The Mom 100

One of my favorite things that I’ve ever been a part of is the Teacher-Staff Appreciation Committee at my kids’ school. We started it when my older son, Jack, was in 1st grade—and somehow, impossibly, he is now in college.   I’ve been co-chairing the committee since it started, through elementary, middle school, and now still in high school and when Charlie graduates in a few years I think they may have to drag me away from this committee kicking and weeping. We organize a monthly cookie baking festival with different grades taking turns baking every month, and we do a …

We were late to the Downton Abbey game, my family was, but what we lacked in timing we made up for in zeal. We slammed down the first three seasons over the course of a couple of months in what felt like the equivalent of a chugging contest (do you remember the scene where Tom’s brother comes and asks for a beer? And Mr. Carson acted as though he had asked for a bottle of Jagermesiter and a funnel?). During several seasons of Downton Abbey, when it originally aired, I decided to cook dinners to eat while watching the show that …

Much has been written and shared amongst parents about good ways to get those veggies into the kids’ dinner in the most painless ways possible. I’ve never liked the smuggling zucchini into brownies idea (but I am definitely up for a good loaf of zucchini bread), but I definitely know that burgers and meatloaf and meatballs and Bolognese sauce and other things made with ground beef are excellent vehicles for trafficking vegetables.  I don’t like the idea of hiding it, but I also don’t think you necessarily have to announce it loudly either. However, in this meatloaf, the vegetables are …

Avocados are one of the greatest fruits out there (you knew that avocados were a fruit right? Sure are….more on that later). Hardly a chore in terms of those daily servings of produce though – most of us love avocado and think of them as more of a luxurious treat than some to fill the Daily Recommended Allowance of healthy foods.   The Two Main Kinds of Avocados There are actually hundreds of varieties of avocados, but there are two that we see most often in American supermarkets.   At local farmers markets you may get more choices – when you …