MA

Monday Munchies: Union Square Donuts- Somerville, MA

May 5, 2014

I mean, who doesn’t?!?

Doughnuts or Donuts… I like them equally as much!

And I love donuts from Union Square Donuts in Somerville, MA, a suburb just north of Boston. It’s a small shop that sells donuts and fresh brewed coffee. I don’t think things need to be more complicated than that.

They are famous for creating large flavorful, soft, airy, and unique donuts. They were even included in Thillist’s list of 21 Best Donut Shops in America that came out just last month. Their yeast and cake donuts are equally as good as their sweet and savory donuts, which will set you back $3 for regular ones and $3.50 for the premium ones.

I mean just check these babies out!

Mouth watering!!!

Maple Bacon

This is a must get donut here. This is a great combination of salty and sweet. The maple glaze is offset with the cripsy, crunchy bacon. It can be a bit messy to eat but I won’t tell if you lean over the sink and eat it. Or if you hold your plate up to your face and then lick it later. I swear I won’t tell. ($3.50)

Sea-Salted Bourbon Caramel

This is my favorite donut. It’s massive and intensely flavorful. The donut itself is very light as it’s dough is full if airy pockets. The caramel glaze is sweet and the bourbon in there adds a lot of flavor. But the sweetness is also balanced with the sea-salt. Be careful, it’s really sticky, but I don’t think that is a bad thing, just give your fingers a good lick once your done! ($3.00)

Bacon Cheddar Sage

They have savory donuts! Both are crazy good but I love the Bacon Cheddar Sage. I love the bacon and the cheddar combo but the herby flavor from the sage is so good.($3.50)

Boston Cream

I’ve lived in Boston for over 10 years and have never had Boston Cream Pie from Omini Parker House, which is directly across from my office. FOR SHAME! But that doesn’t mean I don’t know a good Boston Creme Pie Donut when I devoure it. This crispy ried donut is jam packed full of a vanilla bean cream and then topped off it a velvety chocolate glaze. The vanilla cream is packed full of vanilla bean caviar so the vanilla flavor shines through against the chocolate. Yum! ($3.50)

Brioche Cinnamon Roll

This was the first time they were serving these guys. I just happened to be there when they brought out the first tray. I have to admit it felt a little special to be there to get to try one of the first ones ever sold.

Price commented on how this reminded him of Baklava because of the cinnamon and honey combination of flavors. The honey glaze is super sweet but really enjoyable as it’s sweetness is slightly cut back from the cinnamon that is swirled through the bun. ($5.00)

I mean… come on! I can’t even get over how good everything is here!! Besides the ones showcased above, hey have flavors like Brown Butter Hazelnut Crunch, Vanilla Bean, Birthday Cake with Sprinkles, and Strawberry.

I have a love affair with the donuts at Union Square Donuts. I just can’t resist. And yet I don’t think Price minds when I give in and come home with a big box of donuts. ha!

I at least try to plan ahead by getting there soon after they open since they have been known to sell out in as little as 90 minutes. And missing out on getting one of these donuts would make me sad. They are only opened Thursday & Friday from 7 AM – 1 PM and on Saturday & Sunday: 8 AM – 3 PM. Even if you are just half awake after a night of drinking just stumble over there for a donut and coffee to perk yourself up!

Union Square Donuts

16 Bow Street

Somerville, MA 02143

Apple picking at Cider Hill Farm

October 29, 2013

I know, I know… It’s a bit late in the season to post about apple picking but I couldn’t resist sharing these pictures from when we went apple picking a few weeks ago. Plus things are still great in some orchards so don’t think you’ve missed your chance just yet!!

We try to go to different orchards every year to experience something new and see which ones we like the best. Price found Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, MA so we headed up there for a bit of apple picking.

Once you grab a bag for the apples you are ready to go! They give out a handy guide to inform you about each variety, such as what they tasted like, and where each apple is in the several orchards. As well, we were told which apples were best to harvest now and where they were in the orchards, just to help us out.

I feel that the info could be improved to help you pick which apple you would want for what use. We always go to the orchards to get apples that are great for eating and baking with since I’m not one to really make sauce. So we ended up pulling up info on our phones as we walked around the orchards. (As well, this guide is really helpful!)

Could not get over the hanging baskets. Just look how big they are compared to the pumpkins!

Rows upon rows of apples fresh for the picking!

We wandered around the long rows picking apples at the tips of our finger tips. There is just something so fun about squishing yourself in the branches and just grabbing hold of a fresh shiny apple!

Autumn is just so beautiful.

ahh bliss! These were fresh from the frier and so dang good. They were airy, flavorful, and the perfect consistency for apple cider donuts. We got a dozen because we get them 1x a year and I figured eating 6 was reasonable…

For the 2013 season the price for apples is $1.85/lb and pumpkins are $.59/lb.

Cider Hill Farm

45 Fern Ave

Amesbury, MA 01913

(978) 388-5525

Apple Picking At Russell Orchard in Ispwich, MA

September 28, 2012

Two weeknds ago I went apple picking with some coworkers and had a fantastic time together getting bags full of apples. We went up to Russell Orchards in Ispwich as it is one of the closest places to go apple picking around Boston. It was my first time going there for apple picking (Price and I had been there for berry picking years ago). The day was beautiful and we had so much fun picking bags of varieties of apples.

Prior to my friends’ arrival I took part in a wine & cider tasting in their general store from their own winery. For $5 I sampled 2 hard ciders, 2 fruit wines, and received a branded glass. They sample different ciders and wines (11% alcohol)every week. This week they sampled their Apple Cider, Perry, Jostaberry, and Dry Blueberry.

Apple Cider- “A very sweet and fruity dessert cider, great with apple pie” … This was very enjoyable. I liked the sweet subtle flavor.

Perry- “A slightly sweet hard pear drink” … I wouldn’t have even guessed this was pear. It was lovely but was not very fruity, esp pear like.

Jostaberry- “The berry is a cross between the gooseberry and the black currant. This wine has a tart, fruity taste.” … I loved this red fruit wine. It was tart but not pucker inducing. I liked the flavors, specifically the currant flavor,

Dry Blueberry- “Similar to the Blueberry, except this wine is aged in French oak. Bold like a Cabernet with a subtle berry flavor” … I didn’t finish my sample of this, neither did the 2 women next to me. They must not have been a fan of the smokey flavor. Had it been described as smokey I would have not had it as I for like smokey flavors, esp wine. If you like very dry and smokey then this is a great wine for you.

I’m glad my coworker picked Russell Orchard as it was convenient to get to, packed full of apples, and was a beautiful place.

Beautiful, beautiful apples.

It’s hard to go wrong with acres of apples, but they organize their PYO (pick your own) fields well. Everything was labeled with clear signs on each end of the row. Having gone to other orchards that just use flags as boundaries I found that Russell’s fields were very easy to navigate.

The fields are a short walk from the entrance so they offer hayrides to get to and from the fields. We deicded not to do this as the lines was l-o-n-g but it looked like a lot of fun. Personally, I think you should walk to the fields and take the hayride back after you (and your kids) are tired from walking around and carring a bag of apples.

For $15 you get a peck sized bag, which holds about 10-12 lbs of apples. I wanted a wheel barrel full but that was not an option nor, I assume, in my budget. I stuck with only picking apples that were good for baking, which were Cortland, Empire, Jonagold, and Honeycrisp. Their chart was helpful for picking which apples were best for baking, sauce, dessert (eating??), and juice. Their site says that it is cash only for weekends and Monday holidays but they did accept debit cards by the general store. You just need to buy your bag there at the store instead of getting it at the orchards

Before we left I got a loaf of cinnamon bread that we enjoyed for breakfast the following week. While there were long lines for their cider donuts I did not get any. I much prefer cider donuts that are coated in cinnamon and sugar while they are fresh from the fryer. Russell makes a plain donut and I just can’t justify the calories on something I don’t love.

I think this is great orchard to visit in the summer for berry picking and in the fall for apple picking. Don’t miss out on picking local fruit at the peak of season!

Gotta go get a pumpkin next, dontcha think?

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Russell Orchards

143 Argilla Road

Ipswich, MA

(978) 356-5366

open 9-6 daily

True Southern Hospitality at M3 with Boston Brunchers

September 19, 2012

I’ve been lucky to have quite a few meals recently that afterwards have stuck with me and I have not been able to stop thinking about. One is the tacos, queso, and agua frescas that we had from TacoDeli when I was visiting Austin. Thankfully, I’ve had another much closer experience that has been really memorable. I went to M3 in Somerville with Boston Brunchers. We had a fantastic time and had to practically be rolled out of there. Check out their brunch menu and you’ll see what I’m talking about!

M3 means ‘meat and three‘ which is a play on Southern restaurants that has customers pick out a meal and 3 of the available daily sides. This place serves up your favorite Southern favorites that can’t be missed. M3 is nicely decorated with fun light fixtures, chalk board walls, and pictures of Elvis. It was a nice place that I could sit and really enjoy anothe brunch or dinner. I know the next time that I go for brunch I have to try their shrimp and grits.

One of the really cool things that M3 does is that they make their own pickles. Their pickled vegetables were featured in several of their dishes, as well as their bloody mary’s. I like that they take the time to make their own pickles.

We started with watermelon salad (7). This was a great start as it was light, fresh, and showcased some great picked fruit and vegetables. I had never had pickled watermelon before so it was nice to try something new. I liked that it had the flavors of a pickling solution but it was still pretty light incomparison to the natural sweet flavor of the watermelon.

Then chicken and biscuits (7) came. We each had a chicken and biscuit to ourselves, which was great as sharing is not an option with this. The biscuit was buttery, soft, and flaky, then it was topped with a fried piece of chicken breast, and then covered in a sausage gravy. I loved everything about this. Our table felt this was a bit salty but really good. I prefered it salty but someone might not like that.

This was my first time trying scotch eggs (6). It was really good but it will probably be my last as I just don’t like hardboiled eggs. Kind of a major problem for scotch eggs as they are hardboiled eggs, just coated and fried.

And then the shared plates began with the chicken and waffles (11). This was the one dish that everyone commented on. The chicken and waffles were great but it just seemed to miss the mark, at least in what we were expecting. The waffle was fantastic but the chicken has us wasnting something more. The waffle was soft, fluffy, and sweet and served with some sour cherries. The chicken was tender and coated well but we were disapointed that it was a sweet coating. We were expecting a savory coating as it was paired with the sweet waffle- a little ying and yang action. Had the chicken had a salty coating this would have been a huge winner in my book. I would get this again, but I would just need some hot sauce on the side.

The food kept coming with blueberry pancakes (8). I don’t love pancakes so this was not for me. I felt the pancakes were a little dense but it was nice to have the blueberries and blueberry syrup on top to enjoy with them. There was a lemon flavored butter that was the highlight of the dish.

The last thing to grace our table was the cinnamon bran french toast (9). It was such a beauty. Thick cut french toast that was coated in bran and then drowned in maserated fruit and syrup. Then it was topped with some chocolate dipped bacon. Holy cow. Crazy. I could see myself going back and getting this as I loved the flavor and texture of the french toast. I feel like I need to coat all french toast in cereal now.

I managed to somehow haul myself out of my seat to head home. Then I spent the rest of the day thinking about the brunch and telling myself I could not possibly be hungry ever again. ha!

M3

382 Highland Avenue

Somerville, MA

617-718-6666

*While I did receive this complimentary brunch provided by The Farm School these opinions are entirely my own.

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A beach stroll & the Revere Beach National Sand Sculpture Festival – Revere, MA

July 16, 2012

Several years ago I went to see the Sand Sculpture Contest entries on Revere Beach with Emily after we went to Brimfield. At that time we went on a Friday and saw the artists working on their sculptures. It is really an amazing thing they do so watching while they meticulously worked was a lot of fun.

I realized that the 9th annual Revere Beach National Sand Sculpture Festival was this weekend so Price and I went over to see the completed pieces last night. We lucked out and got a spot quickly and ran over to see the pieces before the sun set. It started rain and my back was starting to hurt so we went through pretty quickly. (I missed photographing 2 sculptures :-/)

“Your Time to Fly” by Dan Belcher from St. Louis Missouri

“Heads, I Win” by Justin Gordon from Groveland, Massachusetts

First Place – “Bee or not to Be” by Jonathan “Jobi” Bouchard of Montreal, Canada

Second Place & Sculptor’s Choice – “Everyone has a Dark Side” by Sue McGrew of Tacoma, Washington

Third Place – “Illusion” by Dan Doubleday of Treasure Island, Florida

People’s Choice – “Just Skin and Bones” by Stephane “Just Bob” Robert of Montreal, Canada

“Nautical Goddess” (I think) by Steve Topazio of Tiverton, Rhode Island

“The Earth Cries” by Benjamin Probanza from Acapulco, Mexico

It was such a fun visit to the beach. The sculptures were stunning, it was fun to walk around with Price with sand around our toes, and, of course, I was in love with the plans overhead as they were coming into nearby Logan Airport.

If you have time to quickly visit then I suggest going as the town leaves the sculptures up until the elements break them down and leave them unrecognizable. If you miss them this year then I hope that you visit Revere Beach to check out the beautiful temporary works of art.

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A beautiful day: Bridge of Flowers- Shelburne Falls, Ma

June 11, 2012

As part of my June surprise date we went to see the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, MA. (After that we went zip-lining but more on that later!) If you have not heard of the Bridge of Flowers it is an old 400′ trolley bridge that has been filled with beautiful plantings that are a favorite to everyone who sees it. Quickly after it was taken out of service in 1927 it began to be overrun with weeds. In 1929 the bridge began it’s full transformation the eyesore to become a ‘thing of beauty’, as it was envisioned by resident Antoinette Burnham. Since then the bridge has been voluntarily taken care of by the Shelburne Falls Women’s Club. The bridge, and it’s 500+ varieties of flowers, is such a great spot to visit in New England.

of course my favorites…

I highly suggest visiting the Bridge of Flowers (April 1st – October 30th). Wander around aimlessly while taking tons of beautiful pictures. Then grab some lunch at McCusker’s Market (on the western side of the bridge) and enjoy it siting along the Deerfield River.

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Hash Benedict @ Deluxe Station Diner, Newton MA

May 5, 2012

Recently, Price and I went to Deluxe Station Dinner in Newton, MA for an early morning weekend breakfast. We had been to their sister restaurant, Deluxe Town Diner, in Watertown, MA more times than we can remember. And we would always pass by Deluxe Station as we took the train everyday so we finally made plans to stop in one day for breakfast.

The diner is located at the Newton Centre T stop on the D-line (Green Line). The building is charming inside and out. The diner is located inside the old train station. It is filled with fun accents and interesting artwork.

We settled into a booth together as a friendly waitress gave us some menus. We had checked out the breakfast menu before going so we knew what we were getting but it was nice to take a peak again. We enjoyed some coffee before placing our orders. Price ordered the Deluxe Colossal Hungry Person Special and I ordered the Hash Benedict, natch.

Hash Benedict – Two Poached Eggs and Homemade Corned Beef Hash over English Muffin with Hollandaise Sauce and Homefries or Salad… $12.50

My love of Eggs Benedict was satisfied during our visit. The large plate it barely visible with the combination of Hash Benedict and home fries piled high. The eggs are layered with English Muffin, Corned Beef, poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. They use the hearty English Muffins from Wolferman’s so the stand up well to the flavors stacked up high on there. I was so excited for this when it was placed down in front of me. I was eager to dive right in.

I loved the combination of each bite. The Hollandaise was very good as it was light, lemony, and very buttery. The color is always so inviting. The Hollandaise was a little lumpy so it was a bit disappointing.

The corned beef hash was flavorful, tender, and piled high. I would have prefered it to have been on the griddle a bit longer as I love crunchy edges on corned beef.

The eggs were cooked perfectly. The poached eggs were neatly trimmed, the whites were set, and the yolk was warm and runny. Once you pierce the egg the yolk cascades down the corned beef and onto the English Muffin.

A generious portion of home fries were plated along side the eggs benedict. The home fries are simple without adornment with veggies (onions, peppers), but are seasoned well with are fresh herbs.

I highly suggest visiting the Deluxe Station Diner when you crave a great breakfast. If you love corned beef hash or eggs benny as much as I do then you should really order this. You might want to take a nap afterwards but it will be worth it. 🙂

Rating

English muffin– 20 pts

Corned Beef Hash– 20 pts

Poached Egg– 25 pts

Hollandaise Sauce– 15 pts

Side– 9 points

Total: 89/100

Deluxe Station Diner

70 Union Street

Newton, MA 02459

617. 244.2550

@dluxstation

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Our House

May 2, 2012

Is a very, very fine house…

(back unit- furthest from street)

WE CLOSED ON OUR HOUSE ON MONDAY!!!!!

HORRAY!!!!!

We’re really excited about the new adventure at hand. We have been discussing where different pieces of furniture can go around the house. What new pieces we can get, what to get rid of. It’s all about making this space our own. I’m super excited about the kitchen and open first floor, Pricer is excited about a man cave, and we are both really excited to have an outside space again. 🙂

Exciting first purchase (besides something I ordered online) for the house were trash cans.

And these are some pics…

view of kitchen from front door // kitchen from living room corner

view of kitchen, closet, and stair door to basement

I realized I didn’t take any photos of the living room… imagine a room with 2 windows.

closet // door to stairway to finished basement

first floor half bath

view from bottom of the stairs up to 2nd fl // view from top of the stairs to 1st fl

big bedroom

smaller bedroom

upstairs bathroom

tub // closet

finished basement from bottom of stairs

finished basement- bathroom, laundry, stairs

big wall of finished basement (perfect for a projector!)

basement bathroom with shower stall

I can’t wait until we are all moved in and we get to start to make it our own!!

The Farm School Brunch with Boston Brunchers

April 1, 2012

I recently attended a brunch provided The Farm School of Athol with a group Boston Brunchers. Since Athol is nearly 2 hours away from Boston, the brunch was hosted by one of their supporters in Cambridge. It was so nice of the family to welcome the group of us into their lovely home.

While brunch was being prepared we got to hear about The Farm school including their farming, animal husbandry, CSA, and the programs they offer on their 130 acres, which is made of about 40 acres of open land and 90 acres of woods,

The Farm School has programs for visiting schools that allows them to hosts over 1,500 students every year. During their 3-day stays the students are “fully integrated into the farm operations, rising early for milking, tending to the garden, fields and forests, and helping to cook meals with the food they have harvested.” This allows them to learn about agriculture, sustainability, and themselves. Kids can also experience more through their camp program by attending week long sessions throughout the summer.

As well as the short term programs, they have their own onsite school for middle school aged children called the Chicken Coop School. The total class is 10-14 students and has 2 teachers, which helps the kids excel with extra attention and a curriculum that allows for hands on learning with an emphasis on critical thinking.

I was starting to feel a little discouraged about all these great programs for school aged children. How can I go there? Well I soon found out that they offer year long Learn to Farm program for adults who hope to have their own farm one day. During the year you learn about everything ranging from marketing, farm animals, forestry, and homesteading. One of the courses is about beekeeping… sign me up!! 🙂

Aside from learning all about The Farm School, I carefully watched them prepare our brunch. They provide daily meals for hundreds of students and staff so preparing brunch of us must have been a piece of cake.

When brunch was ready to be served we each took a seat at a lovely decorated series of tables. The tables were covered in canvas table clothes and there was a runner that ran the entire way. Mason jars filled with stalks of yellow forsythia made the table beautiful, as well as filling the room with a light floral scent. Each place setting was marked with a flyer and a handmade napkin. We each we able to take the napkins. Such a cute gift!

Our first course plates were fresh cut tree trunks. This provided a rustic look to brunch as well as sustainable place setting. Also served on the tree trunk plates were breads provided from Iggy’s Bread.

We started with 2 versions of bacon. I only ate the strip of maple bacon. The maple syrup glaze gave the piece of bacon a lovely sweet flavor. The baked on glaze also made the bacon extra crunchy, which I enjoyed since I don’t like very soft bacon. I gave my piece of thicker pork belly bacon to Price. While I am sure it was very good (he said it was) I knew I would not enjoy the texture of it (see above).

The main course was a poached egg on sliced pork schnitzel cutlets with sides of spinach and potato hash. The eggs are farm fresh and their flavor and color were very intense. I had never seen such a yellow egg before! Besides my million photos I took before diving in, I had to tweet a photo as well since I was so impressed. I loved the poached egg on the pork schnitzel. The egg was covered in a silky Hollandaise sauce (my favorite thing ever!). The pork was very lean, seasoned well, and cooked perfectly. The cooked spinach was so sweet and tender. I wish all spinach was like that. I didn’t love the Adirondack potato hash because I think it was a little plain but the color was fun.

Throughout the brunch we were able to sip on coffee, iced tea, and peach bellinis. To sweeten the iced tea we could use ice cubes that had a bit of maple syrup in them. I didn’t notice much maple flavor in my tea but I thought it was a very creative to try it. I loved the peach bellini because the fruit puree was so fresh. I know I will have to try this at home one day!

To round out the brunch, we were served a maple bread pudding made from Iggy’s bread and the maple syrup tapped on the farm’s property. The bread pudding was naturally sweet and very moist. I am always in awe of a bread pudding that achieves the balance of golden brown crunchy top, cooked middle, and soft consistent texture.

Their 2012 veggie CSA has just begun to take sign ups. The 21-week program runs from June to October and offers different options and pick up locations in Cambridge, Watertown, and Orange. And if a weekend CSA is not for you then check them out at the Belmont Farmers’ Market. The weekly market is on Thursdays from 1-7 at the Belmont Center Parking Lot. There you can pick up there in-season produce as well as all-natural meats, free-range eggs, and flowers.

I enjoyed the food so much that I know I will make a point of stopping by their farmer’s market one day after work. I huge thank you to the staff that prepared the meal and our lovely hosts that welcomed us into their home.

*While I did receive this complimentary brunch provided by The Farm School these opinions are entirely my own.

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