King's Chapel Burying Ground, Boston (est. 1630)

Never realized what pagans those colonialists were. Very Day of the Dead, no?

All lined up and ready to go

OK, the swan boats were all lined up and ready to go on Friday and started running on Saturday but I went to BJs on Saturday to buy a lifetime supply of household products so just posting now.

Boston Fish & Seafood Market - red snapper

Boston Fish & Seafood Market (1484 Dorchester Ave,
Dorchester, MA 617-282-2980) is a little gem of a place right across the street from the Fields Corner T stop. They sell a decent variety of fresh fish which they will prep in a variety of ways - head off, skinned, boned etc. I bought one of the red snappers pictured here with the works; i.e., no fuss or muss for me, just ready to put in the pan.

They also sell fish dinners to go (fried, baked, broiled) with some of the best french fries I've ever had. I got fried clams with bellies but was so hungry when I got home that I just scarfed them down without a single thought about taking a picture.



I did a recipe search on epicurious.com for red snapper and just decided to wing it because there were so many.








I ended up near Haymarket the next day so I bought peppers and baby red potatoes. I've only been to Haymarket a couple of times and find it a bit too much. Super crowded, vendors who are not helpful (and I'm being generous).

Prices on these peppers were low (2/$1). So I got the yellow and orange from one vendor who let me pick my peppers, threw them in the bag and took my money. Guy I bought the red pepper, lemon and potatoes from was an insulting jerk (I should have made a stink but it was the end of the day and I really just wanted to get home.

None of the pictures of the finished meal came out that great but it was fantastic, probably one of the best meals I made in quite a while.

Martini from Sagra

This Hendricks Gin Martini with cucumber martini was procured at Sagra in Davis Square Somerville. This place has been through a couple of incarnations in recent years; current one has been open for a year or so. Slight confusion upon arrival when we told the hostess we were just going to sit in the bar. No two seats together so we get a table. Waitress comes over and, when she discovered that we had no menus, went off to get them. She came back and told us the table was reserved. Tables in bar (up a few steps from the dining room) are part of the dining room. Back to the hostess who points out the one table in the bar that is not reserved and say it's fine. Just then two people get up to leave the bar (almost always my preferred place to sit because you can chat up the bartender) and we say we'll sit there.

Bartender provides all kind of menus - drinks, wine, bar menu, regular menu. Guess what? Asking for unblended rye works! They have none and have a limited menu of bourbons so I get the martini. My friend gets a glass of wine and some croquettes (makes me want to make chicken croquettes). These were meatless, fried (but not greasy) triangles of a cheese/breadcrumb mix. Not bad but not anything to rave about either. I think total bill was around $24.

Bargain hunters, there's a special flight of martinis and a flight of wine - 3 four ounce drinks each for $10. Martinis are made from vodka and are their choice but the bartender said he could do something with gin too.

Spring is in the air at Lamberts

Just getting around to posting these now but they were taken last week.

21 and 22

These are foster cats number 20 and 21 from the Animal Rescue League, Boston. They will be up for adoption May 1 or thereabouts but until then, they are all mine. Boy to the left is about 11 months and girl is about 13 months. They were brought into the shelter together but are obviously not related yet they are madly in love with each other. I've got to come up with names so they cannot be separated upon adoption. Jib(ber) for him, Jab(ber) for her )since she was doing all the talking on the way home)? What do you think?