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Making memories around our table

Boston Harbor Hotel…a pampering retreat offering both urban and ocean fun!

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Something in my universe realigns itself when those first September winds bring those soft whispers of fall promises along with those first bites of  cinnamon and spices snugly baked into apple cider donuts. I am most alive and in tune with myself and my world at this time of year. Everything I see around me seems to be in sharper contrast, more vividly colored, and more festive and lively. I love the 4 distinct seasons New England offers…but fall was tailor made for me. Hot cups of spiced tea, flickering candles with scents like “Autumn Dusk” and “Cozy by the Fire”, and last luscious bites of tangy creamy lemon tart with a gingerbread crust…all culminate in feelings of calmness and beauty. To say I am a sensory oriented person…would be an understatement!

Fall is the time for road trips along winding country roads with piles of falling leaves crunching under the tires. While we plan on squeezing our weekends full of all that New Hampshire offers during this season, we are also going to jump into the urban festivities, open air markets, and the revving up of Broadway shows, ballets, and concerts that Boston rolls out beginning in October. Boston has become a city that has captured our hearts in the last 6 months. We’ve experienced the city streets and chocolate colored brownstones blanketed by flakes of white snow, gazed in wonder in the springtime at the city parks perfumed with dainty tissue-like blossoms of cherry trees, and enjoyed the open air restaurants that push the dining scene way out onto the city sidewalks to encourage soaking up all the rays of sun that summer in the city has to offer.

One recent trip to Boston was most wonderfully highlighted by a stay at The Boston Harbor Hotel on the waterfront harbor of the Boston Main Channel. What a terrific location to be in Boston. The Boston Harbor Hotel sits right at the entrance to Rowe’s Wharf and is just minutes walk from South Street train/bus station. On the western side of the hotel, the city of Boston hums along as people go to work in the Financial District, shop at the open air Dewey Square Farmer’s Market, and relax in the long narrow expanse of the Rose Kennedy Greenway. And then on the eastern side of the hotel, the scenery completely changes to offer ocean views with massive ocean ready cruise boats bobbing up and down in the salty seagull populated water and a handsome Harbor Boardwalk that  meanders all along the water front.

The Boston Harbor Hotel is a perfect location in the city that offers that wonderful balance between urban enticements and energy and coastal harbor front fun and relaxation on the ocean. We had a delicious ocean inspired dinner in the nautically inspired Rowe’s Wharf Sea Grille. Every dish was artfully presented from our cocktail, called “Aphrodite’s Potion”, to the excellent tuna tartar appetizer, perfectly grilled swordfish, and creative strawberry short cake dessert.

In the mornings and evenings, we walked along the wooden harbor front boardwalk that runs for miles all along the Boston water front. Across the harbor is another bank of fun and lively seafood restaurants that offer terrific night time views of the shimmering lights of the Boston skyline against the setting sun. At sunrise, the sun slides up from the ocean expanse casting all of the boats in the harbor in sharp contrast and creating a nether world canvas of golden light.

Our stay at the Boston Harbor Hotel  was decadent, calming, and delicious. The staff were attentive, friendly, and upbeat. The restaurants are perfectly decorated and in tune with their ocean front surroundings.  Having such a luxurious and beautiful stay always inspires me to journey home and extend that creativity into the kitchen. This stay in Boston inspired this tart and luscious lemon tart!

Enjoy these photos!   At the bottom, I have listed and linked the stops and to do’s that we enjoyed the most in this excellent part of the city of Boston.

 

Ethereal sunrise on the ocean side of The Boston Harbor hotel with the little sailboats in sharp contrast bobbing up and down to the shrieks of the sea gulls calling.

 

The fresh flowers are all over the Boston Harbor Hotel and look like elegant miniature paintings

 

Breakfast entry…complete with nautically inspired dining area overlooking the ocean side of The Boston Harbor Hotel

 

The little Bonne Maman jars of jam always make me smile because as a child, our daughter would never open hers but would tuck it into her little purse as the most wonderful (in her opinion) keepsake!

 

Inspired by our Boston Harbor Hotel stay, a luscious tart and creamy Lemon Thyme Tart with Gingerbread Crust.

 

On one side of the hotel is easy walking to the South Street Train Station, Chinatown, Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston Commons, and Theatre District.

 

One of the many expansive and handsome seating areas of The Boston Harbor Hotel

 

An enticing urban view from our room filled with all of the little luxuries that make staying at The Boston Harbor Hotel such a pampering treat.

 

Home in New Hampshire, readying for the fall season with spiced teas and scented candles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dewey Farmer’s Market is a fun walk from the hotel (on the city side). There is a lovely community garden there and wonderful city artscapes that add character this area that leads into the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rowe’s Wharf Sea Grille 

Boston Harbor Hotel

Boston Harbor Hotel (map)

Rowe’s Wharf Bar 

Dewey Square Farmer’s Market

Rose Kennedy Greenway

The Daily Catch Seaport (restaurant)

The Boston Waterfront Harbor walk

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Lemon Tart with Gingersnap Crust
 
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Coming soon!

 

Boston’s South End neighborhood…peeling back the diverse layers, because there are many

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Patrick and I were sitting snugly in our two antique rocking chairs on our front porch last weekend sipping our strong dark roast coffee with thick cream stirred in and whipped foam resting on top. We sipped slowly on our favorite brew…rocked a bit more…sipped a bit more. Sometimes, we’ll milk that coffee for upwards of an hour before we plunge into the line up of all that needs to be done when you own and are refurbishing an 1828 farmhouse.

We watched from the dry front porch as it poured rain on New Hampshire last weekend and everyone welcomed a glorious saturation of the parched earth. We can see the Warner river from our front porch and the the water roared with sounds of it tumbling over the huge granite boulders, flowing under the red painted covered bridge, and crashing downstream. It was a lovely scene. We soak up every minute of quiet in our little village of Warner.  The rain pelted down and filled the soil with goodness as we watched all of the garden flowers  spring back to life. On this old creaky porch, rocking in our old creaky chairs, we do some heavy reflecting, talking, and planning. For instance, like how the porch itself has paint peeling and needs a good white washing. But, that project is for another time…our plates this summer were full and its time for a bit of a rest!

When we moved to New Hampshire, we planned to slow down and smell the roses a bit  more but our nomadic tendencies continue to present us with a lifestyle that takes us from one adventure to the next. We’re not doing anything exotic, mind you, but this new for us lifestyle living in Boston a portion of the week and returning to the bucolic quiet of New Hampshire tickles and fulfills our desire for a mutual balance as well as craving for a combined rural and urban lifestyle.

Slowing down on weekends means long meals at the table, perhaps a few bottles of good red wine, and lately lots of bowls of fresh cherries. My antique silver pitchers on the kitchen table rotate from holding clusters of aromatic lilacs, then sweet flowered dogwood branches, then puffy peonies, some scented lavender…and now bunches of just blooming Roses of Sharon. Typically, this pleasure of a long awaited dinner is  followed by lots of work in the garden(s) as well as continued renovations on our upstairs guest bath. Speaking of guest bath…it is finally completed! I love it and will try and do the fun before & photos and post them here. We’re moving one room at a time upstairs now. The laundry room needs a few more finishing touches. The bedrooms will each be emptied out as we tackle preserving the gorgeous pumpkin floors and giving them the care they need. I’m trying not to go crazy with the William Morris wallpaper love affair I have going…but I see a bit of it in each of the guest rooms. I just know the future owners of this house will probably say, “What was SHE THINKING?” as they labor to remove my ever-blooming wall paper passion.

This dish made last weekend has become a favorite. The flavors are few but so fresh and strong. It is a skillet roasted chicken dish with a wonderful combination of honey, lemon, parsley and leeks. The chicken thighs are seared until the skin is caramelized and crisp. The leeks are sautéed until slightly browned and then stirred with the lemon juice and honey. This simple deliciousness is served on a bed of chewy soft hearty brown rice.

In our Boston life, we’ve been getting familiar with the South End neighborhood. What a wonderful part of Boston to explore. There is so much to like about this part of the city and since I am a food blogger, I would say the restaurant options here are our favorites! There is something about the South End that is different from the other neighborhoods. The pace is relaxed and quiet but by no means sleepy. The mood on the street is companionable and inclusive. Not only are the sidewalks filled with diverse faces but it is reflected in the small cozy local eateries here as so many ethnic groups are represented in the restaurants that call South End home. Real life is happening in this neighborhood with the tourists settled mostly over in Downtown Crossing and Back Bay areas. Dogs sit comfortably and safely outside Foodie’s Market on Washington Street waiting for their owners. Don Quijote Market is a few blocks south and is a fun Spanish grocery market. Then 5 or 6 blocks north sits Ming’s Supermarket, a wonderful Asian market bursting with fresh vegetables and everything imaginable for cooking Asian cuisine.

Families, bringing their children to daycare and school, walk leisurely  on the bumpy brick tree lined sidewalks. I saw lots of babies being pushed in strollers and children playing in the quaint flower filled pocket parks nestled throughout South End. Two bakeries, Flour, located along bustling Washington Street as well as The Buttery, located off of the undeniably adorable Union Park, offer delicious pastries and coffees with side walk seating for meeting up with friends for long 2 hour chat sessions (Hi Chenedra! Thank you!)

The Worcester Street community gardens certainly caught my eye and it has been fun returning over several weeks from spring to summer to watch these spaces being carefully maintained and groomed. Now, it is bursting with flowers and I am green with envy over their 6 foot tall hollyhocks. In New Hampshire, my hollyhocks are about 5 inches tall. I suspect they are being nibbled on by our resident wood chuck (and her baby woodchuck that I’ve seen wobbling near the vegetable garden). I’m going to list all of our favorite spots to visit in South End at the end of the post in case someone wants to use our experiences as a guide. We’ll certainly return to one of the wonderful Sonder rental apartments here again because we are already craving the Michoui, a marinated roasted lamb shank (falling off the bone) served with a caramelized onion sauce and moroccan couscous at Teranga, a Senegalese restaurant… and the Mechada empanadas, Venezuelan style stewed shredded beef,  at Orinoco Latin Cuisine…and the Cambodian/French fusion dishes at The Elephant Walk…

 

Along the Currier & Ives trail early in the morning from the top of Gould Hill Apple Farm looking north towards the White Mountains in New Hampshire. I didn’t have my DLSR camera with me and this was taken with my phone camera. Wish I had  the big camera with me as the scene was stunning and this photo doesn’t do it justice.

 

Another sunrise shot with the cell phone from the top of the hills in New Hampshire as the early morning fog rested in the valley. Oh, to have had my big camera with me…note to self.

 

 

Sonder Stays is a company that offers fun stylish furnished apartments in Boston as well as many other cities in the US. We’ve loved their selection of apartments and this has given us the opportunity to jump all over Boston to get to know the city and make transitioning back and forth from NH to Boston easy.

 

The gardens in front of the Boston Center for the Arts in South End

 

Adorable flower filled pocket parks like this one, called Union Park, provide a quaint centerpiece for the surrounding cinnamon colored brownstones adorned with flower boxes dripping with flowers.

Orinoco Latin Kitchen! Incredibly delicious Latin American food, quiet tree lined setting, and wonderful service. The lamb chops were the best we’ve ever eaten! I asked the chef for a photo. He was all smiles before hand and then got professional and serious and struck this pose for the camera. He loved getting his photo taken but not with a silly grin…he was all business! Adorable.

 

 

Orinoco Latin Kitchen (above)

Sonder Apartment rentals in Back Bay. Some are in quaint brownstones with bowed front windows that really make you feel like you are living as a local.

 

 

Anoushella…a delicious stop for Eastern Mediterranean food. We ate the spiced minced lamb/beef Lamajun flatbread wrap as well as the Anoushella kofta which was a big bowl of  hummus, spiced lamb + beef kofta, topped with mint, pomegranate, sumac onion, parsley mix, tahini, and zhouk sauces.

 

Teranga Senegalese food (above)…one of our favorites!  Everything we have tried here as been delicious. From the croquettes de poisson to the yucca fries, and the Michoui, which is marinated roasted lamb shank (falling off the bone) served with a caramelized onion sauce and moroccan couscous. We find ourselves craving Michoui and can’t wait to return again for our 3rd time!

 

 

 

 

 

Favorites in order of preference in the South End Boston neighborhood:

Teranga – Senegalese food that is spiced wonderfully and one of our favorites

Orinoco Latin Kitchen 

The Elephant Walk – Cambodian/French fusion

Anoushella –  Eastern Mediterranean cuisine

South End Buttery – adorable bakery/café off of quaint Union Park

Sonder Stays – furnished apartment rentals all over Boston neighborhoods

Worcester Community Garden – community members have little patches of earth and create the most wonderful little gardens in their spaces.

Foodie’s – a nice grocery store for buying fresh and prepared foods.

Ming’s Supermarket 

Boston Center for the Arts  – a 501 nonprofit visual and performing arts complex in the South End neighborhood

South End Flower Market

Local Baskit – Concord, NH based cook-at-home meal delivery kits –  sourcing some ingredients locally

 

Seared Chicken with tangy honey lemon flavored leeks over a bed of chewy brown rice
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 2 lemons
  • 2 leeks
  • fresh parsley
  • 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse lemons, pat dry, and zest. Then halve and juice lemons. Trim leeks and thinly slice white and light green parts (I use my mandolin for this). Rinse them in several changes of water to remove any traces of soil. Drain well. Rinse parsley, pat dry, and chop coarsely
  2. Rinse rice in a fine mesh sieve. Heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium high heat in a medium saucepan. Add rice and toast until dry and starting to brown slightly, until the rice is fragrant. Add 2 cups and 1 tsp salt and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low very low and cover. Cook at a bare simmer for 45 minutes. When the rice is tender and most of the water has been absorbed, fluff with a fork and leave covered until serving time to allow the cooked rice to steam slightly.
  3. Brown chicken with salt and pepper, then massage lemon zest into chicken. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat and add 1 TBS of olive oil to the pan. Add chicken to pn and sear on each side for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.
  4. To the same pan of juices, add leeks and season with salt. Sauté, sitrring occasionally, about 10 minutes, until stating to brown. Remove pan from heat and stir in lemon juice and honey. Return browned chicken thighs to pan and mound leeks on top of chicken. Transfer skilled to oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through (I also use an instant read thermometer and take the chicken off at 150˚F and let it sit for about 5 minutes)
  5. Divide rice between plates, then top with chicken and leeks. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

 

A Country Life…A City Life?…Cooking our way in a New Hampshire farmhouse and eating our way through Boston’s Fenway neighborhood

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I’m sitting at my long narrow wooden kitchen table marveling out of the back patio window at three years worth thus far of trials and tribulations of gardening. The trumpet vine I planted in the corner of the porch is thriving now; I’ve carefully strung it along the porch roof. The delicate and heavenly scented flowers in hues of soft buttery yellow and smooth sorbet pink dangle from the vines in the rain inviting the red throated hummingbirds to come and drink its alluring nectar.

Polly is attempting to perch herself on my shoulder so she can get a good cheek rub from the plastic hair clip I’m wearing. She also keeps a sharp eye out at the same time for the little warbler that dashes back and forth from the woods to what must be a nest under the eaves of the back porch. There are so many birds nests tucked under the eaves of the farmhouse and all over the barn, I believe we’ve finally all come to live in harmony with one another.

Well, no, I take that back. We’re still working on a relationship with a pair of robins at the front porch. Patrick and I like to have our morning coffee when we return from Boston on our front porch. A pair of robins have their nest of baby birds tucked into a corner eave there. As soon as we get cozy in our rocking chairs, the robins begin their campaign to drive us back inside. One robin swoops as close as it dares to where we are sitting while the other makes alarming calls from the nearest tree branch. We can see the little baby bird heads poking just a fraction above the nest…frozen as if by command from their parents. For 3 weekends now,  we move our chairs away from them more and more until we feel like intruders on our own property and eye them with a big of fear and panic. Last week our rocking chairs were pooped all over. Wonder by whom? After hosing down the chairs, we finally scooted over enough to make them happy and so now we can have our coffee in relative peace as they resume their worm delivery to the baby chicks who instantly come to life and squeal loudly stretching their baby beaks impossibly wide. We don’t want to miss the show as we sip on our brew, but good golly, we understand who is boss around here.

I’ve returned in the middle of a downpour from the wet, shiny, noisy streets of Boston to the green country roads that wind up and over the hills of New Hampshire and bring us to our beloved farmhouse. My head swirls at the contrast between these two lifestyles we’ve been living for the last 2 months now as I hang a load of clothes on the outdoor line to dry. Everything here in New Hampshire is beautifully  still…wonderfully still. The air is thick with moisture from the woods and scented by little jewels like my trumpet vine flowers, soft dainty glowing astilbe, overflowing herb garden, and clusters of royal purple meadow sage.

We are growing to love Boston and are relishing the opportunity to get to know this grand dame of a historical city. When we return to the woods of New Hampshire we squeeze every second out of country living. Twice now we’ve stayed in the Fenway neighborhood using the wonderfully styled furnished apartments offered by the company, Sonder Boston. Fenway is so lively and fun. We knew nothing about the neighborhood except for the existence of Fenway stadium. Exploring the baseball section of the neighborhood is much less touristy than I thought it would be. The neighborhoods surrounding the stadium are stocked with really good restaurants, fun and trendy shops, and tree lined cinnamon colored brownstones. Students with their backpacks roam the area going to and from their apartments because the Fenway area is ringed by colleges and universities. There is a beautiful winding park called the Emerald Necklace that is filled with community gardens, duck filled ponds, and cherry blossom trees. Tucked in between all of this are two important museums to Boston, the Isabella Gardner Museum as well as The Museum of Fine Arts. Restaurants of all ethnicities can be found here and our favorites were  Japanese at Sushi Kappo , Mexican at El Pelon Taqueriea, and fusion pizza at Tapestry. I’ve listed everything at the bottom of the post if anyone wants a few places to try out that we really enjoyed. If you go to Fenway, try out the donuts at Blackbird Donuts. The display of donuts isn’t that impressive. I almost passed on trying them because I wasn’t wow’d by the set up. But, then I sampled one…and then another on the next week …they are worth it. Blackbird keeps their donuts simple…but very delicious.

Oh, and I should mention our continued enjoyment of fresh foods delivered to our farmhouse from the Concord company Local Baskit. The recipe I featured here is a wonderfully healthy dish called Crispy Bacon wrapped Halloumi on a bed of spring greens.

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve transplanted dozens of irises that I’ve found all over the property into the garden beds. Very happily I can report that they call seemed to survive and bloomed beautifully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transplanted about 20 columbine plants and happy to see that they are also thriving and spreading quickly.

 

 

Coming home from Boston on some back roads and came across this big red beauty.

 

The cherry blossoms that ring The Emerald Necklace Park in the Fenway neighborhood are not to be missed…you can see them blooming in late May/Early June.

 

 

 

The Emerald Necklace walking trail meanders all through the park and is just lovely with its community gardens thriving in pockets all over the park.

 

Blackbird Donuts in Fenway neighborhood. We’re sold. This one was a pomegranate glaze over a vanilla cake donut.

 

 

Looking for macarons in Boston? Café Nero Coffee shop has a nice selection

 

This Sonder apartment was gorgeous. It was on the 21rst floor and the views of Boston were spectacular.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favorites List of Boston’s Fenway Neighborhood:

Tapestry Pizza

Emerald Necklace Walking Trail and Park

Museum of Fine Arts

Blackbird Donuts

Macarons at Café Nero

El Pelon Taqueria

Sushi Kappo

Sonder Apartment Rentals in Boston

Emack & Bolios Ice Cream

Local Baskit Meal Delivery service

Bacon Wrapped Halloumi Cheese over microgreen and pea salad
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 TBS red wine vinegar
  • frozen or fresh peas
  • handful of scallions
  • pea shoots or microgreens
  • 1 package bacon (keep what not used for breakfast)
  • 1 packages of Halloumi cheese
Instructions
  1. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Place the frozen peas in a colander and pour the boiling water over. Let drain. Rinse and trim the spring onions and thinly slice the white and green parts. Rinse the micro greens and pat dry.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk the Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar. Add 1½ TBS olive oil and whisk to combine, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the peas and sliced spring onions and toss to combine.
  3. Cut the Halloumi into 8 slices. Gently stretch the bacon to make it a bit thinner. Wrap a slice of bacon around each slice of cheese. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Fry the bacon-wrapped Halloumi, turning several times until the cheese is beginning to brown and the bacon is crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
  4. Add the micro greens to the pea salad and toss gently. To serve, divide the salad between the serving plates and top with the bacon-wrapped Halloumi cheese.

 

 

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