Israeli Couscous With Roasted Squash And Eggplant

Summer is finally here! Can you feel it? I've been enjoying the long days and warm rays and trying to get outside as much as possible. I'm sure you've noticed that I haven't been blogging as much -- I just haven't really wanted to spend my time sitting in front of the computer (after sitting in front of one for 8 hours at work every day) when I could be outside taking Gunner for a walk, tending to my tomatoes, or just sitting on the deck listening to Pandora and sipping coffee with Jeff (usually while we stare at our tiny backyard and think how amazing it could be if money were no object).

My heart also hasn't really been into blogging, and there's nothing worse than trying to write something when you just don't feel like writing it. You guys would see right through that. So the posts I have been sharing with you -- though they're few and far between -- are the ones that make me feel that spending some time at the computer (albeit in the late evening) is worth it. These are the posts I really care about and hope you do too! I'm not writing just to write; I'm writing to share things with you, like this Israeli couscous dish that's chock-full of summer vegetables.

Farm To Post At Post 390 With Ward's Berry Farm

The Farm to Post series at Post 390 offers guests a way to learn about the restaurant's purveyors through a dinner featuring ingredients from that purveyor. I recently attended a Farm to Post dinner showcasing the produce from Ward's Berry Farm, a family farm in Sharon, Massachusetts. My husband, Jeff, grew up in Sharon, so we've been to Ward's plenty of times. I have trouble staying away during strawberry and corn seasons! Already being a fan of Ward's and Post 390, I was excited to see what Post 390 chef Eric Brennan could do with Ward's fresh produce.

Pasta And Rosé At Parla

A recent girls' night brought me to the North End to check out Parla. I arrived in the area a little early and walked around, listening to cheers and cries as seemingly everyone watched a World Cup game. I stopped into neighborhood favorites, Cocoanuts and Salumeria Italiana, and then I headed over to the Wine Bottega to meet my friends for a pre-dinner rosé tasting. After we sipped and sampled about 15 rosés, and purchased a couple of bottles each to bring home, we headed down Hanover Street to Parla.

Kicking Off Farmers' Market Season With Some Farmers' Market Finds

This post was sponsored by Welch's. All opinions are my own.


You guys should know by now that I loooooove farmers' markets. When we lived in Somerville, I used to be able to plan it so I could go to a different one each day of the week. Now that we're out in West Roxbury, I don't have markets close enough to swing by one every day, but the Roslindale Village Main Street Farmers' Market is my go-to on Saturday mornings. Last year, when I was new to the Roslindale farmers' market scene, I didn't have high expectations but my very first visit proved that I totally should have. The Roslindale Village Main Street Farmers' Market is huge and has tons of great vendors showcasing all sorts of awesome products. There's produce from farms including Allandale and Brookwood, specialty products like Heirloom Kitchen's prepared meals, and even things like soaps and ceramics.

This past Saturday, in addition to scoping out the market on opening day and visiting the usual vendors, I had the opportunity to sample the new Farmer's Pick by Welch's® juices.

Pierogi, Spaetzle, And More At Bronwyn, Somerville, Mass.

Sometimes, as a food blogger, you can lose sight of what going out to dinner is all about. You pull out your camera as every dish arrives from the kitchen; you concentrate on getting a good photo and then you focus on the flavors, the presentation, the creativity of the dish. You get so wrapped up that the whole dinner becomes about the intricate details of the food -- not that there's anything wrong with that. But there's another piece to going out to dinner, and that's the company.

When I recently went to Bronwyn, enticed by a menu of German favorites from schnitzel to spaetzle, I wasn't even sure if I was going to blog about the meal. I was more excited about catching up with friends, and so while I did snap some quick pictures (I can't seem to get over that fear of "What if I ate the best thing ever and never got a photo of it?"), I relaxed a little and let this be just a dinner, rather than a job. What I got was a laid-back evening with a nice balance of good conversation mixed with good drinks and good bites. It was just what I needed.