history

Oh right! I have a blog!

A couple of weeks ago, Dave and I went out to Mt Auburn Cemetery. It might sound a little morbid, but it's actually one of the most beautiful places I've been in Boston. It was founded in 1831 as the first large-scale designed landscape open to the public in the United States, and it's credited with beginning the American public parks and gardens movement. Many famous people, including Buckminster Fuller, Isabella Stewart Gardener, Mary Baker Eddy, and Julia Ward Howe are buried there. It's 174 acres of trees, flowers, and birds, and it's one of the most peaceful places I've ever been. Amazingly, it's still in use today as a non-denominational burying ground, open to people of all economic levels.

I have a set on Flickr, but here are a few of my favorites:

A Civil War memorial:

This was really interesting. It appeared to be an empty plot, but apparently it's full. The Scots' Charitable Society is the oldest non-profit in the US and was founded in 1657 to assist with the burial of indigent Scottish immigrants, primarily indentured workers. They now provide academic scholarships and financial assistance to people in need.

Just a nice view:

Boston Molasses Disaster, originally uploaded by zannect.

I've been away for a bit due a cold, some problems with our site host that had my site down for a few days, a relapse into my junior high days of inhaling trashy fantasy novels, and just plain winter laziness. Sorry about that! So, here's a tasty link for you and some food news.

I love love love kale. I haven't always, but in the last couple of years, it's become my second favorite green vegetable (just after spinach). However, this dish may be pushing it into my top spot: boiled kale with a fried egg and toast, from Orangette. It's super easy--maybe 20 minutes of prep work and another 25 minutes or so just to cook by itself; it's quite healthy; and it's tasty far past what you would imagine. I keep meaning to take a picture of it, but I always forget when it's in front of me, because I start to eat immediately. Even if you're not a huge kale fan it's worth checking out.

In other food news, one of my favorite Christmas presents this year was a guided tour of the produce section at Whole Foods, led by Steve, who has just finished a season working on an organic farm. Dave and I came home with a slew of new vegetables that we never cook, including delicata squash (amazing!); fennel (raised soup to a whole new level!); and collards (his suggestion that we braise them with sweet potatoes turned out awesome), as well as some new ideas for stuff we make all the time. We also came home with some new spices to try (rice plum vinegar and gomashio) and some new types of rice (forbidden rice!). I've been cooking a lot more since we moved, and my cooking skills are improving rapidly, so I'm pretty excited to have some new things to try.

And in the sort-of-food-news and sort-of-bizarre-historical-anecdote-leading-to-public-reform folder, today is the 90th anniversary of the Boston Molasses Disaster, in which 2.3 million gallons of molasses flooded the North End after a storage tank burst, killing 21 people and injuring 150. The wall of molasses that exploded out when the tank's rivets failed was moving at 35 mph and was between 8 and 15 feet high, with 2 tons of pressure per foot. The disaster eventually lead to better building regulations. I learned about this as a small child, but I'm not sure it made it into history books outside of New England. You can read about it at a historian's site and on Wikipedia.

Old North Church Steeple, originally uploaded by zannect.

Eric came all the way out from San Francisco to visit us in Boston for Labor Day! Since he had never been to Boston before, it was time for some touring around. And some ice cream eating, and beer drinking. Dave hadn't ever done the full Freedom Trail, and I haven't done it in years and years, so the three of us spent a Sunday walking the whole thing (except for the last stop). Not only was it a nice way to show off Boston, but it turned out to be more interesting than I expected to see it all together. I've seen all the pieces several times, but never done the tour in order. I have to admit most of the history was familiar to me....not from school, but from my many readings of Johnny Tremain. At least it's historically accurate. Mostly.

I learned a lot more while I was putting all the photos up on Flickr. Most of them have at least part of the descriptions from the Freedom Trail's website, if you're curious to learn any more. And we'll take any other first time visitors out for the same trip, except we won't try walking from the USS Constitution to Inman Square again (an extra three miles!). Offer good only for first-timers, though; if you've been to Boston before you're on your own. However, the guided ice cream tour is open to all visitors.