Solving the School Lunch Cooking Problem

We all know that part of the problem with school lunches is that they are often unhealthy. One reason for that is because the schools are sometimes unwilling, or unable, to cook.

I just read an interesting article in the New York Times that outlines the issues some schools are facing when trying to serve students healthier food. Continue reading »

Fight the Flu With Food?

I can never remember whether it’s starve a cold, feed a fever or the exact opposite. But according to a new eat-right program for families, you can feed your kids to stave off a fever at least.

The Dairy Council of California (the people behind all those talking cow commercials that my kid is obsessed with) (a government agency not directly linked to the California Milke Advisory Board which does the talking cow commercials) are cashing in on American parents’ swine flu fears with a new cookbook and Website designed to encourage us to mix up “flu-fighting foods” for the family. Continue reading »

Beyond Chicken Fingers and Mac and Cheese

If there’s one complaint I could register with the owners of my favorite restaurant, it’s the need for kid portions. Not a kids menu, mind you. I don’t need chicken nuggets and mac and cheese at a Greek restaurant.

But half the Phyllo dough filled with feta, spinach and onions would be nice. A half a gyro, cucumber sauce on the side for dipping rather than dripping.

Kid friendly doesn’t have to mean kid food. Continue reading »

Kitchenista: The Best Birthday Cake Ever

My favorite food blogger is having a baby! Deb from Smitten Kitchen has one final trimester of child-free cooking, but already she’s prepping herself for the important stuff. Like birthday cake.

She obsessed over lots and lots of yellow cake + chocolate frosting cakes and then gave us the recipe for the best, one that also happens to be quite easy. I make all the family birthday cakes from scratch and you’d be surprised how hard it has been to make a moist delicious yellow cake. Oh, the battles I fight! Continue reading »

Kitchenista: 101 Salads to Get You Through Summer

I love salads. I’m not talking about iceberg lettuce in ranch dressing (though I love that, too), but mixed salads of anything cold and crunchy and vegetabl-y. No lettuce, no problem.

The NY Time’s Minimalist Mark Bittman has given eaters like me this great mid-summer gift: 101 recipes for simple summer salads. Shredded carrots and blueberries? How did I not think of that?

Here are my Top 5. But there are 96 others that look just as good. Continue reading »

Colorful Farm Share Box This Week

So this whole farm share thing is working out better than I expected it to. I actually managed to use almost everything this week. It also looks cool, at least the last box did. Very colorful.

Here’s how it went down: Continue reading »

Kitchenista: Perfect Summer Cooler

Are you looking for something cold, refreshing and caffeine-free to serve your family around the patio table on grill night?  I have a candidate for you: ginger mint coolers.  Here’s the secret: Continue reading »

Creepiest Baby Art Ever . . . or Cruelty to Meat?

Let me just say this picture made me glad to be a vegetarian. And I’m not one of those rabid “you’re going to the firey pits of hell vegetarians,” but this picture represents cruelty to a cow carcass if there ever was such a thing.

Ready for it? Come on . . . Continue reading »

Kitchenista - Joining a FarmShare

The words “Manhattan” and “Farm” don’t go together in my mind. So when I heard that there was a FarmShare that offered deliver to The Big Apple, I was skeptical.

After some soul searching (more like gut-searching, as in examining my ever-expanding waistline), I decided that I was willing to give it a try. We went whole hog — which is just an expression, because there’s no bacon involved — and got vegetables, farm fresh eggs, and fruit. Continue reading »

Kitchenista Meatless Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner

If I could pass on one piece of advice to any parent who’s frustrated by their child’s dinnertime antics, it would be this: breakfast for dinner. The eight kids in my household love it, whether I serve pancakes or oatmeal or these breakfast sandwiches. Continue reading »