Posts from — August 2009

I am normally not a germaphobe – ask anyone who knows me – I have consistently let my kid eat stuff that’s fallen on the floor (within limits, I mean, not on the T or anything – at home, mostly) and while I encourage hand-washing, I only pack Purell or some other alcohol-based hand sanitizer because sometimes when we’re out and about, my daughter wants to eat (i.e., food on a stick, on the street) and there is no place to wash.

All that said, I’m freaking a little bit about H1N1.  I normally choose not to have my daughter vaccinated against the seasonal flu – seems every year that they don’t get the vaccine quite right, and well, we’ve been lucky too.  Unlike other vaccines, I consider this one to be optional.  I just don’t want to medicate her any more than I “have” to.  But I don’t know what I’m going to do this year.  Her pediatrician will likely recommend the seasonal flu vaccine, as usual, but as of now there is no workable vaccination for the swine flu . . . and the question for me is, what’s the likelihood they’re going to get this one right?  The consequences of getting H1N1 seem to be more dire for the kids – I am drawn to all the awful stories of kids dying from swine flu.  So the overprotective mother says “get the freakin’ vaccine, you idiot!”  But I’m unsure right now.

One thing I do know is that I’ll be militant about hand-washing.  When I was having chemo years ago, my oncologist impressed upon me the importance of hand-washing – not just for folks with depressed immune systems, but for everyone.  A huge number of illnesses can be stopped in their tracks if you just wash your hands.  With regular old soap.  You do know that those antibacterial soaps are no good, right?  They really are no better at killing germs than regular soap and water, and they can ultimately be harmful to us and to the environment.  Here’s an alarming EWG post regarding the horrors of triclosan.

So I guess I’ll watch and wait.  I’ll keep you posted if I find anything that swings hard one way or the other.  Until then, here’s a nice CDC post from earlier in August regarding H1N1 – lots of facts and dispels some myths (thank G-d you can’t get this from eating pork – my small “porkatarian” would be devastated!).  For now, I keep looking the other way when I see the news stories regarding “the explosion” that’s about to ensue now that our kids are going back to school.

Fingers crossed.

A few people have asked for a run-down of my favorite spots to eat/get food in Boston’s Chinatown.  We’re there a few times every month.  Sunday is our favorite day to go – we head in there in the late afternoon for some shopping, maybe a haircut for our daughter, and then an early dinner and dessert before we head back to the ‘burbs. 

Our favorite spot for dinner is Vinh Sun BBQ & Restaurant, on Beach Street.  We think their roasted meats are the best in Chinatown – they beat the pants of Hong Kong Eatery (on Harrison).  Our daughter’s true love, and rightfully so, is the roast pork and rice plate.  A generous portion of freshly roasted pork, complete with a lovely glaze on its exterior, is served atop a bed of white rice and some steamed choi.  The pork is tender, perfectly cooked and super flavorful.  Vinh Sun’s hot & sour soup is pretty good, and their ma po dofu does have a kick to it (although never enough for my taste).  They have some nice Hong Kong style noodle soups – I often get my favorite shrimp dumpling soup – a large portion of tasty shrimp-filled dumplings in chicken broth with loads of noodles to boot. 

After we finish up at Vinh Sun, we usually hit a bakery or two.  Our favorite for butterfly cookies is Hing Shing, also on Beech Street (right next to the Chinatown gate).  These butterfly cookies are sweeter and more flavorful than other butterfly cookies I’ve had (and, um, I’ll admit to trying many a butterfly cookie in my time) – in fact, these are the only butterfly cookies I like.  The others are too bland and lardy for me – these have great flavor. 

Next door to Hing Shing is the Great Taste Bakery and Restaurant – a newish place.   We haven’t yet eaten at the restaurant, but the bakery has great dan tat (egg custards) and cream buns (my #1 Chinatown bakery vice, a slightly sweet super-soft bun, dusted with finely shredded coconut, then slit partway through the middle and stuffed with light sweet cream filling).  For some chat on the food at the restaurant, check out this threadon Chowhound.  A meal there is on our “must do soon” list, as are their baked cha siu bao. 

Ho Yuen bakery is also on on Beach street, just a couple doors up from Vinh Sun, towards Harrison.  They have great almond cookies.

Eldo Cakehouse on Harrison Ave. is a well-loved place.  I used to love their cream buns, but I think that Great Taste has them beat.  Their cakes are beautiful and delicious, if you like whipped cream frosting.  They boast beautiful fruit decorations are are pretty reasonably priced.  Some people think their baked cha siu bao are the best, others rave about their beef curry turnovers.  Adjacent to the bakery is the Eldo Candy House – lots of little treats there – another favorite stop for our daughter. 

Sometimes we go to Chinatown for dim sum, and we have two favorites there:  China Pearl and Hei La Moon.  Both offer the traditional dim sum with carts and crowds.  I think Hei La Moon has an edge over CP food-quality-wise, but be forewarned, it’s on Beach Street, across the surface artery from Chinatown proper.  Our strategy is to get to either of these places by 11 a.m., because then we’re seated almost immediately.  If you get there anytime after that, be prepared to wait. 

Boston’s Chinatown is small – you can cover it all in a flash.  Chowhound is a super resource – there are lots of other notable places to eat in C-town that we just don’t get to.  Search for yourself (sea food?  hot pot?) and find some favorites of your own.

OK, so remember how I posted Sigg’s confessional letter from a week or so ago?  The one where they finally admit that their pre-’08 bottles have trace BPA in them?  I’ve been reading more about it, and thinking more about it, and it’s got my ire up.  It’s slimy what they did – during all the BPA fury, they just kept quiet, even denied that their bottle linings contained BPA, and then they changed their liners (such an admission of guilt) but yet kept the bottles with the old liners on the market.  I BOUGHT SMALL BOTTLES FOR MY DAUGHTER IN EARLY SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR – WITH THE OLD FREAKIN’ LINERS.  I SPENT $17.99 FOR EACH OF THEM. 

All told, I have 7 Sigg bottles with the old liners.  The small ones for L., some medium, some large.  Over $100 in Sigg bottles that I don’t want to use anymore. 

I found this post tonight on one of my favorite blogs, and it does link to a site that says that Sigg will replace your bottles for you, with the ones with the new liners, if you write to them and if you pay the postage to send them.  So here’s my question.  Can we trust them?  I mean, the new liners are some new chemical concoction.  Who’s to say that’s A-OK?  They do have 100% unlined stainless steel bottles, but they don’t seem to be in stock, and the letter the linked-to site received says Sigg will replace the bottles with ones with the new liners.  I don’t want any liners any more.  I think Sigg should send me whichever bottle I want in return for my old bottles, in order to create good will with one of their former #1 fans.  Or else I’m going to recycle all those mothers and order myself a slew of Kleen Kanteens.  Do you hear me, Sigg??  I feel ripped off, snookered and hoodwinked.

So please comment!  What are you going to do? 

Have you seen all those articles that say that if you get your kid(s) in the kitchen, they’ll be more invested in trying the foods they make?  That they’ll suddenly become more adventurous and maybe even like to eat <gasp!> a wide variety of foods? 

Well, in my case, it’s hogwash.  My daughter has been cooking with me since she was 2-years-old, and since then, she probably eats fewer foods.  This is a child that used to eat EVERYTHING with gusto.  Then at 2, the list of foods she’d eat got progressively smaller and smaller.  I used to scoff at picky kids and figure that it was nurture, but we are living proof that it’s not always the case.  She was, for a period, on that dreaded American “beige diet” – it’s mortifying, I know.  It’s interesting that all this time, she has clamored to be cooking with me, yet she has no interest in tasting the final product.  I keep at it though.  I’m stubborn.

But I digress. 

There are some things she loves to make and eat.  They’re all in the dessert category, surprisingly enough.  Yesterday we made a great and easy s’mores bar cookie recipe.  The Brownie troop leaders (of which I’m one – no snickering) and their kids got together to plan some meetings, and I offered to bring dessert.  What’s more Girl Scouty than s’mores?  This is a nice recipe for a 6-year-old because there are no electronics involved in the preparation, save for the oven.  It’s just a smash, stir, dump, press, spread, sprinkle operation. 

Enjoy!

Smore’s Cookie Bars

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put several whole graham crackers (approximately 7) in a large zip-top bag and squeeze the air out.  Pulverize the crackers with a rolling pin/meat mallet until they form a fine crumb.  In a large bowl, stir together cookie mix and crumbs. Stir in melted butter until a soft, crumbly dough forms. Press into a 13×9-inch pan that’s been coated with cooking spray.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until set. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt. Spread chocolate evenly over crust.

Set oven to broil. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the melted chocolate. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat for 20 to 30 seconds or until the marshmallows are toasted. (Watch closely; marshmallows will brown quickly.) Cool 10 minutes or longer.

Serve warm or room temp, and store any remaining bars tightly covered – those marshmallows will get hard & chewy if you don’t.

From the Epicurious Blog – ways to doctor up prepared foods.  Sometimes, you gotta take shortcuts.

It’s not over ’til it’s over, right guys?  There is still more time to grill, enjoy eating alfresco and to savor some summery weather.  This menu has been top-of-mind lately because I made it for a family celebration of my daughter’s August birthday last year.  My husband, in particular, found it mind-blowing – in fact, the salad here is what turned him into a fresh fig lover.  Serve it up to people you love, and treat them to a last, fresh taste of summer.

For a main course, this Rosemary Chicken Skewers With Berry Sauce recipe from Simply Recipes is simple to prepare, but looks and tastes like it took much more effort.  The sauce is very delicious.

For starch, this Couscous Salad with Dates and Almonds, from Bon Appetit has a nice sweet/savory thing going on.   I use whole wheat couscous to amp up the nutrition and protein and I also make double the dressing – I find I need more than the amount called for in the recipe (but not the entire doubled amount) to dress the salad.

For greens, this Late Summer Salad is an adaptation of a recipe from the Fields Of Greens Cookbook by Annie Somerville.  It is a beautiful composed salad that makes a striking presentation for your guests.

Late Summer Salad 

Wash the spinach and dry it in a salad spinner.  Arrange it on a serving platter.  Make the vinaigrette. 

Cut the melon in half and scoop out the seeeds, then thinly slice and peel, following the contour of the rind.  Rinse the figs and pat dry.  Cut them into halves or quarters.

Arrange the melon and figs atop the spinach.  Drizzle the vinaigrette over the fruit and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Serves 4 – this can easily be doubled – just use a medium cantaloupe.

Orange Vinaigrette

Combine everything but the oil in a small bowl, then whisk in the oil.  Makes 1/3 cup, but again, can be easily doubled.

This recipe for tomato, white bean & bacon soup from the Simply Recipes site looks so delicious . . . and although it’s not been a good year for tomatoes, there are still a bunch at the farmers’ market every week.  Might have to try this for Friday. 

And you might know my motto:  “everything’s better with bacon!”

There is an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about how the American Heart Association is recommending that people limit their sugar intake.  In a statement issued last Monday, the organization recommends that most women limit their sugar intake to 100 calories, or about six teaspoons, a day; and for men, the recommendation is 150 calories, or nine teaspoons daily.

The issue is that on the nutrition labels we see, sugar is listed in grams – a unit of weight, not volume like teaspoons . . . from what I can find, a teaspoon of sugar is equivalent to approximately 4.2 grams – so now you can do some division and see how many teaspoons are in your favorite food or beverage.   You might be shocked!

A lot of health-conscious folks I know eschew soda, but do eat things like fruit-flavored yogurts and/or packaged juices, which usually do have a lot of sugar.  Add to that ice cream, cookies, sugared cereals – well, by the end of the day you have yourself (in the words of some advertisement) “a sugar situation.”

What to do?  I don’t like artificial sweeteners as an alternative – they’re dubious in terms of long-term safety and to me, they’re just another chemical to add to the soup that’s already in our bodies (although, remember, I do love me a diet Coke once in a while – so moderation here too, friends!).  I have noticed over the years that when I limit my sugar consumption, fruits, etc. taste sweeter to me.  That is, when I wean myself off the hooch that is Halloween Candy, or Christmas cookies, or just a weekend bender involving Nabisco® Pinwheel® cookies and get back to fruits, I notice how sweet a peach can be, or a nice apple, or some strawberries or my other BFF of the summer, cantaloupe.

Don’t get me wrong, I love sweets.  Unless I had to for some extreme health reason, I’d never cut sugar completely out of my diet.  I do, however, limit my consumption of foods with added sugars – keeps my empty calorie consumption down and makes more room for foods with nutritional value.

Do you have a “sugar situation” going on?  Have you tried eliminating added sugars from your diet?   Why?  How long did you keep it up?