BostonZest

Women's History Month 2010- A Collection of Friday links

March is "Women's History Month." The theme this year is "Writing Women Back into History." Over a the National Women's History Project, they explain,

"It often seems that the history of women is written in invisible ink. Even when recognized in their own times, women are frequently left out of the history books. To honor our 2010 theme, we are highlighting pivotal themes from previous years. Each of these past themes recognizes a different aspect of women’s achievements, from ecology to art, and from sports to politics."


 
Boston has been slow in recognizing the great women who made their marks on our city. Thanks to years of planning and fund raising by a group of relentless volunteers, we now have the Boston Women's Memorial on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. (Map)


 
The Library of Congress's Women's History Month site is another good place to go for official information on this annual attempt to pause and think about the women who helped shape our nation. 


 
And, the Bostonzest archives are full of information and photos on the Women's Memorial and Boston Women's Heritage Trail.

Here are a few of our favorites posts.

Get to Know the Boston’s Women’s Memorial

Smile For The Camera At The Women's Memorial

Take a Boston Women's History Walk this Weekend

Phillis Wheatley Has an Admirer

Phillis Wheatley's Latest gift

Bronze Woman with Bronze Foliage- Abigail Adams

   

Details:

Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photos: © Penny Cherubino - originally published in the Back Bay Sun.

Foodzie is our Friday Link

Foodzie is an online marketplace for local food producers. Our friend Liz brought this to our attention and we think it is a great way to find, and support the people who produce local food products.

On the screengrab above we looked up the products from the Greater Boston Area that are already available through this site. They include some of our favorites; Taza Chocolate, Effie's Homemade, Sassy Sauces, Shy Brothers, and Crazy Camel Dessert Hummus. 

While this may be a site designed for selling products, it will also be a great way to find the local foods in an area when you are planning a trip. I know we always want to eat the local goodies when we visit an area. 

Hop over and explore. If you're a Boston transplant, maybe you can order something from your old home town! And, if your favorite local food is not appearing here, send them the site. Something like this can be a great marketing tool for specialty retailers. 

Details:

Foodzie.com

Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

 

Central Bottle Events Are Fun

 
Tuesday evening we attended Central Bottle's Lamb Jam. It was a perfect early week break in our routine. If you haven't been to one of the events at this wonderful addition to the local food scene, you're missing good times.

This was a free event. We tasted four dishes made with local lamb, prepared by Chef Jorge Lopes of the Blue Room. These were matched with three beers and three wines. The room was lively with conversation, friends meeting up after work, shoppers happening upon the tasting when they stopped in for provisions, and people like us who love to taste beer and wine. 

 

Besides free events like this one, the shop offers special events with guest chefs, classes, visits from authors, and wine makers. Some are free, and some are not - check the website or call for details. 

Each Thursday evening Central Bottle becomes a wine bar where you can gather around the tables and eat and drink as you would in a Venetian enoteca. They serve wines by the glass from a few choice selections and offer diners a menu of cicchetti. Each week has a theme and it's not always wine. Tonight they're having a beer bar, and they've hosted a sake bar as well.

 
Click over to their calendar to see what's coming up. 

Make a reservation if required or just put the date on your fun calendar. We expect to be making the 15-minute walk from the Back Bay a lot more often as the winter withers away. 

Related Posts:
Our first look at Central Bottle

Twig Farm Square Cheese from Central Bottle

Other Opinions:
Here's The Passionate Foodie review of a Central Bottle Sake tasting.

 

Details:

Central Bottle
196 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA (map)
617-225-0040
www.centralbottle.com
Follow them on twitter 

Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2010 & Ed Penny Cherubino

Wish You Were Heading to Spain This Weekend? We Have Alternatives...

 

If the budget doesn't stretch for a trip to Europe, head to Bauer Wine on Newbury Street instead. They're hosting a Spanish food and wine tasting on Saturday. ( map to Bauer )

Here's the email I received from Howie Rubin at Bauer Wine. (And he said we could extend the invitation to our BostonZest readers.)

"Penny....Saturday 4-6, we will be serving up some Spanish food, courtesy of Julio de Haro from Estragon and Las Ventas on Harrison ave...He'll be carving some ham tableside, and serving up a wide variety of Spanish cheeses. We will be poring a half dozen Spanish wines, all from different regions!"

We'll be there! Estragon and Las Ventas are both on our list of places to try. We'll enjoy meeting Julio de Haro and look forward to chatting with him about Spanish food. 

Other items on the BostonZest weekend agenda. 

"Meet Meat" with Stillman's At the Turkey Farm - For those new to this extension of the farmers' market season, Stillman's send a truck of meat to the city. Local bloggers spread the word, and we can buy their great lamb, pork, and poultry during the winter.

JJ Gonson from Cuisine En Locale says, "Look for the happy mob of carnivores gathered about a white van in the parking lot behind Quest Diagnostics at approx 36 Bishop Allen Drive in Central Sq, Cambridge." Full details here:

Dining with a James Beard Award Nominee.

The list of nominations came out yesterday. You can see the complete roster over at Grub Street. It contains many BostonZest favorites including: 

• Sam Hayward, Fore Street, Portland, ME
• Ana Sortun, Oleana, Cambridge, MA; 
• Will Gilson, Garden at the Cellar, Cambridge, MA
• Maura Kilpatrick, Sofra Bakery and Cafe, Cambridge, MA; 
• Neal Rosenthal, Rosenthal Wine Merchant/Mad Rose Group, NYC, 
• Steve Johnson, Rendezvous in Central Square, Cambridge, MA, 
• Tony Maws, Craigie on Main, Cambridge, MA
• Marc Orfaly, Pigalle, Boston

Want to keep BostonZest information coming your way? It's easy to support our work. Just begin all your Amazon shopping from our site. Click on any Amazon item or use the Amazon search box over in the left hand column. 

The paella pan is great for grills, open fires or gas stoves but is not recommended for electric or glass cooktops. 

Details:

Writer: Penny Cherubino
Photo: from www.iStockphoto.com is of the  Dinastía Vivanco Museum of the Culture of Wine in Riojas Spain.