Happy Birthday, Jeanne!

A few weeks ago, it was my friend Jeanne’s birthday.  You remember Jeanne? She’s my favorite photo geek. Whenever I feel the need to get outdoors with camera-in-hand, Jeanne’s happy to be by my side…whether it’s a sunny day in wine country or a way-below-freezing, windy, brutal day in Newburyport, MA.

Jeanne’s father and stepmother had the great idea to invite her down to Duxbury for a beach day and surprise her with a house full of family and friends.  It worked.  Jeanne was definitely surprised!

Sorry for the blur, but it's hard to take a good picture while simultaneously yelling, "Surprise!"

We had a lovely day in Duxbury, eating, drinking, laughing and catching up. I think Jeanne needs to have birthdays more often!

Yeah, there were a few men at this party, too. But, us girls are way cuter!

I wanted to have my own celebration with Jeanne, but after the party and a week’s worth of special birthday dinners, I figured she was probably tired of over-indulging.  (I know I always am, but maybe that’s because my birthday comes so soon after Thanksgiving/Christmas/and New Years.  My buttons are usually bursting by then!)

Jeanne’s the one who gave me the idea of allowing myself to buy a camera lens if I get to my goal weight in time. Jeanne has her own goal, and her own camera lens all picked out. I figured enough damage had already been done to both of our diets last week…it was time for the spectacular low-cal celebratory meal.

My goal: to make a dinner so fun, so fresh, so special..that none of us missed the fat and calories. How would I accomplish this? Quick…to the interwebs!

Jeanne’s Fabulous Birthday Dinner Menu
Mojitos (weak and/or virgin) from Fat Loss School
Beet, Quinoa, and Feta Salad from Clean And Delicious
Rainbow Chard from Tiny Urban Kitchen
Pesto Halibut Swordfish Kabobs from Cooking Light

So much freshness. Have I mentioned that I love summer yet?

I “discovered” the beet quinoa and swiss chard recipes in my weekly newsletter from my Warner Farms CSA.  Every Monday they send me an email list of all the fresh veggies I’ll be receiving, plus links to recipes that feature those veggies.

I was super-psyched to get beets last week.  I love beets.  If I could eat beets every day, I would.  I go through jars of pickled beets like they’re water, and I think I’m trying to sample every beet offering at every restaurant in Boston.  (I’d particularly recommend the Roasted Beet Salad at Grafton Street in Harvard Square and the shaved Beet Salad at Back Bay Social Club on Boylston.)

But, as much as I love All-Things-Beet, I’ve never actually cooked with them.  How crazy is that?

Gonna cook me some beets! Yay!

It turns out all my avoidance of cooking beets was entirely unnecessary.  Sure, I’ve read all the warnings that beets will stain your clothes, your cutting board, and your fingers. But, if you’ve ever opened up a jar of pickled beets, you’re used to that already. The real thing isn’t half as messy!

My first beet fingers! Jeanne was not impressed.

The finished product did not disappoint. It might be my new favorite thing to do with beets! Sadly, I ate it all up before I realized that my photos were blurry. So, you’ll just have to believe me. This dish is beautiful AND delicious!

Oh, by the way, you didn’t think I was gonna make Jeanne go without dessert at her special birthday dinner, did you?

Yeah, it's just fruit. But, we used some bamboo skewers to dip it into greek yogurt and pretended it was fondue!

Another birthday well celebrated. Who’s next?

I’m Hosting a What?

At 5pm on Sunday, August 7th, I’ll be hosting a massmouth MouthOff near the Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common.  When I tell people about it, I pretty much always get the following reaction:

“You’re hosting a what?”
 

Let’s start with some definitions. massmouth is Massachusetts’ own storytelling organization. (They like to say, “New York has ‘The Moth,’ and Boston has ‘The Mouth.’)

As the mug on my very messy work shelf reminds me every day, they also like to say, "Because you have a life, you have a story."

During the school months, they hold Story Slams in restaurants and bars in the Boston area. There’s a small entry fee to get in, and when you want to tell a story you just drop your name into a box.  If your name is chosen, you have just a minute or two to gather your wits and walk up on that stage.

Stories are limited to five minutes. For a motormouth like me, this is a challenge. I never realized how many hours of my friends’ lives I must have wasted over the years, telling and re-telling the same anecdotes.

Every night has a theme, so you can’t just tell the same story over and over. There are judges, and the winners get to go on to the semis and the finals. The grand prize at the end of the year is definitely worth all that practice. For the past two years, it’s been a week’s villa rental in Tuscany.

MouthOffs are a different animal. First, they’re “stories in unexpected places,” which means we just find a nice spot outside and that’s that. There’s still the five minute time limit and a theme, but no judges and no prizes. I’d never attended one before last week, and since mine is coming up…I figured time was of the essence.

First, I had to find the group in Christopher Columbus Park on the edge of the North End.

Lots of mouths. Get it?

No worries. The massmouth banner is pretty hard to miss!

Host Alan White had never attended a MouthOff either. In fact, other than a storytelling workshop, Alan had never attended any massmouth event. He’s a super-busy actor and performer type. Anyway, if he was nervous, it sure didn’t show. I hope I look this confident on the 7th!

He's oozing confidence! Can someone tell me how to do that?

The whole thing was wonderfully chill, especially for a storytelling event with Fire for the theme.  (Chill…Fire….Get it?)  There was no worry about finding a good seat, just plop down on a section of blanket.  And, no worries about putting your name in a box.  If you want to tell a story, just nod at Alan or massmouth’s Andrea Lovett, and it happens!

I got pics of everyone but myself.  Story of my life…

This wasn't everyone...just a few of my favorite photos.

After about an hour and a half, we were done!  A lovely, low stress evening of stories and laughs.

So, now you really want to come on the 7th, right?  The theme is “All’s Well That Ends Well,” but I’m going to open it up to any story inspired or enlightened by any line from Shakespeare.  Just think of the possibilities…

Is all really well that ends well?

Doth the lady protest too much?

Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet?

Does the course of true love ever run smooth(ly…I guess Shakespeare missed the lesson on adverbs)?

Have you ever considered giving up your kingdom for a horse?  😉

These and other questions will be answered…I hope.  If you’re lucky (and if there aren’t too many kids around) I’ll even tell you the story of the time when I accidentially caused some serious ado about nothing while performing Much Ado About Nothing. 

See ya’ll there!

Feelin’ Hot, Hot, Hot!

So, you might have heard.  We’ve been experiencing a bit of a heat wave here in New England.  Actually, if the news is to be believed, just about everybody in the US has been experiencing a heat wave.  Welcome to summer.  When I came home on Friday night, my second floor apartment was simmering at a toasty 92 degrees.  Thank goodness for those little window a/c units!

Saturday morning I woke up to the sound of thunder.  Yay for summer thunderstorms!  The rain cooled things down a bit, and I figured I had just enough time to go for a run before the sun came out.

I wanted to go six miles.  I intended to go six miles. But, for some reason, when I left my house I thought it would be nifty to do an extra little loop at the beginning of the run.

Welcome to my first seven mile run since injuring my foot 2 1/2 years ago…

See the sun about to peek out from behind those clouds? Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!

As I made took a little rest at my favorite bridge on the Charles River, the sun had pretty much burned off those clouds.  I had to hurry home because things were getting steamy fast!

Plus.  I had plans.  Just as I was leaving, I had gotten this text from my friend Jeanne:

Hey, what are you up to today?  Any interest in a little road trip or a movie?

I had an apartment in desperate need of some straightening up and a whole lot of laundry to do, but you know me.  Hell ya.

The only movie I’m really dying to see right now is Harry Potter, and Jeanne isn’t a Potter fan.  (Why don’t Potter fans have a cool nickname?  You can be a Twihard, Gleek, and/or Whedonite.  Can you be a Rowlite?  Or maybe a Hogwert?)

So, road trip it was.  By the time I got home from my run, Jeanne had formulated a plan.  And it was a good one!  Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, Mass.

Now, I never take much convincing when someone suggests a place I’ve never been.  But, give me a place that’s got trails to explore, pretty vistas to photograph, and cool water to dip my feet, and I’m in heaven!

What a day of beautiful things!

You know another feature of Halibut Point?  Flies.  Flies of the super-nasty, eat you alive variety.  They bit me through my shirt.  They bit me through my socks.  They swarmed onto my legs, literally a half dozen at a time.  Serious nasty fly action.

This sign should say, "Try not to fall into the ocean while swatting those nasty biting flies away from your ankles!"

Halibut Point has two amazing attractions within a very short distance.  The Babson Farm Quarry.

Bits of equipment remain, even though quarrying ended here in 1929.

Random pyramid. I love the direction of the light on this one.

Jeanne and I decided that when the light is dancing off the water like this, it should be called "dappling." It's probably called something else, but I like our word better.

And, well, the Atlantic Ocean.

Why does the ocean look like it's emptying into the North Pole? I guess I don't hold the camera straight while getting drenched by the incoming tide!

Hmm…Let’s try that again, shall we?  Thank goodness for Picnik’s “straighten” feature…and quick drying shorts!

Whew. That's better!

Jeanne and I spent a lovely hour or two, exploring the trails, learning more about the quarry, and dipping our feet into the Ocean.  Sadly, we were well prepared for the heat and the sun and even the water.  But, we did not bring any bug spray.

If you ever go to Halibut Point State Park…BRING BUG SPRAY.  And not that wimpy all-natural, smells good stuff.  Bring some serious chemical nastiness.  The flies were hungry and many of the trails seems like the perfect place for ticks to be hiding.

Jeanne and I headed to a lovely little lobster shack for some seafood, and then drove around Rockport (mostly looking for the highway!)  Along the way, we passed a big abandoned building in the most bizarre shade of rust yellow.  The light was just right and we couldn’t keep ourselves from parking (illegally!) and getting out of the car for some quick shots.

Yes. The building really was that color. No...I don't know why.

You know me.  I love to photograph junk, and junk buildings definitely fit the bill.  This might be my favorite pic from the whole day.

So, if you’re ever looking for something to do on a hot and sunny afternoon, give Halibut Point State Park a try.  Just don’t forget your bug spray…

Mad Science

My ex was a mad scientist in the kitchen.  He was always thinking up ways to ruin perfectly good meals, like adding soy sauce to the mac and cheese.  The conversations would often go something like this:

Him:  Hey, hon.  That chicken noodle soup would taste a lot better with a little vinegar on top.
Me:  Um…no.  I’m sick.  I just want to eat my sou…
Him:  [Pouring half a cup of straight vinegar into my bowl.]  See…isn’t that better?
Me:  Um…gee…thanks.

I ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches during my marriage.  Which is not to say there weren’t some successes.  For example, cinnamon raisin English Muffins topped with melted extra sharp cheddar cheese taste amazing.  I’m not even kidding.  Amazing.

My resistance to strange food combinations does not mean that I’m a rule follower in the kitchen.  I’ve never been afraid to tinker with a recipe, substituting that can’t-stand-the-taste-of-it herb with a can’t-live-without-it option.  In fact, there are very few recipes I follow to the letter.

As I mentioned here and here, I joined a CSA this summer.  And this CSA thing has turned me into a bit of a mad scientist myself. See…I have more fresh food in the house, which means I go shopping less often.  And because grocery shopping day and CSA pick-up day do not always coincide, I can find myself with a fridge full of food and nothing for dinner.

Tuesday was one such night.  I picked up my veggies, but still had a few leftovers from last week’s bounty.  I needed to use up some ingredients and wasn’t in the mood to put on shoes.  (I hate shoes.  Especially in the summertime.  But, I suppose that’s a story for another day…)

I had some cooked corn in the fridge, and this Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salad recipe from Whole Foods looked tasty.  The problem?  Disregarding pantry items (salt, pepper, oil and vinegar) the recipe calls for six ingredients.

I only had three of the six, and there was no way I was going to the store!

Ergo.

Sweet Corn and Red Bean Salad

Okay, okay.  Substituting red beans for black beans isn’t exactly rocket science.  Hey, I didn’t say I was going to be winning a Nobel prize for Gastrobiology with this one!

I started with two ears of corn from last week's CSA pick-up. I cooked them up a few days earlier, but hadn't gotten around to digging in.

Red beans. Groundbreaking, I know.

Diced cucumber. The recipe calls for red bell pepper. Cucumber. Bell Pepper. Same thing, right?

Red onion. Finally something from the real recipe!

Without the red bell pepper for spice, I needed some heat. So, I put in a few dashes of my favorite hot sauce and 1/4 cup of salsa for good measure.

I totally forgot that I was supposed to put vinegar in there. No worries. I didn’t miss it.

Do you need all those ingredients in one place?

1 cup of Corn (two ears worth)
1 can of red beans
1/2 large cucumber
1/2 cup diced red onion
juice of one lime
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt
pepper
hot sauce (to taste)
1/4 cup salsa
fresh cilantro

Something was still missing…

Fabulous little sunsugar tomatos from my patio garden. Yummy!

Sadly, it’s still a little early for tomatos so there were only enough for the first serving.  Leftovers are tomato-less.  But, this is definitely one of those things that gets better after you give it a couple of hours in the fridge.  Or even a day or two.  Yum!

Not So “Easy A” Day

Last week I had one of those days at work.  You know the kind.  I was so busy that when I finally got a chance to pee , I was surprised to hear a somewhat familiar voice coming out of the stall next to me.  Turns out, it was the actress Emma Stone.  You know…from Easy A, the movie that made us all feel like we were back in the eighties watching a John Hughes movie again?  By the time I emerged from the ladies room, I was only able to catch a glimpse of her leaving the station.  (Always wash your hands, ladies.  Even when stalking a celebrity!)

Normally I would run back to my desk and email everyone I know.  But, that day was so busy that I didn’t get a chance to tell anyone about my bathroom encounter with Ms. Stone until…now.  Pitiful, I know.

By the time I was done with my crazy day at work, I was exhausted.  It was too beautiful to go to the gym, and I just couldn’t muster the energy to go for a run outside.  So, I strapped my camera around my neck and decided to power walk the hills of a local cemetery to get my “something active” for the day.

It always seems a bit morbid to take pictures in a cemetery, but there are so many beautiful views.

What a gorgeous sky!

All the "roads" in the cemetery had street signs. Some were more ornamental than others.

This rock looks to be shaped by nature, but the paint job reminds me of my mom's Valentine's meatloaf. She'd shape it into a heart, which would always get a bit lopsided in the oven. An extra thick smear of ketchup would give it it's color, and mashed potatoes arranged around the edge gave it that special lacy look!

The best views were on the way home.

Who knew the Charles River was so beautiful? Oh, yeah. I did!

By the time I got home, I had perked up a bit. And, I had a fridge full of veggies from my last CSA pick-up. Sounds like a time for…

Green and not-so-green beans!

Tina’s Famous “Easy A” Green Beans

This is so incredibly simple, it shouldn’t even be called a recipe. Plus, I totally stole it from my friend Tina. She makes the best green beans.

Take your beans. Chop off the woody bits, and steam them. Lightly. You don’t want to cook them all the way. If you’re like me, you want them to still be pretty crunchy when it comes time to eat. You just want to soften them up a bit.

Chop up a bunch of garlic. Like, a lot. I did four little cloves for two servings worth of green beans. (Keep in mind that my vegetable servings are HUGE since I went back on Weight Watchers.)

Put a little bit of olive oil in a saute pan. Maybe 2 teaspoons. Maybe more if you’re feeling frisky. Get it nice and hot. Add the garlic and a handful of slivered almonds. Mmmm…gotta love some toasted slivered almonds.

To that end, be sure to actually toast ’em. Keep moving the garlic and almonds around until both start to turn a nice golden color. Then add in your green beans and toss it all around for a while. Add a generous dash of salt. (Green beans need salt! I’m sure there’s some sort of culinary explanation that I don’t know about, but just trust me on this.) Voila. You’re done!

So, so pretty!

See how I cleverly photographed only the smallest corner of the fish I ate with those green beans? Yeah, broiled tilapia smeared with stone ground mustard, honey, lemon juice and fresh thyme is healthy, satisfying, and tasty. But, it is not pretty. I can eat ugly food, but I cannot endorse it on this blog.

Oh, one last thing. Do you want to know what put a happy topper on my super-busy, super-stressful day?

The first pretty little tomato from my patio garden!

Yes, it’s supposed to be that small. Yes, it’s supposed to be orange. Straight from the vine, still a little warm from the afternoon sun, I popped that little tomato into my mouth like a piece of candy. Yay! I love summer tomatos!

Goals, Goals, Goals

I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions.  What’s the point?  If you think about it, there’s nothing really special about the first day of a new year.  Sure, you have to go out and buy a new calendar, but why do we all wait until January 1st to start doing the things we should have done a long time ago?

On January 2nd, the gym is always packed.  By February 2, we’re back to having our choice of treadmills.  And then most people wait their next New Year’s Resolution before coming back.

Bah humbug on that, I say.  (Can you say ‘bah humbug’ to any holiday, or is it exclusively a Christmas thing?)  I think any old day is a good day to start fresh, try something new, and do something good for yourself.  This year, I did make a change of sorts at the new year.  I emailed a bunch of my girlfriends and asked them to join an accountability circle.

Every Monday we email each other.  We own up to the good, the bad, and the ugly of the past week and we make goals for the coming week.  It has worked pretty well.  With the support of my girlfriends, I’ve lost weight, planned a major vacation, started a blog, and accomplished dozens of things I’ve been meaning to do for years.

Let’s go over a few of my grand successes.

I’m going to Rome and Tuscany, y’all!

Whoo Hooo!  I’m very excited.  I’ve wanted to go forever, and I’ve been saving up for nearly three years. I found the perfect tour.  It combines my love of photography with my love of food.  I worked up my budget and I will be paying for this dream vacation 100% with cash.  I don’t make enough money to go into debt.

(Okay, actually I’ll be paying for it with a miles reward credit card which I will pay off immediately.  I’d like to go to Alaska AND Germany next year, and I’m gonna need all the miles I can get!)

Slowly.  Very, very slowly, I am getting back into shape.

Last week I decided to be super health and environmentally conscious and I ran the two miles to pick up my weekly CSA veggies. Along the way, I passed this entirely unhelpful speed sign.  To be fair, I was only going slightly faster than 00 miles per hour. 

Still, I’m pretty proud of myself for getting back into the healthy eating/exercising way of life.  It’s a lot harder to keep up with it in the summertime, with some many fun parties, bbqs, and picnics to attend.  But, it’s not a race.  (Although, as part of this overall goal, I’m signing up for another half marathon this fall.  It’s been four years since the last one and I’m still heavier than I was then.  I’d really like to fix that before running another 13.1 miles in October.)

To that end…here’s what’s currently decorating my refrigerator.

That would be a photo of the dream camera lens that I’d really like to own before my dream photography vacation.  It ain’t cheap, and I’m going to have to save up a little extra cash and sell one of my old lenses to make it happen. But, if I’m down to my goal weight by my half marathon in early October, I’m buying myself that lens.

I have just under 13 weeks to lose about 13 pounds while training to run a race of a little more than 13 miles.  There’s something nicely balanced about that.  Now I just need to print out a few more copies:  one for the pantry and one for the candy dish in the front reception area at work.  Do you think they’d object if I tried to post one at the front door of my favorite ice cream shop?

Delightful Distractions

So, I had a big day planned on Sunday.  I had a mile long To Do list, and a whole day set aside to accomplish it.

I did not get off to a good start.  I woke up late.  I watched a bad movie on TV.  (Seriously, My Best Friend’s Girl is probably not a good movie under any circumstances.  But, on Comedy Central, it’s pointless.  Take a movie in which the only trick is to try to be as vulgar as possible, and then cut out all the vulgarity.  Every other word is missing because every other word used to be profanity.  As if we can’t read lips…)

Anywho…I was procrastinating.  I’m really good at procrastinating.  And, then, just as I changed into my work clothes, pulled my hair back, and declared that I would procrastinate no longer, I got the following text from Erin.

Heading to the Pru to check out a food truck.  Then picking up some things at Sephora.  Want to join me?

Well, you know me.  Hell ya!

It helps that I knew that Erin’s promise to “check out a food truck” was code for “I think we’re gonna get to meet Todd English, but I don’t want to promise anything, just in case it doesn’t happen.”

Hot chef or no, I knew the food would be good (and free) and Erin’s company is always delightful.  So, of course, I quickly changed out of those work clothes and headed into town with Erin.

There were some beautiful sandwiches to go with those lovely coconut cupcakes. But, who wants to look at pictures of boring old sandwiches?

Todd English doesn’t usually work out of the back of a food truck. But, Macy’s was offering his food for free in exchange for donations to Feeding America.  Pretty cool, eh?

Besides those fabulous cupcakes, the truck was serving Prime Rib Sliders, mini Lobster Rolls and homemade Potato Chips.  I ate Erin’s slider because she doesn’t do beef.  Heavenly!

After a few minutes of waiting patiently in the beautiful sunshine…

Oooh la la!

Erin got her meet and greet with man himself!  She was sweet enough to insist that I get into one of the pictures, too. That one’s still locked in Erin’s camera, but she’s way cuter than me anyway!

(By the way, here’s a hint that we learned from Todd’s “handler” for the day. If you ever get the chance to meet a good looking celebrity chef, don’t tell him that your wife wants to have sex with him. It just isn’t polite. I would have thought that would go without saying, but apparently it does not.)

Anyway, after spending way too much money at Sephora, I made it home energized and ready to tackle that To Do list.  Of course, those Prime Rib Sliders only took me so far and before too long I was in the mood to cook.  After spending the afternoon sampling the not-so-healthy signature dishes of a celebrity chef, I decided to tackle the super healthy signature dish of me…a non-celebrity non-chef.   So, I give you…

Gazpacho Shrimp Salad on Couscous

So, if you come to dinner in my house in the summertime, this is what I’ll make for you.  If you come back two weeks later, I’ll probably make it again.  And again.  It’s that good.

I only make this in the summertime because (A.) I hate winter tomatos and (B.) it requires less than 10 minutes of heat in my non-air conditioned kitchen.  Perfect.

(I used to think I hated tomatos all year round, but when I got older I realized I just hate the tasteless, slimy, grainy tomatos that you buy in the supermarket. Now, I stick to locally grown tomatos and I loooove them! Check out Tomatoland if you want to learn why the two tomato options are so very different.)

 

Summer on a plate. Or a cutting board. Yeah, it's a cutting board!

You know me, I love lots of super fresh, super colorful veggies.  So you’ll need.

1 cucumber, chopped, without seeds
2-3 red tomatos, chopped, without seeds
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small can tomato sauce
hot sauce (to taste)
fresh herbs (Parsley or cilantro would be traditional.  I used basil and oregano, because that’s what my window box had to offer this week.)
salt and pepper
2 TBSP olive oil

I’m not a big fan of seeds, so I usually use an English (aka seedless) cucumber. But, my CSA gave me the normal kind this week, so I just left out the seediest center part. I also try to leave most of the seeds of the tomato on the cutting board.

Chop up all the veggies. Mix in the tomato sauce, garlic, hot sauce, salt and pepper. As your very last step, add a teeeny bit of olive oil.

If you’re like me, you’re going to want to skip this part. Don’t skip it! Seriously, this recipe is good without the olive oil, but it’s fantastic with it. Since everything else in there is fresh, healthy veggies, you’re not going to hurt anything by adding just a little bit of healthy fat. Go ahead. Do it. You’ll thank me for it!

I serve this up with couscous…

I've tried all the flavors, but Toasted Pine Nut works best with this recipe.

…and shrimp with a bit of cajun seasoning cooked on my George Foreman grill. I’d prefer to use a real grill, but I don’t have one at the moment.

Now, here’s the important part. Don’t make three separate piles on your plate. Serve it up like this.

Warm couscous on the bottom, cold gazpacho salad in the middle, and hot shrimp on the top. The warm/cold/hot combo is part of the magic!

I never did finish up that To Do list, so I burned a comp day today to finish up the essentials. Oh well, that’s what summers are all about, right?

Busy as a Bee!

So, I spent this entire week recovering from last weekend.  It was the 4th of July.  I had fun.  Maybe a bit too much fun?  You be the judge.

Let’s see…we have (in no particular order) sailing, museum going, bbq-ing, and fireworks watching.  Yep, definitely too much fun.  I’ll be back with details soon, but I just wanted to explain my long absence.

You know…before I go off and have more fun today!  😉

Welcome to summer in New England.  It’s way beyond good.