Yogurt and Berries: bakeries

Showing posts with label bakeries. Show all posts

Monday, February 20, 2012

Winter Weekend in Maine

It’s not news to tell you that I love Maine…especially Portland. It’s one of my absolute places to go in New England.

The bonus is that now I have a friend who lives a short 10 minute drive from the Old Port!! One of my good friends/former co-workers moved back to her home state of Maine about a year and a half ago and I am just now getting up to visit her!!

We had a relaxing, fun, and delicious weekend with our dogs :)

Bromley had a great time playing with Molly!

First thing we did when I arrived was to head into downtown Portland to hit up a local winter Farmer’s Market and then walk around the Old Port.

I picked up some local cheese to try

We dove into the cheese later on

Beautiful little spice shop on Commercial Street

Finally tried a cappuccino from Bard Coffee

It was very good, but I still think that Thinking Cup wins.

Lots of cute shops, lunch, more walking and then I decided I needed a sweet treat

I can’t believe how many places I had never visited in Portland before!! Including Two Fat Cats!

Everything is made from scratch and it just looks that way. The cookies aren’t perfect round circles, and the cupcakes are just frosted by hand with a knife…no fancy piping. I LOVE that.

I couldn’t decide so I bought 2 cookies to nosh on…a little then & a little later.

I’m STILL thinking about these cookies and wish I could have one RIGHT NOW! The one above was an Almond Shortbread….so soft, buttery, almond-ey…perfection in my opinion.

Also a pecan chocolate chip. Again, soft, buttery…all the things I love in a chocolate chip cookie.

As I was eating them I couldn’t stop saying how good they were…that’s when you know you found something special.

After that, we went back to her house, grabbed the dogs and headed to a local beach for an afternoon walk!

Bromley had a blast!!

He wants to live near the ocean now.

From there, we headed home and started thinking about how we wanted to tackle the evening to be sure to hit up lots of delicious spots.

But first some wine and cheese

I probably over-did it a smidge on the cheese, but it was good stuff and I was hungry.

Our first stop was my friend, Jen’s, favorite Mexican place…El Rayo!

Inexpensive, fresh, flavorful food, with a great drink list!

Since we had more food in our future, we only split 2 small tacos and 1 hibiscus margarita ;)

Next, we headed to Walters for drinks and some appetizers.

Since my cocktail on Valentine’s Day was such a success I decided to go the “ask the bartender” route. I ended up with one of their cocktails on the menu but minus the syrup. This one had rum, grapefruit juice, and lime juice.

We also ordered a Brussel Sprout Salad that was divine… shaved brussel sprouts, red onion, cob smoked bacon, marcona almonds, dried cranberries in a lemon honey mustard vinaigrette with pecorino

And also some Cracklin’ Calamari and Salt & Pepper Shrimp. Both really good. This was just enough food after all the cheese, wine, tacos…etc.

We had hoped to stay for dessert but they had run out of what I really wanted so we figured we’d hit up another spot for a sweet close to the night. Unfortunately most places were closed, or at least their kitchen’s were and we were out of luck!

In the end it was fine…we were full and I still had some of my Two Fat Cats cookies left.

Sunday morning we were both woken up around 6:30 by our lovely pups…thanks guys.

Sunday involved picking up pastries from Standard Baking…my request.

Coffee from Coffee By Design, and then heading to another state park/beach with the pups.

Flaky fresh Pan au Chocolat and an Ocean View.

A little later we said our goodbyes, and I packed myself and Bromley into the car to head home.

I was trying to be a good wife and find Brian a bottle or two of a certain beer he really likes (its from Maine and hard to find…Lunch IPA in case anyone sees it and wants to let me know where!)

I tried 3 places with no luck so I gave up.

But then I got a FANTASTIC idea.

Lobster > Beer. I stopped by a fish market in York on my way home and grabbed 3 lobsters.

I made Brian do the dirty work.

I’d say it’s a fair trade ;)

Oh I had also picked up some crab cakes that were on sale at Whole Foods

Took our “Feast” to the next level.

Quick potatoes

(cooked 1large potato in the microwave, then just sliced it and browned it in the pan I cooked the crab cakes in, sprinkled with a little Old Bay)

Steamed Asparagus

Notice I just put down an old towel on the table instead of place mats…things get messy when we eat Lobster.

Apparently February is a great time for Lobster…these were some of the BEST lobsters we’ve had in recent memory!! The meat was so flavorful!! I wish I got 6 of them!! We each had 1 and split the 3rd.

Couldn’t even finish the crab cakes, but no worries those made a delicious lunch today.

What an fabulous way to end a great weekend. It almost ALMOST felt like summer for a minute.

Can’t wait to go back and visit Jen when it’s warmer out! So many things to do and still SO many restaurants to try!! I was notorious for always eating at Fore Street whenever we are in Portland, but she is breaking me out of that habit…although I do miss it. Next time ;)

Hope you all had a great (long?) weekend! Brian and I both worked today, so not so long here, but still nice as you can see.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Flowy Skirts, Friends, and Fun Stuff

Funny how my outfit posts can be directly related to my mood. I realized I haven’t posted an outfit in a while, nor have there been as many outfits that are making me want to take awesome bathroom self-portraits ;) This usually means…crappy weather, stress at work, or a combination of the two!

Not that I’m dressing like a bum on those days, but just not as excited about it.

I do have 2 to share though, and noticed they both involve somewhat flowy, fuller skirts instead of my usual more pencil-esque work skirts.

black skirt, champagne top, and cream colored cardigan: all from Banana Republic (I think the top and skirt were outlet though)
gold belt: Gap
shoes: Nine West (so old, heal is so worn, need to throw these out, but until I find suitable replacements they are staying!)

The next, is similar…shocking right. I found this super fun hot pink chiffon skirt at Old Navy recently and was dying to wear it but didn’t want to “waste” it on just a day at work.

Good thing there was a Blogger Bash at MJ O'Conner's Wednesday night!

Hot Pink skirt: Old Navy
Black Cardigan: Old Navy
cream t-shirt: Banana Republic
Black tights: DKNY from Nordstrom
Black patent leather heals: BCBG Girls
Red belt and gold bracelet: my Grandmother’s
black pashmina: hmm, possibly an airport somewhere

I would definitely label this is a “party” skirt :)

Speaking of the Blogger Bash, this one was organized by Boston Food Bloggers which is run by Rachel!

There were some tasty hors d’ourves as well as delicious beer and other drinks!

pulled pork slider

Chicken Teryaki

Saranac Pumpkin with a cinnamon sugar rim. I had two of these they were so good! Although the cin-sugar rim makes for some sticky hands

Me, Elizabeth, Ali, Melissa, and Tina

I love being able to hang with my blog-friends at these things!

Good times :)

Other fun randomness:

Hot rum cider and nachos at Grendel’s Den Friday after work with the bff

Yes those ended up being dinner :) They were topped with vegetarian chili, fresh salsa, guac, and sour cream! DELICIOUS!

Saturday involved a LONG traffic-filled ride up to visit Brian’s family. See when you’re just going on a normal trip to visit the family, you kind of forget that it’s a long weekend and you’re heading north on 93 up to NH along with TONS of other people…FAIL!

Outlet shopping helps though.

And so do fun photos of Brom in a kids coin operated ride on the sidewalk….with Big Bird

“really you guys?”

Today, along with the usual Sunday activities (grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, baking…mmm), we headed into Boston to pick up my race packet for the Tufts 10K tomorrow!

Last year I trained for this 10k as it was going to be my longest distance to date. However once you get a half-marathon under your belt, you start to take these shorter races less seriously…BAD idea. Well for me anyways…I’m kind of nervous, not gonna lie! But I’m not out to break records so I’m just going to have a fun day :)

While in the city, we once again stopped into Flour for some food. It’s just really good.

My favorite thing of the day:

Twice baked brioche! Brioche bread, spread with almond paste and sliced almonds and baked again…wow! Almonds…mmmm!

My homemade bread just came out of the oven and smells SO good! It’s also past 10pm…and therefore bedtime! I am still working tomorrow :( Just taking a half day before the race…I can walk over to the race from my office :)

I hope the rest of you have Columbus Day off!!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Beer and Blunders: A Weekend Recap

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! The weather here in Mass was AMAZING. Dry, sunny, and in the low 70’s.

Our weekend was moderately busy. A lot went on, but I still felt relaxed.

Friday started the busy-ness with the first run of one of the pieces my dance company is doing! We have a show in September, but our director was involved in a showcase at a high school in NH where she coaches the dance team, so we decided to perform a piece!

It’s a long 12 minute number, but it’s really interesting with a LOT going on so you don’t get bored. Anyways, it was fun being on stage again, the dance still needs some work, but I can’t WAIT for September for the full show!!

On Friday, Bromely and I also saw a cute Swan Family on our long walk:

The mom kept diving for food to feed her babies

It was so cool to watch!! Then we continued:

And took breaks in the shade

Saturday involved a pretty lazy/awesome morning. Sometimes you just need to not rush, have a leisurely breakfast, and maybe even watch the Food Network.

p.s. iced lattes taste even better in fancy beer goblets ;)

Our favorite French Toast! With fresh strawberries, sliced peach, and a dollop of TJ’s non-fat Greek yogurt with homemade blueberry sauce.

Blueberry sauce – this is a great way to get rid of berries that are past their peak, but not quite bad enough to toss.

Place berries (any kind) in a sauce pan, add water but just to the point where you’re not fully submerging the berries.
Add a squeeze of fresh lemon, and 1-2 T of sugar or sweetener of choice…I used maple syrup.
Bring to boil, and then reduce to low and simmer until berries cook down and liquid is reduced.

Brian had the blueberry sauce on his French toast.

Finally broke into my gallon of happiness:

The rest of Saturday was great…well until we missed the Red Sox game, but let me rewind.

After a 4-mile run, we got changed and headed into Boston. I had gotten Brian Red Sox tickets for his birthday (which was May 23). We planned to stop by Mead Hall in Cambridge for a beer and maybe a snack before the game.

Brian’s been dying to try Mead Hall. It’s the latest craft beer bar/bistro boasting 100 different domestic and international beers on tap.

They weren’t kidding:

After perusing the menu and having a few samples I decided on the Bacchus; a Belgian sour ale from Van Honsebrouck.

Really enjoyed this beer. It’s not as sour as some of the other sour ales I love (like Cherry Woods), but it had a mild sourness and was very refreshing.

We also ordered a cheese plate (which went unpictured). It was OK, still needs a little work. Actually too much cheese, not enough accompaniments. You know how much I love cheese, but I also love the different flavor combinations you can create with a nice cheese plate.

Overall I really liked Mead Hall and we are looking forward to returning. I loved this huge bar area, with big windows to let in the natural light. I feel like so many beer bars in the area are so dark and cramped. This is nice and open with high ceilings and an upstairs with couches and flat screen TV’s.

Back to the story, the “blunder”. After Meadhall, we headed over to the Fenway area to look for a parking spot.

Found a spot a little too easy, but maybe just our lucky day. Then as we’re walking towards Fenway, I’m oddly noticing some groups of people in Red Sox attire heading away from the ballpark!?

Then it hit me. I didn’t even think to check the game time as the tickets say 7:10, but as the Bruin’s playoff game started at 8pm, the Red Sox had moved their game up to earlier that day.

We missed the whole thing :( So frustrating…not so much missing the game, but wasting the money and the fact that we had to miss one of Brian’s friend’s housewarming party for the game as well.

Boo Red Sox Boo.

The weekend wrapped up Sunday with the first EVER Woburn Famer’s Market!! The best part is that it’s like a 5min walk from our house!!