Cock-a-leekie Pie

Great winter comfort food inspired by the traditional Scottish soup with chicken, leeks and prunes. Recipe from Bon Appetite. We will definitely make this again.

American made

Coffee cup pre warmer. Why put hot coffee into a cold cup?

Juno

Probably worse than Nemo of 2013. Less snow but colder and very windy.

Duck, the other red meat

Cast Iron is the best pan available at any price. Orange, Bourbon, good scald, finish in oven.

Whole Foods in the Ink Block is Open

We recently posted a note about the new Whole Foods opening in our neighborhood. It is now open, so we walked on over to check it out. By Boston grocery stores it is huge, and ginormous compared with other Whole Foods. Whole Foods (sometimes referred to as Whole Paycheck) is known for their healthy approach to groceries. This store in particular pays close attention to the origin of the food. All the Meat/Poultry/Fish is locally (New England) sourced. So each cut of meat would identify the grower of the meat, or in the case of fish, where it was caught and how. No doubt the prices are higher than most stores, but there is a certain cost to not having your food created in a farming factory. I once had the pleasure of working as a carpenter in a chicken processing plant. It was not pretty. There were signs throughout the store of how you could tour many of the sources of the food. Here is picture of the marinated packaged meat section.

This Store has a nice sized wine/beer section. You will also notice the signs for the Boston Herald, as this block was once the site of that newspaper. The chandeliers in a grocery store are also a nice touch. 

The store had several stations throughout, selling a finished product for your enjoyment. Here is the juice station, selling various ways to cover up the terrible taste of Kale. Kale is collards with better marketing, IMHO.

They had some very pretty baked goods, here is a nice presentation of biscotti.

Here is the fish shack, basically a walk up fish station where you can get a fish plate to go, you know lobster roll, cod fish and chips...

Seems like you can't be serious about food unless you have some sophisticated gadget to make coffee. I see a trend where the machinery to make the coffee is hidden below the cabinet, and all you have is the dispenser above the cabinet. I am showing my age, but I enjoy seeing the contraption. I love the old espresso makers with all their tubes and dials. Now its all the rage is minimalist. 

No better way to decorate your store than with fresh Orchids. 

And we used Apple Pay from our phone. We will be back. 

What I learned on my Christmas Vacation

When time allows we recount our previous year. Hopefully you remember this post, where we looked at 2012. We still are amazed at how little space is required to live comfortably. We are blessed to have room enough for a large dinner table, which was used to capacity a few times last year. We are even more blessed for having friends and family that want to join us.

Best Meal Out

C - Nothing compares to the eating experience we had one night at a local restaurant called Post 390. The food was incredible (I still remember the whole grilled red fish I had), but what made this so special was the attention the chef paid direct attention to C's dairy allergy. He came by and talked about various options, as well as brought us each a dessert on the house. Here is a previous post to Post 390.

T - I discovered pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup whose broth is the star component. It does not have an exotic or unrecognizable taste, rather its a combination of many tastes that will all be familiar. Normally a beef broth with noodles, your choice of meats (sometimes tripe is added) and lots of vegetables. Always served with fresh basil, bean sprouts, lime, and optionally a healthy dose of hot sauce. I prefer the chicken based ones, but all are good. Best served on cold rainy days, but good anytime. Here is a previous link to one of my favorite pho spots.

Best Entertainment 

C - We just happened to be reading the "whats happening this week" section of the Globe and noticed Chris Isaak would be here the following day. A few taps on the phone and virtual tickets where had. An incredible 2 hour concert of Chris belting out his sultry tunes with a  few Christmas songs added in. Here is a video of him singing a few years back, not bad for almost 60.

T - All the high tech talks one can go to for free. When I can, I attend talks in Cambridge on an up and coming programming language called Clojure. I am humbled by the intellect in this town. Usually about 20 of us, and there is free beer and pizza. Here is a link to the group if you are interested.

Most Interesting Book

T/C -  Boys in the Boat. Hands down one of the top non fiction books we have ever read. Most historical non fiction leaves me wondering how much of it is true, this one I don't care, it is just a great story. We did not actually read the book, rather listened to it. If you have not experienced audible.com its a great way to pass the time away in a car. I have missed my exit more than once listening to a great book.

Most Interesting Article Read

T/C An article entitled "How politics makes us Stupid" was highly entertaining. And it did exactly what the author wanted, make people react. The reader's digest version of the article is that people were given a word problem which involved a veneer of math to get the correct answer. The results closely correlated with how good the subject was in mathematics.  Ergo, the more mathematically you thought, the more likely you reached the correct answer. To the same group a second word problem was given which involved the same math but the example was now politically charged like gun control, or public housing. This time the answers were more closely related to the subjects political leanings. So the premise is that our biases get in they way of reasoning. 

Best aspect of Boston

C-Walking, there is no better way to get from A to B.

T- Architecture, every building is unique, and there are new details I find every day.

Worst aspect of Boston

T/C One way streets. The designer of streets in Boston was just an unidimentional

human being. Perhaps Irish whiskey played a role.

Best Gadget

T/C Sonos. This year we both were able to drive a Tesla, perhaps the pinnacle of automotive engineering. Even if you don't want an electric car, I encourage you to drive this car. We don't own a  Tesla, but we do own Sonos. Sonos is nothing more than a wireless speaker system you can play from your mobile device. Music in the house is like paintings on the wall, but it can be enjoyed with your eyes closed.

Best Quote 

T/C  - "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." --- Dr. Seuss

Best Drink

T/C Nemo, a combination of homemade limoncello and bourbon.

Cheer,
T&C

Brrr

Topless Bar

Wait, maybe it was a tapas bar. Whatever, small plates. Just behind us is a new restaurant that while being a chain still serves local food on small plates, and was fantastic! Barcelona featured a long list of Spanish wines by the taste or glass.Tonight we had 6 dishes. Kale salad, fingerling potatoes, short ribs, quail, mackerel, and thinly sliced chorizo. Great vibe, happy people.

Doughnut Tasting

Today we were invited to taste some "practice doughnuts" from a shop that hopes to open up next week.
The shop is just around the corner and is owned by the same person who owns the Gallows, one of our favorite local restaurants.
We were not allowed to take pictures, or have any social media contact. Surprised we did not have to sign non-disclosures!
Here is a reprint of one of their own Instagrams of a wild blueberry yeast doughnut.

Winter's First Snow

How far is it to the new Whole Foods?

68 calories away...
Opening in about a week, about 12 minutes walking.

Out about town with Parker who is not happy he had to wear a coat.

Happy New Years

Cindy makes the worlds best (I've tried all the rest) cinnamon rolls. Here served on upscale Dixie paper plates. 

These rolls are homemade from scratch using a yeast dough, with enough cinnamon and sugar to satisfy anyone.