bostonzest

Tag: March

  • New Mexico’s Gruet Sauvage Joins Our “Grand Tour” of Terroir

    We'll say "Happy New Month" to March with a blanc de blanc sparkling wine from New Mexico, Gruet Sauvage. We've been long time fans of the Gruet wines, but Sauvage is new to us.

    It's on the current wine list at Grand Tour, a new restaurant from Chef Michael Serpa and his team. This place is already a favorite with us. We've been stopping in since it opened slowly working our way through the engaging menu.

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    Michael has become the latest of our wine mentors so even when we normally shy away from 100% Chardonnay sparklers, we are quick to try a glass of any wine that he selects. Our goal in 2020 is to explore terroir with our monthly toast, this wine from New Mexico fits right in.

    Here is what the Gruet vintners say about their terroir.

    "With high elevation, sandy loam soils, and sweeping winds to naturally keep away pests and thin the canopy for greater flavors, New Mexico’s desert landscape proved the ideal starting ground for Gruet.

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    Here are the tasting notes from Gruet:

    "Gruet Sauvage NV is a bone-dry sparkler, pale straw in color with a delicate but persistent mousse. The aromas of bright mineral and citrus notes tickle the nose followed by touches of green apple, lemon and, grapefruit. The finish is structured, flavorful and long. The bright acidity makes this wine a perfect pairing for oysters, sushi and cream sauces."

    We've already enjoyed a few glasses of this crisp, food-oriented sparkler at the bar at Grand Tour. We'll return there today to raise another glass with friends to wish one another a "Happy New Month." We recommend the wine and we recommend the restaurant!

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    Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month. Cheers!

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post: Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • Time to Get Your Dog a License

    March is dog license season in Massachusetts. Dogs in the Commonwealth are required to have a 2016 dog license by April 1st.

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    When we met this adorable Boston newcomer "Guinness" recently, he already had his license.

    How to Apply

    I put a reminder on my calendar and usually apply for a Boston dog license online. You can also download an application to mail at that page.

    If your dog, like my Poppy, is already registered, enter the current license number and all your information should be filled in by the system. Next, you upload photos of a spay certificate and current rabies record. Then, you enter your credit card information and complete the transaction.

    If you prefer the snail mail option, you should receive a package in the mail if your dog is currently licensed. If not, and you want to get a license in person, visit the Animal Care and Control Department at 1010 Massachusetts Avenue. Bring a current rabies certificate and a spay/neuter certificate if you have one. A prepared check or money order will save time.

    You can also get your license at the City Hall To Go truck at one of its scheduled spots around town. Just bring the same documents and a check with you. 

    Low-Cost Clinics

    The city has a series of Dog Licensing & Low-Cost Rabies Vaccine Clinics each year. Here's a link to a copy of this year's events. It was in the right-hand sidebar at the time of this writing. 

    2016 rabies clinic flyer

    Should Dogs or People Be Licensed?

    Over the years, the group of dog lovers that walks with us has often discussed an option of having people licensed as legal caretakers of animals rather than attaching the license to the dog. Then the responsible caregivers could register the animals they have under that license and receive tags for each.

    The legislature has a task force looking at a possible statewide Animal Abuse Registry. But, beyond outright abuse, a caregiver’s registry might deny licenses to those who are constant scofflaws or who have a history of dangerous dog offenses.

    Of course some enforcement of the current rules and regulations for picking up after your dog and keeping dogs on a leash would have to be a part of any program like this.

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

    Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

     

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • Time to Get Your Dog a License

    March is dog license season in Massachusetts. Dogs in the Commonwealth are required to have a 2016 dog license by April 1st.

     6a00e54fc42bb8883401b7c81894bc970b-800wi

    When we met this adorable Boston newcomer "Guinness" recently, he already had his license.

    How to Apply

    I put a reminder on my calendar and usually apply for a Boston dog license online. You can also download an application to mail at that page.

    If your dog, like my Poppy, is already registered, enter the current license number and all your information should be filled in by the system. Next, you upload photos of a spay certificate and current rabies record. Then, you enter your credit card information and complete the transaction.

    If you prefer the snail mail option, you should receive a package in the mail if your dog is currently licensed. If not, and you want to get a license in person, visit the Animal Care and Control Department at 1010 Massachusetts Avenue. Bring a current rabies certificate and a spay/neuter certificate if you have one. A prepared check or money order will save time.

    You can also get your license at the City Hall To Go truck at one of its scheduled spots around town. Just bring the same documents and a check with you. 

    Low-Cost Clinics

    The city has a series of Dog Licensing & Low-Cost Rabies Vaccine Clinics each year. Here's a link to a copy of this year's events. It was in the right-hand sidebar at the time of this writing. 

    2016 rabies clinic flyer

    Should Dogs or People Be Licensed?

    Over the years, the group of dog lovers that walks with us has often discussed an option of having people licensed as legal caretakers of animals rather than attaching the license to the dog. Then the responsible caregivers could register the animals they have under that license and receive tags for each.

    The legislature has a task force looking at a possible statewide Animal Abuse Registry. But, beyond outright abuse, a caregiver’s registry might deny licenses to those who are constant scofflaws or who have a history of dangerous dog offenses.

    Of course some enforcement of the current rules and regulations for picking up after your dog and keeping dogs on a leash would have to be a part of any program like this.

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

    Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

     

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • It’s Irish Soda Bread Season!

    Every March, Irish Soda Bread starts showing up everywhere. We've seen it at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Markets. But, we prefer the versions from a few favorite area bakeries.

    Where do you buy your favorite Irish breads? Tell us in a comment below or send us an email and we'll add your ideas as an update.

      6a00e54fc42bb88834014e60460637970c-800wi

    Clear Flour Bread had both white Soda Bread with raisins and traditional whole wheat brown bread (above) last weekend. They hope to have it Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through St. Patrick's Day. We recommend getting there early before they run out of the day's supply. And, call ahead on weekdays to see if they happen to have some.

    Clear Flour Bread, 178 Thorndike St., Brookline, MA 02446 (map & reviews) Phone: 617.739.0060

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    Any time of year, you can find a full line of exceptional Irish Breads at Greenhills Irish Bakery in Adams Village, Dorchester. They add caraway seeds to their Irish Raisin Soda Bread (above). It tastes just like the recipe Penny learned to make with her Irish cousins.

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    They also make this Irish Brown Soda Bread that's perfect with meals, a Treacle Soda Bread for those with a sweet tooth, and Irish Barm Brack – a raisin yeast bread. 

    Greenhills Irish Bakery, 780 Adams St, Dorchester, MA (map & reviews) Phone: 617- 825-8187 ‎ 

    DSC_2563 - Version 22013-03-06-irish-soda-bread-trader-joes-© 2011 Penny Cherubino

    We even took one for the team and taste-tested this "Trader Joe's Blarney Scone Irish Soda Bread." It was not a superlative version but, that said, soda breads are forgiving and there was none left a day later. 

    Over on the Boston Chowhound board, a couple of trusted hounds recommended Hi-Rise Bread Company in Cambridge and Keltic Krust in West Newton as their favorite spots for soda bread. 

    (Update: Keltic Krust closed in 2014)

    Tomorrow, we'll help you learn to make your own soda bread with a great collection of recipes, one of Ed's all time favorite carbo-loading versions, and a great video that shows the technique for Brown Bread that no recipe can completely capture!

    (Update: Here's a link to that post. Irish Soda Bread Recipe Collection.)

    Related Posts:

    Greenhills Irish Bakery, Adams Village Dorchester

    Clear Flour Bread– Clearly Artisan, Clearly Charming…

     

    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: © 2011- 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.

    Related articles
    Blizzards and Irish Soda Bread
    Soda Bread Knows No Season
    Wholesome Irish soda bread recipe especially for St. Patrick's Day
    Irish Soda Bread Scones

  • It’s Irish Soda Bread Season!

    Every March, Irish Soda Bread starts showing up everywhere. We've seen it at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Markets. But, we prefer the versions from a few favorite area bakeries.

    Where do you buy your favorite Irish breads? Tell us in a comment below or send us an email and we'll add your ideas as an update.

      6a00e54fc42bb88834014e60460637970c-800wi

    Clear Flour Bread had both white Soda Bread with raisins and traditional whole wheat brown bread (above) last weekend. They hope to have it Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through St. Patrick's Day. We recommend getting there early before they run out of the day's supply. And, call ahead on weekdays to see if they happen to have some.

    Clear Flour Bread, 178 Thorndike St., Brookline, MA 02446 (map & reviews) Phone: 617.739.0060

    6a00e54fc42bb88834016763b429b9970b-500wi

    Any time of year, you can find a full line of exceptional Irish Breads at Greenhills Irish Bakery in Adams Village, Dorchester. They add caraway seeds to their Irish Raisin Soda Bread (above). It tastes just like the recipe Penny learned to make with her Irish cousins.

    6a00e54fc42bb88834016763b42a69970b

    They also make this Irish Brown Soda Bread that's perfect with meals, a Treacle Soda Bread for those with a sweet tooth, and Irish Barm Brack – a raisin yeast bread. 

    Greenhills Irish Bakery, 780 Adams St, Dorchester, MA (map & reviews) Phone: 617- 825-8187 ‎ 

    DSC_2563 - Version 22013-03-06-irish-soda-bread-trader-joes-© 2011 Penny Cherubino

    We even took one for the team and taste-tested this "Trader Joe's Blarney Scone Irish Soda Bread." It was not a superlative version but, that said, soda breads are forgiving and there was none left a day later. 

    Over on the Boston Chowhound board, a couple of trusted hounds recommended Hi-Rise Bread Company in Cambridge and Keltic Krust in West Newton as their favorite spots for soda bread. 

    (Update: Keltic Krust closed in 2014)

    Tomorrow, we'll help you learn to make your own soda bread with a great collection of recipes, one of Ed's all time favorite carbo-loading versions, and a great video that shows the technique for Brown Bread that no recipe can completely capture!

    (Update: Here's a link to that post. Irish Soda Bread Recipe Collection.)

    Related Posts:

    Greenhills Irish Bakery, Adams Village Dorchester

    Clear Flour Bread– Clearly Artisan, Clearly Charming…

     

    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: © 2011- 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.

    Related articles
    Blizzards and Irish Soda Bread
    Soda Bread Knows No Season
    Wholesome Irish soda bread recipe especially for St. Patrick's Day
    Irish Soda Bread Scones

  • It’s Irish Soda Bread Season!

    Every March, Irish Soda Bread starts showing up everywhere. We've seen it at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Markets. But, we prefer the versions from a few favorite area bakeries.

    Where do you buy your favorite Irish breads? Tell us in a comment below or send us an email and we'll add your ideas as an update.

      6a00e54fc42bb88834014e60460637970c-800wi

    Clear Flour Bread had both white Soda Bread with raisins and traditional whole wheat brown bread (above) last weekend. They hope to have it Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through St. Patrick's Day. We recommend getting there early before they run out of the day's supply. And, call ahead on weekdays to see if they happen to have some.

    Clear Flour Bread, 178 Thorndike St., Brookline, MA 02446 (map & reviews) Phone: 617.739.0060

    6a00e54fc42bb88834016763b429b9970b-500wi

    Any time of year, you can find a full line of exceptional Irish Breads at Greenhills Irish Bakery in Adams Village, Dorchester. They add caraway seeds to their Irish Raisin Soda Bread (above). It tastes just like the recipe Penny learned to make with her Irish cousins.

    6a00e54fc42bb88834016763b42a69970b

    They also make this Irish Brown Soda Bread that's perfect with meals, a Treacle Soda Bread for those with a sweet tooth, and Irish Barm Brack – a raisin yeast bread. 

    Greenhills Irish Bakery, 780 Adams St, Dorchester, MA (map & reviews) Phone: 617- 825-8187 ‎ 

    DSC_2563 - Version 22013-03-06-irish-soda-bread-trader-joes-© 2011 Penny Cherubino

    We even took one for the team and taste-tested this "Trader Joe's Blarney Scone Irish Soda Bread." It was not a superlative version but, that said, soda breads are forgiving and there was none left a day later. 

    Over on the Boston Chowhound board, a couple of trusted hounds recommended Hi-Rise Bread Company in Cambridge and Keltic Krust in West Newton as their favorite spots for soda bread. 

    (Update: Keltic Krust closed in 2014)

    Tomorrow, we'll help you learn to make your own soda bread with a great collection of recipes, one of Ed's all time favorite carbo-loading versions, and a great video that shows the technique for Brown Bread that no recipe can completely capture!

    (Update: Here's a link to that post. Irish Soda Bread Recipe Collection.)

    Related Posts:

    Greenhills Irish Bakery, Adams Village Dorchester

    Clear Flour Bread– Clearly Artisan, Clearly Charming…

     

    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: © 2011- 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.

    Related articles
    Blizzards and Irish Soda Bread
    Soda Bread Knows No Season
    Wholesome Irish soda bread recipe especially for St. Patrick's Day
    Irish Soda Bread Scones