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No Chimney? No Problem for Santa!

If you've ever been concerned about being passed over by Santa because your house doesn't have a chimney, relax! We're talking about "the jolly old elf." Gaining access is not a problem! However, being caught in the act during daylight could prove a bit risky.

Then again, he does have a huge list and a limited amount of time, and despite that whole thing about being "lively and quick," getting an early start can't hurt.

But, I have to admit that I've always pictured Santa as being… taller. My mistake! It's all right there in "A Visit from St. Nicholas," aka ("'Twas the Night Before Christmas"), most often attributed to Clement Clarke Moore.

Remember, the "little old driver?" And, "a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny rein-deer?" Of course! We're just glad to be able to bring you this rare look at the amazing elf in action.

Oh, and, if you're hoping to catch Santa making his big (or, little) entrance, it might be a good idea to check the balcony, just in case.

It's still not too late to give an Amazon Gift Card!

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Words: Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2011 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 that are part of the places and services we cover. Often, those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

December 24, 2011
Phone Book Attack: Here’s an Opt-Out Link

Last weekend, Back Bay homes had piles of unwanted phone books dumped on their front steps. The photo above is a single family home, so you can imagine how many were left at buildings with 40 or 60 apartments.

How do Bostonians feel about this topic?

Click over to Universal Hub, and read the comments on the post, Our annual mid-winter ritual: The rotting of the abandoned phone books. Adam Gaffin also links to his 2008 and 2009 phone book conversations.

This week he took a poll. We got two different phonebooks yesterday – which to toss in the recycling? Go over and add your vote!

Did you know that you can opt-out of having phone books delivered to your home?

In response to complaints, the Association of Directory Publishers has set up an opt-out program at this site, www.yellowpagesoptout.com. We're making this site our Friday Link!

You do have to register, and then you can opt-out of the phone books from those businesses that belong to this group. We were able to elimate three deliveries with one visit.

Of course, if you live in a multi-family home, you will have to encourage your neighbors to join you in the opt-out effort.

Wider Pilot Progam Underway

The good news is that Brookline and Cambridge are working with the Product Stewardship Institute and Catalog Choice on a pilot opt-out project. The test will make it possible for residents to stop the delivery of unwanted phone books, catalogs, coupons, and credit card solicitations. It will also measure the number of requests and program efficiency. The Product Stewardship Institute will issue a project report in the fall of 2012.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 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 comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

December 23, 2011
The Night of the Radishes: Readers’ Choice

Did you know that tomorrow, December 23rd, is Noche de Rabanos or The Night of the Radishes in some regions of Mexico? It is a time of celebration with displays of elaborately carved radishes.

Photo by Travis S.

Yes, this photo shows some of the little ones we know and love, but the main sculpture is made from giant radishes (they can be more than 6 pounds) grown for this purpose. More photos of fabulous carvings here.

We might have forgotten it this holiday except that a post we did on carving radishes last August keeps popping up this week in the list of pages that visitors are coming to BostonZest to read.

It's fun to learn about other cultures and how they celebrate. We'll soon be out looking at the ice carvings around Boston. But tomorrow, in Mexico, people will gather around radish carvings.

Here is every tool you might ever need to carve radishes or any other vegetable. Or, how about whittling? That just takes a pen knife or here's a kit with everything you need.

International Culinary Carving Set 80 Piece, Wood Case

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: by Travis S. Used under creative commons license. Here's his photostream on this topic.

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 comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

December 22, 2011
Bringing Home the Solstice Green

Winter Solstice occurs tomorrow morning at 12:30 AM EST. The shortest day of the year will be followed by the longest night.

This bicyclist was bringing home an evergreen for his holiday celebration. I wonder if he is aware of the early origins of the tradition of bring evergreens indoors for the winter solstice?

Solstice was an important day for the Druids, the Celtic priesthood class. As a part of the celebration of the solstice, they brought evergreens indoors and had a ritual of decorating the trees. Sound familar?

It's not too late to give an Amazon Gift Card!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 Penny Cherubino

December 21, 2011
Poached Chicken is a Cook’s Treasure

Poached chicken is something you will often find in our refrigerator, especially when we're busy. It doesn't take long to poach a whole bird, chicken parts on the bone, or boneless chicken. You can poach it in water and aromatic vegetables. But for the bonus of a super rich chicken stock, start with a low-sodium chicken broth.

Here are a link for learning how to poach a chicken. I use the Chinese White Chicken method.

Perfect Steeped White Chicken

Once cooked, you can turn the chicken and broth into chicken soup. Here's how we deal with that option. Variations on a Soup theme

Of course, you or your household guests could turn sliced chicken into a wonderful array of chicken sandwiches. We recommend you grab a loaf of When Pigs Fly Bakery's "Savory Cranberry" bread, or as we call it, "Stuffing Bread." It tastes just like a favorite holiday bread stuffing and makes a great sandwich with some swiss cheese, chicken, and a dab of spicy cranberry chutney.

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Then, there are salads. We're not mayo fans, so we turn our poached chicken into a Curried Chicken Salad with an oil and vinegar dressing. But, traditional chicken salad may be exactly what your family will welcome.

And, from there, you can let your imagination fly. Stir fry some veggies and toss in the chicken to warm it. Heat up some pasta sauce and make a quick chicken sauce.

We even make poached chicken for our favorite pup when she's not feeling peckish and we need to tempt her with something special. She loves it.

A heavy pot like a Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron French Oven is perfect for poaching chicken.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 Penny Cherubino

December 20, 2011
The Serious Eats Book is a Seriously Good Gift for…
One of my favorite food sites, Serious Eats pubished a really wonderful book this year. Serious Eats: A Comprehensive Guide to Making and Eating Delicious Food Wherever You Are, will make a Seriously Good Gift for a food-loving friend who loves to travel for food or find great food when they travel.

How do you know if someone is a serious eater and would love this book? Fortunately the team has put together a simple test to help you decide. They say to ask the following:

"Are you a Serious Eater?
1. Do you plan your day around what you might eat?
2. When you are heading somewhere, anywhere, will you go out of your way to eat something delicious?
3. When you daydream, do you often find yourself thinking about food?
4. Do you live to eat, rather than eat to live?
5. Have you strained relationships with friends or family by dictating the food itinerary—changing everyone’s plans to try a potentially special burger or piece of pie?"
If you're nodding your head as you read, you'll want this book! And, if you're like me you'll turn right to the pages for your favorite locations.

The Boston area is well represented.

Serious Eats executive editor, food-lab guru, and recipe czar J. Kenji López-Alt has serious Boston connections. He's an MIT grad who has cooked in some of Boston's top restaurants and spent a few years working behind the scenes and in front of the camera at Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen.

Serious Eats Up and Down the Price Scale & Recipes too!

Lets take burgers as one example. The book covers What Makes A Great Burger, Burger Styles, Regional Burger Styles, The Hamburger Fatty Melt, Got Buns Hon?, Where the Beef Is: 30 Great Burgers, and the Patty Melt.

They tell you where to find the best regardless of price. Five Great Chefy Burgers details the ledgendary offering at Craigie on Main along with others great burgers they've found around the country.

But, they also cover the Five Fast-Food Burgers Worth Your Time, including a new entry in our area, Five Guys.

Finally, they devote pages to Making Burgers At Home. Remember, this team holds a daily conversation with a vast community of food lovers. They have tested and then incorporated the tips from this remarkable resource.

Reviews

This book has had rave reviews from the New York Times, The Amateur Gourmet, Publishers Weekly, Mercury News, and Weekender.

For yourself or someone else, we highly recommend this book. Leave it out, and you'll find yourself picking it up and getting lost in the 368 pages of delicious!

Serious Eats: A Comprehensive Guide to Making and Eating Delicious Food Wherever You Are.

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Cover Art courtesy of Clarkson Porter Publishers, NY

Disclosure: Penny is a paid, freelance contributor to Serious Eats. Here is our full disclosure policy.

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 comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.
December 19, 2011
Sunday Dog, Remy– in Search of His Family Tree

Remy is a happy, well-adjusted, 11 month old with a question, “Have you seen my family tree?” Plucked from a New York shelter with the help of PetFinder, this handsome guy is curious about his ancestry.

Some of his friends think he’s a lot like an Australian Shepherd.

Hmmm. Remy does like to play hard, especially when he gets to spend time with his Portuguese Water Dog buddy who lives in Melrose.

Remy Sniffing for Clues

Others are sure they see some Collie in his genes– Bearded Collie? Rough Collie? Maybe, Border Collie?

Remy is very friendly, so the fact that he has a reputation as a "big kisser" won’t surprise you.

Wait, aren’t Bernese Mountain Dogs big kissers? After all, they’re often described as affectionate, loving, and sweet. And, Remy certainly has the same ears and coloring of that breed. But, what about that distinctive tail?

Remy told us he’ll be checking the Comments Section of BostonZest for any ideas you might have about his relatives. What do you think?

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

Brrrr! It's chilly this weekend, and we're pulling out some jackets for our little Westie, Maggie Mae. We're always amazed by how well her Fido Fleece Dog Coats hold up after winters of washing. Remember, if you're going to shop at Amazon, start from here, and they will reward us with a bit of BostonZest income.

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Words: Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 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 who are part of the places, and services we cover. Often those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

December 18, 2011
’59 Plymouth with Holiday Sparkle!

'Twas a week before Christmas, we were out for a walk,

Neighbors we met would stop for a talk.

The shoppers were merry, the windows aglow,

The holiday spirit was really a show.

When what to our wondering eyes should appear,

But this '59 Plymouth they called Belvedere.

It was pristine, and pretty, and shiny like new,

And on its front bumper some evergreen grew!

A Rock & Roll Holiday Wreath

Click on any photo to pop up a larger version!

Here's the proud owner. The car was a gift for a special birthday!

For prints of these photos or to put them on all types of merchandise from mouse pads to clothing click here.

It's never too late to shop for Amazon Gift Cards or Certificates. You can send them by email or print them on your own printer. And, when you shop for them from here, they put some coins in our tip jar.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 Penny Cherubino

December 17, 2011
Favorite Holiday Sparklers from Cava to Champagne– Our Friday Link!

Our favorite sparkling wines for your holiday shopping list make up today's Friday Link.

During the past four years, we’ve been saluting each new month with a glass of bubbly– it’s Our Sparkling Resolution.

Here are some of our favorites, beginning with the more budget-friendly…

Always on hand, it’s that good! Nino Franco Prosecco

A relatively inexpensive sparkler for beginners and experts alike,
Segura Viudas Brut Rosé

An inexpensive sparkler with nice balance, Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs Sparkling Wine

Looks like a party! La Rosée 2009

A lovely way to greet your guests, Adami Prosecco

An old friend, in more ways than one, Argyle Brut

Excellent growers choice, Pierre Peters Champagne

Getting a bottle of Movia Puro Rosé open could be the hit of the party!

Sparkling Wine Can Be a Small Luxury or a Big One, Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé

To help you with your shopping for New Years Eve, we’ve added a Sparkling Wine Tab (Top of Page) to make it easier to keep up with Our Sparkling Resolution selections.

Enjoy!

Our Sparkling Resolution

Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

Fine wine glasses that are dishwasher safe? While Ed insists on washing our stems, I can't swear to it but the manufacture says that, the Schott Zwiesel Tritan Crystal Forte Collection can go in the dishwasher. We do put our barware from the same line through the dishwaser all the time.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2011 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 that are part of the places and services we cover. Often, those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

December 16, 2011
How to Make a Great Holiday Bow from an Expert!

Ed produced a training video showing how to make a great bow for the Garden Club of The Back Bay's Wreath Week fund raising event. It was intended for them to use to train volunteers, but they decided to share it with everyone.

If you've always wanted to make a great bow for your holiday wreath or a special gift, this video will make it easy for you to use wired ribbon to create the bow of your dreams! And, listen when Margaret tells you that twisting that wire tight is the key– it is!

We'd like to thank Margaret Pokorny for her great presentation and for letting us share her expertise with our readers.

If this video helps you, please consider making a contribution to The Garden Club of the Back Bay.

Address for PayPal payments:

GardenClubBackBayInc@gmail.com

You could also make the club members happy if you adopt a street tree, install a tree fence, learn to watch for the signs of Dutch Elm Disease, or Asian Longhorned Beetles.

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino

Video: produced by Ed Cherubino, © 2011 BostonZest

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 comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

December 15, 2011