Our day started in the concrete jungle of Manhattan…

…and ended in rural Carlisle, Massachusetts.

Want to see how we got from point A to point B?

This morning, we packed up our dirty laundry and hit the road. On our way to pick up a rental car, we wandered through the Union Square Greenmarket and marveled at all the stands selling local, pastured meats and veggies.

If we weren’t staying on Diana’s farm, I would’ve stuffed the trunk of our car with tons of fresh meat and vegetables.

While en route to our new country home (at least for the next few nights), we stopped in New Haven to grab lunch and show the boys around Yale.

Henry kept remarking about all the changes to the city in the thirteen years since he graduated from Yale Law School. I know he’s super jealous that current Yalies will soon have a brand new Shake Shack across the street from the Green.

For lunch, we stopped at Zinc

…where we split a shrimp and bacon Cobb salad…

…and a hanger steak with greens and sweet potato fries.

Not bad – I especially loved the fries – though there was a tad too much blue cheese on everything for my taste.

Afterwards, we took one last stroll around campus…

…before heading up to Carlisle, Massachusetts, where we’re staying as guests of Andrew and Diana Rodgers at Clark Farm.

Being on our hosts’ farm is so different from staying in the Big Apple. I love the stark contrast.

It’s a priceless opportunity for our kids to witness how good food is cultivated and grown.

Not surprisingly, the Double-Os are absolutely giddy that they’ll be junior farmers this week.

In the evening, Diana and I tag-teamed dinner: I was on meat duty and she was in charge of the vegetables. I seasoned a bunch of steaks with salt and pepper, and let them come to room temperature.

Diana roasted a tray of sweet potatoes…

…and stir-fried fresh cabbage with herbs and garlic.

I seared off the steaks in melted butter…

…but the resulting plumes of smoke set off alarms (literally!) and brought some unexpected visitors to the farm.

Oops.

I was beet-red with embarrassment – but not enough to stop frying up the last steak.

Here’s my dinner plate:

For the next few days, I’ll have my hands full during the Ancestral Health Symposium and hanging with old and new friends. Don’t be surprised if you hear from me only sporadically. I’ll probably be on Twitter (follow me there!), but I want to make sure I don’t fry my adrenals.

About Michelle Tam

Hello! My name is Michelle Tam, and I love to eat. I think about food all the time. It borders on obsession. I’ve always loved the sights and smells of the kitchen. My mother was (and is) an excellent cook, and as a kid, I was her little shadow as she prepared supper each night. From her, I gained a deep, abiding love for magically transforming pantry items into mouth-watering family meals.

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