There Is Nothing I Don't Like About Tonight

It's still Christmas in the North End. I love a good creche.

 

Very rare and very delicious at The Wine Bottega. 

 

Magic with a capital M. Outside Mike's Pastry. 

Birds of a feather... well you know. At Modern Pastry. 

Souvenir from The Wine Bottega. Let's play fill in the blank.

Let's Keep It Seasonal: A Recipe For Roasted Carrots

So if you read this blog and follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you already know that I love the holidays. Love love loooooove. I spent last weekend seeing the Nutcracker, going to holiday parties, making eggnog by the pitcher, and baking scones and gingerbread.

When I cook healthy food (which is 95% of the time), I like to stick with the season. I just found pomegranate arils at Whole Foods and I've been adding them to salads and quinoa dishes. And I made roasted carrots as part of Sunday dinner.

But I have an embarrassing confession. I have a case of Sam Adams Summer Ale in my fridge. I bought it last summer and I don't really drink beer often, so it's still there. I get teased about it. It is not just one but two seasons ago.

I made chili roasted squash tacos with avocado, tomato, cilantro, and lime tonight. And I served the tacos with holiday snowflake napkins and the Sam Summer. Because I'm seasonal like that.

But anyway, here's the recipe for roasted carrots. 

Roasted Carrots with Thyme

2 pounds of carrots, peeled, ends cut off
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place carrots on baking sheet and toss with olive oil and thyme. Sprinkle with salt and pepper according to your taste. Roast for 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender when pierced with a fork.

I'm Down For Rainbows

I'm back in Boston after Denver, between travel for Thanksgiving and travel for Christmas, and before all of the travel that's going down in 2014 (stay tuned, y'all). And I am so glad that I am here, because the air is cold, the city is lit up and dressed up for the holidays, and there are people to meet, things to eat, and so much to be grateful for:

- My very first Hanukkah. If you follow me on Instagram, you saw the blazing menorah last night. Well, there was actually more than one.

Is four menorahs too many? I thought it was just right. And then we ate latkes and applesauce and everyone shared funny dating stories. Please note that these were not my first latkes - in fact, I went through a latkes-making phase a few years ago - but it was very much my first Hanukkah. It was lovely.

- Ladies' Brunch from The Toast. This satire of brunch planning is a few months old and I only just read it, but oh I am so glad that I did. It's a little terrifying but um also kinda sorta true. Instagram makes us do crazy things.

"Is Williamsburg cute? I feel like it’s all flannel wearing guys lol no offense just not my type. BUT Brooklyn might be fun and like cute for instagrams."

- And speaking of Brooklyn, you've seen the trailer for season three of Girls, right? It's kickass (as all trailers for Girls are), but more importantly THAT SONG. It's Ways to Go by Grouplove.

The music video is a little weird. I'm not so sure what I just watched. It's cool. Just go with it.

- And, while latkes and music videos and brunch are all super important, there's other stuff happening too. I've been thinking about the holidays and why they typically don't mean health. We have the chance to spend time at home and spend time with the people we love most... why can't those experiences be connected to wellness? Why do we have to wait until New Year's Day to start living our healthiest, happiest lives? Let's not wait until 2014. And while we're at it, let's not wait until next month or next week or tomorrow either.

So this is what I'm down for: I'm down to kick my own ass (the last three days: Core Fusion Barre at Exhale, spin at Recycle Studio, and Hip Hop Yoga at Back Bay Yoga). I'm down to get up at 5:30am to run. I'm down to come up with answers to the hard questions. I'm down to get outside and to get moving. I'm down to buy plane tickets. I'm down to make my goals more real and more specific and to create and invest in the circumstances and relationships that will support my goals.

Today, I was walking across the Public Garden and I saw the palest rainbow above Beacon Hill. No else seemed to see it. In that moment, I thought maybe I was the only one I could see it. Now I know that's silly. But the park was empty and so was Beacon Street and there was the rainbow. So I started walking towards it.

Here's the truth: I'm down to (literally and figuratively) chase some rainbows. Because, for all of my realism and all of my practicality, I believe that there are pots of gold and I believe that wonderful things can happen. They're already happening.

Like I said, there's so much to be grateful for.

'Tis the Season

.... to bake my favorite brownies for a holiday party and to add a layer of crushed candy canes. And when the brownies stuck to the pan, I broke them up and bought ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. Sundaes for everyone!

.... to stand waiting at the stove Christmas morning as M cooked bacon and to grab it as soon as it came out of the skillet.

.... to run down Boylston Street, past the twinkly lights, breathing in air so cold that it hurt.

.... to stop just for a minute and to watch the crowds skate rhythmically around and around on Frog Pond. And to think maybe there's still a little Christmas left in the air....