Plimoth Plantation, Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower

Since we didn't get to see the Plimoth Plantation on Thansgiving, we went back on the Saturday. I realized I was much more interested in the native people than the English settlers. Basically, the native people act like themselves and show the museum visitors how they make food, clothing, etc, and talk abou their culture in the past and in the present. It was fascinating; I loved it. A few feet away there is a recreation of the English settlement that the colonists lived in. Everybody there is in period clothing and they portray real historical people. I found that part of the museum to be cool but a little weird. It was really crowded so mainly I just listened to other people talk to the characters.

Then we went over to see Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower. It was freezing, as you can tell by my huge puffy coat!



I am glad Matt and I have spent time in New England...there is a lot of interesting stuff here...but it is cold and I don't feel like an New Englander. I guess I already mentally have one foot out the door...I am ready for the next thing! And it is coming up soon, altho0ugh we don't know what it is....we have to be moved out of our apartment on January 15th because new renters are coming in.

And no, we have no idea where we will be going.

Halloween

My sister Maya and I have really bonded through text messaging. Now we are in contact like, twice a week rather than twice a year! Anyway, she texted me that I need to post photos of my Halloween costume. So here it is. I was Sarah Palin. Do you think I look like her?



Matt was much more creative than me. He made his costume himself. He is so crafty! Or, maybe he just didn't know what to do with himself while I was in San Diego for the week preceding Halloween. No, seriously, he is super creative.



We went to a party, and someone else dressed like Hillary Clinton. Perfect photo op!

Apples!

One of my favorite parts about Fall in New England is APPLE PICKING!!! It is so much fun. I am going to miss it SO much. They taste so much better when you eat them straight off the tree. So crisp, so sweet! And then you get to take them home...LOTS of them. But I like the challenge. How many apples can I eat? How many things can I make out of my 20 pounds of apples? And believe me, Matt doesn't help with either. (Although he does help eat my creations...so I appreciate that!)

I eat a lot of apples year-round, because I have one with my oatmeal everyday. So that sort of relieves the "burden" of having so many apples in the house.

I have had a lot of fun making things with the apples, and I am proud to say that most of my recipes haven't been the old apple stanby's, like apple pie or crisp or applesauce. This is what I have made so far (I still have lots of apples left!):

1. Carrot-apple-yogurt salad from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook

This was easy and SO delicious! I brought it to a potluck. I think I liked it more than everybody else because I brought most of it home.

2. Apple bread

I made 2 loaves. The first was an experiment. I made it in my crockpot! THe crockpot lady on this blog made banana bread in the crock pot, so I decided to modify another recipe (not hers) and make it in the crockpot. It worked! It was moist and delicious...even Matt liked it even though it was very healthy. (By the way, I am addicted to the crock pot blog I linked to above...I highly recommend it!)

The second loaf was from an "official" recipe. I followed it exactly. It wasn't half as good as my first "experimental" loaf. The problem is that I didn't write down what I did on the first loaf.

3. Yogurt-apple cinammon dessert thing

This was easy...I just grated the apple and mixed it one cup of plain yogurt, cinnamon and chopped pecans. So sweet! This is also from Mollie Katzen's cookbook. I am addicted to that cookbook!

4. Baked apples in the crockpot

This was luscious and warm...but really I think I like baked apples to be baked in an oven. The texture that resulted form the crockpot method was too mushy. I still ate it though, and forced Matt to eat his. (And no, I don't feel bad about forcing Matt to eat fruit...if I didn't he never would. And I only force him to eat it about twice a year.)

5. Next recipe....Curried Apple Soup from Mollie Katzen's cookbook. It sounds strange but I have total faith in Mollie Katzen. After the soup recipe, I will only have about 5 or six apples left. So sad...I don't want apple season to end!

Glorious Fall

Fall in New England is glorious. Sometimes I complain about New England...it is cold...people work to hard...but despite these things, it is truly a gorgeous place, and I am happy to have had the opportunity to experience it.


Usually we go up to New Hampshire and Vermont to hike in the Fall leaves, but this year, with all the mayhem of Matt's parents being here and Matt having just returned from Hong Kong, we decided to enjoy the Fall with little day trips. Plus, it saved lots of money on gas and hotels! We did a little hike on a nearby "mountain". It wa an easy, crowded hike, but the views were great and the fall leaves were so pretty!



On the way home, we went to a pumpkin patch and and a cornfield labyrinth. It was fun! I am sad....this is my last Fall in New England! Sigh....



By the way, Matt told me to stop posting pictures of him. But if he would stop doing silly poses like in the picture above, he wouldn't have to worry about it!

Visit from the Masseys

Matt and I had a visit from his parents this month....it was a lot of fun, and they came at the perfect time, weather-wise...it was perfectly sunny and not too hot or cold. (It was "San Diego weather"). It was Marti's 60th birthday, which is a very important one! Matt, being the wonderful son that he is, treated Marti and Liam to a play called "Wishful Drinking" by Carrie Fisher. Apparently Marti loves Carrie Fisher. Sadly, I couldn't go because I had class.

I love the picture I posted...I think this will be a good one for my children.

Rosh Hashanah

Devika in the kitchen



Gorgeous fruit!




A feast



Honey to ensure a sweet year


One of my friends from school had a Rosh Hashanah party. It was so much fun! I am going to miss Boston...So many nice people and fun things to do. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, and based on this party, I think you are supposed to eat huge quantities of amazing, delicious food to celebrate, including honey with apples to ensure a sweet year. (I love that...maybe I will start the honey and apples thing with my own family as a New Year tradition.) The spread was AMAZING...and you know I love food.

Jamaica Plain Arboretum

I am trying to take more photos of Boston while we are here. We are leaving soon and I am going to miss it! Boston really is a great city...it has so much to offer. If only it the weather were nicer! We would probably stay a lot longer if the winter was a few months shorter.

These pictures are from the Jamaica Plain Arboretum. Is is very pretty and natural...and the best part is that it is accessable by the subway. It is aso important that cities have access to outdoor areas...we were so spoiled in Hong Kong and we didn't realize it! There are so many great, well maintained hiking spots in Hong Kong.

Trip to Wingaersheek Beach

Matt had to go into work for a few hours before we hit the beach, so I went to the Andover Farmer's Market. I ate an entire pint of blueberries by myself! I am addicted to blueberries right now. I consider fresh, local blueberries a highlight of living in Massachusetts.


Walking up to Wingaersheek Beach





Matt was obsessed with getting beach chairs, but we kept forgetting. We finally remembered last weekend, and he was so happy to have a chair.


Yes, I am wearing a dorky beach hat...but my forehead is extremeley sun damaged after spending 2 summers in India. I decided I need to take action...plus, I can totally blend into the New England beach-goer crowd wearing this hat.


It seems like everything I post lately is propaganda for Boston and New England...but it truly is a great place to be in the summer! Last weekend Matt and I went to our favorite beach, Wingaersheek. The sand is relatively clean and white, and it is a smaller beach that doesn't seem to get as crowded as some others we have been to. It is nestled in a little cove with sailboats docked in an adjacent cove, so it is very scenic.

I have to admit, it took me a while to get used to the beaches in Massachussetts. If there is a beach in the US that compares to the beaches we have been to in Asia, I haven't seen it...so I won't even attempt to compare them to Massachusetts beaches. But the beaches here are very different from California beaches. First of all, you have to pay for parking. Most parking rates hover at around 25$. When we first moved here, I was outraged by this....but now I appreciate it. Paying for parking means that the beach is well-maintained and the bathrooms are clean and functional. It also means that there is a cap on the people that are at the beach, because they stop letting people park after a certain number have gone in. On the other hand, paying sort of gives the beaches an elitist feel....you have to have a car and you have to be willing to shell out the money to park. (There are some free beaches, but we found these to be gross and near industrial boats so the water was oily!) If I had a family, I think I would appreciate the parking cost because it means all that the weirdos and perverts aren't at the beach. In San Diego, I had mmen expose themselves to me twice as a child...I don't think it affected me that much but I would hate for it to happen to my kids. On the other hand, without the weirdos, it definitely isn't as exciting or interesting to be at the beach. How exciting can it be to be surrounded by extremely white, preppy New Englanders?

Another difference is the sand...it seems finer here (but also cleaner and more well-maintained). And there are no waves in Massachusetts, at least not that I have seen. It is like swimming in a lake. Also, beaches here often have sand dunes covered with sea grass.