The thing about Pumpkin Spice and #PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latté) is that the pumpkin doesn’t really belong in the title. Spices that are used in pumpkin pie are often found in apple pies and other New England dishes. The real workhorse though is the pumpkin this time of year. We gouge it to make our Halloween…
Author: City Living (Boston)
I am a writer and cook. I write about city living, travel, food, the arts and family. I raise my family in Cambridge & Boston and share tips for throwing cocktail parties, packing lunches, having fun on the weekend without going broke or losing your sanity.
Harissa Hummus Noodle Salad with Chicken and Chutney (Recipe * Sponsored)
Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and the flavors of roasted turkey, creamy mashed potatoes, and tangy cranberry sauce are about to take over our lives for a few days. In preparation for Thanksgiving, I like to step off the continent and travel to flavours from around the world so that I am ready to delve into the…
A Third, A Musical Third and a Balletic First: Boston Ballet’s North American Premiere
In music, a third is a beautiful thing. It is a simple little interval that hops from do (c) to mi (e). It comes in majors and minors and we hear them in old nursery rhymes and popular music. In John Neumeier’s The Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler, the choreographer takes things that we take…
Union Square Love: Somerville
Union Square is a place I drove through every week when I used to tutor a child. It was somewhere I passed through but never had time to stop. As the tutoring days ended and my family life began, I started to explore the area a little more. Honk brought me to Union Square and…
Fall is Here and I Feel Like Wrapping Myself in a Plaid Wool Blanket Pie (Recipe)
Fall is here and I love it! I love the crunchy leaves beneath my feet and the chill in the air. I don’t even mind the dark encroaching on my daylight. As any good New Englander does, we let our toes freeze a little and allow the chill to creep indoors as we count up…
Amsterdam Falafel: Beyond Traditional
When Amsterdam Falafel Shop first opened in Davis square, I heard a lot of buzz about the place, but when I eventually made my way over there I didn’t immediately fall in love. Perhaps it was the dark and cramped space, but more likely it was because I had two kids in tow, I was…
Common Threads: Boston Ballet and Artist Janet Echelman Push Boundaries
Brookline artist Janet Echelman has had everyone looking up, through and beyond with her fibre art sculpture, As If It Were Already Here, that hangs above the Rose Kennedy Greenway. While Echelman’s piece still evokes awe and wonder from those who see it in person or in photographs, in a way it does feel as…
Salem Loves Fall: I Love Seafood
Salem is a hot spot come fall, but there’s much more to it than witches and witch hunts. We love to go to Salem for the Peabody Essex Museum, where right now you can also check out something way more powerful and intriguing than witches (well at least as intriguing): The Strandebeest. There is also…
Dinner in the “Middle” of the Ocean: A Mirbeau Inn Mirage at Plymouth Rock Oyster Flats
I grew up near Toronto and summers often meant a rustic cottage by a lake in the region known as Cottage Country. Dinners were always on the porch or by the dock and we often had pike or other fresh fish that we had caught that afternoon. A plate of food that comes from underfoot…
Scenes from Le Dîner en Blanc Boston 2015
Le Dîner en Blanc is a spectacular phenomenon created by François Pasquier over 27 years ago in Paris with a handful of friends. Now it takes place in cities across the globe with nearly 15,000 friends and friends to be all dressed in white to break bread side by side, light up the night, and dance…
Back to School & Back in Time: American Girl Grace Thomas Train Ride
As children are making the transition from carefree summer days to the structured days of school, you don’t have to put away your suitcases and bathing suits quite yet. School-free weekdays may be over, but it’s still summer outside and a weekend trip here or there is a great way to tiptoe towards fall. Easing back into reading…
Falmouth Gastropub Bear In Boots Gets it Right
I’ve had some great meals on Cape Cod and Nantucket, but most of them are made at home with goodies from the farmer’s market and the local fisherman. Dining out on the Cape has historically been a bit of a let down. I would head to Wellfleet or Nantucket leaving my high standards for dining…
Leah's Life: Pearls and Oysters 