For many years I have used my fancy dishes, even for my morning breakfast. Now that we have been at home more than ever, it seems especially important that this is the time to use them. Why save special plates for company or holidays? Pull out your grandmother/s china. Even if it’s for dinner with the kids on a Wednesday night or a midday snack. Beautiful things are made for using!
©Tiny New York Kitchen © 2020 All Rights Reserved
The fall season is a mixture of hot and cool, leaves changing and schedules becoming more structured. Whether you’re watching your child’s soccer game, taking a long weekend drive through winding roads saturated with fresh foliage or baking up the bounty of the season – take a moment to enjoy every phase the season has to offer.
“Work With What You Got!”
©Tiny New York Kitchen © 2019 All Rights Reserved
Kombucha (also known as tea mushroom or Manchurian mushroom) is a fermented, slightly sparkling black or green tea beverage that is usually lightly flavored with fruit, ginger, or herbs. Kombucha is commonly intended as a functional beverage for health benefits (although there is no real scientific evidence to support health benefit claims). Kombucha is produced by fermenting tea using a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Many people, myself included, drink kombucha as a source of probiotics, which is the “good bacteria” that are beneficial for digestion. Pregnant women and children under age 4 should not drink kombucha.
“Work With What You Got!”
©Tiny New York Kitchen © 2018 All Rights Reserved
Have school lunches hit a wall? It’s gets tedious for anyone to eat the same thing every day. It may be time to mix it up to keep your kids interested in eating healthy.
You may want to include dry roasted edamame or chickpeas for a salty, crunchy snack with some protein. Individually packed, pitted olives are also a nice alternative to potato chips.
Use cookie cutters to make sandwiches into fun shapes. This also works well for using on fruits and vegetables.
Pack leftovers from dinner the night before to make a great lunch. The bonus is that it’s super easy.
When you’re at the grocery store make sure to pick up some precut fruits and vegetables. This is a big timesaver.
Pack lunch in a bento box to make lunches look exciting and practice portion control.
Get them involved in shopping for and packing their own lunch.
“Work With What You Got!”
© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2017 All Rights Reserved
Trick-Or-Treat
In the mid-19th century, Irish immigrants to North America brought with them the Gaelic celebrations of All Hallows’ Eve, replete with trick playing and fortune telling. At that time, pranks were mild. Shop signs were switched, gates disassembled, and flour-filled socks were flung at those wearing black coats. Over time the mischief evolved into straight-up vandalism, and people often awoke on November 1st to broken windows or even blazing fires. At the height of the Great Depression, some cities considered banning the holiday. But a few cities, like Chicago, had a much better idea – to busy the idle hands of potential troublemakers with festivities and encourage homeowners to do the same. Because money was scarce, families often held “house-to-house parties,” which kept the children moving door to door for a different entertainment or treat. I guess treats are an excellent bribe for warding off mischief.
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“Work With What You Got!”
© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2016 All Rights Reserved
Table Your Manners
Teaching manners to your children is difficult and sometimes following proper table manners yourself is even more difficult. The dinner table has become a free-for-all these days, and did you just see the “Lord of the Napkin Rings” just stuck his chewing gum on his plate? But before you double-dip your roast orc in the fondue, take a look around you. This is NOT Middle-Earth, and that is NOT your water glass! Oy Vay!
The first step to deciphering the individual place setting involves locating your drinking glass. While you should always, “drink right,” as in not gulping or slurping beverages, you should remember that your drink is on the right side of your plate. If you need a status symbol to boost your confidence, think of your BMW while you dine. Bread plate to the left; Meal plate in the center; Water glass to the right.
Use silverware from the outside in, and in the order it is presented (soup spoon on the outer right, small fork on the far left).
You have two choices when it comes to handling your fork and knife, which are American-style and European-style. When cutting meat, for example, both Americans and Europeans hold the fork in the left hand, tines down, and the knife in the right hand, blade down. After slicing meat into bite-sized pieces, however, Americans place the knife on the plate (preferably at a diagonal across the upper right side), and switch the fork to the right hand before eating. Europeans hold their fork, tines down, in the left hand while cutting and eating. Either style is correct.
“Work With What You Got!”
© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen
10 Steps For Staying Happy Through The Holiday Season
Thanksgiving is almost here which marks the beginning of the holiday season. With so many holiday pressures often times we forget what truly is important. We are busy shopping, cooking and wondering how to deal with some unsettled family business. Over the weekend I came down with a nasty flu, which is in full swing as I write this. To be sick is no fun to say the least, but I do take it as a sign to slow down and reflect. Here are some ideas for staying happy through the holiday season. I hope that you take time to enjoy the holidays.
Do Something Random For The Fun Of It
What have you always wanted to do, but came up with an excuse not to? What made you happy as a kid? Think about things you did, during the holidays, which were fun during the holidays and relieve them as a grown-up. If you have children then introduce your fond activities to your kids. Go ice-skating, go to a hokey play, watch your favorite movie or read a favorite children’s book.
Give Back
Doing something for others is a powerful thing. Volunteer your time or donate money to a favorite cause or something that speaks to your heart is important. It’s a good thing to do and trust me it will make you feel good.
Take Care Of Yourself
It’s important to do things for yourself. Schedule a mani-pedi or a massage. Take a nap, take a day off and read in bed. Do whatever it is that you need to do to recharge.
Commune With Nature
So often we forget to go outside and do something for nature. Pick up garbage, feed the birds, start a compost pile, rake up leaves or whatever needs doing. You will be doing something good for nature and by being outside you will feel better.
Get Active
It may be chilly outside, but go out for a walk or run anyway. We need the vitamin D and to get our blood pumping. Ride your bike, go skiing or sledding. If you can’t get outdoors then go to your local gym and take an exercise class. It’s important to get those endorphins going.
Try Cooking A New Recipe
Choose a recipe that peaks your interest and try making it. If it’s a big success then perhaps you can duplicate it for a holiday dinner. Even if you don’t make it for a holiday dinner you have it in your back pocket of recipes. If it doesn’t turn out then oh well at least you tried it.
Favorite Childhood Food
Everyone has a favorite childhood food. Growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska my mother used to make something called Runzas. Whenever I need a “childhood comfort shot” I will make Runzas (thank goodness my mother left me the recipe). My husband grew up Italian in Castro Valley. During the holidays his aunt would bring an Italian rum cake to the family gatherings. My husband has been searching for this cake for over 40 years, but can’t seem to find it. I’ve tried several times to duplicate it from his description. The point here is, think about what your favorite foods were as a child. Try and duplicate them and share them with the people that you love. Trust me…food and memory are powerful things.
Honor Your Ancestors
Holidays can be emotional. We all have both happy and sad memories of people who have passed away. One way to honor those who have passed away is to make their favorite foods. Another is to watch an ancestor’s favorite movie. My father-in-law’s favorite movies was, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” After he passed away we would take the whole family and go to see, “It’s A Wonderful Life” at the local movie theater. Not one of us walked out of the theater with dry eyes. It was powerful, healing and an important holiday ritual. Take some quiet time to reflect and to be grateful for those people who are gone and were important in your life.
Forgive Friends & Family
Oftentimes living friends and family can be an emotional challenge. Forgive them. Lift the weight off of yourself and simply forgive them. This doesn’t mean that you should get right back into dysfunction (set boundaries and limitations). Deal with conflicts from your highest level of goodness and love.
Make Amends & Forgive Yourself
We have all wronged people that we love. Examine your past emotions and motivations in situations that are nagging your heart. Make amends; tell that person you are sorry. There is no need to go into “yeah but.” Simply “I am sorry I did fill in the blank.” Forgive yourself as well. Most of us are hard on ourselves, which creates stress whether we know it, or not. We all make mistakes. Forgive yourself. At the end of the day, at the end of the holidays the happy memories will not come from presents or material things as much as from genuinely connecting and appreciating your family, friends and yourself.
Labor Day is over and it’s school time again. Many school aged children skip breakfast on a daily basis because of either financial reasons or because of the morning rush to get to school on time. Studies show that children, as well as college students, who eat breakfast have better math scores, less tardiness, less hyperactivity and better overall school attendance than those children who don’t eat breakfast. If you want your student to be more alert, focused and ready to tackle the day’s academic challenges then encourage them to eat breakfast daily and not just on test days. Eating a nutritious breakfast will help your child concentrate, behave and learn. Studies have shown that eating breakfast improves a student’s classroom performance, including better test scores and better grades. It is important for a student to be able to concentrate on his or her school work as well as learning positive habits that will carry over into adulthood. Eating breakfast can do more than just keep your child full!