New England Mamas

Review - Piggy (Craigie) On Main, Cambridge, MA

Pork. The other white meat. And I went to a place last weekend known as Craigie On Main in Cambridge, MA and they loves them little piggys. I really don't know if it was the excitement of brunch with the lovely ladies from my high school who I hadn't seen in almost a year, or the atmosphere of this quaint restaurant featuring an open kitchen, but the food was delicious and the service impeccable. I mean, the waiters fold your napkin every time you move from your seat. How many times does that happen in your house these days?

Fork you!

I'd like to meet the genius who invented the popular phrase "finger food" so they could join my family as we sit down to the dinner table and define EXACTLY what is and is not considered finger food. What do I mean? Let's play a simple game called "Finger food or NOT." Be careful, some of these are apparently tricky:

What's happening this weekend - Massachusetts

Our regular feature, What's Happening this Weekend, is highlighting Massachusetts events this week.  Enjoy!

Central Mass:
Whether you’re a full-fledged farmer, a wanna-be hobbyist organic gardener or somewhere in between you’ll want to check out NOFA*/Mass annual winter conference “Food from Farms to Families” at Worcester Technical High School in Worcester, MA this Saturday, January 16, from 9 am to 5:30 pm.   

Over 40 workshops (including ones specifically for teens) on organic farming, gardening, landscaping, and sustainable living, as well as exhibits to check out, and even a children’s program (for kids 3 and up) that runs during workshops times.  You won’t have to worry if there’s something for you at the NOFA/Mass annual winter conference, you’ll have to worry about narrowing down your choices!  A must attend for anyone interested in healthy eating, an organic lifestyle and supporting local farms.

Western Mass:
For fans of art and fans of children's book illustrations - The 20th Annual Children's Illustration Show at R. Michelson Galleries in Northhampton, MA (ongoing until Jan. 31, 2010).  Featuring the work of acclaimed artists such as Dr. Seuss, Mo Willems, Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle, and Tomie DePaola.  Open Monday through Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 12-5pm. And the best part about it is, it's free! 

Eastern Mass:
For the little ones who love to dance and sing and let's face it, the adults too - Ben Rudnick and Friends at the Center for Arts in Natick on Saturday, January 16 at 11am.  Adults are $9 and kids are $6.  Love to jam?  You'll love iParenting and Parent's Choice award-winner Ben Rudnick.  He's groovy.

[image credit - BenRudnick.com]

*Northeast Organic Farming Association

Meal Planning for Dummies

One of our family resolutions for the New Year is to eat out less.  Much to my childrens' chagrin.  We found we were spending an obscene amount of money on McD's, takout, pizza delivery, etc.  All due to a mere lack of organization and foresight on our part.

This simply means more planning beforehand.  Here is what is working for us:

Donuts are not your friends.

(By Christine)

Did you make a resolution to lose weight in the New Year? Yeah. Me, too. In my house, I employ the old Weight Watcher methodology of decades ago – set your target for 10% of your current weight and don’t put a date to it.  Slow, even progress works just fine.  No one says you need to drop 20 lbs in 4 weeks. But you do need to move. Can’t lose weight eating Lean Cuisine on the couch all day.  Sorry, it’s a fact.

Plus, in my world I need my own pace and goals. I can’t have a celebrity fitness instructor shouting at me from behind the flat screen TV. That doesn’t motivate me.  It makes me hide in the bathroom.

So, in my quest to lose the few extra pounds that snuck back on the last time I successfully lost some weight, I started hunting for fun and healthier recipes and ideas to keep peace in the house while Mama empties the cupboards of sugar, fat and sugar.

Food fight - how do you get your kids to eat?

Do you know this old joke?

Q:  What do your kids eat?
A:  Nothing.

Bah dah bum.

I try to find the humor in it but trying to get your kids to eat a healthy meal when all they want is junk food is not very funny either. 

If you have little ones like I do, you know that most kids don’t want to eat what you put in front of them.  Even if they ate the darn meal the night before, even if you prepared a brand new meal and it wasn’t the dreaded leftovers, there’s a good chance they’ll turn their nose up at it.  Frustrating?  Just a little.

All I want for Christmas. . .

Health, happiness, a good movie, and to take the kids to a Chinese restaurant for dinner!

For us non Christians, there isn't much else to do on Christmas but go to the movies and go out to eat Chinese afterwards. It's such a Jewish tradition that the restaurant we frequent is usually packed with people lining up out the door. The local theatres are overwhelmed with huge crowds and a lot of people who know each other and need to yell "hello" over crowds of people.

It's tradition!

Because Santa shouldn't be the only one getting cookies at Christmas

It's cookie-baking season!

One year, in a fit of temporary insanity, I made six different types of cookies. In one night.

This was one of the recipes I used, courtesy of Ina Garten. I love her. She obviously loves food and even though her show can be a bit precious, her recipes are dead on. This one is no exception.  They have the added bonus of impressing the pants off of whoever receives them, which could be a nice bonus, depending on the givee. I'm just sayin'....

The Maine (Shopping) Attraction

This past weekend, my husband and I headed away from our Trenches full of kids for a getaway weekend.  Our destination?  Freeport, Maine and the land of Subarus and LLBean.  (Freeport is about a 2-1/2 hour drive from Boston.)

Time to make the Sufganiyot. . .

In Israel it is customary to make doughnuts, aka Sufganiyot, for Hanukah. Because doughnuts are fried in oil, they make a perfect treat for hanukah, especially after a nice big latke dinner where you're stomach is groaning already from all those potatoes fried in oil. Here are a few recipes I've used over the years, but the most popular, in least in our house, are jelly donuts.

Here is Joan Nathan's recipe for Sufganiyot from The Jewish Holiday Kitchen and after the recipe is her note on the history of the Sufganiyot.