After almost one year of Wicked Domestic, we’ve finally upgraded to a wonderful new look! You like? Elizabeth and I have been working with Krystyn from Krizzy Designs for a couple of months to perfect our new look. I hope you all like it! And a special thanks again to Krystyn for all of her hard work!
- Jackie
Last summer Jackie and I took a spin through the Greenfest in Government Center. While there, I picked up a “beginner’s guide to eating vegan” (or something like that). I’m definitely NOT vegan, but since I don’t really eat dairy and I like to sporadically cut down on the amount of meat I’m eating, I thought maybe the booklet could be interesting. After flipping through the first few pages showing how animals (even fish!) are slaughtered, I got to the good part – vegan recipes. Honestly, the only one that looked remotely good to me was this one for pancakes. The guidebook calls them “Wonderful Waffles”, but as I am sans waffle maker, I figured they’d adapt just fine into pancakes. I also happened to have all the ingredients on hand, which makes a recipe much more appealing.
Ingredients
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 cups water
1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
vanilla extract to taste (optional)
Mix together the mashed banana and water, then add the dry ingredients and mix, leaving lumps in the batter. Add the vanilla, if using. At this point, I realized that my batter was too thick and dry to make a good pancake so I added in some thawed frozen blueberries with a little bit of the juice.
I was excited to finally use the griddle insert on my stovetop, but it was not a very good idea. It didn’t oil up well enough and pancake making turned ugly.
The next time I made these pancakes (well, after I thawed the leftover frozen batter), I used a regular skillet and it was much easier. Except for that minor flipping incident on the side of the pan.
The pancakes were actually really good! A little heavy on the spices, though – next time I’d cut down on the amount of cinnamon and nutmeg. But they were flavorful and didn’t taste like fake pancakes (which they weren’t – just whole wheat with no milk). Definitely a twist on a regular pancake!
- Elizabeth
Looking for a lunch hotspot in the Fort Point area? Look no further. I finally got my arse over to Barbara Lynch’s chicest diner meets upscale Italian eatery: Sportello.
Sportell is Italian for “counter service” and it’s decorated in a glorified diner manner…sleek white countertops, zig zagging through the dining room. The space is super bright with natural light, so you have an ultra clear view of the kitchen which is the focal point. And the drool-worthy menus just happen to double as your lamenated placemat (kindergarden fabulous, I must say). We were a little peeved that their weekend lunch menu is actually brunch, but we were still able to feed our hungover selves with plenty of pasta and homemade bread. Here’s what we noshed on…
I had the potato gnocchi with mushroom rago, peas and cream. The gnocchi were light as clouds, yet super rich. The peas were pleasantly crisp and a far cry from the Birdseye variety. The chef finished off the dish with a drizzle of truffle oil, which made me downright giddy.
Chris had the buckwheat bigoli with pecorino, black pepper and egg. The buckwheat pasta gave the dish an wonderful and unexpected crunch. Basically, it was heaven in a bowl.
Since we can bascially never stop eating, we asked our waiter for some bread. Man alive did they deliver. He brought us their brioche pain perdu with sweet ricotta, fig jam and local honey. Sure as hell beats a dinner roll!
To round off our feeding frenzy, Chris decided that we couldn’t walk out of there without ordering a dessert. Their bakery case looked amazing, but we knew where our hearts belonged: the chocolate layer cake with fleu de sel and a drizzle of olive oil. I’m not even going to elaborate since there aren’t words. The only thing I can say is: go to Sportello and order this. Just do it. For me?
Clearly, I recommend everyone and their brother try out Sportello as soon as your little feet can carry you. I do, however recommend going at an off time like mid afternoon on the weekend, or maybe getting a reservation on a weekend night.
Long live salted chocolate cake!
- Jackie
What is wet, slimy, and tastes great with horseradish cocktail sauce? It’s the oyster, ladies and gentlemen. General wisdom declares that these delicious little bivalves are in season in any month that has an “r” in it, but my palate most appreciates the oyster during the fall. Which is why when I made plans to have dinner with my friends Kate and Beth, I suggested the brand spankin’ new Island Creek Oyster Bar (ICOB), which recently opened in the Hotel Commonwealth in Kenmore.
I didn’t really start eating raw oysters until a few years ago. I think they can be a hard food to work up the courage to try. But I fell in bivalve love and haven’t looked back. Two years ago Matt and I ate our way through the Pacific Northwest, sampling West Coast oysters on the Seattle and Vancouver waterfronts. As fun as it was to eat local oysters, I realized then that my preference is for New England oysters. Average sized New England oysters, that is… You see, last spring we spent a weekend in NYC and one night we bellied up to the Grand Central Oyster Bar. The menu included “extra large Bluepoint oysters”. Foolishly, we assumed that the regular sized Bluepoints must be really small, so the extra large were maybe just slightly larger than most oysters. Wrong. So, so wrong. Wrong to the tune of six hamburger sized oysters. As surprised (and grossed out) as we were at the size, we gave it our best shot. But it turns out that bigger is not better when it comes to bivalves. Things went really downhill when Matt had to watch me struggle to slurp a dinner plate sized oyster down my gullet. Not a pretty sight. Lesson learned, folks – never order the “extra large” oysters. Shiver.
Over the years the Island Creek oyster has become my favorite. They’re the perfect level of briny for my palate, and they’re an appropriate and not-at-all-disgusting size. So I couldn’t wait to fill my belly with them at ICOB last weekend. The space at ICOB is really nice – kind of modern, very polished, nice and simple.
We started with the bread basket with honey butter, which was really tasty.
Followed by a big plate of Island Creek oysters for this hungry motherblogger.
Heaven in a shell.
For dinner I had the pan seared salmon with apple and turnip risotto, Kate had the littlenecks, and Beth had a crab cake. All delicious, and very nicely presented.
As delicious as the food was, I think I was most impressed with our server. She was extremely knowledgeable about wine and oysters, and she executed our orders perfectly.
I was really happy to try ICOB and will definitely go back… probably in a month that has an “r” in it!
- Elizabeth
This past weekend was a picture perfect fall day. Crisp, clear, a bit chilly in the shade, it was beyond the most perfect day for the first Boston Local Food Festival. My wicked domestic sister, along with my fancy pants lawyer sister, red-headed bro-in-law, and I all headed over the to fantastic Fort Point neighborhood in search of some amazing food and local green companies. Man, did we hit the jackpot.
As said in the festival’s website, the Boston Local Food Fest “is a delicious outdoor celebration of the many benefits of local food. The festival showcases affordable, scrumptious local food sourced in the Boston area, Massachusetts and New England.” This was the first year of the festival and it couldn’t have been more crowded (read: baby stroller mecca), but in the best way possible. So many Bostonians (and beyond) came out in the gorgeous weather to sample tasty foods from local restaurants and soak up the green goodness of Boston’s growing sustainable culture. At every food cart, we seemed to get more and more excited to try the food. Next year we’ll know better than to eat breakfast that day!
Chrissy (pre-Boston College football game) and Eliz chowin’ down on pb&j roll ups.
Everybody likes a one-man-band! He was no Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, but whatever.
Pork tacos from 606 Congress…we were a little too excited about these.
Yes-sir-e folks, that sure is pumpkin pie soda you see. I couldn’t have been more excited for that bad boy.
The soda almost looked like orange soda, but a million times better.
And then we stumbled upon “Grilled Cheese Nation, Boston’s 1st Official Grilled Cheese Truck”. Two words: wicked good.
Chrissy and I split the “brie me up” which was pear and brie. I could have happily eaten every single sandwich on the menu and not been ashamed.
Then we strolled over to the Stone Hearth Pizza station and was drooling over “The Harvest Pizza”. One please.
Butternut squash, bacon, scallions and goat cheese. Right up my alley.
Next was the roast pork and heirloom tomato sandwich from Sportello. Matt dubbed it the best food there. Sportello was also doing a really good deal: if you signed up for their emails, you received a Sportello gift card worth either $5 or $50. We were a little sneaky and called the 800 number on the back to see what our balance was…Eliz and I both got $5 ones (bummer), but Chrissy got a $50! I think she owes me a dinner out… 
Some fresh produce from the festival…
Since the festival had an emphasis on green culture, they brought in sectioned off recycling bins for trash and gussied up the regular trash barrels with pretty autumnal decor, so people wouldn’t use them.
We basically had to be rolled out of the festival because we ate so much. The best part was that all the food stuff was at most $5, so you didn’t have to spent a lot to get amazing, local food. We were all so glad we got a chance to go to the Local Food Festival, and so glad that Boston has taken such great initiatives towards the local food movement. See you there next year!
- Jackie
On Sunday Matt, his sister Lindsay, niece Lexie and I all ventured over to the South End for the SoWa Open Market. Our focus was not the shopping, but the eating. Food trucks are hot right now, and the market has been featuring local trucks every Sunday. There were 5 vendors last weekend – some coffee place (not interested), Clover Food Lab, the Cupcakery, M&M Ribs, and Speed’s.
Our journey started at Speed’s. Matt and I had eaten Speed’s famous hot dogs twice before – at the bizarro dirt parking lot in the Newmarket section of Dorchester where the truck usually parks. Weird area, amazing hot dogs. I would say that I’m normally fairly neutral on hot dogs; usually I prefer a hamburger, but occasionally a dog tastes pretty good. Well, Speed’s dogs taste insanely good. They’re large, very good quality hot dogs, brined in some kind of brown sugar marinade. The “everything” dog is topped with ketchup, mustard, piccallilly, and chili. It’s definitely a lot of food – I can’t eat a whole one. Lindsay loves a good weiner and said it was the best she’d ever had.
The next stop was M&M Barbeque. Matt got the slider combo – pulled pork and brisket. I had a bite of each and they were really good! It was the kind of bbq that’s pretty dry, then topped with hot sauce right before serving.
I was saving myself for Clover, since I’ve heard so much about it. Jackie’s been a bunch of times since there’s a truck right outside her office. I ordered the fried chickpea sandwich and a basil lemonade (Jackie blogged about a basil gimlet, inspired by the lemonade at Clover).
The sandwich was pretty good. Not unbelievable, but good – there were plenty of vegetables, which made me feel better about eating a pile of fried grease.
I loved the basil lemonade! It was really delicious. Matt, Lindsay, and Lexie all tasted it:
Matt: “Mmm! This is good!
Lindsay: “Mmm! This is good!”
Lexie: “NOT good. Tastes like plants.”
Can’t win them all, Clover.
Our final destination was the Cupcakery. I was stuffed, but there’s always room for a cupcake. The Cupcakery’s claim to fame is all local,organic products. If anything can make you feel better about piling down a cupcake, that will. I ordered the malted milk ball, mostly because it came with a malted milk ball on top. After all, what’s better than a cupcake? A cupcake topped with candy.
The SoWa Open Market + food trucks will be open for the next few Sundays. The final one of the season is the 31st (“The Market of the Living Dead”), and it looks like a fun-filled day of Halloween festivities: www.southendopenmarket.com. Check it out and enjoy some treats from the trucks!
- Elizabeth
Who doesn’t feel all warm and fuzzy inside at the thought of something nostalgic? That’s why I got so excited to go see the free exhibit that’s going on right now at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, “Away We Go, Vintage Travel Posters from the Collections of the Boston Public Library”. Travel posters came into vogue in the early 20th century as a way to promote travel. Usually when we think of posters, we are actually thinking of prints or reproductions of an original image. But these vintage travel posters were the real deal; actual pieces of artwork with pencil marks and brush strokes. I had a blast walking through the library looking at all the posters, along with vintage post cards and old school camera equipment. Here’s what I captured:
I enjoyed this exhibit so much, that I used it as inspiration for my “Save the Dates” for my wedding next year. I came across postcard reproductions of vacation destinations with sayings like “Wish you were here” or “Greetings from…” and found one from the Cape Cod town that we’re getting married in! You can find inspiration anywhere, huh?!
If you happen to be in the Copley Square area, I definitely suggest poking into the exhibit at the Boston Public Library and getting a little nostalgic taste of the past!
- Jackie
I spent this past weekend up in Kennebunkport with my girlfriends – a super fun few days of eating, drinking, hanging at the beach, and outlet shopping. I would have loved to whip up something delicious and homemade to bring with me, but the beginning of the school year is always busy and I just haven’t been able to pull it together lately. So I *settled* for treats from Sweet Tooth Bakery in Southie. Sweet Tooth opened a few years ago and has been really successful, even expanding their space to include an Events Gallery. Jackie and Chris ordered their engagement party cake from Sweet Tooth and it was sooooo good. I’ve had a few of their desserts, but my absolute favorite is The Ultimate O. I believe that’s kind of a play on Oreo and… something a little less blog-appropriate. I think The Ultimate O is one of the best desserts I’ve ever had in my life (and I definitely have a vast experience with desserts). It’s my go-to indulgence, and I could eat one every single day… but I try to restrain myself and only indulge once a month. So for the weekend in Maine I picked up 2 Ultimate Os, a Red Velvet cupcake (one of their specialties… they’re good, but I guess I don’t really get the fuss over Red Velvet), and a giant slice of the apple crisp cheesecake with gingerbread crust. Oh yes.
Ready?
Hello dream come true.
The Ultimate O. Oohhhhh mama. Chocolate chunk cookies, creamy frosting center, dipped in chocolate. Seriously. Seriously?!
The cheesecake was ridiculous. Red Velvet was really good too, but I kind of don’t understand it. I can’t figure out what it tastes like. Or what it’s supposed to taste like. I’m probably overthinking this.
Oh, the carnage. Surprised we left that much on the plate? After a night at Federal Jack’s Brewpub, we made short work of the leftovers.
Other weekend highlights include…
The beach! It was a little chilly, but I went swimming! Twice! I just wasn’t ready to be done with swimming for the summer. I needed one more dip. Even if it did make my ankles go numb.
Awesome beer, awesome coozy.
Milo the Wonderdog!
We. Are. Old. In our defense, we did not bring the soccer mom magazines. But we did thoroughly enjoy reading them.
Had a great weekend with the girls AND with Sweet Tooth treats! If you find yourself on West Broadway, stop at the bakery and give The Ultimate O a try. (They also have a Red Velvet Ultimate O for the people out there who actually understand the concept of Red Velvet. Whoever they may be.)
Enjoy!
- Elizabeth
This week is Farmers Market Week presented by Loving Local: Celebrating the Flavors of Massachusetts. Tinky from In Our Grandmothers’ Kitchen asked Wicked Domestic to participate in the Farmers Market Week blogathon to raise awareness of our local farming culture. I feel like everyday I see in the newspaper that another farm has fallen victim to the current recession and is forced to close its (barn) doors. Local agriculture is so important to the way we eat locally and to the local economy. It seems that in the last decade there has been a huge resurgence of eating and supporting locally grown entities, which is such a huge step in the right direction. Raising awareness is key in this process, so I hope all of you reading this will go out and support your local farmers markets and purchase some of the outstanding harvest that Massachusetts farms have to offer. In addition, if you’re feeling extra charitable, please visit the donation page on the Mass Farmers Market page.
Elizabeth and I were so excited to be participating in the blogathon and be involved in Farmers Market Week, we hoofed it over to Boston’s City Hall Plaza on Friday to check out Greenfest 2010. As the website explains, Boston’s Greenfest is “the region’s largest multicultural environmental festival that celebrates the many ways we can create a better world by greening our lives and our communities”. The festival was chock full of local vendors, performances, speakers and presentations, green fashions shows, tips on healthy living and exercise. Here are a few things we saw…
Greenfest 2010
Me posing with me new favorite eco friendly snack, Popchips!
Eliz was swooning over these green house cleaners
"So Berry Clean" berries for your laundry...an alternative to harsh detergents. Interesting...
All the different vendors
Elizabeth posing her some "green" information handouts
While we were at City Hall Plaza, we walked through Haymarket to see some of the fresh fruits and veggies
More fruits and veggies at Haymarket
Elizabeth and I had such a good time walking through all the different Greenfest vendors and checking out all there is to offer out there. Thanks again to Tinky from In Our Grandmothers’ Kitchen , we hope this blogathon is eye opening for everyone to start turning to our local farmers for fruits and vegetables and other local companies.
- Jackie
I know what you’re thinking…salmon with blueberries? And chipotle?
I, too, was a little weary of this bizarre combination. But August in New England means blueberry mania so I needed to find more ways to use the fruit. I’m finding that farmers markets and grocery stores are packed with the berries, so I’m eating a ton of them. While throwing some blueberries on cereal everyday is wonderful, I’d like some more variety. I came across a recipe for salmon with blueberry sauce and gave my computer a skeptical look. But then I figured I have 2 pints of blueberries at home, so I’d give it a try! Here’s what I did:
2 T butter
2 T spelt flour (or regular all-purpose)
1 pint blueberries
s&p
2 T balsamic vinegar
a few good shakes of Chiptole Tobasco sauce
I was completely making this recipe up as I went along, so I didn’t even take pictures, but I ended up doing was making a roux with the butter and flour by melting the butter in a sauce pan then adding the flour and stirring constantly until it turned a light golden brown.
I then added about 1 cup and a half of water and my blueberries and began stirring. The mixture became nice and thick and while the blueberries started heating up, they began to pop and the mixture turned a beautiful shade of blue. While it was bubbling away, I tossed in some salt and pepper, drizzled in the balsamic vinegar and a few dashes of chipotle tobasco. I know blueberries and the smokey flavors of chipotle don’t sound like a traditional match made in heaven, but it was really a lovely combination.
I then seared up some beautiful Scottish salmon in a little olive oil.
So the question is, how could I make this dinner better? Make it into a picnic! So once everything was done cooking, I packed it all up and met Chris in Boston Common to see the free summer theater performance of Shakespeare’s Othello. What a fun way to spend a Tuesday night! It was such gorgeous weather, what more could you ask for?
And I have to say that the salmon with blueberry sauce was amazing. The sauce was buttery, but not heavy. And the sweetness of the blueberries was contrasted by the smokey chipotle. And in addition to this dish being really delicious, it’s pretty healthy too (well, maybe not the butter) as salmon and blueberries are considered “super foods” and are recommended to eat regularly. We finished off the meal with brown rice and edamame. Try and check out Othello this summer at the Common, it was really a great performance and a great reason to get outside and get your picnic on!
- Jackie
Wicked Domestic
