BostonZest

Welcome to Marshall's Fenway Farmstand

 
Marshall's Fenway Farm Stand opened this week at 1345 Boylston Street. This is an offshoot of the popular, well-established Marshall's Farm Stand in Gloucester MA. 

Update: 12.6.09 Here's the new website for Marshall's Fenway Farm Stand.

On Sunday, we took advantage of the great weather, walked over to check them out and say, "welcome to the area." This opening is perfectly timed as we mourn the loss of our farmers' markets and are ready to welcome any sign of fresh, local, well-selected, homey, and friendly. Marshall's seem to fit the bill.

While they won't be able to sell all local products this time of year, they were offering as much local as they could, and the rest of the selections were of high quality. We picked up some crunchy, fresh Honey Crisp Apples and Essex Wildflower Honey.

 

They carry milk from Thatcher Farm in Milton MA. They were sampling the great Lark Cookies we told you about earlier this year. (http://www.bostonzest.com/2009/08/lovely-local-lark-cookies.html)

They have a little of this and a little of that - prepared foods, bread, olive oil, a bit of meat, and a bit of good dairy. You'll even find My Doggy Bites treats for your dog. You could certainly make a quick visit and put together a nice meal.


 
A crew was unloading holiday trees and decorations while we were there, and the Farm Stand tweeted that they would be set up today. For those of you who plan to tie that tree to the top of your car for the trip home, they even have parking.

Marshall's Fenway Farm Stand is less than a mile from Hynes Station for those in the Back Bay, and even less than that from Kenmore. It's convenient to the St Mary's area of Brookline, and not far from the Longwood Medical area. 

We hope readers from all those places will stop by and say hello to this neighborhood newcomer. It's another way to support local, fresh and the farmers of our area. And, with all the new retail along this stretch of Boylston Street, we found the walk to the Farm Stand a convenient way to complete our errands for the day.

Support BostonZest by beginning all your Amazon shopping from here. Just click on any Amazon link and shop as you normally would.

Details:
Marshall's Fenway Farm Stand
1345 Boylston Street, Boston, MA (Map)
http://twitter.com/marshallsfarm

http://www.marshallsfenway.com/index.htm

Gloucester location website
www.marshallsfarmstand.com

The Lola & Riley Show on The Sunday Dog Network

We promised you'd meet another of the neighborhood puppies this week. Sometimes it's just too tough to choose. So, we're adding an "s" to "Sunday Dog" and bringing you a pair of fun, fabulous, female friends. It's the Lola and Riley Show!

 

That's Lola, who has happily agreed to share the spotlight with her playmate, Riley....

 

Riley, just 4-months old, is the younger of these Back Bay girls. 

We're told that Lola has learned how to "give paw" and is "super smart for her age."

While still developing special tricks, Riley stays busy eating everything in sight and is a champion digger - a skill Lola also seems to have mastered...

Details:

Writer and narrator: Ed Cherubino

Photos & Video: © 2009, Penny Cherubino

Thanksgiving Roses in the Back Bay

Will the moderate temperature hold to allow these roses to make it into December?

We have not had a freeze in the heart of Boston. What's the record for the latest first freeze in Boston? 

 

Are you ready for the big chill? If you're a photographer or need a gift for one, we suggest a pair of these mitten gloves to keep your hands warm between shots.

Slow Food Boston Is Our Friday Link

In this week of thankfulness, we're making Slow Food Boston our Friday link. We're grateful to the members, volunteers and staff who spread the word about the slow food movement in our area.

We enjoy our own slow food occasions as often as we can. This weekend we're having a Portuguese feast with friends. Planning began weeks ago when we chose our theme, found a guidebook to the food, ordered a few wines, tracked down hard-to-find ingredients and threw out ideas about the menu.

On the big day, we'll shop, cook, and then gather at the table. The next few hours will be filled with eating, talking, tasting wines, and sharing what we learned about the food and culture.

Sound like fun? Next week you can attend a Boston Slow Food version of our event. Their evening is centered around Brazilian food. Here's what they say about it.

"On Thursday, December 3rd, Slow Food Boston teams up with the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers for a little Brazilian culinary tour. Local home cooks will whip up amazing Brazilian small dishes for us to sample as we sip a lovely capirinha and learn more about the food traditions in Brazil. A little 'cocktail party,' if you will, with better finger food than your average pigs-in-a-blanket."

Click here for additional information. There's also great information and a video of two of the cooks shopping for the event on their blog.

http://slow-food-boston-misc.blogspot.com/

Here's the wonderful book on Portuguese food that we're using as a guide for our feast.



Details:
Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photograph: iStockphoto.com
Slow Food Boston

www.slowfoodboston.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope all our readers have many reasons to be thankful.

Many thanks are due from us to you.

• Thanks to all who visit BostonZest on a daily or occasional basis.
• Thanks to the people we've interviewed, photographed and featured over the past year, both for this venue, and for our other writing assignments.
• Thanks to sites who link to our posts and bring new readers our way.
• Thanks to the advertisers who select BostonZest for their ads.
• And, a big thank you to everyone who begins their Amazon shopping from here.

Details:

Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photograph: © 2009 Penny Cherubino

Soter Pinot Noir, Mineral Springs Vineyard 2007 for Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving, with many aspects of the meal set by tradition, the exciting decision for us is the wine selection.

It's not often you have the opportunity to ask the winemaker from one of your favorite vineyards to personally select the wine for a special meal.

 

Soter winemaker, James Cahill with Ed

Thanks to Brix on Broad, we met winemaker James Cahill from Soter Vineyards, discussed our menu, and had him select the Soter Pinot Noir that would best complement our food.

He felt that his 2006 Soter Pinot Noir, Mineral Springs Vineyard would go well with the braised turkey recipe we described. (In fact, he liked the idea of this flavor profile so much, he was going to consider the recipe for his own turkey.)

At the Brix tasting, we'd already decided to buy a bottle of the Mineral Springs, but James' recommendation helped us place it with the right meal. It's a superb wine.

Here are Soter's tasting notes for this selection:
"As the second offering from the Mineral Springs estate, this wine offers an impressive combination of power and purity. Its ruby-red hue previews a nose of wild strawberry and cranberry while the palate shows bing cherry, red plum, clove and sandalwood with an undercurrent of black fruits reminiscent of marionberry and crushed blackberry. Layer upon layer of depth and complexity are revealed in a velvety texture and lingering finish. The wine tells the story of the vintage as well as the vineyard, delivering a core of varietally correct Pinot Noir fruit characteristics coupled with a unique personality that can only come from Mineral Spring"

More of our favorite Pinots after our daily Amazon selection.

Here's the wine glass we'll use to serve this special Pinot.

Other memorable Thanksgiving Pinots have come from the following producers:

Robert Sinskey Vineyards:

http://www.robertsinskey.com/Wines/774/Pinot-Noir

Archery Summit:
http://www.archerysummit.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category_detail&category_id_int=16025

Lange Estate Pinot Noir - Dundee Hills 2005
http://www.langewinery.com/

Patricia Green
http://avalonwine.com/Patricia-Green-Cellars.php

These are all special occasion wines. But, we love Pinot so we do have less expensive favorites. Exceptional values from Oregon are the O'Reilly Pinot Noir wines produced by the famed Owen Roe producers.

http://www.owenroe.com/our_wines.htm

Details:

Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photographs: © 2009 Penny Cherubino

Twig Farm Square Cheese

We discovered Twig Farm Square Cheese on our first visit to Central Bottle. Good sign because we became instant fans of this aged goat cheese from former South End Formaggio buyer, Michael Lee, his wife Emily Sunderman, and their West Cornwall Vermont herd.

From the moment we surveyed the Central Bottle cheese case, we honed in on the bulging ripeness of this cheese. It never made it to the refrigerator. We left it on the kitchen counter until we were ready to enjoy it with the porcini & barbera salame we had selected for our evening meal.

The rustic, edible crust enclosed a rich, ripe, smooth paste that seemed more herbal and nuanced than many aged goat cheeses. It stood up well to the meat.

Here's a current list of places where you can try Twig Farm cheeses. But, we suggest you give Central Bottle a call because the piece they're cutting is in perfect condition.

We understand that Formaggio has renamed it Twig Farm North Stone with the cheesemaker's permission. 

More after the this reminder that Back Friday Deals Week started yesterday over at Amazon and your purchases that begin with a click from Bostonzest will keep information flowing your way. Check out the deals.

Details:
Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photo: © 2009 Penny Cherubino

Twig Farm
West Cornwall, VT (Map)
Phone: (802) 462-3363
www.twigfarm.com

Central Bottle

Here's a link to our first look at this great new wine and provisions shop.

http://www.bostonzest.com/2009/11/central-bottle-a-first-look.html

196 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA (map)

617-225-0040

www.centralbottle.com