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A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

“A lifestyle blog with a focus on my food adventures”

October 23, 2017 Halloween Candy: Beyond Basic

I have to admit that Halloween is one of my most and least favorite holidays. I love the baking and the candy, but hate (dread) the dress up part. Halloween snuck up on me this year and I scrambled to get my kids their costumes – they were going to be whatever TJ Maxx had in their size this year…

And don’t even get me started on decor. My things from last year are still in a box in storage and have yet to come out, so it might just have to be the three pumpkins I over paid for this year as far as decorations go. Halloween candy? I’ll have to drag myself to Target this week and get my 800lbs of assorted candy. Now don’t get me wrong, I love me a good Reese’s, and mom tax was the best thing ever “invented”, but sometimes I crave grown up chocolate, you know, the good stuff you hide in a special cabinet away from the kids. So this year, Leah and I rounded up some “beyond basic” halloween candy to share with our readers.

These chocolate covered pretzel rods from Pocasset Pretzel Co. have just the right amount of chocolate to salt ratio – it’s not sickening sweet, and there is just a light layer of dark chocolate (and the pretzels were still super crunchy). Now I know I may have lost some of you on the candy corn (love it or hate it?). Me, I’m not a big fan, but nothing screams Halloween than these super sweet tri colored candies.

Also shown are chocolate moons by Praliné and those deliciously famous mice (dressed for Halloween) from L.A. Burdick, this one was white chocolate with a cinnamon filling.

The dark chocolate mice from L.A. Burdick are a big favorite in our house, filled with orange and finished with two toasted almonds for ears. The pumpkins are special for the Halloween season, and are chocolate covered marzipan with fresh almonds, pumpkin and spices. Those chocolate covered Oreos would be perfect if you are doing a “boo” basket, and are from Pocasset Pretzel Co.

I immediately fell in love with these chocolate ghosts from L.A. Burdick. For their 17th anniversary, they introduced them with a new flavor this season, pumpkin spice cider dark chocolate ganache. Each ghost is hand made with organic pumpkin, five difference spices, and local New Hampshire apple cider. The 5 piece box can be yours for just $18.

Going for something a little more subtle? The marzipan filled chocolate bar from Chocolat Moderne is just a little bit spooky.

Lollipops your thing? How cute is this one by Melville Candy Co.? We found this one, and a scary eyeball one, at Formaggio Kitchen.

Going to a Halloween party? This coffin box of chocolates from L.A. Burdick is the perfect hostess gift – giving you the best of everything (some seasonal, some classic)!

Saving the best for last. After doing some serious chocolate research (hard work right?!), we stumbled upon Beth’s Chocolate,based out of Newton. Beth makes these delicious, small batch chocolates out of her home (where you can pick up by appointment) or you can find a small selection at Vino Divinio and Volante Farms. These chocolates would be perfect for any occasion, not just Halloween. A 15 piece box can be made with all milk, all dark or an assortment of chocolates for $30. Beth doesn’t add preservatives to her chocolates, so make sure to eat them right away!!

While all of her chocolates were delicious, I was most impressed with her hand painted chocolates, they are simply a work of art.

Her flavors are complex, for instance, her ginger 3 ways (top) begins with infusing dark chocolate ganache with freshly grated ginger. Next, she adds a splash of Spiker’s ginger bite shrub. Finally, after hand dipping each piece in dark chocolate, she finishes them off with a sliver or crystallized ginger. Did you know that Beth roasts her own coffee beans for her coffee chocolate? How about her “fig-in-a-box” chocolates? Beth starts with homemade fig puree and a splash of balsamic vinegar. The puree is transformed into a pâte de fruit and then is hand dipped in chocolate. She hand paints on the gold strips for a beautiful end product. The Spicy Hot! (red) chocolate has a subtle chocolate flavor that you get first, and then at the end, you are hit with the cinnamon flavor and a kick from the cayenne. I think my favorite of all of the chocolates was the Maple Liqueur (milk chocolate on the left). This piece is made with Boston Harbor Distillery’s maple cream liqueur, a blend of rum, cream and Vermont maple syrup.

Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

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September 29, 2017 Pokéworks

Poké seems to be all the rage these days. We stopped by Pokéworks in Somerville to try out some special fruit bowls. They’re only available today, Friday, 9/29 until Sunday 10/1 and next weekend 10/6 until 10/8. While the poké bowls you see here are served in fun fruit bowls, if you order one, they won’t come that way (can you imagine all the carved out fruit shells?!?!) If you mention the code “special10” you can get 10% off one of these bowls!

Pictured above is the Watermelon Shiso: Atlantic salmon, watermelon, crab salad, masago, green onion, sweet onion, edamame, cucumber, sesame seeds, fresh shiso, and ponzu fresh sauce. I was surprised at how fresh the watermelon was, and sweet too! I loved the sweet and salty together and the edamames were a nice addition to the bowl (added a little heft to the dish). Really nice textures and flavors going on in this bowl, it was my favorite of the two, even though I’m not a huge salmon fan.

Next up was the Pineapple Bora: Bora, pineapple, cilantro, fresh ginger, red chili, and lotus chips. To be honest, I had no idea what Bora was before I tried this dish, turns out they are also known as mullet fish. The fish is versatile and a little on the chewy side. I loved the pineapple in this dish for the sweetness and the kick from the red chili. Leah had joked that she would have liked this dish a little more spicy and then on her second bite got a mouthful of chili 😉 .

So what else can you get at Pokéworks if you can’t make it in for the special bowls? They have a fast casual vibe that you are probably familiar with: pick your base (sushi rice, brown rice of quinoa), pick your protein (ahi tuna, shrimp, scallops, chicken, tofu, or salmon), and pick your sauce. Add toppings like cucumber, Hijiki seaweed, shiso leaves, crab salad, wonton crisps, or toasted rice puffs.

Seating is at communal tables and at a high bar in front of a glass garage door in the front. It was the perfect afternoon to have the door up! Even though many people were grabbing their food to go, but the tables filled up quickly.

Street parking is available at meters and there are pay lots nearby.

Pokéworks

261 Elm Street, Somerville, MA

http://www.pokeworks.com/somerville

Pokeworks Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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September 26, 2017 Farm to Fork: An Evening at Norwell Farms

On a beautiful Friday evening a few weeks ago, I went down to the South Shore to spend an evening at Norwell Farms. They were hosting their 4th annual “Farm to Fork” event. There was a cocktail hour sponsored by 10th District Brewery of Abington, who was serving hyper local craft beer. Island Creek Oysters were being shucked by the Lavishly Dunn Catering team, who is based out of Hanover. As the night went on, guests were treated to dishes created by local chefs that were inspired by Norwell Farms vegetables.

The farm was decked out with beautiful blooms from Cross Street Flower Farm, which is run by Nikki Bartley and Cara Gilmartin. The pictures don’t even do these beautiful flowers justice. Love what you see? If you live in the area, you can sign up for a flower share and have your own bouquet every week!

The whole space was very Instagram worthy.

Guests made their way around the tent to sample all the chef’s creations that were inspired by vegetables from the farm. The Corner Stop Eatery in Cohasset and Abby Gray from Cooking with Abby in Norwell were in good company of the alumni chefs.

Returning favorite chefs included: Stephen Sherman of Scarlet Oak Tavern in Higham; Greg Jordan from the Quarry in Hingham and Brian Houlihan from the Tinker’s Son in Norwell.

Make sure to check out Chef Houlihan’s other restaurants, Bia Bistro in Cohasset, Trident Galley and Raw Bar in Higham and The Galley Kitchen and Bar in Scituate.

Guests danced into the late hours to music by The Common Good. I wish I had an event to plan, because they were such an awesome band. Check out my instagram to hear a sample. Desserts were provided by Sadie Mae’s Cupcakes of Hingham and The Foodsmith of Duxbury. If that weren’t enough, late night food was provided by BBQ superstars, Smokey Stax BBQ.

Make sure to mark your calendars for next years event – it is not to be missed!

September 19, 2017 Sunshine Farm – Tuesday Water Cooler

Our family went down with summer colds this past weekend, so we took it easy. I’m throwing it back to a fun thing we did in July for my Tuesday Water Cooler post this week. We hit the tail end of blueberry season (July) and the beginning of peach season (August) at Sunshine Farm on a Saturday morning before it got too hot. Located in Sherborn, this is a great place to pick your own fruit with the family. Stop in at the farmstand and let them know what you want to pick. We paid for peaches by the bag and the blueberries were pay by weight. We drove our car down a ways to the blueberry field, but you have to walk a bit further to get to the peaches. There were plenty of ripe berries – my kids had a blast – it was their first time picking their own fruit. The blueberries were a bit tart, but we made a massive amount of Jordan Marsh blueberry muffins when we got home!

It was starting to get really toasty after the first hour, but we walked over to pick our bag of peaches. We had the whole area to ourselves and Sunshine Farm had the biggest peaches I have EVER SEEN! I mean, literally the size of softballs. They were perfectly sweet and delicious, it was hard to tell which we liked better, picking peaches or the blueberries. For me, this was really THE season for peaches!!

So obviously you can’t head to Sunshine Farm to pick blueberries or peaches (although they were still picking as of September 8th), but they are doing pick your own apples. They have Macs, Gala, Cortland, Macouns and Honey Crisps available. The farmstand is open 9am – 6pm and ice cream is open from noon until 8pm.

The farm also offers full season and summer share CSA packages. The 23 week full season starts June 14th and runs to November 18th. It’s $920 but you can sign up now until March 31st and save $70. Summer season starts on June 14th and runs through September 30th. It’s $640 but if you sign up now until March 31st, it is $600.

Where is your favorite farm to do u-pick?

Sunshine Farm

41 Kendall Ave. Sherborn, MA

http://sunshinefarmma.com/

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September 15, 2017 Canal District Farmers’ Market

Sometimes posts get away from me. I’ve been trying my best to catch up on them. Did you know that Worcester has a year round farmers’ market on Saturdays from 9am – 12pm. Bonus that it is next to Crompton Collective and Birch Tree Bread Company. Headed out there one Saturday in May (!!). We started with Crompton Collective. They have a mix of antiques, gifts for the home, jewelry and fun items for the kids.

So what can you expect to find at the market? Five Fork Farms brings their amazing flower bouquets, Seven Hills Farmstead scoops out artisanal pasta, Dismas Family Farm brings some of the freshest produce, Jaju pierogi sells both frozen and warmed up deliciousness, and Stained Swirls is decorating your body with beautiful henna designs.

I had been checking out Aisling’s Cookies on Instagram and had wanted to try them out (the main reason we went out to the market…). They did not disappoint. Aisling O’Sullivan is a mom to 4 and makes these amazing cookies. They were seriously tasty (you know some of these fancy cookies can be hard and taste like cardboard, but not these!!). I made sure to get a few for myself while I was picking up some for the “moms” in my life. Head over to her Instagram account and be prepared to be wowed – and then go ahead and order a custom set of your own.

I’m discovering more and more about Worcester – that there are some amazing restaurants and some really cool local shops. It’s actually just as far for me to get there as it is to trek into Boston, so we will certainly do more exploring in the future. Top on my list to try is Dead Horse Hill and Crown Bakery. Tell me all of your favorite spots in Worcester!

For more information on the Canal District Farmers’ Market, check out their Facebook page.

September 14, 2017 Rossini’s Pizzeria and Restaurant

After moving out to suburbia, we are still looking for our “go-to pizza place”. We decided to try out Rossini’s in Concord. The shop does mainly takeout, we were the only ones there dining in. The restaurant has all of your pizza place items – a small cheese pizza will run you about $9 and a large is $13. Pasta options include: bolognese, stuffed shells, steak gorgonzola alfredo and chicken parmigiana. Prices range from $11.99 for spaghetti and meatballs to $18.99 for the steak gorgonzola alfredo. Pastas were good, although nothing to write home about.

The burger was one of the highlights of the meal – probably because I love anything with an egg on top. Other items from the grill include an open faced tuna melt, cranberry chicken sandwich, and a crispy chicken sandwich. The kid’s menu will run you around $6: chicken fingers and fries, grilled cheese and fries, pasta, pasta and meatballs, ravioli, or macaroni and cheese.

Service was a bit on the slow side and it was hard to catch our server’s eye because we were in a separate room. The meal felt a bit pricey for what we ordered and the location (suburbia). The food was decent, but think that we will keep shopping around.

Leave me a comment and tell me where your favorite pizza place is!

Rossini’s Pizzeria and Restaurant

206 Fitchburg Turnpike, Concord, MA

http://rossiniseasy.com

Rossini's Pizzeria & Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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September 13, 2017 Little Owl Tavern

Kaki Lima just finished their residency at Wink and Nod’s culinary incubator. I thought I’d take this opportunity to throw it back to a post I had forgotten about in my drafts since the space is changing over. Little Owl Tavern was Wink and Nod’s first stab at Italian fare since they opened three years ago. Other notable restaurants/chefs that have been at Wink and Nod are: Whisk by Jeremy Kean and Philip Kruta; Bread and Salt with Josh Lewin and Kate Holowchik; Akinto with Chef Patrick Enage; Pelekasis from Chef Brendan Pelley; and Gita from Chef Gita Kantrow. Currently the space is being occupied by Pareja  by Chef Aaron Lhamon. The restaurant features bold flavors of Spanish, Portuguese and Basque cuisine. Small plates include items like Asparagus with grilled salmon hollandaise and espelette, and artichokes with boquerones aioli, garlic and vin juane. Larger plates include a paella, a chicken roulade and a ribeye.

We feasted that night:

Artisan ricotta with orange truffle honey ($9); burrata with green hummus, red onion marmalade, and olive focaccia crumbs ($13); and the butter poached king crab with avocado, cara cara orange, and meyer lemon vinaigrette ($25).

Other menu offerings included:

mini oyster tacos with pancetta, anise spinach, picked red onion and roasted garlic aioli

crispy eggplant carpaccio with lily-yogurt, tomato chutney, sweet peas and Parmesan

charred octopus with stewed tomato-white bean ragout and rapini

lobster bolognese with squid ink pappardelle, oven roasted tomatoes, chiles, pea puree and mint

grilled branzino with lemon, olive oil, herb yogurt puree, confit tomatoes, picked fennel and arugula

Looking forward to trying out Paraja. Have you been? Let me know what you thought!

Little Owl Tavern at Wink and Nod

1 Appleton Street, Boston, MA

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September 12, 2017 Four Seasons Hotel – Tuesday Water Cooler

We were recently in the city for a wedding at the Four Seasons Hotel. The luxury hotel just underwent a 15  million dollar renovation and it couldn’t be more beautiful. The iconic hotel is steps away from the Public Garden and the floral displays in the lobby are always a sight to see.

The public spaces have been refreshed with new furniture and artwork and the 273 guest rooms have been converted into “sleeping sanctuaries”. They have double walled windows for soundproofing, blackout shades and high end bedding. They have proprietary mattresses  made by Simmons, and man are they comfortable! I love the artwork in the rooms, simple and elegant – my favorite (not shown) is a whale weathervane in gold leaf. I love the pop of the yellow furniture in the rooms.

We spent most of Saturday at the pool. Located on the top floor of the hotel, the pool and fitness center offer guests picturesque views of the Public Garden. The pool has noodles and kick boards for the kids (or the young at heart), and robes and slippers so you don’t slip on the deck. Take a relaxing soak in the whirlpool or swim laps in the 44 ft pool. Spend some time in the pool chairs reading the paper and snacking on some fresh fruit.

The service at the hotel does not disappoint. They offer a complimentary house car drop off service within 2 miles of the hotel; coffee, tea and fruit are offered in the lobby from 5am – 8am in the morning on weekdays; a gourmet pastry is offered at check in each afternoon; they offer twice daily housekeeping and evening turndown service; you have access to a DVD player with a library of children’s dvds; and special age appropriate amenities for children and teens.

If you are looking for a staycation option, I highly recommend checking out the Four Seasons Hotel.

Four Seasons Hotel

200 Boylston Street, Boston, MA

www.fourseasons.com

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September 11, 2017 Simply Divine Pizza

Fall may be my favorite time down on Cape Cod. The crowds are gone, you can get down Main Street in a reasonable amount of time, and you can get into the restaurants again. We recently went to Simply Divine Pizza in Falmouth. The kids loved watching the chefs make the pizza, spinning the dough high up into the air. The pizzas are Neapolitan style and cooked in a stone fired oven. They only use all natural ingredients and locally sourced produce.

Pizzas come in mouth watering combinations like fig and prosciutto, chicken pesto, shrimp scampi, white three cheese, cheeseburger, meat lover, Greek and scallop bacon to name a few. You can make your own pizza with toppings like house made maple fennel sausage, meatballs, apple wood smoked bacon, black olives, fresh pineapple, kalamata olives, sweet potato, and anchovies. Pizza not your thing (seriously?), they have other options such as pasta, sandwiches and paninis.

Kid’s menu options include a ham and cheese panini, grilled cheese, hot dog, kids pasta and meatballs, mac and cheese or a slice of pizza all for $8.95. They come with a free soft drink and a Hoodsie cup.

They deliver within a 5 mile range with a $10 minimum purchase plus a $2.50 delivery charge. Parking is available on Main Street or in lots close by. They have a good size space and can accommodate large parties.

Where is your go – to place for pizza on the Cape?

Simply Divine Pizza

271 Main Street, Falmouth, MA

www.divinepizza.com

simply divine pizza co. Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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September 10, 2017 Shop Local, Shop Small

Now that we don’t live in the city, I almost never get to the South End. I mean, when I WAS in the city, I barely got there…

Leah and I met for lunch at Coppa (we had a Gilt City voucher to use), and I decided to drop in to some of my favorite shops. First up, Olives and Grace. You can’t help but love Sofi. Make sure to follow her on Instagram. I picked up this adorable Boston tea towel by Claudia Pearson (and picked up one for Leah too!).

There are so many things to choose from, it’s hard to control myself. There are gifts for the foodie, for the local, for the bar, for men, for babies and for the home. A new addition that I love are Seacoast Sweets. Kirstyn Pearl makes these homemade patties (peanut butter, peppermint, s’mores, and coconut) in Newburyport, MA. They are your favorite classic candy – but elevated in flavor! Check out the website for fun tastings and a chance to meet some of the makers.

I also stopped in to Formaggio Kitchen. I didn’t have a cooler with me, so I had to pass on buying cheese 🙁 , but managed to walk out with a few good finds. This great little shop not only has some delicious treats, but you can pick up some take home meals for the week as well. This week’s menu included BBQ pulled pork, Thai peanut chicken, lasagna bolognese and a grilled salmon. I like to take my time and browse every inch of the store.

I’m a big fan of the Generous brand, they make delicious little bite sized cookies. I think their packaging is adorable and love the Stella Stracciatella flavor. This time, I picked up the Sylvain Speculoos cookies and really enjoyed the flavor.

Tomorrow I am heading to the New England Made Giftware and Specialty Food Show. I’m looking forward to discovering some new brands to introduce to you just in time for the holidays. The show is for buyers and not open to the public, but you can read all about my finds a little later on this fall. I’m excited to revisit some old favorites like Anchor Toffee, Stonewall Kitchen, Atlantic Saltworks, McCrea’s Candies and The Salty Cottage. And I’m looking forward to meeting some new friends to – Black Dinah Chocolatiers, Cape Cod Sweets, Safe Harbor Confections, Goose Pond, Chatham Pottery and The Poppy Seed, to name a few. For a full list of vendors, check out their website. These brands will be coming soon to some of your favorite local shops.

Where are your go-to spots for local, handmade gifts? I love Olives and Grace, Duck Soup, and Greentail Table to name a few. Leave me a comment and let me know where I should be checking out!