City Chicks: Wicked Shahp Knife Skillz

Not too long ago I started noticing tweets and facebook posts about City Chicks; a self proclaimed "21st Century Home Ec" school. To say the least I was intrigued, and started to follow them on twitter.

City Chicks runs their classes out of Kitchen Inc, a community kitchen in Somerville that is also used by various other local culinary endeavors (such as Culinary Cruisers the folks behind the delicious gourmet fresh fruit popsicles Ocean Ave Pops). A look at their website and their social media says that their range of classes really does span what you might imagine a modern day home ec class should, with everything from cooking and baking, to at-home hair styling and makeup, to butchering, and knitting.

Now, I've wanted to take a knife skills class for years. For some reaon even with all of my talk about it, I just never quite seemed to make the commitment and sign up for one. (Do you see where I am doing with this? Remember, I've told you before, I am very lucky with odd things)

As I mentioned earlier, I follow City Chicks on twitter. They provide updates on upcoming classes, live tweets from their classes, information on their collaborations (like sausage making with Slumbrew beer sampling), and some really hand tips (like this one: Chick Tip: Made a mess in the oven? Sprinkle salt over the spill [while still hot], and wipe clean after oven cools. #nomess #chicktip).... and one day recently they held a contest. First two people to retweet information about their upcoming knife skills class would get to go to the class for free.

Brilliant! I was the first to retweet, and I won! Which is super exciting because not only had I been wanting to go to a knife skills class but I had also really wanted to check out City Chicks in action.

Heather, who runs City Chicks, was very welcoming; the whole evening felt like meeting up with old friends. She offered some apple cider and water while we waited for the class to start. She introduced me to Chef Brian who was leading the class. And gave me a run down of all of the great things that happen in Kitchen Inc, as well as some information on upcoming classes.

The class itself was great. Chef Brian did a great job at catering his teachings to his audience. We learned about knife safety, how to sharpen a knife (excited to put this skill to use in my kitchen), and then moved on to cutting various seasonally appropriate fruits & vegetables (carrots, potatoes, onions, butternut squash, apples, and herbs).

For me, the biggest A-HA moment of the night was the revelation that when you have a round or cylindrical vegetable, if you square it off first, it's much easier to cut (and make look pretty). I know this sounds pretty obvious, but for some reason this hadn't really occured to me before. From now on... perfect carrot sticks!

Just about half way through class Heather brought out a small plate of snacks; cheese, crackers, grapes, hummus, and a homemade apple chutney. Which was a really nice touch, again making the class feel like you were with friends.

I cannot wait to attend another City Chicks class, and to introduce my domestically inclined Boston area friends them.

Thanks City Chicks.


A small disclaimer: I did not pay for the City Chicks Wicked Shahp Knife Skillz class I attended. However, the thoughts and opinions I have expressed in this blog are my own.

Things to love about Boston: Part 1

For all the things there might be to complain about in the city of Boston, I've seen some changes in the last few years that I think are really exciting.

I've watched the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway go from a strip of grass that was basically a by-product of the Big Dig to a lively green space that spans the city's waterfront from the North End to Chinatown. During the work day it is filled with downtown workers having lunch, locals enjoying the open space, and tourists seeing what our city has to offer. There are food trucks and carts parked in various locations, one need not walk far to find a line of hungry Bostonians waiting for delicious street foods ranging from grilled cheese to bahn mi, curries, chickpea fritters with rosemary fries, and let's not forget dessert, cupcakes and gourmet Popsicles.



Clover Food Lab

There's a carousel and fountains that draws families and the young at heart, benches and tables with umbrellas that make the area a welcoming place to sit & rest or have lunch with a friend, several different pieces of public art (about 2/3rds of which are by local artists) that will rotate every year and a half or so, a large variety of flowers and plants which are all maintained organically, and several other special features like the Chinatown Gate and the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion.

Chinatown Gate

And beyond just the physical space the city has begun to host a variety of events along the Greenway. There's the twice a week Boston Public Market at Dewey Square; free fitness programs like yoga, Tai-Chi, walking groups, and bootcamps; a weekly open air artisan market; story hour for young children; live music concerts presented by Berklee College of Music; and al-fresco dinners showcasing our varied food trucks offering  picnics, lawn games, and fun for all.

The Public Market offers fruits, vegetables, breads, meats, eggs, and much more

I often hear people talking about what a waste of space the Greenway is, but I'm guessing those are people who haven't been down there recently to see the new life this city has breathed into that strip of grass. Not only is the Greenway thriving but there's also a growing number of restaurants and bars that have opened along the way making the area a new "destination" within Boston. These hot spots include Jody Adam's Trade, a upscale casual restaurant focused on local ingredients; Jason Santos' Blue Inc, a prime after work spot for inventive cocktails and food; and the newly opened Granary Tavern, an old-timey saloon in a historic granary serving craft cocktails and craft beers alongside New England classic dishes.

I guess what I'm saying is, if you haven't been down to the Greenway in awhile, you should check it out. The Greenway is no longer something for Bostonians to complain about, it's now a real live, thriving part of our city. One that should be visited and celebrated.

Cheers Boston! And cheers to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in all her glory!

Proud Of Myself

Yup. I said it. I'm proud of myself.

I knew I had improved during fit league. I could feel it. I had an easier time completing the warm up (as in I could do the whole thing without stopping!). My muscles weren't jelly at the end of our hour workouts. And my numbers improved with each test.

But tonight Social Boston Sports awarded me, and two other Fit Leaguers, prizes for Most Improved. At the beginning our the night tonight they called us each up one by one and told everyone about our improvements. It felt good knowing I'd worked hard and improved so much.

#ZeroExcuses Prizes for Most Improved

Who needs a team? I've got me! (though, I'd gladly accept a team if anyone wants to join me for the next Fit League which is rumored to be held outdoors).


Tonights gauntlet was tough. And my makeshift team (me, and two members from another team) went first, which meant we had to endure the learning curve. The gauntlet included shuttle runs, sprinting, bear crawling, tire moving, bean bag throwing, planks, sandbag passing, soccer goal moving, and yet still, more sprinting. Tough but fun. And we knocked a whole minute off our time the second go round!

And once I got home, I enjoyed a Victory beer. 

Some of you have had to endure my excessive Fit League talk and have been really encouraging throughout the last 8 weeks. Thank you to everyone who's listened and encouraged. And here's where I get corny and give a couple shout outs... to the best roommate and one of the best friends a girl could ask for, Jessica, and of course, to my parents. All three of whom have taken the lions share of my Fit League stories and been exceptionally supportive. Thanks guys.  

Zero Excuses Week 8

Tonight is my last night of Fit League.

I can't believe it's over already. Tonight we will be competing in a gauntlet style challenge. And while I'm intimidated, I'm not nearly as scare of this as I was walking into my first night of Fit League.

Each week as we've taken tests we've been scored individually and as a team. My teams scores are pretty irrelevant seeing that after the first week (where 5 out of 8 people showed), we had 3 people at most show up, and one week with only me. But my individual scores, I'm pretty happy with. I improved in all of the areas we were tested in (though they didn't retest us in the 40 yard shuttle runs).

Check out it:

Activity                         1st Test               2nd test               Improvment

 Push Ups                           18                        21                           3    

 300 Yrd Shuttle Run           2.18                     1.49                       -0.69

 Squats                                27                        34                           7     

 Inverted Row (pull up alt)   16                         28                          12    

  Box Jumps                         27                        28                           1      

Since not many of my team members actually showed up most weeks this didn't have quite the team encouragement and accountability factor I was hoping for. But ultimately, I think I've found a way of working out that I actually enjoy on some level. I'm really hoping SBS offers Fit League again; it's fun and a bargin in terms of the local prices for boot camps. If not, I think I'll be seeking other affordable boot camp options.

Food Trucks vs City of Somerville

A month or so back the city of Somerville began meetings and hearings to draft an ordinance that would allow food trucks to vend in certain parts of the city. Early on one of the biggest concerns was the competition trucks would bring to brick & mortar restaurants; the ordinance was supposed to help strike a balance between the interests and needs of brick & mortar restaurants, Somerville residents, and the potential food trucks.

Well, the Board of Aldermen met last week and pretty much laughed in the face of this country-wide trend. Saying, according to the Somerville Patch, "Food trucks throughout the city of Somerville is not an image that I think promotes what we want the city of Somerville to be. I don't think they do any public good" (Ward 1 Alderman William Roche). And citing irrelevant concerns, such as, Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston "expressed concern about brick-and-mortar businesses, many of whom 'shelled out tens of thousand's of dollars for a liquor license and [are] paying so much in taxes every year.'" (from the Somerville Patch). Since food trucks won't be offering alcohol, they won't be taking that business away from the bars and restaurants who are paying for their liquor liscenses.

Though not everyone on the Board of Aldermen is against the idea of food trucks. As quoted from the same Somerville Patch article cited above, Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz said, "They are small businesses, they are innovators, they come into a community and bring something maybe that community does not have."


I truly think that food trucks would be an added value to the city of Somerville. And one of the things that really gets me going on this topic is the mis-information that is being tossed around by the politicians and business owners who oppose the idea.

For example, a commercial landlord in Somerville who has posted comments on a previous Somerville Patch article stating that he is against these trucks, said in response to the latest story:

"cp kostos: I'm totally against all food trucks unless they are part of an event in a public area. As a commercial property owner with a number of restaurants that provide a living and jobs for the local community, I vehemently oppose this concept. We have all types of food establishments in the city that pay their fair share of taxes, license fees, and water and sewer charges. Believe me, it's tough enough to make a living with the existing food establishments as fair competition so please, please, don't complicate this situation with food trucks. Most have no running water, fire suppression systems, which, by the way, need to be constantly inspected and replaced and monitored. Who will monitor the walk away trash that customers will toss on the streets a couple of hundred feet away? Who will be checking the cleanliness of the trucks and employees hands,no hand sinks? All this will be adding more people to the city payroll. And they will, after all this experimenting is over, put rent paying, tax paying businesses out of business. Think of the winter months when everyone of the legitimate business already struggle for patrons. I'm just saying!!!"


After reading this, I couldn't help but respond.

"Me: cp kostos, many of your complaints against food trucks are simply untrue. They do pay taxes, and licsensing fees, and waste removal fees. And they do have to abide by the same health and safety rules as the restaurants that opperate on you properties.
I'd urge you to ask the restaurants around Dewey Square, and the rest of the Greenway, if their lunch business has suffered due to the food trucks that park there everyday? Because as a patron I will tell you that they are all just as busy as they have always been.

Do you get upset when a new restaurant opens? Particularly one that opens in a store front that wasn't formally a restaurant? For instance, when Foundry opened? It used to be a retail store and now it's a restaurant which has created new competition for the longer established restaurants in that neighborhood. We live in a society where people want choices. From a consumer standpoint, what food trucks offer isn't in direct competition with what brick & mortar restaurants offer. Simply put. I won't choose a food truck over a brick & mortar restaurant.

Particularly when you consider food trucks are a form of fast food or on-the-go food. The city of Somerville (and the cities of Boston, Cambridge, & Brookline) are actually severely lacking in that market anyhow.

And one last point to consider. These are local entrepeneuers trying to make a living and providing jobs and revenue to the city. The same as you."

Suffice to say, I hope the Board of Aldermen reconsider the ordinance. I think evening and weekend food trucks in Davis and Union Squares would bring people to those area who may not normally come. And I think it also gives patrons who live in those neighborhoods additional, affordable, casual, non-sit-down eating options that just don't exist right now. I think only good things can come if the city would just take some hints from other successful food truck cities. Come on Somerville. You can do it.

It's hip to be (hyper-) local

Hyper-Local Craft Brew Tasting. When I heard about this festival being put on by Boston Local Food, part of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston, I was really excited about it. Their goal is to foster the growth of a local food system that is healthy and sustainable, and to create connections between "the eaters and local food sources, producers, distributors, restaurants, retail food businesses, government agencies and non profit organizations with a core interest in supporting locally owned independent food businesses."

The market for local ingredients in restaurants, and local products in stores is surging right now. It's hip to be local. And I'm a fan. And one area in which I can confidently say that more than 80% of my monthly purchases are from local purveyors is beer. And the number of micro and nano craft brewers in the Greater Boston area (let's say 100ish miles of the city) seems to be growing rapidly, so there are a lot of good local beer choices. Just figure in the last two years at least 5 such brewers have popped up within 30 miles of Boston, and (I believe) 3 of those hit the market within the last 9 months.

So, the brewfest. It was held at The Armory in Somerville; which turned out to be a great location for an intimate festival. The brewers in the main room weren't exactly set up in rows or a circle as one might expect, but somehow the flow still worked. Although it was crowded you didn't necessarily feel squished. Food vendors, wineries, the meadery, and cider were mostly set up around the outside edges. And then there were a handful or so of brewers (and Homebrew Emporium, and some chocolates) on the balcony which felt a little more squishy. Because of the open space and high ceilings I would have expected it to be naturally loud but even with some music playing via a radio it wasn't too loud, until the live band went on.

This wasn't one of those giant 100 plus brewery beerfests (which in my opinion can be fun but also a bit of a waste because let's face it who can try that many beers?!), there were 18 brewers, a meadery, a couple of cider offerings, and a few wineries. I was surprised to realize that I'd had, or at least tasted, beers from 12 of the breweries that were in attendance; but I was excited to see that all of them had brews with them that I'd never tried before.

Some beer highlights:

Cape Ann Brewing Company had a cask of their Fisherman's Pick Ale, which is brewed with cucumbers and had some melon flavors. It reminded me of a beer cocktail, in fact one of my companions likened it to a Pimm's Cup. It was certainly crisp and I am sure it would be a refreshing brew in the hot summer sun, but I'm not completely sold on it.

Blue Hills Brewery had their Watermelon Wheat Beer on tap along with a few other offerings. The nose on this beer was unbelievable, if I didn't know better I would have thought I was about to bite into a juicy piece of watermelon rather than take a sip of beer. Now I like most fruit beers anyways, but I think this one might even satisfy those who think fruit beers are too sweet.

Idle Hands Craft Ales brought their flagship beer, Pandora (which I've had) and one of their special releases, Blanche de Grace, a Belgian Wit. It had a surprising tartness at the end that really lent well to the other spices and flavors.

Slumbrew had several offerings but I was most excited to try their newest beer, Rising Sun Ale. A reddish German style beer with a rich malty flavors. I can't say enough good things about these guys; their beers always hit the mark for me (My Better Half is my favorite take on cream ales).

Night Shift Brewing was the only brewery where I had tried all of their offerings before (this is mostly due to the fact that I visited them at their brewery in Everett recently), but there was something I hadn't tried: a half/half mixture of their Taza Stout and Viva Habanero. Both are great beers but with their powers combined they're a force to be reckoned with.

Other notable mentions go to Mystic Brewery, who use an old world Belgian brewing style to create a variety of Saisons (they had 4 different types with them, I really dug their Mystic Saison); and to Notch American Session Ale, whose focus is on session beers (those 4.5 ABV and below, meant for multiple consumption over a "session) and whose newest offering, Tafelbier, is an extremely drinkable, flavorful 2.8% ABV Belgian style table beer.

I'd say the Hyper Local Craft Brew Tasting was a total success and I look forward to more events like it. Oh yea, and drinking more local beer!

And it was INSANE!

I survived the Insanity workout with Shaun T.

I was definitely nervous going into it. I didn't really know what to expect other than something intense that might make me want to puke. And then as Shaun T gave his introduction he asked who had done his work outs, who had completed the Insanity set, and who was a total Insanity newbie. As a handful or so of us raised our hands, he said "and you chose to do your first workout live with me? Ha you're brave." yikes! He told us to dig deep, dig deeper, and focus on making our own workout the best it can possibly be. Don't worry about keeping up, focus on form, and making every movement count.

But first Jodi from Revere's Millions Of Muscles lead an energetic warm up session.

And then it was Shaun T time. It was intense. I definitely had to take some breaks but I pushed, I pushed hard. The workout is full of dynamic exercises and plyometics.

A lot of the exercises and movements are things we've been doing in Fit League. Though Shaun T kicks it up a notch by going faster, and only taking short 30 second water breaks between circuits. I'm not sure I would have made it through the workout at all had I not been going to Fit League.


He did a question and answer session after the workout and I've got to say, he's sort of charming. Kind of adorable in a scary muscley kind of way. He didn't say anything groundbreaking but I appreciated that his nutrition suggestions were pretty real world applicable. He told us that he doesn't restrict himself because it's not realistic. I hate listening to well known people or celebrities say "oh I never eat junk food. I just don't" because that's not realistic (and probably not totally true). Shaun said his diet is 85/15; 85% healthy and 15% treats. He also said "don't go ON a diet because you're going to come OFF it. You have to LIVE it." good advice and an excellent way to look at healthy eating.

This may or may not have been when he said "I gotta have my M&Ms" 

The event was run by Powerade Zero; there was tons of swag, plenty of Powerade Zero to drink, and some healthy snacks for post workout. Nothing about the set up of the event wowed me outside of the warm up and workout itself.

The Powerade Zero tent had t-shirts, water bottles, towels, bags etc
and participants  to to take home their mats.

However I was wowed enough by the warm up and workout that I'm thinking about checking out Millions Of Muscles bootcamp once Fit League ends. And if the Insanity set wasn't over $100 I'd love to give it a try (not sure how my downstairs neighbors would feel about that though).

Zero Excuses Insanity

So this morning I'm going to workout with Shaun T.

Do you recognize that name? Yup. He's the famed Insanity workout guy. And he's currently on a Zero Excuses tour for Powerade Zero doing free large group workouts across the country.

Powerade Zero is one of the sponsors of my Fit League so we were offered a special chance at tickets to the event. At first the name didn't ring any bells for me (hey! I'm not a fitness junkie, what can I say?), but then Jessica was talking about how badly she wanted to go to this fitness event. And then it hit me, "I can get us tickets."

She was so excited about it that I didn't even stop to think if I can actually do the workout. I just said yes.

Well here we are the morning of it and all I can think is "it sounded like a good idea at the time." I'm sure it'll be a fun and really interesting event. But I'm not at the suggest "at least average" fitness level so I'm a little scared. Scratch that. A lot scared. That guy makes people throw up when they workout!

Here's hoping I make it through the workout.

Scratch that I AM going to make it through this workout!

Fit League: Mid-Way Check Point

This was week number 5 (of 8) for Fit League and I have to say I am pretty happy with how it's going.

But before I talk about why I'm happy, I should take a step back to last week. After I wrote that post about how just being there is half the battle I really struggled through that work out. We did our usual warm up of jogging, butt-kicks, high knees, crossovers, jumping jacks, lunges and squats, and then it was on to the workout.

We did some team running drills where we were paired up, one partner would do a series of shuttle runs while the other did push ups and then switched off. We did this 4 times, two of the times instead of push ups we did squats. I'm not a fast runner, so my poor partner did more than his fair share of push ups.

Following that they divided everyone into 3 groups, one group per trainer, and we did a circuit of squats with a jump up, push ups, burpees, lunges, mountain climbers, leg raises each for 1 minute. We went around in the circuit 3 times.

By the point I was feeling a little iffy, I had acid reflux which was made worse by the up and down of the circuit and I was extremely hot. After a short break we started another set of team running drills. This time in teams of 4 we did relay races up and down the soccer field. We did a series where we each went out and back 4 times, in between each series we did push ups. After two different types of these running relays we finished up and they brought us in to do some stretching.

As I stopped moving I realized I was hotter than usual, not nearly as sweaty as I should be, and my acid reflux was flaring and making me feel like I needed to vomit. So I skipped out on the stretching and headed to the locker room. I was able to cool myself down with a cold wet papertowel and by sitting down and getting my breathing under control. I'm not sure what it was that made me feel so sick. Did I not eat enough or eat too much before hand? Did I not drink enough water during the day or too much while I was running around? Did I simply overheat? I'm glad I made it through the workout, but I did not like that feeling.

But this week. This week we started being retested on the things we've already done to see if we've improved. So as usual we started with a warm up where I noticed that for the first time since we started I didn't have to walk part of the time we were jogging, and that I was able to keep up enough to do the full exercises (butt kicks, lunges, etc). And then we retook our push up test. I did 21 push ups in 1 minute compared to the 18 I did the first week. Once again while we waited for others to take their test, we tossed a medicine ball around. And then we retook the 30 yard shuttle run test. I shaved off a full 20 seconds from my time; coming in at 1:49 this week compared to the 2:09 the first time. After that we did some more running relays.

It's nothing earth shattering but it felt good to know I had improved. And to think that was just by doing this once a week. Imagine if I integrated some of these exercises into a workout routine during the rest of the week?

Getting there is half the battle

I'm currently sitting on a couch inside Boston Athletic Club waiting for Fit League to start. I arrived about half an hour early today, I think it must have been the lack of rain that threw my timing off (seriously, this is the first week it wasn't raining).

I spent all of today fighting snack urges, being tired, and having some back discomfort. I seriously contemplated not coming tonight. Just going home, putting on comfy clothes, relaxing and indulging myself.

I convinced myself that even if it's not a great workout tonight, even if I don't push myself as hard as I'd like to, so long as I'm there and moving I'll be happy.

Until I realized once I changed into my work out clothes that I'd forgotten my sports bra. With no time to run home and get it, I headed to TJ Maxx and Marshall's in Downtown Crossing to pick one up. Ugh what a pain.

But I'm here. Despite wanting to eat everything in sight on my way, despite not having a sports bra with me, despite being tired, I'm here.

Getting here was half the battle. Now for the other half: getting my butt kicked.

Saloon

Back in the beginning of December (2011), the owners of Davis Square's much loved Foundry On Elm opened a pre-prohibition style bar in their basement. Saloon is easy to miss as it doesn't have much signage, save for a small globe lamp with the word Saloon inscripted on it high above the heads of passersby. It is dimly lit with dark wood and leather trim furniture, every detail of the place feels old and takes you back to that place in time where cocktails were taken seriously. 

Photo from Saloon website: http://saloondavis.com/reviews.html

The first time I visited Saloon, a couple of months back, I fell in love with the feeling of the place. It feels like a secret hideaway, like a great place to spend a cold winter evening or a hot summer night with friends. Last night I dropped in spontaneously for my second visit, this time with Jessica, my roommate.

We were greeted by a friendly but kooky hostess who didn't make us feel guilty for wanting to check out the food menu before deciding to stay and who regaled us with hilarious stories about answering telemarketing calls.

Since they had just opened the seating world was our oyster and we choose two seats at the "U" shaped bar. We ordered some cocktails and decided to hold off on the food for a bit. The first round of cocktails were good, but not favorites for either of us (perhaps we both made the same mistake; not ordering brown liquors). My second drink of the night may have become my new favorite. I told the bartender that I wanted something crisp and refreshing, he suggested the Nay Sayer. Which turned out to be a bright green colored drink served on the rocks with muddled cucumber (hence the green color), wheatgrass, honey, whiskey, and ginger beer. Oh man. The flavors were well balanced, with the cucumber and ginger flavors at the forefront, it really was the definition of crisp and refreshing.

Once we realized we were in for the long haul, we decided to order some food. I had the Ploughmans Platter, which included a plentiful pile of sliced roasted ham, some cheddar cheese, pickled onions, a half of a hard boiled egg, pickles, a giant piece of delicious crusty bread, and a pot each of spicy brown mustard and a sweet relish. Jessica ordered the sliders which happened to come with bacon jam and OH MY GOODNESS that bacon jam was awesome! So awesome in fact that Jessica wrote a PSA about it.

After our food and after 3 cocktails, I convinced her to order the Ward 44. I couldn't help myself. I had heard so much about this cocktail made with pork belly infused whiskey that I had to taste it. Only problem being, I don't really love whiskey so I needed a good friend (ahem Jessica) to order it so I could just have a little taste. The cocktail included the aove mentioned pork belly infused whiskey, house grenadine, lemon and sugar. It was intense. Smokey bacon flavor mixed with a strong cherry flavor. It wasn't for me. And I don't think it was really her favorite either but she was a champ and took one of the team. Thanks friend!

The Ward 44

Overall, I can't wait to go back. I am already craving another Nay Sayer. My only complaint is that the service is a little underwhelming. Several times one of us sat with an empty drink even at the start of the night when they weren't busy. However, the bartenders were friendly and willing to offer (great) suggestions, and made darn good drinks, so that helped.

Share The Night

In the last 4 or so years I have grown to like beer. Quite a bit actually. 

I always thought I didn't like beer, until I learned that it was mostly that I was drinking crappy beer. After tasting a lot of beers at a beer fest, I learned what I did and didn't like. 

Over a period of time I started to branch out. And the more I branched, the more I liked. And now I like beer. A lot. I still like beers like wheat beers, I like IPA's, lagers, ales, stouts, porters, and fruity beers. I'm not too into pilsners, though at some times, some pilsners are darn good (saaaay... a Notch Session Pils on a hot summer day). 

I'm also really loving the local food movement. And think the increase of local craft breweries is really awesome. It's so inspiring to see people who started as craft brewers in small apartments like mine, with regular day jobs, start up their own brewing and distributing operation. 

More often than not, I choose a locally made beer option. And right now there are many great options in the Boston area. I recently sampled some Bee Tea by Night Shift Brewing at my local market, Pemberton. It was so unique that I knew I had to try their other beers. 

So when I noticed on their website yesterday that they had "Open Hours" at their Brewery in Everett from 3-10pm that night, I thought, I totally want to check that out. I tweeted them asking if a tour and some samples were possible; and being the customer friendly, generous people they are they basically said "heck yes come by for a tour and tasting." 

We showed up around 7pm. Making our way into this weird industrial like area in Everett, seeing the Night Shift Brewery signs we knew we were in the right place. The brewery door was open, a few of the guys were hanging around the wooden bar decorated with awesome owl sculptures and pictures. 

As we entered, I introduced myself as the person who had tweeted them earlier about coming in for a tour. So started our tour of their one room operation. As a handful of people around us worked hard brewing beer and cleaning the brewery, we were shown all around. Everything from the tanks, to the fermentation, and the carbonation process, down to the bottling (2 at a time, and then hand labelled and numbered). 

Finally we ended back at the bar where we sampled their 4 beers. Trifecta, a Belgian Style Pale Ale, just hoppy enough, not overpoweringly strong, and some undertones of fruit & citrus. Bee Tea, a Belgian style wheat ale brewed with honey and green tea, very complex with hints of orange and honey and a very earthy tasting finish. Taza Stout, a stout brewed with chicory root and ginger, and aged over Taza chocolate nibs, an almost warm, comforting stout. And finally, the Viva Habanero, released on Cinco De Mayo, a rye beer with agave nectar and aged over habanero peppers, an interesting beer with a real spice on the back end. 

Personally, I find their beers easy to drink and delicious. The Viva Habanero is the only one I wouldn't be able to drink a lot of; but I can totally see myself drinking it with some tacos or nachos, or possibly just sitting on my porch in the summer. 

We left with two pint bottles of beer; unfortunately they didn't have any Bee Tea for us to take home, but they did have two Taza Stouts. I can't wait to drink my stout, and to share these great beers with friends in Boston, and beyond (maybe Philadelphia, where a couple of the brewers happen to be from).

They were seriously great hosts, so if you have time and the desire, check out their open hours. See their operation, hear their amazing history, and try some beers. 

Thanks Night Shift Brewing! 

Fit League Kicked My Butt

So Fit League.

Let's start with the fact that I didn't exactly know where Boston Athletic Club was (do you?). I accidentally got off the bus one stop too late, so I had a ways to walk back up Summer St. And then it's actually down a long industrial road with no sidewalks that doesn't show up on google maps. If I didn't already feel like I was walking towards impending death... The windy, wet walk with cars flying by in the middle of nothing but warehouse buildings certainly did make it feel that way.

After we signed in and signed waivers, got our team T shirts and put stuff in lockers, we headed in to the indoor soccer field where the trainers waited for us. That time slot was 4 teams, and there were 3 trainers (2 men, one big football player sized dude and one smaller, leaner guy, and a woman who's super toned with some crazy-but feminine still- arms). They're basically trainers who run boot camps for BAC.

My team only had 5 of us (out if 8) show up. The group as a whole seems to have people of varying levels of fitness.

They had everyone doing a warm up (which to my unfit body felt like a workout all on it's own) altogether. The field was split in half, we jogged the perimeter. And ran sideways, did crossovers, high knees, skipping, backwards skipping, bear crawls, lunges, and other things intermittently. I kept a slower pace knowing if I went fast I wouldn't be able to keep going. I pushed to keep moving through the whole warm up; I thought about crying and about stopping to walk but I made it.

Part of yesterday was to get baselines for everyone. Since we'll earn points for challenges and improvements.

So they split up the teams; 2 teams on one side of the field, 2 on the other. My side then got split again. So the first part I did was timed 30 yard shuttle runs... yea. I was so winded after. I did it in 2:09. Then we had to do some other stuff while others did the shuttle runs. And somehow the girl I was with and I were "lucky" enough to do another timed 30 yard shuttle (that one was slower, more like 2:49 or something). Totally needed a break after that.

Then it was on to the push ups. As many as you can do in 1 minute. All the way down, chest to floor, hands up, all the way back up to lock position. I did 18. Again this was in cycles, so while we weren't doing push ups we were tossing a big medicine ball back & forth sideways. I liked this station much better than the running one.

Then it was switch time again. The last half of the time my team was playing with a giant tire (as tall as me!!). We had to flip it over across the floor, 2 people at a time, rotating. That sucker was heavy. And then 3 at a time we pushed it across the floor (holy friction batman!).

Finally we ended with jumping jacks, mountain climbers, squats, and short jogs.

Butt officially kicked. I was pretty winded through a lot of it. But I kept pushing. I made it.

This week I may not have time to get in extra exercise, but I'm going to need it going forward I think. Maybe event just some cardio so I'm not so winded (suggestions welcome).

I'll also need to figure out what and how much to eat before. And then
a snack to bring with me for after. (again, suggestions welcome!).

And now by the end of today, the day after my first Fit League, I'm sore but not intolerable. I stretched, which helped.

The bonus? The T Shirts.

ZERO Excuses

I did something crazy. On a whim I signed up for Social Boston Sports ZERO Excuses Fit League.

"SBS is proud to bring you Fit League - think of it as if bootcamps and a sports league had a child.


Each week, you and your team will train with a certified team Personal Trainer on a specific challenge. In the last 15 minutes of the class you'll be given a fitness test; gaining points for individual and team performance. Just like you're sports league it all leads up to a championship competition of endurance, agility, strength, and will power on the last week.

Note: This is for ALL levels and abilities. Scores are a factor of improvement not ability."

So every Tuesday for the next 8 weeks I'll be spending an hour at Boston Athletic Club getting my fit on (or trying to).

Tonight's the first night. I'm both excited and terrified. I'm not athletically inclined. I'm certainly not already fit. And I've never done anything like this before.

But I think it'll be a good opportunity to be more active and maybe get a little fitter in the process. And maybe.... just MAYBE... have a little fun (eek!).

Breaking Bad Habits

I really struggled this week with breaking some bad habits.

The biggest one revolves around sugar and candy. One of my coworkers has a big container full of candy on her desk. And unfortunately it's mostly good candy like mini milky way, snickers, and 3 Musketeers candy bars, and bullseye candies.

In the last few months I've stopped by her desk at least once a day, and many afternoons, more than once, to grab some candy. So this week I actually found myself unwittingly walking towards her desk for candy and having to convince myself against it. To turn around and walk back to my own desk.
This may not sound like much. But it was hard for me. A conscious decision and discussion with myself.

I'm also having a hard time with breakfast. Sure lately I've been eating breakfast a couple times a week... But it's been mostly pastries. One should not eat several pastries (like muffins or pumpkin bread) a week. So this week each morning I made sure to bring a banana with me and some sort of high fiber & protein granola type bar. This isn't ideal, but it's much better than fat & sugar laden pastries, and definitely better than eating nothing.

I did really well this week. I didn't give in to the chocolate or eating pastries for breakfast. I'm really happy and proud that, at the very least, I resisted those things this week.

Taking charge (again)

So I haven't blogged in 6 months or so. Simply put I sort of chickened out. I started using this blog back in July 2011 to hold myself accountable for my weight and healthier eating. And as I started to fall into my old bad habits, I also stopped blogging, I stopped holding myself accountable all together. I blamed it on the holidays and on being busy. But the reality is, I got lazy.

And once I lost control, I didn't really want to face it... until I was face to face with it in the mirror. Yup. I've gained back almost everything I lost last year. I'm angry with myself for letting it go for so long, especially since I have the tools to make the changes.

I know I can do it again. I know I can get myself on track, starting today. I'm going to hold myself accountable. I'm going to make more meals at home. I'm going to stay on track with my grocery shopping. I'm going to make healthier decisions when I am eating out.

I'm going to stop hiding from this blog just because I'm angry and embarassed that I got lazy and gave in.

I'm going to take charge again.

"The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are."

A new car

About a month ago my car started having problems accelerating. It wasn't the first time this happened, about five years ago I had a similar problem, so I kind of assumed it was the same problem. But when I took it in to Pep Boys they told me I should bring it to a dealer because the problem was with the transmission and could be quite serious. I don't have a local mechanic, or even a dealership I like, so my Dad offered to take my car to the dealership he goes to in Holyoke MA. He's bought a few cars in there and always takes both his and my Mom's cars there for maintenance so I figured this was my best bet.

So after being without a car for a couple weeks, the nice folks at Gary Rome Hyundai had good and bad news for me. They could fix my leaky exhaust (hurray!) if I wanted to put in a new transmission (boo!). Yup. It was as good as dead.

This was the second car I really drove, but it was the first car that was really mine. It was a 2004 Hyundai Accent and I had driven all 96,000 miles on it myself. I loved it. It was good to me. And it also taught me a valuable car owning lesson: make sure to get all scheduled maintenance done on time and keep the receipts (otherwise your warrant is void).

Scratches courtesy of on-street parking

So with that said, I had to decide between getting rid of my car altogether or buying a new/used one. My (awesome) Dad had gone over to talk to the guy at the dealership and found a good deal on a used 2009 Accent with only 35,000 miles on it. They were nice enough to hold the car for me until I could go out there to check it out.

And it turns out, I liked it. Totally a step up from my old car. Power windows and locks, a CD player (what will I do with all my cassettes now?), cruise control, and a roomier interior and trunk.

So I'm now the proud owner of a new, used car.

I'm pretty thankful for my parents who helped me figure out this whole car situation. I'm pretty excited for my new car. And I plan to take much better car of this car.

WINNING

If you read many blogs you know that sometimes popular bloggers are given items to try and then write about, it's like new school journalism, and often with those items they are also given an additional set to give away to their readers.

One of the blogs that I read regularly, Don't (White) Sugar-Coat It, did a post about Annie's Homegrown gluten free products. In honor of Celiac Awareness month Annie's asked her to try some of their new products and offered a giveaway to her readers. With Jessica being on a gluten free diet, I've done my best to know about gluten free products and find restaurants and bakeries and anything else that offers such options. So I happily entered the contest... and about a week later I noticed that Elizabeth has tweeted me to say I'd won! And about a week after that these showed up at my door.

 We've opened and tried them both. The fruit snacks are apple flavor (very seasonally appropriate), and not bad at all. Unlike a lot of fruit snacks out there they don't taste like gummy candy, they actually taste like the fruit. And the ginger snap cookies are tasty, super gingery. Thank you Elizabeth and Annie's

Winning things is fun. And I have an uncanny ability to win random things. Let me tell you a little bit about some things I've won. Most recently, besides the gluten free goodies, I also won two tickets to a dessert reception and viewing of the A Day In Pompeii exhibit at the Museum of Science courtesy of The Boston Globe. In college I once won a giant Christmas stocking (and by giant I mean it's about 4 feet tall) filled with snacks and random toys from the dining hall. Can I just say how ridicules I looked carrying a stuffed stocking that was almost as tall as me across campus back to my dorm room? And earlier in college I won over 1,000 aroma therapy candles in various sizes and scents and their display case from Yankee Candle. This was so big that my parents had to borrow my cousins truck to pick it up, and my parents whole house smelled like Yankee Candle for about a year. It took multiple years to get rid of all of these candle.

I am sure I am missing other random things that I've won over the years but the stocking and the candles are the two funniest.

Now if only I could win a vacation somewhere warm...

I ate breakfast

Ok. So that doesn't really sound like much of an accomplishment, but believe me, it is.

One of the best habits I took away from the I Diet was eating 3 meals and 1 or 2 snacks a day. It's such a simple thing, and something I knew all along I should be doing (and something my roommate used to suggest to me regularly), but forming the habit wasn't that easy.

Aside from having a muffin here or there and Sunday breakfast (ooh I love Sunday breakfast!), I haven't eaten breakfast in probably 2 months.

So today, I ate breakfast. Oatmeal with a little bit of brown sugar and some craisins. It was good too. Made me remember I actually like oatmeal.

Cheers to breakfast!

Pig Roast

Last Thursday I had the priviledge to attend a birthday party at the Citizen Public House and Oyster Bar. Not just any party but a pig roast. Sadly, I only took a couple pictures and they didn't really come out all that great. But the dinner... oh my! What a dinner. It was fantastic.

The meal starts with a raw bar, oysters, little neck clams, and shimp. With a little more than one of each per person at the table, it was a great start. I had lots of firsts during this meal, including the oysters. They're defintiely a weird thing if textures of food bother you, but they're definitely tasty. I loved the briney taste.

A short time later, the chef and some of his kitchen staff came out to present the 14 hour slow roasted sucking pig. It was a pretty awesome sight to see. 

The photo quality is bad, but you get the idea

While they were butchering our delicious piggy, our waitress brought out the side dishes. A lovely field greens salad, jalapeno grits, and baked beans. The grits were good, the jalapeno gave them just a slight kick without overpowering. The baked beans had a nice smokey flavor.

And finally, the butchered pig arrived. First, the head and feet accompanied by the shoulder and butt meat. Followed by a platter of additional meat (with lots of crunchy skin), sausage made with the pig innards, and stuffing. SO MUCH MEAT! The shoulder was my favorite, the pieces with the crispy skin ran a close second. Though it was good, the sausage was probably my least favorite part altogether.

Eventually the waitress came to take the head back so the kitchen could deconstruct it for us. A short time later we were presented with many more goodies. Including spicy pork belly and deep fried skin (oh my gravy! I died and went to gluttonous heaven). And on a new platter was the skull which contained the brains surrounded by pig ears, cheeks, dark meat from the snout, and various other edible parts of the head. The cheeks were so flavorful and delicious, almost melted in your mouth they were such a marbled fattiness. And the brains... yes, I tried them. I figured there probably will not be that many times in my life when I will have the opportunity so I went for it. They were gamey, but very creamy. You spread them on a crostini with a little bit of sea salt and a sprinkle of lemon. May not be something I seek out, but I'd certainly eat it again.

Deconstructed

Overall it was quite the experience. I tried a lot of things I'd never had before (oysters, pig cheeks, pork belly, brains), and was left wondering (again) why I spent so much of my life disliking pork. The service was great, our waitress was attentive to our party of 11, and the chef was really great at explaining what we were being served. And for $38 per person (not including tax, tip, or beverages), it's a pretty good deal. I'd do it again. In fact... my 30th birthday is coming up... hmm.