East Boston Taste Tour

When this Eastie Tasting Tour came up on Gilt, I must admit I was a little skeptical.  I had been to East Boston before on an adventure to seek out Santarpio's Pizza and was very very glad I was with my family at the time.  Let's just say that there are lots of characters doing lots of questionable things out on the streets at night.

But this little walking tour proved to be a fun and different way to get a taste of Eastie at a great price! So let's get right to it...

The Stops and the tastings:
1. Mehak Halal : pakistani and Indian food.  Delicious chicken dishes
2. 303 Cafe: American.  Firecracker chicken with caramelized onion mayo.
3. Taqueria Cancun: amazing hole in the wall kitchen that does Salvadoran food.  We ate Pupusa. holy crap this is so good! tortilla filled with cheese and pork.
4. Dough: specializes in pizza, pasta, panini
This last stop featured this amazing sandwich, the Vermonter.  This is a sandwich on crack.  It is multi-grain bread w/ maple turkey, Granny Smith apples, smoked gouda, bacon, onion, and sun-dried tomato mayo!

mmmmm
xoxo
JAS

The places you will go...

I also think that I should publish this, because telling others about what you want to do and achieve is a great way to hold yourself accountable. So this is the ongoing list of places I want to eat in the near future in Boston. Let's hope I can make it through the list; hopefully along with some of my friends!

-Carrol Ann Bake Shop
-Spinelli's
-Lala Rokh
-A&L bakery
-Staff Meal Food Truck (SoWa market)
-Salty Pig
-Tres Gatos in JP
-Market by Jean-George (maybe)
Grilled Cheese Tuesdays : Dante
-Duozo modern japanese restaurant
-L-Andana
-Mistral
-La Verdad : torta
-El Centro
-Stella
-Parson's kitchen : Winchester
-Masa (brunch)

Bam.


-JAS

What's next

Since I'm going to be on a mini vacation for some of the weekend, I decided I needed to make a note of upcoming things that will be presented. So here's a little list of things, I'll start with a list of the stuff already written (a few months ago- oops) and then will switch to new stuff that's being thought up now.

Old stuff that will be posted very soon and probably feel a little late/out of order:
-Brooklyn adventure day
-Spain!
-personal fav drink spots in NYC
-Food trucks part 1! ... Clover, grilled cheese truck, LMA truck
-Doughnut takeover.
- Cake batter pancakes
-My fav celebs : Kardashians, Lisa VanderPump, Bethenny. (HOW has this not been posted yet-- it seems like I spend all of my tv hours truly devoted to these people!)
-This list also includes Kathy Griffin, the Olsen Twins, and the GG crew.


And the upcoming new stuff...
- East Boston Taste Tour
- spiked Popsicles
- summer cocktails and punch bowls
- more doughnuts
- Food trucks part 2: Staff Meal, Cupcake Cart
- more tasty treats made by yours truly
... And more DIY surprises!

Can't wait! But until then cross your fingers and toes for better weather!

Cheers
-JAS

Flour Bakery

So this post is another that didn't make it to the 'publish' mode and remained to be approved for eons.  However this is perfect because I just went back to Flour today and had a wonderful lunch date.  The sandwich choice was grilled chicken, peppers, arugula, and brie on wheat bread.  Yum Yum.  Then the wonderful little surprise was this little beauty : pineapple mint seltzer.  So simple yet so delicious.

Flour has it all: breakfast, sandwiches, soups, salads, baked goods, cookies, treats, coffee, everything a girl like me could ask for.  These desserts are especially amazing, so make sure to grab a few on your next visit.  The best part is that there are two convenient locations; one in Kendall/MIT and one in the South Station area.

Honestly everything here is so good I can't even pick something out to highlight.  Go for the special of the day for soups and one of the chocolate treats for dessert.

Best part? One of their mottos (written on the wall)... Eat Dessert First!

cheers
JAS

Hex Nut Bracelet

AHHH! How on earth did this post never get fully posted?? That's the problem with the option of 'save now' on these blogs... I get paranoid that there is a spelling mistake or something and wait to post them until I can proof read them.... well that didn't turn out so well. Now I have 5 posts that are all waiting to be published... no wonder why there was no activity for a while there! I could have sworn I was being productive and writing but never double checked. My B.

Well that means we get to post a lot of things with nothing more than some clicks. Win.

Ok so for anyone who is in on the DIY scene, I'm sure you've already seen this, but who cares. I put my spin on the original by using brass hex nuts and black string... cuz BLACK & GOLD are my favorite colors (....theta....)

I got this idea originally from my Pinterest..... if you don't know what Pinterest is then you're not living. But the pin on Pinterest is actually from Honestly WTF so you can go there for the original idea and instructions. Here's my version.

1. Have 3 strings and tie a knot up at the top. Basically act like you are about to braid 3 strings.
2. Now stop pretending and actually braid the 3 strings. Braid for about 1.5 inches.
3. Now incorporate the hex nuts by placing a hex nut on a string when that string is being braided across the middle string from the outside. The nut should be angled downwards.
4. This is the important step. Now that the hex nut is on, you will need to put your thumb right below it and hold those two strings together tightly with your thumb. This will keep the nut sort of locked in place until you cross over the opposite side string (that is nutless)
5. Continue for 12-16 nuts. I used 12, they used more. Do what you feel is right.
6. After the nuts are all incorporated, finish the bracelet by braiding. Keep in mind that you want the hex nuts to be the center, so you should braid as much as you did pre-nut braid (in these instructions 1.5 inches) after the nuts.
7. tie and enjoy!

Here's the bracelet getting started on the kitchen table. My grandpa is on my right helping me out, but was a little camera shy today.

Note in this picture A. My thumb is weird and knobby and B. that you need to hold the string tightly up against the nut after you cross the bottom of the string over the middle string.

This is my grandpa when he wasn't feeling so camera shy.

JAS

Blue Bottle Coffee (Brooklyn, NY)

I love my latte art just as much as the next girl, but do you know what I love even more? When my hot chocolate gets the love and attention of art!

This was the experience I had at my second go around at Blue Bottle Coffee.  I knew that since I was in Brooklyn I would NEED to make the stop here, but I had just had coffee and wasn't ready for my usual second cup.  So I timidly ordered a hot chocolate and bam! Look at how beautiful this is.... now that's some lovin' for beverages.

This place is one of the best coffee destinations I have ever seen.  If you haven't yet been, you are missing out.  Get your behind to NYC and spend a day over in Brooklyn.  When you need a little energy boost, head to Blue Bottle.  Done and done.

JAS

New CookBook

Can't wait to get some great cooking and baking ideas from this...



A few things that already caught our attention include: honey biscuits, cannolis, and Paradise cake.

One of the things we also love is that each recipe explains which region it came from. That sounds to us like an excellent way to find some perfect wine pairings for some dishes!!

Mmmm mmmm good

-j&s