Get Up & Go: Boats Ahoy!

Life in Massachusetts offers many recreational activities – including easy access to boating during the beautiful summer weather months. No ocean view outside your apartment home? No problem! A taste of the nautical life awaits—no kayak, canoe or sailboat needed! This week’s “Get Up & Go!” provides suggestions for nearby facilities where you can enjoy boating on a lake, river or the ocean—of course! Whether you are an experienced boater or a novice, there’s nothing like a day on the water when it comes to family fun or recreational pleasure with friends. When you go, don’t forget to tag a digital snapshot on our Facebook page!

Boating in Boston: Natick – Boating in Boston’s Natick location at Lake Cochituate offers kayak, canoe, Standup Paddleboard (SUP), rowboat and pedal boat rentals. Lake Cochituate’s family-friendly park also features a spacious beach for swimming. Visit the website for information on hours and available equipment.

Boating in Boston: Hopkinton – Boating in Boston has shop set up at Hopkinton State Park— which offers 1,500 acres of forest, open fields and a large lake, complete with 2 beaches, 3 islands and surrounded by loads of running trails. This must-visit destination for Central Massachusetts residents has a great boathouse where you can rent a kayak, canoe, SUP, rowboat, or pedal boat.  Fitness classes are available on the water as well – be sure to check their website for specifics!

Regatta Point – Located on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, a brand new fleet of rental boats (paddleboats, kayaks, SUPs, canoes, rowboats) awaits visitors this summer. Lake  Quinsigamond is busy place – so if you are interested in doing a lot of exploring and making a full day of it, be sure to sign up for the safety training class, which gives you access to the entire lake.  Regatta Point is located at 10 Lake Avenue North, Worcester.

Boston Sailing Center – The Sailing Center gives beginners a chance to learn sailing in the open waters of Boston Harbor. In addition to free Sailing Open Houses (including 30-minute sail cruise around the harbor), BSC’s Learn-To-Sail program starts covers nautical sailing and on-the-water experience. The program offers students use of boats outside of class as well!  

Paddle Boston – This canoe and kayak rental service has five different locations along the Charles River in Boston, Cambridge, Newton and Waltham. Offering guided tours, lessons and rentals, Paddle Boston also has Stand Up Paddleboards (SUP). Check out their SUP yoga classes, which provide a full workout on the water!

Courageous Sailing – Courageous Sailing (CS) offers another opportunity to learn to sail on the Boston Harbor but has special focus on children and families.  Visit their website for a full listing of courses, camps and activities.

@Commons Cooks: Seasonal Summer Corn and Tomato Dishes

Summer is at its best and brightest right now with delightfully mild temperatures and an abundant summer harvest offering fresh seasonal veggies. New Englanders everywhere rejoice as corn and tomatoes sprout up around farmer’s markets and grocery stores, ripe and ready for a Labor Day BBQ or an easy family dinner.

Break from tradition and go lettuce-free with salad recipes that celebrate these crowned jewels of summer. Please your palate with a savory corn salad or indulge in a flavorful Greek inspired tomato salad. As a bonus, these salads are healthy too. Tomatoes are full of fiber and aid in regulating blood pressure while corn is antioxidant rich and helps to stabilize blood sugar-- a-maize-ing! For the perfect complement to any summer meal, we have also added in a bonus recipe link to delicious chilled corn soups to cool off with.

As always, don’t forget to check out the Grocery Guru section, listed below, for nearby grocery stores and farmer’s markets selling fresh summer veggies in your area!

(Image via foodnetwork.com)

Summer Corn Salad

Prep time: 5 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

·         5 Ears of Corn (boiled, grilled, or oven roasted)

·         3 tablespoons Olive Oil

·         1 Tomato (seeded and diced)

·         1 Red Onion (chopped)

·         1 Green Bell Pepper (diced)

·         Juice of 1 Lime

·         Salt and Pepper

·         Fresh Cilantro, to taste

Directions

1.     Use a knife to remove corn kernels from the cob.

2.     Transfer to large bowl.

3.     Add tomato, red onion, bell pepper. Toss to combine.

4.     Add olive oil and lime juice.

5.     Season with salt and pepper and garnish with cilantro just before serving.

This dish is great to serve at a summer cookout or as a vibrant side dish any time of year. Feel free to swap out cilantro for the milder flavor of parsley.

* Recipe credit: FoodNetwork.com

(Image via foodnetwork.com)

Tomato, Onion, and Cucumber Salad

Prep time: 5 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

·         5 Medium-sized Plum Tomatoes (halved lengthwise, seeded, thinly sliced)

·         1/4 Red Onion (peeled, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced)

·         1 Kirby Cucumber (halved lengthwise, thinly sliced)

·         2 tablespoons or more Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

·         2 Splashes Red Wine Vinegar

·         Coarse Salt and Pepper

Directions

1.       Combine tomatoes, red onion, and cucumber together in a bowl.

2.      Generously drizzle with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

3.       Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4.      Let stand for 20 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld together.

This salad provides a great base for adding in extra ingredients, such as feta cheese or olives for a decidedly Greek spin.

* Recipe credit: FoodNetwork.com

(Image via bostonglobe.com)

Chilled Corn Soups

Hearty soups are great for satiating hunger but not so great for keeping a cool kitchen in the summer months. Thanks to this past Sunday’s Boston Globe Magazine, here are a variety of chilled corn soups that offer cozy comfort on the hottest of days. Check out the recipes here:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2014/08/23/recipes-for-chilled-corn-soups/UgkeLBsNOCUXiaV5cyjHQO/story.html

Grocery Guru Advice

Supermarket: Price Chopper, 731 Boston Turnpike

Local Farms: Canal District Farmers Market, 138 Green St., Worcester.  Harvey’s Farm, 7 Maple Ave, Westborough.

Congratulations! Get Up & Go! Facebook Photo Contest

Weddings, love and passion are three things that go together like peanut butter, jelly and fresh bread. Now imagine marrying your wedding to a great destination vacation. That was the elixir for Shrewsbury Commons’ resident Claire Jeanfreau, who shared stunning wedding photos from her recent summer getaway.

That’s right, Claire and “this handsome man” (husband Trevor Miller) travelled south to our nation’s capital for a whirlwind wedding and subsequent honeymoon in Ocean City, Maryland. Claire, making her first trip to the Maryland shore, reported having an “awesome honeymoon and vacation.”

In Claire’s own words: “It was absolutely perfect, but we also loved coming back to Shrewsbury Commons.”

Cool Get Up & Go! fact: The happy couple were married at the Washington D.C. Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which was the church’s first temple built east of the Mississippi River since 1846. The world’s tallest Mormon temple with a 288-foot-tall spire (one of six spires), the stunning place of worship is encased in white Alabama marble and sits on a 57-acre wooded hill in Kensington, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C. 

The temple’s annual Festival of Lights in December (December 2^nd to January 1^st) is a major tourism attraction, offering guests an awe-inspiring view of millions of lights placed around the temple grounds as well as live choir performances and nightly performances from regional artists and musicians. 

Commons Ground: Indoor Green Thumb, Made Easy

Plants offer an inviting, friendly touch to any apartment home. While maintaining healthy green plants may sound like a pain, many plants thrive indoors—and are easy to sustain. Check out some vegetation that will add vibrant and natural warmth to your home with a minimum of fuss.

Peperomia, a.k.a. the “Radiator Plant”

Any plant that is described as “easy care” is a great place to start your apartment home ‘garden.’ That starts with Peperomia, a small houseplant defined by waxy, textured leaves. This species adds a pop of color to any room but better still, grows with a minimum of light exposure and tolerates temperatures between 60 and 75 degrees. As for watering, the plant requires just one wetting per week. There is only one caveat about Peperomia – the plant is poisonous for cats and dogs, if eaten, so they must be kept out of reach from curious pets.

Scented Geraniums                                                                                                      

Thanks to scented geraniums, residents don’t need aerosol spray or air fresheners to enjoy a fragrant smelling home. These beauties can be found in a variety of delicious scents like apple and chocolate mint. They are great to look at as well, as the geraniums grow small, vibrantly colored flowers. Scented Geraniums come in different sizes, so be sure to ask for one that fits on a countertop or windowsill. These plants do need four hours of sun on average, but only need to be watered two times per week.

Fiddleleaf Fig

Saying fiddleleaf fig five times fast is a real feat but making a green statement to brighten up a room is easy-peasy with this tall, leafy plant. The “ficus lyrata,” know for a twisted trunk, is a popular houseplant because it tolerates low levels of light and requires minimal watering (every third day.) The only challenge is the plant’s size, which requires occasional pruning.

African Violet

The African Violet is a gorgeous plant that is easy to maintain. The plant blooms and thrives in filtered sunlight as much as bright light, so any window sill will do. When it comes to water, touch the soil and if it is moist, there’s no need to water. Usually watering every other day does the trick.  

Garlic Greens

How to grow garlic in five easy steps. 1) Buy garlic bulbs from the local grocery store. 2) Buy small plant pot with drainage holes and small bag of potting soil. 3) Fill pot with soil until it’s almost full. 4) Peel bulbs into cloves and push into dirt until pointy end sits just above the soil line. 5) Place in sunny spot and water every other day. One note: cloves will sprout in short order, but harvesting new cloves requires patience, up to six months … plenty of time to find a great recipe for spring harvest!

All of these plants and many more require occasional maintenance beyond sun and water such as fertilization and pruning. For more info, check out the links below.

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/houseplants/care/

http://www.guide-to-houseplants.com/house-plant-care-tips.html

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/houseplants.html

Commons Ground: Three Ways to Frame

There is no better way to spruce up a bland, empty wall than with photos of friends and loved ones. Taking the first steps toward making an eye catching wall of art can, however, be intimidating. Between choosing the right frames, photos and their arrangement, there is so much that goes into making a beautiful display of memories and art. Luckily, crafty people on the internet have done all the leg work for you! Here are three different ways to frame and arrange art on you wall to take your apartment home’s décor to the next level.

1. 3x3

This classic 3x3 arrangement has a clean, elegant feel that would look wonderful displayed along the walls of a hallway. Talia from Pieces of Me explains how she bought inexpensive IKEA frames, printed photos at home and hung them in this square shape to create a vibrant, fresh display. Get details on this arrangement here.

2. Asymmetrical Magazine Art

Just about everyone has a stack of old magazines lying around, collecting dust. Here is an easy and creative way to repurpose some of the images from those magazines. Flip through the pages and pull out any art-worthy images, run them through a scanner and frame. Then, scatter the scanned and framed images amongst some of your own photos and arrange in an asymmetrical, playful display. Visit the Baby Center blog for details on how to create this whimsical photo arrangement.

3. Picture-less Frames

Pictures aren’t the only things that can say 1000 words. This trendy display made up of antique frames found at tag sales is a stunningly cool way to display some of your vintage treasures. Hang similarly colored frames with varied shapes and sizes in an asymmetrical design to create a unique arrangement and a definite conversation starter. Design stand-by, Martha Stewart has the scoop on how to achieve this look.