WaterFire Providence

Last Saturday, Travis and I traveled down to Rhode Island for the Providence WaterFires.  We've been meaning to go since we moved up here, and this year we made it just in time – this was the last one of the season!  Our friends, Christian and Laci, were in Providence celebrating their anniversary, so we met them for dinner and to enjoy the festivities.

WaterFires started as an art installation (sculpture) by Barnaby Evans and is made up of over 80 floating bonfires down the middle of the river in the heart of Providence.  Now, each lighting is sponsored by a different group.  With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it was appropriate that Saturday’s Fire was dubbed “Flames of Hope”.

We ate at a cool burger joint that had great sliders and sweet potato fries.

After dinner, we walked further downtown and sat down along the river to wait for the lighting of the fires.  Throughout the night, there were lots of boats traveling up and down the river.  One group of these boats did the initial lighting and replenished the fires all night long.  The people in these black boats wore all black and unless they were tending to the fires, were very solemn.  So solemn in fact, it seemed like something you’d see in a film set during olden times on the way to a funeral!  Weird…

Floating bonfire before it was lit.  

Volunteers lighting the fires

Once the fires got going, we walked along the river enjoying the sights and music.

There were also special things going on along the river, like a luminary/memory garden , fire twirlers (probably not their technical name), and a Pierrot character that sailed along the edge of the water, handing our flowers all evening.

After we walked the length of the river, we made our way to the “basin” – a large round area at one end.  They were supposed to have a basin lighting ceremony a little before 8 (which we were planning on missing), but when we got there a little before 9, it still hadn't happened!  Luckily for us, things were (way) off schedule, so we watched the basin lighting ceremony, which was beautiful!

This was also the point in the evening when I stood up to take a picture (found out that Providence doesn't fill in the holes around their sprinkler system), fell down, and took a chunk out of my foot.  BUT we trudged along for the State House, which was flooded with pink lights, inspirational words, and search lights!  It was AWESOME! 

Travis and Christian had a lot of fun playing with the spotlights...if you couldn't tell.

It was an awesome evening!  If you've never been to WaterFires and live in New England (or plan to visit), you MUST go!

Two Potato Wedge Recipes - Parmesan Crusted & Curry

After a weekend of staying outside in the brisk air, picking out pumpkins, and having the first bowl of chili of the season, it seemed only fitting that today would mark the first morning I've been cold getting into the car (42 degrees is "colder" in October than it is in February)!  Since fall is the season for roasted veggies, I thought I'd share a few recipes for Potato Wedges that Travis and I enjoy.  

It's nice to have different variations of the same side dish I can easily whip up, since I am the wimpiest of wimpy when it comes to spicy flavors and Travis loves them.  After much deliberation on the evening in question, we settled on Parmesan Crusted Potato Wedges and Curry Wedges to go with our Garlic and Herb chicken.

Curry Wedges

3 servings (5 wedges each)

2 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed

2.5 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon basil

½ teaspoon salt

Parmesan Crusted Potato Wedges

3 servings (5 wedges each)

2 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1/8 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cut potatoes in half length-wise.  Then cut each portion in half two more times, forming long, skinny triangles (aka...wedges).

Mix other ingredients (oil, spices) in a small dish. Put potato wedges in a gallon sized plastic bag and pour the oil/spice mixture on top, then seal and shake the bags to coat potatoes.  

For the Parmesan wedges, mix all ingredients except for the cheese, toss in bag, then add cheese and toss again.

Cover a cookie sheet with tinfoil and place wedges on sheet.  For Parmesan Wedges, spray with PAM first - they'll stick if you don't!  (The Curry Wedges do not require spray.)

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes or until fork tender, turning wedges halfway through.

Enjoy! 

Acorns and Leaves

Last week I spent a few lunch breaks picking up things on the side of the road...in Boston.  No, no...I wasn't joining the ladies filling their carts with soda cans to turn in for cash.  Another blogger I follow was talking about the plastic acorns in Crate and Barrel's latest catalog and thinking it was crazy to spend $20 on acorns when they were lots of them on her sidewalk for free.  With that inspiration, I set off to TJ Maxx on my lunch break to find a vase (found a pretty one for $6.50 - *whoop!*) and candle ($3.50), and then picked up acorns on the walk back to work!

When I got home, I put it all together and ended up with this.

While I liked it, it was still missing something, so the next day I headed back to the streets and spent a little while picking up pretty leaves.  The tree are beautiful here right now, so you don't have to go far to find some great foliage.

I decided to add a few of these leaves to the acorn mix to give it a little more color!

Next up...pumpkins!

Love that Dirty Water - Boston's Public Garden

Over Labor Day, when my parents were up for a visit, we spent a day wandering around Boston.  It was a nice addition to our other two day trips to Newport, Rhode Island and Plymouth, MA.  We spent most of our time in the the Public Garden, and then ran down to Government Center for some lunch...and we took a LOT of pictures!  I love being a tourist in our home city!

You can also check out some of our other favorite things to do in Boston.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the day!

Make way for ducklings statue - one of my favorite kid books!

Awesome street performer

Frog Pond on Boston Common

Statue with our church (Park Street) in the background

Park Street Church

Shrimp & Mushroom Pasta

Travis and I love experimenting with different pastas.  This is one of our more recent favorites – a shrimp and mushroom pasta with a butter garlic sauce!  The best part of the dish is that it’s very easy and can feed 4-6 people.

You’ll need:

Thin spaghetti

3/4 to 1 pound of shrimp

8 ounces sliced mushrooms 

4-5 roma tomatoes, chopped

2-3 cloves minced garlic

Butter 

Olive Oil 

Chicken Broth

Salt & Pepper

Parmesan Cheese

First you’re going to cook the shrimp and mushrooms.   Saute shrimp in two batches, each with 1 Tbsp butter, a splash of chicken broth, salt and a little of the garlic you minced.  Once the pan is hot, it’ll only take the shrimp about a minute per side to cook.  Transfer shrimp into a bowl for later.

Once you’ve cooked both batches of shrimp, add another ½ tablespoon of butter and the mushrooms to the pan.  Pour in enough chicken broth to cover the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle with salt and a little more of the minced garlic.  Cook on high, stirring frequently, for 5-6 minutes until the mushrooms begin to soften. 

Now put it all together!  In a large frying pan, add 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, tomatoes,  the rest of the minced garlic, and a splash of chicken broth.  Simmer for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes start to get soft, then add the shrimp. 

Add pasta and mix.  Pour entire dish into a serving bowl and top with Parmesan cheese.  Serve to your household of hungry people!

P.S.  I think this would also be delicious with asparagus, but since Travis isn't a fan, I left it out this time.