Lisa Johnson

5th Annual Taste of Chocolate Festival in Harvard Square!

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Harvard SquareIs the cold winter increasing your craving for chocolate?

This weekend, starting today, you can find all things chocolate at the Taste of Chocolate Festival. It looks like a really good time and cheap, since many samples are free!

Saturday, January 24th

Harvard Square Chocolate Sampling Event

From 1pm – 2pm

Deguglielmo Plaza (27 Brattle Street) will play host to an array of chocolaty samples from restaurants and shops from across Harvard Square. Bloco  Afro – Brazil , a local favorite, will be combining traditional Brazilian grooves like Samba , Funk, Rock, Jazz and even Hip Hop beats to get the party started! Make sure to come early!  This event is very popular and attracts hundreds of sweet tooths!  Restaurants and businesses who will be generously giving out chocolate samples.

For more information, take a look at the website.

President Obama’s Plate – Dining in Massachusetts

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President Obama Charlie's Sandwich ShoppeI’m pretty excited to watch the State of the Union address tonight. Even though every president says it, no matter what the circumstances, somehow it always makes me feel good to hear that the State of the Union is strong.

Seeing gas prices dipping so low has definitely made me feel more optimistic. Since President Obama’s approval rating has been climbing recently, I’m apparently not the only one feeling that way.

While much of the country is eagerly waiting to hear what the president has to say tonight, TIME decided to examine something a bit different – The State of Obama’s Plate. The article looks at his dining destinations in each state. Take a look to see all four destinations in Massachusetts.

Since he vacations in Martha’s Vineyard, most of the restaurants are located there, but Boston did make the list too with his visit to Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe. While the landmark closed this past June, according to an article in The Boston Globe, it’s supposed to open again this year. We’ll see. Maybe President Obama will come back for the grand opening for some more dining in the Bay State!

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Photo Credit: TIME

Corita Kent: Throwback Thursday: Boston Gas Tanks

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Gas tank art of Corita KentAfter reading a recent article about Sister Corita Kent, it reminded me of my 1991 picture of the two gas tanks. Now there is only one gas tank, but thankfully the beautiful art of Corita Kent was preserved.

As a child, I used to be so excited when I would see the familiar Boston landmark. The big splashes of bright colors painted on one of the two gas tanks as my father drove our family into Boston countless times on the expressway. Until I saw that gas tank, I never thought about art being placed on objects that weren’t necessarily art. Corita Kent brought art to the masses even if you weren’t looking for it. There it was.

On January 31st, an exhibit of her work will be opening at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh called Someday is Now: The Art of Corita Kent. The exhibit will be there until April 19th and covers more than 30 years of her work. Below is an excerpt from the website.

In her rich and varied career, she was a designer, teacher, feminist, and activist for civil rights and anti-war causes. Her thousands of posters, murals, and signature serigraphs reflect these combined passions for faith and politics. Kent became one of the most popular graphic artists of the 1960s and ‘70s, and her images remain iconic symbols that address the larger questions and concerns of that turbulent time and continue to influence many artists today.

While several exhibitions have focused on Corita’s work from the ‘60s, Someday is Now is the first major museum show to survey her entire career, including early abstractions and text pieces as well as the more lyrical works made in the 1970s and 1980s. The exhibition also includes rarely shown photographs Corita used for teaching and documentary purposes.

This looks like a great exhibit if you get the chance to go. It appears to be traveling to different cities, so maybe it will stop by a location near you.

Ground Cardamom: Same Spice Different Price

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cardamom podsEvents from last week have me reeling. Little did I know how much this quote that I posted would become relevant to me later that day. My family will never be the same again.

Along with family and friends, we are trying to adjust to a new normal. I never run out of things to blog about, but not much seems to matter right now in comparison. I’m an optimistic person, but it takes a bit of time to recover from a kick to your gut.

If you are the praying kind, then prayers for my family will help. I don’t have much to offer right now in the way of posts except for one thing. The price of ground cardamom is nearly double the price in Stop & Shop than in Market Basket. Why pay $14.99 if  you can pay $7.99?

Before Christmas I ran out. This is the first Christmas where I didn’t really bake. Except for when a cousin came over to visit me, I did bake Chai-Spiced Almond Cookies. Since I had no cardamom, they weren’t really chai-spiced. I used ginger instead. Which was still quite good by the way.

Market Basket is not near where I live, but when I go to my parents’ house, I can choose from a few locations. Since I did some food shopping for my parents at Market Basket, I decided to finally get some cardamom. I used it in my oatmeal this morning. It’s a small thing, but it’s comforting. And that is what I need right now.

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Flickr Photo: Cardamom pods by dollen