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Phonebooks Grow in a Back Bay Garden

Like crocuses popping their heads though the snow, these sturdy survivers continue to expand their leaves as they spend the winter along a wall in a Back Bay front yard.

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 PennyCherubino

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.

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February 2, 2013
Phonebooks Grow in a Back Bay Garden

Like crocuses popping their heads though the snow, these sturdy survivers continue to expand their leaves as they spend the winter along a wall in a Back Bay front yard.

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: © 2013 PennyCherubino

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.

Related articles

What Is This And Where Did We Spot It? Play Attention to Detail

Lantern in the Snow

Tip for Cleaning Hands Stained & Sticky from Holiday Greenery

Make a List of Your Dog's Words!

February 2, 2013
Phonebooks Grow in a Back Bay Garden

Like crocuses popping their heads though the snow, these sturdy survivers continue to expand their leaves as they spend the winter along a wall in a Back Bay front yard.

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: © 2013 PennyCherubino

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.

Related articles

What Is This And Where Did We Spot It? Play Attention to Detail

Lantern in the Snow

Tip for Cleaning Hands Stained & Sticky from Holiday Greenery

Make a List of Your Dog's Words!

February 2, 2013
February Sparkles with a Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé

What better way to greet February than with the lovely sparkle of a Crémant de Bourgogne. Whether you’re celebrating love, welcoming a new month, or toasting the promise of an early spring, this gorgeous bottle of bubbles from La Maison du Crémant in eastern France will make you happy.

We selected this Brut Rosé at Bauer Wine & Spirits where they describe the wine as having, “aromas and flavors of sweet strawberries, bread dough, red currants, and a hint of lavender.” The Pinot Noir, Chardonnay blend is “refreshing, bright, fruity, and fresh.”

We enjoyed this sparkler even more as it warmed in our glasses, while we shared an outstanding cheddar, a favorite baguette, and one of Penny's homemade apple/raisin crostatas.

It’s a Crémant that would be comfortable in most any setting – with a meal, hors d’oeuvres, or for simply a toast and conversation. “For the money ($15.99) you won't be disappointed.” A sweetheart of a February sparkler!

And, if you're choosing a special wine for Valentine's Day, here are some of our recommendations.

Sophisticated Pink Sparklers for Valentines' Day

Share Our Sparkling Resolution

Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books.

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

The New Wine Lover's Companion

The Wine Bible



Details:
Words: 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.

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February 1, 2013
February Sparkles with a Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé

What better way to greet February than with the lovely sparkle of a Crémant de Bourgogne. Whether you’re celebrating love, welcoming a new month, or toasting the promise of an early spring, this gorgeous bottle of bubbles from La Maison du Crémant in eastern France will make you happy.

We selected this Brut Rosé at Bauer Wine & Spirits where they describe the wine as having, “aromas and flavors of sweet strawberries, bread dough, red currants, and a hint of lavender.” The Pinot Noir, Chardonnay blend is “refreshing, bright, fruity, and fresh.”

We enjoyed this sparkler even more as it warmed in our glasses, while we shared an outstanding cheddar, a favorite baguette, and one of Penny's homemade apple/raisin crostatas.

It’s a Crémant that would be comfortable in most any setting – with a meal, hors d’oeuvres, or for simply a toast and conversation. “For the money ($15.99) you won't be disappointed.” A sweetheart of a February sparkler!

And, if you're choosing a special wine for Valentine's Day, here are some of our recommendations.

Sophisticated Pink Sparklers for Valentines' Day

Share Our Sparkling Resolution

Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books.

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

The New Wine Lover's Companion

The Wine Bible



Details:
Words: 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.

Related articles

The Best Sparkling Wine Under $25

Planet Oregon Pinot Noir, an Excellent and Very Green, Red Wine

Cremant d'Alsace pops with success

Valentine's Day 2013 – Romantic Dining in Boston

February 1, 2013
February Sparkles with a Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé

What better way to greet February than with the lovely sparkle of a Crémant de Bourgogne. Whether you’re celebrating love, welcoming a new month, or toasting the promise of an early spring, this gorgeous bottle of bubbles from La Maison du Crémant in eastern France will make you happy.

We selected this Brut Rosé at Bauer Wine & Spirits where they describe the wine as having, “aromas and flavors of sweet strawberries, bread dough, red currants, and a hint of lavender.” The Pinot Noir, Chardonnay blend is “refreshing, bright, fruity, and fresh.”

We enjoyed this sparkler even more as it warmed in our glasses, while we shared an outstanding cheddar, a favorite baguette, and one of Penny's homemade apple/raisin crostatas.

It’s a Crémant that would be comfortable in most any setting – with a meal, hors d’oeuvres, or for simply a toast and conversation. “For the money ($15.99) you won't be disappointed.” A sweetheart of a February sparkler!

And, if you're choosing a special wine for Valentine's Day, here are some of our recommendations.

Sophisticated Pink Sparklers for Valentines' Day

Share Our Sparkling Resolution

Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books.

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

The New Wine Lover's Companion

The Wine Bible



Details:
Words: 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.

Related articles

The Best Sparkling Wine Under $25

Planet Oregon Pinot Noir, an Excellent and Very Green, Red Wine

Cremant d'Alsace pops with success

Valentine's Day 2013 – Romantic Dining in Boston

February 1, 2013
Lamb Burgers from Our New Meat Grinder

After breaking in a our new LEM Electric Meat Grinder making a batch of raw food for our puppy, its second outing was all for us as we turned a piece of lamb into lamb burgers.

(Note: With our tiny kitchen we opted for a smaller, lighter grinder not suited to grinding bones for dog food. We have the bone portion of Poppy's food – chicken backs and necks – ground at Mayflower Poultry where they can grind up whatever you like for your dog's or cat's Bones and Raw Food or B.A.R.F. diet.)

We decided to go with a coarse grind so the burgers would have more bite to them. And, I had trimmed the meat fairly lean because I'm not always a fan of the flavor of lamb fat.

A drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper prepared them for cooking.

Then, into a pan where some onions, garlic, and rosemary had been cooked. There the patties quickly turned into wonderful, sizzling, crusty lamb burgers – freshly ground at home and safe to enjoy medium rare the way Ed likes his.

We'll try to get finished product photos the next time because the aroma distracted us and bites were taken before hands could be cleaned and cameras focused.

Next project? Lets just say we already have sausage casings on hand.

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

January 31, 2013
Lamb Burgers from Our New Meat Grinder

After breaking in a our new LEM Electric Meat Grinder making a batch of raw food for our puppy, its second outing was all for us as we turned a piece of lamb into lamb burgers.

(Note: With our tiny kitchen we opted for a smaller, lighter grinder not suited to grinding bones for dog food. We have the bone portion of Poppy's food – chicken backs and necks – ground at Mayflower Poultry where they can grind up whatever you like for your dog's or cat's Bones and Raw Food or B.A.R.F. diet.)

We decided to go with a coarse grind so the burgers would have more bite to them. And, I had trimmed the meat fairly lean because I'm not always a fan of the flavor of lamb fat.

A drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper prepared them for cooking.

Then, into a pan where some onions, garlic, and rosemary had been cooked. There the patties quickly turned into wonderful, sizzling, crusty lamb burgers – freshly ground at home and safe to enjoy medium rare the way Ed likes his.

We'll try to get finished product photos the next time because the aroma distracted us and bites were taken before hands could be cleaned and cameras focused.

Next project? Lets just say we already have sausage casings on hand.

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

January 31, 2013
Lamb Burgers from Our New Meat Grinder

After breaking in a our new LEM Electric Meat Grinder making a batch of raw food for our puppy, its second outing was all for us as we turned a piece of lamb into lamb burgers.

(Note: With our tiny kitchen we opted for a smaller, lighter grinder not suited to grinding bones for dog food. We have the bone portion of Poppy's food – chicken backs and necks – ground at Mayflower Poultry where they can grind up whatever you like for your dog's or cat's Bones and Raw Food or B.A.R.F. diet.)

We decided to go with a coarse grind so the burgers would have more bite to them. And, I had trimmed the meat fairly lean because I'm not always a fan of the flavor of lamb fat.

A drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper prepared them for cooking.

Then, into a pan where some onions, garlic, and rosemary had been cooked. There the patties quickly turned into wonderful, sizzling, crusty lamb burgers – freshly ground at home and safe to enjoy medium rare the way Ed likes his.

We'll try to get finished product photos the next time because the aroma distracted us and bites were taken before hands could be cleaned and cameras focused.

Next project? Lets just say we already have sausage casings on hand.

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

January 31, 2013
A Sprinkle of Urfa Pepper…

Urfa Biber or Urfa pepper is one of those spices I kept seeing in Turkish recipes. Then I noticed it on Formaggio Kitchen's website. That made sense because owner Ihsan Gurdhal is from Istanbul and an expert in Turkish cuisine. In her book, Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean, Chef Ana Sortum of Oleana says he's the one who introduced her to it.

When I saw a bag of it at Arax Market in Watertown, I knew I had to give it a try. I gave part of my supply to a cooking friend so we could both play with it and compare notes. "They are simultaneously bitter like coffee or chocolate and sweet like molasses, and they lend a wonderful, deep, smoky aroma to sauces," Chef Sortum writes.

It looks a bit like rich, oily coffee grounds with a rusty red tint. It is an afterburner chili giving you a mild introduction with a kick on the finish. It is wonderful with eggplant. A spinkle will add a lift to a tray of roasted root vegetables. And, I added a dash to some leftover pork for a second night supper.

In Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean, Chef Sortum features Urfa as one of her favorite chili peppers, along with Aleppo pepper and paprika.

Urfa Tip:

Notice that my work board is protected with a piece of parchment and my Urfa is in a glass jar. This is a spice, like tumeric, that could be used as a dye. It will stain your counter, clothing, or hands. It even left stains on a small aluminum scoop I was using with it. And the natural scallop shell in the first photo now has an orangy interior. Use it with this caution in mind.

If you try Urfa pepper, be sure to let us know how you like it and what recipes you explored.

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.

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January 30, 2013