Today, Evadne shares a key ingredient for her family surviving winter sicknesses:
“Hailing from Canada, there are many things I love about wintertime. But as a mom to a sociable preschooler and thumb-sucking toddler, the season has become overshadowed by sniffles, colds, stomach bugs, and - most recently - a bout of pneumonia (sigh). The road to recovery for us inevitably involves visits to the pediatrician, vitamins, and lots of rest, but we've also added another ingredient to the remedial mix: chicken soup - the quintessential comfort food.Today, Evadne shares a key ingredient for her family surviving winter sicknesses:
“Hailing from Canada, there are many things I love about wintertime. But as a mom to a sociable preschooler and thumb-sucking toddler, the season has become overshadowed by sniffles, colds, stomach bugs, and - most recently - a bout of pneumonia (sigh). The road to recovery for us inevitably involves visits to the pediatrician, vitamins, and lots of rest, but we've also added another ingredient to the remedial mix: chicken soup - the quintessential comfort food.
My passion for recycling no doubt is at least partly attributable to growing up on hand me downs (as the sixth of seven kids), and I’m thrilled to announce that Boston Mamas now offers a free way for you to recycle your kiddie and parenting gear. Check out our new classifieds section powered by Hand Me Downs (a national mom classifieds website), and enjoy acquiring and purging via this prettily designed service! Also, for those of you who dig celebrity things, the central site recently launched their first celebrity auction, in which Gwen Stefani has donated goods to be auctioned off for charity.
Despite the glorious weather of the last couple of days, no doubt there’s more winter in store. Today, Carole Arsenault of Newborn Nurses shares simple and effective tips for protecting baby’s dry skin during the winter. Many of these ideas also are practical for older kids and adults.
A couple of weeks ago Laurel and I attended a super fun cooking class at the Museum of Science and I have been meaning to post about the divine clementine clafoutis that was served. If you’re similarly overrun with peak season clementines, consider trying this fabulous, simple recipe. I plan on making it this weekend for brunch dessert.
This post is a bit oddly juxtaposed to the previous, but I'm late on a friend's request to share my go-to chocolate pudding recipe and decided to do so here for all to enjoy. The recipe is from Lori Longbotham’s lovely Luscious Chocolate Desserts. Below is my revised recipe that includes a couple of minor time-saving shortcuts (to the already super easy recipe) + ingredient modifications. The latter are based on personal preference, but they do – via reduced milk fat and added fruit – make this dessert somewhat less bad for you while still being divine. Enjoy!
Today, Michelle Stern of What’s Cooking shares a way to conjure visions of Mexico this winter:
“It’s always a sudden shock to return home from vacation and be thrust back into the throes of laundry, grocery shopping, meal preparation, shuttling children, scooping pet poop, and paying bills. It's enough to make me turn around and drive right back to the airport. But I’m taking comfort in the serene memories of our recent visit to Club Med, Ixtapa; a trip replete with lavish meal buffets filled with fresh produce and seafood, tropical drinks, and family fun. The fresh corn tortillas and guacamole are especially missed; here’s a recipe for making them at home with your kids.
Welcome to Boston Mamas Rock! – where we’re giving a voice to fabulous local mamas from all walks of life. Read on for today’s interview with Jules Pieri, mother of three and founder of Daily Grommet, a website dedicated to telling the true stories behind fresh finds. Then nominate yourself or a friend!
Today, Sharon offers inspiration and local recommendations for DIY crafting:
“I have always loathed the holidays for their sheer commercialism, and this year I spent a lot of time reflecting on giving, and how to infuse meaning into the gifts for the little ones in my life. Through the journey, I discovered a new side of myself and some really excellent local craft stores.
Today, Kate offers inspiration for the creation and nurturing of traditions; here, with a favorite family cookie recipe:
"With the 2008 holidays now behind us, I am reflecting on one moment in the past few weeks that was especially special for me: baking holiday cookies for my father with the help and company of my toddler daughter.
Pursuant to my recent gingerbread house how-to post, here are notes on our adventures down gingerbread lane. Not only was the project incredibly fun, but it ended up being a huge lifesaver while we were snowed in this past weekend. Gingerbread house building may seem a bit intimidating at first, but it essentially boils down to rolling and cutting dough (similar to what you would do to make sugar or gingerbread cookies), then having a blast with the decorations.
Given my love of baking and crafting, I’ve always wanted to make a gingerbread house, and not surprisingly, Laurel is totally on board with this idea. In anticipation of today’s early school closing, I hunted for some leads so Laurel and I could enjoy some time plotting our gingerbread structures and making templates. Following are my three favorite how-to's, which have useful information for both novice and experienced bakers. I’ll also jot notes on our process in case we come up with any particularly brilliant or time saving ideas to share for future use. Happy building!
Last week I had the pleasure of attending another media luncheon hosted by Stop & Shop, and in addition to chatting about holiday survival tips with Stop & Shop, event planning guru Bryan Rafanelli offered some fabulously chic yet inexpensive holiday décor ideas. These three green ideas were my favorites:
Today, Jules shares a recipe to warm up winter:
“To me, there’s nothing better than curling up on the couch with a nice bowl of something piping hot on a cold winter day. I love soups, but for a change of pace, this lovely couscous dish is hearty enough to satisfy cold weather cravings, but light enough to be refreshing and clean. The lemon adds an essential, surprising background note.
Today, Sara Cabot of Little Lettice makes a case for the humble rutabaga:
“Rutabagas are in season, and as you skim by the pile of these humble root vegetables in your grocery store’s produce section, you may be curious to learn more about this lesser-eaten vegetable, which is known as a ‘swede’ in England due to its popularity in Scandinavian countries.
As someone who strives for streamlined living and working, I’ve always loved the concept of multifunction machines, but until recently, I had yet to find one (on a reasonable budget) that really and truly did what it was supposed to do. That is, until I tried the Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One, which I’m reviewing today thanks to One2One Network and my blog peep Jennifer James of the Mom Bloggers Club.
In these challenging economic and environmental times, consider Kate’s reminder of the beauty of basement treasures:
“My toddler daughter and I recently visited the childhood home of a loved one, a house that has seen four children grow up and go off into their adult lives. As the first evening of our visit was growing a little late and my daughter was getting restless, our hostess knowingly suggested that we check out the basement, a virtual kid's utopia. Shelves of neatly packed toys and games, baskets of stuffed animals, cabinets of baby dolls and their clothes - all just waiting for a new little person to come along and play with them.
Today, Michelle Stern of What’s Cooking offers a seasonal recipe that’ll give your turkey leftovers a new life:
"Eating in season makes for a smaller grocery bill and fresher flavors. This tasty recipe is an ideal use of some of our favorite winter ingredients: sweet potatoes and apples. It can be served as the main course for brunch or for dinner with a simple side salad. It’s also an ideal way to transform leftover turkey into a brand new meal. This version brings together traditional holiday flavors in a satisfying new dish. Don't forget to Call The Kids into the kitchen to help!
Today, Sara Cabot of Little Lettice offers a primer on brown rice:
“Brown rice is healthier than white rice so it’s good to start your kids early on it. Brown rice is brown because the grain is wrapped with a layer of bran that is stripped away when rendering white rice. So, white rice is just starch, while brown rice is the starch plus fiber from the bran. Brown rice tastes nuttier than white rice, and also takes longer to cook.