Saturday, April 9: Touch-a-Truck Brooklyn, It’s ON!

There are other things happening in New York City this weekend — and I often provide an opinionated list of my faves for families with young kids at the end of the week. But this weekend, for Shiny Brite, it’s all about Touch-a-Truck. You know it, and so do we.

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes TAT drama, just to get you revved up…. On our minds this week:

Would the NYC Department of Sanitation come through with a garbage truck? — The poor parent volunteer who’d taken on the task of getting them to say yes felt like she was in a dysfunctional relationship — leaving pleading messages and then sitting by the phone, waiting for the local DOS Chief to call her back, holding out hope even when things weren’t looking good. But in the 11th hour, they came through! An official NYC I Stink! — “I’m totally dual op, no A/C, not me!” — will be at TAT! J. and M. are psyched!

Would Melisa survive the emotional trauma of dealing with the DOT and the nightmare of oversize vehicle permits for weeks on end? — I did, but barely.

How many cool vintage cars will the Brooklyn Antique Automobile Association bring? – This one’s still a mystery. All will be revealed on Saturday.

What trucks are J. and M. most excited about seeing? — J.: The BioBus, M.: Truck Farm (the guy bringing it says there’s arugula and some cute little chives popping up on the back of the truck!)

We’ve been in TimeOut New York Kids and New York Mag, but would we make it into the New York Times? – We did! (Thanks, Lainie!)

We’ll be there waaaaaay before the event gets going at 11am, but come say hi when you show up! After months of planning and endless to-do lists, Touch-a-Truck is ON!

Cool trucks + awesome food + tons of kids = FUN!

See you tomorrow!

Weekly Menu, April 3-9 Everything Old is New Again

I’m not sure what to say about the weather last week. When I wrote the menu, the forecast included some sunny, warm(ish) days, but by Friday, I was looking out a window at snow falling on Times Square.

Sigh, these poor shoes are locked in a box until it warms up.

Still, Spring is coming, and with it, TOUCH-A-TRUCK! Saturday, April 9th, 11 am-2 pm, 18th Street between 6th & 7th Avenues in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Twenty-two trucks confirmed, plus three fabulous food trucks: Frites ‘n’ Meats, Country Boys Tacos, The Treats Truck. Check out the link for more details and join us next Saturday.

As to the menu: I’m always looking for recipes I can designate “keepers” and add to our rotating repertoire. Back in the days B.C. (Before Children), that meant scouring cookbooks and magazines, and spending quality time in grocery stores looking for specialty ingredients. There were a few recipes that have survived that era, but mostly, they are gathering dust. The survivors are simple and delicious. I thought I’d make a week of them!

Weekly Menu:

Sunday: Salmon with Roasted Asparagus & Lemon-Caper Sauce from an old Bon Appétit; delicious. The salmon roasts on top of the asparagus and you make a great sauce to pour over it all after it cooks.  If you have a small food processor the sauce is a breeze (just make sure you make it close to serving or the red onions in the sauce will turn it pink).

The taste of spring! Photo by Muffet via Flickr

Monday: Thai Chicken Curry. We don’t follow a recipe for this any longer, but the link will take you to what was probably the inspiration. If you don’t own red curry paste and fish sauce, you should. Chopped chicken breast sautés with whatever you think is Thai-appropriate, pour in light coconut milk and add the curry paste (spicy to taste). Squeezed lime & basil chiffonade complete the dish. Serve over white rice; go crazy and spike the rice with chopped scallions and lime zest.

Tuesday: Flank Steak/skirt steak with Mom’s Marinade. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you KNOW this is a staple of our lives. Side of salad/green beans/broccoli/really whatever you’d like.

Wednesday: Pasta Puttanesca. I’m partial to this old Silver Palate recipe, which again, I’ve made so many times I don’t follow anymore. Super simple, full of my favorite flavors (olives! capers! hooray!). Cooks up in 20 minutes.

Thursday: Lidia’s Shrimp “Alla Buonavia.“ Lidia serves this as an appetizer, but it makes a wonderful main course. Shrimp, garlic, chives and olive oil, sautéed with lemon and white wine, all poured over crusty bread that has been rubbed with raw garlic. Oh, baby!

Friday: Last night before Touch-a-Truck!! It’s all about ordering out.

April 9th, 11-2 pm, 18th Street between 6&7 Aves

Saturday: Have no idea what we’ll be eating. I know someone else will prepare it. And I know dinner conversation will not revolve around the to-do list for Touch-a-Truck. The kids are heading to Connecticut (thanks Grammie & Grampie!) so Melisa and I can get some R&R.

Here’s to sunshine and warm weather, a day without downpours next Saturday. Come see us at Touch-a-Truck!

Calling Kids of All Ages: Touch-a-Truck Brooklyn, April 9, 11am – 2pm, Rain or Shine!

Chrissy and I are excited to tell you about — and if you live in Brooklyn or nearby, invite you to! — a cool event we’ve been working on since last November. And by “working on,” I mean “devoting our lives to.” It’s been fun, but also overwhelming (more on that in another post. Maybe.)

Anyway, on to Touch-a-Truck Brooklyn!

What it is: A fun, exciting event where kids can climb in the driver’s seat of the trucks they see in everyday life — and some unusual ones, too — to “drive” and explore them with the help of the person who brought the vehicle. Admission: $5 a person; kids under two FREE. All proceeds will benefit the arts programs at P.S. 295, The Studio School of Arts & Culture (the elementary school Jasper and Magnolia attend.)

Vehicles scheduled to come include:

* FDNY fire engine

* NYPD police cruiser

* garbage truck

* tow truck

* dump truck

* concrete mixer

* ambulance

* vintage Airstream trailer

* a moving van

* The Truck Farm, a traveling garden and CSA

* The BioBus, a mobile science lab on wheels — sponsored by Target!

* vintage soda truck + other vintage cars from the Brooklyn Antique Automobile Association

* The Chip Shop delivery car, a funky little British ride

* and more!

There will be yummy food, too: Know how popular NYC food trucks have become? Well, we’ll have some of the best on hand selling sweet and savory treats:

* Frites ‘N’ Meats, selling their amazing burgers, fries, and hot dogs

* Country Boys Foods, selling delicious tacos and more — they’re one of the famed vendors from the uber-popular Red Hook ball fields

* The Treats Trucks, selling a variety of yummy sweet treats to please both kids + parents.

Where the idea for Touch-a-Truck came from: As New York City’s public schools face dire budget cuts, parents are looking for new and creative ways to raise money to benefit them. Chrissy and I attended a Touch-a-Truck fundraiser at a school in Connecticut and thought it would be cool to transport the idea to Brooklyn. So, yo — we did!

And we got some generous sponsors on board to help — TAT would like to thank:

Target *  Union Market *  Greschlers’ Hardware *  Stomping Ground Photography *  Quadrozzi Concrete *  Park Slope Plumbing *  Paul Signs *  Sidecar *  Astoria Federal Savings *  Eagle Provisions

So mark your calendar and come join us! With help from others, we’ve worked hard to make this happen for P.S. 295, our children, and kids all over Brooklyn.

Now let’s get down with some big, bad trucks — and awesome food — on April 9! See you there!