Move Over Poultry Here Comes Pasta

My husband came home with a plea for no more poultry.  We don’t eat a lot of red meat because it is expensive and not our favourite food.  We usually cook quite a bit of vegetarian and fish dishes, but I haven’t made it to the fish monger or the produce section of the grocery store this week.  I am still used to our weekly CSA bounty and haven’t taken into consideration that the crops have been tucked under their blankets for winter.

The solution for today:  Pasta.  Capone Foods on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, is a great place to shop for an easy dinner.  The whole family likes pasta, it is relatively inexpensive and it’s quick.  I bought their chive pasta that I will serve with a fresh green salad and some scallops (or a cheaper white fish if scallops are expensive today).

Capone Foods will be having an open house tomorrow, Saturday December 6th, from 12:00 to 5:00 pm.  As a nice afternoon outing with the kids you could park at Capone Foods, 2285 Massachusetts Ave, sample some of their gift and entertaining ideas.  I picked up a gift for my mom who is a ginger and cookie fanatic.  They will also have special pricing on pre-order items by the case.  You could put together some fabulous gift baskets custom tailored to the recipient’s taste.  After Capone Foods you can walk down toward Porter Square.  Why not stop in at China Fair for some baskets and ribbons for your gift basket?  You can get some treats at Pemberton Farms.  There are plenty of places to grab lunch as well.  If the children need incentive for the walk you can have Stellabella toys as your final destination.

If you feel like leaving the kids with their sitter, or “the other” parent.  Then you can treat yourself to a massage at nearby Sollievo either before or after the Capone Foods Open house.  Then you’ll come back renewed with dinner!  Who could ask for anything more?

Buon appetito.  ttyl your BFF (Boston Family Foodie)

For more info: Lunch: Zing Pizza, Cafe Barada, Capone Foods Massage:  Sollievo Playtime:  Stellabella

Green Thanksgiving: Packing up the Leftovers

In our family, we’ve slowly crossed sandwich and snack ziploc bags off of our shopping list and replaced them with re-usable, and easily washable Happy Sacks.  My daughter’s lunch rarely has anything disposable in it.  Her cutlery is Bambu.  All our leftovers are kept in glass or melamine.  Why should the holidays be any different?

Apparently, it takes 1,000 years for a disposable plastic bag to decompose. You can’t reheat anything in the bags and they potentially leach chemicals into the food.

You can find inexpensive glass containers to store your food at the local hardware store, department stores, and any kitchen store.  The pros are that you can reheat food in the containers in which they are stored.  You can wash it in the dishwasher.  You can contribute other fabulous things to the earth instead of more trash.  The cons are that glass can break, but I have to admit that we have one low corner cabinet that is a real stretch for me to reach in and I have dropped our Pyrex glass containers many times and never even chipped let alone broken one.

We also have some great melamine (yes…bad in baby formula and food) not bad for storing food as long as you follow the guidelines on the containers.  If you want even greener choices there are some great choices mentioned in the GreenerPenny blog.  The Ideal Bite, which sends out daily emails about the sassier side of green living, offers a great list of storage and “to go” containers: Kinetic Glasslock Container Set, Anchor Hocking Storage Dishes, To-Go Ware Food Carrier, Ball Canning Jars, and the Wrap-N-Mat.

You probably don’t want to rush out tomorrow and purchase these things if you don’t already  have them, but you could ask your guests to bring their Pyrex or re-usable containers if you’re planning to send them home with some delicious leftovers.  Then add whatever you’d like for future food storage and cooking to your holiday gift wish list.  I know I’ve decided it’s time to replace my coated pans with something a little more green.

Bon appetit. ttyl your BFF (Boston Family Foodie)

For more info: French Bull, French Bull @ Plum Party,Reusablebags.com, Greenward, Bialetti Green Pan, Green pan, Martha Stewart Green Pan Collection,  Green pans on Daily Danny, Outfitting the Green KItchen