We Went to Boston

And All I got was this Lousy T-Shirt.

Just kidding. I didn't buy or get a t-shirt there.  BUT I did find my dream restaurant. For some reason I had in my head that I was going to eat at a vegetarian restaurant there.  When we travel we don't really seek out veggie restaurants, we can eat something anywhere we go, but I knew I had to find one in Boston.  We met up with our friend Robin who just moved there and we sat around the hotel room looking on yelp and google for a vegetarian restaurant.  All that kept coming up was Indian Food or Mexican. Been there done that. So we said lets just get in the car and head to our other friend's house and find a place on the way.  We were driving through Cambridge and I glanced up and read the words "Organic Oasis". I said: "OH! Stop the car, we just passed a place!!"  We found a parking spot and walked back to the restaurant. It was called "Life Alive".  It was perfect.  It was everything I ever wanted in a restaurant and definitely everything I wanted Saturday night for dinner.  All VEGETARIAN, ORGANIC, FRESH, DELICIOUS and reasonably priced food.  I was practically jumping up and down.  PLUS, one of my favorite things in the world is "Something delicious to drink".  Most of the time when I crave something it is "Something delicious to drink".  I'll say: "you know what I really want right now? Something delicious to drink."  Well, that can be anything. Sometimes it's fresh lemonade from a street fair, other times it is carrot juice, water, flavored water, chocolate milk - the list goes on and on. Anyway, they serve fresh juices and smoothies and I am pretty sure I had the best smoothie of my life, so far, there.

Josh had the The Kiddie Quesadilla, Robin had The Sufi Poet and I ordered The Fool (it was not foolish - it was delicious).  I asked the lady working there what was the best smoothie and she recommended the Vibrance Alive.  I love her for it.  Then this conversation happened:
Lady:  Do you want to eat upstairs or Downstairs?
Me: Hmmm... Doesn't matter, which is better for a 1 1/2 year old.
Lady:  Doesn't matter, both are good.  BUT downstairs has a play area.
Me: Oh. Then downstairs.


Did you catch that?!  A play area in a restaurant that isn't Chuck E. Cheese.


I am not getting paid for this by the way.  But if you are ever in the Boston area and want something healthy, you should eat there. Kids are welcome.


Here are some pictures:

Other Boston highlights included stumbling upon the Anime Convention. That was a cultural experience.  Eating at The Paramount and walking around Boston Commons. All in all I give Boston Two very enthusiastic thumbs up. Fine holiday fun.

A Few things to Share

this has nothing to do with this post. just like this picture.

You probably already know how important I think natural/organic/safe products are.  Here are some quick tips I feel like sharing.


Plastics - I try to avoid buying plastics when possible, but I am not ready to live a plastic free life. If you do use plastics, pay attention to the numbers found on the bottom of the plastic item. #2, #4, and #5 are considered the safer options because they are least toxic and can be recycled easier.  Never microwave plastics and avoid storing fatty or acidic foods in plastic containers.

Food- Eat less meat and more whole grains. Obviously eat more homemade food and avoid canned food **especially canned tomato products - even organic**  they can be lined with BPA.  If you can afford to buy some organic produce, aim for celery, spinach (ALL leafy greens), ALL BERRIES, peaches, nectarines, apples, potatoes and grapes. Be careful of the fish you eat. Try to AVOID: Tuna (bigeye and Ahi), Shark, Mackerel, Orange Roughy, Tilefish and Marlin.
Look at labels!  Avoid the following ingredients: Artificial Colors - anything beginning with FD&C, Chemical Preservatives: BHA, sodium nitrate, sodium benzoate. Artificial Sweeteners: aspartame, acesulfame-k, saccharin. Added Sugars: High frustose corn syrup, dextrose, etc)

Gemetically Modified fruit and veggies are all over the place.  It is hard to avoid them these days (heck, i even read that they may be releasing GM mosquitoes in the keys soon) but here are some tips to avoid them: Buy Organic, Look for Non-GMO certified seals, Avoid at-risk ingredients including
soybeans, canola, cottonseed, corn, and sugar from sugarbeets, Get a Non-GMO shopping app on your smart phone. I have this one: Shop No GMO and The Non GMO Project.  Both are free and easy to use.

I have a lot of other tips to pass your way next week. In the meantime, watch this funny video.  I know they are a little played out, but this one - It's like they were following me. :)

Blueberries and Basil

Mmmmm... Why are berries so good? Every kind of berry I can think of right now is so good. Except the berries that made my lip swell up that one time. If you know the story you might be laughing right now. If you don't- it's pretty funny and very Carly.

Remember last year when I was so excited about my CSA? We did it again this year, and have been lucky enough to get a ton of delicious organic blueberries and basil each week. Sonny, loves blueberries too, so it works out perfect and we almost names him Basil They are just the right size for his tiny fingers to pick up and eat. Sometimes he likes to squish them by the fist full first, but mostly he will just eat them one by one.

With all the blueberries we have been getting, I've been thinking and experimenting with ways to use them before they go bad. Aside from the obvious of putting them in salads (i love this), I have two new favorite ways to include blueberries in my cooking.

1st- Sautéed with Veggies. I used fresh green beans from our farm share one day and zucchini from the farm share the next. Although they were both good, I think the zucchini was a little bit better, The moisture from the zucchinis helped to make the blueberries super soft and syrupy. It was almost like eating blueberry pie guts.
If you want to try it this is roughly what I did:

2- small zucchini (sliced)
salt and pepper (to your taste)
a lot of basil leaves (sliced or chopped)
2- tbsp of pine nuts
enough olive oil to thinly coat the bottom of your pan
handful of blueberries

Heat olive oil and throw in the zucchini (when the oil is hot enough to sizzle when a drop of water is introduced). Sautee the zucchinis for about 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly to make sure both sides of each have had a chance to get olive oiled and hot. Add the pine nuts, basil and salt and pepper. Sautee another 2-3 minutes (on lower flame), make sure you keep stirring, otherwise the nuts will burn. When the zucchini looks soft and tasty, add the blueberries. For the next minute or two, gently mix it all together (on low heat). Voila! All done. I added some golden quinoa and it made it perfect.



That is fresh corn with basil butter and sprinkled with black caraway seeds

 2nd - Grilled Mozzarella Cheese, Basil, Blueberry Sandwich

The title says it all. This was so good. We were eating grilled cheese and basil sandwiches with blueberries on the side and josh said : "I bet blueberries in the sandwich would be really good." The next day I followed that suggestion and it was NOT a disappointment. If I had a sandwich shop, I would 100% sell this sandwich. If you want to try it, this is what I did:


Mozzarella Cheese (sliced) I used this.
Fresh basil leaves
Blueberries
Organic multi-grain bread
Butter (I used this)

If you don't know how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, I'm sorry.
Just in case- here you go:

Butter one side of each slice of bread you are using. Put the bread butter side down on the frying pan that has been on a medium/high flame. Let it warm up for about 30 seconds. Layer your cheese slices on the bread (according to your taste- do you like it super cheesy or thin? your call). Lower fire to medium. Don't touch it for about a minute and a half (depending on how much cheese you put on). Let the cheese get a little melty- not too melty, just glossy looking. Add basil leaves, and scatter a few blueberries on top. Wait about 30-45 seconds, add the other piece of bread on top (butter side up). Flip the sandwich over. Watch the cheese between the bread and when it gets nice and melted looking, you are done!

When you have your sandwich and you are going to cut it in half, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - make sure you cut it diagonally. Grilled Cheese MUST ALWAYS be cut on a diagonal.

Oh!  and look at this pretty bell pepper we got with our farm share.  I'd never seen a purple one!