pumpkin pancakes.

This is just what I want right now. As always, thank you kitchen sink.

boston food challenge? lets do it.

I have been embracing Boston more in the past few months, and Jessica's Chicago food challenge has inspired me to do one of my own. The map above shows the 21 official neighborhoods in Boston. Perhaps by documenting eats in each of these neighborhoods, Aaron and I will see a bit more of our new-ish home. It's difficult though, because I want to also explore the neighborhoods and food of Cambridge, Brookline, and the 30 or so sub-neighborhoods of my very own Dorchester. However, I'm going to assume it's unlikely that I'll complete the task of 21 neighborhoods in the next 12 months, so it's pointless to take on more.

By the way, I'm just loving Dorchester and am still baffled by the fear of Boston toward this area. I was informed by a friend recently of the negative health impact of living in bad neighborhoods. Wha? It's like the suburbs out where with mixed races and sometimes vandalism. Let's suck it up people.

other pieces of our delicious weekend

going green: ramps and fiddleheads

Aaron and I came across a fantastic produce market in Watertown over the weekend and went crazy over a few rare items we had not seen in person before, but only read about. These were ramps and fiddleheads.

Aaron was in charge of the ramps, making a sort of ramps pesto with lemon and parmesan.

I simply sauteed the fiddleheads (after a quick 2 min boil) with olive oil and garlic. They have a great earthy taste that was delish.

vegetarianism and jonathan safran foer

In the past few months my vegetarianism has been in limbo. After meat eating in Europe I've certainly fallen off the wagon, and I haven't really felt too bad about it. When I do eat meat, its usually in small quantities and infrequently spaced. I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I still feel the same way about eating meat- the implications for the environment, the treatment of factory farmed animals, and health benefits- are still important to me. But at the same time, I don't think some sampling every now and then really negates those things. And yet, if I can't stick to this, can I really stick to anything I believe in?

I came across an article by Jonathan Safran Foer in The New York Times Magazine Food Issue. He is one of my favorite authors, writing the beautiful works, Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. He's coming out with a new book called Eating Animals, and this article is adapted from it. Yes its about not eating meat, but really its about his family, perspective on life, and the importance of living by what you believe. I've never been one to push eating habits on to others, and my recommendation to read this article is no exception. I just really loved it, and wanted to share.

"Against Meat: The Fruits of Family Trees," by Jonatha Safran Foer.

"When I was young, I would often spend the weekend at my grandmother’s house. On my way in, Friday night, she would lift me from the ground in one of her fire-smothering hugs. And on the way out, Sunday afternoon, I was again taken into the air. It wasn’t until years later that I realized she was weighing me..." read more

oh seafood

yes. I suppose I'm an east coaster now. I buy fresh fish and roast it and eat the whole thing and I love it. 

back in business!

Well here I am. Back. After landing in Chicago Aaron and boarded a plane to Boston, and the past week I've been occupied with moving in and looking for work. But I feel like we're finally settling in. I had originally planned on blogging through the whole trip, but since I didn't it seems so hard to go back through and update on what we did. All I can say is that I'm so glad I went. A few favorite destinations included Cinque Terre, Chamonix, the Loire Valley and Paris. I didn't expect to love France as much as I did. Currently I can share a Paris picture, but I'm having a hard time accessing the pictures we loaded to an external hard drive, so I'll try and post more later. 

Our apartment is so big and nice that its been really fun thinking about what to do with it. The first major project was stripping a mid-century danish dining table we got from craigslist. I was so happy to have learned thins new skill! Here it is with some Ikea chairs we bought.

I'll post more about the apartment as we finish each room.

Boston has been really great. Dorchester is a really diverse and pleasant neighborhood (at least our area). Last might we met a neighbor from across the street who moved to her house "as a bride" and has been there 62 years! Amazing. True to form Aaron has started his baking, already making english muffins and a peach tart.

Also, to be real Bostonians, we had a shrimp boil last weekend. So good. I'm excited to start blogging again, what with a new apartment to put together, a nice kitchen to cook in and a new life to start. 

Pesto

After a few unexpected and unpleasant mysterious allergic reactions (anaphylactic tightness of throat and chest, nausea, and hives on my lips) I've narrowed down my allergy to pine nuts. This became clear after a number of unhappy pesto meals. Pesto? Oh No! I love Pesto! What could i do without pesto? It is so delicious and a staple meal in my family. Ugh. But wait! Further analysis has shown me that pesto does not have to me made with pine nuts. It can be made with walnuts. I used to cringe whenever I came across any recipe that required the food processor, but recently we've been becoming friends, so I though I would try out a new recipe:

Pesto Spread

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (to taste)

(via the kitchen sink)

This recipe was excellent, even with a few flaws. First, and this is my fault, I thought I had walnuts on hand but in fact has pecan so I substituted. It seemed to make little difference. Second, I think this recipe is intended to be spread on bread, so I think next time I will use 1/4 cup olive oil to make it better for pasta. But otherwise I think I found a winner. Pesto is still in my future.  

dinner around town

So I ate out a number of times last week and thought I would share my experiences.

Chicago is having Restaurant Week (although not really a week since it's now extend to March 6) where select restaurants offer a fixed menus for $30.  Its a great way for poor students like me to venture to more expensive establishments. 

We took advantage of Restaurant Week on Wednesday when a few friends and my sister, plus Aaron and I went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. I selected the seafood gumbo, salmon with scallops, and stewed spinach, with bread pudding for dessert. I can't say the salmon wasn't excellent or the petite fillet not really tasty (I had a taste of Aaron's) but overall I regretted the dinner. It was a great deal compared to the usual prices, but the entree focused meal and formal old boy's atmosphere just wasn't worth it for me.  I would prefer a more lively atmosphere with more unique dishes.

(whiskey soaked bread pudding)

This is what we got the next night. On Thursday my program at school was hosting a dinner at Cafe Iberico, a tapas place, that I was really looking forward to. Then Aaron's brother came into town and invited us out to Bin 36, so we stopped there first.

Bin 36 was INCREDIBLE. We both enjoyed a wine flight (small portions of 5 different wines). Mine was from South America, with 5 reds, 4 from Argentina and 1 from Chile. So good. We also enjoyed the Bin36 cheese flight, Prince Edward Island mussels in tomato saffron broth, the charcuterie plate for 2, and gougeres. I really love small portioned meals. This was so excellent!

After that deliciousness we headed over to Cafe Iberico where the food was pretty good, but maybe not perfect since it was from a set large party menu. But the free-ness of the dinner, free flowing Sangria, and wonderful company of my fellow classmates and Aaron made for a wonderful dinner. The servers came around asking if we wanted some free shots (yes!) and a girl from my table ordered Sambuca. This is my mother's drink, and I never thought I would like it. But it was so good it kindled a new love. All in all it was an awesome night. 

This also reaffirmed my disappointment from the night before. I love eating out, but with budgetary concerns it has to be really good for the price. I've also learned I really enjoy smaller, multiple portions.

thanks

These past few weeks I've been so happy and grateful for my life. I think this past year I've been living is such a way that brings me worry, stress and dissatisfaction. For some reason recently I've been able to let it all go and just started to learn to be happy and content. I still worry about being good enough for school and finding a good job, but when I'm at home making food or cuddling with Aaron, all those concerns wash away. I've just been realizing how secondary all that other stuff is. I hate to admit these things sometimes because its sounds so housewifey, but I know I'll always work and be independent. I think I'm just allowing myself to completely enjoy those things that are separate from my intellectual life. Here are some things that have brought me joy these past few days:

-yummy tiger shrimp at salpicon

-homemade clothes... I really want a sewing machine.

-hank and lainey getting along

- these earrings that I won!

-The Lord of the Rings. I watched the final movie last night and got inspired to read the trilogy over Christmas Break

-Christmas Break!

-Aaron, Katie, and Mom and how well they get along

-Feeling at home finally

-Working for hours and feeling like I've accomplished something

-hope for the future

-Grace Chicago and the new friends we've met there

- the Windy City Gay Chorus 

Ok so I don't usually get this personal in my blog, but I felt compelled to share. Tell me some things you're thankful for. I love Jessica's blog because knowing what makes her happy makes me happy too. You should do the same!

back to blog, leaving DC, meeting Uncle Jim

comment from Aaron":
"i have some ideas for possible future posts...
-Work, work, work... what I have been spending my time on
-This city is driving me crazy
-The dark corner we call home
-Shower curtain maps... a great idea
-Monuments at night
-An urban oasis and camping without a car (good idea, bad idea)
-Welcome class of 2012 to the University of Maryland
-Waiting, wanting and searching for Applebee's
-What to do when you don't have a car and have to ship 8 boxes?
-Conversations with the Dean
-Conversations with a Moral Theologian
-Conversations with a Security Specialist
-Wise Millers
-Books I have read (and carried)
-DC dwellings
-Salad recipes
-Books found on the street
-Tennis
-The Republican National Convention
-Reflections on the summer and myself
-Sauvignon Blanc, check it out
-Meeting another Pannella
-Things that a coffee shop should have...
-My watch
-Lykke Li
-France
-Not grown up yet
-DC style (or lack there of)
-Jon and Hate plus 8
-Animal Planet
-Daley daily
-Art museums, the greatest hits"

This list came from a comment from Aaron in my last post. He has a number of ideas that I think all deserve a post. There are so many ideas, but where to start? We leave DC in a few hours and there are definitely a lot of things to reflect on. I am really happy we came but we had some really hard patches. But our last few weeks here have seemed to make up for all of that. We've been given the opportunity to live a beautiful Georgetown home (more on that later) and I feel as though my work here has been successful and appreciated. One of the most notable recent occurrences has been getting together with my Uncle Jim (a point on Aaron's list).
He is my Dad's brother, and they never got along. Because of this I only remember meeting him once in my life, and I'm fairly certain this is the first time meeting my two cousins. My uncle looks so much like my dad and is similar to him in many ways. Its like this is how my Dad would have been if he didn't drink or smoke. In fact its hard to imagine some one so like my dad without those characteristics. And he went to college and owns businesses. I wonder how two people with the same background could have such different lives. I heard new stores about my dad, and really enjoyed getting to know my cousins Sean (15) and Ross (12). But we never talked about my dad's death. Jim didn't come to the funeral and doesn't talk to the rest of the family. As far as I know he doesn't even know how his brother died.

Sean looked very much like Katie. And he is so smart and academically competitive and seemed to have a mind like Katie too. How awesome to see two people who have never met be such clear relatives.

The family, Jim, Karen, Sean, and Ross, live in Annapolis. I called them on Saturday and the only time they could see us was the next day. They took us out for incredible crab and walked us around the town. It was quite beautiful. I'm glad to know there is more family out there and that they are willing to include me in their lives. I was afraid to call him, but I'm glad I did. I'm glad I didn't let that fear keep me from this great day.

sushi

We made sushi the other night. It was surprisingly easy, cheap, and delicious! Yum!

Birthday

My birthday turned out better than expected considering I'm far from home. First pockets sent me a card (Aaron's childhood villain embodied in a sock monkey and drawings by Jim). He loves to say "SHUT UP!"

Then yesterday I received a gift card in the mail and with that and money from graduation I did some awesome guilt free shopping. Then Aaron met me after work and took me to Anthropologie to get jewelry (yum)! We then had an epicurean adventure with "The Shuckers Sampler" (raw oysters, clams, muscles, and spicy shrimp) at a restaurant we came across near there:

Then today I came home from Georgetown with flowers from my sister waiting in the hall:

What a lucky girl I am!