Boston fishmongers versus Whole Foods

I like Whole Foods, I’m lucky because when I came here I didn’t know anything about hormones in the food or pesticides and I began to buy here because it’s really convenient from my house.

The closets supermarket to my home is Whole Foods, all the food is fantastic and you don’t have to worry if the chicken has hormones detrimental to your health or not because the answer is not. I have never paid attention to this matter because in Europe the use of the certain hormones to make young animals gain grow faster is regulated by law and in theory you are safe that this hormones help to developed a cancer in your body.

After this introduction praising Whole Foods, even the fishmonger is good, something is missing there. I think maybe it’s because I’m use to have a huge variety of fish in Spain and the option to buy a whole fish, with the head and bones. It’s nothing wrong with the filets but when you put a sea bass in the oven the flavor is going to be richer if you cook it with the head, if somebody is thinking that is disgusting, don’t do it, because you don’t eat the head.

After have this conversation with a Spanish friend, she did a web research and she found two fishmongers as we know in Spain. New Deal Fish Market is one of them, in 622 Cambridge St, Cambridge, and the other one is Courthouse Seafood at 498 Cambridge Street, East Cambridge.

I’ve visited the first one and my experience couldn’t be better the variety of fish is incredible and the quality as well. I bought sea bass and swordfish, both of them full of flavor; it has been the first time that I ate a really good fish since I’m here, I mean a flavor fish not hidden under a rich sauce. I have to go to Courthouse Seafood because is a restaurant too and maybe because the Portuguese roots I'm going to eat European style fish.

If you want to know the recipe of the sea bass let me know and I’ll write it down.

Harbor Islands - Georges Island

After searched at different web pages, we choose to go to Georges Island thinking in hiking and history, next time I’ll only look in the Harbor Island web page, because how we checked our selves, is a “scenic low-stress walk” but very pleasant.

We walked around the historic Fort Warren, and that it’s the hiking that you can do. Here is the map  just in case you want to have a look.  Is interesting observe the rest of the Islands that surround Boston, because I couldn’t imagine that till I searched for things to do here.

The importance of Fort Warren during the Civil War, The WWI and WWII is very well explained at the Museum, you can see how was the day by day of the soldiers there and the artillery changes during the pass of the time.

After socked up of the story we walked around the Fort and finally extended our towel at the pebbles beach for a while and cached the ferry to return to Boston and have a delicious Back Bay Sangria and Tuna tartar ant Joe’s.

Fourth of July 2011

I was downloading the photos of last weekend, (I´ll write about it because It has been very active), and I found the 4^th of July pictures.

This has been our second 4^th of July, this time we were on a very privileged place, on a friend roof deck.   The experience was fabulous, nobody pushed me or stepped on my foot, in the meantime we’re drinking Caipirinhas enjoying the gentle breeze.

Before the big fireworks we had a prelude, from different roof decks fireworks flash could been seen.

The Rotary road was cut as last year was and after some cold days, the 4^th began quite hot, we’re walking along the river observing how the people started to take positions to watch the fireworks, there were genuine professionals with tents, coolers, chairs, American flags, I have to say that I remember all my family in Spain and I was wondering If they were here in Boston we’d be along the river as well, who knows.

If I have to compare this celebration with a Spanish celebration I think that it’ll be with New Year’s Eve, everybody waiting at home or at the street for something special to happen. In New Year´s Eve we wait for the stock at twelve to eat twelve grapes that will bring to us luck for the New Year.

Yoga

I'm going to write about Yoga because I enjoy myself practicing it.

All my life I´ve practiced Pilates but I introduced Yoga in my routine a year ago .

I have to say that the instructor is really important and he or she can make that you love it or hate it. In my case I love it. There are different types of Yoga, I practice Slow Flow Yoga, it's a variety of Vinyasa Yoga.

If you search the term “Vinyasa Yoga” you'll find that is “breath-synchronized movement.” You'll do a series of asanas  and you'll move through one to another inhaling and exhaling. Your body will gain in flexibility and stability and after one year practicing it I can say that it`s true.

I don´t like to miss any weekly class because I notice I challenge myself everyday and I can feel my body improvements every class.

I go to the gym to practice Yoga once a week and I practice at home with a Mandy Ingber Yoga DVD, Yogalosophy and I like both styles. I practice at home only with the music option because I can't put up with Mandy´s voice and her comments but the exercises are really good for your muscles.

Sometimes I´m going to run along the river Charles and when I see people practicing Yoga at the dock I dream to do it someday preferably at dusk, who knows maybe when I practice for some years more I'll do it.

Gazpacho

Finally the summer is here and what could be better that have a star dish for the summer nights. I've modified a little bit the recipe (I take out the bread to make it lighter). 

I'm always looking forward for the summer to make the Gazpacho and to remind my mum’s gazpacho in Spain.

The ingredients that you are doing to need are:

-       4 ripe tomatoes (cut in half each tomato and take off the steam)

-       1/2 green pepper

-       1/2 cucumber (small)

-       1 clove of garlic

-       A pinch of salt

-       6 spoons of olive oil

-       2 spoons of white vinegar

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend them till the mixture is smooth.

Poor the gazpacho into coarse strainer and it´s ready to eat or to drink depending the container you used to delight your palate.

You can play with the amount of garlic, olive oil and vinegar to obtain your special recipe because how we say in Spain, “For different tastes we have different colors” that is “"Everyone to his own taste."

New York, I love you

I'm subscriber to Netflix, the better invent to avoid the terrible television. Yesterday I saw "New York, I love you", a fantastic movie with different short love stories with great actors as  Bradley Cooper, Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Anton Yelchin, Hayden Christensen, Orlando Bloom, Irrfan Khan, Rachel Bilson, Chris Cooper, Andy García, Christina Ricci, John Hurt, Robin Wright Penn, Julie Christie, Maggie Q, Ethan Hawke and James Caan.

The cinematography and soundtrack are sensational, showing a lot of places of New York with a particular view with the perfect music.  Each story has been written or directed for a different director showing their particular vision of New York and the relationships that you can find in the city.

Here is the movie official trailer.

Friday

Today is Friday and at least it´s not raining. I like Fridays because are the beginning of the weekends and the fun things.

This Friday is a little bit different, my friends, better said a lot of people in Spain are attending to demonstrations to change the political situation. I´m disconnected from this situation because I´m living abroad for nearly 5 years now but I know that everybody was telling me “Don´t return to Spain now the crisis is unsustainable” and it should be because the protest now is in every city even in from of the Spanish Embassies abroad.
I´m glad of this awake because the strange thing was that nobody made anything, the unemployment figures are alarming, 19.4%, incredible.

The name of the group that has organized the demonstration is “Real Democracy now” and I wish that they achieve their goals because are the goals of all the Spanish people.  

I let you a link, is from a Spanish newspaper that now has the English option is you want go deeper El País.

Russian Red,Fuerteventura

Russian Red - Fuerteventura

I was wondering when Russian Red would release a new album and reading a Spanish newspaper I found an interview with the singer. I´ve listened to all the songs from the new CD Fuerteventura and I have to say that Lourdes doesn´t disappointed me.
This CD is a little bit different because is more elaborate and you can notice more instruments but I think that it is fantastic as it was the previous one.

Doesn´t time fly!

A year has just passed. It´s my birthday arrive. I arrived with a sunny day completely different that today. This year has been a good year, full of fantastic experiences and sometimes full of homesickness too.

I think that I´m lucky because I live in a fantastic city with a lot of activities to do even when the snow doesn´t let you walk. I´ve visited different cities at the US and I have to visit more. Now I know Boston really well, I don´t get lost in every corner and I know where I have to buy groceries, where to have a drink, where are the good restaurants, I have lived the open of the new wing of the MFA, knew the new penguins at the Aquarium and felt alt the seasons, if I have to choose I´d chose summer and autumn. Now I´m looking forward to the good weather because I don´t like very much the rain and after a few days I feel a little blue.

After a year I think that is being the moment to look for a job. A new experience for me.