I love jam. I put it on toast, crackers and pair it with cheese – usually a good brie or blue. The contrast of salty and sweet, fat and fresh is a wonderful change of pace from just cheese and crackers.

I always end up with berries that are just over-ripe which are perfect for jam. I don’t boil the jars of jam, so they only last about 2 weeks in the fridge, but that is plenty of time! I even place jam in little jars (i.e. baby food jars) and give them away as gifts.

The first jam I made was this strawberry jam with rosemary. The rosemary complements the strawberry sweetness unexpectedly!

At the height of summer, I use fresh basil instead of rosemary which works really well too!

Strawberry-Rosemary Jam   (click here to print recipe without pictures)

1 lb. fresh, hulled and quartered strawberries
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 sprigs rosemary (4 sprigs of basil if using instead of rosemary)

1. Place a small pyrex bowl in the freezer (it’s used to test the consistency of the jam). Place the canning jar in very hot water.

2. Combine strawberries and sugar in a heavy pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring and breaking up the fruit (I use a potato masher). When the fruit is broken down a bit (about 5 min), add the rosemary (or basil). Simmer until jam is thickened, 20-25 min, stirring frequently to prevent burning.

3. Spoon a 1/4 tsp of jam into the frozen bowl. Tip bowl to one side, jam should be a soft gel that moves slightly. If mixture is thin and runs down side of bowl, it’s too soft and needs to simmer longer.

4. Once jam is set, stir in lemon juice. Transfer to a jar and let cool for 10 min. Place lid and chill until set, about 4 hours. Keep chilled and serve within 2 weeks

(adapted from Bon Appetit)

 

It’s summer!! Which means it’s cherry season!!  I have made these every summer for the past 3 years and they are always a hit! You can make them all year round if you use frozen cherries.

They are perfect for everyone since each adult (or child) gets their own!

Cherry Hand Pies   (click here to print recipe without pictures)

1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted; or 12 oz. frozen pitted cherries, unthawed
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1 14-oz. package puff pastry, thawed in fridge
flour (for dusting)
1 large egg white
1 1/2 tsp raw sugar (or large granule sugar)

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. Stir cornstarch with 1 1/2 tbsp cold water in a bowl, set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Combine cherries, sugar, vanilla extract and salt int large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cherry juices are released, about 5 min. Add cornstarch mixture; bring to a boil, stirring often. Cool to room temp, stirring occasionally

3. Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 18×15-in rectangle. Cut into 9 6×5-in rectangles. Whisk egg white and 1 tbsp water in a small bowl

4. Work with 1 piece at at time. Brush edges with egg wash. Place 3 tbsp cherry mixture onto 1 side, fold dough over filling and crimp edges with a fork to seal. Cut a few slits on top to vent. Place on prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining pastry

5. Brush tops with remaining egg wash and sprinkle with raw sugar.  Bake 30-40 min until golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 min before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

(adapted from Bon Appetit)

Months ago we bought a groupon for a Scenic Boston flight tour. For some reason, I thought it was a helicopter ride, however when arrived at the mini-airport, there were no helicopters in sight. Instead, there were a bunch of little planes. Hence, we took one of those up

We started in Stowe, flew over Wayland and into town, starting over Fenway. We took a 7pm flight and were in the air for about an hour.

The skyline view from above is fantastic

There was a concert at fenway and it was packed!

We flew over the Pru, Boston Common and down to the Harbor Islands since Logan Airport was slow.

On the way back into Boston, the sun was just starting to set, illuminating the water and the skyline with a golden hue

 

 

We were able to fly over Logan and get a birds-eye view of the airport

 

Then we flew back over Boston, down the Charles and over our house!

The setting sun was a perfect way to end a wonderful experience!

 

I have been to 4 continents and have been lucky enough to visit more than 20 countries. The strangest place I have ever encountered was Iceland.

The landscape was like nothing I have ever seen. The soil is mostly volcanic ash, which makes the flora very different from other places. There are no trees and the ‘grass’ is more like miniature shrubs. Also, the whole country runs off of geothermal power, so there are hot springs and pools in every town around the country. (This is the location for filming scenes from Game of Thrones)

Iceland is SUPER easy to get to from Boston. Just a 5 hour flight and you are there! We went in late June, during the summer soltice which was amazing. The sun did not set at all! I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to sleep, but that was not a problem. Even though it was summer, the daily temp was in the 50s.

Here I am at 1:00am!

We started our 1 week trip in the capital, Reykjavik.

They have wonderful architecture throughout the easily-walkable city. The main feature is the Hallgrimskirkia Church

It is basically in the center of town, and if you ever got lost, you just had to look up, find the church and work your way back to your desired location. It is beautiful inside

And it offers great 360 degree views from the top

Down by the water, there is the Sun Voyager, a viking ship sculpture

There is also the Harpa, which is a concert hall that has beautiful hexagonal windows

 

We stayed at an airbnb (which I highly recommend) and had a very interesting Icelandic dinner that first night. It was a tasting menu of typical (aka touristy) Iceland foods, including:

Puffin – purple, cold, very gamey meat that I don’t recommend, though people told us that puffin wasn’t ‘in season’

Whale (not good) and foal (which I’m sad to say was delicious!!). They also give you Brennivin, an alcohol that translates, literally, into ‘burning wine’. Try it once, then avoid it.

We stayed a few days in the capital and went to the public pool – Laugardalslaug, which was awesome! Since the water comes from a spring, there is no chlorine, so you must shower with soap before entering. They have a lap pool (though I don’t know anyone who would want to swim laps in an 80 degree pool), a regular pool and 2 hot tubs, one hotter than the next. It was fantastic!

We then rented a car and traveled northwest through the fjords to Isafjordur. The roads were….well, some were paved and others were gravel roads with crazy inclines up the glaciers. The views, however, were breathtaking

 

We drove up and down fjords. It was amazing.

Before getting into Isafjordur, we passed the Troll’s Seat, a natural depression between 2 hills that literally looks like a seat.

 

We grabbed some food and then asked the waitress where we should go hiking. Basically her response was ‘anywhere’. With no trees or big changes in elevation, you can see your destination without any problems.

So we went hiking and met some goats

Later that day we hiked up Trolls’ Seat. It was hard! Straight up for about 30 min, but the view was great. Since the sun never set below the horizon, we left for this hike at 9pm!

That night we had the most amazing dinner in this little cabin that has been a family business for generations. It’s called Tjoruhusid – it is buffet style with the most delicious fish soup (I wanted to lick the bowl) and the freshest fish dishes, along with salad and bread. It was by-far the best meal we had all trip!

We started the drive back to the south the following day. We stopped along the way and introduced ourselves to the local flora and fauna

 

We even found candy named NOA!!!

Once we got back to Rekjavik we signed up for a few day tours.

One was a glacier hike through Eskimos Iceland.  It was expensive but they give you lunch and pick you up/dropped you off from your hotel. And when is the next time we would walk on a glacier and do ice-wall climbing?? We went on Solheimajokull Glacier with a large group. We were given pick-axes, crampons and helmets. It was rainy and cold for the first part of the hike, but it cleared up as the day went on.

 

crampons – you had to jam your feet into the ice with every step!

 

Crazy blue ice and volcanic ash

The other day tour we did was through Reykjavik Excursions which was the “Golden Circle”. It was an easy day trip from the capital. They take you to Gullfoss (an amazing waterfall), an active geyser and Thingvellier National Park.

Our last day we went to the Blue Lagoon (again using Reykjavik Excursions). It is expensive, but so worth it! The water is a crazy color blue. It is a natural hot spring with a swim up bar!

And you can have a silica face mask!

After the lagoon, we returned to Reykjavik and walked around town again. It was a bit drizzly but it was pleasant.

This is an amazing alien place to visit, super close to Boston and a trip that I will never forget!!

 

 

 

I am always looking for easy one-day trips to take around Boston. I have heard about the Boston Harbor Islands for a long time, but I was never motivated to go.

Finally, we decided to take the ferry and visit them.  http://www.bostonharborislands.org/

There are a bunch of islands to visit, the closest one is Spectacle and we decided we should go there for our first time.

It was a perfect summer day, not too hot, not too humid. The ferry was super easy and come very often. There was live Jazz music on the day we went and there are events on the islands throughout the summer.

You get fantastic view of Boston from the ferry ride

We decided to just take some snacks (though in hindsight, a real lunch would have been a better choice), we brought some water and wore sneakers.

Spectacle Island used to be garbage dump, but with all the dirt from the Big Dig, it was filled over and plants were imported and took hold. Now Spectacle Island is a lush and green place with 5 miles of super easy trails and amazing views of Boston

 

Coming over the north hill, you feel like you are on the edge of world

We sat up here and had our snacks, laid in the grass and relaxed

Apparently, many islands have campgrounds, but they get booked 6 months in advance. Next time I would love to visit the other islands and (if I can remember to book 6 months out) go camping!