Boston Organics is on the way!

After much consideration I've signed up for Boston Organic's weekly delivery service. I'm really psyched about it. Given the amount of produce I consume each week - and the desire to buy organic stuff that's grown as close to Boston as possible - this seems like a really good fit.

It's $29 per week but I'd spend WAY more than that if I were to stock up on produce of equal quantity (and quality) at the dreaded Whole Foods. Signing up is simple. Just select the size of the box you want, complete your "no" list (the list of fruits/veggies that you never want to receive), add your credit card number and delivery address and - presto - fresh, organic produce delivered every week right to your door.

And you can preview what's coming by checking out the This Week's Box section. My delivery day is Tuesday (Nov. 17) and I'll post a photo when the box arrives at work. I'm already thinking about the stir-fries, scrambles and other yummies I'm gonna make this week:

$29 2/3 vegetable
2 Bosc Pears (CA)
1.5 lbs Fair Trade Bananas (Ecuador)
1 lbs Fuji Apples (VT)
2 Hamlin Oranges (FL)
1 bunch Broccoli (PA)
1 lbs Carrots (MA)
1.5 lbs Delicata Squash (MA)
0.75 lbs Mixed Summer Squash (FL)
1 bunch Red Leaf Lettuce (MA)
1 bunch Spinach (MA)
1.5 lbs Sweet Potatoes (MA)
1 lbs Yellow Onions (MA)

My new longboard skate board!

Yesterday I ordered a Surf One Robert August II Complete Longboard skate board and I can't wait for it to get here! I've always wanted one and I think it's perfectly normal for a mid-thirties guy to jump on a skateboard and ride to work now and then.

There's plenty of open, well-paved roads in Boston to tear up with this beaut. Here's hoping we have some fairly warm and rain/snow-free weekends left this year so I can break it out! More pics once it's delivered (early next week!)

Dinner at The Friendly Toast

Last night I grabbed dinner and a movie with my friend Ron. We went to The Friendly Toast in Kendall Square, Cambridge. As soon as I walked in I thought, "This place is totally cool": lots of 50's era furniture, movie posters, advertisements and funky clientele and staff.

Was a bit disappointed when the waitress said they couldn't veganize the tofu scramble (what?) so I went with the Vegan Valhalla: a flour tortilla stuffed with Asian-sesame baked tofu (YUM), portobello 'shrooms, brown rice, scallions, baby spinach and tahini dressing. It was fab, really delicious and HUGE. I also got a side of home fries.

But the best part was this totally funky cocktail! I can't even remember now what's in it but it was as delicious as it was jazzy to look at.

After dinner, we saw Michael Moore's latest, Capitalism: a Love Story. Ugh. Makes me want adopt the freegan way of life (well, maybe after my new longboard skate board is delivered!).

Project Runway!

Gad zeeks am I a HUGE Project Runway fan. This week's episode is the first of the Bryant Park-Fashion Week shows and the three finalists - Althea, Irena and Carol Hanna - are busily finishing their collections and the clock is ticking down the minutes until the shows begin. I'm glued to the set!

The best salad I've had all year - bar none

I'm constantly looking for fun/healthy/inexpensive lunch options because, frankly, there's not much near my office that I really want to eat. Fortunately, the burgers I made earlier this week have been the gift that keeps on giving.

I used a couple extra burgers to make this kick-ass salad. Over a bed of organic spinach I added a chopped portobello mushroom, avocado, crumbled burger, sunflower seeds and a simple vinaigrette dressing.

Fun? Check. Healthy? Check! Inexpensive? Check!! Best of all, though, was the taste. The salad was terrific and kept me sated well into the afternoon.

Need to make another soup very, very soon ;-)

Burgers!

I made another no-effort but delicious soup this weekend.

Now that the soup has thickened up I've decided to make burgers. I added some bread crumbs and nutritional yeast and as I type these beauties are fryin' in my new cast iron frying pan. I can't wait to dig into one.

Incidentally, I've decided to ditch my non-stick frying pan for good. I stir fry nearly every day, and I've read too much about the dangers of non-stick pans. So I'm alternating between stainless steel and the cast iron. I really like how the cast iron pan heats so evenly. And I found this great site which details how best to care for it.

Okay, it's burger time!

Boston Vegetarian Food Festival '09!

On Saturday I went with my friend Ron to the 14th Annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival and it was awesome! The event was put on by the Boston Vegetarian Society and they did an excellent job promoting it within the veggie community.

Loved hanging out with like-minded people and there were probably 200 or so on the exhibit floor. Free admission and lots and lots of sampling... Veg heaven.

We had a great vegan lunch of rice and stir fried veggies from a vegan restaurant whose name (now) escapes me. And I can't find them in the exhibitor list. Ugh. I've GOT to start taking my camera with me when I plan to blog about events.

Boston Organics was there as a top sponsor. And I was able to see first-hand what the $29 dollar box consists of. I was really impressed with the size and the amount of organic, locally grown veggies and fruit they pack in. Very, very excited about starting up a membership with them soon!

The highlight was an *amazing* vegan chocolate and peanut butter cake creation from Vegan Treats and Bakery. They're based in Bethlehem, PA with, unfortunately, have no plans to open up in Boston anytime soon. Gremlins. But if you're in PA you definitely need to swing by. Totally delicious stuff.

Also picked up some free copies of Vegetarian Journal and Vegetarian Times - both of which are packed with great fall recipes. Between that and The Kind Diet - which I just bought and read, I've got a LOT of new recipes to try!