And then this happened

Almost.



Ok.

That.



Hello, you.

You see... I was fittin' to post about all the cultural activities R & I got up to over the MLK weekend (some music, a bit of art, a view,a jaunt through a museum), which was all very fun and interesting. And then a week passed and it became Sunday. And I decided to make a roasted pear upside down cake.

Bold move.

I was snooping around on Food Gawker (hours wasted), my sweet/hangover tooth aching for something. There were the classic chocolate goodies (my go-to) but somehow this completely out of the blue pear cake just spoke to me.

I might have helped that we had three more-than-ripe pears begging to be consumed. R kindly jumped out into the cold (nothing can motivate a Sunday person like a home baked dessert) to get the provisions (who has corn meal on hand, anyhow?). And off I went.

There was one misfire when I found I needed baking soda AND powder (damn you two leavening agents!) but it turns out if you use three times the amount of powder for the amount required of soda, you're good to go.

Honestly, it may look impressive (you're not allowed to say otherwise) but this was one of the easiest desserts I have ever made.

AND. It. Was. Delicious. It had that salty-sweet thing going for it and the cornmeal gave it a fantastic grainy texture. It was light but moist and the bottom layer adds the kick of sweetness (a layer of sugar butter. That's right. Sugar. Butter.). The pears roast down to a delectable softness that melts in your mouth and then the rosemary offers this hint of savory flavor. Awesome.

And THEN just to top it off. I made this genius asparagus, goat cheese and lemon pasta from Smitten Kitchen.



I swapped regular pasta for the curly cute kind (because it's all that I had) and I swapped rosemary for tarragon for the same reason. The rosemary worked out fine, though I'm sure tarragon would have been EVEn better. It was creamy with that goat cheese bite. We wolfed it down. And it really only took 20 minutes. Amaze, amaze.

So, there it is. Back on the cooking wagon (not that I really strayed).

Next time, the cultural adventures... I swear.

Adventures in the South End and my kitchen

Alright, Boston, I said to know one in particular, it's time to figure you out.

What I know of this fair, historical city are the big box items: Museum of Fine Arts, Top of the Hub, Freedom trail. That's all well and good, but I'm going to need something grittier. Something I can step in and drag around with me.

So R and I headed to the South End. "It's up and coming," said one Bostonian. "A good place to start," quipped another.

So away we went...driving. Yes, ever since I started to drive to work it has been hard for me to get back on that T. We found (voila!) a parking space, filled it with all the quarters we could find in the back of the wagon (5) and hit the streets.

I'm not going to sugar coat it, I was underwhelmed. I had heard it was a good place for galleries and since it's also home to the Boston Center for the Arts I figured there would be some good contemporary creativeness oozing from the building's brick walls onto the streets.

Nothing oozed except for a ridiculously long line of 20-something kids dressed in black.

But we drifted up and down the streets anyway. And it wasn't all bad, in fact it was quite cute though sparce. Beautiful victorian town houses lined the streets peppered by modern design and clothing boutiques and dark tavern-like restaurants. I did walk past the winter skeletons of a few community gardens that made my heart flutter in yearning for warmer months.


Finally we hit upon the heart of the South End. Like the sprinkling of gingerbread pieces, our path to Union Park Street and Shawmut Ave was trickled with puppies!





And, ultimately, cupcakes



The South End Buttery was the journey-end treasure where I found, get this, cupcakes NAMED after puppies!



A true cross-section of this blogger's life-loves.

We went with the Harriot because the cupcake looked yummy and the puppy photo looked cute. It was moist, sweetly tart and carrotastic. It was a delight, just as I'm sure Harriet must be.



There was an obvious mutual affection.



Walking down Union Park Street we found a row of fantastic spaces - grand but rustic with white-painted wooden floors, overstuffed couches and giant mirrors. And, yes, of course, beautiful things to buy. My favorite was Looc Boutique for its stunning jewelry made my local designers (always a good sign). The necklaces were my faves - a mix of textures and patterns, heavy metals and soft fabrics. I want. The space appears sparse for, well, clothing, but I found it refreshing being someone incapable of making a choice. Like a well-tailored menu at a ten-table restaurant, Looc made each piece of clothing special and drool-worthy. It was expensive, but being broke, everything is.

I mean the food in the South End is definitely something to check out. Before leaving work on Friday I was given a lengthy list of caloric venues, Buttery being the only one I ended up visiting. That's all well and good and I think that unique and tasty independent restaurants are a good sign of a growing creative vitality...it's still not there, or at least not impressing me.

I need to find more. And that was only the start. next weekend...

After our South End romp and a RUDE parking ticket R & I hit the grocery store for a sexy saturday night shopping spree built around a tart that I fancied making.

Smitten Kitchen is one of my go-to food blogs and low and behold, the first post on there was the onion and cauliflower tart..I was being begged.

Now, I'm not really a tart-making kind of a girl and R's kitchen is still bachelor-sheek, but damn if those photes aren't tantalizing. And so it went...





There were a few hiccups - an overflowing pie-filling and the omission of the nutmeg - but all in all I think it turned out down-right delicious.

mmmmmmountains of caramelized cheesy goodness:




And hello lunch.



xoxoL