Gone To Texas (GTT)

Well folks, we made it to Texas! After weeks of farewells and preparing our home to be packed up and moved, we're finally here.

Thursday night, we went out one last time for a farewell dinner in Medford at a local favorite named Moulton's, or as we lovingly call it, "Old People Fish Place."  It's a family-owned place -- not fancy, but they serve fresh and delicious seafood. For one last time I ordered my favorite, the Haddock Parmesan.

Friday, movers came to pack up our apartment, our car was loaded onto a trailer for shipping, and we spent the night in an empty apartment. Saturday morning, we walked down to Paul Revere for breakfast, where I enjoyed one last Hash and Cheese Omelet (sometimes a little diner food really hits the spot). That afternoon we caught our flight out of town, though not before posting a "GTT" sign on our door like a couple settlers from the 1800's.

Now here we are, halfway across the country and halfway through our first week of work at new jobs. Leaving Boston was tough, and I miss it already, but on the other hand, it's wonderful to be back home. Our families are within driving distance (in fact, we had an impromptu weeknight dinner with my parents last night). The grocery stores are stocked with local favorites that were impossible to find in Boston (Ranch Style Beans, more BBQ sauce than we could ever try, fresh tortillas, okra, varied fresh chiles and tomatillos, etc, etc, etc). 

There's TexMex on every other corner. Our favorite so far was our first dinner in the Dallas area, only a couple hours after our plane landed, at Rio Bravo in Plano. If you pay them a visit, by all means get one of their margaritas, as the rims are lined with the most amazing chili salt that you'll ever taste. It's a top secret blend made in house, and it's perfect with the tangy and slightly sweet margaritas.

And we're back amongst old friends who we've missed! This weekend we're visiting two of our favorite people on the planet, Jimmy and Laura, for adventures out on Canyon Lake. I can't wait! I also can't wait to share with you all of our Texas adventures as we explore our new home. Yee haw!

Farmer's Market Dinner: Smoked Salmon and Brussels Sprouts Pasta

The Medford Winter Farmer's Market is back in full swing! We don't go every week, but it's so nice to have the option to purchase local produce and wares during these bleaker months. My favorites this past week were the lamb chorizo from Stillman's at the Turkey Farm, the smoked salmon varieties from Matt's Amazing Smokehouse, a canister of loose leaf tea from Soluna Garden Farm, and hand-filled cannoli from Joni's Cannolis (she even lets you sample filling flavors)!

When it comes to shopping, I usually have a detailed meal plan. But at the farmer's market I like to wander. And I like to buy what tickles my fancy that afternoon. When we get home, it's like a delicious puzzle to figure out how on earth to put it all to use. While browsing for ideas, I found this Smoked Salmon Pasta from Cherry on my Sundae. What a great idea to toss flaky smoked salmon with warm, creamy pasta, and why not add thinly shaved brussels sprouts, also from the market? Finish it with a bright, lemon cream sauce and a sprinkle or Parmesan, and you've got yourself a mighty fine dinner.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

8 oz linguine

2 Tb olive oil

1 small shallot, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

12 oz brussels sprouts, trimmed of stems and outer leaves and thinly sliced

4-5 oz smoked salmon, cut into large chunks

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup heavy cream (plus a splash or two more if desired)

3/4 lemon, juiced

salt and pepper

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta to the water and cook according to package directions, until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, and let it heat up. Once the oil is "swirlable", toss the shallot and garlic in the pan, sauteing for 1-2 minutes, until they just begin to soften and brown a bit. 

Add the brussels sprouts, and cook for 2 more minutes, until the leaves begin to wilt.

Pour in the wine, scraping up any browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. After about 30 seconds, pour in the heavy cream and lemon juice, stirring to combine.  

Lower the heat to medium, and once the sauce has simmered for 1-2 minutes, gently stir in the chunks of smoked salmon. 

When done, drain the pasta, reserving about 1/4 cup of the water. Add the pasta and reserved water to the skillet, tossing gently to combine with the sauce, vegetables, and salmon. 

When the pasta is coated in the sauce, taste and adjust seasonings as desired with salt, pepper, and another splash of lemon or cream if needed. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately, topped with a little more Parmesan if desired.

A Hike Around Lower Mystic Lake

Not too far from our house is the Lower Mystic Lake. It's a beautiful, serene lake surrounded by lush greenery and trees. While it's not very large, you see folks boating, kayaking, fishing, hosting cookouts in little hidden spots along the water's edge, and hiking and biking around the water's edge. The funny thing is, it took us about a year to even realize this lake was there, as they're so surrounded by trees or little out of the way neighborhoods. This weekend we finally went for a little trek along the Lower Mystic Lake and then down to where it feeds into the Mystic River, which continues on a winding path through Medford. 

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day without a cloud in the sky. If only Boston could be that nice year round! We followed little paths, worn down from foot and bike traffic over the years, to wherever they led us. We came upon a quiet little spot at the edge of the water, where we plopped down on a raised tree root to rest our feet,skip some stones, soak up the sunshine, and admire the view. I find lakes so peaceful and relaxing. 

Here we are, and while we're quite good looking, I think the water is probably the better view!

Eventually, we left our little perch and continued our walk, eventually arriving at the point where the lake feeds into the Mystic River. The water becomes shallower and greener, lilly pads clump together in little inlets, and tree branches hang low over the water. Walking paths continue along much of the river, and you can find large grassy areas dotted with sun bathers, dogs playing fetch, cyclists, couples strolling hand in hand, and shaded benches to take in the view.

I'm so glad to have discovered this right in our backyard, as it's a perfect way to spend a sunny weekend afternoon! Hopefully we'll get to enjoy a few more hikes in the area before the weather turns cold. Hopefully another sunny weekend is in store as the long Labor Day weekend approaches!

Reasons I Love Summer

1. Farmer's Markets! 

Medford's is back in full swing this summer, and we're loving the beautiful produce. We also discovered a local salsa maker that we have fallen in love with. Finally someone in New England who gets salsa! She is from New Orleans and lived in Austin for a while (she's a fellow Longhorn). If you see NoLa's Salsas, buy them!

2. Community Events 

Like Medford's Circle the Square, featuring local businesses, the farmers market, food trucks, and even a little beer garden overlooking the Mystic River. 

I also want to checkout Assembled: Somerville's Weekly Arts Market.

3. Food Trucks 

They're popping up at markets and community events. 

I was especially excited to see Vesta Mobile Wood-Fired Pizza back in Medford!

4. Ice Cream Outings. 

Our group at work takes a couple outings each summer to get a little sunshine and ice cream at lunch. 

Local favorites are Kimball Farms and Bedford Farms

5. Peaches

Because peaches mean Peach Cobbler.

6. Refreshing Drinks 

Like Watermelon Limeade, Lemonade, Pimm's Cups (pictured below), 

Rose wine, and Dark and Stormies (with homemade ginger beer).

7. "Pick Your Own Fruit" 

I love driving out to local farms like Tougas Farms to pick fresh fruit like strawberries or peaches!

8. Grilling.

It keeps the house cool in the summer, we get a little sunshine in the long evenings, 

and the results are delicious.

9. Sunny Strolls 

Walks around the neighborhood, hikes in The Fells or around the Lower Mystic Lake and Mystic River, or strolls along the Charles River

10. Trips to Clam Shacks 

A short drive up to the North Shore yields trays full of beautiful fried seafood.

 Pictured below is Woodman's of Essex, but we also love J.T. Farnham's and Clam Box of Ipswich.

11. Baseball

Warm summer night, bright ballpark lights, Fenway Franks, 

the crack of the bat, cheering fans, and a cold Sam Summer. I love baseball games at Fenway.

12. Okra

Whether it's fried, boiled, or pickled, nothing makes this southerner happier than seeing the rare basket of okra for sale at a New England farmer's market.

13. Real Barbeques

A real barbeque means smoked meat (grilled meat = a cookout). Meats rubbed with spices and smoked low and slow on a lazy, hot summer afternoon -- it's practically heaven on earth. Just add a cold beer, potato salad, cole slaw, beans, or some mac and cheese and you've got yourself a meal.

14 Shakespeare in the Common

Each year a different Shakespeare play is put on free of charge in Boston Common.With a blanket and a picnic, it's a fantastic way to spend an evening in the city.

15. Picnics

What list of summer favorites would be complete without picnics? Whether you fix up a humble or elaborate spread, there's nothing like taking a meal outdoors. Summer is rife with picnicking opportunities: the Fourth of July fireworks, hikes in the Fells, Shakespeare in the Common, or a random Saturday afternoon.

Parisians in Boston

Last week, we had special visitors. After driving from Paris to Richmond, VA to visit family, my mom and grandparents hopped on a train to Boston. Eleven hours and a few states later, they were here!  Hungry and road (and rail) foundered, we welcomed them to town with big hugs and a laid-back dinner at Moulton's in Medford (or as we lovingly call it, The Old People Fish Place). 

This was my grandparents' very first visit, and we were so excited to introduce them to Boston. With just a few days to work with, we did our best to squeeze in as much fun, food, and history as we could manage.

Thursday while we worked, my family took some time to rest from their travels. After work, we all gathered in the kitchen and started on dinner.  Beers in hand, my husband and grandfather manned the grill while the ladies worked in the kitchen. We're a family that loves to cook, and it was so special to have my mom and grandmother in my kitchen cooking with me. I cut the backbone out of a chicken (!!) for grilled butterflied (or spatchcocked) chicken using Jacques Pepin's rub served with prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, roasted radishes, and cheesy zucchini rice.

The spatchocked chicken was a thrill for my family, as they had never seen such a thing, and they loved the roasted radishes. It's such a simple side dish, the bite of the radishes mellowed from roasting. Just clean, trim, and halve the radishes, place them on a sheet of foil topped with a couple pats of butter, a drizzle of olive oil, and some salt and pepper, wrap them up, and toss the packet on the grill for about 30 minutes. That's it! We did the asparagus on the grill as well, wrapping each bundle in a foil packet and roasting them alongside the radishes. It was a wonderful meal!

After a hearty breakfast at Paul Revere Restaurant, a local greasy spoon diner, we spent Friday exploring Boston, beginning with a stroll around the beautiful Boston Public Garden, where George Washington and the mother duck from "Make Way For Ducklings" were sporting Bruins jerseys!

Next,  after four years of stubbornly resisting such a touristy activity, we went on a Swan Boat ride.  And you know what? The leisurely trip around the pond was surprisingly relaxing and fun. And cost only $3 per person!

Across the street in Boston Common, we walked past the golden dome of the State House and found the red line of the Freedom Trail.  We stopped into Park Street Church, meandered through the Granary Burial Ground (burial site of Paul Revere, Ben Franklin's parents, John Hancock, and Boston Massacre victims),  and were pleasantly surprised to hear the organist rehearsing at King's Chapel (burial site of Massachusetts' first Governor and the first woman to step off the Mayflower and onto American soil).

We worked up an appetite traipsing around town, so the gigantic pastrami sandwiches at Sam LaGrassa's were a welcome sight for lunch. We lucked out and found 5 empty chairs at the end of a busy table and dug in!

Ready to hit the road again, our next stop was Copley Square.  Copley is surrounded by beautiful old churches, the towering Hancock building, food trucks, and that afternoon a bustling farmers market. We ducked into the cool interior of the Boston Public Library, America's first public lending library, decked out in marble, tile mosaics, murals, and wrought iron. They just don't build libraries like they used to!

I wanted my family to see one of my favorite places in the city: the Reading Room. I think I would live here if I could.

I love the green lamps casting a soft glow over the tables, shelves lined with books, gleaming wooden tables, and the towering windows letting in sunlight.

After a stop at Trident Booksellers & Cafe on Newbury Street to have a drink, cool off, and rest our feet, we headed across the Charles River to pay a visit to the MIT Museum. The first floor is kind of a bust, but head to the second floor where there's some great stuff! My favorites were quirky and fun interactive kinetic sculptures (including a walking wish-bone machine), the remnants of a piano dropped from the roof of a building, almost unbelievably realistic holographs, and the photography of Joel Tettamanti showing human presence and architecture in unforgiving landscapes.

Following a walk through the Infinite Corridor of MIT's Main Building and a few photos out front in Killian Court, we made our way back across the river for dinner at Al Dente in the North End. After barely making a dent in large plates piled high with homemade pastas, we snagged cannolis from Mike's Pastry, saw the Old North Church, and then caught the commuter rail back to Medford with only seconds to spare.

Saturday, after bagel sandwiches from Magnificent Muffin, we headed out of the city for strawberry picking at Tougas Family Farm. We were given cardboard trays to fill up, a bucket to toss out bad strawberries (this helps the farm minimize spraying), and a quick picking lesson.

It was an overcast morning, but the rain held off, allowing us to gather a little over 10 pounds of strawberries! Sampling as we picked, it was fun but hard work! And really addictive! The more you pick, the more strawberries you spot, and you feel the urge to keep picking as long as you keep spotting new bunches of vibrant red berries hidden under the protective green leaves.

But finally, the trays got full and our knees and backs begged for a break! We plopped down at a picnic table to rest, sipping on strawberry lemonade slushes and snacking on fresh strawberry donuts (in the interest of full disclosure, I hated the donuts, but my family loved them).

After sandwiches at Nashoba Brook Bakery in Concord, we stopped by the Old North Bridge at the Minuteman National Park where the first battle of the American Revolution took place and the "shot heard round the world" was fired.

Three years ago, we took engagement photos here. My how time has flown.

That evening, our Texan guests needed a lobster fix, so we prepared the ultimate summer lobster feast.  At Market Basket, you can buy extremely affordable lobster (anywhere from $3.99 - $6.99 per pound), and they will steam it for you, free of charge. We brought home a lobster per person and broke them down, halving the tails, popping off the claws, and even rolling the meat out of the tiny legs (using a rolling pin). After brushing the tails with butter, my husband threw everything on the grill for a few minutes.

Along with the grilled lobster, we had boiled new potatoes, corn with chili lime butter, pesto pasta salad, and sweet tea (it's very difficult for my folks to have dinner without sweet tea). For dessert, we used our fresh-picked strawberries to make strawberry shortcake.

Sunday we took a drive up to Essex to visit the North Shore. We spent the morning and early afternoon antiquing, stopping for lunch at Woodman's because you can't go to the North Shore without getting fried clams and chowder. Our favorite antique shop was the Flying Dragon, filled to the brim with dusty and rusty odds and ends. The other antique stores lining the road to Woodman's (Main Street) are targeted toward wealthier clientele, so while still fun to browse, purchases were out of the question.

Behind the shops along Main Street, you can see the Essex Salt Marsh stretching out toward the horizon as it winds its way toward the sea.

That evening we drove back into Boston, visited Fenway Park, and enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Eastern Standard, our favorite restaurant in town. Back at home, we put our feet up and watched tv over bowls of homemade strawberry peach ice cream topped with macerated strawberries!

We had so much fun this weekend and were sad to see my folks headed back south on Monday morning, but I know these will be memories I treasure for a very long time.

Mexican Food in Medford: Tenoch

Stop the presses, y'all!  After years of missing the Mexican flavors so prevalent at home in Texas, it turns out that there is some really great Mexican food in Medford!  The good folks at Tenoch opened up in Medford Center about a year ago, and we finally paid them a visit earlier this month. When we walked in the door and began scanning the large menu board, we were like two Texans in a candy store (where the candy is Mexican food).

On our first visit, I tried the Torta Campechana, a mole-smothered pork tamale, and glass of sangria.  Tortas weren't on the menu at TexMex places when I was growing up, so this was a first for me. It was served on buttery toasted telera bread, spread with a black bean paste, and generously stuffed with carnitas, chorizo, Oaxaca cheese, avocado, onion, and tomato, all drizzled with a little chipotle mayo.  The tamale was very good, but the real highlight was the torta. After a couple visits, the Torta Campechana is still my favorite item on the menu.  And the sangria is some of the best I've had in Boston.

On my next visit, they had a special on the menu, a Torta de Pescado.  Lighter than the Torta Campechana, it's still warm and buttery and satisfying. The fish had been crisped up on the griddle, and with the creamy avocado, fresh crisp vegetables, and a little kick from the chipotle mayo, it was a refreshing, delicious sandwich.  I washed it down with another glass of sangria, naturally.

Update 6/2013: Tenoch is now serving Elote, Mexican corn on the cob, just in time for summer, and man is it good. According to my best guess, the corn is rolled in crema and cotija cheese and sprinkled with chili powder and lime juice. it's creamy and tangy and just a touch spicy. I think I'm in love.

Tenoch is truly a hidden gem, and I'm tickled pink that it's right down the street from us.  They're looking to expand into the city, and I believe they will have their very own food truck in the not-so-distant future, but for now, it's most certainly worth a trip into the suburbs!

Medford Community Read Program: Bon Appetit!

Recently, I learned that Medford hosts an annual "Community Reads" project, courtesy of the Friends of the Medford Public Library and the Medford Arts Council. Each year a book is selected for participants to read, and events are held throughout town that coincide with the theme of the book. How cool is that? This year's selection is one of my favorites: My Life In France by Julia Child. Julia's memoirs are captivating, and it's such a beautiful read, filled with her joys and struggles and lots of cooking.

On Tuesday night, Bestsellers Cafe hosted this year's Kick-Off  event, "Memories of Julia Child." As they recently re-opened in Medford Center (quite a story in itself) I've been dying to stop in and check it out. Combining some of my favorite things under one roof (books, coffee, and food), it's a great little bookstore. It reminds me of a smaller community version of Trident Booksellers and Cafe on Newbury Street, which I've gushed about before.

For the Kick-Off, they invited Mark DeVoto, son of Julia's close friend Avis DeVoto, to come speak about his memories of Julia Child.  Julia and Avis began their friendship as pen-pals who had never met, and in each other they found their soul mates. Much of their correspondence is captured in As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto edited by Joan Reardon, which I'm currently reading. It's an enthralling glimpse into the hearts and minds of two fiery, magnificent women. Eventually, they became neighbors in Cambridge once the Childs moved back to the US.

Tables and chairs were set up in the back of the cafe, with Mark seated in the center. The back wall of the shop is lined with French Doors, allowing the light to flood in and offering a beautiful view of the Mystic River. I got a big mug of spiced cider and a few snacks courtesy of the culinary program at Medford High School.  I settled into a seat in the back corner, sharing a table with a woman who confided that she once went to a dinner party where Julia was present!

The talk was laid back, and Mark graciously shared his memories and conversed with the audience, speaking fondly of a Thanksgiving spent at the Childs, a soup Julia once made with all of the vegetables in his little garden, the fact that Julia loved McDonalds french fries (that got a good laugh), and memories of his mother.  I enjoyed the evening thoroughly, and I'm so thankful to the Medford community for organizing such a special event. What a priceless opportunity to learn more about a woman that I so love and admire.