Home for Dinner!
This past weekend my wife and I hosted a gathering of friends and family. Despite the anxiety around the planning and execution of the event, it made me realize the pure joy of spending quality time with those you love. I’m constantly reminded me how short these years are and how quickly they go by. Therefore, the only thing to do is slow them down and enjoy them more. I think we have the travel well covered, however, need to do better when home.
In this weeks Find, I will share my attempts to have more quality time at home with family (or friends)!
1422 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10028
The truth is I don’t eat at home enough with my family. This is because everyone is in a different place at different times: tutoring, playdates, swimming, basketball, you get the point. The way I see it, here are the options:
1. Home cooked meal: A home cooked meal is lovely; however, I neither have the time nor the talent to do it well.
2. Prepared foods: You can head out to one of the many prepared food spots like Citarella or Whole Foods, but this requires going to the store, dealing with crowds, and putting together a menu. The prep times will vary depending upon what you buy.
3. Order in: The food is pretty good (not everything travels well) but difficult to get a consensus on where to order from and unfortunately (for me) everyone has an opinion. In my home, the food arrives from different restaurants at different times and we end up eating apart (thank you Postmates).
Alas, there is another way!
babeth’s Feast is a shop that prepares and sells gourmet frozen food that is simple and easy to prepare. According to the Founder Babeth, who lived in Paris, Parisians take a barbell approach to eating at home by buying ultra fresh food and storing high quality frozen food. She has brought this to both the Upper East Side and the Internet where she ships all over the country. You can buy food prepared by Babeth, as well as a variety of high end food to stock, for the perfect meal. I would suggest buying a single meal as well as hors d’oeuvres for an impromptu cocktail party, so you are always prepared for your family and/or guests! In my house, you never know who just may pop in for dinner!
Yes, this is my third post on hydration; hence, it must be important! Now that your having a family meal around the table, you don’t want everyone standing up every five minutes to refill their glasses with the Brita in the refrigerator. Therefore, you need a special container or pitcher. It just so happens that the Soma pitcher does the filtering for you. Not only does it produce ultra clean water, but it also looks beautiful, makes your table look great, and hydrates everyone around it!
Cuisinart ICE-60W Cool Creations Ice Cream Maker
Now that you are done with dinner, there is no better family activity than making ice cream! Everyone can invent their own flavors or follow recipes as necessary. There is nothing easier in the world or more fun. I did this recently at Cool Mess on the Upper East Side which is great, and I knew I could bring the fun home. You just need to leave the cylinder in the freezer, pour in the base (you can buy premade or make yourself), and then add all the goodies (Oreos, mm’s, caramel, Reese’s Pieces, or whatever you fancy). Your family won’t want to go out for dessert ever again!
This may be too aggressive, but dinner, dessert and then family game night???!!! If you have the time, attention, and stamina then this is another great family game. There is also an app version in case you’re purely digital or extremely space constrained. I think the best motivation for playing the game well is the winner decides which ice cream flavor to make! In reverse charades, you split into teams of three or more and the team acts out the words together (hopefully in a coordinated fashion) while the remaining team member tries to guess as many as they can. This is a blast for all ages and provides endless hours of laughs. Ey, and laughing is good for the soul.
Spend more time at home with your friends/family and consider babeth’s Feast, Soma Pitcher, Cuisinart ICE- 60W Cream Maker, and Reverse Charades Found.