RECIPES

Home Cookin’: Fresh Raspberry, Cucumber, Feta, Green Bean and Chickpea Spinach Salad

Looking for a healthy lunch or dinner that can be whipped up in ten minutes? A fantastic dinner party salad that’s sure to wow your friends?  Look no further.

Incredibly simple, this fresh salad does not require actual cooking!  If you can select good ingredients and chop bite sized pieces, then you can prepare this meal.

I’ve listed the ingredients below as a serving for a six to eight person dinner party.  For one person, it should result in several lunch or dinner sized portions.  If you’re cooking for one, I would put all of the ingredients into separate tupperware containers and combine them specially for each meal so that the lettuce does not wilt.  By making the salad that way, it’s easy to customize the meal to your preferences, and you can mix and match serving it as an entree salad, versus adding a piece of chicken or salmon on the side.

Salad Ingredients:
– 1 bag of baby spinach
– 1 large cucumber
– 1 bag of green beans in a microwaveable bag
– 1 can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
– 1 container of crumbled feta cheese (or less, depending on your preferences)
– 1 pint of raspberries
– Olive oil
– Crushed black pepper
– Whole Foods fat free balsamic vinaigrette

Puncture holes into the bag of green beans and steam in the microwave according to the package directions. Remove green beans in the microwave and place in an empty bowl to cool.

While the green beans are cooling, chop the cucumber into bite sized pieces and set aside. Once the green beans are cool, chop them into bite sized pieces and toss with one tsp of olive oil and season with crushed black pepper. Rinse the canned garbanzo beans with water in a strainer and allow to dry.

Pour the entire bag of spinach into a large bowl. Add in the chopped green beans and cucumber. Toss. Add in garbanzo beans and crumbled feta cheese. Toss again. Add in raspberries and carefully toss.

Serve with a tangy, fat free balsamic dressing, like Whole Foods Fat Free Balsamic Vinaigrette, Trader Joe’s Fat Free Balsamic, or Newman’s Own Lighten Up Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing. Buon Appetito!

For more of my recipes, click here.

BOSTON, EVENTS, NIGHTLIFE

Friday, December 3: Social Boston Sports Hosts 3rd Annual Ugly Holiday Sweater Party at Bleacher Bar

SBS Ugly Holiday Sweater Party 2009

On Friday, December 3, embrace the spirit of the season with Social Boston Sports (SBS) as they host their 3rd annual Ugly Holiday Sweater Party at Bleacher Bar.  Kicking off at 9:00 p.m., wearing sweaters adorned with an unnecessary amount of sparkle, puff paint, bells, or bows will make you the star of this soiree.  You may even win a prize for outshining your fellow revelers!

Tickets to the event cost $15, though one third of all party revenues will be donated to several local charities, including Hospitality Homes, Starlight Foundation, and Play Ball!  Tickets can be purchased at www.socialbostonsports.com.

As someone who attended last year (I’m the 2nd from the right in the photo above), I can attest to how fun and festive this party is!  You’ll see ugly sweaters that will boggle your mind – so tacky, yet kind of a work of art in their own right.  Plus, if you don’t have an ugly holiday sweater, fear not – just wear something that showcases your holiday spirit.  Think cheesy, gaudy or sparkly – or a wacky Santa cap, or reindeer antlers!

Adding to the fabulousness of the event will be Smuttynose brews, live music from local cover band Pete From Last Night (PFLN), plus Bleacher Bar’s cool window peeking into Fenway Park.

Bleacher Bar is located at 82A Lansdowne Street alongside Fenway Park.

BOSTON, FASHION

Fashion Update: Fab Finds at H&M

Have you popped into H&M lately?  Is it me, or has the brand really been upping the fashion ante?  While I haven’t seen the highly anticipated new Lanvin for H&M collection in person yet, I’m pretty impressed by the band’s array of tweed blazers, sparkly dresses and open cardigans.  I recently bought the cool army green military inspired cardigan with silver chain detailing pictured above.

Also of note from H&M is a fabulous new fall/winter jacket, which has kind of turned into the new love of my life.  Available in classic navy, this collarless jacket has a modern ruffle detail along the pockets and a cinched waist that creates curves in all the right places. At $99, this coat is perfect for a brisk fall or warmer winter day and looks fantastic when paired with a cute scarf and knee-high boots.  It’s quickly turned into my new favorite ensemble to stroll throughout Boston in. Click here for a photo.

While I usually frequent the Newbury Street H&M, I’d like to give a special shoutout to the Downtown Crossing location.  I recently went on a Saturday around lunchtime and the store was incredibly well organized and not terribly crowded, making for a much more enjoyable shopping experience.  I loathe crowds, so the opportunity to shop undisturbed was a real treat!

H&M in Downtown Crossing is located at 350 Washington Street.  The H&M in the Back Bay is located at 100 Newbury Street.  During your visit, inquire about discounts for checking into Facebook Places on your smartphone to unlock a coupon.

BOSTON

Hey Bostonians – What About Boston Are You Thankful For This Thanksgiving?

I'm Thankful for the Boston Public Garden, One of My Favorite Boston Spots. Photo by mdurwin2 from Flickr

As we all know, Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what we’re thankful for in life.  Which, got me thinking – as Bostonians, what are we thankful for in this great city that we call home?

So, I decided to do a little crowd-sourcing on Twitter to my @savvybostonian followers, plus I posted messages on my personal Facebook page and emailed a diverse group of Boston area friends so see what they would come up with.

The goal in posing this question was that anything goes. I wanted answers that were all over the board – from simple, to funny, sacrastic, or sentimental.  Lucky for me (and you), that’s exactly what I got.

From sweet to sassy, here is what a sample of your fellow Bostonians are thankful for this year:

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BOSTON, EVENTS

Wednesday, November 24: Free Community Day at the Museum of Fine Arts

MFA's Art of the Americas Wing

Need a little R&R before the Thanksgiving holiday? If you’re lucky enough to have Wednesday, November 24 off from work, the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) is opening its doors from 10:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. for a free community day courtesy of State Street.

A must-see at the MFA is the new Art of the Americas Wing, which recently celebrated its grand opening on Saturday, November 20 and has already seen more than 40,000 visitors.  For a very nicely produced video of the opening event, including great music by the Boston’s Hot Tamale Brass Band and the Boston University Pep Band click here.

Can’t make it to the free community day on Wednesday? Kudos to State Street Corporation for sponsoring a Wednesday evening series called Free Nights at the Museum.  Throughout the month of December, entry to the MFA will be free every Wednesday night from 4:00 p.m. – 9:45 p.m..  Perfect for busy professionals like moi.

For more information about the Art of the America’s wing at the MFA, click here.