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Video Post! Ode to Summer and Welcome to Fall

September 23, 2011 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | 13 comments

Le sigh. Following the brutal winter of 2011 I definitely discovered that I am a girl of summer. It was a good one, with trips to NJ, Cape Cod, and lots and lots of boating on Boston Harbor. I don’t quite get why people are excited for chilly air or to wear sweaters again; we’ll be wearing them for the next eight months. I’m still sick of my winter coat from last year.

But, as life goes, I don’t have control over the change of seasons, so I thought I would bid summer farewell with this very silly video, with yours truly commentating.

 

And now I can welcome fall. I do love fall, I just loathe what comes after. For now, I look forward to my first pumpkin beer (I held off this long!), all sorts of food and drink made with pumpkin, cinnamon, and maple flavors, apple picking, cool nights after warm days (not cold nights, mind you), the smell of woodburning stoves, long hot bubble baths with a glass of red wine, wearing my new boots,and of course holidays.

Fall is looking busy already starting with the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, dinner with friends at The Brahmin, a potluck dinner, a Boston Blogger Bash at M.J. O’Connor’s, a dinner party with Ted Allen (!!!!), Boston Brunchers birthday brunch, and lots more.

Trips to Sonoma, Ireland, and hopefully Italy round out the season in November. It looks like there is definitely a lot to look forward to. Happy first day of fall and happy weekend, everyone!

 

What are your favorite things about fall, and what are you most looking forward to in the coming months?

If you have a second, check out my post on pitching to bloggers over on my Pop! Marketing Communications site and weigh in:

http://www.popmarcomm.com/2011/09/22/pitching-to-bloggers/

Tags: Boston, fall, summer, Travel

Spicy Cod with Heirloom Tomatoes

September 6, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 10 comments

Summer produce really hits its peak at the end of August and in early September here in Massachusetts. It takes us quite awhile to warm up, but when we do, there is no shortage of colorful, flavorful, local beauty. It’s comforting, when everything becomes so much about autumn, that our summer gets to linger a little in the form of vegetables, warm days, and meals outside.

As I mentioned in my Saturday post, we both had a rough work week. I won’t get into it, but it was more than your average bad week, and it brought a lot of uncertainty, one of my least favorite things.

What do I do in those tough times? I cook and take pictures of food, of course!

I found these glorious, spicy local peppers and knew that I needed them, not just to eat, but to photograph. I arranged and re-arranged them and took more than a few shots before chopping them for a Spicy Cod with Heirloom Tomatoes.

spicy peppers

This summer I have fallen in love with these sweet little gems, Sun Gold tomatoes. They are truly sunshine in a little bite, and I had a hard time not eating them all on the way home.

sungold tomatoes

Other ingredients in this simpler is better summer dish included cilantro, lime, and fresh ginger.

cilantro and lime

And of course about 2.5 pounds of beautiful cod.

cod

Making this dish was simple; I did not want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen on a perfect evening after a long day, so I simply chopped a bunch of the peppers and added them, along with tomatoes, to the cod, which I sliced in thin fillets. I drizzled the fish with a beautiful olive oil I picked up at Trader Joe’s, a spicy but fruity, aromatic oil that only cost about $6. A sprinkle of sea salt, and I put the fish into the oven at 400 until it was nice and flaky, about 12 minutes. Definitely keep an eye on it, as you don’t want it to dry out.

Spicy Cod with Heirloom Tomatoes

When I plated the fish, I made sure to include lots of peppers and bursting tomatoes, as well as adding a squeeze of fresh lime juice, grated ginger, and cilantro.

Spicy Cod with Heirloom Tomatoes

Perfect, summery, simple. And I should mention, inspired by Michelle’s recent fish with tomatoes and cilantro.

How are you enjoying the simple pleasures of the last lingering bits of summer?

Tags: dinner, fish, Food, produce, recipe, summer, vegetables

Heirloom Tomatoes

August 12, 2011 in Food by traveleatlove | 15 comments

I tweeted yesterday that I wanted to eat heirloom tomatoes with goat cheese or burrata for the rest of the summer, and there really is a good chance that I will try my best to make that a reality. Is there anything better than heirloom tomatoes?

They cheer me up with their gorgeous hues, and their unique flavors are special, there are no tomatoes like them, and this makes heirloom tomato season so special.

On Wednesday after work, I headed from my Monday/Wednesday office in East Cambridge along the Charles and on to Charles Street to pick up a few things at Savenor’s for dinner. Being out of town all weekend meant no groceries, and I was in need of heirlooms.

Thankfully, they had them.

 

heirloom tomatoes

heirloom tomatoes

I picked up a few things, including this capra cremosa al tartufo, truffled goat cheese, and called ahead to ask my husband to chill a bottle of Secco.

capra cremosa al tartufo

Once I got home, I washed and chopped the tomatoes, covered them with a generous sprinkle of crumbled goat cheese, salt, pepper, and olive oil. With the pour of a glass of bubbly, dinner was served.

heirloom tomatoes

heirloom tomato salad

I ate tomatoes until I was stuffed, and surprisingly I wasn’t hungry for the rest of the night.

This light meal was a first step in trying to get back into eating naturally what feels right to me. I have been all over the place, going overboard eating and drinking at events, then getting restrictive at home to make up for it and just feeling generally not great about my eating habits. Trusting that I know what I want and should eat is a little easier this time of year, and I plan on embracing the rest of the season to eat fresh, delicious, good-for-me food.

I also tweeted yesterday that, try as I might, I could not get into oatmeal. I really want to like it, but I find the texture to me awful, no matter what I mix in.

It made me realize that I don’t have to eat oatmeal. If I want yogurt and it makes me full, I’ll eat yogurt. I know that makes total sense, but lately I have been all aflutter in my head about what I am eating.

What foods are you gravitating toward right now? And for fun, what foods do you want to love, but just can’t get into?

Tags: eating, Food, summer, tomatoes, Vegetarian

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