Queens Mamas

What is the Best Breakfast?

"The one your children will eat" according to Connie Evers author of How to Teach Nutrition to Kids. She is promoting the importance of eating breakfast with her new book and has partnered up with the European company Nutella to literally spread the word about nutrition.

Amazingly Fun Food Event in Long Island City

My favorite new Queens magazine Edible Queens will be hosting the first annual Edible Winter Warm-Up on January 24, noon-3pm. The FREE afternoon event will include local food, drinks and entertainment to benefit Hour Children, a local food pantry.

 

The event will take place at L Haus in Long Island City and have food tastings from local restaurants, cafes and food artisans, including Sweetleaf; Manducati’s Rustica; JJ’s Asian Fusion; Red Jacket Orchards; Arriba Arriba; Sage General Store; This Chick Bakes; Pestos with Panache, Dolce Nonna, LIC Market, Bareburger, and the Queens County Farm Museum.

 

Guests can also get a book signed by my favorite new Astoria Queens authors, Tamara Reynolds and Zora O’Neill, of Forking Fantastic! Put the Party back in Dinner Party.

 

 The Steve Blanco Trio will be providing the soundtrack to eat by.

 

Please bring a canned good to help support Hour Children’s food pantry.

Can't carry it with you? This event kicks off a month-long can drive at L haus.

 

Spots are filling up fast so  RSVP QUICK to ediblequeensevents@gmail.com

Pastrami in Rego Park

 If you find yourself in Rego Park near the Queens Center Mall then make a point to check out Queens' very best Jewish deli Ben's Best. They are a small understated storefront on Queens Blvd and 63rd Dr. Ben's was recently featured in a story done by NPR about saving the NYC Jewish Deli. They are a dying breed of old school meat markets who sell pastrami on rye and cabbage rolls to die for. If you are feeling adventurous or just want to sit down for some home made chicken soup then check these guys out. A few thousand calories never tasted so good.

 

Crock Pots - Give Your Mom's Old Cookware A Spin

Between having a colicky baby and a pre teen, it seems as though making dinner now a days is an impossible task. I have decided to give some love to an old piece of kitchen history, the Crock Pot. At any point during my hectic morning or early afternoon I can plug this puppy in and let it do all the work. No dishes to clean, and no stressing at 7pm over what to make for dinner. It does require a little bit of planning but hey.... nothings perfect. Maybe my Mom had the right idea with this thing after all.

Here is what I'm trying tonight:

Lemon Roasted Chicken:

3 to 4lb Chicken

1/2 cup Onion Chopped

Juice of 1 Lemon

Home Made Popsicles - A Great Summer Snack

 

Gatorade Pops

Frozen Gatorade is a fantastic way of keeping the kiddies hydrated during the summer months.

 

Smoothie Pops

1 small container of Vanilla Yogurt

4 Strawberries

1 Peach

1 cup of Orange Juice

·         Chop up strawberries and peach

·         Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth

·         Pour into popsicle molds and freeze

 

 

Meat Market Shopping in Queens NY

As the Memorial Day weekend approaches. Take a ride to one of these old style butchers for all of your BBQing needs. It is a much cooler experience than waiting on line at the local food store and the meat is MUCH higher in quality.

Spring Lasagna Recipie

I am having way too many people over tomorrow for what we have coined “ Birthaversary Day” which pretty much involves 3 birthdays, 1 anniversary, and Mother’s Day. My solution to feeding all of these people is lasagna. My sister and I made this one up a few months ago. You can make it in advance or the day of although it is a tad on the time consuming side. Serve this with some garlic bread and salad and voila, you have yourself a very nice dinner party!

 

Lasagna with Sausage, Spinach, and Bechamel Sauce

shopping list highlighted in bold

16oz of frozen spinach

Take the spinach out of it’s package and thaw it in a strainer and some water. When it is thawed, dry on paper towels and set aside.

Ingredients for Meat Sauce:

¼ cup of olive oil

4 TBSP of butter

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 celery stalks, finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 ½ lbs of hot Italian sausage with skins removed

¼ lb of pancetta ( optional )

½ cup of milk

16 oz of canned whole peeled tomatoes with juices

1 cup of dry vermouth

Salt and pepper

In a medium sized heavy bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the onion, celery, and carrots, and sweat until translucent.