I love my husband.  And while I know he loves me, I know he also loves his food.  Patrick will try and eat anything I make.  He has his favorites, he’s been the guinea pig for some of my ‘not-so-ordinary’ creations and he has even compared one of my dishes to tasting like fast food (but in a good way!).  But sometimes, Patrick just wants what he wants.  And sometimes, Patrick just wants a cheeseburger.

Image Credit – cafepress.com

Now, don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing wrong with a cheeseburger.  In fact, I enjoy eating them myself.  However, I can’t remember the last time I had a real cheeseburger.  I usually opt for a turkey burger or a veggie burger.  I think the last time I had a beef burger, it didn’t quite agree with me and thus, I’m now a bit leery.  So the thought of having a burger for dinner, would not be my first choice.  But the last time I ‘denied’ my husband of a meal, the restaurant ended up shutting its doors.  Lesson learned.  That said, we were off to satisfy Patrick’s craving.

Four Burgers is a cute little restaurant located in Central Square, Massachusetts, that serves, you guessed it, four different kinds of burger.  I first heard of this burger joint on the Phantom Gourmet, and I remember the rave reviews it received.  Since I’m a believer in the Phantom and this restaurant was only about 10 minutes away from our house, we figured we’d give it a go.

Cute, huh?

Notice the four circles?

This is such a fun and cozy place!  The four burgers that Four Burgers serves are all natural beef, vegetarian, turkey and wild salmon (they also had a lamb burger on special the day we were there).  I loved the decor and how the ‘four burger’ theme carried throughout the restaurant.  In addition, I really appreciated Four Burgers’ mission: To become the most “unique” and “original” burger concept in the market by providing top quality burgers and service. We are dedicated to making burger lovers out of everyone! Four Burgers also has some admirable core values.  Some of my favorites are that they use only the freshest, high quality, local products whenever possible, and they are mindful of their impact on the environment and the community.  And if that isn’t enough, their menu didn’t look so bad either.

Who needs a bigger menu?

Patrick took all of two seconds to figure out what he wanted to order (grass-fed, all-natural beef hamburger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon and mushroom).  I couldn’t decide if I wanted a turkey burger (with apple & cranberry chutney, lettuce, tomato) or an organic vegan black bean burger.  They both sounded beyond good, but finally, I decided to go the meatless route.  And of course, no burger meal (meat or veggie) would be complete without a side order of french fries.  But in our case, we ordered what Four Burgers called, the ‘half & half’, which was half regular french fries and half sweet potato fries.  In our case, the side was more of an entrée!

So how did our burgers taste?  One word.  Phenomenal.  I’ve had my share of veggie burgers, and this one was one of the best I’ve had in quite some time.  It was flavorful, moist, thick and filling.  And, it was green in tint!  I’m guessing this was from all the fresh herbs that were inside.  My veggie burger also came with lettuce, guacamole and salsa (I could have also ordered it with mango BBQ sauce) all within a fluffy whole wheat bun.  While I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner, Patrick was on cloud nine with his.  To quote him exactly, “This is soooooo good!  The burger is juicy, has a slight char-grill taste, which you know I like.  And, the bacon is crispy.  You know how I like my crispy bacon!  I can’t believe we didn’t come to this place sooner!“  Um, yeah.  I think it’s safe to say Patrick really liked his dinner.  And what about the fries?  Perfection.  Both the regular french and the sweet potato were so, so, delicious!  I really hate to admit this but, we polished off the whole plate.  They were so worth it!

YUM!

My black bean burger close-faced…

And, open-faced…

Patrick’s ultimate cheeseburger…

Look at all of those layers!

Drooling…

Patrick and I give Four Burgers, four stars and four thumbs up!  The atmosphere was excellent, the food was excellent and the fact that they only use the highest quality ingredients and are environmentally sound is excellent.  We couldn’t have been more pleased with our meal.  While the menu was simple (in addition to the four burgers, they also offered an all natural hot dog, a mesclun greens salad, as well as a few sweet treats), the taste was nothing short of extraordinary.  But then again being able to provide great food with friendly service, coupled with a good conscience, doesn’t have to be complicated.

Pretty cool, huh?

(these might be the noisiest chairs on the planet!  just sayin’…)

What’s your favorite kind of burger?  What toppings do you like to put on your burger?

Namasté,
Nicole

Does anyone other than me love appetizers?  Especially ones that are hot and oh-so-tasty?  I have trouble staying focused when I’m at a party or special event and all I can see are trays full of bite-sized food being walked around.  Maybe it’s just that things look better when they’re miniature, served on a platter and being handed to you with a cocktail napkin?  Whatever the reason is, I love a good hor d’oeuvre and when they are done right, it’s time to party!

Image Credit – picasaweb.google.com

That said, I wanted to create a delectable hot appetizer as one of the dishes I would bring to Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner.  However, I wanted the appetizer to not only be finger lickin’ good, but I also wanted it to be something that I could easily put together.  Because I had already committed to cooking a main entrée, a lasagna, a vegetable, a dessert and an appetizer for both days combined, I really couldn’t take on something that would involve much time or that would require much effort.  After searching through my cookbooks, and seeing the same old recipes and not being entirely thrilled by them, a light bulb finally went off in my head!  I remembered Kerstin’s recipe for Cranberry Pecan Brie Bites and how amazing they looked, not to mention how simple they were to prepare.  And within a few short moments, I knew exactly what I was going to make!

Caramelized Onion, Mushroom, Bacon and Gorgonzola Bites
Inspired by Cake, Batter and Bowl and Pillsbury
Makes 24 bites

• 1 can (16.3 oz.) of Pillsbury® refrigerated Grands!® Flaky Layers refrigerated biscuits or 1 can (12 oz.) of Pillsbury® Grands!® Jr. Golden Layers® refrigerated biscuits
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 large vidalia onion, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
• 2 TSP of chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 TSP of dried thyme
• 1  TBSP of light brown sugar, packed
• 2  TBSP of white wine or chicken broth
• 1  cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 5 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled into tiny pieces
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and thyme and cook 8 – 10 minutes, stirring
frequently.  The onions will shortly begin to soften.  Then, reduce heat to medium-low and cook 7 – 9 minutes, stirring constantly.

2) Once the onions are completely softened and caramelized (brown), stir in brown sugar and wine.  Cook for another 2 – 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until liquid has evaporated.  Add the mushrooms.   Set aside.

3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Open the can of biscuits.  If you’re using the Grands!® Flaky Layers refrigerated biscuits (I couldn’t find the Grands!® Jr. Golden Layers® refrigerated biscuits), you will need to roll out each biscuit and cut out three 2 1/2-inch circles from each biscuit (I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to cut out my circles!).  If you can’t cut out three, cut two and roll together the remaining biscuit dough to cut out additional circles.  You will need a total of 24 circles of dough.

*If you are lucky enough to find the Grands!® Jr. Golden Layers® refrigerated biscuits, all you need to do is split each biscuit into two even layers in order to get your circles.

4) Press each circle into the ungreased cups of a miniature muffin pan.

5) Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the onion and mushroom mixture into each cup.  Top with a few crumbles of the Gorgonzola cheese and then top with bacon.

6) Bake 14 – 17 minutes or until golden brown and the cheese starts to bubble.  Let cool slightly for about 2 minutes and remove biscuit bites from the pan.  Place on a platter and serve to all your guests!

First and foremost, I want to thank Kerstin for giving me the inspiration to make these bite-sized bundles of joy!  I really liked the idea of using the mini muffin pans to make something other than muffins/cupcakes.  Plus, using a pre-packaged refrigerated dough was a whole heck of a lot easier than making my own dough from scratch.  My hot appetizer was definitely a crowd pleaser.  But when you pair buttery biscuits with sweet caramelized onion, Gorgonzola cheese and bacon, how can you go wrong?  Even though this recipe wasn’t the ‘healthiest’ or ‘lightest’ fare, they were bite-sized and consuming one or two was more than enough.  It was just enough indulgence to keep your mouth and taste buds happy, but to also leave your tummy with room for more.

Image Credit – media.photobucket.com

I must admit that I did panic a tad when I realized the biscuits I bought were not going to be as easy to use as the Jr. sized-version.  However, instead of running back to the grocery store in a frenzy to find the Jr. size, I improvised.  Rolling the biscuits and cutting my own circles was actually fun.  I don’t often get the chance to roll out my own dough (I don’t bake too many cookies or breads) and being able to be hands-on with my recipe was quite entertaining.  And then to see my creation come to fruition (when I had anticipated for a split-second that it was going to be disaster) and hear my family ooh and ahh, I was definitely on cloud nine.  Now instead of watching and eating the passed hot appetizers at parties, I look forward to watching people eating and enjoying the hot appetizers that I made.  And that’s a feeling I will never be able to pass up.

What’s your favorite appetizer?  Do you have willpower or are you like me and can’t pass up a hot app?

Namasté,
Nicole

WOW!  Christmas came and went with a bang!  I think I blinked my eyes and it was instantly over.  However, I did have a blast and enjoyed every minute of this glorious holiday.  As I mentioned in my previous post, this year I wanted to really be involved with the cooking and preparation, versus just lounging around as I did in years past.  Thus, for Christmas Eve, after much deliberating and thought, I decided on baking a ham, making a hot appetizer and whipping up a tasty dessert.  That said, I was up at the crack-a-lackin’ of dawn to get a good stretch in at yoga and then it was time to hunker down in the kitchen.  I was cooking up a storm!  Not to pat myself on the back, but everything came out better than I expected.  Also, everything took a bit longer than expected.  Before I knew it, it was time to rush out the door to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law-to-be’s place for Christmas Eve dinner.  We made it just in time! Phew!

When Patrick and I walked in, the festivities had already started.  Patrick’s family was socializing and munching on appetizers as I was getting my goodies settled in the kitchen.  Among the array of finger foods were shrimp cocktail, an antipasto platter, baked brie and fresh fruit.

Hello everyone!

Hmmm, shrimp cocktail!

What a spread!

A little bit of everything…

My hot appetizer: bite-sized biscuit cups with caramelized onion, mushrooms, gorgonzola and bacon

My baked ham with tangy honey citrus glaze.  Check out that garnish; it’s all about the presentation!

A yummy lasagna – courtesy of my mother-in-law, Ellen.  Thanks El! (BTW, it wasn’t 10:57 pm.  The clock was a little wacky!)

My sister-in-law, Carolyn’s, green bean casserole.  So good!

How’s the food, Pat?

Carolyn and Greg

Uncle Norm and Auntie Margo

My dinner plate (or bowl, as we ran out of plates)

After Carolyn and I finished prepping and serving dinner, we cleaned up and got the living room area ready for the activity portion of the night – gift opening! There were some wonderful gifts this year (much like every year) and we were all quite pleased.  While I love the gifts that I received, I also loved watching the excitement and joy on the faces of my family members.  There were so many laughs and good times shared, exactly what the holidays should be about.

I think Ellen really liked her new coat! Priceless!

Uncle and Nephew

My father-in-law, Dan, loving his 2010 calendar of Colby (Carolyn’s dog)

The hosts for the evening: Kevin and Vanja

Which is the better gift, Carolyn?  The handbag or Greg?

Healthy Chow’s best gift ever!

Cheers!

Healthy Chow happily posing with some of her Christmas gifts

Once we finished opening our gifts, we had digested our dinner and made room for our next course – dessert! On the agenda were chocolate and vanilla frosted cupcakes, Carolyn’s homemade apple crisp and my freshly baked (or chilled) key lime pie.  Everything was delicious!  I loved the buttery, yet light taste of the apple crisp with the toasted oatmeal topping.  And my key lime pie was tart and refreshing.  It tasted very tropical! I definitely had a taste (and a little bit more) of everything

I’m glad I saved room for dessert!

Ah, cupcakes!

What a lovely night!  Kevin and Vanja did a fantastic job decorating their home giving it a warm, Christmas feeling and hosted a great party.  We all had a such an amazing time enjoying each other’s company and sharing so many laughs.  Not to mention, the food was delicious! I’m proud to say that my first-ever baked ham came out quite well and was a hit!  It felt great to be able to fully contribute to my family’s dinner and to know that I was able to help in giving them a nice meal on Christmas Eve.  I think all of our bellies were quite full and happy.  What a splendid way to end the day and to prep myself for the next big event…Christmas!

I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Did you make anything for your holiday meal?  If so, would you make it again?  Do you like cooking on the holidays?

Namasté,
Nicole

It finally happened.  We got our first major snowstorm.  Actually, it seems as if many in the eastern part of the country got their first ginormous wallop of snow this weekend.  But who doesn’t want a white Christmas, right?  (well, I wouldn’t say I necessarily want one, but I really can’t argue with Mother Nature!)  This morning, Boston woke up to about a foot of snow.  Luckily, it was a Sunday and because Patrick and I didn’t have much on our plate, we took our time getting up.  But once we were showered and ready to go, we decided to tackle another first.  We embraced our first shoveling of the cars of the season.  Even though I’m not the biggest fan on winter, for some strange reason, I enjoy shoveling snow.  And since yoga class was canceled this morning (and I wanted to be lazy and sleep in), I was looking forward to making my shoveling my workout for the day.

Look at all that white!

I think that’s a little more than a foot of snow?!

When I finally made it to my car (I was snapping pictures of the lovely all-white scenery), Patrick was already in full-force being a snow scoopin’ superstar.  His car was already about halfway cleaned.  Even though we had a pretty sizable amount of snow, it was the light and fluffy kind.  The kind that tends to blow around as soon as you pick it up (TWHS!).  But because we live in the city and park our cars on the street, the big plows have the tendency to block us in.  No worries!  Healthy Chow likes a good shovel!

Can’t wait to ‘dig’ in!

Keep it going, Patrick!

In about 30 minutes, we had both of our cars cleaned and our spots emptied.  I’m not sure if it was the five layers of tops and the two layers of pants and socks or the fact that I was shoveling like a maniac, but I was working up quite the lather and quite the appetite.  Luckily for us, our favorite neighborhood pizza shop, Giga’s Pizza, was open and greeted us with open arms when we walked in for a late brunch.  The shoveling duo was done shoveling snow and was ready to shovel some hot food into their mouths!  I ordered the Greek omelet wrap without the wrap (whole eggs, not just whites.  I wanted extra protein today!) with home fries.  To my surprise and delight, my meal came with toast and fresh, crispy bacon.  I gave my toast and home fries to Patrick, to go along with his french toast and bacon.  We were fed like royalty; Giga’s Pizza never disappoints!

Wow, I look awesome – hahaha!

All done!

My Greek omelet with feta, tomato and spinach along with some bacon – YUM!  And Patrick’s feast of french toast, home fries, bacon and toast!

After we inhaled ate our food, we bundled ourselves up again and walked up the street for some more snowy Sunday fun.  We decided to take on a matinee of the movie Patrick has been dying to see – Avatar.  Avatar was being shown in traditional 2D and in 3D.  Of course, we chose to see it in 3D!  This was my first time seeing a movie in 3D and I was pretty excited to see the movie and to wear the glasses.  We thoroughly entertained ourselves in the theater by modeling our new found accessory.  We can be such dorks!

The movie’s special effects were incredible!  Being that this is the most expensive movie of all time, all the bells and whistles were in this movie.  And watching it in 3D made it that much more exciting and amazing to watch.  However, the movie was close to 3 hours long and after some time, my butt started to get tired.  But as soon as that happened, the movie went into overdrive and all of the sudden, I could no longer feel the pain.  I would say the last 45 minutes are the best out of the 162.  Overall, I would give Avatar an A-/B+.  The special effects were extraordinary, but the story line was nothing special.  But on a snowy Sunday afternoon, going to the movies is certainly a must in my book!

I had a blast today.  While I usually start my weekend mornings (and every morning) with yoga, it was definitely nice to sleep in and take my time starting the day.  The blanket of white that covered the city (and everywhere else) was beautiful. I can’t believe I said that!  I guess when you spend the day having fun in the snow, versus whining and complaining about it (yep, that was the old me), you can actually enjoy it.  Like the Na’vi in Avatar, I felt like I conquered the day.  I didn’t let the cold, snow, wind nor my tired butt get the best of me.  I usually like to stay indoors when the weather behaves like this, but Patrick likes to get out and experience it.  Thanks to him, I had a wonderful day.  And thanks to my positive thinking, my feelings about winter are starting to change.  But when you can spend a lazy wintry Sunday, doing the things you love and being with the person you love, how can you not enjoy yourself?

I’m keeping up with my Kardashians!

If you live in an area that gets snow, what’s your favorite winter activity?  If you don’t, is there anything you do in the winter that you don’t normally do during the rest of the year?

Namasté,
Nicole

***Thank you again for all your kind words and your concern about my blog and its ‘issues’.  I am so lucky to have such great friends and readers.  I’m truly blessed and so happy to have all of you in my life.  Unfortunately, if you commented or linked back to my blog late Sunday, October 25th or early Monday, October 26th, your comments/linkbacks did not get posted (and I wasn’t immediately notified) due to my hosting provider issues   I just didn’t want you to think that I was ignoring you – that would never happen!  I guess while Healthy Chow was down, she was really out.  But she’s back (fingers crossed) and better than ever!  Thank you again for your patience!***

Yup.  You’ve guessed it.  I’ve decided to dedicate a post about ME.  Gah!  I kid, I kid…

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the second ALLocal Dinner at UpStairs on the Square, in Cambridge.  ALL, meaning, ‘All Local & Luscious’, was hosted by the Local Food Committee of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) and Cambridge Local First.  Local food leaders and local Cambridge business leaders were invited to attend a dinner that was going to be prepared with ingredients that would be:

• Sourced as close to Cambridge as possible within New England
• Processed by New England artisans and companies
• Delivered by New England-owned distribution companies
• Prepared and served at a Massachusetts restaurant
• Eaten by `Local Eaters’  (Outsiders were welcome, too!)

Not only was this dinner going to be prepared with some of the freshest and finest ingredients in and around New England and at one of the best known restaurants in the Cambridge area, but it was going to be a five course meal to boot!  How could Healthy Chow resist?! Plus this fabulous dinner was an opportunity for me to:

• Support local farmers, fisherman and food artisans
• Share a meal with local Cambridge business leaders and local food leaders passionate about their local community and local food choices
• Raise funds for the work of Cambridge Local First

I’m all about having a belly full of delicious food, but to know that the food that was going in my belly was actually going to be doing some good as well, now that’s a home run (it is October after all, how could I not use that lame pun?)!  And to be considered a local food leader?  Healthy Chow would be honored to call herself that! (*brushes her shoulders with the tips of her fingers*)  Usually, I’m just a food ‘eater’!

When I arrived in Harvard Square, I wasn’t quite exactly sure where this established restaurant was located.  But because it was a lovely fall night (there haven’t been too many of those lately) and your girl was dropped off early again, I decided to take my time finding the place.  After asking about five different people (no lie), I finally found it.  It’s just one of those places that you know you’ve walked by 1,000’s of times, but just can’t seem to pinpoint it in your head.  I should have just followed my nose; the smell from the fireplaces inside were beckoning me to come in.  But not before I could snap a few shots .

UpStairs on the Square had some of the funkiest decorum for a restaurant I have ever seen.  As I walked ‘upstairs’ (about three flights) to the function room where the dinner was being held, the leopard print carpeting grabbed my attention and informed me that this was not going to be any ordinary restaurant.  Inside the function room guests gathered around the lit fireplaces, meeting and greeting others as the libations flowed and were enjoyed.  After checking in and getting my name tag and table number, I looked around for some familiar faces.  Unfortunately, I did not know anyone but this didn’t deter me from introducing myself to some of my table mates, as well as taking some pictures of our beautifully decorated dining room.  The pink and gold painted walls reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, which was quite apropos considering the feeling I derived from the dining room was more fairytale than reality.

As the final guests arrived, I sat down to eagerly read the special menu for the night, but was soon greeted by a familiar face.  Jim Broderick, the founder of Teather™, was seated at the table right behind me.  As usual, Jim was his friendly and upbeat self and we discussed just how excited we were to taste our locally prepared and sourced dinner.  Within a few minutes, the guests were asked to take their seats as our first course was being served.  I think everyone, including Healthy Chow, was ready to eat since it only took one call for all the guests to sit.  To say that the food was being highly anticipated would have been a huge understatement.

To start off our five courses, the first course was Salad of Siena Farm’s Autumn Greens – Fried Green Tomatoes, Cilantro & Lime. The greens were like no other greens I had ever tasted in my life.  I couldn’t believe just how fresh they were and how fragrant they tasted.  Even though the salad was lightly dressed with a vinaigrette, it could have been eaten dry - that’s how truly delectable this salad was!  The fried green tomato was fried in a light batter that was a bit salty on first bite, but complemented the salad greens perfectly.

Our second course was easily my favorite.  We were served Creamy Long Island Pumpkin Soup – Gray’s Rhode Island Cornmeal ‘Johnnycakes’. Holy smokes, this soup was outstanding! With just the right amount of cream and spice, this soup that ate like a meal, warmed the bellies from the inside out.  But the best part was the Johnnycakes.  The table likened the Johnnycakes to be a cross between a hushpuppy and cornbread, but not as heavily fried.  I’m not sure if my table mates were right or wrong, but what I do know is that these golden pieces of goodness were like a dream.  They were so incredibly light and airy, and served as the perfect ’sponge’ to soak up my soup.  The delicately fried fresh sage leaves that garnished this orange bowl of delight were also out-of-this-world good.  I think they might have been there for sheer decoration, but I happily gobbled them up.  They were too tasty to leave behind!  Yum!

For our main course, we had a choice between a fish or vegan entrée.  I honestly had a tough deciding between the two; you would have thought I was making the most difficult decision of my life.  I finally chose the Gloucester Day Boat Cod – Vermont House-Cured Bacon, Pat Woodbury’s Wellfleet Clams, Native Fennel, Radishes & Spicy Cress.  The cod was exquisite, but definitely did not overshadow the clams.  Hidden inside of these tiny mollusks were bits of bacon that I could have sworn were the equivalent to finding buried treasure.  If I wasn’t sitting at a table filled with strangers, I definitely think I would have licked my plate clean.  However, when I saw the vegan option being served next to me, I began getting entrée envy.  The vegan dish was Savoy Cabbage Beggar’s Purse  – Stuffed with Creamy Westport Macomber Turnips, Bill’s Foraged Mushrooms & Rainbow Carrots, Braised in Col Walker’s Little Compton Tomatoes (sorry, I was a bad lil’ blogger and forgot to snap a photo of this dish; I was too busy eating). If it was acceptable, I would have dug my fork into my neighbor’s plate and had me a taste.  Healthy Chow likes to have a taste of both worlds - literally.

For dessert and our final two courses, we were served a cheese plate of Three Perfect New England Cheeses - Kimball Farms Quince & Native Honey and Baked Spiced Apple – Cinnamon Ice Cream.  Because both courses were served at virtually the same time, I couldn’t decide which to eat first.  The cheese was paired with a drizzle of honey that tasted as if it came straight from the bee.  Dipping the chunks of glorious cheese into this sweet nectar was enough dessert to end the night.  But when you have a warm baked apple sitting right in front of you with homemade ice cream, how can you say no? Well, I certainly did not say no and instead, said yes to devouring the whole bowl.  And yes, it was certainly worth it!

While every single one of the five courses wowed me and had me asking myself why I had never dined at this restaurant before, the speeches and conversation that continued throughout the night were also something that I quite enjoyed.  Because this dinner was a benefit to raise money for Cambridge Local First, as well as to raise awareness for supporting local independents, various speakers spoke throughout the night about some of the upcoming events and projects that were taking place in the Boston area.  For example, the International Day of Climate Action that took place on October 24th, which was organized by 350.org, supporting the world’s greatest bake sale – Pie in the Sky, the importance of 10PercentShift.org and the weekly vegan tasting menus that are available at UpStairs on the Square, who for 27 years has been dedicated to serving the best of local fare.  While my taste buds were being stimulated by the wonderful food being served before me, my mind was certainly not left out.  After listening to the words of the various speakers, I came to the conclusion that I could certainly do more in my part to support local business and to eat more locally sourced food.  My stomach was filled with some of the most extraordinary tasting food I’ve had in quite some time, and my head was filled with some food for thought.  To say the least, I was stuffed.

Because I’m still new to the blogging world, I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about the night.  I knew there were going to be some actual prominent leaders in local food and I wasn’t quite sure what I could bring to the table (yes, I meant that one!).  However, the guests that were seated at my table were anything but intimidating.

Fan Watkinson, Co-Chair of SBN Local Food Committee, was seated directly to my left and while she was one of the hosts for the night’s dinner and was responsible for much of the night’s organizational duties, she made it a point to get to know each guest at our table.  Fan made me feel more than welcome at the dinner and in fact, made me feel special.  We talked about my blog, social media and the impact it’s had on business and communication.  Fan is an absolute delight; I was so glad to have had the chance to meet her.  Also seated at the table was Dan Meyers, the Administrative Director of Cambridge Local First.  While Dan spoke to our table about some of the events Cambridge Local First was conducting, he also impressed us with his culinary background.  Dan was a chef in the Boston area and is an avid cook.  We discussed some of our favorite food blogs and how we couldn’t believe just how creative some people could be.  He was certainly one multi-faceted person!  And finally, two ladies from The Fishmonger market in Cambridge, talked about the seafood industry and answered my questions about mercury levels in fish.  They were certainly knowledgeable and informed me of the do’s and don’t’s of ordering seafood at restaurants.  I guess I won’t be ordering seafood on a Monday night ever again, especially after a big storm!

All in all (get it?), the dinner was a huge success.  The room was filled to capacity with guests and the food was nothing short of amazing.  I was so happy to have been a part of such a wonderful event.  To be surrounded with people who have as pure of an interest in food as myself was comforting.  Each guest at my table and at the event brought their own unique personality and contributed to the energetic vibe that circulated throughout the night.  My eyes were opened to a whole new dining experience, as well as my mind was opened to a whole new world of awareness – and there is no kidding around about that.

What was one of the most unique dining experiences you’ve had?  How much of your budget goes to buying from local vendors/businesses?

Namasté,
Nicole

Do you remember your prom?  I do.  I spent so much time thinking about it, shopping for the ‘perfect’ dress, dieting, dreaming of the ‘best’ hairstyle, finding the matching ‘perfect’ shoes for the ‘perfect’ dress, making sure I had the limousine reserved, making sure my corsage was just ‘right’, making sure I had plans post-prom, making sure my date had a tux that matched me, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…And after all that, the night just turned out mediocre.  I mean, nothing bad happened but nothing all that wonderful occurred either.  I guess that goes to show that sometimes it’s better to go with the flow than to plan every last detail.

This past weekend, Patrick and I were undecided as to what we wanted to do.  The weather was way too nice to be sitting indoors and yet, we didn’t have any reservations or plans made to travel.  After we both had our morning workouts, showered, had breakfast and got our acts together, we decided we just had to go ’somewhere’.  That said, we jumped in the car and Patrick randomly asked, “Hey, wanna go to Newport?”  It seemed like a good idea to me!  So, I said yes, and we hopped on the highway.

If you’ve never been to Newport, RI, it’s about an 45 minute to an hour drive from Boston.  Many Bostonians/New Englanders rent houses in Newport for the summer and spend their weekends there with friends hanging out on the beach and simply enjoying the hot weather.  Because it was Labor Day weekend, the unofficial last weekend of the summer, we weren’t sure what the traffic would be like.  We didn’t hit much traffic at all and we made it there in about and hour and 15 minutes.  Not bad!

Because we got such a late start and had eaten a late breakfast, we held off on having lunch when we arrived and decided to take full advantage of the fantastic weather while it lasted.  But what were we going to do?  We weren’t prepared for the beach (we didn’t have swimsuits, towels, sunscreen, or flip-flops) and wanted to do something a little more exciting than just walk around the shops.  So, we kept driving until we saw this:

Sachuest Point is located in Middletown, just a short drive from Newport.  We sort of just stumbled upon it as we were driving along the beaches.  People were walking and biking along the road and we just decided to follow where they were going.  Boy, did they know where they were going!  Sachuest Point was as equally breathtaking as it was interesting:

The refuge sports a newly renovated visitor center, over 2.5 miles of nature trails, viewing platforms, and a number of Refuge volunteers present to help visitors and to help in management of the refuge.

Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge is renowned for its fantastic saltwater fishing, and the presence of the largest winter population of harlequin ducks on the East Coast.

The visitor center had information on the Refuge, as well as the various bird and plant species that one might find on the trails.  There was even a mini-theater available that showed videos on the history of the Refuge.  We didn’t stay to watch but it was nice to know there was so much available to see and learn – all for free!

The sun sure did sneak up on us that day.  Because I wasn’t paying attention to misjudged the weather, I was dressed in long jeans and told Patrick to wear a long sleeved shirt.  I held out for as long as I could before I finally had to admit to Patrick, “yes, I goofed.  It’s an absolute perfect summer day and I’m literally dying in my jeans right now…”  Luckily, the slight breeze from the ocean managed to cool us off a bit and we were able to fully explore the trails.  It was so cool and like nothing else I had ever had the chance to experience.

We walked around the trails for about an hour until we decided to start hiking on the rocky cliffs that beautifully lined the water.  I was a bit scared at first, thinking I was going to slip and fall and plunge to my death, but Patrick tested it out to make sure it was safe.  What a guy!

“Oh cool, my iPhone works out here…”

My Captain Morgan’s pose…arrrrgh!

Two roads diverged…

When I saw this, I knew I had to capture it.  I felt it was so symbolic of how our day started out.  If we had made rushed plans or reservations to go and stay on the Cape or some other New England summer hot spot, we would have missed out on the spontaneity of going on our spur-of-the moment car ride to Newport and may not have had as good of a time.  Instead, we chose to relax and not stress about our plans and everything seemed to just fall into place.

By the time we finished walking and hiking, we were famished and in desperate need of water.  We pulled over to a convenience store and chugged a bottle of water and then drove until we laid eyes on this:

We split a jumbo-sized frozen lemonade and I swear, this tasted like the nectar of the Gods! It was so light and refreshing and the perfect snack after our sweat-induced hike.  We drove along the beach roads looking at some of the most gorgeous homes I’ve ever seen.  But because I was so enthralled with my frozen lemonade, I neglected to take any pictures. Sorry! But the lemonade sure was dee-lee-shus!

We then decided to head back into town to get an early dinner.  At this point, I just needed food.  So, I was pretty easy going on our dining selection.  We found free parking and this:

Tickets Bar & Grille was a cute little restaurant in Middletown that was right across the street from the beach and had outdoor seating. Perfect!  They had the usual bar/pub fare – pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, finger food, salads, etc.  I chose the vegetarian wrap that contained zucchini, roasted red pepper, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese and came with a choice of either cole slaw, potato salad, french fries or sweet potato fries. I chose the sweet potato fries – obvi!  Patrick went for the classic turkey club and regular french fries.  It was sheer bliss for Healthy Chow!

My meal was huge!  It basically was a sandwich and a half.  I love that fact that it was chock full of vegetables but in hindsight, I think I should have asked them to go lite on the cheese.  It made the sandwich a bit too greasy.  The vegetables could have also used a bit more seasoning, but it did the job.  The sweet potato fries were cooked just right – of course!  They were crispy, not too salty, sweet enough and hot from the kitchen. They more than made up for the average tasting wrap.

Patrick’s turkey club was quite good.  The whole wheat bread was toasted just right and the crispness of the bacon, lettuce and tomato was a nice complement to the moist and juicy turkey. His french fries weren’t so bad either, but I preferred my sweet potato fries.  We also had just the right seats for people watching; we were across the street from the infamous Atlantic Beach Club.  Let’s just say if I was eating crackers, there was more than enough cheese!  Gadzooks!  It was a scene but the perfect entertainment for our late lunch/early dinner.

After we finished eating, we drove over to Goat Island.  This is where all the mega yachts are docked.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many yachts of this stature ever.  They were all quite extraordinary, to say the least.

With only a few more hours left until sundown, we walked into the center of Newport to explore some of the shops.  There was such a buzz in the air.  I guess everyone wanted to take in every last second of the pleasant weather.  I popped into a few stores and ended up hitting a fabulous sale at Kristina Richards.  Everything was in my size, which is never usually the case, but I managed to narrow my choices down to this:

If you can’t tell, it’s a knee-length blue dress with 3/4 length poet sleeves and a pretty back ruffle. Score!

When my shopping finally started to wind down, we knew what we needed next.  We had worked so hard walking, hiking, and shopping that day that we felt we needed to end the day with a sweet treat.

I chose to have a little bit of frozen yogurt with my purple sprinkles. Jeez!  But they were the best darn sprinkles ever…maybe that’s why they named their ice cream shop, ‘Sprinkles’!  To boot, sprinkles are complimentary…how can you resist that? But in all seriousness, this was one of the best frozen yogurts I’ve ever had.  It was creamy, had bits of mocha blended in, tasted just like a cappuccino and if I didn’t know better, I would have thought I was eating ice cream.  Patrick suggested I order a large so that we could share.  It was a great idea, except I had about 80% of it.  But that’s OK, because I enjoyed every bite of it!

We strolled around while savoring my our frozen yogurt and I was amazed to see so many people were still buzzing about town.  There was live music playing (there was a concert going on in a nearby tent), the shops were still open, people were drinking and dining in the outdoor restaurants and bars, college football was on television and people were simply happy to be spending their ‘last’ few moments of summer in such a relaxing, yet fun atmosphere.

What a perfect way to ‘end’ our summer.  I think at the beginning of summer, we, New Englanders, were a bit stressed due to the lack of sunny and warm weather. However, once we sort of ‘got over’ that, the hot and humid weather kicked in and summer was in full swing.  I think when we focus too much on how something ’should be’ or how it ‘ought to be’, we tend to lose sight on allowing things to just ‘be’.  I expected my high school prom to be such an unforgettable night and hoped that it was going to be something so magical.  Perhaps if I would have just gone in without having any expectations, I would have had a better time.  Patrick and I jumped in our car that afternoon just looking to get out of the city.  We weren’t sure where we were going to go exactly or what we were going to do.  But, we knew we had great company and the whole day wide open for anything and everything.  And sometimes, that is the best road to take…

What did you do this Labor Day weekend?  Do you like having plans or would you prefer to fly by the seat of your pants?

Namasté,
Nicole

When I was a little girl, I wasn’t quite sure about the avocado.  I mean, it had this ugly dark green hard shell and then it was mushy on the inside with this honkin’ pit in the middle.  I remember having to bring the pit into school for a class project.  We stuck a bunch of toothpicks in it and then let it hover over a jar of water.  I think it was supposed to sprout a plant or something but I don’t think mine ever did.  Or maybe it did?  Like I said, I never was too thrilled with the avocado.  Plus, growing up in a household where my Chinese grandmother did most of the cooking, this fruit didn’t play much of a role.  I mean, if you couldn’t stir fry it in a wok, what good was it?  (OK, kidding, that was a joke!).

Now that my age is Larry Bird’s jersey number, I’ve become quite fond of the avocado.  I love guacamole, sliced up on salads, in a grilled cheese, and the list goes on.  But even more recently, I’ve discovered that the avocado doesn’t just have to be part of a spread or filler in a sandwich or salad.  Yes my friends, I found that this lovely fruit can be the star of the show.

An avocado sandwich, you ask?  Yup.  And you won’t be missing the tortilla chips…

Pass Me the Hass Sandwich

• 2 slicesof whole wheat bread (I used Trader Joe’s – obvi)
• half of an avocado, should be pretty ripe (doesn’t have to be Hass )
• few shakes of red chili pepper
• few shakes of dried cilantro (fresh cilantro would be even better)
• few shakes of garlic powder
• TBSP of lemon juice
• s&p
• TBSP of real bacon bits (or more if you <3 bacon)
• cucumber slices
• tomato slices
• few baby spinach leaves

Carefully remove the meat from the avocado half (discard the pit or keep it if you’re doing a class project) and place into a small bowl.  Add all of your seasonings and the lemon juice and then mash with a fork until well blended.  Spread the mixture onto one of your bread slices.  Then, sprinkle with your bacon bits (thanks Roni for giving me this idea).  Please note that I know these bacon bits aren’t necessarily the ‘healthiest’ thing in the world but we’re only using a tiny bit here and the smokey flavor it adds to the sammie is kick-Hass (see what I did just there?)!  Layer the other slice of bread with your baby spinach, tomato and cucumber slices.  Sandwich the two pieces together and then place in your George Foreman grill or panini maker (or you could heat it on the stovetop in a pan with something heavy like a tea kettle on top of it).  Wait a few minutes and it’s done when your bread starts to get toasty.

Serves 1

The creamy avocado mixture goes great with the crisp cucumber slices, coupled with the warm toasty bread and salty, smokey bacon bits – it’s pure bliss.  When I first made this sandwich, I thought it was going to be more of a snack versus a meal.  Not true.  This sandwich is filling!  I’m sure that has much to do with the high fat content of the avocado (it’s the ‘good’ fat and it’s rich in vitamins and high in fiber) – but don’t let that throw you.  This is sandwich is worth every calorie!

So come out of your shell and Hass yourself some avocado already! (sorry, I just couldn’t resist)

How do you like to eat your avocado?  Ever grow a plant from the pit?

Namasté,
Nicole