Food Banks and Other Charitable Organizations in Cambridge

 

Are you looking for an opportunity to give back to the Cambridge community?

A list of food banks in Cambridge can be found here.

The Greater Boston Food Bank is a great place to consider. You can find their website here.

Remember that there are many places that are accepting Toys for Tots donations of new, unwrapped toys. Specifically, Eastern Bank is collecting toys, and they have a branch at One Broadway in Kendall Square.

There are plenty of opportunities to give small donations to the Salvation Army by putting change in the red bucket by bell ringers.

Pumpkin Muffins

Adapted from Joy of Cooking:

Preheat your oven to 350

In a bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients:

2 cups of all-purpose flour (but bread flour works, too, and makes it delicious and moist)

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Nutmeg to taste

Cinnamon to taste

Cloves to taste

and if you’re really cool and you have some Penzey’s Cake blend, sprinkle a little of that in, too.

(If you want to make these buttermilk muffins, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking SODA too)

 

For your wet ingredients, in another bowl, whisk together:

1 stick of unsalted butter, melted (yeah, you heard me)

2/3rd cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of pumpkin (from the can. You can refrigerate leftover canned pumpkin)

(combine these first. I find that it makes the texture better and the taste richer)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup of milk, cream or buttermilk. (Heavy cream makes it super rich. Buttermilk makes them fluffy/crumbly)

 

Combine your wet and dry, and mix until batter just comes together. It will likely NOT be smooth, and that’s ok. Put into a greased muffin tin (makes 12) and bake for about 15 minutes.

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

 

Here is the link to my favorite recipe for Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal. Make sure that you purchase a sugar pumpkin (which are smaller than the pumpkins we usually use for carving). They can be found at most grocery stores. 

http://www.cookingwithmykid.com/recipes/baked-pumpkin-oatmeal/

This dish makes the house smell wonderful in the morning. It is also really easy. Yes, it takes a little bit of time to get all of the pulp out of the pumpkin, but after that, it’s quite simple. Besides, you get the added benefit of the seeds! Saute those in a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and you’ve got an awesome afternoon snack! 

2 Great Sessions!

 

What a fantastic first two weeks of our Fall semester. I hope that you have had as much fun as I have! Here is a picture of our very cool finger-paint fun from our first week!

I am going to post a few fun recipes today. Please feel free to try them an enjoy them with your families. I asked Suzie about the pumpkin bread that she sent for yesterday’s snack, and she said that it was the Pumpkin Bread Mix from Trader Joe’s! Delicious! And I think she bought the pumpkin butter from Trader Joe’s, too.

I will also be trying to schedule a field trip or two in the next few weeks. Field trips are totally optional, but lots of fun! Look out for details in my Friday e-mail!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow!

 

Well, I did it: I did the shopping, I prepped the craft, and I’ve prepped the snack. I’ve got the boys’ clothes all laid out and ready for tomorrow… I even have their breakfast bowls out and ready to go.

I’m so. freaking. pumped.

Tomorrow is going to be such a great day!

Don’t forget to dress your child in “ready to get messy” attire, and please also bring your fees! But most importantly, come ready to make a new friend!

Here is a preview of tomorrow’s craft:

 

Little name placards to help us share what makes each of us special!

See you tomorrow!

Getting ready!

 

It is such a big week and I just got back from vacation. There is so much to do to get ready for our first meeting on Monday and I hope I get it all done!

There are toys to buy (a limited selection at first), and animal crackers to purchase and I’m responsible for snack, circle, and craft next week, so I’ve been get shopping! I’ll get it all done because I’m so committed to making sure that this group starts off spectacularly on Monday.

In the mean time, I’m updating the schedules right now, I’m making a budget for what we want and what we need, and I’m going to send a quick email to my favorite musician to see if I can get him to pop by in December.

I hope that you are as excited as I am to get started next week! It’s going to be a great time!

 

Fun Facts and Fun Announcements

 

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for popping into the new website. I’m working on our calendar this week as well as our schedule. Please let me know if the arrangement of the site is confusing in any way!

Fun facts: We’ve got 13 children enrolled, currently: 5 boys (the most we’ve had in a while!) and 8 girls. I think that’s a pretty great make up! We’re averaging around 2 years old, with the youngest being 15 months and the oldest being 2 1/2. I think we’re going to have a really fantastic group!

Fun announcements:

Do you have a friend who is having a baby in the future? Are you just looking for some cool “geek chic” baby clothes for your own children? Well, one of our former moms, Lindsey Spitz, has created a very cool Etsy Store called Quark Baby! Check out her website when you get the chance!

Also, are you looking for a babysitter for two days a week? Let me know because I know of a babysitter who has been used by some of the veteran families in the group who may be available to you! Just e-mail me if you are interested!

Let’s have a great week!

 

 

Planning is in the works!

We’re gearing up for another fantastic year! I am reading your surveys, coming up with schedules, and thinking about projects and themes! Welcome to our new home on the internet!

Watch this space for important announcements, fun projects, tips, tricks, pictures, and other cool stuff. I’ll be updating over the next few weeks and then regularly during the school year.