BostonZest

Furniture Masters: Artistic Visions – a Pop-up Exhibition

Furniture that is art is coming to Newbury Street for the first two weeks in August. If you have an appreciation for finely crafted woodwork, put this on your calendar. 

"Sleigh Endings" Bench by A Thomas Walsh

Furniture Masters: Artistic Visions – a Pop-up Exhibition will be on display at 127-129 Newbury Street from Friday, August 1 through Friday, August 15, 2014.

Dressing Table by William Thomas

You'll be treated to the work of 17 New England based craftspeople each working in their own style. 

Adagio by Bradley Wolcott

QUICK FACTS:

Title:  Furniture Masters: Artistic Visions – a Pop-up Exhibition

Dates:  Friday, August 1 through Friday, August 15, 2014

Where: 127-129 Newbury Street, Boston MA 02116

Exhibit Hours:  10am to 7pm daily

Admission:  Free

Opening reception:  Friday August 1, 6pm to 8pm, open to the public.

Handicap access: No

Parking:  Metered street parking on Newbury and adjacent streets. Garage parking on Exeter St.

Nearest T stops:  Copley Square (Green line), Back Bay Station (Orange Line, MBTA Commuter Rail)

Website:     http://www.furnituremasters.com/news/

View book:  http://issuu.com/rhoedel/docs/2014nhfmadesignbook/0

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Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino with an big assist from the organizers for the great Quick Facts section
Photography: Courtesy of the exhibit Furniture Masters: Artistic Visions

Robiola di Capra Incavolata: Goat Cheese Wrapped in Cabbage

What is aging to perfection inside this intriguing cabbage wrapper? A wonderful goat cheese called Robiola di Capra Incavolata from the Italian Piedmont region.

On a recent visit to South End Formaggio, I asked the cheesemonger what was really special in the case that day and he was quick to point out a fully ripened half wheel of this beauty. Formaggio says this cheese is really special when it's ripe. In their cheese notes they say:

"As it ages, the cheese starts to mellow and through contact with the leaves, it develops an vegetal strength in its aroma and flavor. At its ripest, it oozes out through the leaves.  If you're lucky enough to get one at this stage, serve it up on a sloped plate to catch all the gooey goodness."

The cabbage was no longer green and the cheese inside was runny and full flavored. We spread it on the our favorite Sardinian Parchment Crackers and savored each bite. 

The label from Formaggio said it was a mixture of goat and cow, but most of what we've found about this cheese says it is goat. No matter, it is delicious and it has introduced us to a full range of Robiola cheese variations that we will now explore. 

Here is a great article about this cheese from Janet Fletcher at SFGate. We are big fans of her cheese coverage. Cabbage leaf a nice cheese-wrapping resource.

And, here are other posts from our Cheese Collection!

What's on your Cheese shopping list? Here are some great books about cheese. These make wonderful gifts for a cheese lover. And, when you shop Amazon from here, they put some coins in our tip jar.

 

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2008-2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino, Top photo photo courtesy of Formaggio Kitchen.

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Advent Artist on Beacon Hill

“Every picture shows a spot with which the artist has fallen in love.” Alfred Sisley (Impressionist landscape painter 1839-1899) 

From a quiet spot across Mount Vernon Street, this artist created her impression of the Church of the Advent in Beacon Hill.

What's on your Artistic shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your arts & craft needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2014 Penny Cherubino 

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Give Your Sunday Dog a Drink on a Hot Summer Walk

Who knew we would be avoiding hot walks with a young dog? Poppy may be just two, but she does not like the heat and would prefer sitting on a bench sipping water to walking, when it's above 75 degrees. 

On hot days, we try to get out earlier and choose the shady side of the street and the canopy of trees on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall for our exercise. 

We carry water on our walks most of the year because Poppy loves to jump up on a bench for a rest and a nice cool drink. Like Maggie Mae before her, Penny swears Poppy has a look she gives us when she wants a drink. And, like most dogs, she is a drippy drinker. 

There are lots of products designed for dogs to drink from when you're out and about.

Here are a few of our favorites. 

 

We love our H2O4K9, Dog Water Bottle and Travel Bowl. You can clip it to your belt and the cap becomes a drinking container. Ed carries it in a Mesh Water Bottle Carrier that we've had for ages.

 

Penny keeps a Silicone Pop-Up Water Bowl in her backpack so we always have a way to share water with a thirsty dog. You can see Poppy drinking from her Pop-up in the photo below.

You can use a plastic bag

If you came out without a special water dish for your dog, you can use a plastic bag. Just slide your hand inside, cup your hand, and pour in some water. It won't leak the way your hand does without the bag, and you won't waste water as you would if you let your pup drink from a bottle.

In Boston, we all have to carry extra plastic bags because you must have one to show to an official if they ask about it. Here's a link to the city rules and regulations for dogs.

You are not only required to pick up after your dog, but you are also required to have something with you to pick up after a dog if you are out with one. The site says,

"When walking your dog, the law necessitates you to be prepared for such occurrences and be equipped with a bag or some other means of feces removal. After it is removed, it is important to dispose of the feces properly, either in a toilet or in a trash container (after being secured in a plastic bag)."

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs (and other critters) at Boston Dogs.

Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

Details:
Words: Penny Cherubino, edited for BostonZest from her CIty Paws Newspaper Column.
Photography: 2008-2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

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Building Provincetown: An Addictive History of the Town Buildings and Vessels

On our last trip to Provincetown, we really enjoyed looking up our favorite buildings on the fabulous Building Provincetown website. If you're fortunate enought to be visiting the town this summer, be sure to bookmark this site before you go and have fun learning more about the history of the buildings and vessels you'll see around the town.

Here's a screenshot from the entry for Angel Foods in the East End. It was one of many, many addresses we looked up and learned about. Naturally, we checked out all the places where we've rented, shopped, or dined. And, sprinkled throughout are historic photos that we have really enjoyed seeing. (See this entry for 265-267 Commercial Street.)

We could spend many words telling you about this site, but since someone has already done a great job of that in Provincetown Magazine, we'll just link to their piece.

From Alden Street to Young’s Court: A Living History of Provincetown’s Built Environment

A book will follow the website and we can't wait to add it to our collection. 

Here are links to Building Provincetown's author David Dunlap's other books.

From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship

On Broadway

What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon - Get Ready for Summer - Everything You Need and support this site!

 

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: Screen shot from Building Provincetown

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Juliet Auditions for Swan Lake

Juliet, one of the swans in the Boston Pubilc Garden Lagoon, spent a recent afternoon practicing her audition movements for Swan Lake.

She was as graceful as a ... 

Hope the Boston Ballet was watching too.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Ed Cherubino  

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Cheese Question: Do You Eat the Rind?

One question always comes up when discussing cheese. “Do you eat the rind?”

If it is a natural rind that developed as part of the aging process (like the one on the Rogue River Caveman Blue above), you can eat it. If it is an artificial coating like wax, you shouldn’t eat it. If it's a wrapping like the the grape leaves that Rogue River uses to wrap its award winning rogue River Blue, you can unwrap it, but I would recommend enjoying the flavor the wrapper has added to the cheese it abutted.

Cheeses may also be rubbed with something delicious and that may tempt you to taste the rind. The Vella Dry Jack above is rubbed with a mixture of oil, pepper, and unsweetened cocoa during the aging process.

One of the best suggestions I’ve heard over the years was in the The Murray's Cheese Handbook. “If you're not sure eat your cheese from the inside out. The flavors will be stronger the closer you get to the rind, and if you don't like the paste just beneath the rind, you probably won't like the rind itself.”

This is a great suggestion for the Twig Farm Mixed Drum above. In the photo you can see how the cheese texture and look changes from inside out. Ed would cut off all the rind. That's how he enjoys it. I will taste it before I decide. Sometimes it's too funky but other times it's like getting a second cheese flavor as a bonus for tasting the rind with some of your bites.

I may wash the rind on a stinky washed rind cheese (like the Brebirousse d'Argental Petit: Soft Ripe Sheep's Milk Cheese above) before I try to eat it.

For me, it depends on the type of rind and the condition of the cheese. I’ll normally eat the rind on Brie, Camembert, and a soft bloomy goat cheese like the Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor in the photo above. But, I only buy these cheeses when they are perfectly ripe and I use them right away.

Most of the time, I don’t eat the hard, crusty rinds on long-aged cheeses like Cabot Clothbound Cheddar. Tasting the rind and eating the cheese all the way to the rind can be one more way to explore cheese.

And, here are other posts from our Cheese Collection!

What's on your Cheese shopping list? Here are some great books about cheese. These make wonderful gifts for a cheese lover. And, when you shop Amazon from here, they put some coins in our tip jar.

 

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2008-2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar photo courtesy of Cabot Cheese.