It’s embarrassing how many days of the week I say, “OK, today, no sweets!” And yesterday, mere hours after patting myself on the back for exercising will power against the pull of the local bakery, I was going berserk over a treat Jon brought home from Faneuil Hall: a cream puff from Beard Papa’s.
Bizarre business identity aside, these cream puffs are spectacular. When given a range of options, I typically don’t share Jon’s penchant for all things choux, but the delicate crispness of Beard Papa’s puff pastry, coupled with the smooth, fresh whipped cream custard knocked out my existing cream puff skepticism (based on the sickly sweet artificial filling and rubbery pastry of cream puffs in days past).
Beard Papa’s is known for its cream puffs (made in small batches on the premises using natural ingredients and no preservatives), and also offers other dessert treats. They currently have locations in Asia, Australia, and the US, with more international locations apparently on the way.
Beard Papa’s, 1 Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston; Tel: 617-570-9070
It’s embarrassing how many days of the week I say, “OK, today, no sweets!” And yesterday, mere hours after patting myself on the back for exercising will power against the pull of the local bakery, I was going berserk over a treat Jon brought home from Faneuil Hall: a cream puff from Beard Papa’s.
Bizarre business identity aside, these cream puffs are spectacular. When given a range of options, I typically don’t share Jon’s penchant for all things choux, but the delicate crispness of Beard Papa’s puff pastry, coupled with the smooth, fresh whipped cream custard knocked out my existing cream puff skepticism (based on the sickly sweet artificial filling and rubbery pastry of cream puffs in days past).
Beard Papa’s is known for its cream puffs (made in small batches on the premises using natural ingredients and no preservatives), and also offers other dessert treats. They currently have locations in Asia, Australia, and the US, with more international locations apparently on the way.
Beard Papa’s, 1 Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston; Tel: 617-570-9070
My mom, a traditional Korean lady, always impresses me with her fearlessness in the kitchen. And given her interest in culinary assimilation, it wasn’t unusual for a family meal to include traditional Korean fare and, say, a tray of lasagna or fried chicken she had just taught herself how to make.
So I’ve learned that mixing it up at the dinner table is a good thing. If you are on side dish duty tomorrow and want to bring a starch slightly off the traditional path, try the Rice Pilaf with Currants and Pine Nuts from Nick Stellino's Mediterranean Flavors
(shown; available at Amazon). The homey warmth of this dish will blend well with, yet add a little cultural kick to, the holiday table.
Isn’t it ironic that holiday hosting can be a source of honor, joy, exhaustion, and irritation practically all at the same time?
Show your appreciation to the holiday hosts who no doubt are losing sleep this week over redecoration, cleaning, and food preparation. Candles or soaps from the delicious Pacifica line are an elegant and environmentally friendly choice. Pacifica’s pillar and soy wax candles are clean burning and made by hand using paraffin or vegetable-based soy in small batches; soaps are handmade using biodegradable, vegan, vegetable glycerin soap base. Both products are infused with essential oils and other fragrance enhancers, and the results are good enough to eat; we especially love the unusual, rich Mexican Cocoa soap (shown, $6.95). Products are offered individually, or in prepackaged gift sets.
Available at Whole Foods and many other gift stores and bookstores. Click here to search Pacifica's (impressively accurate and comprehensive looking) vendor lists for the US and Canada.
Auntie Sha-sha has an unbelievable knack for picking out toys for Laurel (and her friends…). A recent play date reminded me of what a huge hit the Imaginarium 5-way Giant Bead Maze
Keeping up with the feeding and diapering needs of a newborn can be overwhelming; tack on the frustration of attempting to dress your babe in ill-conceived pieces (e.g., our all time worst newborn garment: jumper with no crotch snaps and only buttons up the back) and your tank will be running on negative.
Enter New For Baby, a company started by two moms who knew they could improve on existing layettes that were lackluster in fit and style. New For Baby offers a yummy mix and match layette collection in fresh pieces constructed to make dressing a breeze. Their long sleeved bodysuit (shown, girl’s pink and chocolate, $18) is tagless, offers foldover cuffs to prevent scratching, and has neckline snaps for easy on and off. Their incredibly soft, coordinate-with-anything micro fleece hoodie ($26) is another must have.
Choose from New For Baby’s hip boy, girl, and unisex color palettes; or select from their coordinated gift sets (ranging from $10 - $185). New For Baby is offering Boston Mamas readers a bargain; enter code “BM06” to receive a 10% discount at checkout.
A good deed goes a long way.
Mary Murphy’s How Kind!
($6.99 at Amazon) uses colorful, chunky illustrations and a simple plot to depict a loving story of circular barnyard kindness. Your babe will learn how simple gifts such as carrots, flowers, back scratches, and eggs (intact and hatched) can bring immense joy. ‘Tis the season.
Comfort food season is here, and what better way to celebrate than with a dish that hides vegetables like no other?
Laurel goes berserk when I make lasagna; as in, eats adult sized portions and asks for more. And the best part is that this recipe is packed with vegetables and protein, and I recently made adjustments to improve the nutritional content further (e.g., replacing typical ricotta cheese with tofu – seriously, you can’t even taste the difference and the dish sits much better in the belly). The resulting recipe is easy to knock together, packed with good stuff, and yummy for the whole family. Click here for the recipe.
There typically is a village ready to welcome a baby into the world, and now you can acknowledge all the players with the clever, playful movie poster baby announcements from 5starbaby. Created by graphic designer and father of three Peter Malamas, these A-list announcements are unique in offering the ability to detail what a collectively happy occasion the birth of a baby truly is. In addition to the typical baby specs, you can include the names of your loved ones, pets, and particularly fabulous birthing staff in the “cast list,” as well as personalized “baby reviews” from the soft-hearted critics corner.
These announcements typically are printed on premium glossy photo paper at 5 x 8 inches (click here for information on alternative sizes), and cost between $2.75 - $3.50 per announcement, depending on quantity. Mention that you heard about 5starbaby from Boston Mamas to receive 20% off your order!
Were it not for the recent initiation of quiet reading time with Laurel, my contact with novels was in great danger of extinction. Luckily, a fabulous book that I received from my pal Kate helped me get back on the wagon.
Intuition
may be relatively old news around Boston (author Allegra Goodman is based in Cambridge, as is the story), but this 2006 novel, detailing a plot set within the complicated, grey area-ridden existence that is research academics, is truly compelling and deserves continued kudos.
It’s no surprise that someone with my academic training would pounce on this book, but you need not be familiar with NIH grant cycles to become absorbed. The story centers on a flailing postdoctoral research fellow who is on the brink of termination, then finds new life and stature in the lab when his experiments suddenly start working. The lab heads clash on how to handle the promising results, the postdoc’s jealous ex-girlfriend/labmate becomes obsessed with proving that the findings were fabricated, and legal and interpersonal heartache ensues.
Goodman pens multidimensional characters, deftly portraying the stress and competition that cuts through the heart of high-pressure academia. But the problems that can accompany workplaces that blur professional lines in an effort to be both productive and chummy no doubt will ring familiar, even if you don't call academia your home.
Available at Amazon; regularly $25, currently on sale for $16.50
Okay, so this is an odd, ringing endorsement: Maxima Gift Center is so fabulous that it makes my daughter poop. Seriously.
As devoted readers know, I am a scientist by training and while these days I work more on intuition, my empirical persona can’t help but be impressed by repeated trials and consistent results.
So here’s what has happened the last five out of five times I have visited Maxima with Laurel. We arrive with her in the stroller. She strains against the straps and demands “Out! Mommy!” once we cross the entry. She bolts for the children’s section (resplendent with cool toys, stuffed animals, baby accessories, and her beloved, beloved books) and darts around excitedly (apparently too excitedly...), no doubt wondering how on earth such a place could be possible. I keep an eye on her while desperately straining to take in the stylish collection of bags, jewelry, body products, stationery, pottery, and other gifts that are just out of my reach.
And then, within 5 minutes, she poops. Like clockwork.
Maxima’s cool collection of regular retail and handcrafted gifts is better reflected in their physical stores (Waltham & Arlington) than online. Just be sure to bring your diaper bag when you visit.
With holiday travel comes cumbersome physical (and sometimes emotional) baggage. You at least can take charge of reducing your physical baggage with the Munchkin Duck Bathtub ($9.99 at Target). Recommended by a mama reader from Italy (whose 20-month-old has enjoyed this tub all across Europe), this inflatable tub stows compactly and is suitable for ages 6-24 months, has a heat safety feature, and a non-slip surface to keep baby in place.
I was blessed to grow up in a multi-generational household, and loved that my grandfather walked me to kindergarten every morning. We couldn’t communicate verbally (he only spoke Korean and I only spoke English) but it didn’t seem to matter. Our non-verbal communication always seemed to be enough, and we had a grand time winding our way down to school.
It seems as if on foot outings (it was nearly a mile trek to school, and on little legs at that) are becoming a thing of the past, but the City Walks series is working to reverse that trend. Published by the ever-clever Chronicle Books, the City Walks series offers 50 walking adventure cards with color maps presented in a compact box that would easily stow in a purse or diaper bag.
In addition to City Walks: Boston ($14.95 at Amazon), the series also features walking adventures for New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., London, Rome, Paris, and Amsterdam.
Generally it seems a reasonable rule of thumb to not have reason to cry before 9am, but this morning there was no helping the tears at the Horizons for Homeless Children Annual Women’s Breakfast in Boston. At this remarkable event, 1,000 women gathered to learn about homelessness in Massachusetts. We heard compelling, moving stories from women who – with children in tow – battled back from homelessness to become thriving members of their communities, and learned about the impact of giving back from a woman who volunteers as a Playspace Activity Leader.
Horizons’ approach to battling the numbers surrounding homeless children (10,000 children in Massachusetts per year; 500,000 nationally) is impressive in its’ multi-dimensional structure. Not only does Horizons’ give children a safe and happy space in which they can learn, play, and develop (through community children’s centers in Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, and Roxbury that offer full-time care so parents can work, and through building of playspaces in local shelters across Massachusetts), but they also provide much-needed support to parents, whether it be informational – by helping parents learn how to be involved in the growth and development of their children, as well as how to access education and job training resources – or emotional, through listening ears and open hearts free of judgment.
It’s difficult for me to resist facts and figures; I felt encouraged by the idea that modest gifts of $50 or $100 could go so far ($50 = art supplies for a classroom for one month; $100 = 17 lbs of Legos, 37 lbs of Play-Doh, or 30 lbs of puzzles for shelter playspace programs). In addition to donations, there are many other ways to help, such as donating goods or services, becoming a Playspace Activity Leader (2 hour per week commitment), or event hosting.
An innocent day of clutter purging can completely fall off the rails when you hit the nostalgia box. Or boxes.
Knowing this, I dutifully avoided the four intimidating boxes of letters and nostalgia that trailed me on 5 moves in the last 8 years. Recently, though, I was inspired to action when my friend Marcy sent me an item from her own paper purge (a flyer from my college violin recital). I asked Marcy for tips so I could follow suit; here are her terrific suggestions (paraphrased, with a couple of my own suggestions in parentheses):
My mama pal Tracy recently wrote in with high praise for For Small Hands. Offering products that function in line with the Montessori philosophy, this site features a wealth of little helper items that will teach children everyday skills such as pouring, sweeping, preparing a snack, or helping in the yard. The open-ended activities keep kids busy, encourage discovery and creativity, infuse a sense of contribution, and give parents a chance to get dinner on the table or get some household chores done.
For Small Hands also offers a great selection of art, music, and movement products, books, and classic toys, such as the Potholder Loom Kit (shown; $10), the results of which I suspect my mother still has in her potholder drawer.
I’m always looking to expand my arsenal of toddler food techniques. And although technically a fruit, avocados do well enough with my conscience in qualifying as a vegetable when I’m having a particularly tough time getting greens into Laurel. After all, they do consist of “good fat” and are high in vitamins K, B6, and C, as well as in dietary fiber, potassium, and folate.
As an infant Laurel happily gobbled up avocado pieces. She then started to reject them sometime during toddlerhood; that is, until I decided to try presenting avocado in a "boat." I sliced an avocado in half, scooped out another half, and gave her the remaining 1/4 avocado + shell with a spoon. Laurel loved the process of scraping out the avocado; the autonomy of the project not only gave me a few minutes to catch my breath, but also resulted in a toddler who was very excited to eat her hard earned rewards. More evidence for the case file that toddlers just want to do it “all by self.”
Note: If the avocado flesh is soft but a little resistant releasing from the shell (i.e., would result in a frustrated, cranky toddler), cube the flesh with a knife and release from the shell with a spoon.
I hate to think that I am pandering to the requests of a crazy toddler, but the thing is, Jon and I got completely fed up with the huge ordeal associated with putting socks and shoes on our babe once fall hit. Clearly, Laurel wishes to reside in a climate that offers more than a 3-month window of sandal season.
I bet Laurel would love the colors and patterns of the previously reported Trumpettes socks but they only come in 0-12 months. So this week I gathered Laurel’s fleet of white Old Navy
You’d never guess that a tiny pair of baby feet could be so facile at wiggling out of socks, but my mama pal Kate swears by the stay put prowess of Trumpettes. These brightly colored and patterned socks are constructed with non-skid bottoms and just enough top elastic to hold socks in place while not cutting off circulation; a cute egg carton serves as shower-stopping packaging.
This Perfect Dozen of Socks fits 0-12 months and is available at Uncommon Goods