I love New England....

... but there are a few key things that are tell-tale food signs that I am not a native New Englander. Or, if I was, I am not indicative of the average. Here they are:

1) Lobster. I think I've had it twice. It was fine. But it isn't anything I crave, and I will probably never order it on a menu. This includes things like lobster rolls, lobster mac-n-cheese, and anything else that a New Englander thinks might be made better by lobster. Let's be clear: I'm not a hater, I just am saving my portion for the native New Englanders who will appreciate it more.

2) Yellow mustard. I like yellow mustard. I'm sure there are many New Englanders that like it, too. However, it is not the default mustard and I must ALWAYS clarify that I want yellow mustard and/or verify its availability. Often it is not available at cook-outs and such. In my opinion, it is a key ingredients on burgers and hot-dogs. To the point that I've considered bringing my own...just in case. Haven't done that yet, though.

3) Clams-bakes. I've never been to one. It sounds like a fun time. Invite me and then I can update this post on my opinion.

4) The importance of pickles. A good kosher dill pickle can't be beat. Yes, there are pickles in New England. But for some reason, again, they are lacking as an important topping to a traditional, delicious cheeseburger.  Also, they should be a staple on your relish tray. Especially if you're including olives. Then there is no excuse to forget about the pickles. Cornichons work there very well, too (in addition to, or in place of, dill).

5) Dunkin Donuts coffee. The lines you will wait in for this... I sometimes wait in the line, but I've only gotten DD coffee a handful of times. I like their breakfast sandwiches...

I'm sure there is more. Therefore, I will update this post periodically to include them =)

sundays, for simple pleasures...

I kept myself busy in the kitchen. Baking and cooking up simple pleasures. It was a bit of a marathon but it was awesome.

First... breakfast. Perfectly herbed, cheesy quiche.

Then, two rounds of jam....

  

Pineapple-rhubarb and blueberry rhubarb jam.

Then a couple of rounds of pastries:

Mini blueberry pie in a mini crock.

An herb-infused blueberry-rhubarb 'cobbler-inspired' creation.

And then finally...dinner. My fish: 

Lettuce that I grew from seed! 

Eggs, Eggplant...Salmon

It was a busy weekend, but I managed to get in a little cooking. Some of it was really just preparing prepared food but, nonetheless, I assembled it and here it is: 

 Bourbon marinated salmon over sauteed spinach. 

To be honest, it ended up a little dry, but it wasn't bad.

Left-over pizza from Heritage, I added some more herbs and some asiago cheese. 

And the floral arrangement.

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(More Heritage, my Friday night adventure, below).

Sunday morning breakfast.... I made the quiche with zucchini, vidalia only, herbs and cheese.

It's pretty, and it was pretty good, but to be honest, I'm going to melt more cheese over the leftovers.

Sometimes more cheese is just more cheese, and sometimes (more often than not) more cheese is BETTER.

Finally, dinner. I don't know how you break anything, let alone eggplant, this perfectly but I will happily let the remain a mystery as long as someone (thank you Trader Joe's!) can offer it to me affordably and consistently.

I made an eggplant parm sandwich with it:

Flora and Fauna

Okay, so here is a pictorial tour of my weekend focusing on "nature".... mostly flowers but a few other things.

 William Francis Bird Park. More pictures from the ice cream social there in another blog post.

Here are a few pictures taken on my walk home from the event.

Clippings from my yard for a summery bouquet in a jar. 

Flower-box charm: 

Back porch update:

Rocky Narrows...relaxing late afternoon hike. 

Summer in Norwood

I know, I know. It's not officially summer. But, it's one of those great weeks with perfect weather (rare in Massachusetts) where the temperature is ebbing between high 70's and low 80's during the day and humidity is under control. And I'm at work, inside, all day. Thankfully, the evenings stay light until almost 9, so there is some time to water my gardens and enjoy my back porch while it is still light and warm.

Tonight I had a very light dinner...followed by a decadent plate that I am calling "Summer in Norwood"....complete with a baguette, a cheese called "summer in italy" (rind-washed, cave-aged!), sopressata, and raspberries. Accompanied by a delightful Albarino, nicely chilled.

In the backyard garden, the garlic is shooting up garlic-scapes. My downstairs neighbor said I could help myself!

On the way to work yesterday, I decided to stop and check out a park (it was planned, I left home 30 minutes early). I saw this turtle sunning itself on that beautiful morning...

And finally, here's some of the early summer blooms in my yard....

Served on a Bun

This weekend two of my culinary adventures beckoned to be served on a bun.

So, I took my fish in a different direction than usual... classic fish sandwich, English style, with a slice of cheese. I don't really know if it's English style, but there's a British pub in Kenmore square that serves is this way. Cheese added after the picture...because I knew you'd rather be impressed with my breading of the fish-- seriously, I'm improving.  And don't worry-- last weekend I did get my fish in. It was just not a pretty sight (although it tasted fine). I didn't think you wanted to see it.... This one's much better:

Second, my lunch today was a burger-- a blend of ground lamb and ground turkey. I was making my Mediterranean Meatloaf a week or two back and made a few burgers before I added in the 'meatloaf' ingredients of rice, pine nuts, eggs, etc.  The burger was topped with a balsamic-lime mayo, as well as cucumbers, mint, and white onion. I served it with a peach caprese salad (thanks for the inspiration, Megan!).

The Perfect Two-Some

Here's my delicious discovery tonight (the perfect two-some)...

Here is what something is doing to my poor vincas...

We'll stay quiet on my squirrel fight for now.