tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158882823806973752024-03-14T03:28:49.029-04:00I Came To Eat!This blog use to be a food only place, but I've decided to evolve it to include other stuff that I adore: my pups, living in the city, rants and raves...So come on in and watch me eat it all up!Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-60726988216357384592011-12-18T22:04:00.002-05:002011-12-18T22:05:06.750-05:00<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3290193/i-came-to-eat?claim=xz6d38dw2w9">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-19121847324682762372010-10-17T11:09:00.003-04:002010-10-17T11:21:56.712-04:00Punch<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/TLsUh-gEA-I/AAAAAAAAAfA/OAdRcbb2isY/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-10-17+at+11.20.56+AM.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/TLsUh-gEA-I/AAAAAAAAAfA/OAdRcbb2isY/s400/Screen+shot+2010-10-17+at+11.20.56+AM.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529035541473133538" /></a><br /><br />There's an article in the NYT about the revival of punch in cutting edge bars and cocktail menus. The writer speaks of one bartender/historian's interest in Charles Dickens era punches but I love punch and I'm certainly not old enough to know anything about Charles Dicken's recipe.<br /><br />My parents did a lot of home entertaining when I was younger. My Dad was a Naval officer and parties at home were a given. My mom had a huge crystal punch bowl and beautiful little matching crystal cups with handles In the punch with rum and various fruit juice and ice would float slices of oranges, lemons and limes. It was always beautiful and even as a young girl I was allowed to have a small glass of the party punch. I loved it because it made me feel so adult like to carefully hold one of those crystal containers but the refreshing and sweet elixir from that punch bowl was like nothing else I'd ever tasted or had on a regular basis. Sure I drank a lot of Hawaii Tropican Punch as a kid but this was different. It wasn't as sweet and sticky. It was light and the hint of rum just added enough bitterness to my 9 year old tastebuds.<br /><br />I don't know when punch fell out of vogue but I'm glad to see it making a come back. And if you can find places doing it in beautiful crystal punch bowls with lovely delicate crystal mugs, definitely give it a shot!Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-81242352462496883212010-10-01T12:02:00.005-04:002010-10-01T12:28:52.569-04:00Food are E are no longer...the only loves of my life.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/TKYGcwnV_5I/AAAAAAAAAew/fve1hX8o5fg/s1600/Dex2"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/TKYGcwnV_5I/AAAAAAAAAew/fve1hX8o5fg/s400/Dex2" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523109084172517266" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/TKYGzJlotAI/AAAAAAAAAe4/yQ_w4Mc7m_o/s1600/Diesel.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/TKYGzJlotAI/AAAAAAAAAe4/yQ_w4Mc7m_o/s400/Diesel.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523109468833362946" /></a><br /><br /><br />Two months ago we adopted two adorable schnoodle pups that we named Diesel and Dexter. It all happened when I saw a picture of Diesel online late one night (the second pic) on pet finder from a shelter in South Carolina. I melted. I never had anything other than a fish as a pet as a kid. My allergies were so bad as a child, chances were good I'd never know the soft purr of a housecat but there were a lot of hypo-allergic dogs out there and well I always thought I'd be a dog person as an adult anyway. I also always knew I wanted to adopt a pup from a shelter. There were so many dogs in need of good homes, but would I ever find a puppy in need that was also not going to aggravate my allergies? <br /><br />WELL, not only was the dog in the picture unbelievably adorable, but she was one of those hypo-allergic dogs (with hair instead of fur)!!!!! I felt it was all meant to be. We applied to adopt, crossed our fingers, and I looked at her little pictures on line everyday. When we learned we were approved and Diesel would be a part of our fmaily, we also learned she had another brother. Dexter, we adopted sight unseen but if we could keep part of the family together, I really wanted to do that. I'm so happy we got them both. I didn't care what Dexter looked like, I knew that E and had a good life to offer to any dog so I was happy to open my heart to another lil furry dog as well. <br /><br />I won't lie, the first three weeks were a bit hellish. They were so young 8-10 weeks when they arrived that we had no choice but to get up at 3am and walk them. But now at 4 months, I feel like we've all fallen into a nice routine. Finally they're getting the hang of going outside to use the bathroom and sorta kinda getting the leash thing. I'm hopeful they will outgrow the puppy biting thing as they continue to grow. And grow like weeds they're doing!<br /><br />Not only are they both adorable, loving and sweet towards me and E, but they really like people in general and other dogs. We really won the pet lottery when it comes to pups with personality. You'll often find us walking the streets of Kenmore and Fenway and they've developed a fan base. Sometimes when we're walking, people we don't even know will come up and say hello to them by name. <br /><br />Our favorite food place is definitely Berryline. Not only do they allow us all in the place when I want a sweet treat, but they very cheerfully give me two sample size berryline yogurts for Diesel and Dexter to enjoy as well. SO nice! As a result, the Fenway area Berryline is kinda like our "Peach Pit". But even before the pups, I often would go in for some tangy frozen froyo. If you haven't checked it out, you really should. Go. Besides you might run into me and the furry kids getting our Berryline fix.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-91072616820704573812010-08-09T14:31:00.004-04:002010-08-09T15:08:53.219-04:00Grotto<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/TGBJhZ3Tu9I/AAAAAAAAAeg/HDFkN78Q2kk/s1600/Picture+2.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 313px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/TGBJhZ3Tu9I/AAAAAAAAAeg/HDFkN78Q2kk/s400/Picture+2.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503479582874123218" /></a><br /><br /><br />With my new "diet" restrictions (somewhat Paleo with frequent dairy stops), dining out hasn't held the same appeal for me it once had. Menus are a little tricky to navigate, and my weakness for empty carbs in the form of bread and pasta have been well documented. So if I'm gonna blow a night on food, it better be damn good. That said, Grotto did not disappoint on the food end of the bargain. But that's really only half the story. Perhaps it's best to start at the beginning.<br /><br />E saw that Grotto had a lobster pasta special but upon closer inspection of the menu on-line, we realized it was part of the regular menu line up. The menu looked fantastic though with plenty of offerings for both of us. So E made a reservation a week in advance and we both put some effort into our attire that day. For me, it meant actually combing my hair and for E it meant looking like her usual cute self. <br /><br />We arrived to the small basement space and had a very awkward first encounter. Neither of us was certain if she was a hostess, manager, server. But the first person who greeted us wasn't anything other than harried. She waved her hand to two tables off to the side of the door and in the middle of the dining room and told us to take either of these two places. And she went off, not to be seen again. Um, ok. E was not pleased. She had called and made this reservation a week prior and wasn't happy 1.) that the tables were in a really akward place in the dining room 2.) we were kinda waved off. We stood there for a bit, pondering if a change of tables would be possible. We were told by a waitress (we think she was a server) that those open tables in more optimal locations were already reserved for larger parties. So we sat. And a choice had to be made. Either I could move the table back so E wouldn't get constantly bumped by the people at the table behind her or we could leave it were it was and I wouldn't get bumped constantly by the people who worked in the restaurant trying to serve the table behind me. We made the choice to move the table towards me which resulted in me being bumped on the back of my seat thru-out my meal. It wasn't really a big deal for me (which is why I made the choice to kinda take one for the "team") but I did reflect with E on the fact that I'm not a big person. I'm 5'2 (ish) and weigh 120-125 (ish) so if I was any bigger, this table and seating arrangement would have not really worked well.<br /><br />Regardless, I was ready for a nice meal and looking forward to having some tasty empty carbs! One of the things about the menu was that it was kinda heavy for the summer. Fondue, cheese garlic soup all of these things were listed as appetizers. And a lot of rich sounding pastas and heavy meats for mains. For our appetizer I ordered the garlic, parm and truffle soup and E ordered the only summer sounding item on the menu, the mozzarella, tomato and arugula salad. Only thing was that it ended up not being all that summery afterall. The server let us know before the dish came so we were aware but I was really surprised at how the dish was described compared to what truly arrived. It was basically a grilled cheese sandwich with some nice sundried tomatoes and dressed greens. It was a nice dish but again fairly heavy. The soup was lovely. Rich and creamy. I wish that it had a bit more truffle going on but eh, it was still pretty darn good. E also ordered a fairly reasonable wine. She said it was usually over $100 but at Grotto it was only around $60. Seemed like a good deal to me but I don't really drink so I had a few sips but as to how good it was, well, that's really lost on me.<br /><br />For our mains we ordered the braised short ribs with gorgonzola and gnocchi (me) and spaghetti bolognese (E). Again, heavy dishes but really nicely executed. The pastas were both clearly homemade. The gnocchi was feather light and the pasta for the bolognese was cooked perfectly al dente. I loved both dishes. But by then E and I were stuffed from our appetizers. So we only had a few bites before dessert.<br /><br />And of course we got dessert! Well, I should say I had dessert. I ordered the banana bread pudding and E ordered the molten chocolate cake for me to eat, of course. The desserts were very good. Not especially note worthy but good and a nice ending to a really lovely meal.<br /><br />We still had an entire bottle of wine at the end of the meal and were relaxing and talking a bit after our dishes were cleared but I clearly got the sense that the staff was a little stressed and were really wanting us to go already. I can understand that in such a small place it's hard to maneuver around the tables or turn tables when there aren't that many but making us feel rushed after I was bumped into constantly wasn't cool. Even if someone had just said to us, here is your check, please take your time and poured us more wine, I would have thought, "well how very gracious". It wasn't the case. <br /><br />So overall, I enjoyed the food quite a bit and found it to be an excellent value but the space lacked "romance" for me and the service seemed a little all over the place. I would absolutely go back to Grotto but next time, I think we'll specify that we want a corner table.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-16524342282147949042010-06-23T13:06:00.004-04:002010-06-23T13:40:40.119-04:00Dry Cupcakes, Crossfit, a Brief Brush with Lipo 6, and Discovering Quinoa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/TCJBGWrZSoI/AAAAAAAAAeU/KwyyiPawr9Y/s1600/Picture+2.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 233px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/TCJBGWrZSoI/AAAAAAAAAeU/KwyyiPawr9Y/s400/Picture+2.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486018873513298562" /></a><br /><br />What's with the odd comments in Chinese that I get on this blog? Anyone else getting this too? Since they're all in a language that I can't read, I assume they're either spam or porn related and delete them. If you happen to be leaving legit comments to me in Chinese and haven't seen your comment pop up, I apologize. <br /><br />I've been around. I haven't had any culinary revelations to speak of so I've been keeping my trap shut. Lately Boston has been disappointing me in the dining out arena. This happens to me every so often. But lately it seems to be an epidemic. I recently tried Rocca and Zocalo and both really sucked ass. Like sucked so hard. A meal at Sorelina was really damn good, but my main dish (pork chop) was a bit on the dry side and not worth the cost. Sorelina is pretty as hell. I wish I had just stuck to appetizers and pasta. That seems to be where they shine. Anyway, nothing really blowing up my skirt these days in the world of food.<br /><br />Speaking of not blowing up my skirt, I've come to a general conclusion about cupcake culture in Boston. The cake part is ALWAYS dry. I've been to the Buttery, Sweet, Lindells, and had a Kickass Cupcake and so I feel fairly comfortable making this statement. I don't ever doubt the tastiness or the quality or care put into the products and sometimes I find myself craving a cupcake so I'll indulge but the cake is always a tad dry to me. Maybe the assumption is that you have a glass of milk (or a glass of wine) with the cupcake? I dunno. I've tried the cupcakes at all the major suppliers of this trend in Boston and found the cake part is always dry. Now before you go getting your panties in a bunch and telling me that it has to be me. When we went to Austin we found a cupcake place (well Airstream Trailer really) called Hey Cupcake and those cupcakes were not dry. Even after they had sat all afternoon waiting for us to sample them. Nope, not dry. I'm telling you people, dry cupcakes is so totally a Boston thing. Anyone had thoughts on this? Please don't beat me. Okay... Moving on.<br /><br />As some of you know I've been doing Crossfit for a little while now. And while I suspect I'm getting stronger, I haven't lost any weight. The other day I was in class with a couple of guys and they were joking that they just walk in and lose weight. Nope, not me. And I've got about 10-15 lbs I could stand to lose. So in a fit of desperation and after being advised by a very gay South End man on the benefits of it, I decided to try Lipo 6. I did it for about 3 weeks and stopped. I did notice I lost weight but for me it came at a price. For one thing I couldn't have coffee. And I'm in love with my nespresso maker. Seriously, I might very well die without the sucker. So that was a true bummer. I also noticed feeling a little depressed while I was on the stuff and lastly, my lymph nodes in my neck began to swell and become painful. I'm not 100% certain that the last thing is a symptom of Lipo6 but I do know that I stopped taking them and my neck began feeling lots better. Granted I'd love to lose some poundage b/c I've been putting in the Crossfit time but it wasn't worth it for me. I realized something during those 3 weeks; I'm unwilling to damage my overall mental and physical health to be thin. "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels" is a freaking lie!!!!!<br /><br />And lastly, I'm back to trying to be fairly carful with my eating habits but not overly restrictive. I've discovered the joys of quinoa. Seriously this stuff is damn tasty and good for you too. Lately I've taken to making a big bowl of it and mixing it with feta cheese, mint, tomatoes, pine nuts, raisin (prums work too), parsley, avocado, white miso paste, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Infact this is what I'm about to dig into for lunch right now. I like quinoa and since I am debating going on a Paleo diet for a bit, I hope I can continue to eat it. Seems to be some mixed opinions on whether quinoa is Paleo allowed. It is a seed and not a grain so I think it makes the cut. The feta in my salad probably would not. Lucky for me the steak I'm gonna have for dinner is definitely Paleo approved. Perhaps I'll give it a shot.<br /><br />XOXOLeahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-75611118406053880112010-04-05T22:06:00.004-04:002010-04-05T22:20:30.249-04:00There Aren't Enough Cuss Words to Describe How I Feel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S7qXlPWSsrI/AAAAAAAAAeM/dYvEYKvy9kA/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-04-05+at+10.05.03+PM.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 391px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S7qXlPWSsrI/AAAAAAAAAeM/dYvEYKvy9kA/s400/Screen+shot+2010-04-05+at+10.05.03+PM.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456840564543763122" /></a><br />...about Ben and Jerry's selling out and doing an exclusive flavor with Walmart for Walmart Super Centers. Super Center!?!? Seriously the only time I've ever seen Supercenters are in rural or semi rural locations where they've blown away all the local mom and pop grocery/hardware/knickknack stores. Secondly, it's Walmart. WALMART?!? Yes, the Walmart that has a record of treating its own employees like crap giving them such small salaries that they can only afford to shop at Walmart. The same Walmart that refuses to give its employee healthcare or allow them to unionize and the very same Walmart that takes down small businesses at any cost/price. Yeah THAT Walmart.<br /><br />Sigh. I'm so disappointed with B&J right about now. Not only do I dislike Walmart immensely but even if I didn't feel as strongly as I did about them, there are no Supercenters near me so I can't even try this new flavor and well that as a life long Ben and Jerry's lover that really sucks. It sucks hard.<br /><br />So thanks for a whole lot of nothing Ben and Jerry's. Way to keep a loyal fan(s) happy.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-71649043736965906142010-03-25T22:41:00.004-04:002010-03-25T23:10:14.870-04:00Finn Jr.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S6wg8COuuEI/AAAAAAAAAd8/JKrNDNKHS3E/s1600/IMG_0409.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S6wg8COuuEI/AAAAAAAAAd8/JKrNDNKHS3E/s400/IMG_0409.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452769464601720898" /></a><br />I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our household. My sourdough starter that I named Finn Jr.<br /><br />I got the idea for making a sour dough starter from a Twitter pal named "Finn". He started tweeting about his sourdough starter dying and having to start a new one. I got curious and asked him if a very infrequent non-baker such as myself could create a sour dough starter and only use it once and a while? He said yes. Finn claimed that sour dough starter took little to no time to take care of and was worth it. <br /><br />I did a little bit of online research and found this recipe: <a href="http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm">Beginner Sour Dough Bread</a> It was not only simple but also very comprehensive in the steps. Other recipes I found online seemed a little bit vague or called for yeast (I didn't have any) or even potato starch. King Aurthur (my flour of choice btw) goes as far as to sell a sour dough starter kit online. I think it was only $35 or something but still it seemed a little bit lame and cheaty.<br /><br />I also chose this recipe because I loved the idea of using the "wild yeast" in the air and all around us to create my sour dough. It seemed like a super neat science experiment and as a kid who excelled at science fairs (I went to regional in 9th and 10th grade) that seemed really neat to me.<br /><br />And so I began. I used the instructions I found online as my chief guide but after three days I was a little skeptical that the sour dough had fermented enough or produced enough yeast. My Twitter friend Finn said that he had been feeding his starter ("Veruca") for 12 days and it was now time. So I asked him if he thought my starter was ready? He confirmed what I thought and said no. So I've been letting "Finn Jr". grow and grow. Last night he became a rebellious teenager and we woke up to him trying to escape the safety of his jar to explore the world (thus the picture above this posting).<br /><br />He seems to be doing just fine. Lots of bubbles and activity for sure! See:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S6wkFp6UBWI/AAAAAAAAAeE/knThQ_2dQek/s1600/IMG_0404.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S6wkFp6UBWI/AAAAAAAAAeE/knThQ_2dQek/s400/IMG_0404.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452772928407209314" /></a><br /><br />Speaking of which, I need to go feed him again now. I'm going to make my sponge with him on Sunday and if all goes well, I will be able to share my first loaf of sour dough bread from Finn Jr. on Monday with some friends we're having over for dinner. I'm actually going to be sad when it becomes time for me to put Finn Jr. into the fridge and I don't have to feed him everyday but like all children, he will need to move out of the nest and learn to fend mainly on his own.<br /><br />But I certainly am one proud mamma for now!Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-69102086853033173822010-03-22T00:40:00.005-04:002010-03-22T00:44:27.997-04:00CSA UpdateThis year E and I opted to not do a CSA. I enjoyed it in the beginning but our CSA quickly started going downhill. They never put together our orders and every time I'd have to take a solid 30 mins to pick out what I wanted. Where's the fun in that? And I didn't feel like our CSA had the widest or best selection. I wanted to like them, I really did. And well I tried.<br /><br />But don't worry, I'll still be hitting the farmer's market hard this summer :)Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-4342917791708802312010-03-21T23:56:00.008-04:002010-03-22T00:38:53.427-04:00TidbitsMarch is one of my favorite months. To me, it's always been the beginning of spring. Here in Boston, it still feels like winter (except for the past few days but it was a bit of a fluke, a lovely fluke but a fluke nonetheless) but I don't care. March = Spring in my book.<br /><br />Also, March is my birthday month. Let me be clear about exactly what day my birthday falls on, Saint Patrick's Day!<br /><br />When my family adopted me, my mother and her side of the family were all filled with glee. Why? Well they're hardcore Irish Americans and any child born on Saint Patrick's Day was meant to be theirs. <br /><br />I grew up with the luck of the Irish always on my side! Or least always with birthday cakes with green frosting and every Saint Patrick's Day birthday card ever produced given to me at least twice. <br /><br />This March I was extra lucky and gifted with a new Nespresso maker from my very thoughtful parents. This is the model they got me: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S6btw5XYzZI/AAAAAAAAAds/2l-yYQ5TuUE/s1600-h/41ROiKHXvXL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S6btw5XYzZI/AAAAAAAAAds/2l-yYQ5TuUE/s400/41ROiKHXvXL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451305823266983314" /></a><br /><br />Granted it's not the fanciest of all the models but since it's mainly me using it, I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. Oh man, I love this machine so damn much. The espresso is fantastic. We're talking crema on top and amazing flavor. And the milk frother is straight out of the Jetson's. It froths and warms my soy milk in what feels like seconds. And the container never gets hot. If you like espresso based drinks, I recommend giving Nespresso machines a shot. There is a Nespresso store here in Boston and it's really a relaxing and being zen lil spot. I went there to get new coffee capsules and was treated to an espresso while I shopped. It was lovely. The entire experience of owning this machine and visiting the store has been awesome thus far. I'm fairly certain that my new espresso machine and I will have a long and happy relationship!<br /><br />This year for my birthday dinner with my friend Walter (who also has a birthday on the same day as me), we opted to go to Lineage. It's a place I've been to before and never been disappointed with the service or the quality of the food. It was a nice meal with two of my favorite people, E came along this year. Since this year our birthdays fell during restaurant week, we opted to order off the RW menu. We had a steak with a salsa verde that had me absolutely come close to licking the plate clean. I also enjoyed the parsnip soap that I ordered as my starter. But it was almost too rich and buttery for me. Luckily Walter and E were there to help me finish it off. The 4 desserts we tried were good but fairly unmemorable. Overall a lovely birthday dinner!<br /><br />And lastly, E and my friend Ed had arranged to have a pizza party at Picco for me. As is well documented here in this blog, I love pizza and I love Picco. Plus they got me a birthday cake from Eldo cake house in Chinatown. I really do have great friends. Thanks you guys! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S6bzApi4wVI/AAAAAAAAAd0/XDL4dahXA8o/s1600-h/P1140242.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S6bzApi4wVI/AAAAAAAAAd0/XDL4dahXA8o/s400/P1140242.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451311591456293202" /></a><br /><br />A great time was had by all!!!Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-6344338984981566732010-01-21T10:28:00.001-05:002010-01-21T10:29:54.940-05:00Bye Texas!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S1hyy7Zb1lI/AAAAAAAAAdk/DvLulrhShY8/s1600-h/21979_252405557098_509967098_3441215_4816270_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S1hyy7Zb1lI/AAAAAAAAAdk/DvLulrhShY8/s400/21979_252405557098_509967098_3441215_4816270_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429215570058532434" /></a><br /><br /><br />I already miss you. Thanks for the food memories!Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-9079380386522536352010-01-18T22:01:00.006-05:002010-01-18T23:01:55.683-05:00Dallas Parent's Style<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S1Ukqv0ctRI/AAAAAAAAAdc/RjuMEFOSZSs/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2010-01-18+at+10.18.39+PM.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 257px; height: 380px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S1Ukqv0ctRI/AAAAAAAAAdc/RjuMEFOSZSs/s400/Screen+shot+2010-01-18+at+10.18.39+PM.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428285242674558226" /></a><br />My parents made the move to Dallas when I graduated from college. So even though I sometimes go to Dallas to see them, it's far from my "hometown". Infact, I'm so unfamiliar with the city that sometimes I'm shy to tell people where my folks live, because they always say "which part of Dallas?" and honestly, I haven't the foggiest idea. I do know that GWB and Laura Bush are neighbors (ick) and that my Mom and Dad are very happy in Dallas. And honestly the latter is all that matters to me. They've really embraced this town and culture. Infact, as I'm sitting here typing this the family is sitting around watching a Johnny Cash Live in Concert DVD. No lie.<br /><br />I enjoy visiting my parents very much. It's something that I don't get to do very often. It's a visit that always includes good food and a long soak in my mom's amazing jacuzzi tube.<br /><br />As I've mentioned in previous posts, my Mom was a very good home-taught cook. Even with my entire family coming in for a visit, she made some awesomely tasty meals with a white chicken chili the first night including a cold bok choy salad (I need the salad recipe!), holiday cookies and chicken on the grill the second night. The third night my parents' hosted a small cocktail party complete with my Mom's sweet and sour meatballs (yum) and shrimp cocktail, which is my fave. It was a good time with a hired guitarist singing some tunes for the guests' enjoyment. It was a lot of fun.<br /><br />Our last night in the big D, my parents wanted to take us to Fort Worth so my nephews, both 5, could see the Longhorn sauntered down the street and then take us all to the restaurant Reata.<br /><br />The restaurant is a favorite of their's for the food and decor. Inside it pays homage to the movie Giant. A fantastic movie that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys epic old movies. It has Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean in it...Seriously, that should be enough said.<br /><br />My parents reserved a large glass room for the fam to sit in. The room happened to be in the center of the ground floor dining room (my Dad later told me that there were actually 5 floors to this restaurant) so we were able to look out at the decor which included movie pictures, a wax statue of James Dean, plenty of horse saddles and various other cowboy and other Giant memorabilia.<br /><br />I ordered the chicken fried steak with black pepper white gravy. One of my favorite meals that I can't often get in Boston for sure. I also got a field salad as a starter but it wasn't really worth mentioning. However, the chicken fried steak came and it was immensely. It came served with mashed potatoes and crisp garlic green beans. It was delicious! I felt a little guilty about going to a "fancy" restaurant and getting something that isn't fancy at all. But it was really quite good. The crust was good and crisp and the gravy was flavorful and rich. The greens were fantastic and not to be a disregarded side. The potatoes I also liked however they were not as amazing as the rest of the meal. Plus they had been flavored with blue cheese as was the mac and cheese (a side that was ordered for the entire table to share). And even though I'm a huge fan of blue, I know that it's strong flavor doesn't agree with E at all. So it seemed odd that the menu gave no mention of blue cheese in either the mac and cheese or the potatoes. Oh the mac and cheese! First of all it had blue cheese (yum!) and there were shards of bacon strewn in it as well (double yum!).<br /><br />Overall, I was very pleased with my meal choice but sadly too stuffed to even consider dessert but if I had been interested in dessert, I would have asked for the Texas pecan pie. I had a feeling that it would be have been amazing and possibly had chocolate involved somehow.<br /><br />A very nice end to our week long stay in Texas. Sadly, we head home back to Boston tomorrow and while it will be nice to get back to our home, etc. I will miss seeing my family and being able to spend time with them. Oh yeah and the close to 70* weather isn't bad either ;)Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-74689283050717449562010-01-14T22:46:00.005-05:002010-01-15T00:05:22.482-05:00Austin!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S0_lU5GdMaI/AAAAAAAAAc8/oYW1jXYNo5Y/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2010-01-14+at+10.22.04+PM.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S0_lU5GdMaI/AAAAAAAAAc8/oYW1jXYNo5Y/s400/Screen+shot+2010-01-14+at+10.22.04+PM.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426808223092781474" /></a><br /><br /><br />I took a week off from the chill of Boston and headed west to see my folks in Dallas. E and I decided to take a couple of days and visit Austin. I'm in Austin right now. I'm loving this lil town. And culinary wise, it's been really good to us.<br /><br />We arrived at the Austin Motel last night. A place I highly recommend for people looking for a bare bones, reasonably priced lodge. It's in a really great location with plenty of fun shops and good eats all around (more on that in a bit). The service is friendly and warm and since they were the first people in Austin to truly greet us, my initial impression was a good one.<br /><br />We were excited to finally arrive and wanted to experience some good BBQ. In Boston, we have a couple of decent BBQ joints but nothing that is really crave worth in my book.<br /><br />So after doing some Chowhound research (Yelp reviews are completely not useful. The level of snark and meanness just makes me think all places sux inclu. my own lil amazing shop, but I digress..) we found two places that sound promising: Mann's and Rudy's. So off we went. Unfortunately we arrived at Mann's only to find that they had closed. They close at 8pm. Eeek too early for us. Oh well so off we set to Rudy's.<br /><br />Rudy's is a little overwhelming at first glance. It's set up almost cafeteria style but with three stations where you order your meat choices. When it was our turn: we already decided on ribs and brisket, we were helped by a young man by the name of Brad.<br /><br />Let me just say service means everything to me and Brad was great. He was really into making sure we made the right meat choices. And started us out by giving us samples of everything including the sides. He patiently told us what each thing was and asked what we thought. He was a knowledgeable and really personable guide. We decided on the moist brisket, St Louis Ribs (based on Brad's rec), creamed corn, coleslaw and pinto beans. Unfortunately the St Louis ribs were sold out and so we went with the baby back ribs. After filling out our massive order of food, Brad topped it off with what had to be half a loaf of white bread.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S0_q1l748eI/AAAAAAAAAdE/I07SyByaIc8/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2010-01-14+at+11.10.40+PM.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S0_q1l748eI/AAAAAAAAAdE/I07SyByaIc8/s400/Screen+shot+2010-01-14+at+11.10.40+PM.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426814282442011106" /></a> <br /><br />We got all this food plus a soda for myself and beer for E for less than $30! Quite the bargain. And how did it taste? AWESOME! Ok so the babyback ribs were not a fave for either of us but they were absolutely smoked properly with a wide pink smoke ring and a good amount of char on the outside. But the most amazing part of the meal was the moist brisket. The white bread came in handy as I made myself a lil sandwich with the brisket, a little BBQ sauce, coleslaw and pickles. Oh man, I really had died and gone to meat heaven. The brisket was so delicious. It was melt in the mouth tender but with burnt bits that provided a bit of good texture change. <br /><br />I decided that I wanted to marry the moist brisket.... Yeah, I liked it that much.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S0_swixxOmI/AAAAAAAAAdM/QVtOz3CBLq4/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2010-01-14+at+11.18.49+PM.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 357px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S0_swixxOmI/AAAAAAAAAdM/QVtOz3CBLq4/s400/Screen+shot+2010-01-14+at+11.18.49+PM.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426816394718165602" /></a><br /><br />A great evening overall.<br /><br />Today we woke up and went to check out but before we did so, we thought to ask the motel staff for a breakfast place recommendation. They said the placed next door had great food that included grits. Say no more! E wanted grits. Sadly, I don't remember the name of the place but it's right next to the Austin Motel and is very cute with a modern 50's motif.<br /><br />The service was friendly and helpful especially since plain grits were not something on the menu. They typically put goat cheese and herbs into the grits and well E wasn't down for that. The server said that she didn't see them having a problem making them plain for her and so we ordered. Simple eggs, bacon, toast and grits for E and shrimp and grits plus a side of bacon for me. We also shared a fruit bowl (pineapple, grapes, cantaloupe) that was nice too.<br /><br />Behold!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S0_uo3gV7sI/AAAAAAAAAdU/RMD31CqI3Cw/s1600-h/22678_273947462447_597372447_4387822_3044943_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/S0_uo3gV7sI/AAAAAAAAAdU/RMD31CqI3Cw/s400/22678_273947462447_597372447_4387822_3044943_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426818461866520258" /></a><br /> <br /><br />Everything was super delicious and there was a ton of it too. That seems to be a overarching theme to food in Austin and dare I say Texas? Food servings are very large...Not something I'm complaining about!<br /><br />E and I spent a really nice day wandering around and getting a feel for the city. For snacks we got cupcakes at "Hey Cupcake". This place is nothing more than an air stream trailer. Actually, we saw that there were plenty of food trucks and rv's. It was kinda rad to see so many food carts. In Boston we hardly have any. The cupcakes were $2.50 (Boston people who complain about the price of cupcakes take note, it is a fairly standard price). E opted for a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting and I got a red velvet one. Both were really fantastic. Moist with plenty of tasty frosting. Another plus for me? The chocolate one didn't have a butterceam frosting but a really nice sugar and milk frosting. I tend to not enjoy buttercream so I was really into this. Also the red velvet one had an exceptionally well done cream cheese frosting. Later, we also split a slice of pizza from a place called Home Slice. It came recommended to us by a local who told us that they annually take a trip to NYC to study the pizza scene. Neat. We got a slice of the Marguerite to try. It was very good. The crust was nicely executed. Crisp and chewy where it needed to be. Good air bubbles in the crust but not enough char because the crust was a bit blonde and could have been cooked a bit longer. The toppings were good and we were pretty happy with the rec. <br /><br />We were suppose to head back to Dallas tonight but we opted to try and stay for one more night. Asking the good folks at the Austin Motel to hook us up with a room. We made a bit more and got upgraded to the "Mediterranean" suite. It's a bigger room with one side of the room wallpapered in a cliched Mediterranean scene. It's a little campy and fun.<br /><br />For dinner tonight we decided to do Tex Mex and again used Chowhound as a resource. E said that Jorge's looked good. She was able to make a reservation on Open Table so this time, we knew it was open ;)<br /><br />When we arrived, E told the hostess that we had a reservation on Open Table and she kinda shrugged saying that sometimes it didn't work for them. Seemed odd but she looked anyway and sure enough there was our reservation. The hostess lead us to a table but quickly accessed that we'd be sitting next to a huge table of crazy acting children and their passive parents. So she led us away to a corner table that was perfect. We were given menus and looked over while we munched on very good chips and salsa.<br /><br />We did sit for quite a bit of time and noticed that not only did we not have any silverware but we also didn't seem to have a server. Drink orders were not taken, nothing for literally 10 minutes. E finally got up and spoke to the manager who very quickly took care of the problem. But honestly we were upset about it at all. We just wanted to order.<br /><br />E got a sampler entree and I got the chicken enchiladas. Again the portions were huge. And again the food was massively tasty. I didn't really love the taco that was part of E's dinner because the shell had been fried and the grease from the beef filling had made the taco a bit soggy. I tend to enjoy steamed corn tortillas for my tacos so it's more of a personal preference than anything else. But I really enjoyed my chicken enchiladas. I got them in a red sauce that was very flavorful as were the refried beans and rice that came with our dishes. We were both very satisfied. As witnessed here<br /><br />We got our check and saw that they had given us a 50% off discount for the wait we had. It was a very pleasant surprise and one that we weren't expecting. <br /><br />Overall, Austin has really embraced us and we're kinda enthralled. Infact so much so that we've been contemplating if a move might be possible for us. Let's just see what happens.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-28760922017455808782009-12-21T23:32:00.001-05:002009-12-21T23:33:41.365-05:00Here!I swear I'm still here and I promise to blog more about food and less about my woes around my tummy/food in the new year.<br /><br />XOXOLeahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-80333372245732996862009-11-29T00:26:00.002-05:002009-11-29T00:40:45.811-05:00Sigh.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SxIGGnT3v7I/AAAAAAAAAc0/m4OZAySWpA4/s1600/pepto.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 288px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SxIGGnT3v7I/AAAAAAAAAc0/m4OZAySWpA4/s400/pepto.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409392813126696882" /></a><br /><br /><br />Thanksgiving dinner went well. It was a gluttony fest and I was happy to share it with E yet another year. The sticky rice stuffing I adored but E felt it was too sweet. Maybe I overdid the quantity of Chinese sausage or the soy. I'll continue to have to work to tweak the recipe. But now we own a huge bag of sticky rice so maybe I'll work on my rice pudding recipes next? I have a lovely one that calls for coconut milk, dried sour cherries and mangoes that I haven't made in a while.<br /><br />The community servings pies were kinda well, average. I was a little disappointed in a couple of things:<br /><br />1.) the crusts were clearly supermarket made. Blah to that!<br /><br />2.) the apple pie sported a crumble topping that was not very crumbling. It was actually quite soggy by the time it got to us (10am in the morning on Wednesday) and had a cornstarch thickened apple filling (ala McDonald's).<br /><br />I was really hoping for more. Luckily it's hard to really f up a pecan pie so I was pleased with that.<br /><br />All in all it was a very nice Thursday off with the one I love the most.<br /><br />So the reason for the pepto? I'm not really sure to be honest but I came home last night, ate some Trader Joe's Flaxseed Chips and then thought I was gonna die from stomach pains. It was pretty bad and pretty instantaneous and lasted almost all night.<br /><br />And tonight as I was eating our turkey day leftovers I felt like everything tasted gammy and just weird. Lately my stomach and my taste buds haven't been really happy and I'm not sure what's going on. I usually have a stomach of steel and I'll happily eat just about anything. I will say that my employee's mom made me a lovely sandwich for lunch and I ate that no problem.<br /><br />Sigh. I'm trying to figure out what's going on with me, food and my body these days but sometimes it feels like I'm not making much progress. E and I will be doing a juice detox later this week so hopefully that will help to reset some stuff for me.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-45117919472493799882009-11-23T20:18:00.003-05:002009-11-23T20:23:41.754-05:00Our Thanksgiving Day Dinner...E and I didn't really feel like doing turkey this year so here is our T-day dinner menu:<br /><br />Fried Chicken Legs<br />Sticky Rice Stuffing<br />Baby Bok Choy<br /><br />Community Servings Pie (Pecan for me and Apple for E)<br /><br />I'm really excited about this meal!! <br /><br />I hope all of you have a really wonderful Turkey day with those you love.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-89047110476055348312009-11-23T19:52:00.003-05:002009-11-23T20:17:55.956-05:00Childhood is Calling?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/Swsuj6lWtwI/AAAAAAAAAcs/Tfv3OQDreBw/s1600/K_group-scp.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/Swsuj6lWtwI/AAAAAAAAAcs/Tfv3OQDreBw/s400/K_group-scp.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407466972144645890" /></a><br /><br /><br />My mom did make rice krispy treats when I was young. They were simple and seemed marginally more nutritious with the addition of rice cereal. When I went to college, our Dorm Mother (we actually had those...an adult woman who often had a family with them living in the dorm to look after us kinda like Edna Garrett on "The Facts of Life") made them for TV night but she used an entire stick of butter for one batch. They were overly rich in a way that was both addictive and kinda sickening. And when I became an adult, well rice krispies became prepackaged as a snack I'd eat during my office job. They even came in peanut butter and chocolate dipped. Certainly these were not the rice krispy treats of my past. I didn't really think much about rice krispy treats at all...<br /><br />Until those commercials with the mom and kids. Oh you know the ones. They're set in black and white with the cute kid all in awe over rice krispies. Damn you marketing! So when I was in the grocery store with E today, I told her I wanted to make rice krispy treats. E proceeded to tell me that she had never had a homemade rice krispy treat to which I was both shocked and amazed. I thought everyone had had homemade rice krispy treats. Sure the packaged ones were good but nothing like the ones you made at home. <br /><br />So happily I made E and me some rice krispy treats but these I decided to change a little bit. I browned the butter before melting and folding into the marshmallows and mixing in the cereal. I didn't notice a difference in the taste profile at first but asked E what she thought. She liked them a lot and said she noticed the nuttiness of taste that the brown butter brought. I decided that clearly I needed to try another taste and so tried it again. And you know what? Browning the butter is a good move. I don't think you need to add extra butter to the recipe ala adding the freshmen 15 move that my Dorm Mother did, but I do think the added step of letting the butter heat until it gets brown is a nice one. A subtle but grown up taste to something I remember from long past.<br /><br />I was glad to share it with E but with a new touch that is all our own.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-51382293786368920152009-10-30T22:29:00.002-04:002009-10-30T22:34:34.595-04:00A Spare Tire!After a year of carrying about 10-15 lbs more than I want, I still haven't made much progress on losing it. I have to admit that there hasn't been a lot of sacrifice on my part in regards to my eating and maybe limiting my intake of tasty things.<br /><br />However, I refuse to give up on losing the poundage! I'm going to try and be a bit more mindful of what I shove into my pie trap for the next month and step on the exercise and see where it all leads me.<br /><br />Hopefully I'll find my way!<br /><br />XOXOLeahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-2391895004638364132009-09-30T18:25:00.009-04:002009-10-01T22:53:59.917-04:00I Suck<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SsVqvModvLI/AAAAAAAAAcc/pPTYcvLCtrY/s1600-h/IMG_0251.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SsVqvModvLI/AAAAAAAAAcc/pPTYcvLCtrY/s400/IMG_0251.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387829888296008882" /></a><br />It's been way too long since I last posted. I even had a fairly good food trip to NYC that I never got around to posting about. The store has been sucking my mine. Oh sure, I always blame it on the shop but seriously, small business owners definitely know what I'm talking about when I talk about my lack of time and energy. <br /><br />So what has gotten me out of my non-posting slump? A change of seasons perhaps. Fall is certainly upon us in New England. Luckily our CSA share doesn't end until the end of October so we've gotten to see what the change in seasons brings. <br /><br />Tonight we're having a couple of friends over. One is an old friend I've known forever and another is a fairly new friend I'm introducing to E. Infact the old friend asked what time for dinner, I said 8 and she said she'd be here around 6:30. That's how we roll. <br /><br />So when I went to the CSA on Monday, I knew I wanted some stuff that we could cook or share with friends. I was happy to see heads of lettuce and some last of the summer cherry tomatoes. I grabbed a couple of green peppers so I could make a salad and Beth's favorite salad dressing to go with it. I also was thinking of making an apple tarte tatin. In my family, the only apples we cooked with were Granny Smiths. We're a family that really enjoys tart with our sweet. So alas no GS were to be found but they did have plums. I found this kinda cool because I always only thought of plums as an early summer or late spring fruit. I didn't know they were still even really in season. So I grabbed a container of plums and decided that I wanted to try and make Evan Kleiman's plum sour cream pie. The recipe is <a href="http://goodfoodonkcrw.vox.com/library/post/pie-a-day-53-sour-cream-plum-pie-with-streusel.html?_c=feed-rss">here</a>.<br /><br />I also really wanted to try and make an apple tarte tatin. My friend Caroline makes one every fall and she uses puff pastry dough. So I went ahead and looked for a recipe on epicurious and found this <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tarte-Tatin-104777">one</a>.<br /><br />So I was going to attempt two new recipes. I wasn't 100% that either would work out well. Infact, I was a bit concerned that the desserts would be a big fail but I hadn't been baking in so long that I wanted to try something new.<br /><br />I started by cutting up the plums. Look how pretty!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SsVlvGe0jII/AAAAAAAAAcE/MgMJV3-_Zk8/s1600-h/IMG_0250.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SsVlvGe0jII/AAAAAAAAAcE/MgMJV3-_Zk8/s400/IMG_0250.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387824389086809218" /></a><br /> <br /><br />It seemed like a lot of plums and Evan didn't really say now many. So I decided to make two pies. I ended up doubling the sour cream mixture. Unfortunately, as I was pouring the plums and sour cream into the pie crusts I started to realize that maybe there was too much sour cream stuff and should have just stayed with one pie. My hunch was confirmed because the pies took close to 2 hrs to cook. Eeek. They looked cute coming out of the oven though:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SsVnCk-8qDI/AAAAAAAAAcM/ulkr9SMe_Z8/s1600-h/IMG_0252.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SsVnCk-8qDI/AAAAAAAAAcM/ulkr9SMe_Z8/s400/IMG_0252.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387825823203764274" /></a><br /><br />Look! Pie crust cozies, teehee. Anyway, I let the pies cool and snuck a piece. The filling wasn't right at all. It was lumpy and not sweet enough. I was kinda bummed but hoped that the ice cream a guest was bringing would help disguise the issue.<br /><br />I moved into the apple tartin.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SsVntFdyF_I/AAAAAAAAAcU/5h5MpIgXkIE/s1600-h/IMG_0253.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SsVntFdyF_I/AAAAAAAAAcU/5h5MpIgXkIE/s400/IMG_0253.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387826553477535730" /></a><br /><br />I followed the recipe down to the letter and when it came time to flip, the middle of my apple tartin was completely burned. I was so sad. I even used less time than what the recipe asked for just because I knew our oven ran hot (damn electric!)<br /><br />Sigh. Well luckily, Jenny did bring ice cream that that helped. It also helped that E made an amazing pasta dinner. But E making an amazing dinner is to be expected. <br /><br />Since it's fairly early in the fall season, I think I will be attempting the apple tartin again. Watch out apple tartin, I'm gonna make you my bitch for sure! ;)Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-42168619498774508612009-08-17T02:35:00.001-04:002009-08-17T02:36:42.019-04:00Marliave Restaurant Week<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/Soj2vmu7wnI/AAAAAAAAAb8/9XYQIGhkpXM/s1600-h/Picture+4.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 280px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/Soj2vmu7wnI/AAAAAAAAAb8/9XYQIGhkpXM/s400/Picture+4.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370813853351002738" /></a><br />Imagine yourself coming home after work on a Friday night. You plop down on the couch next to your partner in crime. "What do you want to do for dinner?" "I dunno, what do you want to do?" Imagine that this conversation gets played out over and over again over a period of 30 minutes. Sad. I know. But sometimes when you've live in a place long enough, you get so bored with everything and this includes meal options.<br /><br />Luckily I remembered that a friend on Twitter had recently tweeted about her RW meal at Marliave and I've heard good things about it from my partner in crime as well. Typically, I avoid restaurants during RW because I've never had a stellar experience. The quality of the meal is average to sucky and the quality of the service really blows too. Infact, the service is why I avoid RW all together. When I go out to eat, I'd rather not be viewed with unveiled distain. I get it though. You get the odd assortment of people coming to your fine dining establishments acting like they're rock stars when infact all they are are a bunch of hacks. We sometimes get people like that in my shop as well and let me tell you, serving them is not pleasant. It's not about the cost of the meal but it's more about a certain mentality that seems to go with it at times too. So I can't imagine having to work RW for 2 weeks twice each year.<br /><br />So after 30 minutes of our played out convo on the couch, I checked Open Table and saw that we could book a reservation for 9pm. Perfect. It gave us enough time to get ready and hope on the T. I decided it was time to bust out my new Manolos (see above!) and take them for a test drive. Luckily I didn't have to do much walking because walking in these shoes was not easy at all. It wasn't that they're painful but because they are so high, they pitch me forward a little too far. So walking because an interesting endeavor. I'll have to figure out how to exactly "fix" the situation with my shoes because I love them so much and refuse NOT to wear them. If I had to chose my true loves in life, I'd list: food, premium denim, insanely expensive lingerie, make-up, E and stupid expensive shoes (not in that order but close to). <br /><br />Slowly, very very slowly (due to my heels) we made it to Marliave. Luckily we got there by 9pm. I have to say that I thought it was odd that I was able to get a last minute reservation on a Friday night so easily.<br /><br />Hmm...sadly, E and I should have taken it as an indication of what we should expect. I was going to write up an entire review of our meal but E beat me to the punch and already did a fantastic write up <a href="http://resonance.typepad.com/hedonism/2009/08/the-marliave-and-restaurant-week.html">here</a>. I'll let you read her take on it because she use to work in the restaurant industry and her observations seem so keenly on point with Marliave.<br /><br />Here's the thing. I wanted to like it so much. I'd heard so many wonderful things about it and their RW menu was beyond expressive in its number of offerings. But what I got to experience didn't feel like Marliave in its prime at all. Even the space felt a bit run down and not looked after too caringly. The food was decent but the attention to the experience overall wasn't good. Perhaps it can be best summed with my dessert that came to my table looking like a giant boob. I suddenly felt like E had gotten me a gag dessert from Sweet Nothings.<br /><br />However it was fun to try Marliave. Although I won't be jumping at the suggestion, I'd definitely give it another shot at some point. Besides any excuse I get to show off my expensive shoe collection is always good by me!Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-47841650671159945552009-08-16T15:08:00.003-04:002009-08-16T15:15:11.054-04:00A Quick Lactose UpdateThe lactose intolerance test came back positive. Explains a lot. However, doesn't explain the odd skin rashes. I still believe those are wheat related so I'm gonna ask for the blood test.<br /><br />Even though I was really sad to get the test results back positive, I decided that it's not gonna keep me from living my life. For example, I had ice cream last night and didn't seem to have any issues. I have skim milk in my coffee today and everything seems good. I did skip the cheese from my egg/bacon croissant because 1.) I didn't want to press my luck 2.) I don't really care for the melted plastic texture on my sandwich. <br /><br />I think I'll just be mindful of what I eat, how much I eat...Besides, isn't that what we're all suppose to do anyway?<br /><br />Thanks for all the support everyone!Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-13356667771373325322009-08-16T00:45:00.004-04:002009-08-16T15:03:54.304-04:00Julie and Julia, Meh.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SoeUa5SC_ZI/AAAAAAAAAb0/-o9kpjnUCL4/s1600-h/child1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 365px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SoeUa5SC_ZI/AAAAAAAAAb0/-o9kpjnUCL4/s400/child1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370424270436629906" /></a><br />Everyone I know who went to see the movie has gushed about it. I mean, GUSHED. Go see it, see it now. Men, women, gay, straight. How could I an adorer of food not see Julie and Julia? So I went to a 10pm showing by myself...I packed ice cream for a snack and set off.<br /><br />I wiggled in my seat in full anticipation of the amazingness that was about to occur. Sure, I read the book and thought it was painfully boring; so boring that I skimmed the end and laid the book down. But everyone said that the movie was better than the book and it had Meryl Streep for goodness sakes! And this movie reconnected her with Stanley Tucci. I loved them in the Devil Wore Prada. And while I didn't love, love that book (I did finish it and enjoyed it as a day read) I adored the movie and could watch it day in and day out.<br /><br />So I expected the same greatness. And while Meryl and Stanley were totally lovely and moving as Paul and Julia, I couldn't quite get passed by my distaste of Julie Powell. Amy Adams is a really great actress because she had me disliking her just as much as I remember from the book. <br /><br />Julie Powell is disliked so much in the blog world, I believe, because so many people are jealous of her almost meteoric rise to fame and fortune. Personally, that doesn't bother me all that much, kudos to her for all that. But what does bother me is this feeling I get from her of her overwhelming sense of entitlement. I have this feeling that she's a person who isn't mystified by her fame/fortune but sees it as her God given right. I imagine her internal dialogue goes like this,"Of course, I'm a successful writer, fools! In fact, fate was suppose to have made me one years ago! Duh!"<br /><br />And maybe my sense of her is way off and she's a sweet, humble little slice of pie, but she certainly doesn't come off as such in Julie and Julia in book form or movie form. Sadly, I think her next book, "Cleaving" will just confirm my sense of her further. It's apparently a book about her affair and need to run away and learn the ancient art of meat butcher. Oh jeez. Yes, that's how we all get to deal with issues in our lives, by running away to butcher shop training. Very few people have such a charmed life.<br /><br />Overall, I liked the movie but couldn't love. Infact, all the flashes to Julie Powell scenes made me cringe and left me yawning. I couldn't get over my distaste for her long enough to enjoy anything she did.<br /><br />I guess the easiest way to sum up my feelings for this movie is to say that if they make Cleaving into a movie, I won't be standing in line for a ticket. But if anyone wants to just make a movie devoted to Julia and Paul, I'm in!Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-46535031466805199842009-08-08T15:13:00.004-04:002009-08-08T15:52:15.077-04:00Wait, I thought milk was suppose to do a body good?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/Sn3UilSE2BI/AAAAAAAAAbs/-KbHUwkOmNU/s1600-h/masi-oka-got-milk-ad.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 311px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/Sn3UilSE2BI/AAAAAAAAAbs/-KbHUwkOmNU/s400/masi-oka-got-milk-ad.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367680021484066834" /></a><br />I'm sorry I haven't seen posting much lately. My work life has truly eaten up time, space and energy for little else. I'm trying to get an online shop for Jean Therapy up and have another little pet side project in the works as well. Sometimes I consider blogging but my meals and life with food really haven't been anything too special these days.<br /><br />I've been trying to make peace with my issues with wheat. It's been tough. Anytime E had anything with bread involved, I ask to take a sniff before she digs in. And I take a deep inhalation. Sometimes I have a little nibble. Even a hotdog bun causes me to go into rapture. I miss bread so damn much that it all seems so damn unfair. If only I had known how truly "unfair" it was about to get.<br /><br />Recently I had a doctor's appointment. I remembered to mention my stomach issues to her and she instantly scheduled a lactose test for me. I was a little taken aback. I mean, I'm Korean and all but I'm also adopted so I've had a glass of milk with every meal since I could remember. Dairy in the form of cheese and ice cream are a daily requirement for me; my cheese bin in the fridge is always stocked so I can have a quick snack and don't even get me started on the gallons of ice cream I typically have on hand.<br /><br />When I came home and told E, we both thought the same thing. Perhaps, not really meaning to, my doctor had kinda stererotyped me as being lactose intolerant because I'm Asian. No matter, I'd go ahead with the test. It would be one more thing to rule out for me to be allergic to.<br /><br />The test is a breathorlizer dealie and one that takes three hours to administer. Also, you can't have anything to eat or drink for 10 hrs before and this includes water. Since I was having the test in the morning I was able to sleep for most of the 10 hrs. But the period from 9-12 was a little rough because this was my typical midnight snacking time. E will have a glass of wine or bourbon and I reach for ice cream. Actually it's probably not the healthiest evening routine and I think we both might want to reevaluate.<br /><br />I arrived for the test early. I was parched, cranky, tired and my breath was a little funky because I couldn't use "a lot" of water to brush my teeth and absolutely no Listerine. "Why, did I decide this was a good idea? I already KNOW I'm not allergic to lactose". I fumed and chided myself for going along with the test.<br /><br />Soon I and four other people were ushered into a room and given clear keg cups half full of what looked like water. These were the lactose/sucrose solutions and we were told to drink the entire portion. I took a small sip thru my straw and deemed it not so bad. It was tepid and slightly sweet.<br /><br />"Well, it could be worse", I thought as I proceeded to try and down the rest of the solution. <br /><br />Okay, a few more sips into the beverage and I changed my mind. It was disgusting. Drinking lukewarm sugar water is really not fun at all. It was a lot to stomach and I was having trouble downing it all. I kinda felt like a wuss until I looked around the room at the four other people. They didn't look too happy either. Infact, the woman next to me said, "blah, this is awful!". <br /><br />So armed with the knowledge that I wasn't the only one suffering, I pulled thru and emptied the cup. Every 30 mins for 3 hours we had to come back to the room and blow into the plastic bag. So for 3 hours, I played with my phone (the day that Twitter went down! drats!), watch the Today show and marveled over how many times they recycled the same damn new stories and internally kicked myself for taking the test when I was so not lactose intolerant.<br /><br />But the reason for kicking myself changed about 20 mins after I chugged whatever was in the cup. My tummy was a mess. I was in a bit of pain and had some GI distress. F-ck! And it didn't stop. My tummy was a mess all day and into the evening as well. Damn me for taking a test that made me so sick! <br /><br />I haven't gotten the test results back but I'm fairly certain that my test will come back positive and I am indeed lactose intolerant. My GI distress was almost immediate.<br /><br />While the possibility of being both lactose and wheat intolerant really bums me out, I'm also trying to figure out how to move forward. People have told me that there are plenty of substitutes for wheat and cheese. Plus I know my friend V uses the lactose pills so he can easily handle the cheese on a cheeseburger. And I know that this is true but I also wonder if the best course of action, for me, not for anyone else, is to clean those foods out of my diet completely and see how I feel. I'm tempted to do the latter but I'm also baffled by what to eat, especially as someone who is so wedded to cheese and ice cream. And yes, I've had rice milk and soy milk ice cream and I don't really enjoy either one very much. And sorbet?! I mean it's got a place but sometimes you just want a big ole ice cream sundae or a vanilla creme brulee. <br /><br />Alright, so I'm being a little pouty about the entire situation and I recognize that. Besides, if all this had come up for me years ago, I'm sure that I wouldn't have the world of alternatives and subs I have at my disposal now. And you know what? Pecan crackers aren't really half bad so maybe I'll be ok afterall.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-67020463858427249322009-07-03T12:18:00.004-04:002009-07-03T23:46:48.534-04:00Danielle Chips<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/Sk4vlEl1OJI/AAAAAAAAAbk/j4xjiv2jg8w/s1600-h/ed.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 287px; height: 205px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/Sk4vlEl1OJI/AAAAAAAAAbk/j4xjiv2jg8w/s400/ed.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354269320924182674" /></a>It's no secret that I'm a small business owner right here in Boston and as a result I meet a lot of other small business owners too. One of my friends owned her own chocolate shop here and it was thru her I met my buddy Ed. Ed owns a company called New England Herbal Foods. They produce dried fruit snacks called Danielle chips. They're really good. I especially like the jackfruit chips and especially dislike the durian chips (but hey, I wasn't raised eating durian so I never acquired a liking for it). <div><br /></div><div>Okay, so I was pretty darn pumped when I saw that Danielle chips were cool enough to be picked up on one of my favorite style blogs Cool Hunting. I alerted my friend Ed who didn't even know about this shout-out. Honestly, the product really does speak for itself. And the packaging is kinda urban cool too.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, this has been Danielle chips year for sure! Besides getting a shout out by Bobby Flay on the CBS morning show, they also picked up a sofi gold medal! </div><div><br /></div><div>Being that I don't really know a lot about what the sofi award means or a ton about the Fancy Food Show either (other than the Barefoot Contessa was there!!!!!!), I'll just link you up to stuff that kinda explains it all at the bottom of this post. I do know that when your business wins an award, of any kind, it's a big deal. And to win a national award and national press is a huge deal. </div><div><br /></div><div>All I can say is that these two guys that have this company rock and my friend Ed is one of the best guys I know. Seriously, if you wanna great snack, great product look for Health Spa stuff or Danielle Chips. They're SOOOO good, no really they are. Like I said, the jack fruit is my fav but the pineapple is good, hell even the durian (if you're into that stuff) is good. I'm so proud of my friends. Congratulations you guys! Ed, I'll see you at the cook out tomorrow so expect a big congratulatory hug from me! </div><div><br /></div><div>SOFI Awards</div><div><a href="http://nasft.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/and-the-sofi-gold-goes-to/">Here!</a></div><div><br /></div>CBS News!!!<br /><embed src='http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf' FlashVars='linkUrl=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5125293n&tag=cbsnewsVideoArea.0&releaseURL=http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf&videoId=50073785,50073947,50073942,50073940,50073933,50073932,50073929&partner=news&vert=News&autoPlayVid=false&name=cbsPlayer&allowScriptAccess=always&wmode=transparent&embedded=y&scale=noscale&rv=n&salign=tl' allowFullScreen='true' width='425' height='324' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed><br/><a href='http://www.cbs.com'>Watch CBS Videos Online</a>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-76747998064075419132009-06-24T23:03:00.002-04:002009-06-24T23:10:21.918-04:00A Meal for One<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SkLppJp0MuI/AAAAAAAAAbc/Kxw79toha1c/s1600-h/dinner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/SkLppJp0MuI/AAAAAAAAAbc/Kxw79toha1c/s400/dinner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351096200444785378" border="0" /></a>CSA greens: lettuce, purple kale, the leaves of kohlrabi. Cowgirl Creamery Point Rey Blue (thanks Caroline). Parm. Olive Oil. Rice Wine Vinegar. Red Pepper Flakes. Salt. Pepper.<br /><br />Dolin: a tiny glass on ice.<br /><br />Love.<br /><br />Why the hell did I wait this long to join a CSA again?Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215888282380697375.post-85510176085761758182009-06-22T15:23:00.004-04:002009-06-22T15:59:25.248-04:00Mean Girls<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/Sj_auRLNJ_I/AAAAAAAAAa0/ZjFkUwfbqUw/s1600-h/mean-girls.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 390px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nAn4L5eSbSA/Sj_auRLNJ_I/AAAAAAAAAa0/ZjFkUwfbqUw/s400/mean-girls.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350235370758678514" border="0" /></a><br />This rainy afternoon, I trekked down to Boston's City Hall to pick up my first ever CSA share. I was excited to see what we had scored and to meet my CSA farmers/providers as well. The City Hall farmers market is a bit small but for someone, like me, who lives in the city and doesn't have access to a car, even tiny markets like this one in a T convenient place make a huge difference. <br /><br />I joined the Silverbrook Farms CSA. I didn't know much about them other than they had several pick up days and times and the locations were also in T accessible locales. I wanted to join Stillman Farms CSA but they lack convenient pick up places unless you happen to live close by and very limited days/times. I was bummed because my friend Caroline, who moved to CA, raved, raved, raved about Stillman's CSA. Infact, her great experience was the catalyst for me wanting to join one too.<br /><br />So off I went! I walked passed the four other stalls and made a mental note to stop by each of them on my way back home. When I finally arrived to the Silverbrook Stall, I noticed it didn't seem as lush or showy as the other veggies stalls. Infact, they lacked fruits. I noticed that the other two vendors had cherries and strawberries out. No matter, my CSA peeps won me over with their earnest and friendly nature. I introduced myself to them. They were quick to apologize that there would be no strawberries this week, as had been previously announced, due to the weather but that they were giving us freshly made strawberry jam instead. In my bag went fresh eggs (!), cheese, a huge head of lettuce, kale, chard and an alien looking veggie that looked like a cross between a green turnip and lettuce. I was pleased with my portion. So many veggies! I was a little sad that there weren't any fruit-y type veggies but again, no matter. My CSA peeps were extraordinarily nice and friendly. I'm delighted at the prospect of going every week to see them!<br /><br />I walked back to the various stalls and stopped by a bakery stall for a company called the Danish Company. The man working there was wonderfully friendly too. I asked if he had any gluten or wheat free offerings and he showed me the almond macaroon and the coconut one too. I bought 1 of each to try. The size of the almond macaroon was a little small compared to Modern Pastry but it was very good as was the coconut one. As he wrapped up my cookies, he asked if I'd be interested in buying gluten/wheat free bread. I said absolutely and that I'd be back each week for the my Silverbrook CSA. He brightened over the prospect of me coming back each week and mentioned that he had talked to the Silverbrook CSA kids about doing a collaboration with them. I said that I thought that'd be a great idea. I bid him farewell and told him I'd be back next week.<br /><br />I was so happy over my positive interactions that I decided that I wanted to at least check out Stillman Farms booth. They had the first stall and it was apparent that they took what they did seriously. Besides a large offering of strawberries they had maybe four different varieties of beets, plus a freezer full of meat. I saw chorizo and was so tempted to grab some to go with the eggs that I had gotten from Silverbrook. But I held off. The two people working the booth didn't seem really interested in helping me at all. I stood there for a bit and waited. I finally asked the man about some beets. He answered my question but wasn't very friendly. It was clear that Stillmans was like the "cool" kids of the farmer's market. They didn't have to be charming or friendly. They knew they were the poo. Finally I decided, I'd buy some beets and strawberries and I mentioned to them both that I wanted to join their CSA, to which the answer came back, "well we're just so popular..." Really, seriously that's your answer?!?!<br /><br />"Um no," I said, "I just couldn't make the times and locations of your pick up. I wish you'd do the CSA pick up here". The woman (who was a bit nicer than the man) said something about there being a 1000 something or other and it's just too hard to coordinate. No worries. I'm not complaining. I then went on to explain that my friend Caroline who moved to California was a big fan and she was the one who told me about them. I figured flattery would get me in good with the cool kids. <br /><br />Not so much. Instead they faced each other and said, "wow that's cool that someone who moved to California is still talking about us". Um, yeah. Hello, remember me? I'm right here. Hello?!<br /><br />Ok, I get it. You guys are all farmers and that's what you do. But the best way to describe the Stillman farms people would be to call them the Mean Girls of the Farm Stand. They seemed a little stuck up and kinda over it. Maybe it was the crappy weather. I'll certainly go back and buy things from them and give them another shot but I'm kinda glad I didn't join their CSA. If Stillman Farms are the Mean Girls of the Farmers Market, then my little Silverbrook Farms would be the Band Geeks or in Mean Girls, they'd be the Math Team. And well, as a former band geek, I think I've found my peeps.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13329422248271037536noreply@blogger.com2