Tour De Farms

This past weekend I took part in the Tour De Farms bike ride put on by Urban Adventours. It was a wonderful 35 mile bike ride through greater boston visiting community gardens and farms along the way.

There is a lot of talk about certified organic. We were informed at one of the farms that they were "uncertified organic", meaning that they follow all the rules of organic farming, but have decided not to pay the $15,000 fee that would label them as certified.

The most surprising fact that I learned was that a 1.5 acre farm cansupply vegetables for approximately 120-150 families. 1.5 acers is about the area a typical grocery store would take. It brings into perspective how we could get our food.

In honor of Fathers day on Sunday

My dad, taught me how to hunt and fish
My dad, has hiked all the mountains around our home.
My dad, knows all the back roads to everywhere.
My dad, installed a new heating system in our house.
My dad, worked in a sandwich shop when he was a kid.
My dad, can grill better than your dad.
My dad, is a champion marksman. Don't mess with him.
My dad, rocks the guitar, the bass, the piano and the drums. He's a one man band.
My dad, came to my wrestling matches, track and cross country meets even though it was obvious he didn't understand the sport.
My dad, survived cancer twice.

Thanks dad,

I love you

My Side of the Story......

So I had a plan to ask my girlfriend to marry me. A nice dinner at a French restaurant. A romantic stroll though the city. Then I ask her to marry be somewhere in the Boston Common.


Towards the end of the main course, my girlfriend casually says, "So I'm not trying to pressure you or anything, but when do you think, we might think, about getting married?" To which I reply, "You know I think we should figure that out soon." My hope was that it would pass and that I could still keep my master plan in tact. But she continued.

"Well do you want a long engagement or a short one?"

"I would like a relatively short one, I mean I don't want to wait another year to get married.

"I mean  I know we have talked about it before......"

At this point I have realized that I should just give up and wing it. So I slowly reach into my coat pocket.

"but do you think, we should think, about getting married?"

I responded; "How about now!"  To which she replied, "Are you serious?  Are you serious?"

Sometimes, the best laid plans never work out.

Management

About 6 months ago, I was reluctantly thrust into a management position at my firm. The client, upset with my boss, for reasons unknown still to this day, asked that he be removed. Thanks to the economy we were short handed so I being the next in line was given the title of Project Manager. Sense then I have worked most weekends as well as frequent nights trying to keep up.

Along with the added work load I was suddenly in charge of people. Handing out assignments, following up on tasks and making sure my project progressed. Having been an underling for the past 10 years, I now have a new found respect for Managers.

Managers have power and can use it how they choose. They can choose to hold onto that power,  hold it over people, or give it away. When I had just started my career, a Project Manager took notice of me. I was only the office boy at the time, but he knew that I wanted to be an Architect, so he brought me onto his team.

He didn't have to do this. He could have held out for a more experienced staff to come free, but instead he took a chance. About four years later I was over seeing the construction of a 12 million dollar project. Again I didn't have to be doing this, by all definitions I was under qualified to be doing this.

Now I find that I am reluctantly managing my own 20 million dollar project.  I still feel woefully unprepared and that I am just barely holding on. Even in all this uncertainty I was still able to give some work to another person in the firm who was just a student. In some ways it makes more work for me. Having to explain things that to others would be common knowledge. Having to correct things multiple times. Or just waiting an extra day or two for a drawing. But it somehow seams like the right thing to do.

Doing something special.....

It's Valentines day, so I'm inclined to do something special for the girl I love, like trying to boost her google rank.

The most wonderful girl in the world is starting a buisness, a food tour, in East Boston. If you want to take a tasty tour through East Boston give her a call. (Click)

Boozy Berry Breakfast Burgers

Every good meal should have a good story. Two weeks ago my girlfriend and I went to Niagara Falls for the weekend. While enjoying breakfast, with a view of the falls, we had the most delicious whipped cream and strawberry's we had ever tasted. We vowed to make homemade whipped cream when we got back to Boston.

Yesterday Laura and I decided to make a brunch of french toast to go along with our strawberry's and whipped cream. So this morning we went to Haymarket and picked up some strawberry's, a pineapple and a pomegranate. We figured we could pick up some bread and whipping cream on the way back to my house. We found a Portuguese sweet bread at the corner market. But after trying three different stores no whipping cream was to be found. So we had to settle on cool whip.

The sweet bread was more of a roll, so we cut them in half and cooked them like normal french toast. Then made sandwiched between them using sliced strawberry's, pomegranate seeds, and whipped cream. We topped it off with a reduction of Honey Bourbon. Thus creating Boozy Berry Breakfast Burgers.

Oh and we also had a glass of pineapple pomegranate juice to wash it down.