Boston Archives - 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Posted by Meaghan Barry on April 18, 2013

boston

I have not been able to get myself to post this week after Monday’s terrible bombings at the Boston Marathon. I hope to return to regular posting next week, but I’m still in process of shaking off the dark cloud over me as I have tried to process how something so tragic could happen on one of Boston’s finest days.

Each year as a college student in Boston, one of my favorite memories was watching the marathon race by my school on Patriot’s Day. It was such a happy day for everyone involved and I have felt a twinge of sadness each year that I have not been able to leisurely watch the race from the sidelines. Even when I worked in the Back Bay a block away from the finish line, but had to be in my office for most of the day, I still enjoyed soaking in the city’s atmosphere of a marathon day. I muttered under my breath about the tourists impeding my commute on days leading up to the marathon, but I secretly loved crossing the empty finish line when I got out of work for the day.

I had been texting and laughing with my husband earlier on Monday about some funny memories of Marathon Monday during our senior year. Suddenly, he sent me a text to turn on the news because there were reports of a bombing at the marathon. Seconds after I turned on the tv, the news showed footage of massive explosions hitting Boylston Street and I burst into tears. It was shocking to see these images of the street I knew so well.

I had walked this same patch of Boylston Street hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the years and I feel like I know it like the back of my hand. I walked this street to catch my bus home every evening. I walked this street to run errands on my lunch break and grab a bite to eat. I walked this street to meet up with my husband or friends after work to grab drinks or dinner. I walked this street to buy my wedding dress. I walked this street to ring in New Year’s Eve. I walked this street to go catch a game at Fenway. I walked this street with my newborn baby after taking him to his nearby pediatrician or baby class at the Prudential Center.

I’ve spent most of the week pouring over articles on the Internet and watching more the news on practically a non-stop basis. My heart goes out to all the victims of these tragic bombings. I’m filled with such sadness knowing that three of the victims will never be returning to their families. I know it will be a long road to heal, but I hope we will be able to one day go on and enjoy our beautiful city and a joyous Marathon Monday once again. In the meanwhile, I encourage you to contribute to The One Fund set up by the city of Boston to help the victims rebuild their lives.

sister m signature

Posted by 2 Sisters 2 Cities on June 8, 2011

I went to the Southie farmers’ market for the first time that I have lived here for the past 5 years. It occurs from 12-6 every Monday, but in the past I had always worked during these hours. I picked up some additional plants for my porch, and also bought some asparagus and fresh eggs.

When I got home, I realized I had enough ingredients to make a whole meal out of my farmer’s market purchases…Bacon Asparagus Quiche! I love to make a whole meal our of my farmers’ market finds.

Ingredients:
-1 pie shell (I used a frozen one)
-1 bunch asparagus
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-6 pieces of bacon
-6-8 eggs (I used 8 as the fresh ones were on the small side)
-thyme (dried or fresh)
-1 and 1/2 cups milk and/or half & half (I used a 50/50 combo, but use any combination you prefer)
-shredded cheese (I just used a cheddar and monterrey jack mix I had from a previous recipe)
-salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cover the pie shell (in a pie pan) with foil. Lay the bacon on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake both in the oven for 12 minutes or until done.

Meanwhile, wash and slice up the asparagus in 1-2 inch pieces. Heat a small skillet to medium and add olive oil. Add asparagus and saute 6-8 minutes. Add a small dash of thyme and cook for 1-2 more minutes.

Combine the eggs, milk/half & half combination, and shredded cheese in a large mixing bowl. Once the asparagus is done cooking and has cooled for a bit, add the asparagus to the egg mixture. In addition, once the bacon has cooled, break it up into small pieces and add it to the egg mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lower the heat on the oven to 325 degrees F. Put the pie shell on a baking sheet. Pour the egg mixture into the pie shell (I originally put a little too much milk in the recipe at first so it overflowed, as seen in the picture below…recipe above adjusted for this!) Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until set. Let the quiche cool slightly before eating.

This recipe would be delicious with a mixed greens salad and a light dressing and a nice glass of white wine!

-m

Posted by Meaghan Barry on June 12, 2010

Photo courtesy of msandman via the flickr creative commons license

Last Friday afternoon, we decided to invite some friends over for dinner that evening. I had no meal plan for the night for even Husband M and I, so I had to quickly figure out what I was going to serve our group. Fortunately, the Copley Square Farmer’s Market was open so I decided to hit it up to see what I could think of.

For appetizers, I visited the Crystal Brooks goat cheese stand and picked up a tub of their mediterranean goat cheese. For dinner, I thought out best option would be BLTs. I picked up a pack of smoked bacon from Stillman’s Turkey Farm, some first-of-the-season tomatoes from the Stillman’s farm stand, and two types of bread from Breadsong Bakery (Rustic Italian and Sourdough). I already had lettuce at home from our Boston Organics delivery. As an alternative to mayo, I like to use step 1 of this recipe for Cooking Light for the spread (I used the sage from my herb garden…my first harvest of the year!):

Mayo/Mustard Shallot & Sage Spread

I cut up the tomatoes and washed the lettuce and put them all out on one plate. I cooked the bacon in the oven on a baking sheet at 400 degrees (approx 15-2o minutes depending on your oven). I then used the broiler to toast the bread on baking sheets right before we sat down to dinner. It was a great meal to serve to guests as I could get the majority of things taken care of ahead of time (washing the lettuce, washing and cutting the tomatoes, cooking the bacon, slicing the bread, and making the spread). I was able to enjoy the time on our roof deck watching the sunset. (Pictures of our revitalized deck coming soon…I just need a sunny weekend day to take the pics and for Husband M to make a few planter moves).

For dessert, I decided to go with my all-time favorite- strawberry shortcake. I picked up 4 pints of local strawberries from the market (I can’t remember which stand I ended up going to, but there are 4-5 stands which carry them this time of year). I had some leftover buttermilk from another dinner, so I used the recipe on the side of the carton to make buttermilk biscuits. Husband M picked up some heavy cream from the grocery store on his walk home from the bus stop (as well as a can of ReddiWip for himself…nasty!) Before our guests got here I made the biscuits and washed & cut up the strawberries. I then mixed the strawberries with a half of cup of sugar…it looks like a lot, but it tastes so good and they become really juicy after they sit in it for about an hour (or longer if possible). Right before I served the dessert, I mixed the heavy cream up with the KitchenAid to make whipped cream. The process goes a little bit faster if you put the mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the fridge for 30-60 minutes to get them nice and cold.

I really love the idea of skipping the grocery store and doing all my shopping at the farmers’ market. Not only does everything taste better, but I like to support local farmers and their awesome products. I have been going to the same market for a few years now (and grew up going to farmers markets in the upstate NY area), but it seems like it is more popular than ever. It would definitely be an interesting stat to see if farmers’ market volume have picked up at all within the past few years due to the green/local/organic movements. Granted, I did have to use some items that I had previously purchased at the grocery store and had to pick up one item that day, but I would really like to purchase as many things as possible going to the farmers market this summer.

What meals have you prepared using solely the market? Have farmers markets in your area become more popular recently?

-m

Posted by Meaghan Barry on March 7, 2010

Although it is still not quite spring here in Boston, the slightly warmer weather and longer days are making me thing ahead to spring. There are definitely a number of things I am looking forward to with the warm weather around the corner. I wanted to share my favorite spring activities in Boston (in no particular order):

1. Walking around Castle Island each evening before dinner