Our Place

Yesterday was one of extremely good fortune! It started out appearing to be the opposite, because my lover wanted to go for a run, but he couldn't find his gloves. He looked in a box under the bed, and didn't find his gloves, but an envelope with a substantial amount of money inside! He eventually found his gloves and went on his run. He bought himself some winter boots, and he still had some money left over, so we went on an adventure to a part of town we haven't seen yet.

We were really missing the last town we lived in, and were feeling like Boston was just too posh for us! We had heard that Jamaica Plain had a lot of parallels to the last place, so we went there with the hope of remedying our homesickness. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! It was every bit as laid back as the place we left, ten times more adorable, and I swear the place we found for dinner was made purely for our delight and only our delight. That's how perfect it was.

The Haven is a Scottish bar and restaurant...you decide which description to put first, because they do both equally well. (I just put them in alphabetical order.) The food is a foodie's dream. The most beautiful Haggis and Neeps, Fish Supper (fish and chips with a side of mint,pea mash), house ground apple sage sausage, with mashed sweet potatoes, and braised kale, all washed down with some beautiful Scottish beer that Brad ordered.(I can't remember what it was called.) It had these sweet and dark toffee notes at the end that made my eyes roll into the back of my head. AND everyone there was soooo nice! The staff, the owner, the other diners, everyone! Brad would also like to make note of how great it smells in there,like antique wood. Yes. This is our place to go on dates, to bring friends, whatever!

We walked around the neighborhood a bit, and found a Cuban restaurant which is begging for a visit as well! We stumbled into an Irish pub, complete with traditional a Celtic band sitting around one of the tables, and playing sporadically between sips of their pints and their own lively conversation. It was pretty cool, they had a really great variety of beers (but were out of the Wheihenstephan, boo!) So Brad and I had our pints and a celebratory shot of Jameson, and were on our way home. The whiskey warmed us so much we decided to walk the nearly three miles home!

Of course we were sucked into our favorite bookshop along the way, and I found a copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray, in the used books basement! I was particularly excited because they don't have this book at the Boston Public Library. Finally (yes, there is more!) on our way home we ran into one of my friends from Health Law, and we had a chat about going to Jamaica Plain and how great it is there. She too, loves The Haven, and informed us that Belle & Sebastian love it too!!! *squeal!!!!* I die! So naturally we are going there next week after class and we're inviting all of our friends! Yes, the fun will continue! :o)

AND they finally turned the heat on in our building! WIN WIN WIN!!!

I apologize, this post is very poorly written, but I am so excited about last night, the memories just exploded out of my fingers!

Eat to the beat!

I started a new blog! It's a collection of recipes and music. Two of my favorite things! I won't stop making entries here, because I still like my little diary, but I do hope you'll check out my new project and that you'll try my food! :o)

Once, Twice, Chicken Soup with Rice

Last weekend Brad was so sweet! I was feeling the sting of mid-terms so he made me a big 'ole pot of love (chicken soup with rice)! Of course I had to look up the song on Youtube, and now I'm singing it all the time. Particularly the October verse:


When I googled "October Chicken Soup with Rice" I found this photo...which turned out to be on this lovely blog: Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves. It's simply beautiful!

Come and knock on our door!

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I had lunch with one of my aunts and her boyfriend yesterday! It was such a treat, because this is the first family visit I've had here in Boston, and she came all the way from MIAMI! I feel so loved and re-energized to keep doing my thing even though I'm so far away from home.

We went to this very adorable restaurant just outside of the city called The Regal Beagle, whose tag-line is " A Local Joint". That's it in the photo! If you click on the little "via" link you can read a review of the restaurant too! It was so fantastic, and it turned out to be a really good place to go because my aunt's boyfriend just bought a restaurant and he was really inspired by this place! We talked about how the person writing his menu wasn't really that into it, and I immediately got to work, in my head, to writing a breakfast menu for a restaurant that sells only comfort food....*commence day dream waves*

Breakfast
sweet

Banana Pancakes: Nobody can make the quite like my dad does, but these are pretty darn close! 3 Light, fluffy, perfectly golden and steaming hot, with banana slices that have caramelized on the griddle.

Oatmeal: Steel cut oats, cooked to perfection with a palate of toppings for you to artfully mix in! Brown sugar, honey, dried fruit, fresh seasonal fruit, sliced toasted almonds, and cinnamon

Cinnamon Rolls: Ask what kind of rolls our artisan baker has prepared today! (and then they'd hear about some special like "French Morning Rolls- croissant dough filled with cinnamon, brown sugar, and the zest of one of our famous Florida oranges that has been tossed in sugar 'n' spice while it's still hot for a satisfyingly crunchy first bite!")

Homemade Toaster Pastries: Yeah, you'll never go back. These are buttery and fresh pastries filled with home made seasonal fruit fillings.

Biscuits and Tea for two: A basket of hot buttermilk biscuits served with a sampling of toppings! Homemade seasonal preserves, clotted cream, local honey, whipped butter, sugar 'n' spice, and depending on the season, fresh lemon curds, apple butter, or pumpkin butter. You also get an endless pot of our premium loose leaf teas!

savory

Biscuits and Gravy: This is the breakfast your grandmother cooked ...on a weekday...without destroying her kitchen...2 piping hot buttermilk biscuits, smothered in country gravy; hash browns, two eggs cooked to order and a bowl of fresh fruit.

Omelette: Two eggs cooked in the traditional french style with your choice of fresh fillings. The french prefer tomatoes, onions and fresh herbs. My family says the only way is with cheddar and ham. My fiance demands onions, peppers and provalone. What will you choose?

Weekend Eggs: This is my mom's weekend specialty. Two eggs prepared the way you like them; your choice of house ground sausage, thick sliced bacon, or Canadian bacon; toasted artisan bread (comes with butter, and preserves or sugar 'n' spice).

The Hash: When I was a kid, I was a huge fan of the canned stuff...what can I say? Kids are weird. Now I've grown up, and I know what real love is. Our hash is comprised of our house pickled corned beef (the same stuff we use on our reubens), potatoes, onions, and secret spices! Oh, yeah...you also get two eggs cooked the way you like them. But who cares about those when The Hash is on your plate??



Other offerings: Cream of wheat with sugar 'n' spice , grits, thick sliced bacon, Canadian bacon, house ground breakfast sausage patties, corned beef hash, toasted artisan bread (comes with butter, and home made preserves or sugar 'n' spice), extra eggs, fresh fruit, fresh, hand squeezed florida orange or grapefruit juice, mimosas, french pressed coffee, loose leaf tea, and milk

*end daydream waves*

Yeah...come eat at my pretend restaurant. :o)
Also, if you go to the Regal Beagle...the fish tacos are where it's at!

Monster Makeup Skills!

I'm getting really excited about Halloween, even though I'm pretty sure it will end up being a night spent giving boatloads of candy to all 4 of the children who live in our building. :o/ Anyway, I saw this over on bellasugar and it blew my mind. I'm a little sad there isn't very much back to back footage of the before and after, because this girl looks NOTHING like Jared Leto without her insane makeup skills. Anyway, here's a trick and a treat rolled into one!

Autumn Leaves Cobbler

The filling for this cobbler is inspired by the colors of the autumn leaves for which New England is so famous, the season's offerings (sweet apples and tart plums) and their traditional spicy accompaniments (cloves and cinnamon)! I am adjusting to baking for two, so the recipe only yields about 4 servings. It also helps to keep the whole thing economical. Cutting the recipe down increases the number of different things you can bake so, it sort of stretches your staples (flour, sugar, butter, eggs). You'll also notice that I put a lot of notes in the recipe, these are just things I include so people know how many corners you can cut while still baking from scratch! See? NO EXCUSES! If this sounds good to you, make it happen! Also, I put it in a very small casserole dish, but it's really easy to double if you need more to share. Enjoy!

For the Crust and Dumplings
1 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter (chilled and cubed)

1 tbsp shortening (chilled and cubed... just throw it in a small bowl with the butter and put the bowl in the freezer while I do all of the rest of my prep.)

1.5 tbsp cold water


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees(F) and grease a 6x6 glass baking pan...or some equally small vessel suitable for baking. Then in a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Grab your butter and shortening from the freezer and pinch them in until the mixture looks like wet sand. Add the water. It should just be damp enough to hold together when you close it in your fist. Mash the dough into one lump, cover the bowl and put it in the fridge while you prepare your luscious fruit filling.

Luscious Fruit Filling
1 tbsp corn starch (Okay, so this isn't really something that people usually keep on hand, but it's cheap, and it goes a really long way. It is what makes your cobbler so luscious!)

1/2 c sugar

1/16 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp cinnamon ( I know these are infinitesimal measurements. The thing is, I want a little interest, but I don't want to loose the flavors of the fruit either. I usually just do one tiny pinch of the cloves and two tiny pinches of cinnamon.)

1 small apple

1 medium nectarine or peach (These are actually kind of expensive this time of year as they are not in season, but I had some squirreled away in the freezer from the summer time. It shouldn't set you back too much to just buy one peach or nectarine, but you know... we're trying to be cost conscious here.)

2 small plums (all of the fruit should add up to one pound total...so should you find yourself substituting, keep that amount in mind.)



Combine the sugar, corn starch, cloves and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Peel, core, and slice your apple into 1/2 to 1 inch slices, pit and slice your stone fruit to the same size. (To pit the nectarines and plums I usually just cut them in half starting at the stem and going around, twist one side off then pick the pit out with the tip of the knife.) Mix the fruit with the sugar and set aside while you get back to your dough.

Take about 1/3 of the dough and break them into little marbles (1/2 inch diameter?) and put them in the bottom of your baking vessel. Then put the fruit slurry (it should already be throwing juice) in the pan. Finally, roll out the remainder of your dough until it's big enough to cover the fruit (you don't have to make a seal like a pie, but you know, try to cover as much of the fruit as you can). I don't actually own a rolling pin, so I use one of those aluminum water canteens to roll out my dough. I used to have a really lovely Bordeaux bottle, but it got knocked off it's home on top of the fridge...

Bake for 1 hour, then broil for 3 minutes. Cool for 15-30 minutes before wrapping yourself and your cobbler buddy (mine is my lover) into a cozy blanket with steaming bowls of autumn-y goodness!

**Also, since this is a Nissa original, I would greatly appreciate credit if you decide to share this one, thanks! **

Southern Hospitality

It is my weekend routine to take some time to read all of the wedding blogs I follow, so I have a week's worth of posts to keep me blissfully entertained for at least an hour. My favorite part is the when some of them post "links for Friday" or something like that.

Now, even though I'm in New England at the present, doesn't mean I don't know a thing or two about sweet tea, and biscuits! I present to you the most charming party/wedding idea of the week...


via
As soon as you get over how pretty the whole thing looks, you remember that it's a bar of fluffy (I choose to believe they're still piping hot), melt in your mouth biscuits ready to be slathered with that gorgeous honey! Yes, THIS is the world in which we live!
The link I found was on Snippet & Ink, but they found it in the archives of 100 Layer Cake. I follow both of these stunning blogs, and my only regret is that I didn't know about them until I became a bride to be! We aren't planning our wedding until after I've finished graduate school, so for now I just read for the sake of being inspired in my day to day life by beauty and love. I think in graduate school, you need that sometimes. :o)

This weekend is a 5 day weekend for me...hooray! Pop quiz:

Am I taking time to catch up on my:
a)sight seeing?
b)homework?
c)baking list?
d)appointments?
e)all of the above?


Yes! Yes! It's "e"!

I'm already off to a good start with running errands all around town yesterday (which happened to take place around the Freedom Trail), and I made banana muffins last night. I used the recipe from the bakery I used to work for. It was a little bit of that happy place, right here in Boston!
Anyway, here is your prize for guessing correctly on the quiz!

Are you ready for Halloween?

Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch

As I made my morning cup of tea today, I realized that I am almost out of sugar! The horror! Perhaps going to the store to pick some up some will remind me to get crackin' on my miles long baking list

-Banana Bread
-Apple-Plum-Nectarine Galette
-Fox and Obel Brownies
-Chocolate Chip Cookies
-Apple Sauce (Technically not baked, but still makes the apartment feel like a home.)
-Pumpkin Pie (Brad's favorite)
-Pumpkin Pasties for the Trick or Treaters! (And candy, just in case their parents are lame.)

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Did anyone else blink and open their eyes to find that September was over?