Enjoy Your Government Sanctioned Holiday Weekend

Ah Memorial Day, the unofficial start to summer. Perhaps you're getting ready for a family bbq or heading out to the shore or the mountains or some other bucolic setting. Me? I'm hanging out in my super hot apartment in Boston doing laundry and watching stuff on Netflix Instant. Maybe I'll get a burrito later.

The Cape 2010....ah memories

This weekend is kind of a bust for me since tomorrow morning I'm taking a bus to NYC. Apparently, it's supposed to be 90 degrees on Monday. Don't get me wrong, I loves me some Big Apple action. But, there's a reason super rich people escape to The Hamptons in the summer. As my friend Elizabeth described it: "New York smells like garbage. In the winter, you don't really notice it. But in the summer? Oh man..." It's ok though because there will be a couple of cute little kids excited to see me when I get there. I'm helping my aunt out for a week while my uncle is out of town on a job. I'm not sure how much posting I'll be able to do, but I definitely have a list of places I'd like to eat at/visit if I get the chance:

Crack Pie at Milk Bar
Anything at Babycakes
Pork Products at Fette Sau

Meanwhile, a couple of days ago James and I saw The Cars at the House of Blues. We were definitely among the youngest people there, which was fine 'cause the show rocked and I saw some pretty awesome baby boomer dance moves. Tip: If you get mezzinine seats, get there early unless you like watching the backs of dudes all night.

This was my view:

Really, really tiny Ric Ocasek and some guy's shoulder.

After the show we were pretty hungry, but the Fenway area isn't exactly known for good eats. I suggested we try to find Tasty Burger, this little retro-inspired burger joint that we had gone to the last time we saw a game. Thankfully, it was still open. Apologies for the blurry camera phone pics...


They serve food until 2 am, which is a rarity in this town and the whole restaurant is housed in a really cool converted garage:

Not pictured: The grown man wearing a dog hat (yes) and a tie-dyed shirt. Best part? I think he was on a date.

You know this is a burger joint that means business when you're told everything is cooked to 'medium', like it should be. I had a jalapeno cheeseburger while James had a chili cheeseburger. We enjoyed our food under the comforting gaze of The Fonz, like it should be.

In Search of...Falafel

I know, I know. Lately, between my job, The Book, and my busy social calendar I've taken to posting just once a week. Hopefully this will be remedied soon. In the meantime, here's a post on falafel:

When I first graduated from college I was employed as the stereotypical former-English-major-turned-waitress (don't even get me started on my current status as Master of English nanny...) I was living at home, nursing a broken heart, waxing about the previous summer I had spent in London and generally feeling, well, damn sorry for myself. I was working at a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern restaurant in West Hartford Center, where I served up lunch specials to very rich and very jobless women. It was hell. The only bright spot was the fact that the food was awesome. Especially the falafel sandwich.

The owner was from Israel, the unofficial falafel capital of the world (or maybe it's official now...) and took his chickpeas very seriously. Pita and hummus (or houmous, as he spelled it) were made in-house daily since he declared everything else to be shit. Or, as he pronounced it: Sheeet. This seems to be the key to a great falafel sandwich. It was so good I had to limit myself to just one a week, so my pants would still fit.

The restaurant and I ended up having a mutual break-up (long story) and it closed a year or so later. At first, I felt victorious. Then I realized I would never get to have their falafel again. Since then, I have searched for a falafel sandwich that measures up. But, after years of getting burned I had become bitter and suspicious. Then, on a rainy Sunday last week James and I visited Rami's in Coolidge Corner. I had heard good things and went in figuring I'd get a gyro or something. NOT falafel. But, I changed my mind as soon as I read the menu (Falafel sandwich with Houmous) and heard the familiar cadence of an Israeli accent. I knew we were in good hands.

Delicious falafel sandwich of my dreams? Is that really you?

From the first bite of that freshly baked pita, it was everything I had been looking for all these years. Was it as good as the other falafel sandwich? Not quite. But, perhaps thats the thing about food memories: Nothing is really as good as it was. Even still, I think I've found myself a new falafel joint. Pants, you're on notice.

The Epic Cambridge Post

When I started this blog I was crashing at my cousin's place in the South End, having formerly lived in Cambridge for about two years. I ended up moving to Brookline because of work which has been fine, but it doesn't measure up to The 'Bridge, at least for me.

This weekend turned into 'Cambridge Nostalgia Tour 2011', which is fitting as it looks like I'll be bidding adieu to the fair city of Boston within the next month or so. My bffl Elizabeth was up from NYC for a visit and we spent Friday evening in the cozy, familiar bosom of Grendel's Den in Harvard Square. Many a night during graduate school was wasted away over pints of Original Sin cider and their half price dinner menu. I hear they also have a delightful Sunday brunch, but I haven't made the trek yet.

After waking up with 'Grendel's Fever' (also maybe known as a hangover) I threw together a lovely breakfast of bagels, crumpets, smoked salmon and cream cheese spread, jam, and various fruits:

We then met up with some friends in Central Square at The Tavern, which is sort of a pub-meets-sports bar-meets-upscale pirate restaurant. It doesn't know what it wants to be, so it just lumps everything together. For instance, I could have had anything from eggs and toast (ok) to Italian inspired egg rolls (why?)--luckily for all involved, I went with the risotto fritters also known as arancini.

It was actually really good.

Later on we visited my old apartment in Cambridge where my former roomies were throwing a party, hence a lot of this happened:

After indulging for a while we walked over to Redbones in Davis Square, my favorite southern-style bbq restaurant that I never go to any more. At first I was just going to get something small, but it was really busy and the waitress took forever so I ended up ordering a bbq chicken sandwich.

I usually get this when I'm trying not to eat pork. But, if you're not like me, go for the pulled pork. I also hear the bbq beef is great.


After all that, I'm pretty sure my stomach exploded during the night. Luckily it was fully healed by the time James showed up the next morning. After a fun-filled afternoon spent driving around Brookline we ended up at The Druid in Inman Square because I couldn't find Trina's Starlite Lounge. (I did find it, much later.)

The Druid is about as 'Authenic Irish pub' as you're going to get on this side of the pond, which is saying a lot if you're in the Boston area. They also boast the best fish and chips in Boston. I don't know if that's true, since I'm not much of a fish and chips connoisseur, however I will say that theirs was lovely.



I love unwrapping things, even if I know what's inside...


Fish n' Chips: Better than Christmas morning.

Dispatch From The Bachelor Pad: Experimenting with Vegan/Gluten-Free Baking

Oy. I've been trying to work more on The Book lately because an agent has expressed interest (more on that soonish) but I'm back with that recipe for vegan/gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.

To recap: A couple of weeks ago I did a vegan-for-a-week challenge with interesting results. While I was looking for recipes online I came across the cookbook for Babycakes, a vegan and gluten-free bakery to the stars in NYC. My cousin actually has the cookbook and I remember leafing through it one day but we were both kind of put off by the sheer number of pricey ingredients for each recipe (think things like agave nectar, garbanzo bean flour, and xanthum gum) Even so, Erin McKenna's two cookbooks have rave reviews on Amazon and they were running a special so I ordered them.

True to my memory, the lists of ingredients were a bit overwhelming but McKenna had a good point when she said that heart disease ain't exactly cheap either. So, while coconut oil may be more expensive than butter in the short run, it's better for you and your wallet in the long run.

I decided that I would make a recipe the next time I was in The Bachelor Kitchen and, since I'm such a considerate girlfriend, I asked James what he wanted me to make: Chocolate chip cookies.
A classic that sounded like a good place to start. Here's a link to the recipe on Oprah.com since I don't want to get sued and who messes with Oprah?

Here are some tips and tricks I picked up. Learn from my mistakes, children.

Bob's Red Mill is the brand of choice for Babycakes since they make lots of great gluten-free mixes, but buying bags of stuff at the grocery store can add up. Luckily, they sell a ton of it for cheaper at Ocean State Job Lot! So, go there.

Also, Marshall's and T.J. Maxx often have things like agave nectar for a few dollars cheaper. Of course, you're gonna want to check the expiration dates on this stuff, but it's definitely worth the trip.

Since coconut oil is the fat used, be prepared to have your cookies taste like, well, coconut. It's not super overwhelming, but they do taste different than Toll-House.

Also, working with coconut oil and xantham gum yields different results than butter and eggs. McKenna says this in the book, but it bears repeating: DON'T OVER MIX. If you feel the urge to keep mixing just a little bit more, resist. The first batch came out a little too chewy and I'm guessing that's why. As you're mixing the dry and wet ingredients together, keep in mind that you still have to mix in the chocolate chips after wards.


If your batter looks like this, put down the spoon.

Once I had mixed everything together and was ready to scoop the dough out onto a cookie sheet I realized something: James' cookie sheet was missing. Sigh. Dammit, Bachelor Kitchen! So, I improvised by flipping some of his baking pans over. It worked well enough but the cookies spread out a lot, so this happened:

The lesson here is if you're cooking/baking in someone else's kitchen double-check that they have everything you need before you get started...especially if they work at their family's restaurant and never cook at home.


Overall, the cookies came out pretty good, the second batch being the best. It crossed my mind that I had no idea how they were supposed to taste since I've never had gluten-free vegan cookies before, but everyone who tried them said they were great and that I should stop worrying about them. So, enjoy. Especially if you can't digest wheat.

Postcard From CT: A Day On The Farm

So, as I mentioned earlier I spent part of my weekend, specifically Saturday morning/afternoon, helping out at a friend's organic farm in Simsbury. My experience regarding the proper care and/or growing of things is rather limited, which must have been pretty evident since my friend Joey, whom I'm just going to start referring to as Farm Boy (perhaps Farm MAN), started laughing at me as soon as I got out of the car:

"THAT'S what you wear to farm???"

Yes, Joey. I wear cut off sweatpants and a shirt. Got a problem with that? No? Ok.

We planted red bliss potatoes using hunks of older ones in the hopes that the eyes will spore new potatoes....or something. Don't read that sentence again. It still doesn't make sense. But it looked like this:

First you dig a trench and lay down the potatoes

Then you cover them with dirt and top off the mounds with hay.

Fun Fact: Apparently there's bacteria in the hay that makes your arms itchy and welt-y. Thanks for the heads up, Farm Boy.

Other than the itchy arms and constant squatting, it was nice to get outside and actually do something. Pretty soon that harsh summer sun will keep me and my translucent skin inside.

You can purchase Joey's delicious organic produce at the Newington Farmer's Market (Yes, we have one now) or by ordering a CSA, which features 13 weeks of organic-grown produce. Plus, check out his blog Just Grow With It for great, seasonal recipes!

Postcard From CT: Some Flan, A Farm, and A Bridal Shower

Alright. I'm aboard the Peter Pan bus, there's a woman with a hamster across the aisle, another snapping her fingers like there's no tomorrow, and a ten year-old kicking my seat every three seconds, but I haven't forgotten about you, Dear Readers. This weekend I was in the good ol' CT for a friend's bridal shower but also kept myself pretty busy with a trip to Barcelona in West Hartford, a visit to my friend's organic farm, and managed to make those vegan and gluten-free cookies I was talking about.

But, first things first: I've blogged about Barcelona before. My friend Ian, whom I've known from my days (ok, years) spent toiling away as a waitress at Friendly's, works there. Oh, you didn't know I worked at Friendly's? Yep. I spent longer than I'd like to admit serving up Fribbles and Fishamajigs. I can make a Conehead Sundae like nobody's business though.

Anyways, back to the Barc. (Good nickname, right? I'm trying to make it happen.) It's a Spanish tapas restaurant and bar in tony West Hartford Center. In addition to a full dinner menu, a rotation of seasonal vegetarian and meat-based tapas make up the menu. My favorites include the potato tortilla and the cumin-scented chicken empanadas with avocado puree. My friend Kimmy and I also tried the sunchokes and sugar snap peas, which were also delicious. Sunchokes are the roots of sunflowers, and more commonly known as Jerusalem artichokes. Kimmy thought they looked scary, but we both agreed they tasted delicious.

Now, normally for dessert I go for the churros and hot chocolate. Churros are deep-fried dough covered in cinnamon-sugar--like Spanish doughnuts. Delicious. I usually ask for extra melted chocolate for dipping, because I'm gross. This time, however, I wanted to try something different. Ian recommended the flan, but Kimmy wasn't having it:"Flan tastes like scrambled eggs." This resulted in a back and forth argument with Ian who insisted that most flan does taste like scrambled eggs, but theirs does not.

We ended up ordering a flourless chocolate cake with coconut ice cream. It was decent, but not as good as the churros. When I mentioned this to Ian his response was "Well, of course." Great. Thanks. He then slipped us the flan, insisting that Kimmy try it. "I'm just gonna say I don't like it, even if I do," Kimmy said, unaware that Ian was standing behind her.

Well, we both tried it and we liked it, for real. Better than the chocolate cake, but not the churros. I swear, nothing is as good as them.


As Ian described, it's closer to a creme brulee than a traditional flan and topped with a thin layer of caramel. It had a thick, creamy texture with a custardy, not eggy, taste. Ok Ian, you've won this round.

Next time: I visit an organic farm!