When it comes to his cooking values and principles, Rob McDaniel is a chef one could consider a modernist and a traditionalist. With the current trend of “getting back to local,” Rob is a model for sustainability and trading locally. His passion for these elements stems from his belief that good food comes from making everything from scratch–which, in his kitchen, is everything but ketchup. “That’s what we hang our hats on,” he says. Rob does this by sourcing as much as possible locally and regionally. “The fact that you can talk about where the food came from, who grew it, how it was grown, the process behind it–that’s all part of the story of what goes on the plate,” he says. The act of storytelling is something Rob incorporates into his restaurant to include and connect his customers to the experience of what they will eat.     Recipes include   1 -Shrimp and Grits   2 -Smoked Quail Terrine   3 -Beet and Radish Salad with Orange Vinaigrette   4 -Lamb Burger with Harissa   5 -Sticky Toffee Pudding

It was a week from his 68th birthday when we spoke and artist Peter Corbin of Millbrook, New York, shared how he first held a shotgun at age 6 and first cast a fly rod at age 7. Shotgun shells came at age 9. “I’ve had 60 years of fly fishing and wingshooting,” he said. “In a painting, I want to capture the feeling of the whole day and why we do this.”

At home on Cape Cod, late November is a time for reflection. That might be because the Pilgrims explored what is now our town center a few months before landing in Plymouth, Massachusetts. As such, Thanksgiving has always carried a significant weight, much more so than many other holidays, save for Easter.

…After Thanksgiving, our Northern New England uplands and the lowlands quiet down for the winter. Leaves from the mountain ash, alders, white birch, maples, and beech have all dropped to the ground allowing the cold wind to whip off of the mountains and down through the valleys. Woodcock season ended weeks ago, but now and then we’ll find a few tardy stragglers in a seep. Skim ice forms in the calmer water of the pools along the shores of the river, and the trout seldom rise any more.