the hot sauce

June 28, 2011 Comments: 4

Mancini hot sauce from Ocean State Job Lot — priced at $1.

I have decided to quit buying hummus. I won’t quit eating it, but I’m not going to buy it. From here on out, it’s homemade or nothin’. I’ve made it a time or two before, but was never thrilled with the results. So now I’m starting a hummus-making project, where I’ll try multiple recipes and take the best parts and come up with perfection. It’s that easy. I decided to start with Ina’s recipe, which calls for hot sauce. I didn’t have any in my kitchen, but Ocean State Job Lot saved the day with a $1 bottle of Mancini hot pepper sauce. The end result was pretty tasty, although we could’ve done with a little less salt and a lot less garlic. The Barefoot Contessa sure loves a lot of strong flavors. Lesson learned. Next up will be the Cook’s Illustrated recipe. I’ll keep you posted.

Homemade hummus (Ina's recipe) made with Mancini hot sauce from Ocean State Job Lot.

the frozen yogurt

June 27, 2011 No comments

Raspberry-pomegranate frozen yogurt from Bubble Tea & Berry in Boston.

I love all varieties of frozen desserts. Sometimes I crave full-fat hard ice cream, other times soft-serve frozen yogurt hits the spot. Tonight was a fro-yo type of night. We set out for Mixx on Brighton Avenue, only to discover the shop was closed due to a fire at the neighboring restaurant. Ultimate disappointment. In a moment of desperation I considered walking around the corner to McDonald’s for an ice cream cone. Luckily, I came to my senses and we decided to just head home to prevent me from making any rash decisions. While walking to our apartment from our car we passed by Bubble Tea & Berry on Beacon and felt that tonight would be the night to try their fro-yo. The white board out front often advertises a raspberry pomegranate flavor — probably my two most favorite fruits — so I was excited to finally try it. Like at Mixx, the frozen yogurt at Bubble Tea is self-serve, so I decided to go for a $1 serving. My estimation skills were just about right, though I did go over by a couple of dimes. I wasn’t especially wowed by the flavor of the yogurt — it wasn’t tart, like I was expecting. Also, the topping selection was pretty poor. Tim got cookies and cream yogurt with nonpariels and mini-M&Ms on top — it was good/satisfying, but not great. So, moral of the story: if you want an amazing frozen yogurt experience, don’t go to Bubble Tea & Berry; but if you’re craving just a little taste of frozen goodness, do go there and fill a cup with just a dollar’s worth.

the grilled cheese

June 25, 2011 Comments: 2

A presentation and cooking demo at the "Let's Talk about Food" festival in Boston, featuring chef Joanne Chang from Flour Bakery and Gus Rancatore from Toscanini Ice Cream.

Not only do I love eating, I also love shopping for food and thinking about food and talking about food. Lucky for me, today was the “Let’s Talk about Food” festival in Boston, presented by the Museum of Science. The idea was to bring food, science, and community together, and I think the event was a definite hit. One of the highlights, for me, was watching demos by a few truly amazing chefs. In the photo above, Joanne Chang (of Flour Bakery fame) is showing the crowd the difference between chocolate chip cookies made with melted butter and the same cookies made with room temperature butter. During the presentation, Gus Rancatore (next to Joanne) told us all about the trial and error process of creating the amazing ice cream flavors sold at Toscanini’s. (Toscanini’s is said to be “the best ice cream in the world” by the New York Times. So you should probably go there.)

Ole chef Erwin Ramos shows how to make guacamole, tortas, and salsa at the "Let's Talk about Food" festival in Boston. Meghna Chakrabarti, host of Radio Boston on WBUR, emceed the event.

We stayed for the next presentation as well, because chef Erwin Ramos from Olé (certainly the best Mexican joint around town) was making his to-die-for guacamole. He also showed us quick and easy methods for making tortas and salsa. Both demos were extra entertaining, because Meghna Chakrabarti (host of Radio Boston on WBUR and a favorite of mine) was doing the emcee-ing.

Lots of food trucks at the "Let's Talk about Food" festival in Boston, including Grilled Cheese Nation, Go Fish, Bon Me, Go Fish, Kickass Cupcakes, Dining Car, and more.

Naturally, we were ready to do some eating once we’d witnessed the science behind what happens in the kitchen. Fortunately, the food trucks were out in full force — seven in all! We scanned the menus for each, to see which would be most accommodating to the dollar a day spending plan. Grilled Cheese Nation advertised a “shot of tomato soup” for a dollar — perfect blogging material, right? Wrong. They were out of soup! We had planned to get a sandwich anyway, so we forked out the $6 and I pretended the grilled cheese was priced at $5 and I was tipping them $1. That’s how it worked in my head, anyway. We went with the “Blue Man Goo” sandwich — Great Hill Dairy blue cheese with fig spread and balsamic vinegar on Iggy’s raisin pecan bread. It was a pretty amazing combination, though they really were stingy with the amount of cheese included. We decided then and there we would make our summer goal to visit every food truck in Boston. Here’s to hoping there are $1 items on the menus so I don’t have to cheat like I did today.

the italian bread

June 24, 2011 1 comment

day old Italian bread from Fratelli's Pastry Shop in Quincy

If you are ever in Quincy and need a little snack, make your way to the day old bread shelf at Fratelli’s Pastry Shop. The Italian bread is still super soft a day after it’s made, so there’s nothing wrong with buying the marked-down version. If you’re like me and prefer a waterfront bench from which to enjoy your carb feast, take your loaf to nearby Caddy Memorial Park (next to Wollaston Beach), where you can enjoy lovely views of the estuary.

Caddy Memorial Park (with an estuary view) near Wollaston Beach in Quincy

the song

June 23, 2011 Comments: 2

My Morning Jacket — Circuitalphoto courtesy onpoint.wbur.org

I am not a music person. The only way I stay remotely in touch with the “cool jams” (Mean Girls quote) is through the songs I hear at the gym. Somehow, I married a major music snob. Tonight he requested that we acquire a song by My Morning Jacket (Circuital is the name of the song and the album). Naturally, I had never heard of this band, but I could guess by the name that they fall into the indie rock genre. Those hipsters are all so predictable.

Turns out Amazon gave Tim a $2 credit to use toward MP3s (some promotion with the new Amazon cloud something-or-other), so we didn’t end up spending the $1 that the song would normally cost. But we spent a $1 credit. Is that OK?

the melon scooper

June 22, 2011 No comments

A pretty orange melon scooper from Crate & Barrel Outlet (made by Progressive)

When I first spied this kitchen tool in the clearance bin at the Crate & Barrel Outlet in Kittery, I had no idea what it was. But since it was marked down to $1, I decided I should investigate. I figured it was some sort of scooping utensil, since I own an avocado peeler that looks similar (though smaller and green, instead of orange). I asked an employee, and she wasn’t entirely sure, but guessed it was for scooping melons or other large fruits from their peels. On the receipt it was labeled as “melon thingie.” A little online searching makes me think it’s normally sold as part of a set of three fruit scoopers (made by Progressive). I’m guessing this one got separated from its set and had to be sold solo. Lucky me!

I bought it about a month ago and figured I’d blog it after I used it. Turns out I don’t buy a lot of melons, because the tool has yet to do any scooping. Maybe if I could find a melon for $1 I would put it to use…

the peach citrus lotion

June 21, 2011 No comments

Bath & Body Works' peach citrus body lotion — on sale for $1

Happy first day of summer! This peach citrus lotion from Bath & Body Works smells just like this season should. Maybe that’s why I bought it — I have no other reason to buy lotion because a) I rarely use it, and b) I have about 10 full-size bottles of body lotion that are practically new. But the scent is pretty amazing, and the cute little two-ouncer was marked down from $3.50 to $1. So… happy summer to me, I guess.

the pillsbury biscuits

June 20, 2011 Comments: 3

Pillsbury Grands biscuits from Shaw's — marked down to one dollar!

This may be the first time I’ve ever purchased Pillsbury refrigerated rolls. But they were $1 at Shaw’s, and Tim was salivating just thinking about the giant, flaky biscuits. Also, since when does Shaw’s have a refrigerated section for marked-down items? I certainly wouldn’t have bought these if they hadn’t been there. But I couldn’t really argue with the idea of a honey-butter infused baked good. I will tell you one thing I can (and did) argue about. I was certain biscuits are a side dish meant to accompany dinner — he thinks they are strictly a breakfast food. Thoughts? The only time I can picture biscuits for breakfast is when they’re served with gravy (a Southern thing?). Am I crazy?

Flaky Pillsbury Grands biscuits found for $1 at Shaw's.

the pot scraper

June 18, 2011 No comments

Bambu brand bamboo pot scraper from Crate & Barrel

Sometimes on Saturdays I take a break from the gym and recruit Tim to join me on an errands/exercise combo. This usually means power walking to a destination where I would normally drive. Today my main goal was to buy a salad spinner. (I’ve been washing and drying all my CSA greens by hand, and it’s getting old fast.) I decided Crate & Barrel was my preferred purchase location, and Tim decided it would be a good idea to ditch the car and walk the scenic route through the Webster Conservation Area in Chestnut Hill. I’d never been there before, but it is a great nature-walking spot — with 114 acres of beautiful forest. And the mall is just beyond that — about 45 minutes (walking) from our apartment.

Anyway, Crate & Barrel had my perfect salad spinner (and I enjoyed an automatic 10% off because I registered there last September!), as well as this pretty little Bambu pot scraper/cleaner. I have a plastic version of this from Pampered Chef, but when I almost lost it to the garbage disposal the other day, I decided I should acquire a back up. And the bamboo variety at C&B was on sale for $1 (normally $1.95). It was kind of like a sign telling me to buy it. So I did.

the fresh lemon anti-bacterial hand foam

June 17, 2011 No comments

Bath & Body Works "Hello, Yellow!" sale

There’s a big-time sale happening at Bath & Body Works right now. (Thanks for the tip, Rachael!) Thanks to a whopping 75% off, I scored a cute bottle of fresh lemon anti-bacterial hand foam for $1. I don’t usually keep hand sanitizer in my bag, but there have been more than a few occasions where I wish I did. Problem solved.

Fresh lemon anti-bacterial hand foam from Bath & Body Works' "Hello, Yellow!" sale.

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