A Jeweler, A Diner, A Butcher, and A Chocolatier..A Trip To Williamsburg

We hadn't been to Williamsburg since my usual partner in Brooklyn adventures (S.) up and left us for Portland. My friend Y. (a jewelry designer) came to the rescue, as she too is often up for food adventures, especially those of the meaty kind. There she is above, displaying one of her latest creations.




Our first stop was Diner, housed in a relic of the past, replete with tiny floor tiles, counter stools and creaky wooden booths. The menu was small and to the point. Y. and I zeroed in on the two meaty selections, a grass fed beef burger which she ordered and a sandwich of house-made pastrami, which was calling me. Izzy had his eye on the mussels.




My sandwich arrived with a slab of pastrami (instead of the usual slices), some gorgeously addictive fries and tasty red slaw. It was pleasantly chewy and not as salty as the New York Deli variety, which I admit to preferring. Izzy delivered the simplest comparison. "Much less salty, I like it better. I HATE Katz's pastrami."

Y.'s burger was cooked to perfection and provided ample bites of grass fed deliciousness.

Meanwhile, Izzy's mussels arrived and when he went to eat one, he noticed that a seafood fork was lacking. When we asked about this, he was told to use a mussel shell to extract the critter from the other shells. He must have looked crestfallen because someone (not our waitress), graciously went off and found one for him from their establishment next door. He was finally able to tuck into his meal but after stuffing in too many fries, was unable to finish.

Appetites sated, we left Diner and made our way to their butcher shop, Marlow and Daughters, just up the block. If only a butcher shop like this existed in Jersey City. Slabs of beautiful cuts of organic beef graced their enclosed glass case, along with sausages, cured meats and a hearty looking house made pate, which looked more inviting then some pates found in Paris.



We both brought home a few well-chosen items, including house-cured pancetta, chorizo and the irresistible pate. The store not only carries meats but a wide array of other locally sourced products, including cheeses and dried beans. Later on, Izzy and I dined at the pate and wished that we had more for later. If Y. is equally smitten we may just find our way back there before long.

Our next stop was Mast Brothers Chocolate, for no foray into Williamsburg would be complete without a visit there.

Our final destination was Brooklyn Kitchen but I will reserve discussion until I receive a personal tour from my dear sister upon our next visit.

Back in the car, during the trip home, Izzy reflected upon the day...From the backseat I hear Izzy say smilingly, "Mama, what does it mean to butcher the English language?" Which I knew was a phrase he had heard on a Word Girl video. And so he came to terms with one of his first homonyms. Worth the trip for that alone!

Why Cats Like Cheese: Izzy's Theory

"Cats like cheese because the mouse eats cheese and cats get the taste of cheese from the mouse when they eat it."

Sounds good in theory but would that mean that people who eat cows enjoy eating grass because the beef tastes grassy??

Surrounded By Sweets: Trying To Remain Reasonable

But other moms in the park make it soooooooo difficult. Don't they know that I have waited until my child was over five years of age before introducing him to "The Ice Lady"? Isn't it bad enough that he now demands "Icy" every time we go to the park?

Today was a "No Icy" for Izzy day. I mean he had snacked upon a juicy nectarine topped with homemade whipped cream before going to the park. Shouldn't that suffice in the dessert realm?

I made sure to remind Izzy that "Icy" would not be an option today. Note: If you are trying to monitor your child's sweets consumption, it is always best to set out the rules in advance. Diminishes the chances of major tantrums since they know what is in store.

Once at the park, Izzy began to play with a couple of children who were happily licking some "icy." He merely noted what they were eating and went on playing. He then asked for some of his snack to eat along with them. He happily grabbed some cheese cubes and ran off. I was glad to see that he remained unfazed. After all, I very well realize that I can't prevent other kids from eating junk food, it is simply my job to keep Izzy from getting into a tizzy over it.

He handled it marvelously, even when he came back to point out that just moments after finishing their icy, those very same children then went to the ice cream truck and were allowed to purchase soft ice cream cones!

I would have thought he were fibbing, had I not witnessed it with my own two eyes. He remained surprisingly subdued, merely musing aloud as to how it was possible to have both. I, on the other hand, remained speechless, having no explanation.

That Wasn't A Dinner Party, Was It?

Izzy pondered on our way home from a Graduation/Memorial Day celebration for my sister C.

It was 7:00 pm., the time when we would normally be eating dinner. Izzy complained, "All I ate was a hotdog and now I am hungry. We didn't even have dinner." I knew it would end this way but I was powerless to change the course of events., brought on by the "Sunday Supper" frame of mind.

I was introduced to this concept of early supper in high school, thru my boyfriend R.'s family. Every Sunday they invited me for an Italian-American meal at about three in the afternoon. I would eat with them (How could I turn down the most fabulous rotisserie pork roast?) but then I would go home and by seven or eight in the evening, I would be ready for another meal. Back then two meals weren't a problem for my svelte shape, now it's a different story.

So of course, Izzy's hunger did not surprise me. It was rather my inability to come up with an adequate solution. We arrived at the party at 4 p.m. He had a hot dog within the first half hour and then was off frolicking in the grass. Between juice boxes and sugar shots (see post to follow), Izzy was too busy to think about eating anything else. He did miss some yummy offerings, especially these ribs which I had made a few years ago and still remembered. I passed on the recipe to my stepmother who promptly prepared 75 ribs! They didn't taste as sweet as I had imagined but they were still quite good.

There were platters of hors d'oeuvres, chicken legs and other nibbly snacks but Izzy just never found his way to the table. And sadly, we missed dessert since we had to leave before the cake or cookies were served. I, on the other hand, couldn't stay away from the ribs and even at a grilled hotdog (How could I resist my favorite brand?). Even so, I could have still eaten a bit more when it came to my regular dinner hour.

When we arrived home at 7:30 p.m., Izzy insisted on sitting down at the table for a light meal. He had half of a turkey sausage link, some yellow pepper slices and a small piece of bread. After eating that he insisted that his belly was still empty but I insisted that he go to bed, explaining that he would have to wait until morning.

So back to Izzy's question: Was it a dinner party? In this case I would have to say it was an afternoon of grazing especially since there was no sit-down meal. As for the early Sunday meal, I'm still not sure what to make of it or how to cope, since I, for one, can no longer consume two dinners and there is no joy in preparing another meal for my child when ostensibly dinner is over.

Good Night: An Oddly Carnivorous Bedtime Thought

Each night as I tuck Izzy into bed, I read a book to him and then tell him made up stories in the dark. I assure you our story had nothing to do with the following:

Tonight, when the stories were over, his small voice inquired, "Mama, can we eat a chicken's head?"

Me (thinking what or where did you get an idea like that): "No, I don't think so. They probably don't have much meat on them. Why do you ask?"

Izzy: "I think I would like to try one tomorrow."

Good night, sleep tight and don't let the chicken heads bite..or rather don't bite them.

Eco-Conscious Izzy

In support of Blog Action Day, I bring you the following:

My latest shopping obsession has been to reduce our plastic bag consumption. I have always envisioned giving up plastic bags but never quite got around to it. Until recently.

A few months ago I was watching some plastic bags stuck in a tree near my front window and became even more disgusted at the thought of bags flying about our landscape. I was finally inspired to take action. I purchased a cotton string bag and some fine mesh cotton bags and pretty much went cold turkey. Plastic bags are certainly a hard habit to break, though more for the shop clerks than for the buyers. I found myself having to insist that I didn't need a bag, otherwise I would inadvertently find my items stuffed into one before I could make a peep. I began to remove the items and hand the bag back, hoping that it would be reused.

Just days after beginning my private campaign against plastic bag usage, I was stopped by a news crew as I exited the Whole Foods store at Union Square. I seriously resembled a bag lady, with granny cart, string bag, tote bag and several other bags dangling from my person. The newscaster asked if they could interview me for a piece on the Today Show or some program of that ilk (the one hosted by Meredith Vieira). I agreed, despite the fact that I had just come from working out and was not looking especially fetching. The issue was too near and dear to me to remain silent.

Now, a month or so later, I just remember rambling on nervously and since I don't have a t.v. I have no idea whether it aired or not. Either way, the fact that they chose to zero in on me was a riot since I was surely a veritable poster loca for the no plastic movement.

After my brief brush with non-existent fame, I still continue to wage almost zero tolerance against plastic bags and Izzy is becoming a champion of the cause. He immediate sounds an alarm when we are shopping together, warning me of an impending plastic bag. He will admonish me if I accidentally accept one. As he watches other shoppers he is always wondering why they too, haven't given up plastic. My friend D., has supported the cause by generously giving me a set of these fabulous reusable totes by Envirosax. They make it easy to always have a spare bag with you and they are awfully cute to boot!

Vegetable Babies

There I stood by the kitchen sink, preparing a rather large bunch of bok choy for yesterday's dinner. This may seem like an ordinary thing to be doing but for Izzy it was downright unusual. While intently observing me at work he asked, "Is that grown-up bok choy?" I had to smile at that one, for of course I wouldn't have put it in quite the same way myself.

Up until now Izzy had only encountered baby bok choy so when confronted with the large leaves, he needed to name them.

What strikes me as amusing is Izzy's greater familiarity with the baby version of vegetables rather than their grown-up counterparts. Potatoes, eggplant, carrots, artichokes,zucchini, peas and bok choy are just a few examples of baby produce that have crossed his path.

When I was small, I think the only baby vegetable that I encountered was the occasional 'baby corn' at Chinese restaurants. Izzy's vegetable experiences have been so much more appealing and interesting. Behold these adorable baby potatoes and baby eggplants that the farmer has brought us. Who wouldn't want to at least try them?

Foul Language? Who Would Have Thought?

Charcuterie?

I was on the phone with my dad, as he recounted a dinner he had eaten the previous night. Izzy was listening in to my end of the conversation and when he heard me utter the word charcuterie he said, "Mama, don't say that word in front of me." (The very idea of a platter of sliced meats, how could you...)

Is charcuterie a bad word? Does it sound like one? Is there something I am missing? He spent the rest of the day pronouncing the word and giggling. I do have to wonder what runs through his little mind. Giant slabs of pate, chasing slices of prosciutto?

School Snack Report: The case of the dark cornbread

This was a banner snack week at Izzy's preschool. C's mom prepared quite a smorgasbord of treats for the children, centered for the most part, around a Fall theme. At the beginning of the week, Izzy couldn't wait to regale me with tales of eating not one, but two bagels with cream cheese. Later on I heard about banana bread (false), sliced grapes and cheeses. Today each child came home with a small paper bag with a cookie cutter and play dough (Since when did gifts become part of snack? B. you are going to be a tough act to follow!) I must say that I was tickled to hear about the great efforts that C's mom has put into snack and I hope that the others follow suit.

Getting the snack lowdown isn't always that simple. Today, Izzy and I were sitting on the stoop when he mentioned what he had for snack.

"We had cornbread. It was brown. It was dark cornbread."

Hmmm.. I thought to myself, interesting.

"Cornbread isn't usually brown. Are you sure it was cornbread?"

"Yes it was made with the dark kernels from Indian corn"

This explanation seemed plausible, especially when he proceeded to tell me how he spent all morning tweezing kernels of Indian corn as one of his Montessori "works".

Later on this afternoon, I learned about Izzy's snack interpretation. We went for a playdate with some classmates and I asked them what they had for snack. The reply?? PUMPKIN BREAD!!! I couldn't stop laughing..Dark kernels of corn indeed!

Perhaps my snack reporter is not as reliable as I had once thought!

Pondering Junk Food On A Park Bench

Izzy and I were sitting in the tiny park near Christopher Street, savoring our late afternoon gelato when the following spouted from his mouth. "Why do some people eat junk food?"

I looked at his sweet face, licking his cone of Cantalope Sorbetto and wondered what the right answer was to this question. I asked which people he meant and he motioned towards some men sitting across the park who were tucking into a bag of cheez doodles.. The sight of these men had triggered his memory of a day in the park when a friend offered him some organic cheese puffs. It was a day in which too much junk had been consumed and it had obviously made a big impression on him.

I said that some people don't realize how unhealthy junk food. This answer did not do the trick. He wanted to hear more. I then said that perhaps when they were young, their parents thought that junk food was a fine food for them to eat so they continued to eat it now. That still didn't seem to satisfy him. What exactly is the answer to his question? I guess some people think it tastes good. But does it really? I don't think so. Though I suppose it is an acquired taste, like anything else. One thing I didn't mention to him is that junk food is addictive. The more you eat it, the more you want it.

So then I talked about how we might help people stop eating junk food. He said, "I don't think that is going to happen." (It is somewhat frightening that he seems to know just how pervasive junk food is). I then explained that anything is possible and that his classroom might be the best place to start. We already started last year and I think that things are moving in the right direction. I noticed that this week's snack choices were definitely healthy ones. And he was happy to report that he had baby carrots the other day.

For those in the know...Why do people eat junk food?

What is the real definition of junk food anyway?

I bumped into one of Izzy's teachers, Miss A., as I was on my way to pick him up from school today. She told me that she overheard a conversation between him and some other boys yesterday. Apparently they were discussing junk food. She said that Izzy said something to the effect of :

'junk food? I could eat that all day...' She said she had to laugh thinking that he was the last child she would expect to be eating junk food.

When I asked him about the conversation today he said...B. says that junk food is disgusting. I explained that it wasn't necessarily disgusting but that it wasn't healthy for his body.

Then I asked him what exactly junk food was...he said, 'sugary snacks and salty pretzels..., I eat those things when you don't pack a snack for me.

This all had me wondering about what exactly constitutes junk food. When we asked Alex he said,"Potato chips and things that come in icky bags."
The icky bag aspect opens up a whole realm to which many, many junk food items fall into. After all, potato chips are only the tip of the junk food iceberg.

If I were to begin a list it would include chips of all kinds, cookies, candies, sugary cereals, and pop tarts. There are so many items that would warrant inclusion I couldn't possibly list them

What would you include on the list?

Izzy Ponders: Is There Such A Thing As Elephant Cheese?

This question came up when we were delighting in my latest obsession, Sprout Creek Farm's Doe Re Mi Goat Cheese. This cheese is a sell-out every week and I have been fortunate enough to snag the last container for the past two weeks. So as we were nibbling, we were distinguishing between the three types of cheeses that Izzy is now familiar with, sheep's milk, goat's milk and cow's milk. This particular goat cheese is neither gamey nor goaty. Instead it is tangy, smooth and addictive. Whereas the sheep's milk cheese we favor is exceptionally sheepy.

Back to the question though. Why don't we make elephant cheese? After all, elephants do produce milk.. I explained that elephant's milk was best for baby elephants since I surmise that it would be rather difficult to milk an elephant. Did I leave anything out?

Taste This Pea Mama...

Chinese leftovers have never enticed me but last night Izzy requested that we take home the leftover Chicken with Pine nuts so that he could have it tonight. The lazy bird in me jumped at the chance to not have to do anything so I asked for a doggy bag (actually I just asked them to wrap it). Do people still ask for doggy bags? Anyway back to the matter at hand.

At dinnertime tonight, I reheated the leftovers for Izzy, there was only enough for him so I planned to eat something else later. I served them with some vegetable dumplings on the side. I always try to sit with Izzy while he eats and nibble something, since eating is such a social experience. As I watched him, I noticed that he seemed to be avoiding the peas, which he normally loves.

So I coaxed, "Eat some more of your dinner, what about the peas?" He looked up at me and said, "Taste this pea, Mama." He tried to feed it to me and when I ate it I instantly knew why they had been pushed aside. Reheating had turned them mealy and inedible. I said, "They don't taste very good, do they?" "No they don't. Why don't they taste like the peas you make for me?" Good question...

I was proud of his discerning palate and he was instantly absolved of any wrongdoing in the not eating vegetables department. Maybe next time he won't be eager for leftover Chinese...

Different Cupcakes For Different Tastes: Izzy's First Cupcake Review

This week was a veritable birthday bonanza at Izzy's school. Not only was his birthday celebrated but two other children had birthdays as well. Today I. and M. brought in cupcakes for their birthdays. I was curious to hear about them so while Izzy was bathing the following conversation ensued.

Me: So, did what did I. bring in for her birthday?
Izzy: Cupcakes
Me: What kind?
Izzy: Rainbow
Me: That sounds nice. What was in them?
Izzy: The cake was ginger with crunchy carrots and uncooked potato. How could potato be in a cupcake uncooked?
Me (laughing) Are you sure it was potato?
Izzy: It was white and tasted like uncooked potato. Why are you laughing?
Me: It is funny. What about the frosting? Was it good?
Izzy: Yes, the frosting was whipped cream with food coloring. I had an orange one. The special one for the birthday girl had a rainbow on it. We had them in the park.
Me: That sounds like a good idea.

Me: What about M.'s cupcakes?
Izzy: The cake had ginger also. I think that M.'s mama put sugar and ginger to make it brown. The frosting was white with whipped cream and fruits on top.
Me: What kind of fruits?
Izzy: Blueberries, strawberries and blackberries. It was yummy.

How could I not be proud of such a detailed review. Frank Bruni, watch out!

Izzy and I are pondering...

What was the mysterious "uncooked potato" ingredient ?
What is the recipe for the suspiciously healthful but sweet, ginger sugar cake with fruits on top?

Izzy Ponders: Ice Cream Truck Music

We do not buy ice cream from the ice cream truck, though we do see it and more importantly, hear it everywhere. On our way back from having gelato, we passed an ice cream truck playing its tune.

Izzy asked, "Mama, why do ice cream trucks play music?"

"Advertising. They play music so that people know that the ice cream truck is there. It let's people know that it's time to buy ice cream."

Your answer?