Commonwealth Quality

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources has launched a new program that will help consumers know that their food was grown and packaged in the Commonwealth. Look for this seal on the products you buy and know you are supporting local producers and helping to keep your carbon footprint lower.

For more information, read on: <http://www.mass.gov/agr/markets/commonwealth_quality.htm>.

Geoffrey's opening soon in the Back Bay

A few months ago we went to Geoffrey's in Roslindale. We loved it. So, we were excited to hear that they were going to be opening up a new location in the South End/Back Bay where Laurel used to be.

As we walked by today, carpenters were busily working, and "opening soon" signs were in the windows. We are looking forward to opening day...

Make Your Own Herbs de Provence

It always bothered me that in the U.S. if you wanted herbs de Provence you were going to have to first, spend half a month looking for them and then, after you found them, spend way too much money to buy a small pinch of them. After going to Provence and seeing how cheap the mixes are there, I was even more annoyed. Well, I have found a solution. I decided to make my own. You can buy dried herbs online for relatively cheap. I chose to use Mountainroseherbs.com and was very happy with the quality (plus they mostly sell organic!). For around 20 dollars (plus shipping) I was able to make over a pound of Herbs de Provence. Williams-Sonoma sells the same thing for 18 dollars an ounce! If I had bought that amount of herbs de Provence at Williams-Sonoma, it would have cost me over $300! Below is the recipe I used to create my mix (most mixes in America include basil but I noticed in France, the majority do not... so I stuck with the traditional mixes I saw):

4 oz Summer Savory

4 oz Marjoram

4 oz Rosemary

4 oz Thyme

1 oz Lavender (you can leave out the lavender if you want as a lot of mixes don't have it but there's something about the scent of lavender that's just "oh-so-Provence")

Boston Food Market

Let's hope this actually happens. They've been talking about it for a long time. This will be great for Boston!  Read the Boston Globe article here.

image credit: Utile Design via Boston Globe

Read the Boston Globe article here.

Teton Brews

While shopping for beverages here in Idaho, we came across some local microbrews at the grocery store from the Grand Teton Brewing Company and the Snake River Brewery. Our choice was clear. We realized HOW local some of these were when on the way back home, I looked over and saw that the Grand Teton Brewing Company is right up the road from the house!

Apart from the one that says "Alaskan," these beers are crafted very close by in Victor, Idaho or Jackson Hole, WY. As you can see, we got an assortment. They were all very good, but our favorite was the Lost Continent Double IPA, a special brew with three lbs. of hops in every barrel. It was delicious and surprisingly citrusy. 


My two other favorites were the Snake River Lager and the Snake River Pale Ale. The Old Faithful Ale was also noteworthily good. 

Boston Food Truck Festival

Apparently, there is a Food Truck Festival in the works!

More info here: Boston's 1st Annual Food Truck Festival

Here is a blurb from the Boston Herald

>>Citysearch Boston and SoWa Sundays are trying to corral the Hub’s burgeoning food truck scene into one location next month.They’ve put out the call for food trucks to participate in Boston’s First Annual Food Truck Festival.
The event is scheduled for Aug. 8 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at 500 Harrison Ave., the South End location for the outdoor SoWa bazaar that runs from May to September. <<

Macaron Party

Earlier this year, we had a macaron-making party. It was our first time, and we were a little nervous; but, in the end, we had some fantastic little pastries. It is definitely worth the effort. Here are a few snapshots.

Macaron Party

A Peek at Menorcan Cuisine

A bit over a week ago I had the opportunity to spend a wonderful weekend in Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands off the East Coast of Spain. Settled at different points by Phoenicians, Arabs, Catalans, French, and English, among other peoples, the island's gastronomy reflects a wonderful mix of cultures and traditions and of course all the wonders the Mediterranean has to offer.

The spiny lobsters that come to the Balearic coasts are renowned as some of the Mediterranean's tastiest, especially those caught between Mallorca and Menorca. Though prepared in a variety of ways, the most famous by far is the Caldereta de Llagosta, a simple but outstanding lobster stew not unlike the French Bouillabaisse. At around 60€ for 500 grams (plenty for two people to split) it is certainly on the pricier end of things, but in my experience totally worth it.
Fornells, a small fishing town on the island's north-central coast is said to be the place to get it, so naturally we enjoyed our stew there at Es Port, a restaurant just along the port.

With seafood on a Mediterranean island you really can't go wrong - grilled razor clams, raw cockles, broiled angler fish, and squid both stuffed and fried were among the delicacies we constantly indulged in. If I were to pick a standout after the caldereta, however, I'd have to say that the garlic prawns from Café Balear on the port of Ciutadella were a cut above, so incredibly flavorful and tender I could have eaten 10 kilo's worth.

Moving onto products from land, perhaps the most well-known product would be Maó cheese, shown here with Sobrassada, a sausage typical of neighboring island Mallorca. The cheese is made from cow's milk and sine 1985 has had its own denominación de origen (guarantee of origin) and is protected by a regulating council. We tried three varieties of it - the younger cheeses are more rich and creamy and perfect with a bit of honey on bread or with black pepper and olive oil - the older, harder variety is more akin to parmesan. Another delicacy further inland would be Menorcan roast suckling pig. Being on the western coast outside of Ciutadella certainly didn't stop us from having this at "Sa Caldareta" down the street. The skin was probably the best pig skin I've ever had - thick as bacon but crispy like a potato chip, certainly my daily serving of fat in one bite, but absolutely mind-blowingly delicious.

Menorca is also known for its sweets, our favorite being "amargos", a wonderful crispy-on-the-outside but chewy-on-the-inside almond-flavored cookie. Other options are carquinyols, little crispy bite-size biscotti, and pastissets, flower-shaped cookies often filled with sweet jelly. Lastly you have ensaïmada, a circular almost phyllo-like pastry whose name comes from the saïm, or pork lard, from which it is made. They come in all different sizes, some as big as 2 feet wide, and can be either sweet or savory, filled with chocolate paste and dusted with powdered sugar, or filled with local pork sausage. We devoured a maybe 20-inch chocolate one in two sittings :-)

Finally, a trip to Menorca is not complete without going through one or two bottles of Xoriguer gin, a local gin unusually produced with wine alcohol. When 18th Century British soldiers arrived along with their taste for gin, they decided to try to make their own using imported juniper berries and alcohol distilled from grapes. The result was a gin unlike any other! The best and most traditional way to drink it is in a cocktail called the pomada - take a hearty dose of xoriguer over ice, then simply add a sparkling lemonade - Fanta will do. Alternatively you could use fresh lemon juice with a bit of soda water and simple syrup. I can't even tell you how many of these I had during my week there - so refreshing and delicious, and perfect when I want something a little different from my summer standby the gin and tonic. Needless to say I will be bringing at least one bottle of this back with me as I've never seen it in the states! We were lucky enough to visit the Xoriguer distillery in Maó and see them make the gin ourselves, not to mention help ourselves to free tasting of all the company's other products, from rose liqueur to Menorcan pastis!

I will most definitely be returning to the Balearic Islands at some point in my life, if not just for the food!

Firenze: Biscotti

A plateful of delicious Italian cookies we just got from Paszkowski in
the Piazza della Repubblica (which has been in Florence since 1846).

The little cantucci are Florence's version of biscotti.

The little bow-tie shaped cocoa shortbreads have inspired us to add
that shape to our repertoire.

Crostini Toscana

In Florence: Crostini with pâté of chicken liver.

Delicious.

First Negroni in Italy!

NEGRONI

1 part gin

1 part sweet vermouth

1 part bitters, e.g., Campari

Châteaubriand de bœuf

P had the Châteaubriand served with rosemary-roasted potatoes and
ratatouille.

Agneau à Monaco

Agneau with sage gnocchi and sautéed haricots verts.

It was fantastic!

Côtes de Provence

Provence's rosés are perfect for a Summer day!

Ah, Provence!

Local olives, local wine: a perfect apéro! ...and all for 5€!

Crema catalana

Which came first? Crema catalana or crème brûlée?

This version of crema catalana from Cuines Santa Caterina in Barcelona
was excellent.

Cochinillo in BCN

Delicious suckling pig with tomato marmelade at Cuines de Santa
Caterina - Baecelona

4 Gats - Barcelona

Canneloni with white truffle béchamel at the 4 Gats in Barcelona.

Vi catala

Our first Catalan wine in Catalunya! Molt bé

Eureka gin!

I've finally been able to find other types of gin (other than London
Dry) and can't wait for a summer gin tasting!