Grilled Mahi Mahi & Shrimp, Caprese Salad, Fresh Berry Tiramisu were some items sampled

To-do: make a meatless meal once a week

• 8 oz package maifun noodles (rice vermicelli noodles)
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 8 oz firm tofu, well drained, cut into ½ inch cubes (we prefer Tofettes Hot & Spicy)
• 1 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into strips
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces on the diagonal
• 2 bunches of scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1. Cook noodles as directed and set aside.
2. Combine the broth, soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, rice vinegar and sesame oil in a small bowl.
3. In a large non-stick skillet or wok, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and stir-fry for one-two minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil and add ginger and garlic and stir fry for one minute. Add broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, and green onions; stir-fry until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
5. Return tofu into skillet, stir broth mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring until hot. Add noodles, tossing to combine and cook until heated through.
6. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm topped with tofu and sesame seeds.

Photo taken at last year's Dragon Boat Festival. This year's festival takes place this Sunday, June 10th from 12-5pm. Click here for details.

Co-owner Liza talking about Palettes

"Nibbles" in convenient containers for palette trays

My very own "palette" - cute, huh?

Resident artist Ben also doubles as a mixologist at the Palettes bar

The evening's project: field of flowers

Boston Parent Bloggers getting some paint

Ben showing us the first step to creating our masterpieces

photo courtesy of Charlene Chronicles

>> Palettes is offering one lucky umommy reader a chance to win a gift certificate for a class for two people ($70 value). To enter, leave a comment on what inspires you by Saturday, May 12, 2012 at 11:59pm EST. A winner will be selected at random by random.org. Good luck! <<

Brunch is my favorite meal, hands down. You gotta love a meal that involves both savory and sweet. Plus an excuse to drink champagne before noon sounds good to me! So it comes to no surprise I jumped at the chance to join the Boston Brunchers for a special Mom brunch with cookbook author Katie Workman at Scollay Square.

Scollay Square is located in the shadows of the State House on Beacon Hill. Some quick online research revealed that the original Scollay Square was located where Government Center now stands. The Scollay Square on 21 Beacon Street pays tribute with old photographs and decor from that era.

Joining me for this Boston Brunchers mom blogger edition were some fabulous women: Jessica from Don't Mind the Mess, Melanie from The Coupon Goddess, Laura from Good Cook Doris, Leah from Boston Family Foodie, Marissa from A Boston Mom, Boston Brunchers host Renee and Katie Workman, author of The Mom 100 Cookbook: 100 Recipes Every Mom Needs in Her Back Pocket.

Three-course brunch menu - so hard to choose with many great options!

Scollay Square had prepared a three-course brunch menu showcasing some of their signature dishes. For the appetizer course, we had a choice of fresh berries with whipped cream or this:

Asparagus wrapped with prosciutto, grilled. Delicious!

No contest. This was my favorite dish. The asparagus was cooked to perfection and grilling the prosciutto was a nice touch. The fresh mozzarella and oven roasted tomato drizzled with a balsamic syrup rounded off this dish. Yum.

Next came the entree course. There was a choice of Flat Iron Steak with Grilled Asparagus, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Chimichurri Sauce, Butternut Squash Lasagna, Buttermilk Pancakes, or Monterey Jack and Portobello Omelette served with Has Browns and Lemon Dressed Greens. I'm a classic bruncher, so I had to go with the omelette.

Monterey Jack and Portobello Omelette

The omelette was light and fluffy and there was a good ratio of cheese to portobella mushroom. The has browns were okay (a bit on the greasy side) and the greens were kind of dull and overdressed.

As we dined and sipped our drinks, we had the opportunity to hear about what went behind Katie Workman's new cookbook. I'll be posting a review soon, but let's just say rigorous recipe testing, gorgeous photography and years of experience feeding her family and friends leads to a pretty cool cookbook.

The waitstaff was attentive and helpful. My guess is they don't see a lot of kids (dining room was a bit cramped and did not see many high chairs), but they were more than happy to accommodate our youngest Boston Brunchers (a couple of moms brought along their adorable and well-behaved babies).


For the finale, we were served Strawberry Shortcake with Vanilla Ice Cream. It was a nice ending to a great event. It's not often I get a chance to 1) brunch without my kids in tow 2) exchange tips on blogging and 3) commiserate with some talented women on trying to do it all.

Disclosure: Thanks to Scollay Square and Boston Brunchers for hosting brunch, which I received free of charge. As always, all opinions are my own.

Student enjoying white milk

Milk Day School Assembly

Harvard Vanguard doctors and students

Principal Kaplan watching students sign pledge

Students could not wait to sign pledge to drink white milk

• 4-6 whole wheat flatbread rounds (I recommend Trader Joe’s Middle Eastern Flatbread)
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. With a pizza cutter or kitchen shears, cut each flatbread round into 8 wedges
3. Place wedges onto a rimmed baking sheet. Using a brush or fingers, lightly coat wedges with oil, then season with salt.
4. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until crisp and lightly browned
5. Enjoy warm from then oven. Serve with your favorite dip.

Future executive chef, restaurant critic, or food blogger!

It happened. I don't know how, but it has to my delight. My 6 year-old is passionate about food. The boy loves to shop for food, try new restaurants, and help cook. And most recently, has asked if he could not only help cook, but plan some meals. Hold a moment while I wipe away a tear.

So as not to discourage him from this new-found interest (the trains can finally get a break!), I grabbed a stack of ChopChop magazines, a couple of kid-friendly cookbooks from the public library, a pad of paper and pen and asked him, "so what do you want to try making?" He flipped through recipe after recipe and pointed out the ones he wanted to try as I scribbled away as if he was the executive chef and I his sous chef.

The boy's menu

So the plan is this: he gets to choose at least one recipe a week and we add that to our weekly menu plan. I was happy to see he did not just choose the typical kid-friendly dishes. His tastes ranged from savory breakfast items, hearty lunch dishes to multicultural dinners. This week we made oven-baked pita chips, spinach, mushroom and cheese stromboli, and banana-berry smoothies. Best to start of slow, right?

I have no idea if we'll be able to keep this up, but this pretty much re-affirms what experts preach when it comes to dealing with picky-eaters:

• Get kids involved
• Meal plan with them
• Let them help pick out groceries
• Give them a job in the kitchen

Our youngest has even joined in on the fun and we've noticed dinnertime battles have decreased - albeit just a little bit... but I will take anything I can get.

So if you can, make it part of your routine. Have your kids be in charge of breakfast/lunch/dinner once a week. Just make sure you are not in a rush and don't mind a bit more clean-up!