food

Brazen Boston Bird Tries To Bogart B.Good Bag

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bird

The weather was perfect today. Sunny with a bright blue sky. Dry and in the upper 70s. So I decided to grab a very late lunch (or early dinner) and sit outside for a bit. 

Since I brought a salad from home every day this week, today I decided to go to B.Good. I still love their Power Bowl, but switched things up with a veggie burger and vanilla milkshake. I’ve gone years without having a milkshake and this is my third in a month! What is happening?!?!

Anyway, I sat outside enjoying the weather and sipped my milkshake. The veggie burger was in a bag on a table. As I sat there, I noticed a seagull. It kept trying to pull a bag of food out of the trash, but without any luck. I took this picture above.

bird walking

Then the bird noticed me my bag of food on the table. This bird strutted right on over with no fear. So I took another picture.

Then, this sly seagull walked right on over to me. Jumped up onto the table. In my face. Then tried to snatch my B.Good bag! I had to grab it away first!

bird on table

Then this brazen bird had the nerve to stay there on the table. Looking at me defiantly. Like it was thinking, “Really. You couldn’t just give me your food.”

I took another picture. Then decided it was time to head back to the office. Maybe the universe was sending me a sign.

Crow’s Landing Restaurant in Hingham

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Most of my life I’ve lived on the South Shore. It feels familiar. Like home.

Living in Quincy, I’m close to some great South Shore towns — like Hingham. Which is where a friend and I went for brunch a couple of weeks ago at a restaurant called Crow’s Landing.

I was invited to try a meal and was happy that I got to bring a friend. J and I grew up in the same town and our families have been friends forever. So it was nice to catch up over a meal and talk about things from back in the day and what we’re both up to now. She started out with a nice glass of wine.

It was a rainy cold day, but Crow’s Landing has a cozy welcoming atmosphere, so we were both glad that we had ventured out. The art on the walls is warm and colorful, adding to the comfortable feeling.

It was J’s first time trying the salmon burger and she said that it was a hit! I had the classic breakfast.

My thoughts always quickly turn to dessert, so I was very happy to try the vanilla bean crème brulee! Very hard sugar crust on top and such creamy goodness underneath.

J had the warm soft chocolate cake. She said that it was super chocolaty! I love the creativity of the plating. Like a work of art!

If you’re in the Hingham area and you’re looking for a new restaurant to try, head over to Crow’s Landing for a cozy local eatery.

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Disclosure: The two meals were complimentary. Thank you Crow’s Landing!

Homemade Harvest Bowl

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This was my lunch today — leftovers from my lunches during the week. It’s healthy, filling and tastes good. I have become obsessed with these harvest bowls.

I’ve been making a concentrated effort to eat more greens and to getting my protein without soy.

Over the course of my blogging, I’ve gone back and forth between eating and drinking soy products and not. I’m back to not and don’t think I will be going back.

A favorite lunch is the Power Bowl from B.Good. I’ve never forgotten the Squash and Farro Salad that I helped make at a food blogging event a few years ago. I loved the taste and texture of the farro. I also started buying the Harvest Bowl at Sweetgreen.

These three favorite dishes are variations of the same thing. Lots of greens, sweet potato or squash, nuts, fruit, a protein like chicken or egg, cheese, a grain and other vegetables with a dressing.

I’ve been experimenting with making my own version and loving it. I make my own salad dressing and keep it on hand.

The ingredients in the salad pictured above are: baby spinach and kale, boiled egg, farro, sweet potato, trail mix, feta cheese.

Though I love this meal, I’ve been having it virtually everyday for two weeks. This coming week, I’ll be giving it a break. Variety is the spice of life after all.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend! Not a football fan, but I’m in New England, so Go Patriots!

Holiday Baking Recipe: Swedish Spritz Cookies

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It’s December, so holiday baking season is in full swing! This was the first Thanksgiving in decades that I didn’t cook or bake anything. And I was perfectly fine with it. But I had a few good reasons to bake these Swedish Spritz cookies today.

One of my brother’s housemates lost his mom a few years ago and she left him her cookbook. Out of the blue one day, he shared one of her recipes with me. I was so touched. A family recipe is a treasure.

He gave me the recipe this past summer, but I hadn’t had a chance to bake them.  Well, time just kept passing, as it’s known to do. He asked me a few times if I had tried them yet and I promised myself that I would make them soon. My family has Sunday dinners each week and I thought these would make a festive dessert. Plus, I was in a baking mood today!

As I was looking at the recipe and comparing it to other similar recipes, I realized that I didn’t have a cookie press. His family is Swedish, so his mom’s recipe didn’t have the part about needing the cookie press, because it was probably pretty obvious to her.

Luckily I have no problem improvising when I bake, so I used a cookie stamp to get a similar effect.

There were some cookies leftover from our family dinner, so I gave them to my brother’s house for everyone to share. His housemate had such a smile when I told him that I finally made the cookies and he gave me the biggest hug. Which he has never done before. Ever.

My mom said that baking these cookies was a way to keep memories of his mother alive. I have to agree. So much about food, especially around the holidays, is about family, memories and love.

These cookies are very good and I will definitely bake them again. Simple, tasty and not too sweet. They are practically as quick as using ready made cookie dough. Perfect for this time of year.

Here’s the adapted recipe below if you’d like to try it. I received permission to blog it.

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Swedish Spritz Cookies (makes a dozen and a half cookies)

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick butter (softened)
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. almond extract
1 cup plus 2T flour
pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Set aside an ungreased cookie sheet or place parchment paper on sheet. Set oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together butter, sugar and egg yolk. Add extract, salt and flour. Stir until combined. Batter comes together nicely and will be a dough that is easy to handle. If you have a cookie press, use as instructed.

I rolled the dough into small balls, then baked for 10 minutes. Remove sheet from the oven and use cookie stamp to press design onto the top of each ball. Bake for another 5 minutes for total baking time of 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cook, then serve or store in a container. Enjoy!