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Self-Care for Foodies: A Breakfast Board

July 30, 2020April 12, 2016 by Lisa Johnson 2 Comments

The breakfast board is not my creation. But I do love the idea after reading about it on A Cup of Jo and if feels like self-care. Maybe it’s the next big trend for the picnic season? It would be kind of fun eating this outside.

Somehow if feels rather fanciful eating from a board. Maybe because it’s different. So it seems special. Like I ordered it from room service at a posh hotel, even though I made it myself.

While this is a normal breakfast, I did take more care with placement as I spread everything out — a boiled egg, a pear, a bit of avocado, vanilla Greek yogurt with granola, dates and walnuts.

As more of us focus on self-care, so that we can accomplish what we want in any given day, and remain happy, not just sane, we each find different ways of nurturing ourselves.

I think the breakfast board is a nice way. It’s probably not something we’ll do everyday, but it’s a nice change.

Sometimes we just need a change in order to be a bit more productive and creative. Last night, I attended a dinner meeting at the UMass Club. Dinner was wonderful and our group accomplished a lot.

When we walked into our room and looked out the windows, we were all struck by the view.

While I’ve been in many tall buildings in Boston and seen plenty of gorgeous views of the city, this was not the same area as usual, so the view was different.

I’ve walked around Center Plaza and Government Center countless times. But never seen them from 32 floors above! The same for the Massachusetts State House. A change in perspective can gives us a new way to look at life. And sometimes, that’s all we really need.

Pantone Color of the Year: Sunset After the Rainbow

July 30, 2020March 22, 2016 by Lisa Johnson

The rainbow that I captured last week was gone within minutes. I kept taking pictures though. This is the picture after the rainbow as the sun was closer to setting. The trees were cropped out, so the focus is on the color of the sky. Sanura commented that the sky was the Pantone color of the year. She was right! I hadn’t even noticed.

Instead of one Pantone color of the year, there are two! Serenity and Rose Quartz are the colors for this year, according to the company that has set the “standard for color communication and inspiration since 1963.”

Looks like they pulled these colors straight from nature. I wholeheartedly approve!

Vegan Cattle Ranchers!

July 30, 2020March 6, 2016 by Lisa Johnson

Earlier I was watching CBS Sunday Morning and absolutely adored a story about Tommy and Renee Sonnen.

Below is a portion of the story found on the CBS Evening News website.

What Tommy didn’t know was that Renee had been secretly posting a blog called “Vegan Journal of a Rancher’s Wife.” She attracted thousands of followers. Through those contacts, Renee was able to raise $30,000 — enough for a hostile takeover.

Take a look at the video and learn how Rowdy Girl Vegan Farm Animal Sanctuary came to be.

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Screenshot: CBS Evening News

{You Pick Six} An Interview with Founder of Boston Foodie Tours: Audrey Giannattasio

July 30, 2020February 8, 2016 by Lisa Johnson

If you follow Audrey Giannattasio on Twitter, you can see that winter weather isn’t stopping her from leading her food tours!

However, it was on a very warm summer day back in 2011, when I first met Audrey. As part of a small group of food bloggers, we had a great time touring specialty shops and restaurants in the North End, experiencing authentic Italy in Boston.

Since then, Audrey founded her own successful business, Boston Foodie Tours. For three years in a row, she has won TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence. She was also featured on Chronicle, a local television program bringing us stories about New England.

If you’re visiting Boston during a vacation, for a business trip or just taking a day trip into the city, you’ll have a great time on one of her tasty tours!

But now, let’s get to know Audrey a bit better. She’s number ten in the interview series, You Pick Six!

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What is a favorite simple recipe to prepare at home?
Toast with mashed avocado, Kosher salt, freshly-grated pepper, and olive oil. Lunch nearly every day!

What is some of the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Don’t let anyone define you.” I’m just sorry that it took me fifty years to get it right! No one will ever care about you and your future as much as you will. If you’re truly going to reach your maximum potential, you must tune out the naysayers, leave any emotional baggage behind, and run your own race. When you find that place where you’re meant to be, the world will embrace you, and you will embrace yourself!

What is a favorite childhood food memory?
Picking large, purple grapes from the backyard vines in East Boston with my Italian-speaking, maternal grandmother, and my mother’s Sunday dinners, with freshly-made “gravy” – including meatballs and my beloved pig’s feet – and mostly store-bought pasta.

What do you think that most people don’t understand about food?
That creating good food isn’t necessarily about being an accomplished cook. Rather, it begins and ends with quality ingredients, such as a freshly-made mozzarella or a true Extra Virgin Olive Oil. What you put in is what you get out.

What is a favorite cookbook?
My favorite, most-used cookbooks are Ina Garten’s, whose recipes are both simple and reliable. My most valued and cherished cookbooks, however, are Marguerite Buonopane’s the North End Italian Cookbook, from which I learned as a young woman how to cook my mother’s Italian-American peasant dishes after she passed away; and my mother’s 1955 Good Housekeeping cookbook that I inherited.

How did food become an important part of your life?
My mother! Cooking was her way of demonstrating her love for others, and, perhaps, the only skill in which she had great confidence. Though we were on a tight budget, she could always stretch a meal for last-minute guests, who were often sent home with freshly-picked vegetables from our garden, and/or food gift bags.

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Thank you so much for participating Audrey!

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Photos: Provided by Audrey Giannattasio.

Frozen Pizza Taste Test ~ Red Baron v. DiGiorno

July 30, 2020January 23, 2016 by Lisa Johnson 2 Comments

The wind is blowing like a freight train outside and the snow has started falling. Inside, the heat is turned up and I am feeling nice and cozy. I finally have some time to blog and I’m listening to a Jess Lively podcast. Life is good!

I had brunch with some friends this morning and will hopefully blog it within six months. I have to stop fooling myself and pretend like I can blog like I could before. I just don’t have the time and have to accept what I can do. I have a seafood post from this summer that I still cannot believe I haven’t written yet. *sigh*

This post wasn’t even planned, but just happened. G came home with two frozen pizzas and asked if I wanted to try them. Today I’m carbo loading like a marathoner, but I’m not a marathoner. Good thing I did some walking to and from the T! Maybe I can do a yoga session today too.

Anyway, the pizzas are Red Baron and DiGiorno. Both pizzas are the same flavor, Supreme, so I removed the sausage and pepperoni. I don’t eat meat, unlike G.

Both of us had similar reactions to these pizzas. Red Baron has a nice crispy crust, but DiGiorno has a better flavor.

G asked me which one would I buy. I told him Newman’s Own. It’s the truth! He said that the others are cheaper, which may be true. But it’s only by a few dollars. I don’t buy frozen pizza very often, so when I do, I want it to be an all-around good experience.

A favorite flavor is White Thin & Crispy Pizza with spinach. I wrote about it before and how I had a “What Would You Do?” moment in the grocery store. My preference for Newman’s Own also is because I like that their profits goes to charity. It makes me feel even better about buying it.

So there you have it. Newman’s Own wins!