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Raspberry Infusion from Silferleaf Farm in Concord

I fell in love with the Raspberry Infusion Sweet Vinegar from Silferleaf Farm in Concord back in the early days of Boston Organics. They used to have it as an add-on item and I ate a lot more salads when I was making my favorite raspberry vinaigrette with this important ingredient.

I have tried other raspberry vinegars but they are not loaded with rich, thick raspberry goodness the way this one is. I decided to track it down and a quick email to Jeff Barry at Boston Organics set my feet on the right trail.

A call to the farm and a conversation with farmer Tom Johnson gave me the details. If you call ahead, you can pick it up at the farm while supplies last. I happened to mention on Chowhound that I was looking forward to going to the farm to pick up some of this special vinegar and a regular poster, PinchOfSalt, wrote,

"That raspberry infusion is sooo good. My favorite way to use it is in salad dressings (with almond oil, some salt and pepper, maybe something like some thyme). However you don't have to go to the farm to buy it. I have seen it (very recently) at the Fresh Pond Whole Foods (almost wrote Bread & Circus!), by the refrigerated salad dressings."

I found it right where PinchOfSalt described but I'll still be going to the farm to pick up a large supply. This has always been a favorite gift item for me to have on hand.

The dressing I was making in the top photo was used on a salad of lovely greens dropped off by a friend and neighbor. (Thank you Margaret!) Her greens, some scallion, along with bacon, eggs, and avocado made a fabulous supper.

Here are more of our Local Food/Farmers' Market posts.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

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August 11, 2014
Sunday Dog Wish: Are You Listening Politicians?

A daytrip to most Massachusetts beaches can show families with canine members that we truly are second class citizens to our state. Pay your taxes, but you can't use the facilities you pay for because some people with dogs are nasty.

Poppy is guilty with no opportunity to prove herself innocent. She sits on the seawall and wishes for sand between her toes. We can't walk on the beach because some other people have been irresponsible about cleaning up after or managing their companion animals.

We took a mid-week trip to Nantasket Beach. We looked left and right and saw the wide expanse of beach. And, at every entrance, we saw the signs telling us we were not allowed on the beach from May to October.

Here's the description of Nantasket from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

"Nantasket Beach has been a popular summer destination for city dwellers since the middle of the 19th century. The reservation encompasses 26 acres along one and a third miles of oceanfront."

One and a third miles and 26 acres and they can't set aside a section for a dog beach. I wouldn't mind if they restricted it to dogs who have their Canine Good Citizenship certificates. I wouldn't mind if you had to register yourself as a dog guardian and show a permit that you could lose for bad behavior.

Quincy Shore Reservation and Wollaston Beach is another example. Here's the DCR description.

"Open year round, dawn to dusk. Bathhouse open July to September. Quincy Shore Reservation offers a variety of recreational opportunities. Quincy Shore Drive links Wollaston Beach with Caddy memorial Park and Moswetuset Hummock. The 2.3 mile beach is popular for its jogging/bicycling trail and swimming. Caddy Park on the southern end of the beach has over 15 acres of fields and marsh as well as a play area, lookout tower and picnic tables. Moswetuset Hummock, on the beach's northern end, is a National Historic Site. Once a summer campsite of Native Americans during the 1600's, it is a mixture of woodland trails and open marshland. The site which has a short loop trail, offers views of Quincy Bay and 144-acre Squantum Marsh."

Sounds like a great place to get some exercise with your dog but dogs are forbidden access from May to October. With 2.3 miles of beach, the DCR can't find a less used section to open up to families like ours?

My recommendation is that you register to vote and tell every politician you meet that you want something for your taxes. You want dog parks, shared recreation spaces, and dog beaches at all state facilities.

Bark up the vote!

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

And, here's a post about some dogs that aced that "Nosing Class."

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 Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny Cherubino

August 10, 2014
Sunday Dog Wish: Are You Listening Politicians?

A daytrip to most Massachusetts beaches can show families with canine members that we truly are second class citizens to our state. Pay your taxes, but you can't use the facilities you pay for because some people with dogs are nasty.

Poppy is guilty with no opportunity to prove herself innocent. She sits on the seawall and wishes for sand between her toes. We can't walk on the beach because some other people have been irresponsible about cleaning up after or managing their companion animals.

We took a mid-week trip to Nantasket Beach. We looked left and right and saw the wide expanse of beach. And, at every entrance, we saw the signs telling us we were not allowed on the beach from May to October.

Here's the description of Nantasket from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

"Nantasket Beach has been a popular summer destination for city dwellers since the middle of the 19th century. The reservation encompasses 26 acres along one and a third miles of oceanfront."

One and a third miles and 26 acres and they can't set aside a section for a dog beach. I wouldn't mind if they restricted it to dogs who have their Canine Good Citizenship certificates. I wouldn't mind if you had to register yourself as a dog guardian and show a permit that you could lose for bad behavior.

Quincy Shore Reservation and Wollaston Beach is another example. Here's the DCR description.

"Open year round, dawn to dusk. Bathhouse open July to September. Quincy Shore Reservation offers a variety of recreational opportunities. Quincy Shore Drive links Wollaston Beach with Caddy memorial Park and Moswetuset Hummock. The 2.3 mile beach is popular for its jogging/bicycling trail and swimming. Caddy Park on the southern end of the beach has over 15 acres of fields and marsh as well as a play area, lookout tower and picnic tables. Moswetuset Hummock, on the beach's northern end, is a National Historic Site. Once a summer campsite of Native Americans during the 1600's, it is a mixture of woodland trails and open marshland. The site which has a short loop trail, offers views of Quincy Bay and 144-acre Squantum Marsh."

Sounds like a great place to get some exercise with your dog but dogs are forbidden access from May to October. With 2.3 miles of beach, the DCR can't find a less used section to open up to families like ours?

My recommendation is that you register to vote and tell every politician you meet that you want something for your taxes. You want dog parks, shared recreation spaces, and dog beaches at all state facilities.

Bark up the vote!

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

And, here's a post about some dogs that aced that "Nosing Class."

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 Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny Cherubino

August 10, 2014
Universal Hub for Local, Local, Local News

When I enter the letter U into my Chrome browser, UniversalHub.com is the top choice on my list of websites beginning with that letter. It's where I go when I want local news.

I have shortcuts to get to UH, as many fans call it, on both my iPhone and iPad. It's usually the first site I visit each morning. And, when I want to know what's going on, why traffic is stopped on Storrow Drive, or why I'm hearing non-stop sirens, I call up Adam Gaffin's @universalhub timeline on Twitter.

Mainstream Media Failure

Every night, I wind up clicking away from local newscasts because, instead of local news, they offer up international coverage or some viral video from Los Angeles. Rather than out doing their jobs, they just take the feed from the network to fill the time. If I want local news, I have to turn to sites like UH.

Support Universal Hub

As with many other sites, Universal Hub is supported by advertising, affiliate programs, and contributions.

Adam recently added a link that asks readers,

"Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) donation."

You'll find the place to click by scrolling down in the right hand sidebar. The next time you get a great, timely, local answer to your question, "What's going on right now in Boston?" click the link and drop a few coins in the UH tip jar.

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 Cherubino
Screengrab from Universalhub.com

August 8, 2014
Universal Hub for Local, Local, Local News

When I enter the letter U into my Chrome browser, UniversalHub.com is the top choice on my list of websites beginning with that letter. It's where I go when I want local news.

I have shortcuts to get to UH, as many fans call it, on both my iPhone and iPad. It's usually the first site I visit each morning. And, when I want to know what's going on, why traffic is stopped on Storrow Drive, or why I'm hearing non-stop sirens, I call up Adam Gaffin's @universalhub timeline on Twitter.

Mainstream Media Failure

Every night, I wind up clicking away from local newscasts because, instead of local news, they offer up international coverage or some viral video from Los Angeles. Rather than out doing their jobs, they just take the feed from the network to fill the time. If I want local news, I have to turn to sites like UH.

Support Universal Hub

As with many other sites, Universal Hub is supported by advertising, affiliate programs, and contributions.

Adam recently added a link that asks readers,

"Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) donation."

You'll find the place to click by scrolling down in the right hand sidebar. The next time you get a great, timely, local answer to your question, "What's going on right now in Boston?" click the link and drop a few coins in the UH tip jar.

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 Cherubino
Screengrab from Universalhub.com

August 8, 2014
So Happy Bacchante and Infant Faun Returned to the BPL Courtyard

The sculpure of Bacchante and Infant Faun with its ring of sparkling, splashing water add a refreshing, lively note to the Boston Public Library Courtyard in summer.

She is one of my favorite photo subjects. Every angle offers a new challenge to capture the vivaciousness of this work of art with my camera. The architecture of the courtyard creates a perfect backdrop and, in the photo above, an arched frame.

Here is the only photo I could find of the original artwork in place in the Courtyard in 1896. (From the Boston Public Library collection.) It was on display for just two weeks in November of that year.

The original statue, given to the library by the architect Charles Follen McKim, is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The notes on it in their collection include this information.

"After a great storm of public protest stirred by temperance unions, clergy, and other angry Bostonians against the statue's "drunken indecency," McKim withdrew the gift and then offered "Bacchante" to the Metropolitan in May 1897. The Board of Trustees enthusiastically accepted it, and the bronze was displayed for many years in the Museum's Great Hall…"

The statue on display in the BPL Courtyard today is a casting made in 1993 from a second bronze in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts.

How barren the courtyard looks in this 1927 photo. It lacks the statue, furniture, and people we find there today. (From the Boston Public Library collection.)

While Bacchante's dance upset Bostonians, Emerson College students were allowed to perform the Butterfly Dance in the courtyard in 1926.

Don't forget, this year's free Concerts in the Courtyard continue through August 29th.

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 Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny Cherubino with historic photos from the Boston Public Library Collection used under this creative commons license.

August 7, 2014
So Happy Bacchante and Infant Faun Returned to the BPL Courtyard

The sculpure of Bacchante and Infant Faun with its ring of sparkling, splashing water add a refreshing, lively note to the Boston Public Library Courtyard in summer.

She is one of my favorite photo subjects. Every angle offers a new challenge to capture the vivaciousness of this work of art with my camera. The architecture of the courtyard creates a perfect backdrop and, in the photo above, an arched frame.

Here is the only photo I could find of the original artwork in place in the Courtyard in 1896. (From the Boston Public Library collection.) It was on display for just two weeks in November of that year.

The original statue, given to the library by the architect Charles Follen McKim, is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The notes on it in their collection include this information.

"After a great storm of public protest stirred by temperance unions, clergy, and other angry Bostonians against the statue's "drunken indecency," McKim withdrew the gift and then offered "Bacchante" to the Metropolitan in May 1897. The Board of Trustees enthusiastically accepted it, and the bronze was displayed for many years in the Museum's Great Hall…"

The statue on display in the BPL Courtyard today is a casting made in 1993 from a second bronze in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts.

How barren the courtyard looks in this 1927 photo. It lacks the statue, furniture, and people we find there today. (From the Boston Public Library collection.)

While Bacchante's dance upset Bostonians, Emerson College students were allowed to perform the Butterfly Dance in the courtyard in 1926.

Don't forget, this year's free Concerts in the Courtyard continue through August 29th.

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 Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny Cherubino with historic photos from the Boston Public Library Collection used under this creative commons license.

August 7, 2014
Living Stump Project to Fight Dutch Elm Disease

A few weeks ago, we took the sad photos of another Commonwealth Avenue Mall Heritage Elm being removed because of Dutch Elm Disease.

This time, when the wood was carted away, the stump remained. Instead of grinding out and removing the stump, contractors will use it and the root system that comes into contact with other trees on the block to dispense pest management treatment.

A sign has been added to the stump to explain to neighbors and visitors what is happening.

Click on the photo for a larger view of the sign.

Update 08.07.14 from Margaret Pokorny, Chair of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee

"Penny, thanks for posting this. We are very encouraged by how well these treatments are going. People have seem to really appreciate my signs as well. Still looking for a sponsor to replant one of these locations in the spring."

Here's a link to more information about sponsoring a tree on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

If you'd like to learn more about Dutch Elm Disease, here is an earlier post about this devastating killer of strong, old trees.

Time to Keep Watch to Protect Our Elegant Elms

You can become part of the community of volunteers who help spot the disease in early enough stages to save some elms.

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: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

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August 5, 2014
Living Stump Project to Fight Dutch Elm Disease

A few weeks ago, we took the sad photos of another Commonwealth Avenue Mall Heritage Elm being removed because of Dutch Elm Disease.

This time, when the wood was carted away, the stump remained. Instead of grinding out and removing the stump, contractors will use it and the root system that comes into contact with other trees on the block to dispense pest management treatment.

A sign has been added to the stump to explain to neighbors and visitors what is happening.

Click on the photo for a larger view of the sign.

Update 08.07.14 from Margaret Pokorny, Chair of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee

"Penny, thanks for posting this. We are very encouraged by how well these treatments are going. People have seem to really appreciate my signs as well. Still looking for a sponsor to replant one of these locations in the spring."

Here's a link to more information about sponsoring a tree on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

If you'd like to learn more about Dutch Elm Disease, here is an earlier post about this devastating killer of strong, old trees.

Time to Keep Watch to Protect Our Elegant Elms

You can become part of the community of volunteers who help spot the disease in early enough stages to save some elms.

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: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Give Your Sunday Dog a Drink on a Hot Summer Walk

Snow Show: Back Bay Scene

Assiniboine Park's 'Grandma Elm' diseased, will be cut down

August 5, 2014
Seagull Philosophy: “Why Steal One When You Can Steal…”

"Why steal one piece when you can steal the whole box? They even bagged it for me."

Here's how the story unfolded.

"Hmmmm! What do we have here by this deserted beach blanket?"

"Wow, I'm gonna tweet 'P-A-R-T-Y' to the gang as soon as I get this away from here!"

"Tight grip and PULL!"

"Slow work. I hope whatever's in here is worth it."

What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon – Get Ready for Summer – Everything You Need and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny Cherubino

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