Caroline Dines

This Memorial Day weekend I traveled to Little Compton Rhode Island to kick of the summer season with my family! It couldn’t have been a nicer weekend and I sincerely hope that all of you enjoyed yourselves as well wherever that may have been!

Sunday morning began with an early (before breakfast!) run. I don’t normally exercise on an empty stomach since I have heard that this can be counter productive. I did manage to get in a half a banana and a little bit of soy nut butter (not pictured) before hitting the pavement. This held me over nicely and made the run enjoyable, not unbearable like it can be when you are really hungry! I think the quality of my run also had something to do with the beautiful scenery and my brand new Mizuno’s! I love the new color and can’t believe that I lasted this long!

I also felt pretty powerful with my new bondi band. Knowing that I have run 26.2 miles successfully powers me through a 7 mile run no problem!

My cousin Meg and I both ran 7 miles (a new PDR for her!) and were loving life when we returned. I managed to run mine in 1:00 exactly which puts me at about a 8:50ish pace which I was pretty proud of.

 

Needless to say I was ready for breakfast by the time I had stretched out and cooled down a bit. I didn’t want a big one because my appetite is always more suppressed having just run a longer distance. So what better than a big glass of ice water and a tub of Pineapple Chobani topped with my Mom’s homemade granola?

I guess it can only be made better being eaten with a snoopy spoon that brings me right back to my childhood! I always dig this out of the back of the silverware drawer when I am at my Nana’s. It’s kind of tradition.

 

After breakfast, we all changed and readied ourselves for the beach. Lunches were packed, sunscreen was applied and the car was stuffed full!

The whole crew made it including my Nana who just had a knee replacement last month! I was so impressed with her progress and pleased that she was able to be a part of such a gorgeous beach day, since she is not one to sit at home and loves the beach just as much as I do!

Once we set up shop, it was time for utter relaxation. Nothing better than this in my opinion. I even managed to go swimming (stayed in for about 15 minutes, in the surf!) which makes coming back to a warm towel that much more enjoyable.

 

Of course lunch was a high point of the day and the highlight of my lunch should have been these Food Should Taste Good chips. You see I received a box, a HUGE box, of all the different varieties last week and have been planning to mention them on the blog ever since. I had yet to try the multi-grain and so decided to incorporate this small bag into my lunch. My Mom and I had agreed to split them but she ate lunch first and kind of forgot to portion her chips out and instead ate all but one and half chips! I can say that the one chip I did eat tasted amazing and I am glad that I have many more bags to go through. This company has it figured out. Real ingredient, awesome flavors and a truthful product name. These are definitely my “go-to” chip. That being said, in all fairness I did bring the chips for my Mom to sample so I guess it’s alright that she enjoyed them.

It’s also completely excusable because she gave me half of her homemade potato salad to bulk up my spinach and chicken salad.

 

The potato salad was from Cooking Light and was different than other varieties in that it didn’t contain a mayonnaise based dressing. I believe it was simply rice wine vinegar, a little oil and some herbs that made the flavor pop! The potatoes really soaked up the flavors and after reading an article in Women’s Health that highlighted cold potatoes as a “hunger buster” (due to the special kind of starch they contain which resists certain digestive enzymes), I think I will be incorporating a lot more potato salads this summer.

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Added to the mix were some cornichons, you can never go wrong with a pickle!

And as a special treat, the first local strawberries of the season. Oh yea, this is what a strawberry is supposed to taste like!

 

After a long day in the sun we returned home to get ready for an evening of festivities. I quenched my thirst with some Iced Tea that we had made up earlier in the morning.

 

I have found a new love for homemade iced tea. It’s so easy, customizable and cheap! Why not?

 

After showers, croquet was set up and enjoyed by many.

While I normally love a game of croquet, I was busy getting things laid out for the celebration about to ensue. My cousin Charlie is graduating from high school next weekend and we had planned an extra special gathering in his honor. I brought some Fromage Blanc produced by the Foxboro Cheese Co. purchased at the Copley Farmer’s Market. The flavor was lemon honey and while I was nervous that it might be too mild for my family who tends to like bold flavors, everyone raved about it. Success!

 

I served it with TJ’s water crackers. At 90 cents a box, they’re a pretty good deal and I happen to have a real affinity for simple water crackers.

 

The other noteworthy purchase of the night was actually bought in the village of Little Compton at Wilbur’s General Store. We went in search of “Diet Tonic Water” because we had a craving for Gin and Tonics but honestly none of us really wanted any artificial sweeteners in our tonic. I was so happy when I found this four pack of “Naturally Light” Indian Tonic Water. The bottle contains 40 calories and has just a lesser amount of fruit sugar added to it. Sounds good to me!

 

Added to a little shot of gin, a squirt of lemon and lime juice, some ice and you have the perfect summer beverage!

Cool and crisp.

 

The theme for the night was “cook-out”. Pretty typical Memorial Day fare. However, we added my Mom’s freshly made hamburger buns.

 

All the fixings including Nana’s famous Coleslaw, baked beans, and my aunt Beth’s corn and black bean salad which had fresh basil added to it. Yum. This salad made me excited for corn on the cob!

 

And local beef from Bethel! I decided to have a half a burger since I wasn’t starving and wanted to enjoy the other sides. Beans of any variety happen to be one of my favorites.

 

Just as the sun was setting we brought out the Texas Sheet Cake and sang a Happy Graduation (to the tune of Happy Birthday) song to my cousin. The perfect conclusion to a well executed meal.

This morning we awoke bright early to another gorgeous day. Sadly we all had to go home today but we had one last goal and that was to take a ride in my Dad’s new (to him) boat!

 

I started out up front where my Mom and Meg are pictured here but soon retreated back with my Dad since I was scared by how fast we were going! I love going fast but I am just not used to such a powerful boat yet. My Dad was quick to say we weren’t even at full power yet…yikes!

 

To say my Dad was happy would be a complete understatement. He has been waiting his whole life to have an awesome boat and was completely in his element! So happy for him!

We’ve always had older boats (like picture 1960’s style) that were fun when they worked but generally un-reliable. I think this summer we’ll be taking lots of boat trips so get ready for more appearances by “The Black Tern”. 

 

After taking the boat out and packing up the car, it was sadly time to return to the city. I poured myself a bit of iced tea into the tonic bottle and corked it off for the ride home. While I was sad to see the weekend come to an end, I am so excited for the rest of the summer. I can’t believe tomorrow is June 1st (Happy Birthday Darin!); nice to think we still have it all in front of us!

We awoke this morning to find that winter was about to hit Boston hard. A huge storm was making its way up the east coast and was predicted to hit us by 9 p.m. tonight. We are slated to get anywhere from 7-15 inches of snow over the course of the storm which should end mid-day tomorrow.You can imagine the excitement/panic that was going through my mind. On the one hand I am so excited to be getting snow in Boston but since it is the last weekend before Christmas and we have LOTS to do still, there was no time to be wasted! I made us each some cinnamon sugar toast which I drank with a mug of candy cane green tea. This breakfast reminded me of being a kid, every now and then you need that! Also, we didn’t have ANYTHING else in the house so toast was it!

 

After finalizing our list, we set out to the stores. The malls were crazy of course but we managed to get some things accomplished. The first thing on our list was eating lunch out! I wanted to get a few things “in the bag” first but Darin was hungry and I was easily talked into starting our trip off with a meal. We stopped by Chili Duck on Boylston Street which we had both been to before, but not in a long time. It was a very spur of the moment decision but I was quite pleased with the way it turned out. Chili Duck is located in the basement and so has no windows but ends up feeling rather spacious and cozy due to the decor and mirrors on one side of the wall. I was so bummed when I realized that I forgot my memory card inside my computer at home! I had to rely on my iphone which isn’t as high quality but got the job done I guess.

While looking around, I caught sight of a “specials” board which was advertising “Jungle Curry: A healthy curry made without Coconut Milk”. I was immediately intrigued and knew that I had found a healthy alternative to my typical noodle dish or heavy curry concoction. I was not disappointed with my meal when it came out, in fact I was overwhelmed when they lit the whole thing on fire! It was quite exciting and just added to the enjoyment of it all.

 

The curry flavor was not very strong since I asked for it to be mildly spiced. Basically the dish was a light broth with strips of chicken, bamboo shoots, peppers, basil, ginger, and other veggies. I ate mine over rice. It ended up turning into more of a soup than anything but I was happy I opted for something light and healthy. I left the restaurant feeling vibrant rather than like I wanted to take a nap!

 

After we were all “fueled up” we hit the Prudential and Copley Malls. We split up for awhile since Darin had shopping to do for yours truly. Since I was all done with my shopping I browsed and people watched. It didn’t take him all that long (he must have had a plan!) and before I knew it we were walking back home. Since it had warmed up a bit, we opted to walk rather than taking the train. Later on this evening we poured ourselves some wine (with ice, it was warm!).

And had some crackers and cheese. These are the TJ’s Triscuit variety (reduced guilt) and they are delicious with a slice of light havarti.

Since lunch was really dinner and the food is sparse around here, I decided to make myself a little hot dog n’ beans dish. Baked beans are one of my favorite foods that I don’t eat that much anymore because of all the sugar. I treated myself tonight though…oh I am so wild, eating baked beans and hot dogs!

The hot dogs I used were the following:

Just a dollop of mustard on each “dog bite”.

By the way, it would be wrong of me not to mention the fun night out I had with Meg C. We ended up going to The Border Cafe in Harvard Square (Veggie Planet will happen at some point but last night it was just too crowded!). We enjoyed drinks and…

…salsa and chips hot from the oven!

I had a great time talking with her about everything under the sun. It’s so fun when you find someone that you really click with! I can’t wait for our next outing and hope to include Kristine from Purple Pinky Toes and Meg’s sister Anna from Blue Plate Special who will be home from Kenya!

For our Saturday night supper or “suppah” as the locals would call it, we ventured 26 miles north to the quiet town of Andover. Andover is where Darin grew up and where his parents still live. Darin’s mother is famous for her chicken dinners but tonight she served my favorite out of her repertoire: A Classic New England Bean Dinner. Her homemade baked beans make the meal for me. As a huge bean lover, I don’t discriminate. But when it comes down to it, these are the best baked beans around.

I think one of the reasons I like this meal so much is because there are so many parts to enjoy. My plate below had one sliver of ham, a slice of tomato, a small scoop of cottage cheese, cucumber spears, a hard boiled egg, a pile o’ beans and a fluffy homemade biscuit.

Darin’s dad always enjoys his cucumbers with some vinegar. Here he is pouring it straight up on to the peppered cucumber slices. I tried a couple of his since mine were plain and have to say that I am fan of the vinegar method.

Some sweet cucumbers were also on offer tonight, made by Darin’s neighbor. Homemade sweet pickles (or pickles of any kind) are always the best in my opinion.

I could have gone back for more of these but restrained myself since they’re a limited commodity. Seriously this dinner was awesome and it was great to see Darin’s rents even if it was a short visit. Since they were both interested in the blog and making sure I had good shots I can only imagine how fun Thanksgiving will be this year since I will be celebrating with Darin’s family. It’s no fun to be taking secret pictures in the background.

And in case you thought it was over with that, Darin’s mother brought out a homemade lemon meringue pie for dessert. I made sure to make room Flaky crust, creamy tart and tangy filling and a delicate meringue topping made for the perfect end to this fabulous meal.

Mmmmm….I absolutely love mixing flavors and ending up with a big mess on my plate! You know those plates that little kids use with the sectioned off places to put your peas and potatoes? Not for me. Today’s lunch was eaten in a hurry which was too bad because it was so good I wanted to savor it longer. I had to shower, eat, blog and get out the door in about an 1 hr so things were a bit hurried to say the least! Lunch combined the bean and tomato salad from earlier with some veggies from the shrimp stir-fry. It reminded me of a something I would get at from a salad bar. I get so excited to try everything that I end up picking slightly different dishes that wouldn’t normally go together. This is why I LOVE salad bars, you get to be so creative!

So the scary (creepy looking not tasting!) part of my lunch is pictured below:

Yes, that is a whole fish! A rainbow trout to be precise. He looks angry but I guess I would be too if I got put in a smoker! This little guy was smoked to perfection by my uncle who was nice enough to send me home with an entire fish this past weekend. My uncle is quite the fisherman. He travels all over the state of Maine and even goes as far as Florida and New Zealand in search of a good catch. It’s not his day job but it could be based on his success! I was so happy to find this in the fridge today because I haven’t been to the store all week and needed something to add a little protein to lunch.

It was really easy to eat because all the work had been done. I simply pulled the meat off and took a few of the really apparent bones out. I ate it on a Suzie’s Spelt Flat Bread (Italian Herb), which was great because while the fish was well flavored the herbs on the flat bread only enhanced it. I am always in search of new cracker options and try to stick with gluten free and lower carb choices because I notice that they make both Darin and me feel better. I will definitely get these again; great flavor and I love how 3 of them equals 1 serving (95 calories!?)

The fish was so good; so flaky! I love smoked salmon and had never tried Rainbow trout so this was a real treat! It was hard not to eat the whole fish but I wanted to save some for Darin to have a taste.

For an afternoon treat/snack I had a cup of vanilla chai tea with a petite brownie at the salon I go to in Cambridge. I love these little bite sized brownies and always get one when I go. Not sure what is on the docket for tonight, it’s starting to rain here. Maybe a movie? Maybe take-out? Not sure, I am just looking forward to a relaxing weekend not being on the road!

And just because I like playing with photo booth on Darin’s computer, I’ll share with you all my hair-cut. It feels so nice to have it healthy again!

Jeez, my eyes look tired, maybe a night in is just what I need