NY Foodie Family

Friday Favorites {Week 31}

Posted on September 25, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

It’s officially Fall! I am excited for all things apple and pumpkin, the leaves changing colors and wearing sweaters and boots! I’ve already started sleeping with my down comforter since it has been getting pretty chilly at night. This week wasn’t too exciting. Our son had his late seven year-old well visit. Although his birthday is in July, his well visit gets pushed back later and later (darn you health insurance for making us wait a year and a day! I was late once in scheduling and now pay for it yearly!). He checked out healthy and the kids got their flu shots. The kids had no school Wednesday for Yom Kippur. They relaxed and played, which they don’t get a chance to do a lot now that school and activities have started! We are slowly settling into our new, very busy, weekday school routine. Here are some of this week’s favorites:

1. Fall Cleaning – Our town hosts an annual Community Swap. You can bring any “stuff” you don’t want and drop it off so others can take it and you can peruse the tables and take anything that you’d like, all free of charge. It’s a great way to give a good home to all the books, toys and knickknacks that we don’t want in our house anymore but are in great condition for someone else to enjoy. Pictured above is a small pile of the stuff that we are bringing tomorrow to the swap. It was nice to start our fall cleaning by getting rid of stuff!

2. Favorite bookmarked recipe of the week: These Mushroom and Goat Cheese Ravioli have two of my favorite foods right there in the title…..goat cheese and mushrooms. Unfortunately, these are not something the kids will enjoy eating since they both dislike mushrooms A LOT!

3. Netflix – How To Get Away With Murder. I was watching this show online for awhile when it first debuted, but then got caught up in other things and forgot about it. I had just gotten Season 1 on DVD from the library last weekend when I saw it was finally on Netflix! I have since binge-watched the last eight episodes of this show this past week. The season 2 premiere just aired last night. I’m going to try to keep up with this one online. I was happy to hear that Viola Davis won the 2015 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in this show.

4. Winner, winner! – I found out that I was the winner of an Avon Whipped Pumpkin scented candle from Charmed Crown Blog! I’ve never tried Avon’s candles and a pumpkin scented candle for fall is perfect!

5. The Slow Cooker – This week I made three slow cooker recipes! I plan to make a whole lot more, seeing how busy our weekday schedule is looking. Check out Monday’s weekly meal plan posts for the recipes and reviews! And if you have any slow cooker recipe recommendations, please send them my way!

ICYMI – Posts from this past week:
Weekly Meal Plan
Hoisin Burgers with Peanut Slaw
Road Food Down South
All the Podcasts

Linking up with Tif @ Bright on a Budget, Amanda from Meet @ The Barre and Andrea @ Momfessionals! Have a great weekend!

All the Podcasts {Volume #1}

Posted on September 24, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Here at NY Foodie Family, we have been super late to the podcast game. We had heard so much about the podcast Serial, but only recently, as in a couple of weeks ago, listened to our first podcast. Who knew there were so many podcasts out there?!! And that we’d become such podcast addicts?!!! After listening to so many different podcasts we have determined two things that can make or break it for us. The first is the hosts. They have to be fun and engaging! It also helps if they stay on topic. Listening to some podcasts, the hosts go way off-topic and lose focus. The second is the content. The podcast has to be about something we are interested in listening to and/or learning about. We are also discovering that there are few quality family and children’s podcasts out there. New podcasts are being introduced every day. So stay tuned for more reviews as we continue our podcast obsession!

Our Favorites:

Happier with Gretchen Rubin – (Self-Help, Health) – I am a big fan of Gretchen Rubin and have read her books The Happiness Project, Happier at Home and Better Than Before, all of which I enjoyed. She co-hosts this podcast with her younger sister Elizabeth and the two discuss a lot of the topics from the previously mentioned books, with a focus on being and living happier. They give real-life examples, take reader questions and give realistic tips and strategies. This is one of my favorite podcasts that I listen to on my own (though the Weekend Chef could probably get something out of it if he listened to it!).

The Nosh Show: A Fast Food & Junk Food Podcast – (Arts, Food, Business, Shopping, Health, Fitness & Nutrition) – This podcast features four guys who each write their own junk food/fast food featured blogs. Each podcast runs close to an hour and is filled with segments including “Nosh or Not” in which they discuss whether they’d try new products, plus reviews of recent foods that they’ve tried and news of new fast food and junk food products. I like that this is a podcast that we can listen to as a family (which we did on our recent trip to Arlington).

Serial – (News & Politics) – Hosted by Sarah Koenig, this podcast follows her as she looks into the 1999 murder case of Hae Min Lee. Lee’s ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed was charged with the murder and was sent to prison for life plus 30 years, despite his claims of innocence. In weekly installments, Koenig investigates this murder case, speaking with Syed as well as key witnesses during the trial. I think this was one of the podcasts that contributed to the popularity of podcasts. We are late to this and know this is really old in the world of podcasts, but we’re still hooked!

New Podcast Reviews:

Girls in Heels – (Society & Culture, Personal Journals) – Episode #1: Girls in Hells #1 (August 25, 2015) – This podcast is hosted by radio veteran Cooper Lawrence and Real Housewives of New Jersey (RHONJ) twins Teresa Aprea and Nicole Napolitano. I was not familiar with Cooper Lawrence prior to this podcast and have only seen the twins a handful of times on the RHONJ (we got rid of cable and I have been in all Real Housewives withdrawal). This 38 minute episode began with approximately 6 minutes of them talking about what/how they should choose their theme song. Then another five minutes or so was spent talking about the shoes they were wearing. The rest of the show was spent talking about a BBQ that the twins attended that was hosted by Joe Giudice and how his girls are dealing with their mom (Teresa) being in prison.

Summary: While I found the little bits about filming the RHONJ interesting, overall this was just not worth my time.

Lady Lovin’ – (Society & Culture, Personal Journals) – Episode #1: Cheaters (August 24, 2015)
What drew me to this fairly new podcast was Lo Bosworth. I was introduced to her on MTV’s Laguna Beach, as Lauren Conrad’s BFF. While I was never a big fan of hers on the show, this podcast had me curious. This podcast is hosted by Lo Bosworth, DJ/writer, Jilly Hendrix, and comedian/writer, Greta Titelman. This first episode was about cheating, so it was a subject that I found difficult to connect with. The episode began with each host giving an update on what was going on in their lives. They then chat about and stick pretty closely to the featured topic, regaling the listener with personal anecdotes. They end the episode with “Sexploration,” a segment in which they “delve” into their sexual quandaries. This episode featured the fetish feedism. Yeah, you just have to listen for yourself.

Summary: This podcast was entertaining like chatting with your girlfriends. Not for the prudish, with lots of cursing and sex talk. Unfortunately, none of the other podcast topics are especially relevant to a married mother with children like myself (online dating, weddings and safe sex). So, although entertaining, unlikely I will be listening to more episodes.

The Mighty Mommy’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Practical Parenting – (Kids & Family, Society & Culture) Episode 344 – 10 Essential Parenting Strategies for When Life’s Got You Down (September 13, 2015)
Host Cheryl Butler is the mother of 8 children. In this 13 minute podcast she provides 10 parenting strategies for when “life’s got you down.” Her strategies include “Accept It and Let It Go,” “Find Your Happy Place” and “Refuel Your Tank.” Butler provides examples and when relevant, research to support each strategy.

Summary: I found this podcast topic relevant and Butler’s strategies useful. However, I found it very difficult to connect with her, as it sounds as if she’s reading from a paper and not having a “conversation” with the listener. I am going to try to listen to a few more of these podcasts since they are short and informative.
Image result for munchies podcast

Munchies – (Podcasts) – Episode #1: Danny Bowien – Failure Makes Everything Easier (September 16, 2015)
The title of this podcast doesn’t really give you a good idea of what it’s about. This podcast is going to explore food culture and the culinary world by talking to famous chefs and celebrities. There is currently only one episode of this podcast in which the host, editor-in-chief of Munchies, Helen Hollyman, interviews chef Danny Bowien. Prior to listening to this podcast, I was unfamiliar with this chef who co-founded Mission Chinese Food and Mission Burger. In this 23 minute podcast, I learned that Bowien was adopted as a child from South Korea and learned a little more about his childhood growing up in Oklahoma. In a short period of time I feel like I really got to know this chef that before I knew nothing about.

Summary: As a food lover, I have subscribed to this podcast and will be listening to more episodes!

Do you have any podcast recommendations for us?

Road Food Down South

Posted on September 23, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Enjoy this guest post by my husband!

We recently made the long trip to Orlando from New York. By car. And back again. Most of the miles of each leg were done in one shot. Although we would have liked to make all kinds of fun detours to find the best off-the-beaten-path home-grown local cooking, time was our primary concern. So concessions had to be made. Our goal was to eat the best of what the South had to offer in franchises. Here is our collection of road food wins:

Krispy Kreme– Krispy Kreme used to have a lot more locations in the NY Metro area but now there’s just the one in Penn Plaza. We stopped at Rocky Mount, North Carolina and asked to buy 4 hot glazed and 4 others. It turns out to be cheaper to buy a dozen. Oh well, I guess we can eat them all. We devoured the hot ones and shared the rest of the dozen all day.

Waffle House -You need certain low expectations before heading into a Waffle House. The chain isn’t widely known as a 4-star establishment. The one we visited in Savannah, Georgia was clean, friendly, and served some mean waffles and hash browns with “the works” at 2pm. How bad could that be?

Chick-fil-A– I like this place because of the relatively simple menu. Other chains (I’m looking at you, Taco Bell) just can’t leave well enough alone. We bought four classic sandwiches: fried chicken fillet and pickles on a buttered bun. So simple and delicious. And we were so hungry they all got devoured before a picture could be taken!

Bojangles Famous Chicken and Biscuits -Bojangles seems to be the chicken spot that KFC might have been and should hope to be. There’s a lot of overlap, for sure. Fried chicken buckets and biscuit sandwiches and requisite sides are noticeably better quality and more flavorful. This regional restaurant hasn’t changed their menu much over the years. And, of course, they serve sweet tea in giant cups. Nancy and I both had Cajun Filet Chicken Sandwiches. Our daughter had the chicken tender kids meal that came with a biscuit and some fries and our son had a Cheddar Bo Biscuit.

So there you have it. We made the best of the situation and overindulged in the best available ways. Would we make the same trip again. Probably not. We checked off the road trip adventure box and next time we’ll do something else. Hopefully, more relaxing……fingers crossed!

Hoisin Burgers with Peanut Slaw

Posted on September 22, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

I made these burgers last week. They were really good and I want them on the blog so I can easily make them again and so you can try them! (Actually, a lot of the recipes I made last week will probably appear on the blog since they were quick, easy and tasty!) Burgers are a great busy weeknight meal because they can be prepared the night before if needed and then cooked the next day. This burger has a delicious peanut slaw that really “makes” the burger and gives it a nice crunch. For kids who may not like the slaw, the burger can be eaten without. I served these with fries because who doesn’t love a burger with fries?!

Hoisin Burgers with Peanut Slaw
Recipe adapted from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

Ingredients:

For the burger:
1 pound ground turkey
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
Asian BBQ sauce (recipe below)
4 Tablespoons green onion, thinly sliced

For the sauce:
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 Tablespoon ketchup
1/2 Tablespoon garlic chile sauce (or Sriracha sauce)
4 hamburger rolls

For the slaw:
1 bag of cole slaw mix
2 Tablespoons green onion sliced thin
1/2 cup peanut butter
4 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons honey
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Mix together the hoisin sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup and chile garlic sauce then set aside.

2. In a separate bowl mix ground turkey, panko, and green onions. Add the sauce and use hands to mix until well combined. Form into 4 patties.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with non-stick spray and cook burgers approximately 7 minutes on each side until browned, and has reached a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Once burgers are cooked place on bun.

4. While burgers are cooking, make the slaw. Pour bag of cole slaw mix into a large bowl. In a small bowl mix together peanut butter, vinegar, honey, oil, salt and pepper. Add the dressing to the large bowl of cole slaw mix and combine. Serve on top of the burger and enjoy the extra on the side.

Weekly Meal Plan {Week 12}

Posted on September 21, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

School has started and we are in “go” mode! Expect to be seeing lots of slow cooker meals and quick and easy dinners! Here’s a peek at last week’s menu.

Saturday: The Weekend Chef made London broil, mashed potatoes and swiss chard.

Sunday: We went out to Savannah’s Southern Restaurant for my birthday dinner. The Weekend Chef and I shared the above Shrimp with Parmesan Grits and Chicken Cutlet with Collard Greens and Dijon Cream Sauce with Red Beans and Rice.

Monday: I made Hoisin Burgers with Peanut Slaw. My daughter helped me prepare these. They were easy and tasty. The peanut slaw was really good and added a nice crunch to the burgers. I served these with some fries.

Tuesday: I made Crock Pot Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs and served them with some roasted broccoli and roasted potatoes. I was surprised at how flavorful these were. The lemon flavor really came through. The broiling at the end gave the skin a nice crunch. While I don’t really enjoy eating chicken off the bone, since it was cooked in the slow cooker, the meat literally fell off the bone. I can see this being a repeat dinner.

Wednesday: I made Cheese Ravioli with Lemon Basil Butter Sauce and served it with a Caesar salad. This was a super quick and easy dish to make! Plus, I got to use some of my home-grown basil. This is another dish worth repeating. Especially on super busy weeknights.

Thursday: I made these Copycat California A.M. Crunchwraps. My kids have never seen or eaten the Taco Bell crunchwrap. However, they LOVED these AM Crunchwraps! (Although breakfast for dinner is always a winner with them.) As soon as the Weekend Chef saw dinner, he recognized the famous crunchwrap and was in awe that I was able to make the folds. (It was super easy by the way!)

Friday: I made Potato Kielbasa Skillet. I adapted the original recipe, which required more cooking time. I didn’t mind though, since it was a rare Friday evening where I had the time to cook and didn’t have to rush the kids off someplace. This was a hearty and tasty meal that we all enjoyed!

Friday Favorites {Week 30}

Posted on September 18, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Happy Friday! The kids had Monday and Tuesday off for Rosh Hashanah and my birthday was Wednesday! With the days off, the kids’ schedules got way off-track. Bed time seemed to get later and later, and getting up for school was very hard for them on Wednesday! My birthday was Wednesday, but we celebrated it Sunday, because doesn’t everyone enjoy spending their birthday at back-to-school night?!!! The strawberry shortcake that my husband brought home from Junior’s that night might have helped make by day! Here are some of our favorites this week:

1. Panera Ancient Grain, Arugula Chicken Salad – My favorite salad at Panera is the Chicken Cobb Avocado. I decided to try the new Ancient Grain, Arugula Chicken Salad and I was pleasantly surprised! I loved the mix of the spiciness of the arugula, the sweetness from the grapes and apples and the slight chew of the ancient grain blend that includes freekeh, farro and black barley. I ordered a half-size and with the bread, it was filling enough for me for lunch. However, I wouldn’t mind ordering the full-size salad next time! This may be replacing my Chicken Cobb Avocado for awhile!

2. Favorite bookmarked recipe of the week: Now that my mind’s on fall and all things apple and pumpkin, these Pumpkin Snickerdoodles with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing have been bookmarked!

3. Watermelon Ale – Last Sunday night we went out to dinner at Savannah’s, a local southern-style restaurant. The Weekend Chef and I split Shrimp and Parmesan Grits (which were amazing!) and Chicken and Greens (a huge fried chicken cutlet, topped with collard greens, cheese and a mustard cream sauce, served with red beans and rice). The kids split an adult entrée of Pulled Pork over Texas Toast with Mac and Cheese. While I had a sweet tea, the Weekend Chef had this Watermelon Ale from Thomas Hooker Brewery. I’m not a big beer drinker. However, this ale was really good! It was light and refreshing and the watermelon flavor was perfectly subtle. This must have been some of the last of this summer-only seasonal brew. The brewery website says it’s only available from April to August. Adios, summer.

4. Family Bowling Night – We celebrated my birthday Sunday evening with dinner at Savannah’s, which I mentioned above and then went bowling. I can’t remember the last time that we went bowling together as a family. One of our local bowling alleys has 1/2 price games Sunday evenings from 6 PM – closing. We played two games each for a total of $20! Can’t beat that and it was so much fun! The big winner of the night was our son with a high score of 124 (with the bumpers!).

5. Netflix – I know season 3 of the Blacklist will be airing October 1, but season 2 just came to Netflix. This week the Weekend Chef and I have started watching the second season.

Linking up with Amanda from Meet @ the Barre, Tif @ Bright on a Budget and Andrea from Momfessionals. Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Virgos!

Posted on September 17, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Happy belated birthday to me! Yesterday was my birthday. Since I’ve gotten older and had kids, birthdays seem to be less significant, minus the fact that I’m getting older! And a birthday on a weekday?!! I spent the evening at my son’s back-to-school night! We had an early birthday celebration this past weekend with a family dinner out and a night of bowling. Good times were had by all! Instead of posting a 40 by 40 list or things you don’t know about me, I am posting about my astrological sign. I am a Virgo, the sixth sign of the zodiac, represented by the Virgin (August 23 – September 22). I believe I have many of the traits of a Virgo, some of which are listed below. Read on to find out more about Virgos!

Traits of Virgos, according to Astrology.com:
*can be picky and critical
*have a strong attention to details
* “born to serve”
*industrious, methodical, efficient
*practical and logical
*good at fact finding
*balanced and fair
*brain in overdrive
*prone to skepticism
*can over-think things
*interested in understanding things
*perfectionist
*most Virgos are neat and clean
*reliable and sensible
*humble and easy-going
*most Virgos are grounded
*can be worrywarts
*extremely health conscious

According to a recent PopSugar article, the best astrological matches for a Virgo are Taurus, Capricorn, Cancer or Scorpio.

Link Love:
12 Things to Know Before Dating a Virgo
Find out what your zodiac sign smells like as a fragrance.
12 Things Only Virgos Understand

Some Famous Virgos (this is NOT an exhaustive list!):
Lance Armstrong, Jack Black, Alexis Bledel, Ruby Bridges, Warren Buffet, Louis C.K., Agatha Christie, Cameron Diaz, Gloria Estefan, Richard Gere, Salma Hayek, Michael Jackson, Stephen King, Beyoncé Knowles, D.H. Lawrence, Blake Lively, Cesar Milan, Maria Montessori, Mother, Teresa, Bill Murray, Regis Philbin, Amy Poehler, Pink, Keanu Reeves, LeAnn Rimes, Cal Ripken Jr., Molly Shannon, Charlie Sheen, Shania Twain, Amy Winehouse

Sooo true! I have absolutely zero patience for a fool. #virgo:
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It can and probably will be used against you.... seriously, don't piss off a virgo!!:

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Sounds like Me.:
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Universal Yums! July 2015

Posted on September 16, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

So we are way behind on our Universal Yums! subscription box reviews. The August box arrived while we were in Disney and we haven’t even opened it yet! But here is a review of July’s box. The country for July was Japan. We still love how the featured country’s flag is represented by the tissue paper that the snacks are wrapped in.

This box included a variety of snacks including candy and salty/crunchy type snacks.

Karl Cheese Flavor Ji-Il (2.53 oz) – This was a decent size bag, large enough to share amongst the four of us. These were comparable to our cheese doodles in the United States, but with a milder cheese flavor that had a slight hint of sweet. We all liked these.

Calbee Saya Snow Pea Crisps (2.47 oz) – This was also a fairly large size bag of snacks. They have the look of a green cheese doodle. We found it interesting that the list of ingredients included tuna extract and natural flavors including rendered beef fat. We thought that these were just okay.

Nestle Japan Aero Matcha Green Tea Milk Chocolate (2 pieces) – To be fair, we kind of forgot about this candy until recently and didn’t realize it was chocolate. So, a month or so later and it was squished and not in the best condition when we tried it. While Nestle makes this chocolate in a bunch of different flavors, we received the green tea variety. (I normally love the flavor of green tea and the Haagen-Dazs ice cream green tea is one of my favorite ice creams!) The Aero chocolate bar is supposed to have a “bubbly texture” that according to the Nestle website, “the bubbles collapse and then melt on your tongue to create a deliciously smooth chocolate sensation.” We did not experience this “chocolate sensation” possibly due to the dry, crumbled chocolate we had. This was just okay for us.

Botan Rice Candy (3/4 oz) – This box had six pieces of rice candy inside, as well as a sticker. I didn’t realize until I couldn’t get the second wrapper off the candy that it was edible. It was weird since it was plastic-like but when you put it in your mouth, it melted. The wrapper encased a lemon-orange gummy candy. These were definitely different.

Morinaga Hi-Chew Mango Fruit Chews (1.76 oz) – There were 10 pieces of candy in this package. While the package and squares of candy looked like a Starburst candy, they were much chewier.

Kasugai Gummies (4 pieces) – The box had four pieces of this candy including melon, lychee, ramune and kiwi fruit flavored. I tried the ramune flavor, which was supposed to be similar to a lemonade flavor. My daughter noted that it smelled like lemon cleaner, and she was in fact not wrong! I did not like or finish eating this candy.

Glico Pocky in Cookies & Cream (2.47 oz) – This box of cookie sticks covered in a white chocolate and cookie coating is actually a product of Thailand, according to the package. We’ve had Pocky before and like it. I wasn’t a big fan of the cookies and cream flavor but the kids loved it.

Kasugai Kuro Ame Brown Sugar Candy (4 pieces) – These black wrapped candies were one of my favorites in the box. The brown sugar candy was a piece of hard candy with a molasses flavor that reminded me of the classic yellow-wrapped Mary Janes.

Kasugai Flower Kiss Candy (4 pieces) – These were hard, sweet pieces of candy. Although the candies had different flower wrappers, according to the information card, they allegedly all tasted the same. There wasn’t anything too special or different about these candies.

Bourbon BaumRoll (4 pieces) – The box had 4 of these BaumRolls. They were a lemon-flavored cake covered in a light layer of icing. The cake was a bit dry and sweet, but overall not bad.

Meiji Hello Panda (2.0 0z) – These biscuits with choco cream are actually products of Singapore, according to the package. Each of these cookies, shaped in circles or panda heads, has a picture of a panda engaged in various sports including soccer, kayaking, skateboarding and more. The cookie reminded me of a Nilla wafer with a chocolate filling. We all enjoyed these.

Overall, this box was a win. This box had a variety of treats that we could all eat and enjoy. Nothing was too spicy or “out there.” We can even probably stock up on many of these treats if at our local Asian grocery store. Look for August’s Universal Yums! box review coming soon! We are still finishing up the treats in the box and our September box just arrived!

Lemony Risotto with Mascarpone and Spinach

Posted on September 15, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Today I’m sharing this recipe with the Tuesday’s Recipe Swap link-up hosted by Kate @ Green Fashionista and Emily @ Martinis & Bikinis and the Tasty Tuesdays link-up. This was one of our meatless meals that I made awhile ago for dinner. I’m sharing it now though, since the weather is getting cooler and risotto feels like a fall food. Although risotto can sometimes feel heavy and filling to me (since you are basically eating a big plate of rice!) the lemon flavor helped make it feel less so. I added spinach to the recipe since we had some leftover, and extra veggies never hurt! Plus, I served it with some roasted broccoli. My son helped with the lemon zesting and stirring of this risotto. The kids ate this, although my son complained that it was “too lemony.” He then proceeded to eat a lemonade Outshine bar for dessert after taking forever to finish his risotto….go figure!

Lemony Risotto with Mascarpone and Spinach
Recipe slightly adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
6 cups vegetable stock
2 lemons–1 peeled (yellow part only), 1 zested and juiced (about 1 1/2 tsp. zest and 4 tbsp. juice)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice
5 cups spinach
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 rounded tbsp. mascarpone cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for garnish
A few leaves of basil, torn

Directions:
1. In a medium pot, heat the stock and the lemon peel over medium-low. Cover and keep warm.

2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add the shallot and garlic and stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice; stir until coated, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine; stir until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add about 2 cups warm stock and cook, stirring frequently, until almost evaporated, about 6 minutes. Add 2 more cups stock and cook, stirring frequently, until almost evaporated, about 6 minutes more. Add 1 cup stock and the lemon zest; stir until almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Taste the rice. If it’s tender but still has a bite to it, stir in the lemon juice, mascarpone and 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add the spinach, stirring to wilt. Season and stir in some of the remaining stock if the risotto isn’t saucy enough. Divide among bowls; garnish with basil and more grated cheese.

New Children’s Chapter Book Series: Race The Wild

Posted on September 14, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

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Rain Forest Relay (Race the Wild series #1) by Kristin Earhart
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Rain Forest Relay is the first book in the new Race the Wild series that was published this past April. This series is like the Amazing Race for kids. (On an aside, the Weekend Chef and I have always been big fans of the Amazing Race, and at one point might have even contemplated applying for the show!) In this series teams of four are competing in The Wild Life, a race around the world, with a million dollar prize for the winning team. As they race, the teams (and the reader) learn all about the animal kingdom and different habitats. This first book, and the first leg of the race, takes place in the Amazon Rain Forest. Russell thought that he was going to be on a team with four of his friends, but is ends up being teamed up with strangers, while his friends get to be a team. Every chapter begins with facts about the rain forest, including information on animals, endangered species, and what life is like in the rain forest. Information about the rain forest is provided in a fun and entertaining way. The book also focuses on friendships, both new and old and the importance of working together.

According to the back cover this book is at a Grade 4 reading level, targeting readers in 2nd through 4th grade. My 7 year-old son (who is an advanced reader for his age) read this book and liked it enough that he is interested in reading the next book. I read it and really enjoyed it! My only criticism is that I’m not sure how realistic it is to have kids racing around the world without their parents. I don’t recall the ages of the kids being provided, regardless, I wouldn’t be sending my child off on their own. We are looking forward to reading the second book in the series, Great Reef Games soon!

*We borrowed this book from the library.