Day 17: Espresso Stout

Day 17 is my last day of freedom for a little while. Grad school gears back up tomorrow and I have been avoiding it like the plague. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy to be doing what I am doing, but it doesn't mean a girl can't get a little case of the back to school blues.

So, I decided to spend the last day of vacation commiserating with friends from school. We headed over to John Harvard's in Harvard Square for a drink and some good conversation and it was here that I discovered Espresso Stout.

The beer itself is dark, almost black in color, and really does taste like coffee. A little sweet but equally acidic (sounds bad but actually pretty good) and it comes highly recommended by the staff. One guy went so far as to say that it was the best beer he has ever had. Now I wouldn't go that far but it was one I will definitely get again.

If you are ever at John Harvard's and you want to try something different, I strongly recommend the Espresso Stout. You might not want to drink a bunch of them as they are very strong tasting but you will absolutely enjoy one or two.

Until Tomorrow,
Cat!

Day 16: Goodbye Quebec

Quebec. Long needed, much anticipated, thoroughly enjoyed. We had an amazing trip up here and I am so sorry to see it end. But, reality is setting in, jobs need to be done, classes need to be attended, and it is time to leave. 

There were so many firsts on this trip that I could not possibly fit them all in so Day 16 is dedicated to the sights we saw today and every other day we were here. More picture based that usual but that isn't a bad thing.

I cannot wait to return during the warm months. This city lights up at night and is meant for walking, sightseeing, eating, and enjoying oneself. I plan on revisiting all of these things during the summer when it is not 7 degrees out at night and you can enjoy a dinner outside or a walk along the promenade seeing the town and it's gorgeous surroundings.

I am sorry to go but I'll be happy to return.

Until Tomorrow,

Cat!

Day 15: Sugar Pie

My life has been changed. No seriously. On day 15, I was introduced to Sugar Pie and it was, arguably, one of the most interesting and delicious things I have ever eaten!

Bob and I had finished up a long day of sight seeing in more 15 degree weather when we decided to get dinner at Le Couchon Dingue (The Crazy Pig). It is a small, casual restaurant, set along this street:

The atmosphere was warm, welcoming and exactly what we needed after a long day spent at museums, shops, and walking the city. The dinner was good, not particularly remarkable (although that may have something to do with the bottle of wine we had), but the dessert....wow. There are no words to describe our initial reaction to this stuff. We had been told that Sugar Pie is a Quebecois specialty and we were excited to try it but neither of us had expected this!

The pie does not look particularly remarkable. In fact, it's actually fairly bland in appearance. It consists of a pie crust and a caramel like filling made of flour, butter, salt, vanilla, cream, and, on occasion, maple syrup or brown sugar. It kind of reminds me of pecan pie but without the pecans but the texture is different, more smooth and creamy. I have never in my life tried anything like it, flavor, texture, appearance....everything was very familiar but....not.

We liked it so much, we went back the next day to buy a full pie to bring back to the U.S.

Sugar Pie is found predominately in Quebec, France, Belgium, and the midwestern United States (random I know). However, it appears to be very easy to make so if you are interested and you cannot find any near your home, try making one of your very own! You never know, you could discover a new favorite!

Until Tomorrow,
Cat!

Day 14: Mont-Sainte-Anne

Again, I know I am wicked behind. I lose. It's been a crazy week+ but, while I haven't been blogging, I have still been doing 1 new thing a day. I hope to catch up with everything in the next few days so have patience!

Pretty much everything I did day 14 was a first! But, in the interest of keeping this short and sweet, I am focusing on XC Skiing at Mont Sainte-Anne.

Mont Saint-Anne is a ginormous mountain/ski resort just north of Quebec City that opened for skiing in 1966. It offers 66 trails and night skiing with the highest elevation in Canada. The resort also offeres roughly 150 km of cross-country ski trails, snowshoeing, dog sledding, and an indoor/outdoor spa!

Bobby and I did just under 9 miles worth of xc trails over the course of about 2.5 hours and we only had 1 wipeout! And yes, it was me. And yes, it was while I was going up hill. Lets be honest though, not a single one of you are surprised right?

If you need to take a break, there are cabins that you can stop at every 2-3 miles that are heated and have benches that you can pull out into beds (bring your own sleeping bag!). We stopped at one and, while there was not much going on inside it, it was wonderful to be able to sit down and thaw out next to the heater.

It is the off season up here (for some reason, tourists don't really seem to be attracted to 15 degree weather during their vacations) and it was during a weekday, but, that being said, there was a surprising lack of people. Which was awesome!! We had miles and miles of trails all to ourselves and, for anyone not familiar with the sport, you really work up quite a sweat so a 15 degree temp. is actually pretty preferable.

The trails were well groomed and wide and the views were spectacular. Totally considering going again tomorrow but I suspect we go to somewhere in town because, yes, you can totally xc ski IN the city of quebec. Thus making this city the Best. City. Ever.

Until Tomorrow,
Cat!

Day 13: Restaurant Madrid

Here is a list of facts:

1. I am in Canada. Quebec City to be specific.
2. It took 10 hours to get here driving. Yes there were numerous stops but it totally took 10 hours.
3. The restaurant/truck stop we stopped at on the way up has potentially changed my life.

Allow me to introduce you to Restaurant Madrid

Now, this is important, look closely at the picture. What do you see? 

Dinosaurs. 

Let me repete. You see DINOSAURS.

I ask you, if you were in my position, driving down the highway and you pass by a restaurant/truck stop that has multiple dinosaurs just sort of hanging out in front of it, what would you do? I certainly could not pass up patronizing such a fine establishment and it was pretty much the most hilarious decision ever.

Bob and I initially passed by it, our jaws dropped in awe. But we quickly regained our composure, turned around and raced to the restaurant parking lot, which was entirely surrounded by dinosaurs, thus making it the best parking lot in the history of the world. 

Upon braving the restaurant itself, we were immediately confronted with no less than 4 video arcade games and a bunch of gumball machines. Walking past these, you enter a small, desperately in need of a face lift, restaurant that has tv's, more video games, pictures of dinosaurs and caricatures of the owners on the walls, and a very random fish tank just sort of hanging out. To help you get a better visual, imagine standing in a 6 year old boys dream bedroom and add some hamburgers, tired truckers, and cranky waitstaff and that is where I had dinner tonight.

Oh, and the restaurant has monster trucks too.

Overall: All of you need to get into your preferred modes of transportation right now and drive up to Autoroute 20E immediately to support this amazing piece of Canada. The food is kind of blah but with an abundance of dinosaurs, monster trucks, and video games, who cares?! I will be stopping there on the way back. It was that funny.

Until Tomorrow,

Cat!

P.S.

The first picture came from here. There are tons of other pictures there too if you want to check them out!

Day 12: The Von Bondies

I was supposed to put this up yesterday but the day got away from me in a serious way and before I knew it, it was 2am.....love but hate those days. You're having fun but that fun rarely involves any serious productivity.

Anyways, I found out about the Von Bondies for the first time on Day 12 while watching "Rescue Me" (also a first!) and immediately had their song "C'mon C'mon" stuck in my head for no less than 8 hours. The Von Bondies are a US alt. rock band (their words not mine) that started in the late 90's but blew up around 2003/2004 with their 3rd album "Pawn Shoppe Heart".  The song "C'mon C'mon" was a hit back in 2004 and a shortened version of it is featured as the title track to the show "Rescue Me".

While I am mildly obsessed with "C'mon C'mon", I must admit that I am not really digging the rest of their stuff. They are very guitar heavy, similar to Dinosaur Junior, The Thermals, etc, and some of their songs start to really sound the same- two things I am not super into but I do like their other hit, "No Regrets".

Overall: Not really sure if they are still making albums or if they are still trying to ride out the "Pawn Shoppe Heart" wave AND after finding out that one of the band members got into an altercation with the White Stripes frontman Jack White years ago that led to one of them being treated for injuries at a hospital, I think I have to hate a little bit on the Von Bondies. Love that one song but anyone that messes with the White Stripes is no good in my book. Fact: I sing "Your Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)" and/or "We're Going to be Friends" to myself pretty much Every. Single. Day.

Buuuuuuuuuut ignoring that extreme bias, I think they are ok- I leave you to make your own decisions.

Going to Canada today so I am not sure if/when I will be posting but expect a lot of Canadian Firsts in the near future!!

Until Tomorrow (but hopefully I will get totally caught up and it will really be later today),
Cat!

P.S.
The Von Bondies do have a legit music video to go with "C'mon C'mon" but, for some reason, I could not get it to copy to the blog. If you want to see it, just go here.

Day 11: Filming!!

As promised in the previous post, Day 11 is dedicated to BarCat Productions first film shoot!!!

RGBar and I have been working on a video project for Emerson College. To keep it brief, the project involves filming 14 interviews of current and past GMCA graduate students and we hope to do 1 per week for the next 2 1/2 months. The videos will be comprised of interviews, still images, stop motion, on scene filming, and voice-overs- I am sure this will vary depending on the person we are working with but that is the plan for now.

It has taken a very long time to actually get things moving as we had to jump through 39840942 hoops just to be able to check out some lighting and sound equipment from the school. Luckily, Emerson came through and we got what we needed!

So, after spending Day 10 working on lighting and planning, we actually began filming on Day 11! The day started with some scouting in the Prudential Building and along Newbury Street.

This was followed by the actual interview with SK. She was amazing!

It is very difficult to be in front of the camera. I don't care how confident you are, it takes some serious adjusting, but she handled it like a pro and it couldn't have gone better. We still have a lot more to shoot for her because the weather was not great for the outside scenes and we had a very limited amount of daylight to work with. But, it was a great start and exactly what we needed.

Now on to plan the next one....and the one after that and the one after that and the one after that.....I think we may have gotten in over our heads.

Until Tomorrow (but again really until later today),
Cat!

Day 10: Whiskey's

I have totally dropped the blogging ball for the last 48 hours because I have been working on a video project with this guy:

Meet RGBar. Friend, classmate, sarcastic farceur, and, if we actually show some initiative, co-founder of BarCat Productions!

We spent Monday afternoon running around Emerson College and the surrounding area, picking up lighting equipment (more on that in the next post), scouting potential filming locations, and playing with lighing for our first video shoot (again, more on that in the next post).

After spending 6+hours working, we decided we absolutely needed a drink and, perfect timing, a few of our classmates had just gotten back to Boston from their respective vacations. So we all met up and headed over to Whiskey's Steakhouse. A first for me!

Located at 885 Boylston Street, close to Hynes Convention Center, Whiskey's is your typical Boston bro bar. It is not a fancy place, jeans are totally the way to go here, but you will see tons of button ups, gelled hair, and suit jackets from the guys that come here after work. The walls are covered with TV's playing whatever game is on at the moment, the service is friendly, and, even though it was a Monday, the place was pretty busy.

Bottles of beer and shots seem to be the most popular options but we stuck with the classic. PBR Tall Boys! Hey don't judge. If it ain't broke. Don't fix it.

Overall: A little pricey (a PBR goes for $5 a pop here....not expensive in the grand scheme but we are talking about 1-a can of beer and 2-PBR...not worth $5) but fun none the less! Whiskey's is not really my scene, I am more of a Deep Ellum/Silhouette kind of girl, but with the right people, this is a fun place to stop by.

Get ready. 2 more posts coming today- I have to catch up!

Until Tomorrow (but really later today),
Cat!

P.S.
Yes, started taking the pictures after we had been there for a bit. Excuse the lack of focus....whatever, we've all been there.

Day 9: Brandy Alexander Pie

Listed as one of the 10 worst cocktails by Esquire magazine in 1934, a Brandy Alexander is a sweet brandy based cocktail that reminds one more of a milkshake than a drink that leads to a good night but a terrible hangover.

But that, dear reader, is precisely why it makes for a fantastic a pie.

A Brandy Alexander Pie has a crumb crust and a mousse like filling that includes creme de cacao, brandy, and heavy cream. Absolutely terrible for you but totally worth it. I tried it for the first time today and you can absolutely taste the alcohol in this thing so don't say you weren't warned. If you are like me and you actually like the flavor of brandy then you will most definitely like this delicious desert.

You can find recipes for it here, here, and here. I hope to make my own version of it sometime in the near future.

Until Tomorrow,
Cat

P.S.
The picture above comes from here

Day 8: Weston Ski Track

I have been a XC (cross-country) skier for my whole life. It is a very easy "sport" and I love it particularly because you don't need to pay $100's each season for lift tickets or drive hours to find the best mountains. All you need are some trails and a lot of snow. 

Because the snow season in Boston has officially started, I've been feeling the XC itch somethin' fierce. So, today I went to Weston Ski Track in Weston, MA with this guy:

The facility, which is a golf course by summer, is only about 30 minutes west of Boston, very easy to get to along main roads, and, on a good day, they have 15km of trails available. Day passes cost only $15 per person. 

It was the first (yay!) ski of the season for both of us and, overall, it went pretty well! The first time is always a little rough because you have to go through the uncomfortable and awkward rebalance phase but the trails here were really flat, simple, and easy to navigate. There was only one wipe out (shockingly not by yours truly) and the trails were very wide which made it easy to pass and be passed by other skiers.

Things to note:

1. Very popular place for local high school teams to practice at. This can be intimidating for beginners as you will have packs of kids flying past you speed training
2. There are lessons for both traditional XC and for skating (shorter skis, faster pace, totally different style)
3. Skiers share trails with snowshoers which is pretty unusual for a xc ski facility. Normally, skiers and snowshoers have different spaces and are not really allowed to share.
4. All 15km of trails are groomed!
5. They make fake snow- so if you are itching to go skiing but most places are closed due to lack of powder, go here. There will only be about 2km worth of trails open but it's way better than nothing!
6. For more information go here

Some pictures of the area:

Overall: While there are better (and free) places to go up north, this is a good little location. Close to Boston, friendly staff, easy to navigate, not many steep areas, and, as previously stated, for only $15 you get a day pass for 15km worth of groomed trails. Also, parking is free! 

For those of you unfamiliar with XC Skiing, I will leave you with an excellent example of how a pro does it:

Until Tomorrow,
Cat!

Day 7: JL

Meet my new friend JL. She likes coffee, her boyfriend, teaching, and being adorable. She hates drama, liars, and rudeness. I like JL. I like her a lot.

Boston can be a very difficult place to meet new people, especially in the winter when it is freezing and no one leaves their house. I met JL through my roommate (her boyfriend) but she and I have been so busy with our respective grad schools that I have never actually had a chance to hang out with her shy of eating dinner or watching 5 episodes in a row of Dexter in the apartment.

Today, however, was different. She and I are both still on winter break from school so we jumped on the opportunity to do silly girl things together (read: buy makeup and clothes and talk about boys, good places to get massages, and our nails).

I won't bore you with the details that I am sure no one cares about but I do want to dedicate this post to meeting new people. I encourage all of you to make the effort and spend time with someone new. You might be nervous and it might be uncomfortable at first but it is worth putting yourself out there. What's the worst that can happen? You have a bad time? Maybe, but you still get a story and an experience (a first if you will!) out of it.

Until Tomorrow,
Cat!

Day 6: Ginger Cookies

For christmas Mamma Bear got me this fantastic cookie jar and I have been dying to fill it up ever since. 

But the question was, what on earth do I put in it it? The very first cookies I put in my first very own cookie jar (so many firsts!!)....Obviously, it needed to be a recipe I have never made before but I don't have a big sweet tooth, especially for cookies so there was nothing coming to mind. That is, until I discovered a recipe for Ginger Cookies!

I got the recipe here but wanted to give you all some step by step directions.


Ingredients:

•      2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
•      2 teaspoons ground ginger
•      1 teaspoon baking soda   
•      3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•      1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
•      1/4 teaspoon salt
•      3/4 cup margarine, softened
•      1 cup white sugar
•      1 egg
•      1 tablespoon water
•      1/4 cup molasses
•      2 tablespoons white sugar
• 
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 

Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. 

Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses.

Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. 

Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. 

Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. 

Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Overall: Makes about 40 delicious ginger cookies! They are really easy to put together, chewy, and not overly gingery for those of you who are not super fans like myself. I highly recommend them!

Until Tomorrow,

Cat!

Day 5: The Vaccines!

I feel sick. Really really sick. The kind of sick where the moment you move a fraction of an inch in any direction your whole body feels like it's going to fall apart. So......I did what any rational person does in this situation, I spent the whole day in bed trying to not die of bordom/disease.

It's hard to find new things to do when you can't leave the couch/bed, let alone the house. It was around 12pm that I felt like I really might die if I moved at all. Doing nothing was terrible but reading a book or magazine meant that I would have to move my hand/wrist to turn a page, which was completely out of the question. So, I turned on the tv and saw a promo for a new band from London called The Vaccines.

How flipping perfect is that? I am sick and the first thing I do to entertain myself introduces me to a band called "The Vaccines". I took it as a sign and made note to do a little research on them as soon as I was in a more functional state of mind.

As previously mentioned, they are a London based band just breaking into the US scene. Their debut album, "What did you expect from the Vaccines?", officially comes out in March but they have already released a few singles including "Wreckin Bar (Ra Ra Ra)" which happens to be the first song on their CD. What little I have heard of them so far reminds me of the Ramones and I am digging it.

I need to hear the whole album before I make a firm decision on them but I am a tentative fan. The video for "Wreckin Bar" is up top. I leave you to make your own judgments.

Until Tomorrow,
Cat!

Day 4: Intervals!

New Year Resolutions. Regardless of how you feel about them, at some point in your life you have made one. I am willing to bet that on some December 31st during your life, you resolved to get into better shape. "This year is going to be the year;" you probably thought, "the year I lift my butt/flatten my abs/get ripped enough to beat Chuck Norris in a fight." But honestly, how many of you can actually say you succeeded? I certainly never have.

For those of you planning on succeeding this year, I bring you a first of Intervals! Lets face it, running on a treadmill is about as much fun as slamming your head into a wall but if you do not run, you are not going to get very far with your epic body transformation goals.

Intervals are a great way of breaking up the monotony and one of the fastest ways to burn fat- two great things and probably foremost on your mind if you are a gym goer. They involve running a set distance or time harder than your normal running pace, recover by resting or walking, and then repeat. 

For those of you who are completely unfamiliar, a beginners workout goes something like this:

• Run at a slow jog for about 5 minutes to warm up, get the blood flowing and let your muscles know they are about to be used
• Run hard for 3 minutes
• Walk for 2 minutes
• Repeat 4-6 times depending on how you feel (try to push yourself!)
• Cool down with a 5 minute slow jog

Now in the interest of being honest, I have done intervals before but I just found out I have been doing them all wrong. So, today was the first day I did correct intervals and let me tell you, they suck but in a really really good way. 

Pros:

1. Breaks up the monotony of running in place
2. You don't have to feel bad about taking breaks and walking!
3. Burn more fat than slow long jogs
4. Helps build up your speed 

Cons:

1. You have to run
2. You cannot really "phone it in"- these force you to push yourself (maybe this is a pro?)

Overall: I will be doing Intervals again! They hurt, are hard and not very fun. But! They make the time go by really fast and build speed up quickly; which is something I really need help with.

I hope this info helps you push through and fulfill a resolution this year!

Until tomorrow,
Cat!

P.S.
The image was taken from a fitness website found here

Day 3: Twig Tea!

Today started off with a very ambitious attempt at making a terrarium. Unfortunately, I hit a slight snafu that involved locking myself out of my apartment so I experienced what you might call a "Terrarium Fail".

I was not, however, locked out of my bf's apartment where I discovered Japanese Kukicha Twig Tea!

I am a tea fanatic, having first developed my obsession when I worked at a tea shop in Harvard Square. I know more useless information about tea and have tried more teas than I care to mention here than most people in the United States. So, imagine my delight when I found a tea I have never even heard of before in my bf's kitchen cabinet!

According to the package, "During the fall in the Uji district, traditional center of the Japanese tea industry, tea farmers turn to the harvest of tea twigs for Kukicha, the "peasant's drink", so-called because farmers drank it after selling the leaves to sophisticated urbanites as a cash crop. The farmers carefully select 40% medium twigs, 40% thick twigs, and 20% thin twigs and leaves before gently roasting each variety separately to bring out its rich flavor. Because caffeine is concentrated in the leaves, twig tea is very mild and can be drunk even at night."

Ingredients: Organic Japanese Kukicha Tea Twigs, Stems, and Leaves
Brewing Instructions: Add 1 teabag per cup to cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes. Remove tea bag and serve.

On to the important stuff:

Look: Twig tea comes out a darker brown. Not quite as dark as coffee but not far off.
Smell: Kind of earthy. Very similar to green tea
Taste: Kind of earthy, nutty, and slightly sweet. Similar to Dragonwell, a simple Japanese green tea.
Overall: I loved it and have had about 4 cups today! If you like green tea, you will like this tea. Both have very similar tastes and smells. It is very mellow and would go well with many foods or as an after dinner tea.

I hope to find more interesting teas as the year progresses, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know! And hopefully the terrarium will be finished later this week...

Until Tomorrow,
Cat

P.S.
Tea Fact: Caffeine is removed from tea leaves within the first 30-60sec of brewing. If you want to decaffeinate a tea, brew for 60 seconds, dump the water, and then brew again. Second time around, your tea will be caffeine free!

Day 2: Dog Treats!

This adorable little cow dog is Angela. She is the keeper of my schedule, decision maker of my day, and hogger of both beds and couches. Because she dominates so much of my day I thought that it would be perfect to start the year with a first dedicated to her: Homemade Dog Treats!

I have had a dog treat cookbook (yes, I am that girl), that came with cookie cutters in the shapes of a house, fire-hydrant, cat, heart, and giant dog bone, for over 4 years now and it was time to put it to good use. The first recipe I used is for Applesauce Cheddar Biscuits.

Applesauce Cheddar Biscuits 

Ingredients:

• 1/3c shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/3c applesauce
• 1/3c water
• 1 1/2c flour
• 1/2c oatmeal
• 1/4c parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 375°F

Combine cheddar, applesauce, and water in small bowl

Combine flour and oatmeal in larger bowl

Pour cheese and applesauce mixture into the dry ingredients, mix and knead into a dough and turn out onto floured surface

Roll dough to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters

Arrange on baking tray and sprinkle with parmesan cheese

Bake for 20 minutes

Outcome: This was a moderate success and something I will probably be doing again. Angela liked them (although she seems to love most food things) but they seem to have come out hard as rocks and a little difficult for her to eat. Making your own dog treats, however, is actually cheaper than buying them at the grocery store and, start to finish, only took about 40 minutes. If you are a dog owner- make these!

Other dog recipes to follow include Peanut Butter Sandwich Bones and Herbalicious Biscuits.

Until tomorrow,
Cat

One New Thing a Day

My new years resolution is to do one new thing a day. It can be anything really- walking my dog on a different route, visiting a new place, trying a new recipe or restaurant, meeting new people- you get the idea.

The point of this is not self improvement, at least not intentionally. The point is accomplishment, a new task/experience each and every day of 2011. I want to be able to say at the end of this new year, that i tried at least 365 new things. Fingers crossed it can happen!!

In the interest of keeping me honest, however, there are a few rules:

1. I have to do one a day
2. I have to do it for 365 days. End date: December 31st, 2011
3. I cannot have ever done it before
4. I cannot do the same type of new thing 2 days in a row. Example: I cannot go to new restaurants or try a new recipe 2 days in a row and have them both count.*
5. I cannot do the same type of new thing more than 3 times per calendar week.* 

By blogging everything, I hope to add some sort of accountability to this - something to answer to and you, dear reader, need to call me out if I lapse.

So, in the interest of starting this off right, new thing #1: Starting my One a Day blog and making this happen.

Until tomorrow,
Cat

*There will be exceptions to this. For instance, the first week back in classes for spring semester, I will be blogging about each new class so there will probably be four or five in a row of the same type. But I will try to keep the exceptions few and far between!