City dwellers today have larger access than ever to fresh, locally grown produce thanks to the popularity of farmers’ markets. Bostonians are fortunate to have access to several thriving city markets, but unique on the list, and not to be missed, is the Copley Square market. When I moved from a city suburb of Boston to an […]
boston
What induces a man to retrieve old cat litter from the garbage and then wander outside under a darkening sky in his bare feet to stuff the mix in a hole in the ground? Garden rage, my friends. Plain and simple. Allow me to back up. When my wife and I returned to New Hampshire […]
Food
A Seaside Feast
I love being a food and home editor and I love working for Yankee. But recently, I had a “I really, really love my job!” moment when I was invited down to South Kingstown, RI, for a dinner at chef William Kovel’s family house by the beach. Kovel has been one of my favorite chefs […]
Main Dishes
New England by the Numbers | Stats
8 the late Red Auerbach’s ranking in CIGAR AFICIONADO’s list of “The Top 100 Cigar Smokers of the Twentieth Century.” The cigar of choice for the legendary Boston Celtics coach: Hoyo de Monterrey. Winston Churchill ranked number 1; JFK and Fidel Castro, 2 and 3, respectively. 62,336 major league baseball games analyzed by Northeastern University […]
Food
The Trifecta
This past Saturday, I faced a delicious dilemma: When you’ve had a perfect breakfast and lunch, where do you go for dinner? It started at Sofra, Ana Sortun and Maura Kilpatrick’s incredible bakery in Cambridge, MA. My parents were in town to celebrate Father’s Day, so we treated them to a breakfast of glazed orange […]
Christine Chitnis traveled to more than 50 venues while writing Markets of New England (The Little Bookroom, 2011), and she knows a good one when she sees it. Chitnis writes for local and national publications, often on farming and sustainability, and blogs at christinechitnis.com. See her five “honorable mentions.” MAINE Portland Farmers’ Market Portland’s first […]
In April 24, 1895, Captain Joshua Slocum set sail from Boston, Massachusetts, in a 37-foot sloop he called Spray. He was alone. Three years, two months, two days, and 46,000 miles later, he dropped anchor in Newport, Rhode Island, having completed the first solo voyage around the globe–unless you accept his claim that the ghost […]
I’m writing this on a sun-splashed (finally!) afternoon, after so many days of cold rain it seemed as if all of New England had collectively willed the heat away after the temperature peaked near 100 only a week ago. It seems that we do have that power sometimes: thousands of people all praying silently (or […]
Here’s the view from my “office” today. We’re doing a three-day photo shoot for the new Yankee Favorites cookbook (see last year’s edition), due out in mid-October, and the setting is the beautiful studio of photographer Heath Robbins. This is, hands-down, the nicest studio I’ve ever worked in—5000 square feet of well-lit studio, office, kitchen, and comfortable […]
Few places incorporate my love of New England, tradition, and baking like the King Arthur Flour Company in Norwich, Vermont. I recently spent two days there as a participant in their first official “Blog and Bake” retreat, and I left feeling reassured that bakers everywhere are, and will continue to be, well supplied and supported […]
People often ask me where they should eat, and I enjoy solving the puzzle. Last week, I even butted into a conversation between two strangers who were contemplating an overpriced, under-performing North End restaurant. When I get the sense that people are visiting from out of town, it seems like a professional obligation to make […]
Between this beautiful stretch of weather and the gardens blooming all around us, my thoughts are turning to springtime pleasures and rhubarb and strawberry season, and then, because of the flowers, to decidedly feminine treats like afternoon tea. And we’re blessed to have many delightful tea rooms in New England. I’ve learned to stop saying […]