poppy was a Duchess, he did a little dance! He does meet a lot of celebrities, but very few Peers of the Realm.
He and his most kind person were happy to pose for photos. Their easy manner told us they were used to being the center of attention when the paparazzi are in town.
It was great meeting you, Beau. We'll see you in the fall!
Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.
Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.
Here's a rundown of what's open and what's closed in Boston and the MBTA schedules for Memorial Day – Monday, May 30, 2016.
We publish these reminders before a holiday to give our readers a nudge to finalize their holiday plans. This is the first big weekend of the summer. Get going on some fun plans! And, plan your shopping for adult beverages because this is one of those Blue Law holidays!
Will you stay in the city or enjoy a holiday weekend at a great beach house like these on the harbor in Provincetown? Or will you put the boat in the water and get out on your favorite bay?
Restaurants, bars: Open
Convenience stores: Open
Supermarkets: Open
Retail stores: Are allowed to open if the owners choose
Plan ahead if you need wine, beer, or spirits for your holiday event.
City, Town, State, and Federal offices and facilities are closed:This includes Schools, Libraries and the Postal Service (express mail will be delivered). Only emergencyservices are available.
Financial Services:As the British would say, this is a Bank Holiday with both Banks and the stock markets in the U.S. closed. Some international markets are open.
Boston Parking:You don't have to feed the meters on Monday. Other parking rules apply. Street Sweeping:The city site says: "Daytime street sweeping is suspended on city holidays, but nighttime sweeping schedules remain in effect. Constituents are advised to call 311 for exact details."
More information after this ad
Save storage space with these collapsible coolers. Perfect for small city homes. We had many years of use from an older version of the Arctic Zone 30 model. It was amazing at keeping things chilled. We not only used it for picnics but also grabbed it to go grocery shopping.
Boston Trash Collection
The city has changed the way it publishes the schedule for holidays so that you now have to go to thecity site and look up your specific addressin order to get information.
We could have bought a lot more but our backpacks were full and we'll be visiting the market again on Friday.
Stillman's Farm stand at the Boston Public Market supplied shoppers with fruit and vegetables over the winter months.
Thanks to Year-Round Markets
Part of the reason we have more early season offerings is the support that shoppers have given to year-round farmers markets and the Boston Public Market.
Having someplace to sell crops has encouraged investments in cold weather farming infrastructures such as hoop houses and greenhouses.
Early season markets are also good places to get to know new vendors like Caroline from Kitchen Garden Farms who will be at Copley on Tuesdays. We not only added their radishes and asparagus to our shopping bags, we also sampled the Sriracha sauces (regular and habanero) they make with their own peppers. We'll put those on a future shopping list.
We could have bought a lot more but our backpacks were full and we'll be visiting the market again on Friday.
Stillman's Farm stand at the Boston Public Market supplied shoppers with fruit and vegetables over the winter months.
Thanks to Year-Round Markets
Part of the reason we have more early season offerings is the support that shoppers have given to year-round farmers markets and the Boston Public Market.
Having someplace to sell crops has encouraged investments in cold weather farming infrastructures such as hoop houses and greenhouses.
Early season markets are also good places to get to know new vendors like Caroline from Kitchen Garden Farms who will be at Copley on Tuesdays. We not only added their radishes and asparagus to our shopping bags, we also sampled the Sriracha sauces (regular and habanero) they make with their own peppers. We'll put those on a future shopping list.
Lunch, last Monday, was the famous porchetta sandwich from the PennyPackers food truck. We highly recommend that all our friends and followers in the area join us in making Mondays "Pennypackers Porchetta Day." It can be the Back Bay version of Prince Spaghetti Day with better food.
Last Monday Penny split off on our dog walk to drop a package at the Post Office on Clarendon Street. Her secondary assignment was to pick up lunch along the way home. Imagine her joy as she neared the corner of Clarendon and Boylston (map) and spotted the word "Porchetta" in large letters on the back of a food truck.
The truck was Pennypackers and that sandwich is their specialty.
There it was on the menu, the porchetta sandwich with rhubarb mostarda. After a hurried walk home to have lunch ASAP, we were both savoring the deeply seasoned pork, stuffing, and the lift of the mostarda. (As you may have noticed from past posts, Penny is a big rhubarb fan and was thrilled to see it used in this classic Italian condiment.)
It wasn't until we studied the rest of the menu in the quick photos taken while waiting for the porchetta, that we both wished we had ordered a second or third item to have that night for supper.
Pennypackers posts their daily status and menu on Twitter and Facebook. Like or follow them for updates on where they are and what they are serving.
Update: (05.16.16) Wepicked up these items for lunch! (Click on photos for larger images) Left to Right: Crushed Fried Potatoes, Fried Chicken Sandwich, and Ribeye Sandwich. They were all hits – especially the potatoes!
Here's what the porchetta looks like before it becomes a delectable sandwich. (from the Pennypackers facebook page.)
Brick & Mortar Pennypackers
Like a few of the other great food truck families, Pennypackers has opened a brick and mortar restaurant. If the food truck schedule doesn't work for you, visit them at 514C Medford Street, Somerville, MA. (map) Right now that location is open Thursdays through Sundays. The hours are posted here.
Please get out and support our local food trucks. You'll have a better meal than you would from a national chain and you'll be helping a small business grow just the way we see Pennypackers growing.
from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.
. Perfect for small city homes. We had many years of use from an older version of the Arctic Zone 30 model. It was amazing at keeping things chilled. We not only used it for picnics but also grabbed it to go grocery shopping. 
