birthday list – This and That

Another Family Recipe

I decided to make another of Grandma Peg’s recipes for the birthday list. When Mom and Dad married, Grandma Peg gave Mom a small book of handwritten recipes of some of Dad’s favorite foods—one of which was glorified rice.

When I read about the origins of the dessert, I was kind of at a loss, since my family is neither from the Midwest nor Norway. Glorified rice wasn’t frequently on the menu, but I recall enjoying it whenever it was. What’s not to enjoy about marshmallows, cream, sugar, rice, and fruit, right?

OK, that might sound a little odd to some people.

The recipe is easy to make: you just throw together the fruit, marshmallows, rice, sugar, whipped cream, and stir it up. However, when I made it, something went wrong when I tried to whip the heavy cream, as in it didn’t whip at all.

So everything turned pink from the maraschino cherry juice and the consistency of the cream was runny instead of whipped. I won’t even show the photo of it because it is less than appetizing. I’ll show you a picture of a successful recipe instead. It was still edible, though, and I enjoyed a few servings.

Well, that brings us to the end of the #43 birthday list, finally! 2018 was not a good year, but I did finish 43 items before the end of the year. Next week, I’ll start telling you about #44…

A Moonlight Tour of Gore Place

Visiting historic homes is one of my hobbies, so when I saw reduced tickets for a Moonlight Tour of Gore Place, I bought some for me and the boyfriend. I had heard of its annual sheepshearing festival but have sadly always missed it.

The Gores were a wealthy New England couple who built the “country house” in 1806. Christopher would become governor of Massachusetts and a U.S. Senator, and Rebecca worked with an architect to design the house. They had no children, so the property passed through private hands for years after they died. Thankfully the house was saved from the wrecking ball in 1935 by a group of preservationists who created the nonprofit Gore Place Society.

The tour started in the carriage house. The tour guides, holding lanterns, led us to the front door of the house and split the group into two. We saw multiple rooms of the house, which were all lowly lit, it being a moonlight tour and all.

Much of the furnishings were owned by the Gores. For me, a highlight of every historic home is the library, and they had a lovely library. We went on the tour during the holiday season, so I also enjoyed seeing a grand Christmas tree, which, to my pleasant surprise, was decorated with teacups.

It was an enjoyable tour, and I’d like to go back in the daytime in order to walk around the grounds. Maybe I’ll make it to the sheepshearing festival this year.

Brunch and Dinner

I read in a travel magazine that Jim’s Deli was one of the best diners in the country. I lived in its neighborhood for eight years and had never heard of it! So I had to check it out.

My boyfriend and I arrived right before throngs of college-aged people on a late Sunday morning. There isn’t much seating so we were lucky to nab a small table. The menu is quite extensive, but I went with a classic breakfast.

The prices were reasonable and the food was good. It’s a cafeteria-style line for ordering and paying, so because there was a long line, it wound around the restaurant awkwardly. So there were people standing right next to us for the majority of our stay. Therefore, this is not a place for people who want privacy while they’re eating!

My boyfriend and I went a little more upscale for dinner recently and went to The Backroom at Moody’s.

I’m generally not a foodie, so it’s a real treat to go out for a nice meal once in a while. The appetizer was a pleasant change from the usual: thin pepperoni slices and crispy noodle things. We ordered a flatbread, mussels, and grits to share. Everything was delicious.

We were quite pleased with both meals and will frequent these restaurants again!

El Día de Los Muertos

I celebrated El Día de Los Muertos for the first time in November. I read that the City of Boston was constructing a Day of the Dead altar in Copley Square, and people were invited to send in photos of their departed loved ones. I submitted a photo of my dad.

I didn’t find him on the altar when I visited it, but that was OK. It was still nice to be there and think of him and all of the strangers on the altar.

Before I stopped in Copley Square on my way home, I made plans to make a little altar at home. Components of the altar are photos, candles, flowers, and favorite foods of the departed loved one. I picked up some pizza to eat for dinner and some hard candies. I was five minutes from my house when I realized that I had forgotten to pick up flowers.

Within a second of the realization, I looked down on the sidewalk and saw this.

How many times have you seen a formal floral bouquet discarded on a sidewalk? I had never seen one until that night. I picked out a nice-looking floral stalk and brought it home. Thanks, Dad.

Tiffany Windows

I’ve always loved Tiffany glass, maybe because I grew up with Tiffany-style lamps in the house. So when I learned of the Tiffany Windows Education Center at a church in downtown Boston, I made plans to go with a friend.

The weather was on our side so the windows were especially gorgeous that day. The Arlington Street Church has 16 Tiffany windows, which were installed between 1898 and 1930. I couldn’t pick a favorite because they were all beautiful. Any Tiffany enthusiast in Boston should make a visit here.