Author: Ed

Vermont Shepherd Verano: Seasoned with Summer Grass

"How about a sheep cheese that is really great, right now," Penny asked the cheesemonger at South End Formaggio. A taste of Vermont Shepherd Verano was passed to her. "This was made with all summer milk," he said. He was right. It was in perfect condition and had a subtle background note of herby summer grass.

It came home with a sidekick of Twig Farm Square and we had a lovely tray of Vermont splendor for supper.

Vermont Shepherd make two celebrated cheeses, Verano (summer) and Invierno (winter).

They say, "Our summer cheese, 'Verano,' we make from pure sheeps’ milk when our pastures are abundant with wild herbs and grasses. Verano then ages 3-5 months and ripens by August. The flavor of the summer cheese is sweet, rich and earthy with hints of clover, mint, and thyme."

We say, This will be a perfect cheese to introduce someone to sheep's milk cheeses. While we love potent, stinky, sheepy cheeses, they can be a bit much for some folks. This is one to put on a tray for your favorite cheese maven or a group of friends who seldom venture beyond cheddar.

And, here are other items from our Cheese Tray!

What's on your Cheese shopping list? Here are some great books about cheese. These make wonderful gifts for a cheese lover. And, when you shop Amazon from here, they put some coins in our tip jar.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

September 4, 2013
Could You Move to Your New Boston Home on a Bike?

You would have to really declutter and keep your possessions to a minimum but we have heard tales of people moving from one Boston area home to another on a bike. Or with the help of friends on a few bikes with trailers attached.

We thought that might be what we had here when we shot a photo of this woman hauling totes of something on her trailer during the big move weekend. But as she pulled away, we saw the bike.barismo.com, complete with logo, on the rear of the trailer. (Twitter: @barismobike) She was probably delivering coffee.

However, we discovered that Gentle Giant, the mover that we consider the best anywhere, added Bike Moves back in 2012.

As so many of us declutter and lighten the load of material objects in our lives, keeping in mind those who live so lightly on the land that they can move on a bike, is inspirational!

Thanks to everyone who hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support. What's on your "Off to College" shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your back to school needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

September 3, 2013
Could You Move to Your New Boston Home on a Bike?

You would have to really declutter and keep your possessions to a minimum but we have heard tales of people moving from one Boston area home to another on a bike. Or with the help of friends on a few bikes with trailers attached.

We thought that might be what we had here when we shot a photo of this woman hauling totes of something on her trailer during the big move weekend. But as she pulled away, we saw the bike.barismo.com, complete with logo, on the rear of the trailer. (Twitter: @barismobike) She was probably delivering coffee.

However, we discovered that Gentle Giant, the mover that we consider the best anywhere, added Bike Moves back in 2012.

As so many of us declutter and lighten the load of material objects in our lives, keeping in mind those who live so lightly on the land that they can move on a bike, is inspirational!

Thanks to everyone who hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support. What's on your "Off to College" shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your back to school needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

September 3, 2013
Traffic Jam on the Entry Ramp: Turtle Style

Traffic was unusually heavy on the entry ramp to the duck and turtle island at the Boston Public Garden, last week.

Turtles were coming and going, forwards, backwards, and even sideways.

Ducks had to float around in a holding pattern circling the ramp waiting their turn to merge.

And, the swan's grooming session brought all traffic to a standstill.

Maybe everyone was trying to get onto the island for Labor Day weekend!

What do you know about Amazon Prime? We use it and love it. You pay once a year for free 2-day shipping delivery charges. Amazon throws in access to instant streaming movies and tv shows and they let you borrow a free ebook each month. They will even give you a one month free trial. Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Join Amazon Prime – Watch Over 40,000 Movies

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

September 2, 2013
Traffic Jam on the Entry Ramp: Turtle Style

Traffic was unusually heavy on the entry ramp to the duck and turtle island at the Boston Public Garden, last week.

Turtles were coming and going, forwards, backwards, and even sideways.

Ducks had to float around in a holding pattern circling the ramp waiting their turn to merge.

And, the swan's grooming session brought all traffic to a standstill.

Maybe everyone was trying to get onto the island for Labor Day weekend!

What do you know about Amazon Prime? We use it and love it. You pay once a year for free 2-day shipping delivery charges. Amazon throws in access to instant streaming movies and tv shows and they let you borrow a free ebook each month. They will even give you a one month free trial. Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Join Amazon Prime – Watch Over 40,000 Movies

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

September 2, 2013
A French “Value Sparkler” with No Compromises, le Moulin Blanquette de Limoux

Anytime we can enjoy a sparkling wine with raves that include, "uncompromising value," it’s impossible to keep it to ourselves. Laurens le Moulin Blanquette de Limoux, $14.99 at Bauer Wine & Spirits, is a wine that had us from the first, wonderful sniff.

While the aromas have been described as, “green apple, acacia flowers, and apricot,” to us it had hints of a toasty Champagne.

As we've often said, "… with a good bottle of bubbly, you don’t need to keep topping the glass." While, some wines at this price point are best served very cold, this sparkler doesn’t require a constant chill to mask any off notes because there aren’t any!

Renowned wine guru Jancis Robinson has called the wines from the Limoux region, “a combination of French finesse and good value.” She finds that the most interesting wines in this area come from small producers like, “Jacques Calvel at Domaine J Laurens, whose fizz is really very fine …” and that, “the best fizz can be a great-value alternative to champagne …“ Not surprisingly, Robinson’s Limoux recommendations include Le Moulin Brut NV Blanquette de Limoux.

Although Limoux is part of the Languedoc, which always makes us think of outstanding red wine varieties (Syrah, Grenache…), we’re learning that there’s much more to love from this region.

Laurens le Moulin Blanquette de Limoux (Alc. 12% by Vol., another plus) is made mainly from the area’s Mauzac grape and is our choice to welcome September.

(For our regular Sunday Dog readers, we raise a glass to you and all beloved canine compaions. When the first falls on a Sunday, we do slip in a wonderful wine for toasting the dogs we love and who have shared our lives. Sunday Dog will be back next week.)

More About Our Sparkling Resolution

Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

September 1, 2013
A French “Value Sparkler” with No Compromises, le Moulin Blanquette de Limoux

Anytime we can enjoy a sparkling wine with raves that include, "uncompromising value," it’s impossible to keep it to ourselves. Laurens le Moulin Blanquette de Limoux, $14.99 at Bauer Wine & Spirits, is a wine that had us from the first, wonderful sniff.

While the aromas have been described as, “green apple, acacia flowers, and apricot,” to us it had hints of a toasty Champagne.

As we've often said, "… with a good bottle of bubbly, you don’t need to keep topping the glass." While, some wines at this price point are best served very cold, this sparkler doesn’t require a constant chill to mask any off notes because there aren’t any!

Renowned wine guru Jancis Robinson has called the wines from the Limoux region, “a combination of French finesse and good value.” She finds that the most interesting wines in this area come from small producers like, “Jacques Calvel at Domaine J Laurens, whose fizz is really very fine …” and that, “the best fizz can be a great-value alternative to champagne …“ Not surprisingly, Robinson’s Limoux recommendations include Le Moulin Brut NV Blanquette de Limoux.

Although Limoux is part of the Languedoc, which always makes us think of outstanding red wine varieties (Syrah, Grenache…), we’re learning that there’s much more to love from this region.

Laurens le Moulin Blanquette de Limoux (Alc. 12% by Vol., another plus) is made mainly from the area’s Mauzac grape and is our choice to welcome September.

(For our regular Sunday Dog readers, we raise a glass to you and all beloved canine compaions. When the first falls on a Sunday, we do slip in a wonderful wine for toasting the dogs we love and who have shared our lives. Sunday Dog will be back next week.)

More About Our Sparkling Resolution

Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

September 1, 2013
The Improper Bostonian Puts MC Slim JB Back in Print

For those of us who rely on great food scouts to lead us to delicious, it is good to see the MC Slim JB byline back in print thanks to The Improper Bostonian.

Since the demise of the Boston Phoenix and Stuff Magazine, we have been able to follow MC Slim JB on forums and social media. But, we love that now regular deadlines will assure us of a steady flow of recommendations.

Here are the first two reviews for The Improper Bostonian:

Hidden Manna: Soulful Puerto Rican fare, hiding in plain sight

Mittel Ground: Tim Wiechmann plugs a huge hole in Boston’s dining scene

And, here is MC Slim JB headquarters where you will find links to years of great food writing.

Twitter: @mcslimjb

Facebook: MC Slim JB

Thanks to everyone who hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support. What's on your "Off to College" shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your back to school needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Screen shot from the Improper Bostonian

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

August 30, 2013
The Improper Bostonian Puts MC Slim JB Back in Print

For those of us who rely on great food scouts to lead us to delicious, it is good to see the MC Slim JB byline back in print thanks to The Improper Bostonian.

Since the demise of the Boston Phoenix and Stuff Magazine, we have been able to follow MC Slim JB on forums and social media. But, we love that now regular deadlines will assure us of a steady flow of recommendations.

Here are the first two reviews for The Improper Bostonian:

Hidden Manna: Soulful Puerto Rican fare, hiding in plain sight

Mittel Ground: Tim Wiechmann plugs a huge hole in Boston’s dining scene

And, here is MC Slim JB headquarters where you will find links to years of great food writing.

Twitter: @mcslimjb

Facebook: MC Slim JB

Thanks to everyone who hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support. What's on your "Off to College" shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your back to school needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Screen shot from the Improper Bostonian

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

August 30, 2013
At The Market: Mushrooms, Shallots, Sage & Granola…

No, that's not a recipe, but it is a list of some of the many things that caught our attention at the markets this week.

Lets's start with the granola. Over on the Chowhound Boston board someone announced to area food lovers what we have known for a long time. Cook's Farm & Bakery makes great granola.

"Chuck S" asked, "Granola as good as Cook's Farm?" This former granola abstainer was now addicted and wanted more sources of granola greatness.

Penny replied, "Another Cook's Farm fan here. Love the granola which I believe is sweetened with their own maple syrup. That may be part of the reason you enjoy it. Earlier this year, they had some granola bars that were wonderful and my husband is addicted to their oatmeal raisin cookies. Seems they have a way with oats!"

So, stop by this stand at Copley or any of the other markets where you can find them summer and winter. And, if you're in foliage country in the months ahead, visit them in Brimfield, MA or Newbury, VT.

Click on any photo for a larger version.

The rest of the title – mushrooms, shallots, and sage sauted with a bit of butter would make a great supper. You could deglaze the pan with some red wine and stock and serve it on toast or along side a prefectly grilled ribeye.

All three of these ingredients are from Siena Farms.

The Word from the Farms & Markets

Ben Sommer, manager of the Copley Square Farmers' Market, says, "Can you believe that farmers market season is half over. Now let's get to the good half! Having a job like this I am continuously amazed by how incredible nature can be: it seems like the heirloom tomatoes get bigger and juicier with each passing week. I've spotted the first shallots of the season as well as the first broccoli.

Small tart apples tumble by the bushel in rusted autumnal shades with old New England monikers like Russet Crab and Paula Red. Great for baking with!"

In Season, Right Now!

Apples, pears, and stone fruit. Enjoy them for snacks, desserts, and in cocktails.

Get Some Before It's Gone!

Blueberries – Barbara Hamilton from Hamilton Orchards says the heat this week has ripened some of the late varieties and she may have a few for the next markets.

Follow all our Local Food/Farmers' Markets and At The Market reports:

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your Kitchen & Dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

August 29, 2013