Category: We recommend!

Corn Micro Greens from Silverbrook Farm
If you love the flavor of sweet corn, you'll find dozens of ways to tuck these spunky, corn micro greens into your summer dishes.

When one of our trusted farmers says, "Try this," with a big smile on his face, we often discover a new something spectacular. Scott Hurwitz from Silverbrook Farm convinced us to try what he was calling "micro popcorn" last week. They are actually young corn shoots. And as you nibble your way from the tip of the leaf to the stem, the pure corn flavor intensifies.

These tiny corn plants were tucked among the more traditional micro greens that many farms are producing now for area chefs. In fact, if these are still around next week, we may buy them as thank you gifts for some of our favorite chefs. There's nothing like a new ingredient to make a chef smile.

Here are a couple of descriptions from other people who have tasted these little flavor bombs.
- "…sweet corn shoots, those are my favorite. They have a really sweet flavor that almost masks the corn flavor. It kind of explodes on your palate," says Eric Longhmi, a chef at the Boulder Country Club." f rom here.
- Scott described them as tasting like kettle corn.
How would you use a micro green that tastes like corn intensified and has a flavor that lingers?

We see it sprinkled on a taco to reinforce the corn flavor. Or, adding a second hit of corn to our summer corn and potato salad.

You may remember that it was the team at Silverbrook that started us eating cucumbery cat tails. Here's the report on that adventure that Penny wrote for Serious Eats.

Here's where you'll find Silverbrook Farm this week.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino
July 9, 2012
North End Waterfront: Our Friday Link

When we want to know what's happening in the North End or Waterfront area, we click over to NorthEndWaterfront.com.

For Locals

If you live in or near the neighborhood, it is essential reading. Or, if you are simply devoted fans of the area and want to know all the details of new restaurants, festivals, people and places, it's a perfect daily visit. For example, here's a link to the 2012 Feast Schedule.

If you live in a different neighborhood, it's good to see the issues that these neighbors face and how they are dealing with them. Sharing information between Boston's distinct communities can be powerful.

For Visitors to Boston

When we visit a new place, Penny will read the local papers and community websites. This gives us a sense of what's going on around us as we walk the streets and sit in the cafes.

For anyone who wants to make the North End an important part of their Boston visit, this is one site to research before you arrive. You'll find listings of Attractions and Tours plus maps showing WiFi hot spots, parking, and restaruants.

We admit to being a bit addicted to the site. We subscribe to the site's RSS feed, follow it on Twitter, and Facebook. We are great admirers of the dedication and skill that Matt Conti puts into this site and hope you will click over, explore, and find that you enjoy it too.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 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 6, 2012
Popping a Bollinger Champagne Cork for July 2012

Tomorrow, we'll pop the cork on a bottle of Bollinger to celebrate July! "Happy New Month" to all.

This month, we have a few extra reasons to celeberate, so we are splurging with a great bottle of French Campagne: Bollinger Special Cuvée. This is the standard that we use to measure all other French Blanc de Noir Champagnes.

One of the nice things about Bolly (as the Brits call it) is the consistant taste through the years and its wide availability. The photos here were taken in Provincetown where we usually find it at Perry's Wine and Liquors. But, I also recall buying a bottle, years ago, at an A & P in a small town in Maine.

This month's bottle is a treat. It is something we will enjoy at home or in a vacation cottage. If you hesitate to buy and enjoy a moderately expensive bottle of wine at home, think about what you have paid for wine in a restaurant.

This is a toasty Champagne, full bodied, and ready to take on whatever you're serving with it. The blend is 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Meunier. And, each release has been blended with reserve wines from the Bollinger cellars to achieve the famous Bollinger house style.

The next time you're in a special place or have a special reason to celebrate, invite Bollinger to the party!

Portrait from Bollinger's Life Can Be Perfect site. You can read more Bolly stories there.

We close with one of the great quotes about Champagne from Lily Bollinger (above) who managed this great house for many years and established its world-wide reputation.

"I drink it when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it—unless I’m thirsty." Lily Bollinger

Related Posts:

Here's a video that will tell you more about this great Campagne House.

Check out more of our Sparkling Resolution Winners among our Wine Posts. For years, we've kept our sparkling resolution to begin each month by toasting with a glass of sparkling wine. Some are special, some are bargains, all are delcious!

More about Our Sparkling Resolution

Finally, more of our Provincetown Posts!

We have a new, favorite wine book that we are not only recommending to our readers, but buying as a gift for wine-loving friends. It's a treasure and we expect it to look a bit worn and well-used pretty quickly. It may even suffer a few wine stains but we doubt that Karen and Andrew will mind.

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Here are more books from this team:

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs

What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea – Even Water – Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers

Becoming a Chef

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

June 30, 2012
Rhea Becker’s Short Attention Span: Our Friday Link

It's only fitting that we make "Rhea Becker's Short Attention Span" a Friday Link. After all, Rhea was the one who inspired our Friday Links a few years back.

Rhea was supporting other sites and linking to them on Fridays, so I asked if I could steal the idea. She very graciously said, "Yes" and we have been passing on good stuff to our readers each Friday ever since.

When Rhea said she was retiring her Boomer Chronicles site, I was saddened, but she promised a new outlet for her wit and wisdom. In a few weeks, she delivered with this great short format site. Follow along as this talented writer and fun woman drops interesting tidbits your way.

Any writer will tell you that it is easier to write 1200 words on a topic than 150. Rhea's editing talent makes her a perfect short form writer.

Click over and subscribe to her feed "Rhea Becker's Short Attention Span"

Or, follow her on Twitter.

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Screenshot: Courtesy of "Rhea Becker's Short Attention Span"

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.

June 29, 2012
Greenough Lane, Then and Now….

Today, we nominate Charter Street Park and Greenough Lane (map) in the North End as a delightful pocket of serenity. Ever since we met Lynn Schweikart author of Peaceful Places Boston, we've been taking note of places to nominate for her consideration in a future edition.

Running through Charter Street Park is Greenough Lane. Early records of Boston’s streets listed this as Greenough's Alley. In 1732, it was called Greenough’s Lane, which changed to Greenough's Avenue in 1848. Finally, the apostrophe "s" was dropped and it has been Greenough Lane, since 1858.

From the BPL collection used under this creative commons license.

As we were researching Greenough Lane, we came across this Henry Blaney sketch of the scene as it stood in July 1891. It is part of the Boston Public Library Collection.

We'd also like to encourage our readers to stand up for and protect a few of these little gems. We need a few places where you can sit and enjoy nature without organized events, street performers, or other diversions planned by all the sad, little, busy minds who need constant distraction to keep from thinking.

Discover more peaceful places here and around the country. And, please nominate your favorite pockets of serentity for one of our upcoming posts.

For those who read us from other parts of the country, the publisher has some peaceful books for other cities.

Peaceful Places: Boston: 121 Tranquil Sites in the City and Beyond

Peaceful Places: Chicago: 119 Tranquil Sites in the Windy City and Beyond

Peaceful Places: San Francisco: 100+ Tranquil Sites in The City and the Greater Bay Area

Peaceful Places: Los Angeles: 100+ Sites for Tranquility Across the City of Angels

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Cover art © 2012 Lynn Schweikart

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.

June 27, 2012
Romancing the Rhubarb

It was a rhubarb spring for me. Looking at the photos I took during an early season trip to Provincetown, a big smile crossed my face as I recalled taking these pictures early one morning in our Chandler House kitchen, before enjoying a perfect breakfast.

That little, lovely jar, shining in the morning sun, was full of rhubarb preserves from PB Boulangerie in Wellfleet.

We always stop there on our way into P-Town to supply ourself with their crusty baguettes, buttery croissants, and bike trail cookies.

These oh-so-satisfying, sweet/tart preserves (made by the owner's mother when she visits from France) inspired me to seek out rhubarb in other forms all spring.

I bought fresh rhubarb at the Copley Square Farmers' Market and, following my Grandpa's lessons, turned it into a rhubarb compote. He didn't actually use recipes. He just cut the rhubarb in his back yard, removed the leaves, washed it, chopped it, and then cooked it down with a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of water.

Here is a basic recipe. But, read the comments. There are great ideas there that I'm going to try.

I've spotted strawberry rhubarb pies at the markets. Barbara Hamiltion of Hamilton Orchards said she's planning to make some rhubarb preserves and may even make some with low sugar or honey for those who like a touch of sour.

On my tasting list are Fee Brothers Rhubarb Cocktail Bitters, Rhubarb soda, and– when she makes them– Vianne Chocolat's Raspberry Rhubarb Truffles!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

June 25, 2012
Friday Links to Free Music!
Summer in Boston is full of opportunities to enjoy free and low-cost concerts. Today, we're linking to some of the free ones but we invite you to add links to other low cost options in the comments section.
Click on any small photo to see a larger version in the space above.

Shannon Selig (photos above) opened the Prudential Center Lunchtime Concert series on Tuesday. This free concert series is part of the Berklee Summer in the City program.

Keep your eye on Shannon and get out and see her whenever you can. She's piling up awards and we think this young singer/songwriter has a very bright future. These and few additional photos of this concert are in our Smug Mug gallery.

Berklee Summer in the CIty

Berklee will be treating us to music at dozens of locations in and outside the city. If you get out to one of the concerts be sure to pick up the Berklee Summer in the City brochure. It features concerts by series, by location, by date and featured artists. You can also find the information on line here.

Boston Public Library Courtyard

Bacchante and Infant Faun are dancing on water in the courtyard of the Boston Public Library. Mark your calendars! The popular, free, Friday lunchtime concert series has returned to the courtyard and continues through the end of August. Here's a link to details of the full schedule.

Hatch Shell Concert Series 2012

In 1939, the trustees of Maria E. Hatch’s estate entered into an agreement to give the Commonwealth of Massachusetts $300,000 to build a concertorium, or music shell, on the Storrow Memorial Embankment in Boston. It would be a memorial to her bother, Boston real estate auctioneer, Edward Hatch.

The agreement was very specific as to the use of the structure. It would be for “musical and artistic purposes… of general public interest and entertainment, except, however, that it shall not be used for sectarian, political or controversial purposes.” Here's this year's list of musical presentations!

More Series at More Locations

Boston: City Hall Plaza and Christopher Columbus Park Series

Boston: Boston Harbor Hotel Free Entertainment Series on Rose Wharf

Boston: Downtown Crossing Street Music Series

Boston: Post Office Square Summer Lunch Concert Series

Cambridge: Regattabar Courtyard Series with Berklee College of Music

Cambridge: Club Passim/Berklee Summer Concert Series at Kendall Square and Harvard Square

Okay, we have the list started. Add your favorite free, or low-cost, summer concerts in the comments.

Related Posts: For our Friday link collection click here.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 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.
June 15, 2012
Dragon Boat Weekend in Photos!
The Boston Dragon Boat Festival participants could not have imagined a better weekend than this one. And, we were very happy to have had two perfect days to capture photos for an upcoming project.
Click on any small photo to see a larger version in the space above. All photos © 2012 The Cherubinos, all rights reserved.

The time trials used to determine the seed order for the final races were held on Saturday. It was fun to watch the boats set up, start, and the teamwork onboard each dragon boat. We also enjoyed seeing the pre-race workouts and coaching. And, the people who are part of this sport.
Click on any small photo to see a larger version in the space above.

On Saturday, we walked back to Boston with Sheryl Mendlinger a member of the Wellness Warriors team. You'll see a lot of this crew and their pink boat in the photos. They won our hears and our cheers!

"It’s a cancer team for men & women– all cancers. And, we paddle on the Charles River,” Sheryl told us. “It’s just phenomenal! It’s one thing having to go through cancer, it’s another thing being on a team where you’re out there and you feel physically alive again.”
Click on any small photo to see a larger version in the space above.

Sunday was race day and the day of a culture festival on the banks of the Charles. It's an event that we highly recommend. And, if you're looking for a new obsession in life, we recommend dragon boats. The looks on the faces of almost everyone taking part in this sport make you want to try it.

We've put a full album of photos in our gallery over at SmugMug. The folks over there take care of all our photo printing and can put a photo on a full line of items from postcards to mousepads. We do our part and let them do theirs!

Here are the photos from the Saturday time trials.

Here are the photos from Sunday, Race day with a few of our favorites from the festival.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino, all rights reserved. Use requires written permission.

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.
June 11, 2012
Pretty in Pink! Check Out the Staff Meal Girl Now!

Patrick & Adam, the Staff Meal food truck guys, were tweeting photos of the new look they ordered up for their favorite wheels.

Update for the Spring 2013 Food Truck Season: The Staff Meal Guys have traded the truck for a Pop up Schedule. So the Pretty in Pink truck won't be on schedule.

I couldn't wait to track them down and take my own photos of this piggy paint job! So, we're featuring her as our Saturday photo model. She is very beautiful, guys. She just kept smiling at me!

Of course, I also saw it as an excuse to enjoy a staff meal taco!

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 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.

June 9, 2012
Edible Boston Summer 2012 Issue is Out!

Just as I look forward to the local food each new season brings my way, I look forward to the new issue of Edible Boston for each quarter of the year. The new issue is out and is our Friday Link, today.

This is your alert to start looking forward to the Summer 2012 issue available at most of the local businesses that support this great publication with their advertising.

When my preview issue arrived, the first article I read was "Seta's Rules to Cook By," a feature on Chef Seta Dakessian. Many of you know her from her Seta's Mediterranean Foods stands at farmers' markets around Boston. You'll learn about Seta's background, food philosophy, and some of the rules this farm-to-fork chef sets for herself to achieve the wonderful balance you find in her food.

Publisher Ilene Bezahler said of this, her 25th issue, "I think it has solidified my transition from a magazine about food to a magazine about people and food. Food is the common denominator, of course, but the exploration into who produces our food, who has access to local food and where to find it seems to be as important as whether it tastes good or, for that matter, is good for us."

Also in this issue, you'll learn about: "Earth Mothers," a cover story on young female farmers; Everett's Nanobreweries; Feeding Boston, the growth of Boston Organics; and many more features, plus the tasty tidbits supplied by the regular columns.

How do you say thank you to a publisher like Ilene Bezahler and her remarkably talented team?

May I suggest that you: let their sponsors know you saw them in the magazine, grab an extra copy and get it to someone else who cares about supporting the local food movement. And, if you have a blog, twitter account, or facebook page, that you write about them, link to them, follow them, retweet their tweets, like them on Facebook, and in general, spread the word about this great asset to our community.

And, to be sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe over on their website!

You can also buy the Edible cookbook! Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Artwork: Courtesy of Edible Boston

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.

June 8, 2012