Cranberries, Chickens & Mother’s Day on Cape Cod

The old cliché still holds true: The grass is always greener…

Cranberry bog pump house in Pocasset

Boston is fantastic in lots of ways, but it just can’t compete with the country life. We can’t have chickens on our tiny Somerville balcony (not that I haven’t thought about it…), and a hike from our apartment might end in Boston Common or at a new brewery. While there is a lot to do, there just isn’t a lot of nature happening in the city. Duh. So when Don and I need to get a nature fix, we head to Cape Cod or Rhode Island to visit our families.

This weekend, we visited my parents and brother on the Cape.

You might not think of Cape Cod as a very agricultural place. In the villages of Pocasset and Waquoit a hike around the cranberry bogs, chasing free range chickens around the yard, and walking Gemma, our boxer-ridgeback mix, down to the dock, is just part of a weekend at home.

This is where I grew up, but it was never as magical as it now seems.

Don and I celebrated Mother’s-Day-eve at my parents house with a round of mint juleps for the Kentucky Derby,  sesame encrusted Salmon, and salad with homemade Cesar dressing. If you are looking for a fresh take on salmon, I highly recommend this recipe, but use more lemon juice than it calls for so the tahini mixture is easier to spread. Oh, and after you take the HOT HOT pan out of the oven, don’t touch the handle! Don learned this the hard way. Thank goodness for the mint juleps.

After a nice Mother’s Day brunch with the fam, and a 2+ hour drive back to Boston, we are back to being city-people. Until next weekend.