Photo: GranniesKitchen/Flickr

Civil discourse and roasted chicken wouldn’t seem to go together at first blush. Nor would a conversation about ethics and, say, a summer salad. Yet the connection is more direct than you think.

The critical issue here is not the food itself, but the sharing of meals and conversation in community, specifically at the dinner hour.

PRK has featured in previous posts the writings of Dr. Anne Fishel, an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Family and Couples Therapy Program at Mass General Hospital (Roll Reversal and Family Dinners).

Today, however, we delve into the newest initiative Anne’s involved with, The Family Dinner Project. It’s team-led, based here in Boston, and it aims to support individual families and communities in making mealtime more meaningful. Not perfect, mind you. But certainly more fun, more frequent, more nutritious and therefore more effective in promoting wellness — mental, emotional and physical.

Important social norms (e.g., civil discourse) are learned at the table. And the health benefits of communal meals are unequivocal, statistically proven.

Anne speaks with us, below, about the ways in which The Family Dinner Project helps make family diners more do-able and rewarding.

How would you describe The Family Dinner Project to people unfamiliar with it?
The Family Dinner Project is a start-up grassroots effort to promote great eating, meaningful conversation and fun. Families of all types can come together in person and online to share their experiences and insights, helping each other realize the benefits of family dinners.

The Family Dinner Project website, which will continue to expand, has many resources –- a family blog, easy, nutritious recipes, fun activities and interesting conversation topics. There are also tips for engaging kids of different ages in meaningful conversation and for overcoming obstacles such as conflicting schedules and picky eaters.

Our team is ready to help families, organizations and communities of all types join The Family Dinner Project. Continue reading →

Photo: courtesy of Justin Ide

One of my favorite things about living in the Boston area is having access to fresh seafood. And the king of all seafoods? Why, for any New Englander, lobster of course!

Despite high prices and elaborate eating protocol (which, for many, is actually the best part), a lobster dinner is almost always worth it.

And if you want to take your tastebuds a step further (perhaps you’ve mastered the tail dissection? Or, maybe you’re afraid of exposing your amateur claw-meat extraction skills?), there’s the lobster roll—where messy meat removal is but a small step in preparing the dish.

F2%, a blog with an unusual name, whose etymology you can read about here, offers a delicious-looking recipe for a homemade lobster roll (the author is obviously a gifted photographer, as well as chef). Using vermouth and tarragon and simmering chunks of lobster meat in two sinful sticks of butter before serving, this vision-of-a-lobster roll will send you, entranced, to your local fishmonger to find the freshest “bug” for your next meal.

Photo: Eve Fox

Let me just get this out there: I’m easy to please.

My family may beg to differ but when it comes to meals,  simpler is always better.  That doesn’t mean I avoid flavor and spice– actually, quite the contrary.  So when I saw Eve Fox’s recipe for Mujadara– a traditional Syrian lentil stew, I knew I had a winner.

I’d love to make it this week and serve it with homemade tzatziki and toasted pita bread.  An easy meal for an easy breezy summer evening.

P.S. Eve offers some great dessert ideas.  Check out this recipe from the archives: Wild Blackberry Sorbet with Garden Mint and Lavender.

Photo: Pancake1500/Flickr

LOCAL BITES

Race-Worthy Treats
This Sunday, July 10th, Toro in the South End is hosting “Running of the Bulls” a food festival to celebrate this month’s famed Spanish Bull race. Guests can join in the excitement by indulging in bocadillos, paella, street corn and other tastes of Pamplona from 11:00am-7:00pm. Call Toro at 617.536.4300 for tickets ($50/ea) and details on the day.

Reading  and Eating at Flora
On Tuesday, July 12^th at 6:30pm Suffolk University English professor Elif S. Armbruster will present on her new book, “Domestic Biographies: Stowe, Howells, James & Wharton at Home” as part of the “Authors Series” at Flora restaurant in Arlington. Guests will dine on Bob Sargent’s summer menu while learning about the home lives of four great American authors. The event is free. Read here for more information.

City Cooks Flee to the Farm
Harvest chef Mary Dumont will leave ‘HQ’ in Harvard Square on July 17^th to host a dinner in Hampton Falls, NH, at Applecrest Farm, teaming up with Will Gilson from EAT @ Adrian’s for a one night culinary experience. Guests will enjoy  cocktails, appetizers, a hayride farm tour and a four-course dinner. For  more information click here. Tickets are $150 apiece.

Kitchen Trading: Food Swaps Come to Boston
Ever heard of Food Swaps? These are markets where ordinary (but talented) cooks exchange home-made goods; it’s a foodie trend that’s spreading across the nation, reaching cities in Texas, California and Hawaii. One such market has sprung up in Somerville! (Read the Boston Globe’s report.) To visit the market and find out more about the ins and outs of swapping protocol, click here. Continue reading →

Kate Morreale of Golden Egg Farm (photo: Robin Cohen)

Robin Cohen of Doves and Figs treats us to her second installment in a series of essays on the farming community of Hardwick, MA. Through Robin’s eyes we visit Golden Egg and Chestnut Farms and meet the women farmers whose passion for animal husbandry imbues their lives and work.

Robin Cohen, Guest Contributor
Doves and Figs

On a cloudy morning a few weeks ago I drove out to Hardwick with my friend Patsy Kraemer, Manager of the Arlington Farmers Market. We took a rambling, slower route to Hardwick, passing abandoned mill buildings, tiny gas stations, the Whistle Stop cafe and the stately Gilbertville library.

Just outside of the small town center, we steered down the shaded, narrow road that leads to Golden Egg Farm. Kate Morreale, an artist and farmer, has decorated her farm with bright sunrise colors, and everywhere you turn you see chickens. Of course, there are the egg-laying feather-flocked type running about, but there are also metal hen sculptures, ceramic chickens, wire roosters (one gets the idea within minutes of arriving at the farm that Kate is a bit obsessed with chickens).

Kate’s love for these birds started somewhat by chance. One day soon after graduating from college, she walked into a farmers market and walked out with a dozen chicks. Was she planning on leaving her budding art career behind and becoming a farmer? “No” she told me “the chicks were just so fuzzy and cute and I got a puppy that day, too, so…well…you get the idea.” Continue reading →

Photo Courtesy of Fresh New England

Oh, sweet, sweet summer.

Why end the weekend on July 4th when you can continue to celebrate with this mouth-watering Cherry Crumb Pie from Fresh New England?

After all, ‘tis the season for cherries! And strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries…the list goes lip-smackingly on.

Fresh New England delivers a mouth-watering recipe to those of us not quite ready for the holiday to end, paired with an outdoor excursion for any summer day.

Photo: Eric Beato/Flickr

Happy 4th of July!

Chances are that you’re out grilling right now rather than in front of your computer. Good for you! However, some of you have the misfortune of being stuck in an office – in fact, today I’m one of them. This is the first Independence Day when I’ve had to miss parties because of work, and I’ll admit to being a little sad about that (and no, in case you’re wondering, it’s not because of PRK!).

Still, when I do get out, I plan on celebrating with a little patriotic drinking. Not too much, of course – it’s a Monday, after all, and I have to be up bright and early tomorrow – but just enough to celebrate while watching the fireworks on TV (since I won’t be able to drink nearly enough alcohol to brave the Esplanade). To that end, I plan on raising a small glass of American wine – perhaps one of the recommendations from Wine Dine With Us – and toasting the wonderful country I get to live in.