Author: Ed

At the Market: Fruit Is Popping up All Over!

These July Red apples are among the first of the local, apple crop to pop up at the Foppema’s Farm (still known to some as Keown Orchards) stand at the Copley Square Farmers’ Market.

Since we shop this market twice a week, we include many photos from this venue. However, many of the same vendors appear at other markets around the area and the same local crops will be in-season at most Massachusetts markets.

Stone Fruit like these plums plus some white and yellow peaches have also made their appearance.

And, it is the height of blueberry and raspberry season. We bring our own berry containers to the market to transport these delicate beauties home in top condition.

The Word from the Farms & Markets

Peter Ward, Manager of the Central Square Farmers’ Market, broadcast this shout out after the heat wave. “…we thank customers who toughed it out and shopped during the prolonged heat wave. The Farmers Market stays open for business rain or, in this case shine. And a tip o’ the cap to the folks who picked crops, weeded and bailed hay back on the baked farm fields.”

(These particular squash blossoms were from Flats Mentor Farm.)

Ben Sommer, Copley Square Farmers’ Market manager, said he bought, “… some very delicate squash blossoms from Siena Farms the other day. These ephemeral and fragile blooms can be best used stuffed with burrata from Fiore Di Nonno, or some fresh herbed Chevre from Crystal Brook Farm, then fried up, a great and easy appetizer.”

In Season, Right Now!

This is the height of the summer season. The stands are full of the foods you’ll want to savor while they last. Field tomatoes, sweet corn, summer squash, blueberries, greens, new potatoes, onions, herbs, carrots, turnips, eggplant, peppers, cabbage, beets… The list goes on-and-on.

Get Some Before It’s Gone!

Barbara Hamilton of Hamilton Orchards tells us that we were seeing the last of her red currents and green gooseberries. Foppema said they are still picking red currents.

Coming Soon!

Our favorite Saturn Peaches are just a couple of week’s away. We’ll buy them by the bagful and eat them daily until their season wanes.

Market Tip: If you are in a hurry and need to ask who has a specific item, stop by the Market Manager’s Table at your local market. The staff there can usually answer questions like this or they will know how to find out quickly.

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.

July 25, 2013
Boston Tree Care: Who’s Paying the Bills? This Time, the Garden Club of the Back Bay

… with a little help from the city.

Trees make Boston a better place to live. During this month's heat wave, did you find yourself moving from one shady spot to another as you walked around the city? But, who pays for the care of the trees that make our lives cooler in summer and refresh our air supply. If you think all the care of Boston's tree canopy is paid for with tax dollars, you're wrong!

Right now, a major tree care project is underway on Beacon Street in the Back Bay. It is funded by the Garden Club of the Back Bay (GCBB) along with a grant from Beautify Boston.

That's Bobby Loree, Arborist for Boston Tree Company, in the photo above. Bobby has been working for the GCBB, Friends of the Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee for 20 years caring for trees in the parks and along the streets of the Back Bay.

Over the next couple of weeks, Boston Tree Company crews will prune 67 large, historic Linden trees on Beacon Street. These trees were planted in 1907 after a design by landcape architect Arthur Shurcliff.

Bobby says, “We prune them in summer because there are fewer students, people are on vacation and fewer cars.”

Residents will find some parking restrictions to allow the arborists to do their work safely.

And, drivers will need to be alert as large branches are guided to the ground.

The GCBB explained, "The cost of the pruning project, expected to take 10+ days, will be $1400 per day. It will be paid with a $5000 grant from Beautify Boston to The Garden Club of the Back Bay, with the difference to be made up by a Garden Club contribution."

You can help the Garden Club pay for this project by becoming a member or making a contribution.

Linden trees are most useful and important beyond their ability to create shade and oxygen. To learn why we call them musical trees and much more about these neighborhood giants (they can grow to 80 feet) check out our post: Musical Tree Plays Many Tunes.

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

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: Top photo courtesy of the Garden Club of the Back Bay remainder © 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.

July 24, 2013
Boston Tree Care: Who’s Paying the Bills? This Time, the Garden Club of the Back Bay

… with a little help from the city.

Trees make Boston a better place to live. During this month's heat wave, did you find yourself moving from one shady spot to another as you walked around the city? But, who pays for the care of the trees that make our lives cooler in summer and refresh our air supply. If you think all the care of Boston's tree canopy is paid for with tax dollars, you're wrong!

Right now, a major tree care project is underway on Beacon Street in the Back Bay. It is funded by the Garden Club of the Back Bay (GCBB) along with a grant from Beautify Boston.

That's Bobby Loree, Arborist for Boston Tree Company, in the photo above. Bobby has been working for the GCBB, Friends of the Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee for 20 years caring for trees in the parks and along the streets of the Back Bay.

Over the next couple of weeks, Boston Tree Company crews will prune 67 large, historic Linden trees on Beacon Street. These trees were planted in 1907 after a design by landcape architect Arthur Shurcliff.

Bobby says, “We prune them in summer because there are fewer students, people are on vacation and fewer cars.”

Residents will find some parking restrictions to allow the arborists to do their work safely.

And, drivers will need to be alert as large branches are guided to the ground.

The GCBB explained, "The cost of the pruning project, expected to take 10+ days, will be $1400 per day. It will be paid with a $5000 grant from Beautify Boston to The Garden Club of the Back Bay, with the difference to be made up by a Garden Club contribution."

You can help the Garden Club pay for this project by becoming a member or making a contribution.

Linden trees are most useful and important beyond their ability to create shade and oxygen. To learn why we call them musical trees and much more about these neighborhood giants (they can grow to 80 feet) check out our post: Musical Tree Plays Many Tunes.

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

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: Top photo courtesy of the Garden Club of the Back Bay remainder © 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.

July 24, 2013
Summer Egg Overflow

This past weekend, I boiled up an overflow of eggs in my favorite little cooking pot. That always makes Ed happy because he loves having hard-boiled eggs ready for eating.

The Ukrainian egg is not edible but the rest can make a quick snack or meal.

I see cooked eggs as an ingredient. Above, you can see one of our favorite quick suppers, Curried Eggs with Cauliflower.

Do you find that you buy more eggs in summer when farmers are offering fresh collected eggs from their hens? If so, here from our archives is a list of some of the ways you can use them.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a birthday or wedding 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.

July 23, 2013
Summer Egg Overflow

This past weekend, I boiled up an overflow of eggs in my favorite little cooking pot. That always makes Ed happy because he loves having hard-boiled eggs ready for eating.

The Ukrainian egg is not edible but the rest can make a quick snack or meal.

I see cooked eggs as an ingredient. Above, you can see one of our favorite quick suppers, Curried Eggs with Cauliflower.

Do you find that you buy more eggs in summer when farmers are offering fresh collected eggs from their hens? If so, here from our archives is a list of some of the ways you can use them.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a birthday or wedding 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.

July 23, 2013
Window Washers: The Musical

We were walking along Newbury Street when we spotted these three window washers. They seemed to work in rhythm with one another, as if their movements had been choreographed. They certainly made skilled moves on their swings.

Next time you see a group of window washers in action, stop for a minute and enjoy the show.

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.

July 22, 2013
Window Washers: The Musical

We were walking along Newbury Street when we spotted these three window washers. They seemed to work in rhythm with one another, as if their movements had been choreographed. They certainly made skilled moves on their swings.

Next time you see a group of window washers in action, stop for a minute and enjoy the show.

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.

July 22, 2013
My Dog Is Cool

Instead of featuring a specific dog this Sunday, we want to be certain everyone can say, “My Dog Is Cool.”

It’s an education program from the animal protection organization RedRover designed to draw attention to the dangers faced by dogs left in cars in warm weather.

With air conditioned vehicles, people sometimes forget just how quickly the inside of a car can heat up. The group cites a Stanford University study, “… even on comparatively cool days, such as 72 degrees, a car's internal temperature will rocket to 116 degrees within 60 minutes. And keeping the windows open a crack hardly slows the rise at all.”

Someone who just intended to run into a shop for a quick errand could come out to find their dog in trouble. Or, they could come out to find their car window broken by a police officer who was trying to save the pup. Remember, those walking by a car don’t know how long the dog has been left there or how long you will be.

What To Do
Suppose you see a dog in a hot car, what should you do? First, observe the dog. Is she showing any signs of distress such as excessive panting or drooling, stumbling, disorientation, or loss of consciousness?

Write down the car’s license plate, make, model, and specifically where it is located and call 911. See if you can get someone else to check nearby shops to locate the driver while you wait for the police.

Veterinarian in a Hot Car
Dr Ernie Ward, a veterinarian, made a video of himself sitting in a car on a warm day with all four windows cracked. He explained, as he went along, what would be happening to a dog left under those conditions as the temperature in the car reached triple digits. If you have a few minutes, it’s definitely worth a look.

And, please, spread the word to anyone who thinks they can safely leave a pet in a parked car on a warm day, even for a short time.

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

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: courtesy of RedRover

July 21, 2013
My Dog Is Cool

Instead of featuring a specific dog this Sunday, we want to be certain everyone can say, “My Dog Is Cool.”

It’s an education program from the animal protection organization RedRover designed to draw attention to the dangers faced by dogs left in cars in warm weather.

With air conditioned vehicles, people sometimes forget just how quickly the inside of a car can heat up. The group cites a Stanford University study, “… even on comparatively cool days, such as 72 degrees, a car's internal temperature will rocket to 116 degrees within 60 minutes. And keeping the windows open a crack hardly slows the rise at all.”

Someone who just intended to run into a shop for a quick errand could come out to find their dog in trouble. Or, they could come out to find their car window broken by a police officer who was trying to save the pup. Remember, those walking by a car don’t know how long the dog has been left there or how long you will be.

What To Do
Suppose you see a dog in a hot car, what should you do? First, observe the dog. Is she showing any signs of distress such as excessive panting or drooling, stumbling, disorientation, or loss of consciousness?

Write down the car’s license plate, make, model, and specifically where it is located and call 911. See if you can get someone else to check nearby shops to locate the driver while you wait for the police.

Veterinarian in a Hot Car
Dr Ernie Ward, a veterinarian, made a video of himself sitting in a car on a warm day with all four windows cracked. He explained, as he went along, what would be happening to a dog left under those conditions as the temperature in the car reached triple digits. If you have a few minutes, it’s definitely worth a look.

And, please, spread the word to anyone who thinks they can safely leave a pet in a parked car on a warm day, even for a short time.

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

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: courtesy of RedRover

July 21, 2013
Boston City Archives, a Fun Friday Link

When you think of archival collections, you may not think of fun. But, if you follow today's links to Boston's City Archives, you will learn a bit about the city while you're playing their "Where is this photo?" game.

Follow the Archives Twitter feed or their Facebook account and see if you can spot today's locations in photos from yesteryear!

While the work they do is very serious historic preservation, they've found a way to show the value and educate the public that is lighthearted, fun, and engaging.

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.

July 19, 2013