Blue Hills

This post has been in the works since I actually went to Blue Hills ( 2/6/16) but then life things got in the way of finishing it. Still wanted to share, enjoy!

Normally my weekends are spent outside of the city, but occasionally other things (like work) keep me here. I was SO excited for the snowfall last week and it gave us the perfect opportunity to try out two things that we have been wanting to do, explore Blue Hills and go snowshoeing! 

I mentioned in a previous post that I had gotten Kristen snowshoes for Christmas. I was originally anticipating her using them for our trip up Mount Cardigan but the trail had no new snow and was so packed down she didn't need them! I was happy that our schedules worked out and we were all available to go for a snowshoe on Saturday. 

But first, brunch. 

We originally made plans for the for of us to meet up and go out to brunch, but I was feeling inspired to bake and spend a little by more time at home, so we had Kristen and Bob over for brunch. I recently had a patient show me how to make homemade biscuits. I was amazed at how simple the recipe was and how delicious they tasted. I pretty much recalled the recipe from how I watched them being made (it's that easy!) But checked online anyways. They were all pretty similar, but I decided to go with what I remembered. 

Six simple ingredients (salt not pictured) 

2 c flour 

2 tbl baking powder

1 tbs sugar 

1 tbl salt

4 tbl butter 

1 cup milk

Combine and wisk dry ingredients 

Slice butter into small pieces 

Combine butter with dry mixture -many recipes referred to some type of pastry tool (I have no idea what this is). I used a fork and knife to cut through the mixture and the butter until mixed. You'll still have chunks of butter and that's ok. 

Combine milk and mix. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. 

This made 11, I'm guessing I made mine big. Bake on 350 for 25 min. If desired brush melted butter on top for a golden brown finish.

I sliced them in half, topped with melted cheddar, spinach, avocado, poached egg and sour cream with fresh dill, so good! 

Blue Hills was about a 35 min drive from Cambridge, easy to get to. The parking lots were super crowded, mainly with skiers but people hiking/snowshoeing as well. We parked in the lot after the trail side museum which gives direct access up the blue dot trail.

The snow created a beautiful landscape, all the trees were covered in the untouched snow. A true winter wonderland. 

After we crossed the road on the blue dot trail we went off the trail to the right. The road and the trail create a boundary so we could explore without getting lost. We came out eventually on a part of the red dot trail that led us up to  the Eliot Tower. 

It was a clear sunny day and the views from the top of the tower were beautiful.  Boston was in clear view in the distance. 

We enjoyed the sunshine at the top, had some hot tea we brought up in a thermos and some more biscuits. 

Our hike down we took the red dot trail. It was rocky and packed down in many places, but we opted to keep our snowshoes on and ducked off the trail in the fresh snow where we could.

This was only my second or third time snowshoeing, and Kristen and Bob's first. The verdict: its a fun way to get outside, be active and enjoy the snow! Our trip was relatively flat and easy. We did about 1.8 miles in a two hour time, including our rest at the top. An easy go to spot again for future trips!