The Round Up: june 2025
Food:
I made myself a delightful Thai-inspired red curry with tofu and veggies—and it was delicious! I love making Thai curries at home. Once you get the hang of working with curry paste, you can customize it however you like and toss in whatever ingredients you have on hand.
I made the Farmhouse Pork Stir-Fry from the Woks of Life cookbook and it was surprisingly easy to make and really delicious. I find Chinese cooking at home to be very intimidating (building the flavors, having all the sauces on hand, etc.) and I can’t way to cook more from this book!
I attended the Cambridge French Festival and had so many good bites! It was really cool to see a lot of the French bakeries around Boston come together and showcase their best stuff! I walked away with a ton of goodies!
My attempt at a Wishbone Kitchen Cookbook’s Not My Mom’s Roast Chicken recipe - it was so delicious (not as pretty as Meredith’s) but still amazing!
We spent a little under a week back in DC, and of course had to visit some our fave spots. Lutece was first on the list, and it was so nice being back. We also (of course) did Izakaya Seki!
We also stayed at our dear friend’s new (to us) home in Alexandria, VA, where they treated us to the most delicious home-cooked meal. It was perfect—so comforting, so tasty, and just what we needed to recover after a long wedding weekend.
My friend and I checked out our next Cambodian spot in Lowell, MA—Simply Khmer—and it did not disappoint. Of the three places we’ve tried so far in Lowell, this one is probably my favorite.
We definitely need to go back and try the soup we’ve had at the other two spots, but honestly, everything we ordered here was so good. The beef skewers were tender, the papaya salad was fresh and spicy, the curry was silky and flavorful, and the noodles were perfectly chewy and satisfying.
Simply Khmer is the kind of place I’ll keep thinking about—and keep coming back to.
My husband and I finally checked out Zurito, the Basque tapas bar in Beacon Hill—and we had such a lovely time. I especially loved that all the plates are small and shareable, so you can try a little bit of everything. It’s the perfect spot to pop into for a glass of Spanish wine or a cocktail and some pintxos. (Also a great warm-weather meal!)
You all know how much I love dim sum—especially on a Sunday morning. We tried Ming's Seafood Restaurant in Malden, and it was very good! This is some of the best dim sum I’ve found in the Boston area so far, and the fact that it’s only 15 minutes from home doesn’t hurt either. I especially loved their char siu pork—it was savory, flavorful, and not that usual neon red!
We tried a new restaurant in the South End called Metropolis Cafe and it was lovely! It is a cozy spot with some great quality food. We will definitely be returning!
I am loving anything that involves tomatoes, at the moment. I whipped together a tomato puff pastry (tarte-esque) situation and it was delish. It was just a sheet of store-bought puff pastry, a brushing of pesto, some heirloom tomatoes, and a light sprinkle of grated parm.
My local weekend farmer’s market is back and it was great to see! It is still not as good / diverse as my beloved DC Dupont farmer’s market, but it will do the trick.
We had some friends over on the last weekend of June and while I failed to get a shot of the full meal, the starters were so good. I made Wishbone Kitchen’s ricotta with fried garlic and garlic oil, some jazzed up Zahav hummus, homemade pita chips and some crunchy veggies.
At the same dinner party as the above picture, I also made Wishbone Kitchen’s olive oil cake with peaches and cream and everything about it was perfect. This is such an easy to make dessert with a high effort turn out. I will be making this again!
Other:
Love Island is BACK, BABY! Love Island USA kicked off on 6/3 and Love Island UK started on 6/9. This is my favorite time of the year (TV-wise).
I found a great pink nail polish from OPI called Aurora Berry-alis” and I will be wearing it for the foreseeable future. I like that it is a more mature / neutral pink and not to bubble-gummy.
It is once again, a J. Crew summer! They are absolutely killing it and I cannot get enough!
We bought an umbrella to put in our table (which we already had) and it has been so lovely to be able to eat and hang outside. This is the first time we have ever had some outdoor space, and we are truly making it work! It is so nice to have some outdoor space to entertain, hang, cook and plant some things!
I got a Thai massage at La Moon Thai Spa in Wilmington, MA and it was so nice . I got a 60 minute signature massage and I was so relaxed and rejuvenated afterwards. I cannot recommend their services enough!
In June we went back to DC for our first official visit since moving for our dear friend's wedding! The wedding was fun (it was at Iron Gate and the food / serves was amazing) and really great to be back with all our favorite people.
I am still massively obsessed with my wee garden. It has been so fun getting to use some of the things we have grown in our cooking. It is so rewarding!
Lenny:
